A dilapidated structure stands as testimony of a rich and glorious past of Bengal with the ruins of a grand terrace, a staircase full of weeds, rickety bricks jutting out on the banks of the mighty Ganges. This is the mansion where Chhabi Biswas in
Just like Marc Riboud once said: ‘Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second,’ well-known senior bureaucrat Atri Bhattacharya probably felt and practiced that passion in real-life. His exhibition of photographs at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) gallery testifies the
Kolkata of 1970s was a revolutionary city, where protests were the order of the day. After all, the fire that burnt within, gave form to a city that is still hailed as the intellectual capital of India. Often wall graffiti proclaiming slogans like “Chinese Chairman
The 1930s was an epoch-making decade in Bengal. This was a time of great socio-political upheaval following rapid urbanization of Kolkata. Revolutionary activities were on the rise as did repression by the British. In 1940, a slim book of poems in Bengali named Padatik, was
The year was 1934. In Malad, Mumbai, a new film studio was being set up. Co-founded by Devika Rani and her first husband, Himanshu Rai, it was called 'Bombay Talkies'. The London-returned young couple had a dream -- to radically change Indian cinema. Devika Rani Rabindranath Tagore’s
If Bengali literature has pampered our children to Thakurmar Jhuli and Goopi Gayen Bagha Bayen, Russian literature has enriched children of a generation in Kolkata to attractive Siberian fairytale characters from Olga to Misha. Even today, Russians produce a large number of children’s books to
For Utpal Dutt, theatre and political ideology were like two sides of the same coin. He strongly believed theatre was a weapon of political propaganda and relentlessly tried to reach out this popular medium of dissent to a larger section of the audience in a
As the capital of the British Raj between 1858 and 1911, Calcutta has long been at the crossroads of multiple influences and played a major role in the cultural history of India. The Bengal Renaissance was one such movement in the 19th century as a
Birla Industrial and Technological Museum (BITM) is set to showcase a German machine that was used to record the poetry and song renditions by Rabindranath Tagore. In April 1932, Tagore had recorded the poem, ‘Jokhon hobo babar moto boro’, and the song, ‘Tobu mone rekho’
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