This Lakshmi Puja, most Bengali homes will find artistic motifs of Alpona drawn across floors. Motifs of sun, lotus, fish, swastika, owl, snake, footprints of goddess Lakshmi, or even abstract designs will welcome the Goddess of Wealth to their homes. An ancient tradition, this laborious
Kolkata is a compelling city of juxtapositions. Loved and loathed, beautiful and enfante terrible, its extremes and contrasts continue to balance the historic with the contemporary. At her heart lie people, as witnesses and living archives of Kolkata’s realities and aspirations. An extensively documented city
She started her business at 89! Yes, you heard it right. At a time when people think they are on their death bed, Latika Chakrabarty started a business. She always loved collecting old saris, kurtas, and clothes from all over India and recycle them into
Corporate hot-shot, Mrs India East, Poet, Model, Mother and Wife, Joie is as bubbly and charming as ever It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a woman must have 10 hands or 10 avatars to be the embodiment of perfection. That’s why I can never be perfect
Greeting cards have almost taken a back seat these days. Be they Pujo greeting cards or Christmas cards. In this digital age it seems we are more happy to send or receive greetings on phone, sms or whatsapp. But holding on to the tradition of
It was 7th November 2008. I was living then with my parents along with my two-year-old daughter. Suddenly life seemed to come to a standstill, when I received the news of my husband’s untimely death due to a train accident on that ominous day. Since
Life is a gorgeous blend of happiness and pain, achievements and failures, of falling down and rising above again. My life like many other women, isn’t perfect, it is a mix of many things. At times I feel I am failing at everything, but despite
Calcutta was very different in the sixties, we have seen a city where life was easy going, things were dirt cheap, there was camaraderie in the air. I was in Presidency College doing my Bachelor's degree. My mother coming from an enlightened Brahmo background was
I grew up in the 70’s North Kolkata, Kashipur to be precise amidst a wholesome middle class joint family of sisters, uncle, aunt, cousins and grandmother. Like many others, rooted to Bengali values, education played a vital role in my life. My father was a
I enjoy my work as Professor of Zoology and Head of Immunobiology and Regenerative Medicine Research Laboratory and Translational Outcomes Research Group in the University of Calcutta. Teaching students the nuances of Cell and Molecular Biology, Epidemiology, Parasitology, Developmental Biology and Immunology is an act