Writing has been a form of self-expression throughout history and women today are not afraid to pen down their story, create new ones, or share their intellect through their books, blogs or publications. The third edition of the Women Writers’ Festival 2020 will provide a
Bengal’s love for sharing information on global affairs started with opening of libraries even before independence. No wonder the first Indian public library and probably also the first in Asia was started by Joykrishna Mukherjee, a prominent Bengali landlord and a reformist in this state.
As Kolkata International Book Fair celebrates theme country Russia and its rich treasure trove of literature, one cannot ignore the connect that erstwhile USSR had with India. Not just politically, but also through great poets, authors and Nobel Laureates. One such connect was between Rabindranath
The minute I heard Russia is the theme country this year at Kolkata International Book Fair, a frightful image of Baba Yaga flashed like a bolt of lightning before me. And I almost laughed at those innumerable bed-time sessions when my mother would relentlessly try
‘I have always believed that the real history is made by ordinary people. I constantly come across the reappearance, in various forms, of folklore, ballads, myths and legends, carried by ordinary people across generations. The reason and inspiration for my writing are those people who
“We consider ourselves free spirits, but our words remain unfree. Women are late comers to writing and unwelcome ---” that’s what Nabaneeta Dev Sen said in her keynote speech once at the National Colloquium of Women Writers. Each of her short stories speak of that
It was such a moment of pride to see economist Abhijit Banerjee walking up the podium in a Bengali dhoti to receive the Nobel Prize. An attire that was popularized in Bengal by the zamindars and babus, who also linked dhoti to Bengal Renaissance bringing
Married at the tender age of nine, the girl who could not complete her school education, wrote more than 300 books! She then went on to get the ‘Saraswati’ title conferred by the prestigious Nabadwip Bidwajan Sabha (Nabadwip Scholars Society) and received Leela Purashkar from
Even decades before the present BJP-led India is over-zealous to attain Ram Rajya, there was a renowned Bengali linguist Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay who actually defined the word ‘Ram Rajya’ and fell in the line of fire of many around. Often there is a belief Ram-Rajya
I Know What You Did Last Summer! But none of the Calcuttans knew who the serial killer of 1989’s Calcutta street murders was and what he was doing that summer! We were then school children, quite young, and the palpable terror of a killer lurking