Film history to come alive near Tolly studio para

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence

Kolkata :

The Mamata Banerjee government will set up an eight-storey film centenary museum in Kolkata where film artefacts and memorabilia have mostly been at the disposal of private hands.

The archive, which will be a treat for both film lovers and researchers, will come up at Tollygunge, not too far away from the studio-para and its associated industry, Tollywood.

The museum project, meant to mark 100 years of Indian cinema and the “golden age” of Bengali cinema, will maintain a record of films released down the ages. The proposed ‘Cinema Centenary Campus’, as it has been christened, will have a built-up space of 60,000 square feet. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art galleries and lighting systems. “We shall try to complete the project at the earliest,” said PWD minister Sankar Chakraborty.

The state information and culture department is preparing a list of films to be acquired for the project. Another list of restored films, which will be transferred into negatives, is also being chalked out.

Starting off as a ready reckoner of the history of cinema, especially Bengali cinema, the museum will trace the evolution of celluloid from the Lumiere brothers to Raja Harishchandra and beyond, and showcase Indian and Bengali cinema through three principal eras — silent, golden and modern.

The multi-storey structure, which will come up at the erstwhile Radha Studio complex beside M R Bangur Hospital, will have a basement for parking. The PWD has taken up the construction. The fire services department has also been roped in for a thorough fire prevention network.

A senior PWD official said: “We are doing the project for the information and culture department. Films have been a powerful tool for communication and filmmaking has emerged as the strongest creative force.”

The biggest attraction of the project will be a library that will document film history right from the era of silent movies to those of the digital age. Space has been reserved to construct guest rooms for visiting film artists, directors and technicians, a cafeteria, a curio shop and an auditorium. While inaugurating the renovated century-old Technicians’ Studio in February this year, the chief minister had expressed her intention to create an exhaustive film museum. She apparently got the idea from the 6,000-square foot National Museum of Indian Cinema set up by the Union ministry of information and broadcasting in Mumbai. However, Banerjee’s plans are on a much bigger scale. The centenary campus will hold film-related seminars and workshops, apart from regular film shows.

Vaults will be installed in the proposed museum with state-of-the-art temperature and humidity control systems for preserving colour and black and white films. Visitors will also be able to watch old classics on a number of monitors or listen to rare film music from the past — a sort of free jukebox.

A two-storey building for film studies that existed on the Radha Studio campus on Deshpran Sashmal Road at Tollygunge is now being dismantled for the construction of the film centenary museum.

The erstwhile Left Front government first conceived the idea of a cinema centenary building in 1995. A two-storey building on the premises of the historic Radha Films Studio was constructed to implement this idea in 1998. But the project ran into administrative snarl-ups and financial crunch and has remained a non-starter.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Ajanta Chakraborty, TNN / October 07th, 2014

Laxman to deliver Pataudi lecture

Leaders, Sports

One of Kolkata’s favourite sons, V.V.S. Laxman, will deliver the prestigious Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture here on October 19, the eve of India’s fifth One-day International against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens.

Laxman will be the third cricketer to deliver the lecture after the peerless Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has decided to invite all former India captains to the lecture as this will form a part of the celebrations of 150 years of Eden Gardens.

The lecture was originally slated for October 18 but was postponed by a day by the Board.

A book and a documentary will be released on October 16 where former captain Chandu Borde and Salim Durrani are expected to be present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / by Special Correspondent / Kolkata – October 07th, 2014

Xavier’s alumni shares expansion vision

Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

This year’s Beyond Boundaries — the annual global convention of St Xavier’s College — will reach out to its global alumni to collect funds to aid the college’s ambitious expansion plans.

The convention is slated to be held at Melbourne between October 10 and 12.

“In the last three years, we have partially reached our vision,” said Fr Felix Raj, the college principal. “The Raghavpur campus, which is the rural face of St Xavier’s College, has benefited around 126 students who have already enrolled in various courses started on the campus. In Raghavpur, we have been able to begin three courses at the moment — BCom honours, Bengali Honours and BA (general) courses. We will soon open history honours and political science honours on the same campus. We are also planning to start a community college and offer certificate and diploma courses along with degree courses on vocational subjects. Primarily, we are aiming to start vocational subjects like mechanics, agriculture, fisheries and nursing, among others. We will also take care of placements,” he added.

Fr Raj spoke about the college’s further plans of expansion. “By 2017, a communication campus is set to be unveiled at the EM Bypass plot which St Xavier’s College has acquired behind the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI). The campus will offer graduation and postgraduation courses in journalism, mass communications, videography, multimedia and animation. The Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC), which is now at Park Circus and run by the college, will be shifted to the same campus,” he said.

The St Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association (SXCCAA) plays a vital role in the college’s expansion process, said Firdausul Hasan, secretary of the association. “Every year, we have a mission and this year it is raising funds to aid expansion. The Rajarhat campus of the college, inaugurated by CM Mamata Banerjee last year, will also host an engineering college and the convention will help us realise Father Felix Raj’s vision 2020, which is our mission for this global convention,” Hasan added.

“This vision will only be possible with the alumni’s help. They have always stood by us. As president of SXCCAA, I am confident that the vision will be realised because of the association’s support,” said Fr Raj.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata> TNN / October 01st, 2014

Durga puja ends

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Kolkata :

Durga puja — the biggest festival of Bengal ended on Friday, as this time the festival is of three days according to the almanac and the Bijaya Dashamibeing on Friday many of the pujaorganisers went for immersion of the idols.

However, most of the community pujaorganisers in Bengal will prefer to go for immersion on Sunday and this time there is a ban on immersion on Monday till 8 pm for Id-u- Zoha.

Until Friday evening 127 idols were immersed in river Hooghly. Most of the zamindarfamilies preferred to have the immersion on Friday going by the almanac, as Dashamistarted from Friday and then there were exchange of greetings and SMSstarts pouring in.

The police have made adequate arrangements in the ghats for immersion and special attention is to prevent people from being drowned.

The year long wait for next year’s pujabegins and the community pujaorganisers have started planning for their next year to bag the best trophies being the biggest crowd pullers.

Some of the pujasorganized by Mamata Banerjee’sministers had been the top crowd pullers this year too like previous years and Suruchi Sanghahad been one on top. Suruchi Sanghais headed by housing and youth affairs minister Aroop Biswas. Again the pujaat Chetla Agraniby FrihadHakim, urban development and municipal affairs minister had been another major hit along with the pujaat Naktala Udayan Sanghaby higher education minister Parha Chatterjee.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Debasis Konar, TNN/ October 03rd, 2014

In a first, transgender opens Durga Puja pandal

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

transgenderKOLKATA04oct2014

In a marked departure from the practice of inauguration of Durga Puja by celebrities, cine stars and sportsperson, a transgender had the rare opportunity of inaugurating a community Puja in the city.

Sobuj Sangha, a club located at Haridevpur in the southern fringes of the city, urged the representatives of the Association of Transgender/ Hijras in Bengal to inaugurate a Puja pandal on Tuesday.

Overwhelmed by the invitation, Ranjita Sinha, secretary of the organisation told The Hindu on Wednesday that the efforts of the club in recognising transgenders and eunuchs should be lauded.

“When Durga Pujas are presenting plethora of themes on socially important issues, we are happy that at least one Puja Pandal committee thought about us,” Ms Sinha said, adding that she asked two members of her organisation to go and inaugurate the Puja. There are over 1,700 community Puja pandals in the area under Kolkata police alone.

This is for the first time that Durga Puja organisers have invited members of the transgender community for the inauguration of a pandal, she said, adding that it is the recent landmark Supreme Court judgment that has brought awareness and recognition for the community to some extent.

Ms Sinha also pointed out that transgenders particularly eunuchs were considered important in religious and social occasions but slowly discrimination led to the community being excluded from such events.

“For the Hindus there are references in the mythology about the significance of eunuchs; the Muslims also consider their presence and blessings of considerable importance,” she said.

Despite the encouragement they may have received from this event, the members of the transgender community feel that a lot more concerning the community and its rights need to be addressed.

“A few months ago the West Bengal Government had proposed to set up a Transgender Welfare Board but there has been practically no follow-up on this,” Ms Sinha added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – October 02nd, 2014

Photo finish for Sharod Srestho

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Kolkata :

The day many were waiting for has finally arrived. The list of winners of the Poorav’s Commando Energy Drink presents Times Sharod Srestho has been announced. Pallisree Ultadanga, Adarsha Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee and Chetla Agrani Club have bagged the honours for Shrestho Pujo while Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotab Committee, Alipore Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee and Chetla Agrani Club have walked away with the awards for Shrestho Protima.

Sharod Srestho is a novel contest organized by The Times of India as part of its bouquet of events to celebrate Durga Puja. The eight edition of this contest was a great success with a number of participants winning awards. The initiative was supported by Kolkata Police and organized with realty partner GreenTechCity and jewellery partner Sawansukha Designers Jewellers in association with National Insurance Company Ltd and LIC and co-sponsored by LIC Housing Finance Ltd, Wild Stone and Whirlpool.

This year, the Shrestho Aloksojja award went to Dumdum Park Bharat Chakra Puja Committee. This Puja committee also bagged the Shrestho Bhavna award. The Shera Alankar award by Sawansukha was won by Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee. The Alipore Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee was declared runners-up while Pallisree Ultadanga stood a close third. This year, two new categories were introduced. While the Shrestho Music award went to Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee, the Shrestho Chomok award was won by Alipore Sarbojanin Durgotsab. Only trophies were awarded in these two categories.

The objective of the competition was to present a unique puja experience while choosing and awarding the best pujas based on a number of parameters. Initially, professors from art colleges did a preliminary round of judging and some of the pujas were shortlisted. Then a panel of celebrity judges visited the pandals and rated them on the decoration, lighting, and other aspects.

This year, the celebrity judges included actors Paoli Dam, Rajatava Dutta, Abir Chatterjee, Konineeca Banerjee and Saheb Bhattacharrya; photographer Indranil Mukherjee; Soumitro of Bhoomi; makeup artist Annirudha Chakladar; TV artists Priyanka Pal and Sonalee Ganguly; music director Raja Narayan Deb and artist Pradip Maitra.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / October 01st, 2014

Heroic turban to be on display at Victoria

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Maharaja Nandakumar was hanged by the British 240 years ago

: With his head held high, he faced the wrath of the mighty British Raj when he raised allegations of corruption against India’s first Governor General Warren Hastings. Now, more than 240 years after Maharaja Nandakumar was hanged in 1775, the turban that adorned his head will be put on display at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata.

Some historians have described the hanging of Maharaja Nandakumar, primarily a revenue officer under the Nawab of Bengal, as one of the first ‘judicial murders’ in the country.

“Decorated with a straight zari ribbon, light brown and cream in colour, the turban was purchased by the Art Purchase Committee of the Victoria Memorial Hall in 1984 from Gauri Shankar Roy of Murshidabad,” Jayanta Sengupta, Secretary and Curator of Victoria Memorial Hall told The Hindu.

This rare textile artefact will be put up on display in October, VMH authorities said.

With an aim to preserve the turban and other textile artefacts, in December 2013, the VMH had organised an in-house workshop in which international textile conservation expert Jamie Lightfoot had participated.

Although, Nandakumar had assisted the British during the Battle of Plassey (1757), he generally was hostile to the British, historians have said.

It was in 1775, a year after Warren Hastings became Governor General of India that Nandakumar accused him of having accepted bribes from the nawab and others. However, Nandakumar himself was in turn accused by Hastings of conspiring to coerce a third party to make the bribery accusation against him.

This charge against the revenue collector was soon dismissed, but in an unrelated case an accusation of forgery was brought against him. Despite the fact that the person who had levelled the charges against him was an Indian, Nandakumar’s case was judged under British laws where forgery was a capital punishment. A newly established British court at Kolkata sentenced him to death.

“Maharaja Nandakumar was publicly hanged on the banks of the Hooghly at Kidderpur at a place known as Collie Bajar,” Sankar Kumar Nath, who has worked extensively on the history of Calcutta told the Hindu.

Pointing out that Sir Elijah Impey, the presiding judge who imposed the death sentence on Nandakumar, was a close friend of Warren Hastings, Dr Nath, an oncologist by training, said that eminent statesmen like Edmund Burke and Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay had described Nandakumar’s hanging as a ‘judicial murder’. Dr Nath also pointed out that the turban is an artefact of great significance as Nandakumar’s story can actually be called one of the early acts of rebellion against the British rule, and heralded one of the most important periods of British history in India.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – September 29th, 2014

Bengal Leads scouts on multi-nation odyssey

Business & Economy, World Opinion

GlobeTrottingKOLKATA02oct2014

Calcutta :

Babus from Bengal are packing their bags to go around the world to draw participants for a global business summit that will put to test industries minister Amit Mitra’s ability to attract investment in Bengal.

Sources in Nabanna told The Telegraph that at least six senior IAS officers will visit parts of Europe and Asia after the Puja holidays to hold roadshows for the Global Bengal Business Summit — Bengal Leads, scheduled between January 6 and 8 at Eco Park, on the eastern fringes of Calcutta.

“The industries minister wants to make the event a grand success and so he is sending the officers to hold roadshows…. The officers will visit several countries, hold meetings with investor communities and invite them to take part in the summit and explore opportunities in the state,” a source in Nabanna said.

Although no one in the government was officially willing to comment on the roadshows, sources rolled out a probable list of names of officials and their destinations (see chart).

Apart from the roadshows overseas, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation will organise five meetings in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“Mitra has gone into Ficci mode…. The success of a chamber event is ascertained by participation, but for a state devoid of investment, the test is in getting investment. The question is can an investor meet achieve that?” asked a senior official.

Although the government did not organise any business meet this year, there was little to talk about the first two editions of Bengal Leads.

If the Nabanna buzz is to be believed, Mitra has promised Mamata Banerjee that the business summit next year would be a “success” and would put Bengal on the map of attractive investment destinations.

The chief minister, sources said, has given Mitra a free hand. “After around three-and-a-half years in the government, the chief minister has realised she needs investment in Bengal… Amitda has promised to deliver,” a Nabanna official said.

Delivering on the promise will be easier said than done in a state where the government is firm on not acquiring land for industry besides fiercely adhering to its stand on not offering SEZ status to any project or relaxing the urban land ceiling act.

Not just policy hurdles, the state is also suffering because of Trinamul-backed syndicates, which mostly supply inferior construction materials at higher prices.

“Domestic investors are shying away from putting in their money…. It is too much to expect that foreign investors will come,” a senior government official said.

The chief minister is confident of getting investment, the official said. He blamed senior ministers such as Mitra for giving her an impression that Bengal is on the verge of hitting a growth trajectory.

“No one talks about the reality here,” the official said.

Mamata had assigned Mitra the industries department keeping in mind his former role as the Ficci secretary-general.

More than nine months have passed since Mitra took over, but his achievements have been few, other than diagnosing Ratan Tata with motibhrom (senility) and organising the Singapore trip for the chief minister and senior bureaucrats.

“Till now, there is no answer to what the government has got from Singapore…. Now, the government will again spend taxpayers’ money and send officials to various countries. This cannot go on,” said Rahul Sinha, the BJP state president.

The ruling establishment can blame the BJP, which is eyeing the principal Opposition’s space, for politicising the issue, but representatives of chambers of commerce and senior bureaucrats have questioned the need for the roadshows overseas.

“The event (Bengal Leads) is in the first week of January and the officials are going for roadshows after the Pujas. How can they assume that foreign investors will come to Calcutta in less than two months’ notice?” asked a senior official of a leading chamber.

According to the official, such events need at least six to eight months’ planning so that the target group for the programme can be reached well in advance.

The Gujarat government had started planning for Vibrant Gujarat 2015, immediately after the previous edition. From identifying focus sectors to giving a detailed programme outline, the organisers had uploaded everything about the show on its website.

The schedule for Bengal Leads, however, remains sketchy despite just over two months to go before Mamata flags off the event.

A veteran of organising events for an industry body expressed dismay when told about the destinations the officials were heading to.

“I heard that a team will visit Ireland with focus on getting investors for food processing…. I didn’t know about Ireland’s achievements in food processing,” the chamber veteran said.

Sources said the food processing team included the Netherlands and Israel in their itinerary. “I understand the inclusion of the Netherlands, but why Israel?” he said.

Several others this newspaper spoke to wondered about the choice of the destinations for the roadshows. “If you want overseas investors, why leave out the US, the UK, Germany?” he said.

No one in the government was available to explain why the government was expecting international participation in an event just over two months away.

“The New Year hangover stays at least for a week… I don’t know whether senior officials or CEOs of big companies would come to Calcutta by sacrificing their Christmas and New Year break,” said a senior officer in a leading chamber.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Bengal> Story / by The Special Corrrespondent of The Telegraph, Calcutta / Calcutta – September 29th, 2014

Slice of Durga worship, a la Kiev

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion

Kolkata :

They live in a country that is practically at war. Violent clashes between Russia-backed separatists and Ukranian forces has already claimed around 300 lives after a Malaysia Airlines flight was brought down near Donetsk in July. Advisories from nearly all countries, including India, have warned citizens against taking risks and avoiding mobs.

But the Indian community in Kiev has not allowed these developments to come in the way of Durga Puja and Navratri celebrations.

For the third year running, Indians in Kiev, nearly 5,200km away from home, will celebrate Durga Puja. The idol has already reached Ukraine from Kumartuli, and the purohit is from the Delhi Kali Bari. The community also encourages Ukrainians to participate in the festivities. “We have been celebrating Puja here for the last two years. Due to the unstable condition here in Ukraine, we have decided to celebrate Puja at my residence this year, around 20km from Kiev.

The Indian community here is very small and we all get together and prepare for the celebrations. We have cultural programmes on all days after the evening arti,” said Kasturi Saraiya, who hails from Assam but was born and brought up in Kolkata.

Saraiya is a member of Sanskriti, Centre for Indian Culture, in Kiev. This organization celebrates all Indian festivals and spreads awareness about them among locals. So much so, that Ukrainian dancers perform during the Puja celebrations.

The small community of Indians might be living thousands of kilometers away from home, but they celebrate in style, trying to maintain a lot of the traditions. As far as the actual puja is concerned, there is no compromise. “Our aim is to present and popularize Indian art and culture.

We want to create awareness among the local community about Indian culture, traditions and ethics. Nowadays, there are many Ukrainians who look forward to attending our prgrammes,” said a member of Sanskriti.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanta Gupta, TNN / October 03rd, 2014

Synagogues on Makeover Mode as Govt Charms Israel

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion
The Thekkumbhagam Synagogue in Kochi
The Thekkumbhagam Synagogue in Kochi

New Delhi :

The synagogues in Israel may be caught in cross-firing, but those in India are going to be spruced up soon, courtesy the Modi-led BJP government. The files started moving with speed within the Culture Ministry when the Palestine issue got worse — signifying the BJP government’s political stance in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Though the move to protect the synagogues was initiated during the UPA rule, the Manmohan Singh government developed cold feet later as Israel and Palestine has always been a volatile subject in our country. “Our team had visited the synagogues in Kolkata and had even finalised the sketches way back in 2010. But the project did not go beyond that, as there was some terse communication to go slow,” said an ASI source.

The Archaeological Survey of India is busy moving the files and renovation is expected to start soon. Sources admit that the renovation of synagogues is a political decision. “Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj are planning to visit Israel towards the year end and there are enough reasons to believe the renovation is closely connected to the visits,’’ said a government source.

There are around 35 synagogues in India—most of them in Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. “The synagogues in our country represent a rich cultural and religious tradition. The ASI is actively thinking of renovating the synagogues across the country. Most of them have been encroached upon by private parties and some, even by governments,’’ said a source in the Ministry of Culture.

The source added that the renovation work will start initially in Kochi’s Thekkumbhagam Synagogue and the Beth El Synagogue and the Maghen David Synagogue in Kolkata. The government is also planning to start a “Jewish tourism circuit” connecting all synagogues in the country, the source added. Though the government gave in following pressure and even vouched its support to the ‘‘Palestinian cause’’, it is an open secret that many BJP leaders, including PM Modi, have a close affiliation with Israel. Modi visited Tel Aviv as the CM of Gujarat, a state which has old diamond trade ties with Israel.

Transport and rural development minister Nitin Gadkari, too, visited Israel three years ago when he was the BJP chief while Sushma Swaraj is a self-declared “fan” of Israel. She, as the chief of India-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Forum in the past, visited Israel last year.

“Both countries are victims of the growing religious fundamentalism and it is natural that they grow closer. It also helps that both share unique ethnic and religious aspects,’’ said a Culture Ministry official, who is part of the renovation project.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> The Sunday Standard / September 28th, 2014