Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘The Broken Home’ (Nastanirh): Chapter 2
By Lopa Banerjee
In the evening, when Charu became infuriated to the point of complete silence, Amal discreetly dropped from his pocket a hand-written note.
Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘The Broken Home’ (Nastanirh): Chapter 1
By Lopa Banerjee
Bhupati was young, passionate about his editorial work, current affairs and world politics to the point of addiction, and there was no dearth of people to arouse his passion for dissenting on an everyday basis.
Nirbhaya and Korpan Shah: Two Stories, Two Trajectories
By Nandini Ghosh
Korpan, on the other hand, is just the opposite of all that Nirbhaya represented – a mentally ill man, with little education and no stable job, hence with very few aspirations in life. Moreover, the aspersion of theft of a mobile phone made him more culpable for the crime he was accused of. It is almost believable that a mentally ill man with little money would be prone to committing such a crime.
Jana-Sanskriti: Theatre of the Oppressed
By Amartya Banerjee
Jana-Sanskriti, has been working in these areas since the mid-1980s and through its untiring efforts, it has been able to instill a sense of belonging, a sense of responsibility amongst the people. This responsibility refers to the belief that things and situations will not change if one gives up hope. It will change only when they themselves unite in their efforts and harness the collective energy for constructive work.
Natasha Raheja’s ‘Cast in India’ (2014)
By Mosarrap H. Khan
Natasha’s film works on two different registers: first, it reveals to us the extensive labor infrastructure and social life behind the everyday objects that we encounter in the built environment of the city, thereby highlighting our own alienation in modern life; second, it exposes the hazardous working conditions that are masked by the shiny surfaces of our great metropolises.
Out of Touch? How this Response to Hokkolorob at Jadavpur University Distracts from its Graded Social Dynamics
By Joyeeta Dey & Anushka Sen
The movement protesting police violence against students in Jadavpur University, Kolkata, is right now in its most vulnerable position. The marching has calmed, a high court order aimed at restoring “normalcy” to the campus has been implemented, the issue is beginning to fade from television and the public imagination, while, in all this time, not a single demand of the protestors has been met.
Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy: Celebrating Life Through the Vision of Death
By Lopa Banerjee
Exuding a raw energy and supreme power of art, the entire Apu trilogy, on the surface level, traces the epic journey of the protagonist, Apu, from his impoverished rural boyhood to his years in Baranas and Calcutta and, finally, to his marriage and fatherhood. On a more metaphysical plane, the three films depict the unique life of the protagonist in various stages, repeatedly facing deep spiritual questions centered round the vision of death.
Left’s Debacle in West Bengal in 2014: Who’s Responsible?
By Prasenjit Bose
The problems afflicting the Left, especially the CPI(M), today are manifold. The rank and file needs to come out of the denial mode and realize that perhaps for the first time in history, the CPI(M) and, indeed, the entire Indian Left, is faced with an existential crisis.
Book Review: Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘The Lowland’
By Achyut Dutt
Indian women, those days, didn’t feel sane unless they were battered in some way, even if it was by their own child. Is it perhaps universal with women everywhere? The more you treat a woman like dirt, the more she adores you and thinks you’re cool? I saw this in my own mother as a child and took full advantage of it.
Photo-Essay: Bauls and Fakirs at the Joydev Kenduli Mela
By Md. Intaj Ali
A Photo-Essay on the Bauls and Fakirs at the Joydev Kenduli Mela, Birbhum, West Bengal, India.
Film: An Overview of the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF)
By Rafikul Islam
Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, presided over the inauguration. Sukalyan Bhattacharya choreographed Down Memory Lane, which showcased 100 years of Indian Cinema. Dev and Koel felicitated Big B. Ranjit Mallick gave the inaugural speech. In the opening ceremony, a clipping of Brand Bengal was screened.
Book Review: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland
By Bina Shrestha
Jhumpa Lahiri does it again what she does best: vivid description of emotions, relationships, lifestyle in the simplest of language. She brilliantly describes the daily lives of a Bengali family, from the nitty-gritties like eating fish-stew made in mustard and chilly-paste ground on a stone slab, to the purposelessness of the Naxalite movement that claimed many innocent lives.
