REACHING FOR THE HEAVENS
Kolkata has woven its own celestial narrative over the years, one that goes beyond the pages of history books and into the heart of its residents. Amateur astronomy, with its roots stretching back centuries, has not only made a mark in this vibrant city but has become an integral part of its cultural fabric. Hidden […]
Janmashthami
AN EAR FOR MUSIC
Once, Pt Ravi Shankar had come to perform at a concert at the Basusree cinema. Some 10,000 people waited outside just to get a glimpse of the sitar maestro and Shankar’s exit has remained in their memory — sitting in a lotus pose, being carried overhead from person to person in a circle. Decades later, […]
SOUNDS AND THE CITY
From the 19th century to today’s times, Kolkata’s urban sensorium has been an integral part of knowing, feeling and remembering the city, Kolkata’s unique soundscape is populated by slogans by rallyists, the steady hum rising at Coffee House from the adda sessions, fish markets, mantras wafting out of loudspeakers on Ashtmai mornings, calls of hawkers, travelling […]
KOLKATA BOOKS IT
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s first and only novel in English, ‘Rajmohan’s Wife’, was published in 1864 in a serialized format in an English-language periodical, ‘Indian Field’ that soon shut down. It created history by being widely regarded as the first Indian novel written in English. Some argue there were other contenders but they all agree that […]
Rapping
RAPPING TO KOLKATA’S TEMPO
The fabric of the city cannot get more diverse as a new crop of rappers come up on Kolkata’s culture horizon. These youngsters—from Park Circus to Dum Dum, from Gariahat to Kidderpore—compose powerful lines, drawing from their daily lives and sociopolitical issues, and add peppy, foot-tapping beats to them. These tech-savvy boys and girls use […]
WHEN THE CURTAINS GO UP
At the corner of Ezra Street, at the entry of Kolkata’s largest light market, stands a memorial plaque. It is on this lane, at 25, Domtolla, now, 37, Ezra Street, that the first European-style Bengali proscenium theatre in India was established in 1795. This memorial plaque is dedicated to Gerasim Stepanovich Lebedev, the founder of […]
Sounds of Kolkata
City artists celebrate world music, give a toast to Kolkata’s rich cultural heritage
Kolkata played host to a six-day-long festival celebrating world music. The Wisdom Tree World Music Festival showcased a diverse range of genres including Jazz, Eastern and Western Classical, Ghazal, Thumri, Folk, Rabindrasangeet, Sufi, contemporary, acoustic rock, instrumentals, and much more.