Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

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,&qu

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

The town Chandannagar of Hooghly district has many historical monuments of heritage. But those are under dilapidation due to lack of proper care and conservation. Nandadulal Jeu's temple is one of them. It was established by Indranarayan Chowdhury - the Izaradar of the then French Government under the regime of French Governor Duplé of Chandannagar in the year 1740. The roof is of 'do-chala' like a bow and there are only 2 temples of this style in West Bengal - one, this of Chandannagar and the other, 'Jor Banglo' temple of Bishnupur. Unfortunately, there are no idols in this Nandadulal temple. In the year 1756, English Admiral Watson through rivers and Robert Clive by road, attacked the French in a joint venture. The war is famous in history as War of Chandannagar. A 'gola' was fell on the temple and the sign is still there. Clive approached towards the basement (Paatal Ghar) of the temple in search of treasure. And he had to approach laid asi

Kolkata Zoo arranged something special for the only Red Kangaroo for summer. As other 3 imported last year died, the last one with a baby getting special care especially for the summer. All the three rooms have electric fans for the air, sufficient vegetables, drinking water and cold water for bath also for her. Moreover, special attendants are looking for the animal all the time. Hence, the zoo authority hope the rare animal may feel better in this hot weather of summer season. -- A. B.

Oh Calcutta: Daab Chingri, Gandhoraj Bhetki. Aheli: Postor Bora, Bhapa Chhanar Utsav. Cupiz: Chingri Macher Khichuri, Bhetki Macher Dom. 6 Ballygunge Place: Kankra Sorshe, Chitol Macher Muithya. Prince: Taki Macher Bhorta, Bhapa Ilish. Sonar Gaon: Run Sonar Gaon, Pabdar Jhol. Tero Parbon: Ilish Harogouri, Chingri Kobiraji. Bohemian: Kolmi Shaak Mutton, Gandhoraj Sufle. Jadab Chandra Das: Chocolate Doi, Chandrapuli. K. C. Das: Rossogolla, Labangalatika. Mrityunjoy Ghosh: Rosomundi, Koraishutir Kochuri. Nabakrishna Guin: Chanar Jilipi, Daler Bonde. -- A. B.

Third test match between India and England would be played at Eden Gardens from 5th November 2012. The first test would be started from 16 October in Ahmedabad. Second test in Nagpur and the fourth in Mumbai. The England cricket team will arrive India on 28 October. They'll play 5 ODI and 2 T-20 matches also. -- A. B.

Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee of Tollygunge, Kolkata acted in a Hindi film 'Shanghai' by successful Bengalee director Dibakar Banerjee. Prosenjit was hesitant to play in a Hindi film as he feels comfortable in Bengali films and didn't act Hindi films for the last 20 years. But, when Dibakar insisted him and assured him he wanted only Prosenjit, the actor accepted the role. -- A. B.

'Jamai' of Kolkata Amitabh Bachchan wishes to set up a college in actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's name at Daulatpur village in Fatehpur tehsil of Uttar Pradesh in courtesy of Big B's Sewa Sansthan.-- A. B.

Recalling the childhood days when used to awake by the chirping of sparrows on the doorsteps of verandah. They used to make nests into the hollow parts of beams of ceiling. But, surprisingly the sparrows gradually vanished from the growing cities. Now, they're coming back, merrily dancing around bedroom windows and creating a ruckus as the first rays of the sun hit the terrace. It was a common complaint that destruction of habitat, I mean the ventilators and cell phone signals had driven out these little friends. Then how they come back? One interesting cause could be the ability of these birds to adapt to the changing skyline of the city. Sparrows are now seen nesting on the pillars of flyovers, iron structures of hoardings and kitchens. It is true that sparrows and other smaller birds had became scarce in the city. But they didn't die out altogether. They shifted their locations. But, we're happy to see them again. People's Green Society, an NGO prepar

Today is the 40th birthday of Sachin Tendulkar. The city of joy Kolkata also celebrating Little Master's birthday with much enthusiasm. The paintings of Sachin displaying on Park Street. It's a token of love by a fan and well-wisher of Sachin. The fans of Kolkata also demanded on his happy birthday alongwith all the fans: 1. Tennis Elbow should be named 'Tendulkar's Elbow'. 2. ABC Corporation's box no. 9994 in respect of Don Bradman's 99.94 average; so, to honour Sachin's 100th 100, the AIR Post Box No. should be 100-100. 3. The 'boiling point' of water 100 degree centigrade in thermometer should be replaced by 'Tendulkars Point' in respect of make boiling 100 crore hearts by him. -- A. B.

65 inns will be established along national highways in a distance of 35-40 kms like highway motels of foreign countries to pave the way of much needed comfort and rest for the journey. -- A. B.

'Festival Of Children's Content' - the unique venture by National Book Trust for the childrens on this World Book Day in the city. Sabyasachi Chakraborty inaugurated the event today at Future Foundation School of Kolkata. Publishers' & Booksellers Guild is the co-organiser of this event and a 6-day long book fair is running at Rabindra Sadan. On this occasion, various workshops, inter-school competitions etc. will be organised. The festival will run upto 28 April from 4:30pm to 7pm daily. -- A. B.

Bengali film festival in London for the first time, at Harrow Arts Centre from 18-20 May 2012. Bengali film personalities like Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Rudraneel Ghosh, Paoli Dam, Swastika Mukherjee, Locket Chatterjee, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Aneek Dutta will present on the stage. The title, date & time (London time) of the films are:- Balukabela.com : (world premier) Saturday 19 May at 1pm. direction: Partha Sen, *ing Bratya Basu, Parambrata, Shashwata, Locket, Rudraneel. Egaro : Friday 18 May at 7:30pm. Direction:Arun Roy Aparajita Tumi : Saturday 19 May at 4pm. Direction: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, *ing Prosenjit, Padmapriya, Kamalini. Elar Char Adhyay : Saturday 19 May at 7pm. Direction: Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay, *ing Indraneel, Paoli Dam. Royal Bengal Rahasya : Sunday 20 May at 12pm. Direction: Sandip Roy, *ing Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Bhooter Bhobisyat : Sunday 20 May at 3pm. Direction: Aneek Dutta, *ing Parambrata, Swastika etc. Nobel Chor : Sunday 20 May at

It is summer. And hand-made fans are the hope of fresh air for rural folks. The rural artisans are now busy to make these fine attractive fans with palm leaves at their home. -- A. B.

Hundreds of singers across Bengal performed in the city during the last 10 days. Today is the closing function at Rabindra Sadan, in which more 4 veteran and popular singers of Bengal would be honoured with 'Sangeet Samman' (the honour in the field of music), they are: Juthika Roy, Madhuri Chattopadhyay, Jatileshwar Mukhopadhyay and Hoimanti Shukla. PS: The Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal felicitated the veteran singers of Bengal this evening with prestigious 'Sangeet Samman' at Rabindra Sadan. The popular singer of yesteryears Juthika Roy expressed her gratitude to receive the honour and sang a line of popular bhajan 'mohe chaakar rakho ji'. Then Madhuri Chattopadhyay sang 3 songs publicly after long time: 'tomai aamai pratham dekha' and 'oli omon kore noi'. Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Jatileshwar Mukhopadhyay, Banashree Sengupta, Hoimanti Shukla and other artists also rendered several popular songs on requests. On 12 April, the State

90% humidity reigning in Bengal for the last seven days. Summer temperature is normal in Kolkata and above normal in rural areas. But never faced so much humidity in mid-April. Normal life of the city hampering badly due to maximum humidity in the air. The people feeling very tired due to excessive perspiration. The body & soul getting exhaustion and enthu to work fading out. The weather office not seeing any hope to witness immediate rains or mitigation of humidity in the air. The cyclonic depression remained static in the coast of Bangladesh and the humidity bringing the wind from south India. When the western wind will blow, the hot wave will mitigate the humid weather.-- A. B.

The world-famous Baluchari sari of Bishnupur and tant sari of Shantipur & Dhaniakhali owned the patent. The artists in Bengal of these saris now would be benefited. -- A. B.

Statues of Satyajit Roy & U Roy would be inaugurated on 4 May, 2012 at 1pm at their Garpar house. Satyajit Roy's grandfather Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury (U Roy) was built the house in the year 1914 at Garpar in North Kolkata in a total area of 16 Kathas. The 3-storied house had a printing press owned by U Roy. There are 14 rooms in the house. Sukumar Roy, father of Satyajit Roy was born at this house and lived at first floor. In 1923, Rabindranath used to sing for Sukumar, beside his sick bed. After death of Sukumar Roy, Satyajit Roy was born in that house. In the year 2001, that house of 100A, Garpar Road was declared as heritage house. In the year 1927, a school was opened in that house named Athennium Institution. And the owner of the school purchased the house in the year 2007 from the owner with the help of many others. Half bust statue of Sukumar Roy was established in the house in 2008 to commemorate his 125 years of birthday. Now, the statues

Various mela or fair run in the first month of Bengal. Some of them: Bhagabati Mela - This fair use to organise in Bengal to pray for a good and auspicious year. Bhadreshwarnath-er Mela - Choitra Neel Sankranti to Boishakh Sankranti - a month-long fair being organise at Shiva temple of Bhadreswar in Hooghly district. Sandeswar-er Mela - This fair is being organised from last ten days of Choitra to first week of Boishakh at the Shiva temple of Chuchura in Hooghly district. Rath-er Mela of Akshoy Tritia - On the auspicious day of Akshoy Tritia, a chariot carrying idol of Annapurna use to go from the temple of Telini Para of Bhadreswar, to the Kangali ghat of river Ganga, where the fair run for the day. Noajon-er Mela - This fair is being organised at the village Natphare near Somra Bazar station of Hooghly district. Lord Shiva is the Noajon. Many palm fruits use to sell here, so the folks also call it Talshanser mela (the fair of palm fruits). -- A. B.

Dr. Amit Chakraborty invented the 'Active Natural Shield' (ANS) antibacterial formula recently. He is the ex of Indian Institute Of Chemical Biology of Jadavpur, Kolkata and now researching at Hindustan Unilever of Bengaluru. ANS is a unique technology. And under the leadership of Dr. Chakraborty, the scientists of the company invented a soap 'Lifebuoy Clini-care 10' with this new and more effective antibacterial formula. The whole world already recognised this formula. They claimed, this soap is ten times more effective than other soaps to kill bacteria.-- A. B.

'Europe In Love' is the theme of 17th European Film Festival organised by Cine Central, Kolkata. 25 films from the member countries of European Union will be screened during 20-28 April at Nandan and Max Müller Bhavan. -- A. B.

Banquet & restaurant in air-conditioned tram would be a gift to Kolkatans before Durga puja. Initially 4 trams will be air-conditioned out of which two trams would have banquet hall for throwing party. Interested parties would hire the trams. And the other two trams would have mobile restaurants. Moreover, water taxis would ply on river Ganga, to reach commuters quickly from suburbs to Kolkata. More petrol pumps would be established on the lands of government bus depots. All the blocks of Bengal would be connected with respective sub-divisions by bus. For this purpose, more 2000 buses would be needed. -- A. B.

-- A. B.

Today is the last day of Bangla year 1418 and tomorrow poila boishakh 1419 - the first day of Bangla new year. Wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. Enjoy the day with Bangla foods, songs and celebrate the new year with desired devotion, fun, frolic and respects. HAPPY NEW YEAR :) -- A. B.