Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

Rabindranath Tagore was felicitated at Town Hall for the win of his Nobel prize by Kolkata Corporation, and now they're celebrating the 152 birthday of Tagore at Town Hall. The 4-day long musical programme inaugurated this afternoon where various artists of Bengal will perform Rabindra Sangeet and will recite Tagore's poems. The cultural programmes will run 5-8 May at 3pm and the only venue is Town Hall of Kolkata.--- A. B.

KKR or Pune Warriors? Who will win the match? All eyes are on 5 May, when the most prestigious match of the IPL5 will be played at Eden Gardens. CAB already announced that there are no tickets remained for the public. Even the Board wants the wicket must be neutral. The IPL officials think it is the final match. So the chairman of IPL and board secretary will watch the match. And both the team would not get their favourite wicket. Sourav already felt the heat and enthusiasm of Kolkatans around this match. But he didn't understand the reason of it. The CAB secretary cleared it to him that it is the match between Dada and Shah Rukh Khan to Kolkatans. Then Sourav remarked that his relationship with King Khan is as good as before. Several giant screen will be set up in the city. Among them, 2 at Chandpal ghat and Shahid Minar areas and others at Howrah Kadamtala, Shyambazar, Salt Lake, Goria, Behala, Ultodanga etc. However, Kolkata shall now wait and see the most sensation...

-- A. B.

Today is the 93rd birthday of legendary singer Manna Dey. We're proud to be with him. He loves music, he loves to sing still now. There are many reasons to love him, to love his songs. But, Kolkatans are proud of him for some particular reasons. First, Manna Dey born & brought up in Kolkata. And he get inspired by his uncle, another legendary singer K C Dey who escort him to Bombay for a future on national front. Secondly, in spite of his fame, he never forgets his mother-tongue and used to record each year evergreen Bengali songs. He also sang hundreds of memorable songs in Bengali films. Third, Manna Dey is one of those few singers who recorded so many songs in almost all the regional languages of India. Fourth, he is rated the best classical singer of Hindi films. And lastly, Manna Dey recorded 3500 songs from which almost all the songs are popular. Hence, in one word, Manna Dey is the name of a legend. A very popular name. Happy birthday Manna da! Many ma...

Satyajit Ray was born on 2 May, 1921 in Kolkata. His Calcutta Trilogy : Pratidwandi (The Adversary), Seemabaddha (Company Limited) and Jana Aranya (The Middleman) was based on Kolkata and he depicted the contemporary social, political, economic and individual status of the city through different stature of the characters. Take for example the unemployed youth of 'Pratidwandi' - disillusioned, but not corrupted. But, when he is an employee in the film 'Seemabaddha', he had to travel on the side-track of morality and urged to live better. And thus generated frustrated, deprived youth like 'Jana Aranya'. So, the link is there. But, as a film-maker, he never compromised with the cinematic value and so, the aesthetic excellence of Calcutta Trilogy is still worth watching. -- A. B.

A rare painting exhibition on forest conservation will held in Kolkata. Campaigns have been done on various forums, but rarely have they been routed through art. Forests, with all their natural splendour, colours and wildlife, will come alive on canvas at a unique painting exhibition at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture from May 15-20. Titled 'Earth Voices', the exhibition will have 45 paintings that catch various shades of nature, jungles and even jungle lore. They have been painted by Indian Forest Service officer V K Yadav and his wife Alka. The idea is to spread awareness about jungles and wildlife and sensitize people about the need to protect them, says Yadav. "We have got some brilliant artwork that brings alive the beauty of forests. They also carry a subtle message that won't be lost on the audience. If this inspires even a few to take interest in nature and wildlife and do their bit for conservation, we would have done our job,...

The 'Shahid Minar' or Monument would open to all from May and one would see the city from the top in exchange of nominal price. A German organisation completed the work of colouring the monument and they demanded that the colour is durable for about ten years. The Princep Memorial near the 2nd Hooghly Bridge will also be beautified and open to all for various purposes. As one can see the weekend cultural programmes in Vienna, Brussels or London, - the same would be organised surrounding Princep memorial. Stairs of grasses, city plaza will also be made here. At the Princep ghat memorial, by keeping the natural environment, various cultural programmes will be framed like European countries. In Vienna, the capital city of Austria, many common people spend weekend at one place, - the same purpose would be fulfilled near the bank of river Hooghly. Arrangement of foods would be like Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. And there would be ready-made stages - easily fo...