The sky and the water were two different shades of mud. The distant bank where the Rupnarayan River met the Hooghly distributary of the Ganges River was a thin sliver. Walking along the road that hugged the side of the Hooghly, we noticed more silt and the carcasses of various rusting ships that had been … Continue reading Of shifting rivers, shipwrecked colonialists, and Calcutta
Exploring the ruins of a Jain temple in Paschim Medinipur
One morning while having tea and cream crackers, I was browsing through Chitralekha, local magazine on arts and culture, when I came across a short photo-essay by Prof. T.T. Mukherjee of Dantan Bhatter College on an abandoned centuries-old Jain temple only a few miles away from Medinipur town. I perked up. Although there are Buddhist … Continue reading Exploring the ruins of a Jain temple in Paschim Medinipur
A visit to the Buddhist monastery complex at Moghalmari
Driving on a straight stretch of National Highway-60 from Medinipur to Balasore, you would be forgiven for missing the small sign unbefitting one of the most significant archaeological sites discovered in Bengal. After all, the sleepy hamlet Moghalmari, is similar to others in the southern part of Paschim Medinipur district, close to the border with … Continue reading A visit to the Buddhist monastery complex at Moghalmari
A conversation with a barber
I have been flying in to Netaji Subhas Chandra International Airport in Kolkata since 1980, but even after so many years, it is a thrill to arrive in Bengal after a series of long flights. This year, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the new Kolkata International Airport was in service. This year having … Continue reading A conversation with a barber
Kali Puja memories
After you’ve witnessed many seasons along with the return and passing of holidays, they all seem to blur in the mind. A childhood filled with many Kali Pujas has turned into one massive remembrance for me. There were years I went with my parents to buy fireworks from seasonal stalls that sprung up in front … Continue reading Kali Puja memories
On translating Tagore
Robert Frost once famously quipped that what was left behind was poetry, what translated, was in fact prose. Judging by this austere parameter, you could very easily argue that attempting to translate poetry is a perilous act. Jorge Luis Borges took the diametrically opposite view when he asserted that translations of poetry are in no … Continue reading On translating Tagore
Manna Dey, Sudhin Dasgupta, and Bengali romanticism
Manna Dey, the maestro is no more. When I first heard the news around midnight, my mind wandered to all the songs that have inextricably become a part of my life. I thought about each memory associated with each of the songs I cherish so much. Manna Dey sang primarily in Hindi and Bangla. In … Continue reading Manna Dey, Sudhin Dasgupta, and Bengali romanticism
Durga Puja through the ages
In Ovid’s famous Latin poem Metamorphoses, Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue of a woman he had created. On Pygmalion’s entreaty, this statue was granted the breath of life by Venus. Western literature and art is filled with many variations of the Pygmalion theme, of which arguably, the most notable … Continue reading Durga Puja through the ages
Durga Puja Vignettes
It is late evening on Nabami. Assembled in front of the pyramid-shaped pandal of the Tarun Sangha Sarbojonin Durgotsav is a huge crowd of men, women, and children decked in their finest attire. This is no ordinary pujo: This year, Ma Durga doesn’t look like Mahua Roychodhury, Mahishasur doesn’t look like Lionel Ritchie, and the … Continue reading Durga Puja Vignettes
A pin on a map
I woke up and realized that there were still a few hours until dawn. But instead of trying to get back to sleep, I decided to take a journey. In those wee hours, I flew over hills, rivers, and cities. I did not need to leave my bedroom; what I did instead was use the … Continue reading A pin on a map
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