In the neighbourhood of Simla Para off Beadon Street, great Mughal poet Mirza Ghalib lived during his stay in Kolkata. His love for the city can be traced in Safar-e-Kalkattah, where he writes about his stay at Haveli No. 133. Ghalib praised the city, saying no
Imagine a priceless painting of famous German neo-classical painter Johann Zoffany adorning a well-known church of Kolkata! And yes, that exquisite painting still stands tall and if you are in the city you can see it with your own eyes at the St John’s Church.
These days ayurveda is going global, but this ancient medicine form that flourished in Bengal was once suppressed by the European world, particularly the British. In order to propagate and popularise Western Medicine, in the year 1835, Thomas Babington Macauley, President of the General Committee
Drafting of Indian Constitution was a monumental task, but what about handwriting it and then illustrating it with relevant motifs from across India? Indian Constitution happens to be one of the rarest constitutions of the world that has a hand-written version in the form of
Some roadside city taps still have sculpted lion heads. However, the once flowing mouth of the lion have dried up. The body of such taps resembles Greco-Roman styled pillars. Before they were installed, Calcuttans had only one source of water for drinking and bathing ----
In an age when misinformation and fake news have become part of everyday life, this story would be commonplace. Nearly a century ago, however, news was not taken as casually as it is now, and certainly not when it involved a personage of the stature
The majestic Whiteway building was constructed by Kolkata-based contractors, Mackintosh Burn & Company. The massive Corinthian pillars, beautiful arcade, huge domes and clock towers – were all very impressive and attracted widespread attention. Europeans and Englishmen who landed in the city harbor were mesmerized by
Every year during the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February) Kumortuli, the traditional hub of Kolkata’s idol makers and potters wakes up to a flurry of activities putting last-minute finishing touches to innumerable idols of Devi Saraswati. This is the time when Saraswati, the Goddess
It was Calcutta when British aristocrats, senior East India Company officials and young Brits, who had landed in this native land with a job, were bored due to lack of any languid activity. They had no place to sit and relax, to chat or debate
During British era, rich residents of Kolkata developed a fetish for importing marble sculptures of Venus. Hindu widows thought Venus was a new powerful goddess, similar to Goddess Durga. Members of Young Bengal often floated novel interpretations of existing deities. They announced Venus was like