The spring is on a spree in the city of joy, Kolkata. But for some the joy is a tryst with destiny on islands of solitude that the Chinatowns of Kolkata are turning into. The dwindling Chinese community in Kolkata is cherishing the Chinese New Year with a sense of anonymity, profound more than ever. Apart from pandemic, what adds to the gloom is the evolving sense of being identified as the ‘other’ by inhabitants of a city they have resided in for last 250 years. Amar Kolkata… The spirit of Kolkata is a manifestation of harmonious coexistence of people…
Author: Debanwita Banerjee
Bengalis celebrate ‘baro mase tero parbon’, thirteen major festivals in 12 months. The ‘poush parban’ is one of the thirteen festivals Bengalis celebrate. They celebrate the homecoming of ‘aman dhaan’ or winter paddy along with ‘Nolen Gur’, the sweetest sweet of Bengal, prepared by boiling date palm extract. In earlier days, ‘Poush’ month in Bengali calendar was considered the first month. Due to the fear of epidemic in summer, the winter paddy was considered blessing and fortune in earlier days. They used to store the winter paddy in very low quantity for emergency seed sowing. Nolen Gur or date palm…