Truly Saptarshi

Every day several pigeons crowd at our terrace and fill their tummy before flying off somewhere far... where we can only dream of reaching but they really reach the heights. They have become so friendly that if they do not visit at sometime in the whole day it feels like they are angry with me for some reason. My grandfather is the one who never misses feeding them everyday. But, a few days back a pigeon came but could not fly back. It must have been ill and so it preferred staying back in the safety of our terrace. We gave it grains and water but every time it looked away. Maybe it was suffering from bird flu. Each time i wanted to catch it and see whats wrong with it, ran away because it was not able to fly. So, i stopped trying to catch it, let it be as it is. And as long as it is in our terrace no one eill hurt it either. Every morning i made it a point to go and see if it is ok. However today in the morning when i went up to see it, it seemed to be more active than the previous da...

Some people are just making fun of such a serious thing like a movement against corruption. They are taking this revolution as a matter of entertainment and a time to show their dadagiri . Annaji had not blocked any road, has not shown his muscle power or used any strong language then why in the name of Anna are some people showing how big idiots they are. That 74 year old man is doing so much for us and this is how we are showing respect to him? What a shame! Yesterday while i was returning from city center, suddenly i saw there was a big traffic jam near fuljhore and then came to know that some engineering students from the nearby private engineering college were blocking roads to show their concern for the country and to show their support for Anna Hazare.. The auto-rickshaw driver was continuously telling that these boys are craps and have only come to get shown on television but i argued that it is a good step and we really need to come up a...

This Aparna Sen is undoubtedly one of her finest till date. She is one of the finest directors of India and i look forward to all her films very eagerly. She has come up with a Bengali film after about 11 years and this is worth the wait. The film opens with an aged actress, Mrinalini Mitra writing a letter before ending her life and through this many memories crowd in her memory from her younger days. The younger version is played by Konkona Sen Sharma very efficiently. This film tells the story of love, lust, loss and much more. The different male figures in Mrinalini's life are played by Priyanshu Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor, Saheb Bhattacharjee and Koushik Sen. What i felt was that Besides Aparna and Konkona, the actor who is great in this film is Koushik Sen. The story is knit in such a beautiful way that it explores human feelings wonderfully. How she overcomes every barrier of her life, sometimes we are so lonly, sometimes things are out of contr...

After a long time i read an English poetry book and it feels good to review this book by a new author from Kolkata, Shreya Chatterjee. She claims that she is a writer by profession and poet by will. And it really seems that her will power is very strong to be writing poetry in the way she has written. I cannot claim it to be a literary excellence but it is really good for a new poet to be writing so beautifully. I will come back inside the book but before that i have something to say about the cover, it could have been made much better and attractive. the cover makes the book look really dull. However, the title of the book - 'Musing of a Wanderer' is awesome and the title itself invokes interest to read the book. The poet herself tells  - "For I write, what I see                                           And speak of          ...

We have come a long way since our independence and things have 'changed'. Change has come, really! However, some for the good and some for the worse. I agree that we are developing but the rate is such that it cannot be felt by the overflowing population of our India. So, lets take a very quick view of some contrasting situations of our independent India. We got few of the richest people of the world in India and we have on an average a very poverty stricken economy. We cannot by no means recognise the poverty with the city life we lead, its so miserable. We got a sign for our currency which is really good but the currency does not go to the people who really need it. Recently we saw a great revolution against corruption but it has not taken us anywhere till now. we can just hope that some time we really get what we want. We are a democratic country and we have 'fair' elections but after we elect these idiots to represent us what the hell they do God knows. Atleast...

Like every year, this year too, Bengali news channel - 24 Ghanta arranged this award ceremony to felicitate true heroes of our society, who stay away from camera and do not get any type of publicity, but still they go on doing their work. 24 Ghanta's rival news channel, Star Anando also carries out an award ceremony called 'Sera bangali' but it does not recognise the common people, one celebs. The most special among them of course was the commoner who has earned our love for his work - Binayak Sen.  As usual he had come in his simple avtaar but still was dashing! There were more common people who has created benchmark through their works.  There were people who has sold all his property to feed poor children and to look after them. There was a lady who teaches poor children and gifted children, who are not like all of us. there was a handicapped girl who has worked wonders through her works.There was also a lady who helped the...

However i would love it to be 'Bangla' rather than 'Bengal' Still, seeing the initiatives by 'The Times of India' I too cannot refrain myself from writing on this topic. I support the initiative whole heartedly. We now really feel that the name - 'West Bengal' does not have any real prominence. It is on the east of India. And moreover we do not have a East Bengal so why call this state West Bengal? Bengal is most cultured state of India and it carries a lot of Heritage. Bengalis have ruled and is still ruling in India and around the World. And i am really proud about that. The word Bengal or rather Bangla has time and again come in Rabindranath, Nazrul, Saratchandra's creations and not West Bengal and so keeping the heritage in mind we should take this step. It should have been done much earlier but better late than never so if it is really done now then it would be great! We carry our heritage in foods, clothes, literature, films, music and even...

Titanic (1997) Perhaps one of the most loved Hollywood film ever made and i am nothing different from Titanic's other fans. This 1997 film is still hugely loved and i have seen it several times for the timeless love story that has been told through the film. The beauty of Kate Winslet just steals my heart every time i watch this film, she looks like an angel. Leonardo Di Caprio's eyes seem to show all the emotions. James Cameron did a fine job, the emotions are so strong that you can feel it sitting in front of the screen. Stepmom (1998) Another epic film, although its a 1998 film but is relevant with every generation. The love of Mother and children never changes and it has been captured with mastery by Chris Columbus very efficiently. Frankly speaking i liked the Hindi remake of this film but it was nowhere near 'Stepmom'. Stepmom takes the story to a different level which the Hindi remake could not. Julia Roberts is...

For the first time in the 63 year history of our nation, the citizens have the opportunity to directly participate in the making of a law that will have significant and direct impact on their lives and the life of the nation. The country is today ridden by corruption. Whether it be routine transactions that involve the government or services and amenities and benefits provided through the public exchequer, the ordinary citizen pays a price daily in terms of harassment, delays, poor quality, absent infrastructure and in-equal access. What we need is an effective and independent institutional mechanism for tackling the malaise of corruption in this country. That institution is the Jan Lokpal The Jan Lokpal Bill is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body  that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in th...

It seems like people did not like some of my posts, this month (july) and so the gradual increase in viewership has been very slow compared to the previous months! However i touched the 2500 mark! And i am happy about that. But i would try to win my audience's heart with better posts. I tried with more film reviews this time but people did not like it largely, although both the review posts made it to week's top 5 popular posts of my blog! Some new posts have done great job and some older posts are continuing with their great job - Celebration of women power, Two deadly days, Legacy of a poet - Kazi Nazrul Islam..., Aana Hazare's fight against corruption..., Vote of thought. So, thank you! However i would like you all to read 2 posts among others, particularly - A grave concern - Reservations and People can be SO shameless. So just keep reading good things and help me enhance my blog! I just hope to get my audience's support more and more down the days. Thank you! God b...

Day before yesterday, an uncle of mine passed away due to heart attack. He was 46 and it was not at all an age to leave this world and leaving behind his sobbing son and wife. We all were struck with sadness! It was something we never had imagined in our wildest dreams. But death is something which cannot be imagined even in wildest dreams. We all had gone to her place to give her the much needed moral support. And the incident which made me give this post the title - 'People can be SO shameless!' is the attitude of the neighbours and some family members. The neighbours did not bother to come and show any type of support to my uncle's family. And that's fine, they do not need their support as such but how shameless can people be that they are just chatting and laughing away standing near the dead body. As if some type of play is going on. It really hurt me. Adults can be so shameless! And on the other hand a child (friend of my uncle's son) was crying on seeing ...

Women in India have always been there when it comes to social work. It really involves strength of mind and a great heart. Maybe this number is less but this one is one of the most significant among all the six - 'Celebration of Woman power in India' posts. Other four are yet to come so keep a watch here, in this blog. We have seen that some women have brought huge changes in the society through their social works. Some of them may have come from completely different fields of work but they have done significant works when it comes to social work. Margaret   came to India, inspired by Swami Vivekananda and she became Sister Nibedita to us, Indians. She has worked largely for the welfare of the people during the British rule in India and till now she is remembered throughout India for her selfless deeds. When we talk of social welfare, she is the first one who come to my mind, Mother Teresa.  She is a personality the whole world looks up to. She was an Albani...

Two recent incidents filled our heart with grief, the Kalka mail accident and the blasts at Mumbai. The reporters showed us almost as deadly scenes as any good horror film, which made us all even more fear struck! But the truth has to be shown and if this bitterness can turn some demons into humans then its good for us. About 60s were killed in total and much more injured. Which is a really big number. The army worked really efficiently as the recuers and we should be really thankful to them. The ministers can only do drama and nothing else. The acting railway minister on that day was Mukul Roy (because Mamata Banerjee had resigned and Dinesh Trivedi had not joined office as the new Railway Minister) but he did not even bother to visit the site of the Kalka Mail accident. Such is our 'caretakers', the caretakers of the Nation. (at Kalka mail accident site)  (at a Mumbai blast site) I do not know who is to be blamed for the blasts and the train accident but if we b...

One of the biggest concern from the time of India's independence! This one decision of Ambedkar and Gandhi has caused numerous problems down the years. At first i do not want to comment because that would automatically come out till the end of this post. This topic came to my mind the very first day i opened this blog but i stayed away from it. However, looking around and feeling the pulse of the situation made me think that i should write. Our Political parties always speak of equality of caste, creed, sex and what not. And i do not have any problem with that. Equality is something which we always need. But when we are giving great priority to some part of the society who are known as the SC, ST and OBC s. Actually these words have become a matter of joke now. We should always look after the backward parts of the society but does that mean that a SC student whose father is the CEO of a multinational company also get the benefits of the Aarakshan (Reservation)?? What kind o...

This film won at the 58th National Award to become the best Bengali feature film. It is directed by Somnath Gupta and it also marks the re-entry of the production house New Theatres Pvt. Ltd. in the world of cinema after 51 years. The casting includes Deblina Chatterjee, Samadarshi Dutta, Mithu Chakraborty, Rudranil Ghosh, Biplab Chatterjee, Bidipta Chakraborty and many more. We can also see the veteran Soumitra Chatterjee in a guest appearance. This film tells a very beautiful love story but in a way which is much different from the usual ones. The film opens with, Aadu, a young girl, pregnant writing a letter in bangla to the then president of US, Bush to stop the Iraq war and get back her husband from Iraq. The narrative shows how she, the daughter of a Brahman got married to his husband, a Muslim, Suleiman. And, how one day on his urge to earn more money he goes off to Iraq to work in a factory with some of other boys from his village. It shows Aadu's emotions. ...

Yet another masterpiece directed by the veteran director Gautam Ghosh. This film has proved itself even before its release when it bagged the Golden Peacock award at Goa Film Festival. It proved its worth after its release too, when it came out as a big hit. It maybe quite late to comment on this film but as an audience i could not resist from appreciating it here, in my blog after i watched it. The film's cast consists of Prasenjit Chatterjee, Paoli Dam, Suvraa, Bibi Russel and many more. The whole cast seemed to be too good in whatever role they were playing. Prasenjit is out of his monotonous commercial films too. The story by Sunil Gangopadhyay makes such a strong appeal to this age even when the topic is of a time far back. At times the film was very sensitive and hard hitting and those scenes have been knitted beautifully, without overdoing anything. And one thing has to be said, the songs are just too good. Folk songs always appeal me a lot and particularly when they ...

'Rajmohan's Wife' was first serialized in 1864. The book is by one of the most famous Bangla novelist - Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. It was his first novel and his only English novel. Later, he went on to write Bangla novels which are loved even today and Bankimbabu is remembered as one of the bests that the Indian soil has ever produced.  This novel tells the story of the beautiful and passionate Matangini, married to a villainous man and in love with her sister's husband, represents the vitality of women who remain strong in the face of brutality and the confining expectations of middle-class society. It gives a great description of the then Bengali life. It gives a beautiful description of female beauty. it is told the Bankimchandra wanted to make the novel much larger but later shortened it. We can also feel it because the descriptions at the beginning of the book is very elaborate but it decreases as we move on. This novel was one which was mo...

Women has always been special for this country, Women are worshipped in Gods like Durga, Kali, Saraswati. Personalities like Rani lakshmi Bai, razia sultana had the potential to rule! Kasturba Gandhi and Indira Gandhi had the potential to lead, Vaijyantimala and Meena Kumari had the potential to act and entertain. These were only some from the past. I would like to highlight on some powerful women in past and in present, mostly through 'Celebration of Woman power in India', this would be divided into six parts - politics, sports, films, fashion and style, books, social workers! this first part is dedicated to politics! I would mostly concentrate on the present women and less from the past! Politics is one of the fields where women got a lot of power and fame in Recent times! From past we have likes of Indira Gandhi but now in this political scenario we have several to look at! Firstly, coming to Sonia Gandhi , who is the chair-person of the ruling Central UPA Government. ...

Maqbul Fida Husain, was India’s most famous, and its most infamous, contemporary painter. Often labeled the Picasso of India, his life and work spanned the 20th century and inched into the 21st century. He produced over 30,000 paintings, some of which sold at auction for over $1.5 million.  The Government of India has awarded M.F. Hussain with the presitious "Padma Shree" in the year 1955. A conference was organised to celebrate his 95th birthday in Doha last September. It was titled, as Husain himself had requested: “The World is My Canvas.” Husain came back from London, where he also has a home and studio, but as an active participant not a mere observer. He talked, he doodled, he joked, he even posed for a group photo. M.F. Husain remained a dynamic, ceaseless explorer of art, life and beauty until a couple weeks before his death in London on Thursday June 9.  In 2003, to celebrate his 88th birthday, he produced 88 oils across four Indian cities. “After open-heart sur...