Calcutta Studies

  Subhajeet Singha revisits the legacy of Radhaprasad Gupta in localising the history of Calcutta.  Book- Kolkata r Firiwala r Daak ar Rastar Awaj (The calls and cries of the street vendors of Kolkata) Author- Radhaprasad Gupta Publisher- Ananda Publishers, Kolkata, India, 1984 History is a metanarrative, as Jean Francois Lyotard has mentioned in his works, which promotes the grand deception that history is constituted by those moments of exceptional achievements or monumental failures. History is not only written by the victors but also history dictates what should not be included inside the strict contingent defined as the body of history. Historiography, which can be simply decoded as the art of writing history, is always governed and regulated by those who are in power. Not every incident or discipline can be worthy of being included as ‘body of history’ and that was the stringent norm for ‘history as text’ until the theoretical turn to postmodernism and postcolonialis...

  Photo courtesy: Samata Biswas Samata Biswas  writes about Kunal Sen's memoir of his father, Mrinal Sen-- the quintessential chronicler of Calcutta.   What not to read in a hospital: Kunal Sen's memories of his father, Mrinal Sen, Bondhu  This hospital stay is two times more difficult than last year, because unlike last year I am neither in a feverish daze, nor safely away from the phone, a phone that shows people eating drinking and making merry. Of course, I hate the occasion that creates this merriment, still... But, I made myself read Kunal Sen's Bondhu and the sadness engulfed me many times more.  Photo courtesy: upajindia  (https://www.instagram.com/p/CC2ekl_hQjD/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==) Kunal Sen remembers the life and work of his extremely well-known father, Mrinal Sen, who he used to call, sometimes in secret, at other times boldly, Bondhu, friend. Most of the book are reflections on Mrinal 's life and relationships, with coworkers, other film ma...

  A Still from Gender Mela, 2022.   Aisarya Dutt Roy traces the history of P R I D E in Calcutta.  The city of Kolkata, with its effective organisation, mobilisation and community building since the early 90s, has been a pivotal site of a kaleidoscopic blend of queer voices and identities. While the post-NALSA (National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India) queer-scape of the city in the last decade has witnessed a vibrant and outspoken assertion of queer identities intersecting with caste, religion, disability, age as well as mental health, the legacy in effect, goes back to the early 90s and even before. In August 1993, a small group of gay and bisexual men including journalist Pawan Dhall formed a queer support group called Counsel Club. Its biannual multilingual queer newsletter called Pravartak (renamed as Naya Pravartak in 1995) published letters from queer persons across the country and abroad (Dhall: 2020, 7-13). In an interview, D...

  The glorious Star Theatre Parna Das Basu curates the story of Hatibagan, the heritage market area of Calcutta, which had a Cinema Para now lost in the sands of time. Come the post monsoon season, the footfalls still increase in the entire stretch of Bidhan Sarani, erstwhile Cornwallis Street, in search of new saree designs or new dresses. Still now, in many Bengali households, Pujor Bajar start from and end in Hatibagan. Hatibagan still stands in testimony to the bygone time when people flocked in crowds to buy ‘Alpin to Elephant’ here after watching their favourite films shown in the single screen cinema halls, while joining in interesting conversations (read Adda) on their way to their respective homes. The main gate of Hatibagan Market says that Nawab Siraz-ud-Daula along with his generals Mir Madan and Mohanlal attacked the British constructed Fort William in Kolkata in the year 1757. His elephant troops were stationed in the area presently known as Hatibagan. The name Hatib...