In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival* of a musical genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. “Light filters through foliage”. Photo by Koli Mitra On the cold morning of […]
Vagabond Visitors and Foliage Filters
Dola Mitra
The Mind behind the Mask
The glassy waters of a gurgling brook reflect the changing colours of the day like a mirror. Gray-blue in the cool morning air. Red-orange in the heat of midday. A burst of […]
A Trunk Full of Treasures: Letters from a Legacy
On November 7, contents of a trunk containing rare treasures will spill out into the public domain. Private letters from nearly a century ago exchanged between Netaji Subhas Bose, his elder brother […]
Of Memories and Music: the Continuing Saga of Apu
“Apu, ei Apu, Where are you?” The voice of the young girl, calling out to her kid brother, floats in. And we know who she is. Or rather who she was. And […]
Every Song Has Its Day
In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival* of a musical genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. August 27, 2018. Exactly two years ago today. Kabir Suman, singer, song-writer, composer […]
Khudiram’s Last Smile
On August 15, India’s Independence Day, I am thinking about how long and laborious a march it had been to get to that day in 1947. A march on a path beaten […]
Bengal CM’s critics “would have gained more voter confidence” by supporting her, says O.P. Mishra
In an interview to Cuckoo News editor Dola Mitra, Professor Om Prakash Mishra, core committee member, Trinamool Congress, addresses charges that West Bengal bungled handling of the Covid-19 crisis. He counters allegations […]
India’s friendly gestures to neighbors “not reciprocated,” says BJP’s Chandra Kumar Bose.
Chandra Kumar Bose, Bharatiya Janata Party leader from West Bengal, talks to Cuckoo News editor Dola Mitra about the ongoing India-China border conflict and other topics. He reveals why he disagreed with […]
Rain Ragas in the Vernacular
In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival* of a music genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. “I am not the ‘miss you’, ‘miss it’ type,” says Kabir Suman, […]
Apu, the Road, and Sixty Years
Apu’s story, in Bibhuti Bhusan Bandyopadhyay’s epic novel, did not end where Ray’s trilogy, based on the book, did. He lived on. And now he returns. In this series of articles, Cuckoo […]
Shadow Mistress, Chhayanat
In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival* of a music genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. It’s 8:30 in the morning on a dazzling day in […]
The Police Do What They Do Because
“Please don’t cry, Ma’am,” said the white policeman to my mother, a brown woman. “These things happen all the time.” The year was 1980. The place was Alexandria, a suburban town in […]
So when the same editor sheds tears for the injustice meted out to the migrant labourers, one’s thoughts drift from ants to crocodiles.
Our middleclass hearts are bleeding. Most of us are outdoing each other in trying to express our shock at what is happening to the poor people of our country. We have all […]
Covid-19: Yet Another Cue to Reassess How We Relate to Nature?
“Don’t worry, Auntie” the young man said, chuckling. He was standing in the kitchen clearing soot from pipes in the chimney, as part of the annual maintenance service provided by the home […]
Interview: Prof Om Prakash Mishra
“The only genuine face of democratic secularism in the state of West Bengal currently is that of Mamata Banerjee,” says Prof. Om Prakash Mishra In the past four decades, after it was […]
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