Durga Puja at the ‘Bonedi’ Houses of Kolkata

Swati Mallik & Sayanti Poddar Every year in Bengal autumn brings a special message with it – the time for celebration has come once again! In Bengal, especially in Kolkata, there is a certain exuberance in the air… big hoardings obstructing almost every sight, huge pandels blocking roads and lanes, thematic lights along the city…

SEA FACING: Trip to Tajpur

Sayanti Poddar & Swati Mallik    “Which one do you prefer? Mountain or seaside?” In almost 10 out of 10 instances, we would not spare a single second to decide our preference. It has always been the mountains in the past, and so it would be in the future. Those foggy dreamy sights, those hair…

Monsoon in the Hills : Darjiling

SAYANTI PODDAR Darjiling, crowning the northern part of West Bengal, is also known as the ‘Queen of the Hills’. To some, though, the town might come across as congested and dingy, to others, the scenic beauty of this small hill town is so compelling that paying visit to this place becomes no less than a…

Offering Devotion Through Pain: The Act of Crucifixion during Charak

SWATI MALLIK & SAYANTI PODDAR West Bengal is rich in immense cultural diversity and the state bears witness to long histories of many ethnic, religious and linguistic communities. Different festivals, which are celebrated all through the year, testify to this considerable wealth of cultural diversity of the state. Charak Puja has its own special place…

A Glimpse into the Lives of ‘Anni’s (Buddhist Nuns) of Arunachal: Their Living and Sufferings

Sayanti Poddar & Swati Mallik The largest state of north-east India, Arunachal Pradesh, is the abode of some really significant Buddhist monasteries. Most important among them is the Tawang Monastery- largest in the country and second largest in Asia. Tawang city (elevation 10,000 ft) itself has a long tradition of nunneries called Ani Gomphas where…