This picture shows the Shyam Rai Temple, regarded as a structural beauty amongst the Bishnupur Temple Complex in West Bengal. It was built during the reign of Raghunath Singha (1626 – 1656), a Malla King who is recognised to be a patron of art and architecture. The temple is a pancharatha temple with one main… Read more »
This picture shows Kolkata’s Writers’ building facing the northern side of the square tank known as Lal Dighi. Victory in the June 1757 battle of Plassey opened up a vast majority of Northern India to the British and contributed to the emergence of Calcutta as the Imperial Capital. Fort William, in ruins, had to be… Read more »
In this picture, the General Post Office of Calcutta with its conspicuous lantern topped dome and facade supported by Corinthian pillars is seen overseeing the tank square in the foreground, known as Lal Dighi today. In 1766, Robert Clive introduced a system where zamindars and landholders were held responsible for the supply of runners to… Read more »
The ancient city of Gaur, also known as Gauda, Lakshmanavati, Lakhnauti and Jannatabad, served as the seat of many powerful dynasties over time – the Buddhist Pala kings from the 8th century onwards, the Hindu Sena kings from the 12th century on, eventually falling into the hands of the Delhi Sultanate in 1204. It thrived… Read more »
The ancient city of Gaur, also known as Gauda, Lakshmanavati, Lakhnauti and Jannatabad, served as the seat of many powerful dynasties over time – the Buddhist Pala kings from the 8th century onwards, the Hindu Sena kings from the 12th century on, eventually falling into the hands of the Delhi Sultanate in 1204. It thrived… Read more »
‘The European in India; from a collection of drawings by Charles D’Oyly, Esq. engraved by J.H. Clark and C. Dubourg; with a description by Captain Thomas Williamson; accompanied with a brief history of ancient and modern India…by F.W. Blagdon Esq.’ is a collection of English colour plates about colonial life in India, with plates after… Read more »
Something is daunted when one attempts to remember the bequests of India’s early multi-hyphenate on his death anniversary. A good profile should be a seamless whole of the inner and outer life of the poet, Rabindranath Tagore had said, commenting on Tennyson’s biography by his son, which he admonished for being full of trivialities. But… Read more »
A brief history of the extraordinary role of Bengal in shaping the destiny of modern India
The richest province of one of the richest empires in the world, Bengal was a smorgasbord of irresistible little luxuries. Sumptuous chintzes that never lost the roses in their cheeks. Creamy cottons that felt like the caress of spring. Muslins so fine, they were given names like shabnam (evening dew), abraban (running water) and tanjeb… Read more »
Once a seat of great power, the ancient city of Gaur lies in ruin, its hollowed-out walls holding stories, secrets and echoes of eminence
Immortalised by British artists, Calcutta and its people were seen through a colonial lens that presented India not as it was, but as they wanted it to be
Visiting a riverside town in Bengal that carried great promise and flourishing French grandeur, only to be finally unmade by war
What is life without the succour and comfort of a steaming cup of chai? From the elegant tea rooms of Calcutta to the milky concoctions of corner shops, tea is our lifeblood. We trace its history, equal parts tragic and romantic, dark and wondrous, and always full of flavour
Author and historian Dr Anirudh Deshpande talks to us about a defining period from 1707 to 1858 that saw seismic shifts in the power balance of the Subcontinent
The Korewahs are a tribe from the central region of India, near the sources of the rivers Son, Narmada and Ib and other tributaries of the Mahanadi. They are populous in the hills between Sirgoojah (Surguja) and Jushpur (Jashpur) in present-day Chhattisgarh. The Korewahs were shifting cultivators. They grew rice, millet, pulses, pumpkin, cucumber and… Read more »