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The world is now on our plate…Literally! Food preferences of the Calcuttan, or Kolkatan as they say now, have changed and how! People are experimenting with new forms of cuisine like never before. Of course, the average Calcuttan has always been adventurous as far as trying out new food is concerned. We adopted chicken noodles and pork dumplings as favourites, long before the rest of India did. Continental stuff like sizzlers, steaks and lobster thermidor were long on our list of favourites. We love the Punjabi saag as much as the Kerala appams, Chicken Chettinad rubs shoulders with Dum Biriyani, Gujarati Khaman dhokla is as popular as Schezuan dosas. But a revolution of sorts has taken place in the last decade or so. With food blogging and the popularity of global cuisine on the rise, thanks to TV programs and restaurant reviews, people are hungry for change. The Bong palate is really evolving! Hitherto unheard of food items have made their way into the Calcuttan’s ...

"Mahishasura Mardini" or "Chandi Path" (ode to Goddess Durga), booming in the immortal voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra at the crack of dawn on Mahalaya, has ushered in Devi Paksha or the fortnight of Durga Puja celebration in Bengal. The days counting to Puja are getting fewer and more frenzied. Festivities and gaiety are in the air for all Bengalis across the world. It's that time of the year when the non-resident Bengali yearns for the sights and smells of his/her homeland. When the clouds clear up and the sun shines bright after monsoon, the first signs of Durga Puja approaching near are the swaying kaash phul in the autumnal breeze. The sweet scent of shiuli phul fills the air at night. Dawn starts getting a little nippy, and days a little shorter. For Bengalis and those who worship the Supreme Goddess, this a time of faith being renewed, of ties being strengthened and of hope and goodwill being restored. No one can miss the bonhomie between two Be...

STRESS has become synonymous with living these days. From the time you are born to the time you take your last breath, stress will not leave your side. It becomes your staunch companion from the moment you begin to make sense of your environment. STRESS is present in lesser or larger degrees in each human mind, but feeds particularly on the following factors: INSECURITY OVER-EXPECTATION PERFORMANCE PRESSURE ANXIETY  FEAR OF FAILURE INABILITY TO ACCEPT FAILURE STRESS is a great equalizer. It doesn't distinguish between rich or poor, haves or have-nots (though it tilts more towards the haves), successful or not, clever or stupid (again the tilt towards the clever), businessman or athlete, politician or academician. Neither does STRESS differentiate on the basis of age. A child of seven, appearing for periodic class tests, probably faces the same levels of stress that a corporate honcho faces during making crucial decisions. Fear of failure and performance anxiety do ...

The Indian women's cricket team, so long neglected and generally ignored by the cricket-crazy, but male-obsessed Indian public, has made it finally! Despite the hurdles, despite lack of support and sponsorship (which is perhaps not even a fraction of what their male counterparts get), despite the general apathy of Indians towards women playing cricket, they have managed to create a permanent place in the history of women's cricket. Yes, they lost in the World-Cup finals, but what a tooth and nail resistance they gave to the far better-trained, seasoned English team. Skipper Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandana,Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, have finally wrested recognition for themselves and for women's cricket from the Indian media and general public. They have managed to secure a place in our hearts with their bravura performance. Individual achievements have been exceptional, creating and breaking records on the ground. Whe...

Some films shake you with their incisive humanistic take on a certain relevant topic, while keeping you on the edge of your seat with the thriller element. Mom is such a film. Dealing with rape and it's chilling aftermath, the film follows a mother's journey to get justice for her daughter. What happens when a parent fails to secure just punishment for her child's tormentors? Expecting justice from the Indian judicial system - riddled with gaping loopholes - that lets the criminal go scot-free while pointing a doubting finger at the victim, is like hoping for the impossible to happen. So the victim relives the horror and shame of the dastardly act again and again, while the law remains a mute spectator. And a family is shattered, and lives are destroyed just like that. Mom traces the journey of a mother, played with searing sensitivity by Sridevi, from law abiding citizen to avenging angel, who is pushed to the corner by an insensitive court and police. The film op...

An expatriate Indian writer, writing in English, tends to fall into the stereotype of diaspora story telling. Typical themes of diaspora writing are conflicting world views of Gen X and Y expats, settlement and adjustment issues, dealing with culture shocks, dealing with discrimination and racism, etc. Very rarely do you find an author who brilliantly merges the worlds of traditional wisdom with an incisive view of the western way of thinking. So vivid are her characters, ranging from the rural Indian grandmother to the ultra modern disillusioned gen Y, from the academic in a state-of-the-art US university to the clerk in a modest sweet shop, from a wannabe beautician to a business magnate struggling with emotional issues, that one wonders where she gets her material from? Some extraordinary stories abound in "One Amazing Thing", "Arranged Marriage and other Short Stories", "Queen of Dreams", "Before We Visit the Goddess", "Mistress of ...

So the Board exam results are out. Students all over India have been released from their month-long tension. Some have expectedly fared excellently, while some have managed to just pass muster. Some have reached for the stars, while some have had their world crashing down. Parents are either in congratulatory mode, sharing their kid's achievements on social media, or are have taken social hibernation, warning their kids to keep their shameful result under wraps. As a nation obsessed with academic results, it is no wonder that these months are a child's most stressful time of the year. All everybody seems to be bothered about is how the child will fare in the Board exams of 10th or 12th standard. As if that is the holy grail of all examinations in life, and failing to come up to expectations means a total negation of worth and identity. Has anyone ever studied how these examination toppers fare later in life? Do they continue to shine throughout their academic and career li...