Plassey: Myths and reality
Each year on 23 June arrives an occasion of template lament for Bengalis: the defeat of Siraj-ud-daulah at Plassey at the hands of forces led by Robert Clive—and Bengal’s subsequent quick subjugation by the East India Company.
A novice’s sadhusongo
In the early 2000’s, a concept restaurant was opened in my birth-town, Paris, France, named “In the Dark” (“Dans le Noir”). Clients enter a completely dark space, and are served a set menu which, obviously, they cannot see.
The Making of Theatre: There are no secrets
What makes theatre good, bad or even deadly? I thought I knew the answer to this tricky question. I had a valid ground for this belief because more than thirty years ago, the pre-eminent playwright of Bangladesh,
Muzaffar Ahmad’s Unexpected Turn in Life
Muzaffar Ahmad (1889-1973), one of the earliest communists in India, became the representative figure of a socialist and communist circle in Bengal during 1921-22.
America, Grassroots Activism and the Creation of Bangladesh
Henry Kissinger once wrote that “history is the memory of states”. In this vision of the past,
Sorry for what?
In classical Urdu epics, kings would transmigrate their lives into a bird and lock it away in a secured place. To kill the king, one had to go after the bird.
Plassey: Myths and reality
Each year on 23 June arrives an occasion of template lament for Bengalis: the defeat of Siraj-ud-daulah at Plassey at the hands of forces led by Robert Clive—and Bengal’s subsequent quick subjugation by the East India Company.
A novice’s sadhusongo
In the early 2000’s, a concept restaurant was opened in my birth-town, Paris, France, named “In the Dark” (“Dans le Noir”). Clients enter a completely dark space, and are served a set menu which, obviously, they cannot see.
The Making of Theatre: There are no secrets
What makes theatre good, bad or even deadly? I thought I knew the answer to this tricky question. I had a valid ground for this belief because more than thirty years ago, the pre-eminent playwright of Bangladesh,
Mughal painting in its sequel
Note: To commemorate the 38th death anniversary of renowned historian ABM Habibullah we are reprinting one of his articles on Mughal painting. The article was first published in Pakistan Quarterly in Spring, 1959.
Nazrul, the eternal rebel warrior: 100 years later
One late December night in 1921, Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote what would be his most iconoclastic poem, the poem that would give rise to his soubriquet, “Bidrohi Kabi,” the Rebel Poet. Inspired by a complex of emotions, Nazrul’s ideas were flowing too fast for his pen to keep pace.
Remembering Rammohun Roy
It is now commonplace to call Rammohun Roy the ‘Father of Modern India’; it is much less common to understand or appreciate the historical and ideological content and context of this modernity.
Raja Rammohun Roy: An Autobiographical Sketch
In conformity with the wish, you have frequently expressed, that I should give you an outline of my life, I have now the pleasure to give you the following very brief sketch:-
Floral economy of Bengal
During the Mughal period, gardens were a ubiquitous element of the city landscape. Dhaka, once capital of the Bengal Subah, was no exception, and the names of some areas of the city such as Shahbag, Lalbag,
Tagore’s idea of nationalism
If you look for a definition of the word ‘nationalism’ on Google, or in an encyclopedia, you will find quite a few. However, this word, like many such words, is ‘notorious’ in its own way, as no single definition seems to define it thoroughly.
A search for the Shakespearean semiotics in Bangladesh
This writing celebrates how Bangladesh has practised a ‘disturbingly relevant’ legacy of William Shakespeare through a testimonial of Aly Zaker, a phenomenal figure in the cultural arena of the country.