This is the season when we feel compelled to give. We give our time at homeless shelters, buy bags of food for the hungry and write checks out to charities that help people in far-flung places. Sometimes, it’s difficult to choose an agency. Many of us are cynical about how effectively the money will be …
I met my dear friend Vijay Chowdhary when I was in the fifth grade. My brother and I went to school with Vijay and his sister Renu. They were Marwaris originally from Rajasthan who had settled in Bengal and I quickly became fascinated with facets of their culture that were, up until then, unknown to …
On my way home. It has been more than a year that I was in my beloved Kolkata. A feast and sore for the eyes all at once. An assault on all the senses. I feel the excitement of a bride to be. And of someone who, near death, fulfills every dream. I am minutes …
One of the quietest, most peaceful places in the heart of Kolkata is Mother House. The non-descript building can be easily missed. The entrance on Lower Circular Road is far from grand. But inside, nuns clad in crisp white saris with blue borders go about their business. The rooms are sparse but sparkling clean. And …
Thousands of deities are on their way to the banks of the Ganges in West Bengal today. The immersions have to be finished by Wednesday in the capital, Kolkata. Ma Durga, the goddess of strength, returns to Ma Ganga, the holiest of rivers. In the next few hours, murtis or images made from clay, wood, …
Finally. Someone in my beloved hometown came up with a brilliant idea: a bus tour of Kolkata. That may seem like a given to us here in America. We’ve all been on the duck tours of various cities or climbed to the top of a double decker for a tour along the Thames or boarded …
We’re used to bandhs in Kolkata. Bandh means close or stop in Hindi and usually refers to a labor strike of some sort. Kolkata, of course, is the heartbeat of West Bengal state, ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for more than three decades. The communists like labor strikes and we have plenty …
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