Coatee is unisex outerwear, which can be viewed as the subcontinent’s answer to coats and other fashionable outerwear commonly seen in the West. Interestingly, coatees do have their roots in the military outfits of the British and Americans. To this day, the coatee remains part of the highland dress, paired with tartan kilts, which is the traditional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland.

Fairytales were not just a vehicle for the imagination but also an introduction to the dangers of the world and the accepted moral standards of the time.

"The enthusiasm which Ranajit Guha created in our minds in the field of thinking and writing history for more than a decade has never been replicated in the past nor will it be replicated in the future", Dipesh Chakraborty said.

The cultural legacy of Bengal is imbued in its breath-taking religious structures. Being a predominantly Muslim land, it's unsurprising that mosques constitute the majority of such architectural wonders. Throughout the course of Islamic rule in Bengal, stretching from the early Sultanate period to modern times, the designs of mosques have undergone a continual evolution.

Historian Dipesh Chakrabarty discusses human and geological evolution in an exclusive conversation with The Daily Star

“The real history of this region is known in Dipesh Chakrabarty's history books,” said historian and essayist Professor Ahmed Kamal. 

Historical backdrop and our understanding of the relevant historical backdrop are important when we try to study a material or even enjoy it.

Muktijuddher Chikishsha Itihas captures the stories and struggles of medical professionals during the Liberation War.

We asked the DS Books editors and contributors about the books that most moved them this year.

The story of the ailing Bhawal prince, Ramendranarayan Roy, the Mejo Kumar, who while taken to Darjeeling to recuperate, died and was cremated there, under mysterious circumstances, and who then returned years later as a wandering ascetic with partial amnesia!

Dhaka's transitions carries the question of whether our historic buildings shall be preserved. From an economic viewpoint, there is financial gain in replacing them with buildings. The question now becomes whether the cultural heritage outweighs this financial gain.

Rajshahi is well known for the various remains of ancient and medieval structures, remnants of a glorious past, dotted all across the region. Darasbari, a beautiful, haunting complex made of red terracotta bricks, is one of those places not often mentioned or even commonly known about except to the locals of the area.

The Infinite Library did not have books. It consisted of virtual spaces, a set of "eight jars" or volumes that—using a VR journey through the users' phones—told the story of our planet's evolution, starting from the beginning of cosmic dust to human consciousness.

1947 was overtaken almost immediately by the language question, and the question of identity.

There are those well-regarded classic colour combinations like black and gold that never go out of style for anybody. Even if we date back to the 1900s when women’s fashion was neat, covered and detailed with ruffles, buttons and lace in layers; black and gold had an upper hand even there. Georgia Hale, a 20th century silent film artist sported black silk dresses with golden tassels.

India’s Central Board of Secondary Education has removed chapters on the Non-Aligned Movement, the Cold War era, the rise of Islamic empires in Afro-Asian territories, chronicles of Mughal courts and the industrial revolution from the history and political science syllabi of classes 11 and 12.

For World Book Day on April 23, we bring together a list of books about books as a means to glimpse at and tap into the vast knowledge, power, and pleasure that is to be found in these complex objects. Are they, indeed, just objects? Or historical artefacts? Or weapons?

In 2021, Polygon, an Edinburgh-based publisher, launched the Darkland Tales, a series of “dramatic fictional retellings of stories from history, myth and legend” written by Scotland’s greatest contemporary writers. Denise Mina’s novella Rizzio is the first in the series.

Fifty years have now passed since that glorious day in December 1971 when we achieved victory after a battle for nine months.

It is nearly impossible to know nothing about British India’s infamous cult that systematically killed and robbed Indian travelers for hundreds of years. However, almost every write-up available today is an exaggerated horror story that fails to reflect upon the real events.