#kolkata tag

[kaalbela]

Bidhannagar Mela, Kolkata.

[zeherili-ankhein]

Fuck you all

Kolkata Biriyani is the best

[randomlyblue]

বাঙালির দূর্গা পুজো

[jukti-torko-golpo]

Looking back at the pujos of yesteryears.... A mobile camera can capture such beautiful memories.

[theamoristwriter]

गुलाबी

15/6/23 🌸

[arachneofthoughts]

এক ফালি ইতিহাস

A Slice of History

So my father went to the Kolkata International Bookfair or any Bangali's favourite Boimela. He saw a stall of Sulekha inks...The Sulekha inks and of course he had to explore.

Let me share with you a brief history of Sulekha....

Around 1932 Satish Das Gupta, an ex-chemist of Bengal Chemicals prepares Swadeshi ink, names it Krishnadhara and sells it through Khadi outlets. He then hands the recipe over to Maitra brothers Shankaracharya and Nani Gopal and asked them to make the ink commercially and call it Sulekha ( there is also a story which claims Kobiguru Rabindranath Thakur gave them the name সুলেখা or Sulekha ). After years of an illustrious journey they closed around 1990 and then reopened in 2006.

So my father purchased three things. Two inks and a notebook.

The first ink is a blood red ink called সেলাম ( Selaam or Salaam ). It was made as a gift to Bangladesh commemorating The Language Movement ( ভাষা আন্দোলন ). At first 21 bottles were gifted as a tribute to 21st February. And the creator of the ink mixed in a drop of his blood in the first 21 bottles. Then the ink became popular and was manufactured more. It is a beautiful red colour...and every drop of this ink holds in it the memories of every drop of blood shed for my beloved Bangla Bhasha.

The second ink is a vibrant green. Coloured just like the green of India's Tiranga. This ink was formulated on the day after India's Independence. It is called Swadhin or স্বাধীন.

The third is a notebook made in collaboration with jamini Ray's family. And I absolutely love that notebook.

[thatchaoticdesigirl]

It's that time of the year again...

The city has been cleansed with the after showers of monsoon. Blue sky peeking through fluffy clouds resembling the cotton candy carried by the street vendors. The smell of durga puja coming in through the open windows. Standing outside Kumortuli is a small smiling face in shabby clothes and dirty hair. The departure of idols might be significant for the whole city, but not for the little boy whose father will be coming home after months of crafting the inanimate joy that would fill the city for the next 10 days.

The single mother spent her bonus on the little piece of jwellery she had seen her daughter longingly looking at in Gariahat. The transferred father took a few extra days off. A son remembered his father on the banks of the Ganges, while the recently widowed woman longingly glanced at the idol's red saree. They felt what the poets may describe as peace and happiness but for them it was just plain old durga puja.

She arrived with her children, shaking the whole city from its slumber, a ray of hope within the gloomy times. Every year she arrives with the same smiling face and listens to all our problems. To the lost boy trying to find his place in society, to the queer person trying to figure out why they were wrong, to the girl who never saw her father after that day in court, to the lady who never knew what happened to her daughter the night she went out with her friends. Lives filled with tragedy after tragedy lie at Maa's feet asking for a way ahead. Maa listens. She gives them hope and sometimes tragedies do go away. The boy lands a job while the queer person is invited back to their family. The girl recieves a gift from her father while the lady cries at the station,report in hand. Maybe not happy endings, but closure. That's what Maa gives. Hope is just the surface of the abyss of our mind which actually seeks closure.

The bright lights and bamboos wrapped in colourful clothes stand as a symbol of the hardwork of all those people who worked relentlessly to make this festival a pathway to overcome tragedy. The people live another day to fight, blessed by Maa.

At the break of dawn on Mahalaya, someone replaces the oxygen with adrenaline, and for 10 days, the city does not sleep.

[pomegranateandcoffee]

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old bollywood, hindi music, south asian cinema, urdu literature, bengali literature, pakistani pop culture, fashion and textile, culture and heritage etc

@pyarkanaghma

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[bengalicinemapoll]

[enigma-the-mysterious]

Kohli's 49th century came in my hometown 🥹 Itni khushi 🤌🏽

[kaalbela]

We are with you people of Palestine, as always.

Pro-Palestine protests in Kolkata, November '23.

[madhumoiselle]

went to my first pride walk with my partner today. such a beautiful day.

[ek-ranjhaan]

Durga Puja

So pretty,

So dramatic,

So aesthetic.

[jukti-torko-golpo]

মা আসছে...

When pujo vibes hit...it hits hard.

[theamoristwriter]

13/4/23 🌸

@thatlostmoonchild

[thatchaoticdesigirl]

I think durga puja is a lot about hope. A hope that everything will be alright. Today's generation does not have it easy. Each and every person fights their own battles, fake smiles on their faces, forced laughter filling the air. But as the voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra is heard on the eve of Mahalaya, people leave their mechanical lives and breathe in air filled with hope. That belief that Maa is here and she is going to take care of everything. To that child in the dysfunctional family, that single mother, that single financially struggling father...Maa gives them hope. And because of that hope they can be happy, even if it’s just for these 10 days.

Nobody is sad during Durga puja despite all their problems. And the festival does work wonders. There are families that come together, last friendships rekindled last love found again fighting parents trying to keep aside their problems so that their child has a happy time because nobody is sad during Durga puja. Nobody SHOULD be sad during Durga puja. Because for us Bengalis Durga puja is more important than all our problems…big or small.

And you can’t really be sad in this city of joy. The people, the idols, the vibes and atmosphere will automatically bring a smile on the most forlorn of faces. And that’s Durga puja for you...bringing smiles and hopes with chant of “Bolo Dugga Mai Ki Joy”.