My KOLKATA BLOG

In the year 1881, on this day, Rabindranath's 'Balmiki Pratibha' staged for the first time at Jorasanko Thakurbari in the presence of the then intellectuals of Kolkata. Rabindranath himself played the lead role as Balmiki. Pratibha - daughter of the poet's elder brother Hemendranath played as Saraswati; Akshoy Chowdhury - the first robber and the other robbers of the play depicted by Abanindranath and Arunendranath. The poet's 'Jyoti Dada' helped in the production. -- A. B.

Solitary cuckoo seen at Shibpur Botanical Garden, near Kolkata yesterday - that means advent of spring in the city. -- A. B.

On this Day, in the year 1873, the first horse driven tram carriage service was started in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street via Boubazar Street, Dalhousie Square, Customs House and Strand Road. This service was wound up on 20 November due to lack of adequate patronisation. This life size model of horse driven tram can be seen at City Centre of Kolkata. -- A. B.

Enthusiastic cricket lover loved to cut hair to adorn his head with World Cup Cricket 2011 in Howrah near Kolkata. This picture was taken from a published photo on local newspaper. -- A. B.