“Nehru’s haste [in wanting India’s first general election] was understandable, but it was viewed with some alarm by the man who had to make the election possible, a man who is an unsung hero of Indian democracy. It is a pity we know so little
The year was 1905. The first of Bengal’s two partitions was underway, courtesy Viceroy Lord Curzon. Typically impervious to popular opinions and aspirations, the British-Indian administration was driving the divide home with a heavy hand. However, this controversial first Partition of Bengal was to have
Until now, were you living under the impression that the first zoo in Asia was in Kolkata? Well, all of us are mistaken. In the early 1800s, there were only three public zoos across the world. Barrackpore zoo was the fourth. Surprisingly, traces of this
As tributes poured in from across the world for the Argentine legend Diego Maradona, one news caught all attention. That of New York Times that drew up a list of football players from far flung, who reminded spectators of the Maradona magic. And among them
About 7-8km from Chinsurah, off Delhi Road lies a small hamlet called Rajhat. This is where one gets to find Bengal’s Mayur Mahal. Dozens of peacock, India’s national bird, have found a home in Rajhat and neighbouring villages of Choutara, Gandhigram, Saheb Bagan. Locals have
It was 1913, the year when an Indian won the Nobel Prize for Literature, news that had turned heads across the world. How could an Indian from a British colony win the Nobel? But well, as the world read Rabindranath Tagore and his Gitanjali, people
On February 20, 1888, Florence Nightingale wrote to a friend: “Do you know or could tell me anything about Mrs Ganguly, or give me any advice? She has already passed what is called the first licentiate in medicine and surgery examinations and is to go
Organic Haat, Rajarhat Here is some good grand news for health freaks of Bengal. The first Organic Haat has been opened by the Agricultural Marketing Department of the Government of West Bengal, very close to the Biswa Bangla Gate in Jatragachi. It aims to give the people of Kolkata and
The familiar sharp whistle of the pressure cooker emanating from the kitchen sounds so comforting at times. The trusted pressure cooker is a permanent fixture in Indian kitchens for decades. But when and how did this humble device cross the sanctum sanctorum of Indian kitchens?
It was the First Book of Reading for Native Children published in 1850. Even Rabindranath Tagore was initiated to the English language through this book in his childhood. Pyari Charan Sircar (1823–1875), was an educationist and textbook writer in 19th-century Bengal. His series of Reading