[First posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2006] It reminds me of a tv ad that shows an egg accidentally dropped, turning into an instant omelet on the bonnet of a car stranded in a Mumbai thoroughfare on a sizzling afternoon. Kolkata isn’t that hot yet, but uncomfortably warm for February. Sunday’s temperature climbed to 38.1 […]
A bizarre story
[First appeared on Monday, February 20, 2006] If anything can be truly grotesque, then this must be it. It all started when one Abhijit Lahiri applied for advance bail at the High Court that came up for hearing recently. His crime was simple enough, he had 2 years back ‘lived together’ with his wife who […]
Rabindra Sadan
[First published on Friday, February 10, 2006] Whenever I set foot on Rabindra Sadan metro station, my eyes wander off to either side of the platform. On the walls across railway track, big white panels display Tagore’s writings in both Bengali and English. Immaculate and soul-searching, the writings let you discover the exceptional creative power […]
Swirling angel
[First posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006] Who would have thought that restoring a 3-tonne bronze angel atop Victoria Memorial, one of the finest monuments of Kolkata, to its former glory would need a court reprimand? Yet, such was the apathy that until the court intervened (thanks to Subhas Datta of Howrah Democratic Citizen’s Forum), […]
Cradling New Town
[First appeared on Sunday, February 05, 2006] New Town, to the east of Kolkata, is where the city is headed in its eastward drive. Action Area II & III of New Town need land development before amenities are built, and handed over later to prospective owners. The task of filling low-lying lands is mammoth and […]
Ways of almanacs
[First published on Friday, February 03, 2006] Going by two prominent Bengali almanacs (panjika), Saraswati Puja falls on 2 days this year. Today (Feb 3) is second day, being followed by most. A holiday today, it’s convenient too. One gets to enjoy 3 days off. Plus the ambience lingers longer. Not that school-goers have any […]
Festival of Bengali sweets
[Posted first on Wednesday, January 11, 2006] At the crossing of AJC Bose Road and Chowringhee Road, across glass façade of Exide’s corporate office, beckons Haldirams’, a popular destination of sweet lovers. As you step inside, door opened for you by a guard in uniform, the din outside fades and a world of spaciousness greets […]
Kolkata 2005
[Appeared on the last day of 2005, Saturday, December 31, 2005] As 2005 draws to a close, here’s an opportunity to mull over issues that affected Kolkata most in the past year. Opinions would vary, but perhaps few will disagree that Sourav’s unceremonious omission from both captainship and playing eleven should rank at the top. […]
The lucrative trap of ITES
[First written on Monday, December 26, 2005] On Dec 24, the VC of Jadavpur University said the mushrooming of call-centers and BPO outfits representing big transnational companies do not augur well for aspiring candidates in the long run. Speaking at the 50th convocation of the university, he cautioned that in return for handsome salary and […]
Schools extraordinaire?
[First posted on Sunday, December 25, 2005] Some time back I was called upon to design the website of an upcoming elite school. The businessman-owner I spoke to had earlier run a computer institute. To give an essence of what the website should be like, he explained that ‘his’ school would be a ‘center of […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Next Page »