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Anwesha Santra

City of broken dreams: Urban alienation in Satyajit Ray’s Calcutta trilogy

In the turbulent 1970s, Satyajit Ray turned his lens on Kolkata — a city caught between political unrest, corporate greed and moral collapse. Through his iconic Calcutta trilogy, Ray crafted an unflinching portrait of urban alienation, following three disillusioned protagonists as they steer through a city that demands survival at any cost. Ray explored how Kolkata becomes both a character and a crucible in cinema, reflecting the anxieties of a generation and a metropolis teetering on the edge.

‘Samtaber’ Sarat Kuthi: The house that sheltered stories and revolution

Nestled along the serene banks of the Rupnarayan River, over 80 kilometres from Kolkata, lies the quaint village of Deulti. This unassuming hamlet holds a special place in Bengal’s literary heritage as the home of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938), one of India’s most celebrated and widely adapted authors. From 1926 to 1938, Sarat Chandra resided in a house he built in the small village of Samta, which he named Samtaber.