The Potters of Kumartuli – Where the Durga Puja Story Begins
Durga Puja, the annual worship of the Hindu Goddess Durga, is about to begin in Calcutta, India. The festival lasts the better part of a week and is embraced by…
383 Bose Lane, Kolkata, India
...there was no doubt that Calcutta produced more writers than Paris and Rome combined, more literary reviews than London and New York, more cinemas than New Delhi, and more publishers…
Fresh Flowers for a Goddess
I believe that the civilization India has evolved is not to be beaten in the world. Nothing can equal the seeds sown by our ancestry. Rome went; Greece shared the…
Of Entrances and Exits – What’s Behind the Green Door?
Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in....Aesop The stairs, the shaft of light, and…
The Rickshaw Wallahs of Kolkata, India
For most of us, it is difficult to watch a person being used as a beast of burden pulling another person and their belongings. It seems inhumane, all the more…
Images of India – Catching Up on the Morning News
A Kolkata man sits in front of his shop reading the morning newspaper. People in this huge country seem to be very interested in current events and politics and the newspaper is their main source of…
Images of India – Talk About Hard Work
The wholesale produce market in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India is in an ancient, cavernous building filled with vendors along narrow aisles. The produce arrives at the market by truck packed in huge…
Images of India – Rickshaw Wallah
A hand pulled rickshaw is probably one of the oldest forms of taxi service. Although using humans as beasts of burden is illegal throughout most of the world, including India, rickshaw…
Durga Puja, the Worship of the Hindu Goddess Durga, Returns to Calcutta, India (part 2)
The Durga Puja (Pujo in Bengali) is celebrated in various parts of India in different styles, but not on the grand scale of the Festival in Calcutta. This year's celebration will be…
Durga Puja, the Worship of the Hindu Goddess Durga, Returns to Calcutta, India (part 1)
The Durga Puja (Pujo in Bengali) is celebrated in various parts of India in different styles, but not on the grand scale of the Festival in Calcutta. This year's celebration will…