Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

Rare species of medicinal plants are in Kolkata. Satyendranath Jana, a Bengalee of the city, resident of Behala's Bakultala Raidighi has created a unique garden of rare medicinal plants at his house. He has collected these plants from various countries. Amongst them are: Brahma Kamal (Night Queen - The Lotus Of God), Bishalyakarani (The all-healing plant of Ramayana), Biriyani plant (The Sarbamashla plant of Andaman which has the smell of biriyani), Payes plant (The Annagandha plant which has the smell of payes - the food of God), Chini-Tulsi or Stibia from Australia (the leaf of this plant is 180 times sweeter than sugar), Hing, Rudraksha, Insulin plant etc. This 'Panchajanya' garden of medicinal plant has wonderful plants such as Insulin plant. In Kerala, it is a practice to make use this plant for production of insulin.You can see here the Jaifol tree of Kashmir (the Jaifol tree on the yard of Indian Museum is a gift by Sri Jana). Most of the plants of his...

Amar G Bose, the Indian-American visionary entrepreneur and acoustics pioneer, famous for making high-quality Bose audio systems and speakers for home users, auditoriums and automobiles, has died. He was 83. Bose's death was announced yesterday by his company Bose Corp's president, Bob Maresca, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Bose was on the faculty for more than 40 years. Bose died yesterday at his home in Wayland, Massachusetts. His death was confirmed by his son, Dr Vanu G Bose. "Dr Bose founded Bose Corporation almost 50 years ago with a set of guiding principles centred on research and innovation," Maresca was quoted by New York Times as saying in a statement. "That focus has never changed." Bose was born on November 2, 1929, in Philadelphia. His father, Noni Gopal Bose, was a Bengali freedom fighter who was studying physics at the Calcutta University when he was arrested and imprisoned for his opposition to British rule. Noni Gopal...

Rath-Yatra is not only the custom of Puri, Mahesh or any big cities, it is the tradition of centuries that remain within the lifestyle of rural Bengal. I observed the Rath-Yatra of Nalikul, one of the oldest area of Hooghly district, where the main profession of common people is cultivation. And as usual they observe traditional festivals earnestly. Rath-Yatra is one of them. -- A. B.

Bird lovers are watching various birds at the Rath Mela of Moulali Ramlila Maidan, Kolkata now, as usual like every year. -- A. B.

Last Wednesday, on the auspicious occasion of Rath-Yatra, a century-old 'bonedi' family of Jorasanko, performed the 'kathamo pujo' of goddess Durga at home. The picture was published on a newspaper. -- A. B.

Yesterday, on the auspicious day of Rath-Yatra, I visited the 600 year's temple of Lord Jagannath at Mahesh. When I entered in the premises of said temple, the devotees were engaged there to worship Lord Jagannath, along with Subhadra and Balaram. It was around 2 pm. After the rituals, the idols were taken to the 3-storied Rath standing outside on the road around 3:30 pm. -- A. B.

Yesterday, I went to Mahesh, the ancient village of town Serampore in Hooghly district, to observe the holy festival of Lord Jagannath - Rath yatra - the biggest after Puri, and grabbed the colourful hues of its vividness and enthusiasm amongst people of not only locale but across Bengal. It was so crowded that you can't imagine. I liked the day very much in spite of excessive heat and humidity in the air. -- A. B.