In Focus

Understanding the maverick politician, AK Fazlul Huq

Fazlul Huq is a largely forgotten politician in West Bengal. The apparent indifference towards Huq in West Bengal or India can be partly explained by the unfortunate vivisection of India in 1947.
29 October 2023, 18:00 PM

Re-discovering the goddess in medieval bengali poetry

The Medieval period in Bengal was noteworthy for its amazing religious syncretism, with the fusion of Shaiva, Shakta, and Vaishnava cults with regional folk traditions.
22 October 2023, 18:00 PM

Dutch perspectives on early-modern Bengal

The riverine area of Bengal has held a significant position in Indian Ocean trade for centuries and has also given rise to different narratives about the region in European accounts.
15 October 2023, 18:00 PM

The Weeping King: How Hindustani Music flourished in colonial Bengal

In 1870, a song collector from Calcutta called Nanda Lal Sharma flicked through the pages of his newly published book, Sangit Sutra. In the central pages was a thumri lyric, set to the rag Alhaiya Khamaj.
8 October 2023, 18:00 PM

Tea-Tokens: A forgotten chapter in the history of tea plantations

The emergence of tea as a beverage in India is a unique social event in history. Sylhet, Assam, Cachar, Dooars, and Darjeeling were preferred for tea production, considering the hill climate favorable for tea production.
1 October 2023, 18:00 PM

The political origin of hunger in Bangladesh

Historical evidence suggests that almost every year before independence in 1971, present-day Bangladesh consistently grappled with a widespread shortage of food grains.
24 September 2023, 18:00 PM

SOULS: Through the eyes of its founder, Sazed Ul Alam

I returned to Chattogram from the Liberation War on December 20, 1971 with my nephew,
17 September 2023, 18:00 PM

Syed Mujtaba Ali between Bengal and Afghanistan

Historically, Afghanistan, and its cities Kabul and Peshawar, were central in the Mughal imagination as the space where the idea of Hindustan took shape.
10 September 2023, 18:00 PM

Reflecting on ‘Amar Dekha Rajnitir Ponchash Bochor’

As I delved into the autobiographical works of Abul Mansur Ahmad, it became evident that he had a penchant for plain speaking, avoiding embellishments.
3 September 2023, 18:00 PM

The Portrayal and Relevance of Women in Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Novels

Kazi Nazrul Islam is our National Poet, but, in addition to writing poetry and composing songs, he also wrote fiction. In fact, Nazrul’s first publication was not poetry, but the short story “Baundeler Atmakahini” (The Autobiography of a Vagabond), published in Saogat in May 1919.
27 August 2023, 18:00 PM

The many meanings of Partition 1947 and beyond

My memory is again in the way of your history.      Agha Shahid Ali
20 August 2023, 18:00 PM

My heart doesn’t desire to speak about Sultan

I had once written extensively about S.M. Sultan. Why? Because it felt essential to make our ‘art authorities’ aware that he was a rare talent, although many were unwilling to accept it. Thus, the pen became my last resort.
13 August 2023, 18:00 PM

“The Ever-Falling Darkness of History”

In the opening years of the twentieth century, Abanindranath Tagore (1871– 1951), Rabindranath’s nephew and a prominent artist living at the Tagore palazzo in Calcutta, Jorasanko, made a trio of paintings depicting the Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58) at different stages of his life, together with his great monument to love, the Taj Mahal.
6 August 2023, 18:00 PM

As I Remember Syed Waliullah, My Papa

Thinking of Syed Waliullah and being his son always triggers contrasting feelings of joy and pride, melancholy and pain. Regrettably, neither my elder sister Simine nor I am able to remember much about our father, as we were both very young when he passed away.
30 July 2023, 18:00 PM

'Be more attentive to the workings of nature around us and through us'

Congratulations on your new book, “River Life and the Upspring of Nature.” With your academic background in religious studies and social life in Pakistan, what prompted you to shift your focus towards studying the river life and char communities in Bangladesh?
23 July 2023, 18:00 PM

Laughter and Thrills: A History of Circus in East Bengal

The circus industry in Bengal experienced a significant boost during the 19th century, thanks to the arrival of Russian and European performers, as well as contributions from Africans, Mongolians, and other Asians in the 20th century.
16 July 2023, 18:00 PM

Bagh Bidhoba

Sonamoni! No prefix, no suffix, that is her name. It signifies the golden pearl of the eye.
9 July 2023, 18:00 PM

Souls at 50: The many incarnations of a band

Souls is not the first band in Bangladesh to reach the milestone of 50 years.
2 July 2023, 18:00 PM

The battle of plassey: A Tale of Triumph and Betrayal

On the afternoon of July 2, 1757, at the hour they were going to kill Siraj in a sodden dungeon of the Jaffarganj Palace—along the east bank of the ebbing Hooghly,
25 June 2023, 18:00 PM

Forgotten Borders: Tracing the History of the Indo-Bangladesh Enclaves

The existence of enclaves in different continents is a perceptible reality of contemporary world history.
18 June 2023, 18:00 PM