Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

Today I went to rural Bengal to watch the Saraswati Puja. I visited the Saraswati Puja mandaps and found them decorative  

 

 On 1st February in the year 1827, Bengal Club was founded in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Bengal Club Then: Bengal Club now: Epitomizing elegance and class, it is one of the social clubs in the world that outlasted its colonial founders and yet retained its majestic legacy- blending in modernity with tradition. Set up by a group of East India Company officials, the first president of Bengal Club was Lt Col J Finch. Military Secretary to Lord Combermere, Commander-in-Chief of the East India Company’s army and also the first Patron of the Club. His life-size portrait dating back to 1829, still adorns the Dining Hall wall. During those days membership was largely confined to senior military personnel and top administrators along with a few medical professionals. Only six merchants and heads or directors of banks find mention in the first roster with 141 names. The Club soon became the city’s favourite social club. The list of Presidents in the first 40 years includes some who’s who of British

  Sambad Prabhakar   was the brainchild of Ishwar Chandra Gupta. His patron was Jogendra Mohan Thakur of   Pathuriaghata . It began as a weekly newspaper launched on 28 January 1831 (16   Magh   1237BS).  As stated , Mr. Thakur was the backbone to this paper and his death caused the paper to close publication in 1832. In 1836, the newspaper was revived by Ishwar Chandra Gupta and appeared as a tri-weekly on August 10, 1836. The Thakurs of Pathurighata lent a helping hand to the paper again and in 1837 the  Sambad Prabhakar  became the first  Bengali language  daily on June 14, 1839. সংবাদ প্রভাকর ) was a  Bengali  daily newspaper founded by  Ishwar Chandra Gupta . It began as a weekly newspaper in 1831 and became a daily eight years later in 1839. It was the first Bengali daily newspaper.  Sambad Prabhakar  covered news on  India  and abroad and put forward its views on religion, politics, society, and literature. It was influential in the  Bengali Renaissance  and in building public s

  Jadunath Sarkar was an eminent Indian historian especially of Mughal Dynasty. He wrote several books on Aurangzeb. He was born on 10th December, 1870 in Natore, Bengal to Rajkumar Sarkar, the local   Zamindar   on 10 December 1870. [2]   In 1891, he graduated in English from   Presidency College, Calcutta . [2]   In 1892, he topped the   Master of Arts examination , in English at   Calcutta University   and in 1897, he received the   Premchand-Roychand Scholarship . [2] In 1893, he was inducted as a faculty of English literature at Ripon College,  Calcutta  (later renamed  Surendranath College ).In 1898, he was appointed at  Presidency College, Calcutta  after getting selected in the  Provincial Education Services . [2]  In between, from 1917 to 1919, he taught Modern Indian History in  Benaras Hindu University  and from 1919–1923, both English and History, at  Ravenshaw College ,  Cuttack .  In  1923, he became an honorary member of the  Royal Asiatic Society  of London. In August 1

  Son  of Nandalal Sarkar, a native of   Jaynagar , he was born in the house of his maternal uncle in   Netra   village of   South 24 Parganas   district, on 28 October 1866. His father came from an impoverished family in   Jessore   and later settled in   Jaynagar . Doctor and philanthropist Sir   Nilratan Sircar   was Jogindranath's elder brother. Jogindranath was a member of the   Brahmo Samaj . Jogindranath studied at Deoghar High School and was admitted to  City College , but was unable to complete his degree. Career and writings Edit He then began teaching at City Collegiate School, Kolkata, and became interested in writing children's literature at around the same time. He was adept at  nonsense verse . His work was published in various Bengali children's magazines, including  Sandesh . He was also the editor of the children's magazine  Mukul . Popular books include  Hasi Khushi  (1897), and his illustrated books of poetry  Khukumanir Chhada  (1899) and  Hasirashi