The foggy days are already in as monsoon clouds play peek-a-boo with a clear autumn sky. Around October in rural Bengal starts the season of preparation for winter delicacies. With the frost setting in and the new paddy ripening in late October-November, North Bengal comes
Local women of Takipara or ‘Mukto-Gram’ village have been cultivating pearls in the ponds in Dumurdaha-Takipara area since 2016. Initiated by the Government of West Bengal under the guidance of the Hon’ble CM Mamata Banerjee, the project, ‘Augmentation of Alternative Livelihood Options of Fishermen through Comprehensive Development (Integrated Farming) in
Throughout the month of Poush or (December - January) in Bengal, a festival called Tushu worship is held that needs folk items called Tusu khola which is made up of a row of lamps set on a broad rim of an earthen pot. The total
Doyen of Bengali cinema, he was a matinee idol, a living legend, the ‘Mahanayak’ who dominated the world of Bengali movies for decades during those ‘golden days of yore.’ Film actor, director, producer, singer par excellence, a perfect gentleman, a charmer and heartthrob of millions,
Winter is here and so is the fragrance and flavor of the first khejur jaggery that goes into the new paddy harvested and turns into Pithe. Chilly winters in Bengal is all about enjoying the special dessert called Pithe. Considering the busy schedules of most working women today, the making
Sonar Kella (1974). Jatayu's introduction and induction into the Feluda series. + pic.twitter.com/8leppmzyp7 — Bhadralok Debroy 🪔 (@samraggi_debroy) May 2, 2022 Sonar Kella was based on a story written by Manik da himself. This was the first time that Feluda, the favourite detective of all Bengalis, would be seen on the
Khichuri has always been the reigning queen of Bengali kitchens. There is an interesting anecdote in the ‘Manasamangal Kavya’, the oldest of the Mangal-Kāvyas where Goddess Durga orders her husband, Lord Shiva’s personal attendant, Nandi to fetch green coconuts because the ‘Lord’ has desired to
Kurmali, one of the ancient languages of the indigenous tribes, is spoken in various states of India including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. A sizeable number of Kurmali people also reside in various parts of Bangladesh. Kurmali is the mother tongue of
As we prepare to enter 2025, we also need to take note of an important centenary just past. For it was in 1923 that ‘Calcutta Aerodrome’ was conceived, with the first flights landing here in 1924. Sadly, the more important centenary actually passed by fairly quietly
The Kalighat Kali Mandir is a classic example of Bengal architecture which is a structural emulation of the mud and thatch-roofed huts of villages. Kalighat’s main temple is a four-sided building with a truncated dome. A smaller identically-shaped projection caps this domed structure. Each sloping side of