• Traditions

    Exploring Bangla Folklore: A Tapestry of Tradition and Storytelling

    Folktales are an important branch of folklore. They are usually created orally by rural, often illiterate communities and passed down from generation to generation through memory and storytelling. The English term folk tales broadly refers to all types of such traditional narratives. In Bengali, stories commonly called rupkatha or fairy tales resemble what English literature calls fairy tales, though not all of them involve fairies. Instead, they often feature magical kingdoms, demons or monsters, heroic princes who accomplish impossible tasks, rescue distant princesses, and receive supernatural help. In German, such tales are known as Märchen. In Bengal, famous collections of…

  • Contemplation

    The Overlooked Disadvantages of Being Sibling-Free

    The Overlooked Disadvantages of Being Sibling-Free: There is a reason why people tend to ask those who are stubborn or a bit self-centred if they are an only child. We do have it easy in many ways. Some of the positives eventually take a backseat with age. Whether it is the constant reminder that you are the sole caretaker of your parents or how much every single decision you make will affect their futures heavily, it can get a bit overwhelming. Then there are the overlooked disadvantages, which come at the cost of the perks you get from having no…

  • Inspirations

    Tagore’s Timelessness

    Tagore’s Timelessness : A name we are all familiar with from our childhoods, from the songs on the radio to the stories we would study in Bangla classes, is Rabindranath Tagore. In Bengali history and culture he is not just a name, but a pillar of the country’s literature and music. Not only that, his works have spread throughout the globe and earned him the title of Biswakabi. Tagore’s talents range throughout most, if not all, areas of Bengali literature. His philosophy and uniqueness depicted in his writing earned him the Nobel prize in 1913. Although he is given the…

  • Styling

    Pohela Boishakh spread

    [ Pohela Boishakh spread ] Pohela Boishakh is around the corner. It means your house will be filled with batasha, misri, naru, muroli and lots of other desi delights. It also means you will look every inch a Bengali beauty with that red bindi on your forehead, your hair will be adorned with bunch of Jasmine, and your men will be dapper in white panjabi. Beside all these things, Pohela Boishakh also means your dinning table will have a new white table cloth, and it will have all desi food items from Hilsha to beef bhuna, bhetki paturi to nakel chingri,…