Goddess Kali has been conceptualized and expressed in myriad ways by artists. Songs of piety praising her various facets are galore in Bengal as do artistic expressions, depicting her divinity. It is difficult to zero in on when and how the worship of Goddess Kali
The Mughal era artists had answered to the sensual call of the rains by rendering its romance on a blank page. In fact, countless paintings were commissioned by Royal families with various compositions on the theme of the season including storm, cloud, rain, thunder and
It is beyond our imagination to envision the life of females in 19th-century colonial Bengal. On the fragile shoulders of the girl child lay the burden of keeping the patriarchal structure of the Hindu family in place. Most girls from middle class and upper class
The art of printing could be traced back to the lanes of Battala in North Kolkata, the birthplace of the Bengali printing press in the early 19th century. The year was 1878. Chor Bagan Art Studio released a colour lithograph print of Shiv Durga. It
‘E porobasheyrobe ke’ in Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece Kanchenjunga? Picturised on actress Karuna Bandyopadhyay, many of us are not aware that though the movie was not a commercial success, it had a greater impact behind the scenes. For it did bring out a rare talent from
If Jorasanko had witnessed the rise of geniuses like Rabindranath, Gaganendranath, Abanindranath and many more, it was also a home that produced rebels. Subho Tagore was a multi-faceted talent who kept his creative sparks alive all his life was one such rebel who left the
Emerald Bower to Kolkata is what Buckingham Palace is to London. The ornate intricacies of the entrance door carries an oval plaque, that says: ‘Heaven’s Light, Our Guide.’ The owner of this house, Pradyut Tagore and others of the clan got ‘Order of the Star of
Kolkata of 1970s was a revolutionary city, where protests were the order of the day. After all, the fire that burnt within, gave form to a city that is still hailed as the intellectual capital of India. Often wall graffiti proclaiming slogans like “Chinese Chairman
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
Kolkata has always been a city of ghats. Traders from various parts of the country and even from beyond the shores disembarked from their boats and entered the city through these ghats and devout Hindus carried out religious rites. At some ghats, foreign ships anchored