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Where Faiths Meet Sufism and the Soul of Bengal

Bengal Sketches – Where Faiths Meet: Sufism and the Soul of Bengal

The Sufis taught that the Beloved waits not at journey’s

Bengal Sketches – Where Faiths Meet: Sufism and the Soul of Bengal

The Sufis taught that the Beloved waits not at journey’s

You are the average of the five people you spend most time with.

— Jim Rohn

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Metropolis Musings
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Towns, cities and metropoles tend to become integral parts of the people who inhabit them.

Where Faiths Meet Sufism and the Soul of Bengal
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Bengal Sketches – Where Faiths Meet: Sufism and the Soul of Bengal

The Sufis taught that the Beloved waits not at journey’s end, but within the journey itself.

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Across the Baltic, Into Helsinki

A little sea voyage in the chill of autumn. Nature put on its annual show as the leaves turned gold, yellow, orange and red.

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Two Poems: Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Two Poems by renowned 19th century British poet — Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

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Durga Puja and Navratri (Part 2)

Festivals bring families together over traditional foods, from sacred bhog and vrat dishes to diverse vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare.

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Durga Puja and Navratri (Part 1)

It is no surprise that Durga Puja was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021.

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The mini-saga, as a form of fiction, was invented by British science fiction writer Brian Aldiss and popularised by The Daily Telegraph in the 1980s.

Loyalty
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On 8 August 1942, one shot, point blank. The loyal student ensured the professor rested in peace without him suspecting a thing.

Tomorrow
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Every year on this day, she returned to the café and ordered his favourite – two Americanos.

The Refund
The Refund

“You’re the perfect host,” the doll whispered as Rajesh kissed its rosy cheek goodnight. He recoiled saying, “No – I’ll kill myself!”

The Return
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Wishing for her late husband’s return, Emma blew out the candles – her nightly ritual. Suddenly, her bedroom door creaked open.

The Presence
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The old clock struck midnight. A nervous Lydia stood before the mirror in her dimly lit room, whispering the forbidden name.

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He pulled the woman from the edge of the bridge. “No one left,” she sobbed, echoing his late mother’s words.

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They burst in, anxious, only to find the nervous old man before his TV muttering, “Actions films scare the hell out of me, help me

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The April Fool

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Identity
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After a successful heart transplant, Martha drifted into consciousness to her husband’s unexpectedly chilling words: “A stranger’s heart beats within my wife.”

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Each morning, Karan wakes in his lonely flat to half a glass of milk and two sandwiches. His ironed shirts and polished shoes gleam with

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All she wanted was to stretch her perfect four years longer. She wasn’t ready to let their laughter fade into memory.

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History & Heritage

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Where Faiths Meet Sufism and the Soul of Bengal
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Bengal Sketches – Where Faiths Meet: Sufism and the Soul of Bengal

The Sufis taught that the Beloved waits not at journey’s end, but within the journey itself.

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Bengal Sketches – When the Dhaak Calls Us Home

Each autumn, the goddess returns to our hearts, reminding me that home travels with us and rises again whenever the dhaak calls.

Pala Dynasty, Bengal’s “Elected” King
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Bengal Sketches – Bengal’s “Elected” King and the Politics of Who Gets a Voice

Around 750 CE, a few powerful men raised Gopala from chaos; today, millions enter the polling booth to decide who will govern.

Kantha
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Bengal Sketches – Kantha’s Journey from Jugaad to Haute Couture

Rural women in Bengal, layered old cotton clothes together, binding them with simple running stitches to create warm wraps and blankets called lep kantha.

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Bengal Sketches – Pratapaditya’s Tale: History, Literature, and the Legend of Lost Gold

In modern retellings, Pratapaditya is neither history nor fairy tale, but four centuries of memory reborn: delta lord, fallen hero, literary myth, regional icon.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
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Bengal Sketches – The Tender Rebel and the Uncomfortable Truth

He taught generations to feel for those societies ignored; his blind spots show how difficult that task remains.

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Bengal Sketches – Where Faiths Meet: Sufism and the Soul of Bengal

The Sufis taught that the Beloved waits not at journey’s end, but within the journey itself.

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Transcreation

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Silence gathers around us, and in that pause, Pablo Neruda lets the trembling world reveal its hidden wounds and brief hopes.

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This compilation presents four major twentieth-century Bengali poets, demonstrating poetry’s role in resisting, remembering, and renewing during socio-political upheaval.

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Firefly or Minuku Hulu by ManjuNayak Challuru

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At the Altar of the Sea

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Beyond the Screen’s Horizon

These poems drift through lit chambers of wakefulness, dreaming of error, darkness, and the old, broken mercy of sleep.

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Fiction and Poetry

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The Dowry (Tagore translated)

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I Will Cross the Sea of Desires

Translated from the Bengali song by Tagore. The original song was composed at Santiniketan, in 1922.

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The Letter

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Cartoons

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Lata Mangeshkar: Birthday Tribute

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Shabana Azmi: Voice for Social Change in Indian Cinema

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Adoor Gopalakrishnan: Birthday Tribute

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From the birth of British rock and roll to decades of chart-topping music, Cliff Richard proved that true stars can stand the test of time.

Support thespace.ink magazine for literature and culture. Subscribe Now

Photostory

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When the City Meets the Rain
When the City Meets the Rain

Reflections appear on the asphalt, umbrellas become moving shapes, puddles mirror the city and people adapt to the rhythm of the monsoon.

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Radio repair shops have almost disappeared. A few can still be found in Kolkata, but travelling across India, I found them increasingly difficult to locate.

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A local tradition attributes the quarter’s vivid facades to an old Portuguese-era practice of repainting houses regularly.

BARTI BILL The Wetland of Bengal
Barti Bill: The Wetland of Bengal

Barti Bill is not merely a wetland. It is a living fragment of Bengal, carrying within it the quiet rhythms of life.

Kumartuli
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Over the centuries, Kumartuli became closely associated with the making of clay idols, particularly Goddess Durga.

The City in the Rain
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The City in the Rain

Kolkata in the rain feels like a different city. Somehow, Kolkata finds a strange kind of peace.

When the City Meets the Rain

Reflections appear on the asphalt, umbrellas become moving shapes, puddles mirror the city and people adapt to the rhythm of the monsoon.

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Games & Puzzles

Crossword 103
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Voice & Views

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Shipra—The Book Is a Collectors’ Item!

An exclusive interview with Shipra Bhattacharya brought about quite a few unknown facets of her personality.

Technocrat
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Maitreyi is not only building safer, more trustworthy technology—she’s living proof that determination and heart can turn modest beginnings into extraordinary impact.

Tom Stoppard
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The Playwright as an Intellectual Jester

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Anuparna Roy
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The Voice for the Unheard 

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Remembering Frederick Forsyth

I woke up to the news that Frederick Forsyth has passed away, and instantly,Life was all about sneaking thrills and chasing stories.

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She Died of Sadness. I Refuse To.

Persepolis is not a book about a country that is only darkness. It is a book about a family that refused to be only darkness.

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Travel

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Across the Baltic, Into Helsinkiki
Across the Baltic, Into Helsinki

A little sea voyage in the chill of autumn. Nature put on its annual show as the leaves turned gold, yellow, orange and red.

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The End of the River: A Bengali Wanderer in Bourne End (Part 2)

For now, I let the road rest beside a sundial in the English countryside, waiting with us for the sun.

The End of the River A Bengali Wanderer in Bourne End
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The End of the River: A Bengali Wanderer in Bourne End (Part 1)

If you wander around the area, especially in search of the river, you will spot the 'Thames Path' signpost probably on the very first day.

Writers, Pubs and book shops
Writers, Pubs and Book Shops

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy was very prominently displayed followed by Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s The Odyssey.

Where Clouds Wait: Notes from Dawaipani
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Where Clouds Wait: Notes from Dawaipani

But it wasn't just the landscape that was changing. There was a subtler shift in the air too, in the rhythm of life itself.

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Pune – A Memory Lost & Found

She is frozen in the act of decapitating the most powerful and evil Asura of them all, as far as Indian mythology goes.

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