It is the 22nd day of Shravan, 1941 - clouds are gathering all around, like frozen tears. A sea of humanity engulfs Upper Chitpur Road, Vivekananda Road, Chittaranjan Avenue, Kolootola Street, College Street, Cornwallis Street, Grey Street, B.K. Paul Avenue, and then on to Nimtala.
OThere is a strange kind of sieve of acceptance and rejection within the world of theatre. According to me, "Bengali theatre," means the people associated with theatre in Bengal. Bijon Bhattacharya has been respectfully set aside, kept outside our familiar and practiced circles. The one
The first page of Suhasini’s Gitanjali Prison Diary (left),The place where Suhasini was interned as a Prisoner of war (right) Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, the immortal book that fetched him a Nobel Prize, have helped many of us survive during harrowing times. Interestingly, it had once upon
IThroughout history women were central to creating social wealth. The utilitarian purpose of education did not apply to women as no professions were open to them. For the privileged daughters and wives of the upper class, the most important agency in the transfer of knowledge,
Till very recently, Bengali readers were credited for being bookworms. But what made most Bengalis bookworms? The answer is easy to find. Bengalis really love detectives and adventures and there are many, many detectives and adventure characters in Bengali storytelling. Bengali readers have loved these
In the modern world, the boundaries between displacement and migration are blurred -- climate change that destroys livelihoods, environmental pollution, natural disasters, persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations as well as the widening gap between winners and losers of globalization. The global intent on closing
He came as a meteor on the literary scene of Bengal. Manik Bandopadhyay’s reign was brief but intense. His works reflect, in many ways, the turbulent times he was part of and had the opportunity to witness from very close quarters. It was a period
He was the first successful Indian ‘Man of Letters’ in the United States and won a Newbery Medal in 1928. Dhan Gopal Mukerji, a graduate from Scottish Church College went on to conquer the world through letters and made a name for himself in University
‘I was waylaid by hope to reach out for the mirage (Ashar chholone bhuli ki phol lobhinu haai)’ … a colourful embossed line written on the right side of Rabindranath Tagore’s wedding card! In an era when wedding planners decide on what will be written in
As of now, Kolkata has only two Metro stations named after journalists, though neither is functional yet. Considering the galaxy of renowned journalists that the state has produced, it probably ought to come as a bit of a surprise that only two have been considered