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Across the Baltic, Into Helsinkiki

Across the Baltic, Into Helsinki

A little sea voyage in the chill of autumn. Nature

Across the Baltic, Into Helsinki

A little sea voyage in the chill of autumn. Nature

Remember the entrance to the sanctuary is inside you.

— Rumi

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What's New

Latest readings for today

Metropolis Musings
Editorial

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

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.

Two Poems_Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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Two Poems: Dante Gabriel Rossetti

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

Durga Puja and Navratri
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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.

Durga Puja and Navratri Two Festivals
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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.

Cliff Richard
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Cliff Richard: A Living Chapter in Music History

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.

Pujo’s Fashion Calendar
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Pujo’s Fashion Calendar

By the eighties, the world of readymade clothes was taking over. Smash T-shirts and Avis jeans arrived along with Bata’s North Star shoes.

Editorial: The Pomegranate & The Promise- Vol: 2

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
Loyalty

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

Tomorrow
Tomorrow

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
The Return

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

The Presence
The Presence

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

The Echo
The Echo

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

The Thank-you Note
The Thank-you Note

One day, I froze suddenly – the handwriting in that letter was identical to the daughter’s suicide note.

The Gunshot
The Gunshot

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

The April Fool
The April Fool

Jake was ecstatic at Lily’s early morning message, “Moving to your city.” Her second message an hour later, “April Fool,” shattered his joy beyond repair.

Identity
Identity

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

The Care
The Care

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

The Moment
The Moment

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

The Report
The Report

Arun’s trembling hands couldn’t open the biopsy report. ‘Stage four,’ he was certain. A sudden, searing pain tore through his chest.

The Promise
The Promise

Luke, without medical insurance, mortgaged his house to fund his open-heart surgery. Mark, his idealistic friend, scoffed, “I’d rather die active – sixty’s the perfect

Reviews

Essential readings for today

Beneath Magnolia Skies: Writings from Sikkim and the Darjeeling Hills
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Women’s Writings from the Hills

Beneath Magnolia Skies is the latest addition to a growing number of books that highlight life in the hills of North Bengal and in Sikkim.

The Odyssey
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Review: The Odyssey

One final thought as to the ripple effect of this humungous effort. Will this film inspire audiences to go back and read The Odyssey?

Se7en A Sermon in Blood and Rain
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Se7en: A Sermon in Blood and Rain

David Fincher's Se7en explores sin, justice, morality, and despair through two detectives pursuing a chilling serial killer in a decaying metropolis.

David Szalay’s Booker Prize winning novel Flesh
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The Way of Some Flesh

A review of David Szalay’s Booker Prize-winning novel Flesh, exploring sex, chance, work, emotional detachment, guilt, desire, and life's randomness.

The Truth in the Shadows: Revisiting The X-Files
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The Truth in the Shadows: Revisiting The X-Files

The X-Files explores truth, conspiracy, aliens, and human darkness through belief and skepticism, creating a timeless mystery saga.

The Hollywood Misfit A Centenary Tribute to Marilyn Monroe
The Hollywood Misfit: A Centenary Tribute to Marilyn Monroe

A tribute to Marilyn Monroe through The Misfits, exploring fame, vulnerability, loneliness, broken relationships, and Hollywood’s tragic illusions.

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Women’s Writings from the Hills

Beneath Magnolia Skies is the latest addition to a growing number of books that highlight life in the hills of North Bengal and in Sikkim.

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History & Heritage

Essential readings for today

Durga Pujo_When the Dhaak Calls Us Home
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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.

Pratapaditya’s Tale: History, Literature, and the Legend of Lost Gold
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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.

Sheikh I’tisam ud Din
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Bengal Sketches – India’s “First Ambassador” to Britain

Together, they show Indians not as passive subjects of European history, but as travelers, observers, writers, negotiators and judges of their age.

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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.

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Transcreation

Essential readings for today

Poetry
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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.

Pablo Neruda
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Pablo Neruda: Selected Poems

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

Transcreation
Against the Silence: Bengali Poems of Protest and Hope

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

Firefly
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Firefly or Minuku Hulu by ManjuNayak Challuru

I should collect all the chits from these people so I can calculate the amount of pain in the world.

John Taylor_Franca Mancinelli_Altar at the Sea_Updatede Cover
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At the Altar of the Sea

Franca Mancinelli’s poems, in John Taylor’s translation render the ordinary, the natural, many-hued and wondrous.

Ajir Kutty Bus Stop Poem Cover
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The Bus Stop at Kandanassery and Other Poems

The poignant poems of Rafeeq Ahmed, deftly translated, touch the veins of village life at Kerala, negotiating constantly between tradition and modernity.

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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

Essential readings for today

Missing You
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Missing You

She is not here. But her smell lingers on in the bath towels...

Rabindranath Tagore
The last Flames: A Play

A play based on Rabindranath Tagore and BAsanta Koomar Roy, a US based journalist and author.

Our Old Selves

Short poem by Oishika Ray

Uncut Poetry : Calcutta – A Lover’s Epitaph

The city of Kolkata has seeped deep into Suni Bhandari making inroads into his soul. His poetry is a mere reflection of his relationship with

The Dowry (Tagore translated)

They demanded ten thousand rupees and a large number of gifts as a dowry.

Poems to Treasure

Vikram Seth became my path finder and made me the poet I am today.

The Catskill Mountains by Vir

Vir Sen paints the Catskill Mountains he visited during a recent vacation.

I Will Cross the Sea of Desires
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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

A poignant story about memory, love, preservation, and loss, revealing how protecting cherished objects can sometimes distance us from their living essence.

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Cartoons

Space Cartoon

Hey diddle diddle, we have a problem.

Videos

Essential readings for today

Cliff Richard
,
Cliff Richard: A Living Chapter in Music History

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.

Lata Mangeshkar
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Lata Mangeshkar: Birthday Tribute

She wasn't just the voice of an era. She became a part of India’s cultural memory. Birthday Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar...

Shabana Azmi
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Shabana Azmi: Voice for Social Change in Indian Cinema

She wasn’t just an actress. She became a voice for women, realism and social change in Indian cinema. Birthday Tribute to Shabana Azmi...

Gulzar
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Gulzar: Birthday Tribute

He simply traded the paintbrush for a pen. Before Gulzar painted pictures with words, he was literally painting cars.

Neil Armstrong Reel
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Neil Armstrong: Birthday Tribute

That single step wasn't just about reaching the Moon—it proved that human curiosity and determination can achieve what once seemed impossible.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Birthday Tribute
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Adoor Gopalakrishnan: Birthday Tribute

Adoor Gopalakrishnan pioneered Malayalam New Wave cinema, directing 12 feature films portraying Kerala's society, culture, and human experiences across decades.

,

Cliff Richard: A Living Chapter in Music History

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.

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Photostory

Essential readings for today

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.

Radio
The Radio That Refuses to Fall Silent

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.

Fontainhas Where History Keeps Its Colour
Fontainhas: Where History Keeps Its Colour

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
Kumartuli: Where Humans and Gods co-exist…

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
Crossword 102
Crossword 101

Voice & Views

Essential readings for today

Marjane Satrapi
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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.

Shipra—The Book Is a Collectors’ Item!
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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
Shining Bright: An Interview with Maitreyi Chatterjee, an Young Technocrat from Kolkata

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

Saikat Majumdar reflects on Tom Stoppard, theatre, postmodernism, and the personal memories that shape writing and performance.

Anuparna Roy
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The Voice for the Unheard 

A conversation with Anuparna Roy by Surela Chakraborty, exploring her Orizzonti Best Director Award and the making of Songs of Forgotten Trees.

Frederick_Forsyth_scribles_mousumi_duttaray_10.6.2025_VB
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

Essential readings for today

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.

he 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 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.

PUNE – A MEMORY LOST & FOUND (1)
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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