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
"What’s in a name?" comes from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet," where Juliet argues that a name is artificial and meaningless. The bard was always more interested in human nature. During the British Raj, Bonedi Bengalis often opted to anglicize their surnames, influenced by their European
Somenath Hore Ramkinkar was one of those rare geniuses whose excellent works have made him immortal. The youthfulness and senility of the twentieth century can be said to define him. His teacher Nandalal Bose was surprised at the dexterity of Ramkinkar and had once said, “Seeing
Jorasanko Thakurbari had laid the path for several events and ideologies that were part of Bengal Renaissance. Surprisingly, there is mention of a ‘Glutton Club’ in Thakurbari where regular elections were held and getting votes depended upon how well the members were treated with good
Was it eternal love? Was it romance, passion or pathos? The on-screen chemistry between two of the most iconic matinee idols of all times – Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, is still shrouded in mystery. In real life, they were best of friends, often calling each
Uttam Kumar in Deya Neya (1963) Uttam Kumar — the ‘mahanayak’ who defined Bengali cinema for three decades, was an extremely charming and intelligent man, who lived life on his own terms. He passed away 40 years ago but he is the ultimate hero, whose aura
Ifirst fell in love with R.D. Burman’s songs and music when I was in school. Little did I know then that a day will come when I shall develop a personal relationship with this stalwart and one of the greatest musicians of India. That I
“Ashwiner sharodo prate beje utheche aloko manjira”, all Bangalies are very close to this verse, where they find emotion and the traditional taste of the grand Durga Puja. Mahalaya brings alive the epic story of Mahishasur Mardini, depicting the victory of the Goddess over the
What started as a weaving phenomenon centuries ago in a small village called Baluchar in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, has now turned into an experimental revolution with new techniques and new line of products introduced from Bengal’s heirlooms. If we were so long
This is an era when West Bengal’s Malda was known as Gour Bangla. During the reign of Sultan Hussain, Chaitanya Dev also known as Gaurango came here. It was in Gaur that he preached the language of love to Roop and Sanatan. And it was this