The roots of amateur astronomy in Kolkata can be traced back to the 18th century when the city was the capital of British India. The British East India Company’s presence in the region attracted scholars and scientists, many of whom were passionate about the night sky. The construction of the Calcutta Observatory in 1786 was a significant milestone in this journey. It became a centre for astronomical research and public outreach. Prominent figures, like William Roxburgh and William Jones, accomplished astronomers and naturalists, contributed to the early development of amateur astronomy in Kolkata. They conducted important observations and fostered a spirit of scientific curiosity among the local population.

​In 1892, the Astronomical Society of Kolkata was founded, marking a turning point in the history of amateur astronomy in the city. The society aimed at promoting the study of astronomy and creating a platform for enthusiasts to share their passion.
Kolkata’s passion for stargazing continued into the next century, during which amateur curiosity was modernised and institutionalised with the advent of Birla Planetarium, the second oldest planetarium in Asia. “Since our journey started in 1 962, the interest in amateur astronomy spread from Kolkata to the rest of the country, with an increasing number of people visiting from other cities and countries to see our exhibition. In the early 1990s, we started an evening course to cope with the burgeoning interest in astronomy among youngsters. It was the first such evening course in the country, ” said Alokananda Ghosh, professor of astronomy at Birla Planetarium.

​Talking about the importance of Kolkata as a base for the growth of amateur astronomy in India, Ghosh said, “Kolkata is a Mecca for astronomy in India. Following the largest and most influential planetariums in the world in London and Moscow, we have been able to draw new talent and skill from Kolkata and engage a global audience in our work. Astronomy is an extremely inclusive subject and the amateur astronomy scene in Kolkata plays a big part in bridging gaps among the celestial-watching sub cultures across India. Today, telescopes are easily available and those belonging to the sub culture spend a lot of time studying the subject and sharing their findings. ”

Ghosh said that amateur a stronomers play as much of a role in unearthing the mysteries of the universe as professional researchers. To sustain this curiosity, sky watching events and exhibitions are held across the year at key places in the city. Abhijit Biswas, also from the Birla Planetarium, said that in July, there was an annual astrophotography workshop.

Experts say the amateur astronomy scene in Kolkata plays a big part in bridging gaps among the celestial-watching sub cultures across India​​

“While the light pollution in the Kolkata sky makes it difficult to see, the experience excites visitors who want to try sky watching and photography in locations at higher altitudes where there is less light,” he said. In April, the lawns of Victoria Memorial were studded with telescopes during a series of “astro nights” — the first such large-scale event after Covid which attracting a crowd from all age de mographics. The amateur astronomy circuit in Kolkata is perpetually evolving. While dozens of smallscale sky watchers’ groups have died out over time, new ones are constantly formi ng. Professor in astrobiology Santanu Roy set up an amateur astronomy centre in his South Dum Dum home before Covid. Having started his collection of telescopes in 2011, Roy’s home museum also showcases possibly the only solar telescope in Kolkata.

“A big factor which sustains our interest in the sky is the increasing notion that mankind’s time on Earth is limited, especially with global warming. There is an extreme need to engage in dialogues about what else is out in space. We come to realise that as a life form on Earth, we are quite insignificant in the larger scheme of the universe. And that is fascinating,” said Roy.

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“The joy of performing in Kolkata compares to no other city in the world,” said singer Iman Chakraborty.

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From Hindustani classical and resistance songs of the Indian People Theatre’s Association to jazz and film numbers — Kolkata has cultivated an ear for various genres. Growing up in Kolkata in the 70s, music director Prabuddha Banerjee noticed a prevalence of Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrulgeeti, as well as ‘adhunik’, film songs and ‘pujorgaan’. People would eagerly wait for songs by Sudhin Dasgupta, S D Burman, Salil Chowdhury, R D Burman, Nachiketa Ghosh, Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukherjee, Arati Mukherjee, Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Md Rafi. Western music was popular too. “But it was a bit esoteric. There was also live Hindi music that saw the likes of singer P Lal performing Mohammed Rafi numbers,” Banerjee said.

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Rishika Mukhopadhyay, lecturer at University of Southampton and co-investigator of the project, Urban Sensory Heritage of Kolkata Streets’, feels Kolkata offers a constellation of sounds, including nature (birds, dogs, rain), slogans in rallies, instrumental sounds like dhak at religious festivities and prayers like kirtans or azaans. “Kolkata’s sound culture is not limited to the public sphere and can be extended to private spaces, such as the kitchen or craft workshops, or even a music school. ”

Street vendors and their trade sounds are nothing new. Being the first city of the Empire in India and a flourishing metropolis, Calcutta was introduced to imported as well as home-grown products. The essential things used for religious and social activities constituted a large part of daily transactions. A few familiar products for hawking were food items, cheap jewellery, ropes, flowers, ice, bread, butter, fish, eggs and any item that could be carried in wicker baskets. The vendors even offered services, like ‘ripukarma’ or ‘dnater poka baar kori’.

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The mantle of Indians writing in English has sin ce been continued by many. Among the contemporary authors are Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Amit Chaudhuri, Kunal Basu and Neil Mukherjee to name a few. Among the younger ones, readers have warmed up to the works of Samit Basu, Indrapramit Roy and Abir Mukherjee.

(Clockwise from top left) Amitav Ghosh, Amit Chaudhuri, Mahasweta Devi, Jhumpa Lahiri​

Many believe Indian English poetry, too, began its journey from Kolkata from the days of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. The assistant headmaster of Hindu College is considered the first Indian Anglican poet. Others like Kashiprasad Ghosh, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sashi Chander Dutt, Aurob indo Ghosh, Sarojini Naidu, Rabindranath Tagore followed in his footsteps. “Derozio was not a great poet but his poems revolutionized the idea of modern poetry in Bengal and India. Madhusudan, a geni us, ushered in sonnets in Bengali and other Indian languages. Tagore took Bengali poetry to the zenith and almost every great Indian poet after him followed him in one way or the other,” said poet Subodh Sarkar. “Bengali poets participated not only in the Renaissance but also in the transition from post-medieval tradition to modern sensibilities in the 19th and 20th century. ”

​Bengal plays a major role in the literary space, contributing to the genesis of various genres in India​​​

Kolkata has hugely contributed to women authors. The works of Toru Dutt stand out internationally. Widely acknowledged as ‘India’s Keats’ who died at 21, Dutt was the first Indian to translate the works of 65 poets from French to English. British scholar Edward J Thompson, an associate of Tagore, had described Dutt as “a woman whose place is with Sappho and E mily Brontë, fiery and unconquerable of soul”. In his review of her ‘Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan’, he wrote, “These poems are sufficient to place Toru Dutt in the small class of women who have written English verse that can stand. ”

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Bengal played a pivotal role in moulding modern drama. “The first Bengali play, ‘Kuleenkulasarbasya’, was written by Ramnarayan Tarkaratna in 1854. Madhusudan wrote ‘Sharmistha’ in 1858. The next year, Dinabandhu Mitra began writing ‘Nil Darpan’. It was essential to the indigo revolt of 1859 in Bengal,” said author Prabal Kumar Basu.
Last year, Amar Mitra was a winner of O Henry Award for his ‘Gaonburo’, a Bengali short fiction written back in 1977 . Experts say Mitra carried the legacy of short story writing nourished in Bengal. “Although Tagore is credited with writing the first short stories in Bangla, many others, too, came close to the form. In the Bijit Ghosh-edited 10-volume anthology, ‘Banglar Chhoto Golpo’, there are more than a dozen writers predating Tagore who attempted writing short stories,” said Arunava Sinha , award winning translator of Bengali classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Ghosh’s list included William Carey’s ‘Bondhur Bikroy, Namaj Pora Brahman’, Mrityunjay Vidyalan kar’s ‘Tritiya Stabak Tritiya Kusum’, Bhawanicharan Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Phulbabu’, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s ‘Narak Kemon Sukher Sthan’, Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay’s ‘Swafal Swapno’, Purnachandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Madhumati’, Sanjibchandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Damini’, Bankimchandra’s ‘Jugolanguriyo’, Trailokyonath Mukhopadhyay’s ‘Gurudev’, Haraprasad Shashtri’s ‘Birohe Pagol’, Amritala l Basu’s ‘Rai-Grihini’, Swarnakumari Devi’s ‘Sanyasini’, Bipinchandra Pal’s ‘Mrinaler Katha’, Jaladhar Sen’s ‘Prayaschitto’, Tagore’s ‘Dena Paona’, Nagendranath Gupta’s ‘Ch irakumari’, Saratkumari Chowdhurani’s ‘Didima’, Kedarnath Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Chattujye-Sangbad’, Upendrakishore Roychowdhuri’s ‘Bhuter Golpo’, Mankumari Basu’s ‘Adrishtyo Chakra’, Shrini Devi’s ‘Bonbhojon’, Promotho Chaudhury’s ‘Nil Lohiter Sourashtra Lila’, Jagadananda Ray’s ‘Gohonar Baksho’ and Dinendra Kumar Ray’s ‘Adrister Porihas’. “Tagore’s first attempt at short story writing was ‘Bhikarini’ (1877). But he felt it did not meet all the criteria of a short story. His next works, ‘Ghater Katha’, ‘Rajpather Katha’ and ‘Mukut’, did not qualify as true short stories. But his fifth try, ‘Dena Paona’, should be recognized as the first try at short story writing in India. His ‘Postmaster’ took the form to a space beyond Be ngal,” Basu said. Sinha said the form of short story “flourished and found its true space in Bengal”. “Short story writers even now place themselves in the long tradition of short story writing of various Indian literatures. Looking back, they find Bangla short stories dominating. Most owe some allegiance to the original appearance of the short story in Bangla,” said Sinha.
Subodh Sar kar remembers in Kerala, he had once met a boy, named Saratchandra. “I was surprised to hear such a name in Kerala. I was told Saratchandra was such a popularly translated author in India that it was common to find many readers naming their sons after him even now,” he said. Sinha pointed out most translated literature in India was in Bengali. “This is a historically proven fact. Not just Saratchandra, but others, like Tagore and Bhibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, were read by readers in their own languages across India as their own literature . They didn’t think of that as having originated in other languages. The true success of the translation project lies there,” Sinha said.

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Much of the richness of children’s literature in India can be attributed to three generations of the Ray family — Upendrakishore, Sukumar and Satyajit. Translations of Feluda stories contributed majorly to the popularit y of the detective genre in India. “Priyanath Mukhopadhyay, who was a detective in Kolkata during the British era, is considered a pioneer in mystery fiction writing in Bengal. He wrote ‘Darogar Daptar’ in 1892. Followed by his success, Sarachchandra Sirkar published a series, ‘Goenda Kahini’. Dinendranath Roy wrote over 100 detective stories. Hemendra Kumar Roy followed with his ‘Jayanta-Manik’ stories. Shara dindu Bandyopadhyay created Byomkesh Baksi. Buddhadeva Bose, too, wrote a few detective stories. Then, there are gems like Samaresh Basu’s Gogol, Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Kakababu, S uchitra Bhattacharya’s Mitin Mashi and Nihar Ranjan Gupta’s Kiriti Roy,” Basu said.

​(From top) Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay​​​

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From the golden age of the modern period of writing, other well-known writers who have been tran slated widely include Buddhadeva Bose, Sankar, Mahasweta Devi, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Ashapurna Devi, Samaresh Basu, Bani Basu, Manoranjan Byapari, Sangeeta Bandyopa dhyay and Anita Agnihotri. With the popularity of authors, like Buddhadeb Guha, Samaresh Mazumdar, Premendra Mitra, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Bimal Mitra, Joy Goswami, Mallika Sengupta and Srijato, booklovers believe soon, their translated works will gain readership in other parts, too. “I have been moved by the works of Jagadish Gupta, Bimal Kar. Premendra Mitra’s ‘Telenapota Abishkar’ has not been translated. My Sahitya Akademi awardwinning novel, ‘Dhruboputra’, too, is not translated. Bengali literature needs to be translated and presented well. If done properly, it can bring home another Nobel,” said author Amar Mitra.

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These tech-savvy boys and girls use words and rhythm to express their resentment against what they feel ‘stifling social order’, highlight violence in different strata, and talk of the pros and cons of Kolkata. While most of the lyrics are in Hindi, Urdu, English, for a broader reach, some composers choose Bengali, too. An online browse throws up videos of artists, clothed in long tees, flashy snapbacks, coloured shades, thick chains, ripped jeans, canvas shoes and jackets, belting out rhythmic songs, accompanied by spirited dances. The backdrop is mostly a deserted alley or a roof top or an empty train compartment or a crowded bus near the Howrah bridge.

Rajsikha Kori, aka Femcee Frosty, packs girl power in the male-dominated rapper community. She started off in 2011, when not many girls of her age were keen on rap music. Eminem, Tupac and Nas are inspirations for Kori, but she says she learnt the “true meaning of hip hop” from K-Krew, the pioneers of Kolkata rap movement since 2007. “I want to put Kolkata on the global map. I am known for my international collaborations,” said Kori. “My songs are of hope through which I promote cross-cultural exchange among nations. In my song ‘Remember Me’, I worked with an Iranian girl who sang the Persian hook and a Spanish rapper who complemented my Hindi verses. ”
It was during the lockdown that Kori released her last album, ‘Quarantine Connection’, which has eight tracks, featuring more than 20 artistes who sang in over 10 languages. “I reached out to a Latvian opera singer and a Hungarian vocalist for my first track. I also collaborated with a German girl who raps in Swiss-German and an American beat-maker for the title track,” she said. “It’s important to be innovative and to collaborate with global talents. ”

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‘Raja Oedipus’, 1964 and (left) Utpal Dutt’s ‘Tiner Talowar’

This history has later seen seminal works by playwrights, directors and actors, including Dinabandhu Mitra, Dharmadas Sur, Girish Chandra Ghosh, Amritalal Basu, Binodini Dasi, Rabindranath Tagore, Sisir Bhaduri, Satu Sen, Bijan Bhattacharya, Shombhu Mitra, Tripti Mitra, Utpal Dutt, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay, Keya Chakraborty, Sobha Sen, Ketaki Dutta, Badal Sircar, Saoli Mitra, Bibhas Chakraborty, Rudraprasad Sengupta, Manoj Mitra and Arun Mukhopadhyay. This legacy has been carried forward by thespians, like Ramaprasad Banik, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Meghnad Bhattacharya, Debasish Mazumdar, Ashok Mukhopadhyay and Usha Ganguly. The baton is being taken forward by Bratya Basu, Debesh Chattopadhyay, Kaushik Sen, Suman Mukhopadhyay, Debshankar Haldar, Goutam Ha lder, Sohini Sengupta, Anirban Bhattacharya, Sudipta Chakraborty, Arpita Ghosh, Kaushik Chattopadhyay, Abanti Chakraborty, Seema Mukhopadhyay and Manish Mitra among others.

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The city recently 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.
The event opened with a performance by the unrestrained guitarist Dilip Dutt, accompanied by another exceptionally talented guitarist, Aritro Ghosh. Adding to the magic was Prabuddha Banerjee on the harmonica, guitar, and backing vocals. Together, they set the tone for the night with their electrifying performance.

The second day saw an amalgamation of Eastern and Western Music. The performance featured Joy Shankar on folk and Soumya Dasgupta on guitar, blending their distinct styles to create a unique sound that captivated the audience. Especially the guitar playing of Soumya Dasgupta was a class above the lyricism and spontaneity found in traditional playing.
The third evening was special as the performers included Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s great-grandson Atif Ali Khan and Shiladitya Chakraborty, both from the Kasur Gharana on one side and singer-songwriter-composer Prajna Dutta on the other hand. What began with originals by Prajna soon turned into an open jam where classical met contemporary and together they transported the audience to a different level with their originals, bandishes, Ghazals, and Thumris. They were tastefully accompanied on the guitar by Gurmeet Singh.

The next evening saw another standout performance by Rishi Chakraborty and his team of traditional folk instrumentalists who played the Bangla dhol and dotara. The foot-tapping folk music played by Rishi and his team kept the audience thoroughly entertained and they were accompanied by Prajna on Kazoo and guitars and Aritro on guitars. The ghatam-vocal-guitar trio Sourav-Anasmita-Subhra gave a scintillating performance and regaled the audience with a wide range of genres from Sufi to soft rock. Their performance was full of energy, and the audience couldn’t help but groove to their beats. Ranjan Prasad continued the entertainment with his mix of folk and other songs. He ended the show by paying tribute to Harry Belafonte with his famous Bengali version of Jamaica Farewell, ‘Pother Prante.’

Subharaj Ghosh showcased his jazz improvisations, which were highly appreciated by the audience. Jazz influences were also heard in the instrumentals played by Soumya Dasgupta and his sons Aritra and Ahon, demonstrating the versatility of the performers and their class as exceptional musicians. Samadrita and Chandan took to the stage and sang some of the most popular songs composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, including ‘Hoyto tomari jonne’ and ‘Jibone ki pabo na’, accompanied by his son Soumya Dasgupta was a fitting tribute to the lineage of modern Bengali songs.

The festival was a celebration of world music and the diversity of genres on display highlighted the rich cultural heritage of the city. It was a platform for both established and upcoming artists to showcase their talents to a wider audience. And the grand finale of the festival on June 21 saw all the artists come together for a massive jam where all the different genres came alive in harmony. The festival was a testament to the power of music to unite people from different backgrounds and cultures, and it left the audience with a sense of euphoria and a deeper appreciation of the beauty of music.

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