Macche Bhaat e Bangali! Really? Well not always. Atleast the earliest cookbooks of Bengal have a different story to tell. ‘Dalna’, ‘Shukto’, ‘Chochhori’, ‘Paanch Mishali torkari’ are not just names, they are considered to be reflection of Bengal’s culture and delicacies of the region. As
It really looks extraordinary. The Brooke Swan Car that once upon a time drove down the crowded streets of Calcutta. It was the creation of eccentric and wealthy Scotsman Robert Nicholl or ‘Scotty’ Matthewson and he lived in early 20th century Calcutta, that was then
Bengal has always been the land of music and musicians. But one instrument that has hardly been much talked about is the wind instrument of Shehnai. Though this instrument is often mis-understood as one that is popular in only North India, interestingly Bengal had produced
‘Aranyak’ is a name that the average Bengali reader recognises almost instantly as the title of an iconic novel by the legendary Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay. What is perhaps less well known is that Aranyak is also the name of a nondescript, two-storey house in Barrackpore
Feluda Pherot During the seemingly endless year of 2020, as the world grappled with immense challenges and gradually got used to newer ways of life, the one great source of succour and sustenance proved to be entertainment. More specifically, paid OTT platforms, which brought the very
For anyone who has been to Darjeeling, the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre (TRSHC) is usually on the list of must visits, though many of us may refer to it simply as the 'Tibetan Carpet Centre'. However, that it is considerably more than that is evident
'Nolen gur'. The two words calculated to gladden the heart of any Bengali. Somewhat more prosaically translated into English as liquid date jaggery, 'nolen gur', also known as 'jhola gur', is essentially jaggery made from the first flush of juice from the date palm tree
Yesterday, January 8, marked the beginning of the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF). Originally scheduled for November 5-12, 2020, the festival was postponed owing to the Covid pandemic. At the inauguration, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was virtually accompanied by actor Shah Rukh Khan and
When the chants of Bharat Mata ki jai often floats around these days in political rallies, it is indeed curious to note that the very concept of Bharat Mata was born in this very Bengal during Partition of 1905. That was the year when the
Shashanka was the first independent king of a unified polity of Bengal called Gauda and is a major figure in Bengal’s history. He reigned in 7th-century AD, though some historians place his rule between circa 600 C.E and 636/7 C.E. Other sources place his reign