Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

The house of Harachandra-Pratapchandra of 27, Varanasi Ghosh Street is a heritage house as per the record of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The gate of the left pic is declared heritage, but under dilapidation. Pratap was fond of Buddhism. So he had decorated the house with images of Buddha and other symbols. The idol of Buddha on the top of gate is missing, other images in the right pic are now dilapidated. Hence the question is, whether we will look at the ruining of this 19th century heritage or take steps to conserve it?

Marble Palace is a palatial nineteenth-century mansion in North Kolkata. It is located at 46, Muktaram Babu Street, Kolkata 700007. It is one of the best-preserved and most elegant houses of nineteenth-century Calcutta.[1] The mansion is famous for its marble walls and floors, from which its name derives. Because Marble Palace remains a private residence, photography is prohibited. Entry is free, but a permit must be obtained 24 hours in advance from the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau at BBD Bag, Kolkata. Inside the house, there are guides who give visitors a tour of the house, although the parts of the house which are still inhabited remain off-limits. Marble Palace is open from 10am to 4pm on all days except Mondays and Thursdays.But it is hazardous for visitors who want to see the palace without much effort. So ticket system should be initiated in the palace as there in other palaces of the country.

Theme maker Subrata Bandyopadhyay has taken the job to prepare the Durga Puja of Shib Mandir (Lake Road), Suruchi Sangha (New Alipore), Tangra Ghol Para. Shib Mandir: Blend of myth and science - The horrid aspect of human clone depicted under Hindu mythology would be prepared in the Pandal. 10 ft high 'Rakta-Beej' demon will be made by iron rods and pieces of tins, the demon will carry weapons of cloaning - structure of DNA. Malpractice of it may endanger the life. So the theme of Shib Mandir is : 'stop human cloaning'. The idol of goddess Durga would be made of clay and traditional as well. Suruchi Sangha: Water pollution is the theme of this year. Pollution of a coastal area somewhere in western part of the country. Reveal the power of Kundalini is the theme of Tangra Ghol Para. The Kundalini circle would be of 100 ft long. The top of the pandal would be in the shape of a fang. 25 reddish lotuses made of tin would be on the surface of snake. The idol of Durga wo...

BJ Block of Salt Lake Durga puja committee performed the 'Khuti pujo' today. The theme of this year's Durga puja is 'Old Calcutta'.

A city based NGO in association with Rotary.International is on the verge of setting up a series of feeding stations for Kolkata's resident bird population, which includes such species as the Jungle Babbler (Chatare), Oriental Magpie Robin (Doel), Bulbul, Common Mynah (Shalik) and Tailor Bird (Tuntuni). The plan is to dig a large trench in a park. They'll dump vegetable waste from the local market into this trench and mix manure into it. The garbage will be covered up and in two weeks time, maggots and worms will form. The birds will feed on these. Former bird-catchers will be employed to attract the birds to the Parks, because they can imitate most bird-calls.

A joy ride on balloon would be the new attraction of the city soon. The big hot air balloon would fly and reach at the height of 500 ft from where a group of people will observe the city with a bird's eyes. The service will be installed at Rabindra Sarobar. One have to pay Rs 100 only to ride. The administration willing to start the joy ride before Durga Puja. If it is implemented it will be the second in the country. Recently a balloon ride has been started at Kankaria Lake of Ahmedabad.-- A. B.

25 July 2012 : A 2-day long seminar on the occasion of 100 years of the great film-maker Antonioni would be inaugurated today at 4pm at Nandan-2 after the screening of his film 'Red Desert'. The title of the seminar is 'Antonioni Today : Views and Reflections'. The participants are : Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, Shamik Bandyopadhya. Two other famous movies of Antonioni - Zabriskie Point and Blow-Up will be screened also. The programme has been organised by the assistance of Consulate General Of Kolkata, Italian Cultural Institute of New Delhi and Nandan.

For the first time, the prestigious Mahanayak Uttam Kumar award would be initiated today on this 32nd death anniversary of the matinee idol of Bengalees. The function of award giving ceremony will be held at Science City Auditorium from 5pm onwards. Soumitra Chattopadhyay, Supriya Devi, Sabitri Chattopadhyay would be given Lifetime Achievement Award. Mithun Chakraborty will be awarded with the prestigious Mahanayak Samman 2012. Special film award for acting and direction would be given to Aparna Sen. Moreover, 46 other actors, musicians, film directors, cinematographers, story and script writers, art directors would be awarded by the name of Uttam Kumar. They are: actor Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, Anjana Bhowmic, Sumita Sanyal, Sandhya Roy, Dipti Roy, Sabita Basu, Lalita Chattopadhyay, Lily Chakraborty, Mousumi Chattopadhyay, Debashri Roy, Shatabdi Roy, Rituparna Sengupta, Indrani Halder, Haradhan Bandyopadhyay, Biswajit Chattopadhyay, Nirmal Kumar, Ranjit Mullick, Dipankar Dey...

Castelao's book of sketches and jokes recently published in the city in 3 languages - Spanish, English and Bengali. Title of Bengali version - Jibaner Saat Satero : Nirbachito Prasanga. It was published by Manfakira. Alfonso Daniel RODRÍGUEZ DE CASTELAO (30 January 1886 – 7 January 1950), also known as Castelao, was a Spanish writer on Galician language and one of the main symbols of Galicia. As a politician, caricaturist, and writer, he is one of the leading figures of Galician culture and identity. In 1886, Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez de Castelao was born on 30 January in Rianxo, Galicia, Spain. Castelao spent his childhood and adolescence in Santa Rosa de Toay, Argentina. In 1900, the Castelao family returned to Rianxo. In 1908, he obtained his degree in Medicine from the University of Santiago de Compostela. The next year, he passed his doctorate in Madrid, where he started to become known as a caricaturist, and settled down in Rianxo, joining the poli...

Rituals of Khuti Pujo of 95 Pally, Jodhpur Park Durga Puja, observed yesterday. Celebrities of Tollywood were the main attraction there. Actor Soham, Shrabanti, Nusrat, director Raj Chakraborty, poet Joy Goswami, author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, football coach Chuni Goswami, alongwith many political personalities were the guests at the function. Crowds applauded when Soham and Raj played Dhak. Delicious Bengali foods like Luchi, Alur dom and Khichuri were the refreshments. 62 year's Durga Puja of 95 Pally will be created by theme maker Sanatan Dinda. -- A. B.

On 32nd death anniversary day of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar, a festival of his films would be inaugurated at Nandan - 1 (24 July-30 July). Date, Film & Show time: 24 July 2012 : Ora Thake Odhare (3pm); Jeevan Jiggasa (6pm); 25 July 2012 : Sagarika (3pm); Sathihara (6pm); 26 July 2012 : Sadanander Mela (3pm); Anthony Phiringi (6pm); 27 July 2012 : Mayamriga (3pm); Ami Se O Sakha (6pm); 28 July 2012 : Deya Neya (3pm); Sabyasachi (6pm); 29 July 2012 : Sannyasi Raja (3pm); Harano Sur (6pm); 30 July 2012 : Nishipadma (3pm); Saptapadi (6pm). Tickets: Rs 20, 30, 40 (at hall, from 12pm-7pm). An exhibition of rare still photos of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar by Nemai Ghosh, will be held at Nandan - 4 from 2pm to 7pm. The film festival would be organised by Shilpi Sansad to help the needy artists. -- A. B.

Today is the inauguration of 150th birthday of poet D L Roy (Dwijendralal Roy). A cultural function on this occasion would be organised at Rabindra Sadan from 5pm onwards of this evening by the government of West Bengal. A new modern complex (Dhana Dhanye Cultural Complex) would be established in front of D M Campus at Alipore, where Amphi-theatre, car parking facilities etc will be provided. This cultural complex would be of international standard and second after Science City. We are proud that this complex will recall the great poet D L Roy by his most famous poem 'Dhana Dhanye'. -- A. B.

'Ucutna' of Mexico, 'Arizona' of Greenland or 'Caravan Cost' all of these are the famous caves of the world. If you want to experience these caves without any hassle, then go to Science City. The Space Theatre here showing amazing 3D documentary - 'Journey Into Amazing Caves'. The hall is 3D, so you need not to wear 3D spectacle. The show is on from today for the next 6 months. Show time: 9 shows daily from 11:30 am to 6:30 pm. -- A. B.

River Ganga - the life of Kolkata, the life of fishermen. The attraction of river is unrestrained. Hence, go back to float on water, go back to sail again. -- A. B.

Durga Puja 99 days to go. So, clay artists of Kumortuli are now very busy to progress the work before the onset of full-fledged monsoon. -- A. B.

Durga Puja - the big festival of Bengal use to observe in abroad also. Here is the idol of goddess Durga ready to fly from Kumortuli to South Africa next week. -- A. B.

Kadambari Devi was the Bou-Thhan of Rabindranath - but only 2 years older than the poet. She was born on 5 July, in the year 1859 and wedded to Jyoti Dada of Rabindranath - Jyotirindranath Thakur - only at the age of nine. She first stepped in the house of Jorasanko after marriage, with her husband Jyotirindranath, on 5 July 1868, which was also her birthday. Within her short span of life, she captured a permanent place in the heart of young poet Tagore, which the famous poet nurtured softly till his death. Bou-Thhan Kadambari was the friend, philosopher & guide of adolescent Rabindranath. The poet used to read the new poem before Bou-Thhan, and seek her advice/comments. Kadambari was gladly accepted the job and inspired the poet to write new poems. The evenings of summer days were used to decorate by the starry sky and wet garlands of fresh jasmines. They used to spend the evenings on the open roof-top; sometimes, Jyoti dada accompanied them. By this way, a lonely br...

EURO-WorldCup-EURO : Hat-trick of Spain in a row. So, the winning smile obviously on the eyes of Spanish fans. -- A. B.

Sprinkle of this morning, wetted the roads of city. -- A. B.