‘Lota’ and ‘macha’. These two untranslatable Bengali words have come to symbolise East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, arguably the two most venerable clubs on Kolkata’s equally venerable maidan. ‘Lota’ is essentially a small vessel meant to carry water. Ask any Mohun Bagan supporter, and they
An apple tree on a rooftop? It may sound unbelievable, but Pulak Jowardar, a science teacher at Bardakanta Vidyapith in Siliguri, has made it a reality. More than just a teacher, he is a true plant enthusiast. For the past two decades, he has been growing a wide variety
TJuly 15 2013, was a momentous day in the annals of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), the government-owned telecommunications service provider in India. The day knelled the death toll of one of India’s oldest communication services — the telegram. From that day, the term “Post
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, India’s Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw. Though many in India’s sports community were hoping he would join the elite league of legends like Eric Lemming (Sweden), Jonni Myyrä (Finland), Jan Železný (Czech Republic), and
Bengalis and tea share an unbreakable bond. The whole world is enamoured with the charm of Darjeeling tea. However, coffee cultivation has also been taking place in North Bengal for quite some time. Due to a lack of proper initiatives, it had not gained commercial
International Tiger Day As a child vacationing in Sariya (now in Jharkhand) in the 1960s, Biswajit Roy Chowdhury was captivated by Santhal music and the Santhal way of life. Most notably, he was entranced by the wild animals that the Santhals kept as pets, and clearly remembers two
Doesn't it feel good to know that Kolkata, a city renowned for its vibrant Bengali culture and intellectual life, hosted the publication of the first Urdu-language newspaper, Jam-i-Jahan-Numa, rather than northern India? Even more interesting is the fact that this publication was founded in March
The majestic capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur, is the gateway to India’s most flamboyant state. The historical city’s colourful, chaotic streets ebb and flow with a heady brew of old and new. Swanky four wheelers and packed buses dodge dawdling camels, leisurely cycle-rickshaws frustrate stream of motorbikes,
Professor Benoy Kumar Sarkar is a forgotten name today and very few of us remember this versatile and prolific author, who for 42 years of his life wrote and lectured to develop what was known in his own time as ‘Sarkarism.’ It was an attempt
Jagadish Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore were contemporaries, being just two and half years apart in age and they were indeed very good friends. However, Mahalanobis was more than 32 years younger than Tagore. By the time he went to Cambridge for the Mathematical Tripos