Photo: Dr. Lopamudra Maitra

Homage to an Iconic Ray Film Whose Popularity Spans Generations and Cultures

The result was a phenomenal script with a stellar cast and a music which not only took the storyline ahead but also paused to reflect upon each moment. Satyajit’s rendition of the story has several of his beliefs reflected, including his anti-war stance, his love for performative arts, including various forms of classical dance, his love for history and regional history, amidst others, his stance against caste and class discrimination and oppression of the poor and the tyranny and subjugation of the ruling class

How a Russian-Jewish Bride Internalised Santiniketan: Arc of a Family History Book-Ended by the Russian Revolution and Indian Independence Across Three Generations and Three Continents

It is a neat division and the first part of 70 pages is the Kotia-Ketaki memoir.  In the second section, Chandana picks up the narrative  and weaves the micro family history of the Jonas family with the macro events of the late 19th century and her grandmother's  journey that brought her to Santiniketan  in the 20th century.
 

The ‘Pinny’ and the Past: A Bengali Summer Dress That Carries History in Its Threads

Today, the tape-jama survives on the margins of a rapidly changing marketplace. It is still found in local bazaars, though no longer a default festive purchase for children. Yet its significance lies beyond its material presence. The garment endures as a symbol of memory—of simpler times, of long summer afternoons, and of a cultural ethos shaped by resourcefulness and tradition. Its soft cotton folds carry stories of Bengal’s textile heritage, its artisanal practices, and its ability to absorb and reinterpret external influences. In doing so, the pinny becomes more than a childhood dress—it is a living archive of history and identity.

When a Language Dies: The Struggle for Cultural Survival of Bangladesh’s Lushai Community

According to the latest (2024) survey by the International Mother Language Institute, 45 languages have been identified as existing now in Bangladesh out of which there are 11 indigenous languages including Lushai (Mizo)—that have become critically endangered. Based on UNESCO data, a handful of languages which have made it to the endangered list in Bangladesh are in such a forlorn state that only 5-12 older folks from respective communities can still converse in them.

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Centuries-old Nepal’s stupas restored, attract locals back

Dating back to centuries, some of Nepal’s stupas were in a worn-out state, covered in layers of dust and grime, and slowly cracking

Banned Pakistani film wins big at Asian World Film Festival

Banned and censored back home, Pakistani film Zindagi Tamasha, which has bagged several international awards, bagged Best Film and Best Actor awards at the prestigious Asian World Film Festival

COVID, bear attacks take a toll on Bhutan's yak herders

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Sri Lanka to provide insurance cover for stage artists, performers

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Bhutanese movie industry face financial crisis as theatres still closed

With movie theatres in Bhutan shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet to open up even after a year, the film industry is facing an acute financial crisis

British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed makes history, nominated for Oscar

British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed made history as the first Muslim nominated for the Oscar for the lead actor role

Chess and camaraderie at a Kolkata traffic junction

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How Shakespeare became entrenched in 19th-century Bengal

If the works of the poet Virgil could be said to have introduced the flavour of classical literature into medieval Europe, Shakespearean drama performed the same functions in familiarising the new western-educated intelligentsia of nineteenth-century India to the rich literary world of early modern Europe, finds Sahapedia

Where Kolkata's walls breathe art

Indian cities are not known for the walls of buildings transformed into art galleries as in many parts of the world

Indian-origin crypto investor in Singapore buys $69.3 mn artwork

Singapore-based Indian Cryptocurrency investor Metakovan has bought an artwork by digital artist Beeple for $69.3 million

A new destination for Nepal's art, literature, and culture

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Himalayan Bodhisattva tradition at the centre of upcoming New York exhibition

Bringing together a group of paintings, sculptures, ritual objects, and illustrated manuscripts from the 11th-18th centuries, made primarily for Nepal and Tibet's monastic institutions, an upcoming exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will spotlight the Himalayan Bodhisattva tradition

Lahore University expels couple over video of girl proposing to boy on campus

The administration of the Lahore University in Pakistan expelled two students for what they call the “gross misconduct and violation of the University’s rules”

A statue stolen 37 years ago returns to Nepal

Thirty-seven years after it was stolen and subsequently landed in the US, a stone stela of Lakshmi-Narayan depicting Hindu deities of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, is finally returning to its original home in Patan, a city located just across the Bagmati river from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal

Bangladesh gets first transgender news presenter, creates history

For 29-year-old Tashnuva Anan Shishir and the transgender community globally, it was indeed a historic day. The woman, who survived bullying, assault and suicide attempts, has become the first transgender to become a newsreader in Bangladesh