To a Bengali lad like me, “Sankranti” was nothing but a day to eat Pithe-Puli, Patisapta and all. Like any other eventful day in the calendar, Poush Sankranti was marked for these sweet dishes in all homes across West Bengal. Only when I grew up, did I find that this is not a local festival…
Category: English
Arise, Awake, and Stop not till the Goal is Reached
𝟏𝟐 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 Selecting Sarat Ch Chattopadhyay’s books over Rabindranath after the initial days with Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury and Sukumar Ray was a distinct choice. Post Sarat Babu, the writings of Swami Vivekananda became my primary focus to read. Despite my limited understanding of the 12 hard-bound volumes in which Vivekananda expressed profound thoughts, my…
Pritish Nandy – The Role Model
I first saw him in the show named after him, The Pritish Nandy Show. We were probably watching Pronay Roy in The World This Week and Siddharth Basu in Quiz Time at the same time, engaging shows that reflected the brilliance of Indian television then. I liked Vir Sanghvi too for his personality and style…
A Date with Destiny: Elvis Presley
My Journey with a Rare Elvis Presley Pictorial Book It was an ordinary day that turned extraordinary, the kind of moment you don’t see coming but, when it happens, you just know it’s special. I was wandering through a hidden, musty-smelling bookstore, a little off the beaten path in a hilly region, searching for who-knows-what,…
Devi Bargabhima Temple – The Ancient Touch
About the Temple Kali Temple in Bengal is not an unusual thing. In every locality, you will find Goddess Kali in its temple and thousands of people throng in during special or festival days. But this Kali Temple, 85 KM away from Kolkata (then Calcutta) is something special. Bargabhima Temple is not like the typical…
World Television Day – 21 November
History of the Television Televisions can be found in billions of homes around the world. But 100 years ago, nobody even knew what a television was. In fact, as late as 1947, only a few thousand Americans owned televisions. How did such a ground breaking technology turn from a niche invention to a living room…