Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. He made enduring and influential contributions to aesthetic theory, literary criticism, and historical materialism. In 1931, he published ‘Little History of Photography.’ That very year, two 12-year-old Bengali twin sisters from Ramnagar
There was a classic 'tears beneath the laughter' story that Bhanu Bandyopadhyay reportedly loved to tell. "You know what my life is like? I'll tell you. My mother has just passed away. I'm waiting at the crematorium, eyes full of tears. Somebody comes up to
Human beings are born creative and then taught to be uncreative as they grow older. A creative soul can breathe life into a block of wood or sculpt ethereal figures from stones or take a lump of soil to make exquisite idols. People who retain
The year was 1923. Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of rural development which had led to the foundation of Sriniketan, freedom fighter Susen Mukherjee came up with the idea of Amar Kutir. Just about a decade later, Amar Kutir began to draw the attention of
Denis Stern’s music is a confluence of many global cultures and is influenced by the musician’s international travel through Russia, Spain, Israel, Italy and India. His single ‘Way to Alhambra’ was featured in the platinum compilation Chambao Flamenco Chill alongside legendary flamenco players Paco de
Lord Krishna was often called the Makhhan Chor! The one who stole butter from his milkmaid mother’s pots and pans or from the houses of other villagers and finish them off at one go. As per folklore, Krishna’s favourite food was butter, hence on his
Poet Annadashankar Roy once wrote, “Hanser priyo googly/ Portugeeseder Hooghly/ Gooner priyo tanpura/ Olandajder Chinsura” which roughly translated means, ‘Just as a duck’s most-loved food is snail so is Hooghly a favourite haunt of the Protuguese/ A gifted singer’s favoured accompanist is tanpura (a musical
Chattagram Astragar Lunthan (1949) The importance of Bengal in India’s freedom struggle has been widely written and spoken about. Post-Independence, the contribution to the patriotic cause has continued in the form of literature, art and not least, cinema. On the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, here’s
Jayant Kripalani - Mokama Rly Station As India gears up for the 75th anniversary of its Independence this year, it is important to remember one more very significant occasion - the 15oth birth anniversary of Aurobindo Ghosh or Rishi/ Sri Aurobindo (born August 15, 1872), and
Chaitali Dasgupta, Saswati Guhathakurta, Chhanda Sen, Tarun Chakraborty, Pankaj Saha – if these names strike a chord, and you can instantly recall the faces associated with them, then you most probably grew up watching, or simply watched a lot of, DD Bangla in the 1970s,