During the pandemic, when a question mark hung over whether or not Durga Puja would be celebrated at all, one man was at the receiving end of at least a hundred distressed phone calls. His name is Rintu Das, the artist who subsequently catapulted to fame with his stunning depiction of Goddess Durga as a migrant labourer, walking back to her home in heaven with her children, Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati in tow...and in tatters.
But what ARE the roots of evil then and can these be eradicated?
If one could pen down his or her fleeting thoughts about this, that and the other, and turn them into a little booklet, it could make for a potentially delightful read. And that is exactly what Samir Kumar Das Gupta has done in “Random Thoughts, Problems and Possible Solutions”.
We have reached the border, 77 kilometres from Kolkata, to assess the ground situation at the biggest India-Bangladesh border in Bengal amidst reports, both confirmed and unconfirmed of violence in the villages, towns and cities within Bangladesh.
Leave it to another musician, living legend Kabir Suman, to seize the Sunday following legendary flautist Pannalal Ghosh’s birth anniversary on 24 July, to effectively tell Calcutta’s culture-conscious citizens to wake up and hear the music!
India, which is the third largest producer of greenhouse gases, has pledged to participate in the global endeavour of achieving “Net Zero” by the year 2070 and union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has indeed earmarked a share of the national expenditure for this cause.
“Every season has its own distinct scent,” says Krishnaraj Iyengar, our contributor, who is a connoisseur of perfumes and a perfumer himself
The delightful mission of the “mango guthli man” as he has fondly been referred to, needed to be emulated.
Sparkle, a new book of translations of Tagore’s tiny poems makes for a fascinating read
To the readers, I say, no you do not need to practise detachment. Do attach yourself to the transient. But let it be that transience which is timeless.
