Promoted by the TOI group, Radio Mirchi (RM) is hot on the trail of grabbing maximum ad revenues. And you know who are its likely competitors? The print media. Surprised! Better not. Yesterday’s ET sports a quarter-page ad on the front page that pits RM against the formidable and well-entrenched ABP group. Agreed RM and […]

There is a pretty long history to it. No, I’m not referring to the British era when the canals used to be put to good use. Everybody knows Kolkata’s canals used to look like unshaven, uncouth backyard sewerage drains not long back. I’ve the misfortune of writing on the plight of canals in an earlier […]

Those who remember the early morning shootout on Jan 22, 2002 in front of Kolkata’s American Center, would recall how the cops posted there went into prompt hiding in the face of raining bullets. The reason was obvious. None could muster sufficient courage and alertness to counter the attackers, let alone taking a good aim […]

Who would know the third Sunday every June is the international father’s day! Not me, the least of all. Concerned mostly with how the next penny will come from writing, I’m decidedly not the candidate to remain abreast of occasions such as this. But could I overstep what had to happen this Sunday? No luck. […]

As such driving on Kolkata roads is nothing short of nightmare. Roads are narrow, traffic uncompromising. Potholes and bumps figure prominently in long list of woes, jaywalking is another hurdle to negotiate. Since road space is pathetically small (only about 6% of total city area) and therefore traffic density alarmingly high, there is always a […]

[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 […]