In the world’s largest democracy, gender equality is still a distant dream. A patriarchal mindset is still evident, and derogatory comments about women in politics are rife on social media, Sexist remarks are regularly directed at women who contest elections, whether about their appearance, clothing
‘Go Green’ is a catchy slogan in itself, and we have perhaps become used to mouthing it without really meaning it, or knowing how to go about it. But if we were to follow the example of Natabari 2 panchayat in Coochbehar, we could, perhaps,
It was in the year 1967. The Farmer Revolution of Naxalbari had created waves by then, leading to a rift among various communist parties of India. Politicians who supported the villagers and farmers of Naxalbari, gradually distanced themselves from others. A similar picture was seen
In his poem Suchetana, Jibanananda Das has written: ‘In the hands of tired yet tireless sailors like us/ we shall build, not today but on the last dawn’ Any artist is like that sailor, who weaves the dream of an eternal journey. Hence the artistic journey
In 2013, Mohan Singh Khangura said in an interview, these days an artiste gets his/her due recognition only after his/her passing away. His elder son Bikram was a Rabindrasangeet exponent of the contemporary generation. It is well-known among music connoisseurs that he was a brilliant
The singing style (gayaki) of both Santidev Ghosh and Sailajaranjan Majumdar was similar to Dinu-Da’s (Rabindranath Thakur’s nephew, Dinendranath Thakur) style if rendition. Dinu-Da was a man who provided a proper form to Rabindranath’s compositions. Actually, Rabindranath was a genius who was in a perpetual
Mohan Singh’s style of rendering Rabindrasangeet is often brought under the microscope and dissected by his detractors, who accuse him of not following the classical tenets of Rabindrasangeet, set and approved by the poet himself. But there is no base in this allegation. He has
Oi aasontaler maatir pare lutiye rabo/ Tomar charon dhulay dhulay dhusaro habo/ Keno aamay maan diye aar dure raakho?/Chirojanom emon kore bhuliyo naako,/Asanmane aano tene paaye tabo./Tomar charon dhulay dhulay dhusaro habo (I shall lie on the floor under your seat /and get smeared in dust
Mohan Singh often reminisces his favourite Mohar-Di (Kanika Bandopadhyay). He relates one particular incident when Mohar-Di was asked to cook Khichuri. She was not certain about the quantity of rice and lentils required to prepare for all the partakers. So, she put equal amounts of
Suchismita left for her heavenly abode years ago. It was she who taught him Bengali and discovered the various facets of this introvert youth. Their love affair transcended the physical boundaries of Santiniketan’s red laterite soil paths, the vast deserted fields, the tree-lined avenues, Sonajhuri,