# Anirban Saha > NLP | Birding | Traveling --- ## Pages - [Search Images!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bird-image-search/): 🔍 Search Photos Loading media... No photos found. ✕ ⟨ ⟩ - [](https://www.anirbansaha.com/14938-2/): // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 1: INITIALIZE THE MAP // ---------------------------------------------------- // Set up the map centered on India, disabling scroll... - [Birding Map](https://www.anirbansaha.com/map-test/): // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 1: INITIALIZE THE MAP // ---------------------------------------------------- // Set up the map centered on India, disabling scroll... - [AI Discussion Group, Kolkata.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ai-discussion-group-kolkata/): Mission: The idea is to create an offline discussion forum for AI professionals in Kolkata, and discuss non-commercial weekend/open source... - [Data Science Mentoring.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/data-science-mentoring/): Introduction & Intent What would you sign up for? Limitations - [Hornbills of Indian Bengal](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hornbills-of-bengal/) - [Resources](https://www.anirbansaha.com/resources/): Birdwatchers Society Newsletter . Merlin Bird App: Identify birds with images. BirdNet App: Identify birds with audio calls. - [Manali Birds](https://www.anirbansaha.com/manali-birds/) - [Season 2: Jobs in the Real World!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/podcasts/student-jobs-datascience-full-time-soft-skills/): In Season 2, we interview 9 professionals in the field of data science who shared with us, in the form... - [YouTube Live Scheduling Test.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/youtube-live-scheduling-test/): We go live at 8:35 hours CET! Testing FB live scheduling. We go live at 8:50 Hours CET! - [Privacy Policy for Podcast Season 2 Sign up via LinkedIn.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/privacy-policy-podcast/): If an attendee is signing up via LinkedIn, we can collect their name and email addresses from the event page... - [Podcasts Archive!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/podcasts/): The idea of Podcasts has always interested me, but I never had an opportunity to do so! Now, I have.... - [Season 1: Student jobs in Magdeburg for M.Sc. Digital Engineering & M.Sc. Data and Knowledge Engineering.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/podcasts/student-jobs-datascience-students-magdeburg/): In season 1, we explore a bit of the student jobs in Magdeburg for data science students. For this, there... - [Legal Disclosure](https://www.anirbansaha.com/legal-disclosure/): Information in accordance with Section 5 TMG of Germany. Anirban SahaWalther-Rathenau-Straße 5939104 MagdeburgWnr: 402 Contact Information Telephone: +4917669599269E-Mail: mailme@anirbansaha. comInternet... - [So, what interests me?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/so-what-interests-me/): This world is a wonderful playground; different people, their places and their cultures, different little things that make it unique;... - [](https://www.anirbansaha.com/): About me: Hi! I am Anirban Saha. I am a Data Scientist, currently working in a leading Multinational Company as... - [Area(s) of Interest.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/datascience-germany-dke-ovgu-magdeburg-area-of-interest/): Various individuals pursue M. Sc. course for a variety of reasons which range from a demand for a higher pay... - [Europe Gallery](https://www.anirbansaha.com/europe-gallery/) - [Gallery: Birds in Magdeburg.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/gallery-birds-in-magdeburg/) - [DOWNLOADS.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/downloads/): Hi! You can download the photographs from this page for free and use them as your Desktop or Laptop wallpaper... - [Contact Me](https://www.anirbansaha.com/contact-me/): Get in touch. - [Submit Post](https://www.anirbansaha.com/submit-post/) - [IVLP (USA)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ivlp-usa/): International Visitors Leadership Program - [My Journal](https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-journal/): Exclusive - [Stay connected to future Birding-Blogging Trek. Fill up the form:](https://www.anirbansaha.com/stay-connected-future-birding-blogging-trek-fill-form/) - [Young Design Startups and Freelancers Form.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/young-design-startups-freelancers-form/) - [Trekking, Birding and Blogging Workshop - Details.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/trekking-birding-blogging-workshop-details/): GoingWild LLP and Kolkata Bloggers to organise a trek on 29 April – 3 May 2017. During this trek, Dibyendu... - [The definitive guide to create Facebook 360 photos using Android phone](https://www.anirbansaha.com/definitive-guide-create-facebook-360-photos-using-android-phone/): Facebook recently started supporting 360-degree photos and doing so is simple as long as you have a smartphone and the... - [Anirban Saha Home](https://www.anirbansaha.com/anirban-saha-home/): Anirban Saha (www. anirbansaha. com) is the proprietor of Kolkata Bloggers; culture and travel photo-blogger based in Kolkata. - [বাংলা বই পড়ুয়াদের সমীক্ষণ।](https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%82%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%be-%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%87-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%9c%e0%a7%81%e0%a7%9f%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%a6%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%9c%e0%a6%a8%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%af/) - [Campus Startups that are making it BIG! (Survey)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/campus-startups-making-big-survey/): Dear Reader, I am Anirban Saha (founder, Kolkata Bloggers). I am planning to do a story on the young startups... - [Testimonials](https://www.anirbansaha.com/testimonials/) - [Students_Connect: Seek a review.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/students_connect-seek-review/): This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below. Password: - [Students_Connect: Showcase.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/students_connect-showcase/): To get showcased, please upload a photograph for review here. To see all submissions, please click on this link. - [Students connect.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/students-connect/): This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below. Password: - [Life, Leadership and Kolkata Bloggers (1)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-and-kolkata-bloggers-1/): Almost one year of “Kolkata Bloggers’” active existence. An idea that attracted people and how people motivated the initiative and... - [Life, Leadership and Kolkata Bloggers (2)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-kolkata-bloggers-2/): The rise and fall of MUG (Meetup Group) But there was one Rimbik who had by then connected to me... - [Life, Leadership and Kolkata Bloggers (3)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-kolkata-bloggers-3/): About Kolkata Bloggers, achievements. Kolkata Bloggers had by then already done its first event with the Tollywood film “Bari Tar... - [Life, Leadership and Kolkata Bloggers (4)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-and-kolkata-bloggers-4/): The team, my feelings and the end. The core team consist of Arjyak, me, Nabhoneel. Arjyak is now the co-owner... - [Welcome.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/home/): I’m Anirban Saha and I am a photo-blogger by passion. Travelling, meeting newer people, sharing smiles with them and knowing... - [Professional experience](https://www.anirbansaha.com/experience-2/): My intent has always been to be the best in every role that I have played in my life, continually... - [পুরুলিয়ার তুসু পরব।](https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%9f%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b8%e0%a7%81-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%ac-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b0%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%bf%e0%a7%9f%e0%a6%be/): (Read this post in English, by clicking here. ) লিখেছেনঃ আভেরি সাহা। অনুবাদ করেছেনঃ মৈনাক বিশ্বাস ও সুদীপ পাল। তুসু... - [Journey so far..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/journey-so-far/): As I have told in my introduction, I am neither the best programmer around nor the best photographer. My biggest... - [The Profile Picture Business](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-profile-picture-business/): We live in a social world. Not surprising, most of our photographs consist of people... and of faces, mainly friends...... - [Hand pulled rickshaws of Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hand-pulled-rickshaws-of-kolkata/): Kolkata’s street photography is incomplete without photographs of the hand pulled Rickshaw. I present four shots of Rickshaws, different from... - [Anirban Saha Photography](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photography/): If you like my attempts, do show support: From Anirban Saha Photography (Showing 16 of 494 items) a different take...... - [Welcome](https://www.anirbansaha.com/about/): On a melancholic note , I am a wanderer with two pockets full of hope and despair. Hope of making... - [Blog](https://www.anirbansaha.com/blog/): My blog has shifted to the home page : http://www. anirbansaha. com - [Being Anirban](https://www.anirbansaha.com/being-anirban/): Being Anirban is always fun, from making mistakes and to correcting it... and sometimes making epic wins! Trust me being... - [Experience](https://www.anirbansaha.com/experience/): Share your experiences when we spent some time together... How had your interaction with me been? Do find time to... --- ## Posts - [Dehing Patkai Birding Adventure: Jungle Gems Await!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/dehing-patkai-birding-adventure-flowerpeckers-pheasants-hornbills/): Join me on an unforgettable birding adventure in Dehing Patkai National Park, discovering the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, and Austen's... - [Unveiling the Secrets of Golden Langurs in Kakoijana Reserve Forest: A Journalist's Account](https://www.anirbansaha.com/golden-langurs-in-kakoijana-reserve-forest-assam/): Join me on an unforgettable journey to Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Assam, where I tracked and photographed the rare Golden Langurs.... - [Off-beat Wildlife Photography in India: 6 Species from Rushikulya to Dehing Patkai (2025)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/off-beat-wildlife-india-2025/): When I landed back in India during the final week of November 2024, my world was a whirlwind of transitions.... - [From Lens to Langur: My Unforgettable Journey with Assam's Golden Langurs](https://www.anirbansaha.com/golden-langurs-of-kakoijana-assam-wildlife-adventure/): Join me on an adventure to Kakoijana, Assam, where I encountered the rare Golden Langurs, explored diverse wildlife, and faced... - [Beyond the Golden Gaze: My Unforgettable Encounter with the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest](https://www.anirbansaha.com/golden-langurs-of-kakoijana-reserve-forest-adventure/): Join me on an incredible journey to Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Assam, where I encountered the majestic Golden Langurs and learned... - [Encountering Asian Small-Clawed Otters in Sundarbans National Park](https://www.anirbansaha.com/asian-small-clawed-otter-sundarbans/): Join me on an exciting trip to Sundarbans National Park, where we spotted the rare Asian Small-Clawed Otter! Learn about... - [Spotting the Lesser Adjutant Stork in Sundarbans: A Birding Adventure](https://www.anirbansaha.com/lesser-adjutant-stork-sundarbans/): An unforgettable birding trip to Sundarbans National Park! Discover the majestic Lesser Adjutant Stork and other incredible wildlife. Read about... - [Chopta Diaries: Spotting the Elusive Himalayan Monal!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chopta-diaries-himalayan-monal/): An unforgettable birding trip to Chopta, India, in search of the majestic Himalayan Monal. Read about our journey, challenges, and... - [Chasing Hornbills in North Bengal: A Birding Adventure](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hornbills-in-north-bengal/): Join my thrilling birding adventure in North Bengal! Discover the majestic Great Hornbill and the charming Oriental Pied Hornbill. Tips... - [Birdwatching Paradise: Vernal Hanging Parrot & More in Saswad!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/saswad-birdwatching-vernal-hanging-parrot-crested-buntings/): Explore the birdwatching haven of Saswad, near Pune! Discover vibrant Vernal Hanging Parrots, Crested Buntings, and other avian wonders at... - [Chasing Vernal Hanging Parrots in Saswad: A Birding Adventure (Test post)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/vernal-hanging-parrot-saswad/): An exciting birding trip to Saswad near Pune to spot the elusive Vernal Hanging Parrot. Learn about this vibrant bird... - [Chasing the Himalayan Monal in Chopta: A Birding Adventure!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chasing-himalayan-monal-chopta/): Join my brother and I on an exciting birding trip to Chopta, HP, in search of the elusive and stunning... - [Chasing the Elusive Brown Hornbill of Dehing Patkai!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/brown-hornbill-dehing-patkai/): An adventure in Dehing Patkai National Park photographing the shy Brown Hornbill! Witness cooperative breeding & learn about this amazing... - [Finally! Photographing the Elusive Red Munia in Bengal](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-red-munia-in-bengal/): Chasing the vibrant Red Munia in Bengal! Join my birding adventures in Rajarhat and Suri, capturing the beauty of these... - [Hoolock Gibbons in India: The Singing Apes Fighting for Survival.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hoolock-gibbons-india-assam-jorhat-barekuri-2/): TL;DR: Hoolock Gibbons in India are the only ape species in the country, and are endangered. They could be found... - [Finding Tagore in Germany & Czech Republic.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tagore-germany/): Rabindranath Tagore travelled the world and while he did, he delivered speeches, had conversations with the who’s who of the... - [Chasing Fireflies in Bhandardara, Maharashtra.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/fireflies-in-bhandardara/): I’ve known about the fireflies of the western ghats for over a decade now. I have promoted the natural spectacle... - [Flamingos in Mumbai: A Thrilling Encounter](https://www.anirbansaha.com/karave-flamingo-point-mumbai/): The Unexpected Journey Begins It was a sweltering, humid day in Mumbai, the kind where the sun blazes fiercely and... - [Adventures of the Parmadan](https://www.anirbansaha.com/adventures-of-the-parmadan/): Parmadan requires no introduction to a birding enthusiast in Calcutta, especially after this year. I guess everybody who could crawl,... - [Quick Birding at Latpanchar, Bengal!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/latpanchar-birding-photography-bengal/): Latpanchar is a small village near Sittong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. While these areas are gaining popularity... - [From Trogon to a possible viral Infection: My Experience in Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kuldiha-wildlife-sanctuary-accommodation-birding/): Kuldiha is located in the Balasore district of Odisha, next to West Bengal. It takes around 4 hours to drive... - [Storks, Cormorants, and a little more | Duttabagan (Calcutta) and Raiganj Bird Sanctuary (North Bengal).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/raiganj-bird-sanctuary-kulik-asian-openbill/): In this post, I show some photographs of Asian Openbill, Indian Cormorants, Black-crowned night heron shot in Duttabagan (Kolkata), Asian... - [Custom Named Entity Recognition (NER) model to detect bird names from user-generated texts on social media, using Natural Language Processing (NLP) Techniques and the package Spacy.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/custom-named-entity-recognition-ner-model-to-detect-bird-names-from-user-generated-texts-on-social-media-using-natural-langauge-processing-nlp-techniques-and-the-package-spacy/): I just wrote my life’s longest blog post title! If you are reading this blog post, I would expect you... - [Manali; ...of clouds & the hubbub over the white-tailed bird!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/asian-paradise-flycatcher-male-manali/): There was an uncomfortable silence after we finished our first round of drinks. Manish broke it with, “P, do you... - [I saw peacocks at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Noida!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/peacocks-okhla-bird-sanctuary/): Okhla Bird Sanctuary is on the bank of river Yamuna, in Noida. It is easily accessible from Delhi, obviously and... - [Talking birds to the 9-year-old niece!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/birds-kids-bengali-local-names-kolkata-photography/): Let me start with an apology! This blog post will have a significant amount of Bangla language in it. I... - [I came back to Kolkata and have photographed birds!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/birds-kolkata-2022/): If you have read the blog post title, you very well know what I am going to talk about: Photographing... - [I made a Wordle Assistant. Here's how you can use it!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/wordle-assistant/): A lot of my friends on social media are playing Wordle! Wordle is a game where the users have to... - [Magdeburg: Life beyond Studies (4): End of Pandemic and plants!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-life-international-student/): I did not really realize how quickly one year passed since I wrote this post! While the struggle to complete... - [Photographs of Snow in Magdeburg (2021)!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/snow-in-magdeburg-2021/): How often do we, Indians, associate “foreign” with chilly winters and a lot of snow? I guess, pretty often. Maybe... - [The never-ending last 6 credits!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-never-ending-last-6-credits/): Many of my friends, who are not well acquainted with doing masters in Germany, wonder why the programs, which are... - [Interviewing Mr. Stefan Haberkorn, the brain behind "Magdeburg in Light"!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-in-light/): When our eyes dazzled at the spectacle that the “Festival of Lights, Berlin” was, little did we know that, during... - [Visiting Storchenhof at Loburg (near Magdeburg) & other things!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/storchenhof-loburg/): Storchenhof, Loburg Loburg is a small township near Magdeburg, around half an hour bus ride from Opernhaus, the nearest bus... - [Finding Birds in Magdeburg, Germany (3)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/birding-in-magdeburg-3/): After the first and the second blog post on birding in Magdeburg, this is my third and maybe the last... - [Magdeburg: Life beyond studies (3): Pandemic & MD2025](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-life-beyond-studies-3-pandemic-md2025/): The moment you think you have a hold over life, life laughs back at you. “Gotcha! ”. After this incident,... - [In Germany during COVID times...](https://www.anirbansaha.com/germany-during-covid-times/): It was during the time of the US President’s India visit, the German media and my social media newsfeed were... - [Is Germany going to be the next Italy?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/is-germany-going-to-be-the-next-italy/): Contributors: Anirban Saha, Chirag Mandal, Indranil Maji. In the previous blog post, we explored the data related to covid19 infected... - [Covid19 infected cases in Germany / Saxony-Anhalt / Magdeburg: Graphs and personal shitposting.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/covid19-cases-in-germany-saxony-anhalt-magdeburg-graphs-and-personal-shitposting/): Before the first case in Saxony-Anhalt was reported, there was an awareness about the novel Coronavirus in Germany. The first... - [Student Jobs: Tutoring!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hiwi-jobs-tutoring-ovgu-fin/): At the university, a student can either become a tutor or a HiWi (Hilfswissenschaftler (student assistant)). As a mentor, I... - [Elbe Sandstone Mountains: Lilienstein & the stone bridge of Bastei.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/elbe-sandstone-mountains-lilienstein-the-stone-bridge-of-bastei/): For a lot of young students who are into hiking, the Harz isn’t the only option that you have! The... - [Magdeburg: Life beyond studies (2).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-student-social-life/): This is a sequel to this blog post! . . and in this blog post, we try to explore what... - [Plagiarism](https://www.anirbansaha.com/plagiarism/): Plagiarism is not just ripping off someone’s work without crediting them, as most international students would like to believe. It... - [Heritage Trams in Magdeburg!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-heritage-trams-magdeburg/): If you want to miss Calcutta, Magdeburg offers you numerous excuses; the easiest excuse being the trams. I come from... - [A Bengali child's introduction to Germany!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-bengali-childs-introduction-to-germany/): It’s time for the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival and this time, the focus country is Germany! Many young people... - [Exmatriculation, AOK, a ducked up life & etc!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/exmatriculation-aok-a-ducked-up-life-etc/): I’m not sure if any international student’s life in Germany is a piece of cake, especially if you are over... - [How to choose between universities in Germany?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/choosing-german-universities-data-science/): Thanks to this blog, quite a few people approach me for guidance about choosing a German university. Before I proceed... - [To an International student.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/to-an-international-student/): : The international community here in Magdeburg, for the English courses, has a majority of students hailing from the subcontinent... - [প্রধানত হার্জ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/harz-mountains-trek/): কলকাতার থেকে একটু দূরেই যেমন দার্জিলিং, সিক্কিম, বা পুরুলিয়া’র জয়চণ্ডী পাহাড়, তেমনি মাগডেবর্গের একটু দূরেই আছে হার্জ । হিমালয় নয়... - [A journey to the top of Harz](https://www.anirbansaha.com/harz-mountains-white-deer-trek/): Written by Ankit Mukherjee. I’ve never been much of a morning person, but I do appreciate the beauty with which... - [The Pied Piper of Hameln!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-pied-piper-of-hamelin/): “Yes, in Kalkutta (Calcutta/Kolkata) there is a Pied-piper cafe , a Pied Piper Marketing Services and a Pied-piper pizzeria! And... - [Why volunteer at Berlin Buzzwords or Academic Club?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/volunteer-berlin-buzzwords/): This blog post would try to briefly tell the readers – what an ecosystem is, why volunteering for the student-run... - [Aerosol Arena: Wall Arts in Magdeburg!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/aerosol-arena-wall-arts-in-magdeburg/): At any point in time, if life in Magdeburg gets boring, there’s always a little something new to explore; Aerosol... - [Walpurgisnacht: The night of the witches.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/walpurgisnacht-wernigerode/): the witches party this night with the Satan, in all the darkness of the night. And the people light bonfires... - [Data And Knowledge Engineering (DKE) at Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/data-and-knowledge-engineering-dke-at-otto-von-guericke-university-magdeburg/): Disclaimers: This is going to be a personal note and from my perspective. If you have any query, please send... - [Stone-city Matera: a surprise sunrise, the sunset and a little more!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/matera-sunrise-sunset/): Matera, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, is a treasure rediscovered very late during the late... - [The statue of David (Michelangelo), Florence | Italy 2018](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-statue-of-david-michelangelo-florence/): David (Michelangelo): This statue has been talked, written, painted, photographed, discussed, debated for over 500 years. What more could I... - [Camp Nou experience | Barcelona 2018](https://www.anirbansaha.com/camp-nou-experience-barcelona/): “You? ... went to Camp Nou? Why! ? ” People wondered and they have all the reasons to. If you’ve... - [Magdeburg: Life beyond studies;](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-indians-social-life/): Magdeburg isn’t the book you can judge by the cover or the first couple of chapters; you shouldn’t as well.... - [এক নতুন শারদোৎসব](https://www.anirbansaha.com/durga-puja-berlin-autumn-magdeburg-bengali/): যদি ফাটা রদ্দুরের মধ্যে ঠাণ্ডা লাগে, গাছের পাতা হলুদ হয়ে ঝরে পরে, ব্যাস! বুঝে যাবেন শরৎ এসে হাজির! আমাদের শহর... - [A newer Sharodotshob (Autumn festival)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-newer-sharodotshob-autumn-festival/): “Sharodotshob” in Bengali would translate to the festival during the Autumn, which also very intuitively refers to the Durga Puja... - [Finding Birds in Magdeburg, Germany (2)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/common-birds-magdeburg-germany/): For all the students who are into bird photography, hats off to you! This is my second year of trying... - [Growing up a Little.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/growing-up-magdeburg/): It is when you are away from the people you have love, you understand the little flaws in them. You... - [The etiquette of Kölsch.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolsch-koln-cologne/): Recently in Cologne, I met with one of my closest friends, Claire. We went to a local Brauhaus (English: Brewery,... - [The heaven of wall arts - Köln, Germany.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/cologne-street-wall-arts-koln-germany/): “Everything that I could write about is already written. And all the knowledge that I have is from what I... - [The Biswa "Bangla" Gate or the Kolkata Gate !](https://www.anirbansaha.com/biswa-bangla-gate-kolkata-gate/): If you are in Kolkata (Calcutta), in no way could you not be introduced to the Biswa Bangla Gate or... - [Finding Birds in Magdeburg, Germany.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-birds-birding-germany/): The title of the blog post should be – finding time to find birds in Magdeburg! Yea. Really. I came... - [এ এক নতুন বসন্ত। মাগডেবর্গ ২০১৮](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-spring-bangla/): আমরা কলকাতায় / বাংলায় বসন্ত শুরু করি রবি ঠাকুরের “খোল দ্বার খোল, লাগলো যে দোল” দিয়ে। এই গান ছাড়া বাকি... - [మాగ్డేబుర్గ్ స్ప్రింగ్](https://www.anirbansaha.com/spring-magdeburg-telugu/): వసంత ఋతువు వచ్చింది వసుధకు అందం తెచ్చింది పచ్చ పచ్చని చిగుళ్ళతో పరవశాన్ని కలిగించింది వసంత ఋతువు వచ్చింది అని చిన్నపుడు 3 వ తరగతి లో... - [It's Spring in Magdeburg!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/spring-magdeburg-holzweg/): When we were young children, we all read about the changes various seasons bring to the world around us. But... - [A couple of hours in Monaco.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/monaco/): Let me be honest, my knowledge about Europe is decidedly limited to topics I had been introduced to in my... - [A day and a half in Toulouse, France.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/toulouse-france/): “Tulus is the first place we are going”. “How do you pronounce it? ”, I asked. With one of the... - [So, Nice was actually nice!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nice-french-reviera-tuhin-saha/): The “Mediterranean Sea” was just another English word with a complicated spelling, I had to revise just before the Geography... - [The Gothic Cathedral in Magdeburg! - The Magdeburg Dom.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-gothic-cathedral-in-magdeburg/): The Magdeburg Cathedral or the Magdeburg Dom; also called Magdeburger Dom, is the oldest existing Gothic Cathedral/structure in Germany. Initially... - [Magdeburg for Indian Dummies!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-about-indian-calcutta/): – Hey, I’m moving to Magdeburg for my studies. – That’s great. But, umm... where’s that? – Magdeburg is, umm...... - [Scrapbook.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/scrapbook/): – If you write a personal note, who will want to read it? – Let them not read. The handful... - [Tusu Festival (in Hindi).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tusu-festival-hindi/): टूशू त्योहार (टूशू परब या टूशू पोरब या टूशू पूजा भी कहाँ जाता हैं) ग्रामीण बंगाल का एक आदिवासी त्योहार... - [Balihang Tongnam: The Limbu mythology & our experience!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/balihang-tongnam-limbu-festival/): Balihang Tongnam is a festival celebrated by the Limbu (Limboo) community. Since childhood, I was fascinated by religious mythologies and... - [The Limbu Community of Yuksom, West Sikkim](https://www.anirbansaha.com/limbu-culture-in-sikkim/): The Limbu community in Sikkim is a community of the first inhabitant tribes in the state. Now they have a... - [First Photographs of Snow in Magdeburg!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/first-photographs-snow-magdeburg/): A first this season and my first experience with snowfall; I have all the reasons to be super excited! I... - [Getting used to changes in new life!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/getting-used-changes-new-life/): While I scribble this down, I’m not sure when I’d be posting this. Perhaps unedited and half-made; who cares anyway?... - [এক বৃষ্টির দিনে, Quedlinburg.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/quedlinburg-bengali/): আমার “IKUS” এক্সকারসন এ যাওয়ার একটাই কারন ছিল – “Quedlinburg” , এক সহস্রাব্দেরও পুরনো শহর যা কিনা Magdeburg থেকে মাত্র... - [Quedlinburg](https://www.anirbansaha.com/quedlinburg-tl/): Read the post in English. ప్రతిరోజు వెళ్ళే అవే క్లాస్సేస్, ఎప్పుడు ఉండే assignments నుంచి ప్రశాంతత కోసం వీకెండ్ లో IKUS వారి Quedlinburg... - [Quedlinburg & Rains.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/quedlinburg-germany/): Read this post in Telugu | Bangla . Quedlinburg is about an hour away from Magdeburg and is over a... - [Becoming Zaha.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/becoming-zaha/): Ideally, I should be writing my assignments right now. But after hours of room-hunting, I feel like spending some me-time.... - [Interfaith conflicts, discrimination & Bengali educated society.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengal-conflict-resolution/): We discussed religion-based conflicts in workplaces and the world at last. We’ve met people from the Interfaith Council of Greater... - [The Indiana Chapter of IVLP.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/indiana-ivlp-youth-leaders-finding-common-grounds/): Guest post by Alishba Alish (Delegate, Pakistan). Indianapolis is a city of simplicity, serenity and is the capital of Hoosier.... - [The Washington DC chapter of IVLP.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/washington-dc-chapter-ivlp/): I hope you’ve read the details of IVLP in this blog post. IVLP or the International Visitor Leadership Program starts... - [An Overview of US Federal structure - by Akram Elias.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/overview-us-federal-structure-akram-elias/): Akram is the President and CEO of Capital Communication, Inc. ; has more than 25 years’ experience as a consultant... - [IVLP – Youth Leaders: Finding Common Grounds.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ivlp-youth-leaders-finding-common-grounds/): This is the first blog post about the IVLP experience in the United States of America and I intend to... - [An Angel to relieve your financial investment woes, quite literally!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/angel-broking-financial-investment/): Warren Buffett: Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble. Life is short. The... - [Birding in Pangot, Sattal and in Dhikuli.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/birding-pangot-sattal-uttarakhand/): Birding is still very new and I am trying to soak in as much as I can; reaching out to... - [Kolkata Street Art Festival.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-art-festival/): While this erstwhile city of Palaces is now a city of broken and abandoned walls; why not paint it and... - [Kolkata's Street Art / Wall Art / Graffiti: Be Amazed!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkatas-street-art-wall-art/): The Kolkata street art scene is intriguing, to say the least; as intriguing as the entire concept and evolution of... - [God Brahma will not give Alimony to ex-wife. This is why!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/pushkar-brahma-gayatri-alimony-savitri-minor/): (Disclaimer: This post does not intend to hurt any religious sentiments of the practicing Hindus. This post is supported by... - [Birding should be treated separate from Wild Life. Here's why!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/birding-treated-separate-wild-life-heres/): What are the first things that come to your mind when someone says “Wild Life”? Tigers and other animals or... - [What's a Birding - Blogging Trek?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/whats-birding-blogging-trek/): GoingWild and Kolkata Bloggers, while brainstorming, just clubbing the concepts of a birding trek and a blogging workshop together to... - [Moushuni- The Plight of West Bengal’s Virgin Islands](https://www.anirbansaha.com/moushuni-islands-plight-west-bengals-virgin-islands/): Nestled between the hazy silhouettes of Jambu Dwip, Sagar Dwip, Henry Island and Bakkhali lies the rustic and virgin island-... - [বাংলার দশেরা - রাবণ কাটা](https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%82%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%a6%e0%a6%b6%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%be-%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%a3-%e0%a6%95%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%9f%e0%a6%be/): মল্লভুম বিষ্ণুপুরের বিখ্যাত ” রাবন – কাটা নাচ ” ও একটা লোকসংস্কৃতি।বিষ্ণুপুরের অস্থলে কাতান্ধারে রঘুনাথ জিউ – এর সামনে এই... - [কলকাতায় ক্রিসমাস মানেই কিন্তু পার্ক স্ট্রীট নয় - লুকিয়ে আছে অনেক কিছু!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%95%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%95%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%a4%e0%a6%be%e0%a7%9f-%e0%a6%95%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%bf%e0%a6%b8%e0%a6%ae%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b8-ramakrishna-mission-christmas/): পার্ক স্ট্রীট – সেকাল – একাল – সাবেক কলকাতার সাহেব পাড়া ছিল পার্ক স্ট্রীট । সে সময় ছোট বড় রায়বাহাদুর... - [পুরুলিয়ার তুসু পরব।](https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b0%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%bf%e0%a7%9f%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%a4%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b8%e0%a7%81-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%ac%e0%a5%a4/): (Read this post in English, by clicking here. ) লিখেছেনঃ আভেরি সাহা। অনুবাদ করেছেনঃ মৈনাক বিশ্বাস ও সুদীপ পাল। তুসু... - [The Chennai Travellers Meet!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chennai-travellers-meet/): I’ve always believed in the power of ideas and that it can transform lives, make business and take the society... - [Career Planning and its relevance among Contemporary Youth](https://www.anirbansaha.com/careerplanning/): “Career planning is important because you don’t want to go with the wind; you want to follow your dreams and... - [Fear or Love? Your take needed.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/fear-love/): “It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both. ” – Niccolo Machiavelli This morning I... - [The TROLL story of Snapdeal.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/troll-story-snapdeal/): If I was one of the heads of Snapdeal, I might have had a smile on my face but deep... - [Beyond the Headlines: Click-baits and False news.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/false-news-click-baits-india/): It does not require me to tell you what a click bait means. What worries me is the rise of... - [Through the lens of a Feminist: The Hindi Sahitya Utsav, Delhi 2017.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hindi-sahitya-utsav/): It was a pleasure knowing that Oxford Bookstore, Delhi hosted the Hindi Sahitya Utsav on the 19th of March. We... - [Kolkata Gives Philanthropy Festival 2017](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-gives-philanthropy-festival-2017/): For most of us schooling, fancy clothes, good food, restaurants and other luxuries come naturally. We don’t think twice when... - [What does FB Messenger Chat Bot mean to us, Bloggers?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/fb-messenger-chat-bot-mean-us-bloggers/): The entire world is going gaga over Facebook Messenger Chatbots since April 2016. Everyone is trying to figure out how... - [Chameleon Lights: From Journalist to Poet](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-journalists-debut-in-the-world-of-literature/): While most of us pursue higher education and then move to jobs, following the monotonous everyday routine, here is a... - [Do you know about Ixigo Glasses yet?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ixigo-glasses/): For all travellers and technology enthusiasts, Ixigo Glasses come as a pleasant surprise. What is Ixigo? – It is a... - [The Holi of my imaginations,](https://www.anirbansaha.com/holi-dol-vrindavan-ramakrishna-mission-kolkata/): The word “Holi” creates vivid imagery in our minds. Especially if you are a Bengali who has grown up listening... - [The thrill that Himalayan Drive 5 is!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/himalayan-drive-5/): The sun refused to set as the dense fog enveloped the mountain. The driver drove past the road beside the... - [Biswa Bangla J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 - the Flag off!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/j-k-tyre-himalayan-drive-5-flag-off-siliguri/): The idea of 47 teams participating in a motor rally that runs nearly 1250 km across 3 nations which include... - [Paradoxes, Irrelevance and Chhapakhana Trails.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chhapakhana-trails-the-future-of-the-past/): Did you ever pick up an engraved wooden block up, dip it into the colour and print that on a... - [Chidambaram's session at Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tata-steel-kalam-kolkata-literary-meet-chidambaram-demonetisation/): Literature festivals see an amalgamation of people across the cross section of the society, the young and the experienced, across... - [Time we talk about the Kolkata Literature Festival 2017](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-literature-festival-2017/): Kolkata, India’s first city of books and literature has not only a history of producing the best of litterateurs but... - [The Birders' weekend destination - Purbasthali Bird Sanctuary.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/purbasthali-bird-sanctuary-photos/): “Weekend Destinations” are perhaps the biggest bets in the Tourism industry now and with so many birders, bird watchers and... - [My introduction to Birding.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/sunderbans-birding-central-park-kolkata/): Sometime towards the end of 2014, I became friends with a kid; Souranil De. He is interested in good food... - [Paragliding in Gangtok, Sikkim.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/paragliding-gangtok-sikkim/): If you are planning your next Sikkim tour, I would strongly recommend you to try paragliding in Gangtok. For young... - [2016 - the year of Independence, Entrepreneurship and mistakes.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/2016-entrepreneurship-mistak/): 2016 has been a landmark year in my life; eventful and one year of learning. I left my TCS job... - [Ropeways: Transforming Tourism Destinations.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/damodar-ropeways-tourism/): “Going to Gangtok? We have made the ropeways there. Meet the people and avail the services. It is beautiful! ”.... - [Photography exhibition of exclusive Sunderban Tigers.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photography-exhibition-of-sunderban-tigers/): “We cannot see a Tiger in Sundarban. THIS is the myth that we want to break”, exclaimed an ecstatic Soumyajit... - ["Content" & Blogging: The Marketers Perspective.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/content-blogging-marketers-perspective/): I write this post because many people ask me about “Content Marketing” and how blogging would help their company. This... - [7 Reasons why you should travel young!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/reasons-travel-young/): I’m now friends with a lot of young people. 53% of my FB page followers, 45% of my Instagram followers,... - [Experience at the Naropa Festival 2016](https://www.anirbansaha.com/naropa-festival-leh-2016/): Blogging about culture gives me enough opportunity to read, experience and learn. After I photographed the Chham dance in Sikkim,... - [#TravelBlogger: User engagement & Beyond professional videos.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/travel-blogger-kolkata-user-engagement/): There are hundreds of Travel Bloggers in India; not all of them affluent enough to afford professional video makers to... - [Have a blog. Don’t be the “Blogger”.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/blog-dont-blogger/): Let’s accept it – there was a time when bloggers were looked up to as sources of information. With a... - [St. Teresa of Calcutta - Places to see in a day's trip](https://www.anirbansaha.com/st-teresa-calcutta-places-to-see-visit/): Even after the Sainthood, I’m sure she would still be more popular as “Mother” Teresa for her immense contribution to... - [Photographs of the Rabbits, the newer bundle of joy!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographs-rabbits-newer-bundle-joy/): I love the way we share every bit of happiness together. When my niece was born, she wasn’t just my... - [AnirbanSaha.com Turns 6 years old!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/anirbansaha-com-turns-6-years-old/): This year marks a decade of my blogging. In the last ten years, I’ve been the stubborn kid who wanted... - [16 Kolkata square frames as clichéd af.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-photographs/): Not always does a young Delhiite come all the way to Kolkata to meet me and see Kolkata around. But... - [Saga Dawa at Gangtok Sikkim.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/saga-dawa-gangtok-sikkim/): If the Almighty restricts you from something, always know for a fact that something better awaits. I kept asking God,... - [Hackathon: NASSCOM 10K Startups and US Consulate Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hackathon-nasscom-10k-startups-us-consulate-kolkata/): We’ve often cribbed about this city, for being laid back and not organising Hackathons. The supposed techies like me who... - [Web Literacy Campaign: Mozilla Hello Web Kolkata.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/web-literacy-campaign-kolkata-hello-web/): I’ve always valued ideas and people over money in business, and so far it has been a fulfilling journey. Today... - [NASSCOM Product Conclave: Red Carpet for the traditional businesses.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nasscom-product-conclave-red-carpet-traditional-businesses/): Moving beyond the “Hobe NA” (It won’t happen) culture that Kolkata is stereotyped as, Kolkata still happens to be the... - [My 1st lesson of business: Trust.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/1st-lesson-business-trust/): It is a human world and we deal with human beings. Business, like any other relation, depends how much one... - [Five Emerging Companies from Kolkata Campuses.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/emerging-companies-kolkata-campuses/): They challenged the idea of seeking a job. Instead, they took little initiatives while in college to create jobs for... - [There's no "Hindi Version of National Anthem". Dear Indian Government, are you listening?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hindi-version-national-anthem-india/): What was supposed to be an article to promote a Bengali film “Rajkahini” caught my attention for reasons not related... - [Young thought leaders in Digital Kolkata | The Edutainment Show Kolkata 2016](https://www.anirbansaha.com/young-thought-leaders-digital-kolkata-edutainment-show-kolkata-2016/): It was a pleasure being a part of The Edutainment Show Kolkata, the second time this year. In a new... - [Nomadic Cloud's "Travellers Meet Kolkata".](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nomadic-clouds-travellers-meet-kolkata/): One afternoon Anuradha Goyal called and asked me to take her around Kolkata. She wanted to explore and meet other... - [Trust with Care: Tata Steel factory visit, #BuildingBlogsofJoy](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tata-steel-factory-tata-tiscon/): Waking up to the spring air of February, with shades of Valentine’s week adding colours of love to our lives,... - [কৃষ্ণদেবপুরের গাজন উৎসব ২০১৪](https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%97%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%9c%e0%a6%a8-%e0%a6%89%e0%a7%8e%e0%a6%b8%e0%a6%ac-%e0%a6%9a%e0%a7%9c%e0%a6%95-%e0%a6%95%e0%a7%83%e0%a6%b7%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%a3%e0%a6%a6%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81/): বিশ্বাসে মেলায় বস্তু || গাজন উৎসব ও চড়ক ‘ কৃষ্ণদেবপুর, পশ্চিম বাংলা ২০১৪ অনুবাদঃ তমোঘ্ন সরস্বতী (ছাত্র, নীল রতন সরকার... - [10 shades of Holi in Vrindavan & Mathura](https://www.anirbansaha.com/widows-holi-vrindavan-mathura/): Holi in Vrindavan & Mathura | Arghyadeep Roy and Anirban Saha | 27. 03. 2016 Radhe Radhe. The Holi in... - [That's the Joy of Building](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tata-tiscon-the-joy-of-building/): Ever since my apartment went one and a half feet lower after the recent earthquake, I’ve taken a special interest... - [The Parsi Fire Temple and 5 things about Parsi community in India](https://www.anirbansaha.com/parsi-fire-temple-kolkata-india/): The Parsi Fire Temple in Kolkata is a place forbidden for any non-Parsi. But the forbidden things seem most tempting,... - [Bengal Write Ahead: What's positive?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengal-write-ahead-whats-positive/): I hope this post finds you in good health. Even if you are not well at the moment, I’d always... - [Christmas eve celebrations at Ramakrishna Mission Belur Math](https://www.anirbansaha.com/christmas-eve-at-ramakrishna-mission-belur-math/): “Blessed are the ones who know how to forgive”. This echoes inside my mind when deep down I feel hurt.... - [Kindred Nations – The United States and India, 1783 – 1947](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kindred-nations-the-united-states-and-india-1783-1947/): The trade relation between the British occupied India and the newly independent United States of America dates back to early... - [A reluctant photographers Mumbai visit!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-reluctant-photographers-mumbai-visit/): My perception of Mumbai has always been of a city which is fast paced with warm but crazy people. This... - [Year 2015: Necessary choices, welcome consequences.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/year-2015-necessary-choices-welcome-consequences/): Like any other year, I write this note in an introspection of the year 2015 that’s going to end, the... - [Cold Pressed juices and Inspirit.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/cold-pressed-juices-and-inspirit/): What are “Cold Pressed Juices”? The packaged juices are pasteurised, thus giving it a longer shelf life but compromising with... - [#100FireFlies: Friends, Sky lanterns & Diwali.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/100fireflies-friends-sky-lanterns-diwali/): “Let’s use one hash-tag to share all our experiences over social media. What should it be? ” “#100FireFlies”, said the... - [Bhoot Chaturdoshi, what's that?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bhoot-chaturdoshi/): A few days back almost all of our social media feeds were full with pictures of pumpkins. And they were... - [Two hands full of Durga Puja stories.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/belur-math-durga-puja-rabon-kata-2/): Durga Puja spells trouble in my life. A lot of people asks just too many questions about my work, hair... - [DSLRs are passé, Mobile photography is the new cool.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/dslrs-are-passe-mobile-photography-is-the-new-cool/): Taking photographs using your mobile phone is no more just uploading photographs amateurishly and being happy about it. People now... - [Kolkata's youth theatre today.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkatas-youth-theatre-today/): Gone are the days when theatre meant spending leisure time with families and restricted to a chosen few theatre halls.... - [20 Kolkata based photographers you should follow over Instagram!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/20-kolkata-based-photographers-you-should-follow-over-instagram/): Even after my blog post on Mobile phone photography last year, I used to be a reluctant Instagram user, until... - [Tales to tell: Book launch at Oxford Bookstore, Kolkata.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tales-to-tell-book-launch-at-oxford-bookstore-kolkata/): What is “Tales to tell”? It is a anthology published, featuring twenty new authors and twenty new artists by Kolkata... - [Calcutta Times Passions Club - Photography Trail review.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/calcutta-times-passions-club-photography-trail-review/): – It is always fun working with any initiative of The Times of India, here in Calcutta. We had previously... - [10 thoughts to share today. #Personal](https://www.anirbansaha.com/10-thoughts-to-share-today-personal/): One of the most exciting month end ever, was of this Augusts’. “Kolkata Bloggers” had three different events on the... - [Fourth Generation (Guest blog post by Esha Chatterjee)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/esha-chatterjee-tridib/): – I wake up to the smell of paper and sound of our big offset printing machine. I have been... - [Your Photograph, your Rights | Indian Copyright Act for Photographers.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/your-photograph-your-rights-indian-copyright-act-for-photographers/): If your photograph gets used unauthorisedly (read: stolen), what should you do? Greetings. I’ve often come across different cases where... - [Why "Analytics specialisation" in your MBA programme?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mba-analytics-data-science-summit-kolkata/): Have you ever wondered? How the world would have been if we could predict any natural disaster like Nepal’s earthquake... - [Web data extraction for your small business. (Data Science Summit, Kolkata)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/data-science-summit-kolkata-1/): Post written: Dipayan Dev Do you aspire to become an entrepreneur? Does it look challenging to start up? It might,... - [Calcutta Boys' School, Concord: Blogging, Photography & Java.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/calcutta-boys-school-concord-blogging-coding-java/): Calcutta Boys’ School is an integral part of my life today. So much so, that a few still think that... - [Remembering Thamma (Grandmother).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/remembering-grandmother-thamma/): – My grandmother, Thamma as I used to call her, was perhaps my first friend. When my mother used to... - [Bangkok: Solo travelling.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bangkok-solo-travelling/): Kolkata and Bangkok: It has been slightly more than a couple of months I’ve come back from Bangkok and I’ll... - [Darjeeling, Monsoons and 6 years in between](https://www.anirbansaha.com/darjeeling-monsoons-and-6-years-in-between/): The sheer joy of walking down the road when the drizzle drops descend, floating down often carried away by the... - [International Yoga Day celebrations in Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/international-yoga-day-at-kolkata/): Did you know? Yoga is one form of exercise which constitutes of full body workout and helps you master your... - [NASSCOM Product Conclave 2015](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nasscom-product-conclave-2015/): What is NASSCOM Product Conclave? NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) is a (non profit) trade association of... - [Getting back to life](https://www.anirbansaha.com/resign-from-tcs/): Not always do we have the best of time, do we? I had a rough phase and I believe it... - [Very basic Social Media tips for Personal Branding.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/social-media-tips-personal-branding/): We, my friends, are brands. What people perceive of you, how much they trust you with work, is what makes... - [Media studies in Kolkata, an overview.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/media-studies-in-kolkata-an-overview/): “The towers of reverie are meant to be followed” That’s what Souradeep thought when he got his first camera back... - [How important is one's class 12 result ?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/how-important-is-ones-class-12-result/): Saimantick exclaimed, “It’s the 18th that I dread. Not anything else. ISC results are going to be out. ” I... - [Bloggers Meet and Discussion at US Consul Gen's house](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bloggers-meet-us-consul/): If last Sunday saw 37 bloggers from varied genres and age groups come meet to exchange views, the Monday next... - [Bangkok: New People and First Perceptions](https://www.anirbansaha.com/india-bangkok-connection-temple-ganesh/): Bangkok, a city slightly more than high-rises, busy corporate life, go-go bars and active night life has been my home... - [Explore the elements - Earth, Water, Fire and Air](https://www.anirbansaha.com/explore-the-elements-earth-water-fire-and-air/): Different cultures, folk tales and their festivals intrigue me. Travelling is no more just a passion, it has become a... - [Why do I use social media and how Hootsuite helps](https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-do-i-use-social-media-and-how-hootsuite-helps/): Social Media (“M” in capital letter, bold) is the way we communicate today. And that is perhaps the easiest way... - [Cycle stunts and the "Happy Streets" in Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-daring-and-the-happy-streets/): Wazid had the most content and satisfied smile on his face, when the rest of us broke into a thunderous... - [Magnum, Mishti and more](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magnum-ice-creams-launch-kolkata/): Last week, the room in Taj Bengal was packed, all eagerly waiting for Chef Kunal Kapur and Soha Ali Khan... - [Photographs of Ravangla, Geyzing (Sikkim) trip.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ravangla-geyzing-monastery-chham-photographs/): I’ve never been the beach guy ever ! During the sultry Kolkata summers, I prefer staying indoors testing my AC’s... - [The curious case of Kolkata's Literary circles](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-curious-case-of-kolkatas-literary-circles/): Anirban Saha | Edited by: Srabasti Bhattacharya. February 12, 2015. “There is a craze in Kolkata about books” exclaimed Shobhaa... - [Wi-Fi and Kolkata, the city of the future.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/wi-fi-and-kolkata-the-city-of-the-future/): The Chief Minister of West Bengal – Mamata Banerjee today launched the Wi-Fi in the Park Street area. She had... - [Who is more popular - You or Your Blog?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/who-is-more-popular-you-or-your-blog/): In the very recently concluded Bloggers Meet, conducted by The Times of India in association with Kolkata Bloggers for Apeejay... - [Kayged festival and Cham Dance in Ralang monastery, Sikkim](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kayged-festival-ralang-monastery-cham-dance-in-ralang-monastery-sikkim/): The Tibetan dance “Cham” is quite familiar with people fascinated by the ever varying Indian culture. However, very few resources... - [Magen David Synagogue and 5 things about Calcutta's Jews.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/magen-david-synagogue-and-5-things-about-calcuttas-jews/): I had no proper plans made for this year’s Christmas. Tired of resting, I boarded a taxi and asked the... - [Year 2014 - Knowing the Blogger.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-blogger-anirban-saha-photographer/): If 2013 was all about taming my mind, 2014 so far has been all about unleashing the blogger in me.... - [10 recent things I haven't blog posted about.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/murari-bapu-ram-katha-dutch-greek-church-bengali-heritage/): Hi friends, This week, my blog post will feature 10 things I came across in the last few days but... - [Lok Prasar Prakalpa Photography Theft - Settlement.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/lok-prasar-prakalpa-photography-theft-settlement/): Let me share good news: The photo theft issue mentioned in this post is now settled. The West Bengal Government’s... - [Maa Manasa - The controller of snakes.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/maa-manasa-the-controller-of-snakes/): Don’t freak out when I say this: I dream of snakes at the start of every bad phase in my... - [Meghalaya - David Scott and Nongriat Trek](https://www.anirbansaha.com/meghalaya-david-scott-nongriat-trek/): ( continued from ” Meghalaya: Color-ob” ) Which places did you visit? Did you go to the seven sister falls?... - [Purulia trip in Square frames](https://www.anirbansaha.com/purulia-trip-square-frames/): Purulia trip: After the Meghalaya trip full of trek and caving, my next trip was lazying around Ajodhya hills of... - [Basic Photography and Social Media meetup @ NIT Durgapur](https://www.anirbansaha.com/basic-photography-and-social-media-workshop-nit-durgapur/): To be invited by the students of the esteemed NIT Durgapur to conduct a basic photography workshop was more than... - [Caving in Meghalaya - Closer to the core](https://www.anirbansaha.com/caving-in-meghalaya-northeast-tourism/): Do you know: Meghalaya has the subcontinent’s longest and deepest of caves and is in World’s top 10 caving destinations?... - [Diwali with Missionaries of Charity and Flying Lanterns.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/diwali-missionaries-of-charity-flying-lantern/): I wish you all a very happy festive season. Warm greetings on this auspicious occasion of Mahavir Nirvan Diwas, Kali... - [Meghalaya: Color-ob](https://www.anirbansaha.com/meghalaya-travel-trek-caving-tourism/): What did it feel like? It felt like a cacophony of colours, colours everywhere. . the lush green fields, the... - [A photo blogger’s take on Plagiarism](https://www.anirbansaha.com/plagiarism-photo-churi-tmc-bjp/): From forwarding SMS’s to sharing content over the social media, we seem to be in a habit of copying content... - [The newer world of mobile phone photography and instagram.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-newer-world-of-mobile-photography-and-instagram/): Mobile phone photography is not really new. A lot of people have been doing it since long back. I remember,... - [মহালয়া এবং আরও কিছু ছবি ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mahalaya-bengal-tarpan-kolkata-durgapuja/): I avoid crowded places, given my weak health now. But I had to give in to the demands of Saimantick.... - [#HokKolorob : হোক কলরব।](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hokkolorob-jadavpur-agitation-tmcp-vc/): I was dragged out of Aurobindo Bhavan, while being kicked at my lower abdomen constantly. Then, I was dragged till... - [আগমনীর টানে। ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mahalaya-durga-puja-creative/): Undeniably an indelible proof of Man’s interminable connection with the cycle of seasons, it is that time in the journey... - [কিছু ছবি, কিছু গল্প।](https://www.anirbansaha.com/paralympic-walk-gariahat-chess-players-maya-rani-pal-kumartuli-photograph-backlight/): A fistful of short incidents and interactions, I had in the last couple of weeks. I hope you like them.... - [Of everything little. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/of-everything-little/): Hi friends, this week I did not have anything great worth sharing. So to write a blog post today, I... - [Lok Prasar Prakalpa: Bengal Government's unauthorised photograph use. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/lok-prasar-prakalpa-bengal-governments-unauthorised-photograph-use/): About Bengal Government’s advertisement, Government officials, unauthorised use of my photograph, Intellectual Property rights and one week of inaction. It... - [Good Photographs | Better Photographs](https://www.anirbansaha.com/good-photographs-better-photographs/): One day I was quite low in the office as I could not solve a problem. It was late in... - [What does Happiness mean to you?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/what-does-happiness-mean-to-you/): A proper definition of happiness remains as ever, elusive. There has been scholars and thinkers who have spent ages wondering... - [I'm the creative blogger! Err, not the photographer.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/im-the-creative-blogger-err-not-the-photographer/): “Hi, this is Anirban Saha, a photoblogger based in Calcutta. . ” “Photo. . what? Blo. ? ” “Umm, blogger.... - [Murshidabad: Hazar duari and around.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/murshidabad-hazaarduwari-and-around/): One of the chief attractions in Murshidabad is the Hazarduari complex. I would not write about the history of the... - [Murshidabad : In search of Bauls (Part 2)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/murshidabad-in-search-of-bauls-part-2/): Part 2: A day with Baban Das Baul. “Who was the first man on earth? ”, asked Baban Das Baul.... - [Murshidabad : In search of Bauls (Part 1)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/murshidabad-in-search-of-bauls-part-1/): Part 1: Bauls: Spirituality over religion. I set myself out to Murshidabad, after the tiresome Friday in office, in search... - [Football mania in Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/football-mania-in-kolkata/): “Do you lack the adrenaline rush or something? Why don’t you watch football? ” asked Arjyak at the end of... - [Kolkata - a Love story .](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-a-love-story/): You flow effortlessly into the remainder of my nostalgia; a life of stamps on postcards, of sophisticated salons and bittersweet... - [Getting offline](https://www.anirbansaha.com/getting-offline/): Getting offline, speaking about your blog is not only an awesome idea to promote it, but makes you feel genuinely... - [In revelry and dissent, my Calcutta](https://www.anirbansaha.com/in-revelry-and-dissent-my-calcutta/): This city of Calcutta, the city of an ever changing skyline. . the city that never stops, radiating from every... - [Adda with Derek O’Brien](https://www.anirbansaha.com/adda-with-derek-obrien/): Kolkata – the city of changing skyline, the city of changing perceptions. Kolkata is the city, I have consciously chosen... - [Why should you Blog?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-should-you-blog/): If you are reading this, be informed: you already know what a blog is! Websites which are regularly updated and... - [Why should you Photo walk?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-should-you-photo-walk/): Photo walking can be an exciting way to know and to make newer friends in your city. Grab your camera,... - [A tribute to Manna Dey.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-tribute-to-manna-dey-arunita-barui/): Does this man require any introduction? He was the first superstar singer in Bollywood. He sang over 4000 songs from... - [The second time Bengali voter’s take on Indian General Elections 2014.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/modi-mamata-indian-general-elections/): Expect me to write bullshit about Narendra Modi. I want the brainless retarded “Bhakts” to abuse me on my blog... - [Yet another scribbling. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/yet-another-scribbling/): Some idle time by the side of the river watching the children play, the ducks walk around, the daily labourers... - [Gajan festival in West Bengal](https://www.anirbansaha.com/gajan-festival-in-west-bengal/): Photograph #1: The street skit showing the dance of Lord Shiva. (Gajan | www. anirbansaha. com) A tale of belief:... - [Basic Photography workshop at Loreto College, Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/basic-photography-workshop-at-loreto-college-kolkata/): I was invited to conduct a “Two days Basic Photography and Social Media workshop” in Loreto College, Kolkata. On the... - [Arunita Barui's Charcoal painting - Social media and me.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/arunita-barui-charcoal-painting-social-media-me/): I’ve always thought of sharing my social media stories with my friends. But never did I share, for various reasons.... - [Seminar at Loreto College, Kolkata.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/seminar-at-loreto-college-kolkata/): I was invited to Loreto College to have 2 sessions on basic photography and social media. That came to me... - [Some other photographs](https://www.anirbansaha.com/some-other-photographs/): Well, I am down with weak health. I did best of what I could have done, go through my old... - [Boshonto Utshob | Kolkata Jorasanko thakur bari' 2014](https://www.anirbansaha.com/boshonto-utshob-kolkata-jorasanko-thakur-bari-2014/): Information: Boshonto Utshob 2018 celebration in Jorasanko Thakur Bari is scheduled on ____. —– Like most other Bengali children, I... - [InstaWalk with National Geographic Channel and Calcutta Walks.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/instawalk-with-national-geographic-channel-and-calcutta-walks/): This blog post is about the National Geographic Channel Insta-Walk Kolkata, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy 2. I was short listed... - [3 things about Sachin, that inspire me](https://www.anirbansaha.com/3-things-about-sachin-that-inspire-me/): I am not really a cricket fanatic. My knowledge of Sachin is limited to the links people posted when he... - [Kolkata bloggers](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bloggers-of-kolkata/): So, another new Facebook page for Bloggers? That is definitely not the intent. The wish is to do something substantial... - [The Sri Lankan Buddhist monk in Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-sri-lankan-buddhist-monk-in-kolkata/): While strolling on the streets of College street today, we stopped at the “Maha Bodhi Society of India” Buddhist temple... - [Men Selfies ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/men-selfies/): selfie: Pronunciation:/ˈsɛlfi a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded... - [Chandannagar (Trip 2)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chandannagar-trip-2/): This trip followed one week after the first. This time it was my college’s classmate – Prashasti’s marriage. I am... - [Tabbed comment box for WordPress sites](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tabbed-comments-for-wordpress-sites/): Few weeks back, I have changed the way you can comment on my blog and have been sharing the idea.... - [Chandannagar with Country Roots](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chandannagar-with-country-roots/): For the last few weeks, apart from my office, I am either resting at home or scribbling on my diary... - [Meetup (Workshop) at The Frank Anthony Public School](https://www.anirbansaha.com/workshop-the-frank-anthony-public-school/): This was my third school visit after St. Pauls’ Mission School and Pratt Memorial School. People who know me, knows... - [Tusu Parab (festival / parab), Purulia](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tusu-parab-festival-purulia/): (বাংলায় পড়ার জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করে।) (इसे हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहां क्लिक करें) The Tusu festival ( also known... - [Maidan, mist and more of Kolkata's Lake.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/maidan-mist-and-more-of-kolkatas-lake/) - [Stood there.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/stood-there/): It came, because it had to. It left, because it wished to. I am, because I want to. Simple, statued... - [Kolkata Christmas 2013 - Photographs.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-christmas-2013-photographs/): Pasting few photographs in this blog post. Shot at Bow Barracks, this is the kid Kaif whom I mentioned in... - [Kolkata Christmas Carnival and my experience 2013](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-christmas-carnival-and-my-experience-2013/): I’ve a lot to say. Let me try organising my thoughts. 24th evening till 25th December midnight – was some... - [Kolkata Street Photography ( Two more photo-walks - 7 Dec & 22 December 2013)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-photography-photowalks/): Well, gone are the days when I found time to write THIS big blog posts. . these days, I do... - [Kolkata Street Photography](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-photography/): You can view more of Kolkata Street Photography. The website is not yet fully updated. The indexing is still on. - [Mallick ghat flower market](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mallick-ghat-flower-market/): Spent some time at the Mullick ghat flower market, near Burrabazaar Kolkata. This is a whole sale flower market. I... - [|| Nakhoda Masjid ||](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nakhoda-masjid/): Few more moments from Nakhoda mosque. - [Children by the street side.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/children-by-the-streets/): Not this. If not all the comfort of the world, give them their learning time, their time to love and... - [Hiraeth](https://www.anirbansaha.com/hiraeth/): “Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate And though I oft have passed... - [Kolkata and CamEra.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-camera/): People who know me, knows that I easily fall in love with any initiative that promotes Kolkata or Bengal. One... - [Photographying a friend : Saimantick](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographying-a-friend-saimantick/): Friend? Umm. . Kid. Primarily friends at Facebook, I have met him 4 times. I crack the stupidest of jokes... - [The Spark of Creativity workshop.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-spark-of-creativity-workshop/): 26 October 2013, Kolkata: People braved the rain, dared the flood... made it to the workshop. The ‘Spark of Creativity’... - [Shadows ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/shadows/): It happens once in a blue moon, this confluence of shadows. The shadows are everywhere. Around the corner, walking on... - [test](https://www.anirbansaha.com/test/): test post again Google+ - [City colours](https://www.anirbansaha.com/city-colours/): Date: 19. 10. 2013 When you are happy from within, you get not to ignore the littlest things that bring... - [|| Nakhoda Masjid ||](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nakhoda-masjid-2/): Nakhoda Masjid, Kolkata. October 13, 2013. My first photo walk (2010) with Kolkata Weekend Shoots, my first proper exposure to... - [Sindur Khela](https://www.anirbansaha.com/sindur-khela/): The tenth and the last day of Durga Puja – Dashami. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91... - [Bidding Adieu](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bidding-adieu/): Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com “Like” Anirban Saha Photography at... - [Nabami Aarati at Sobhabazar Rajbari](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nabami-aarati-at-sobhabazar-rajbari/): These photographs were taken in Sobhabazar Rajbari, 13. 10. 2013. It was a privilege to be let inside by a... - [Durga Puja 2013 - The way it is.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/durga-puja-2013-the-way-it-is/): Decking the Goddess with her ornaments. Shot at Samya Karpha’s home... and gifting to her the weapons. Arati on Sashti.... - [Kolkata - the two celebrations.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-the-two-celebrations/): . . I am back with a personal post again. Yesterday Arya (Chakraborty) came to my place after his tuitions,... - [Kumartuli 2013](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kumartuli-2013-1/): . . and the cliche, 3 hours 3 weeks Kumartuli. Showcasing few of the shots. If you are a publishing... - [Taking Tagore forward](https://www.anirbansaha.com/taking-tagore-forward/): The first question – why am I writing this? One of you readers might just question my eligibility to comment... - [The fading "Bengali" childhood.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-fading-bengali-childhood/): Ankur was so fascinated by the little wooden structures that were sold by the street side. He wished for one,... - [The "Whats up?" post](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-whats-up-post/): I just noticed, that this space was not updated for the last 1 month and more than 20 days. Quite... - [DSLR holders || Photographers - Is the boom just another fad ? ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/dslr-holders-photographers-is-the-boom-just-another-fad/): How many of you have seen this image below : Did you laugh at it ? All seeming true. Isn’t... - [Boshonto Utsav](https://www.anirbansaha.com/boshonto-utsav/): Glimpses,small talks, photographs of Boshonto and fond memories, adda that can never be scripted down. বাতাস ছুটিছে বনময় রে, ফুলের... - [Model shoot #3](https://www.anirbansaha.com/model-shoot-3/): Not sure, if I shall be publishing my model shoot #2 ( Shantiniketan ) photographs any time soon. Model shoot... - [My Kumbh Experience - 2](https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-kumbh-experience-2/): While in the middle of the procession, one naga looked at me and scratched his head ! Friends, thank you... - [My Kumbh experience](https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-kumbh-experience/): Travelling and photographing events have always led me dive into the uncertain. And after months, I was the same mad... - [Within tenderness. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/within-tenderness/): Have never felt, a flower and its photographs can reflect human emotions. This is just an attempt to showcase them.... - [The fire within](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-fire-within/): The fire within, the fire without, that drives to fuel your passions through. The rocky roads of destiny, the love... - [The Statesman Vintage Car Rally Kolkata 2013](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-statesman-vintage-car-rally-kolkata-2013/): Achira Dasgupta | Monday 14 January 2013, Kolkata About the Vintage Car Rally 2013. Photographs: Anirban Saha , Saikat Das,... - [The year 2012](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-year-2012/): For a year that this is, this year was about taming myself, if “taming” is the word that is. Till... - [Shot at Indian Coffee House, College Street.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/shot-at-indian-coffee-house-college-street/): Had been to the coffee house after a long time. As a photographer, you should visit same places quite often... - [Christmas 2012](https://www.anirbansaha.com/christmas-2012/): Merry Christmas to all who happen to see this ! I am yet to understand what Christmas is to my... - [Photographing a friend : Harshit ( Day 2 )](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-a-friend-harshit-day-2/): My first experiment with Studio lights at Sambit’s dad’s studio, near Dunlop Kolkata. . and it was a good learning... - [Photography and the latest initiative.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photography-and-the-latest-initiative/): Search for like-minded people, peer learning, the decline of APUPI. The search for like minded people is still on. It... - [Peace Protest at Kolkata ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/peace-protest-at-kolkata/): Too many things to scribble down, too many photographs to fit into one singular blogpost. I shall start with an... - [Kolkata morning blues (2)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-morning-blues-2/): Umm, the last set of photographs were not really good. I have taken them down. I present to you a... - [Solace](https://www.anirbansaha.com/solace/): S o l a c e . ~ Amrita Bhattacharya. The world might fall on me, yet I sleep on.... - [Kolkata and Rickshaws (5)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaw-5/): Fifth part of the series. These photographs show the Rickshaw pullers busy in their morning schedule. The business includes, preparing... - [Photographying a friend : Saurish Lahiri](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographying-a-friend-saurish-lahiri/): Well, about Saurish. I am quite attached to their family. . Saurish, Deeptish, Uncle and Aunt. And I believe they... - [Kolkata and Rickshaws (4).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws-4/): Fourth part of the series. These photographs show the Rickshaw pullers taking a break from their schedule and resting. Not... - [The profile picture business](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-profile-picture-business/): Most of our photography consists of people, of faces... mainly friends. And they love to change their facebook profile picture... - [Durga Puja' 2012 photographs](https://www.anirbansaha.com/durga-puja-and-related/): “First comes knowledge, then – observation, then comes photography. ”, said one of the most renowned photographers in Kolkata. I... - [Kola Bou snan ( Durga Puja )](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kola-bou-snan-durga-puja/): The “Kola Bou” (কলা বউ) of God Ganesha, fascinates any Bengali kid. One of the first rituals of Durgapuja is... - [A Disguise of Reflections](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-disguise-of-reflections/): The mighty finds expression in those who reflect its might from within... . A mother caresses carefully the reflection of... - [Mahalaya and Tarpan](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mahalaya-and-tarpan/): For your peace, I pray to you and the Almighty (Shot at near 4:45 am, Mullick ghaat, Kolkata) Surprisingly the... - [The crowded by lanes of Kumartuli](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-crowded-by-lanes-of-kumartuli/): Reigning over the chaos. ( version 2. 0 ) Chaotic as one white skinned exclaimed, the chaos of the lanes... - [Kolkata and Rickshaws (3)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws-3/): Third part of the series. These photographs were shot at Kumartuli. The beauty of these Rickshaws is that they enter... - [Lost in the shadows of the city lights](https://www.anirbansaha.com/lost-in-the-shadows-of-the-city-lights/): It was another attempt, to shoot portraits in the street light. In this attempt, I wanted to do something different.... - [Kolkata and Rickshaws (2).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws-2/): Sharing three more photographs of the hand pulled rickshaws of Kolkata. Do comment your honest reviews. Share ideas as well.... - [ Innocence ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/innocence/): Children as subject have always fascinated me. But, you see ! Kids are not readily available. Shot few, and showcasing... - [Wishing to be a stranger.. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/wishing-to-be-a-stranger/): Wishing to be a stranger to the people around. There wont be a home, office or the general bustle of... - [The formation of the Almighty , Kumartuli ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-formation-of-the-almighty-kumartuli/): Kumartuli is one of the places I go at least once and each year. Any aspiring or established photographer go... - [Kolkata and Rickshaws (1).](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws/): Kolkata’s street photography is incomplete without photographs of the hand pulled Rickshaw. I present three shots of Rickshaws, different from... - [Pursuit, Prayer & Promises](https://www.anirbansaha.com/pursuit-prayer-promises/): A snippet of the conversation with a “pir baba” of Jama Masjid, Delhi (2011). Coupled with photographs shot at Eid... - [Dhoibat & my first performance.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/dhoibat-my-first-performance/): Dhoibat organised a inhouse rabindrasangeet evening, based on Tagore’s Monsoon songs, which often led to personification and exhibited human emotions.... - [Blind Paradise](https://www.anirbansaha.com/blind-paradise/): Sometimes on the mornings when everyone slept, she’d hum a few lines to soothe herself. She couldn’t sleep nights in... - [Eid-ul-Fitr 2012](https://www.anirbansaha.com/eid-ul-fitr-2012/): Islam and its rituals interest me. This was the second Id-ul-Fitr shoot for me and I do visit mosques quite... - [just another blog post.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/just-another-blog-post/): I just noticed, I didnot really blog post this entire month. So I thought of coming up with a post,... - [If only in real, I could fly. (drunkard's poem #1)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/if-only-in-real-i-could-fly-drunkards-poem-1/): Shooting oneself, ourselves to the infinite blue... floating on your dreams, pretending to fly. Closed eyes, breathing deep, senses numb,... - [Photographing a friend : Harshit ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-harshit/): And as I said in the last blogpost, I hardly photograph these days, and if at all. . its either... - [Street light and portraits.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/street-light-and-portraits/): Street lights can be interesting. Having said this, I would like to say, I have taken a new interest in... - [Perhaps, the attached strings.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/attached-strings/): It was the early hours of Nov 21, 2011 that I tweeted : “What remains at the end of it... - [Star leading us to the newer life.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/star-leading-us-to-the-newer-life/): Discussion has driven the social media forward. This is another of my scribbles from diary date 31st December 2011. This... - [Nasscom IT niketan Tech unique 1.0 : Turn the table.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nasscom-it-niketan-tech-unique-1-0-turn-the-table/): NASSCOM or its events need no introduction. I shall skip that part, and shall start discussing what the section “Turn... - [Rabindra Jayanti at St Pauls' Mission School, 2012.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/rabindra-jayanti-at-st-pauls-mission-school-2012/): I am an alumni of St Pauls’ Mission School, Kolkata. After having left school, I made it a point not... - [Photographing a friend : Arpit Saha](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-friend-1-arpit-saha/): Shot few portraits of Arpit and sharing it with all today. Please do suggest me improvements. tried playing a bit... - [Kolkata morning blues (1)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-morning-blues/): Few snapshots describing Kolkata’s mood in the morning. These shots were mainly taken in the northern part of Kolkata during... - [By thy name, O Lord !](https://www.anirbansaha.com/by-thy-name-o-lord/): When it comes to photographing serenity in its purest forms, Nakoda Mosque has always been a preferable location for me.... - [ILP completion and "Saanjh"](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ilp-completion-and-saanjh/): Had an apprehensive start to this journey, but today we complete 60 working days at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, marking... - ["You took my heart away.." - Soul Vibes ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/you-took-my-heart-away-soul-vibes/): Could not help but share Soul Vibes’s latest song – “You took my heart away”. These guys amaze me with... - [Dark designs (Smoke Photography)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/dark-designs-smoke-photography/): I had been wishing to try Smoke Photography for quite some time now, after being inspired by Prashant Awasti’s work,... - [Jayita Saha's marriage.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/jayita-sahas-marriage/): I wrote an entire paragraph, and then I backspaced one character after the other. . Not that I did not... - [Asha o alaap ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/asha-o-alaap/): আশা – ও – আলাপ জানালা দিয়ে তোমাকে দেখা , আজ নতুন নয় ... তুমি পাল্টালে না | বেরোনোর সময়ে... - [A month just over at Tata Consultancy Services](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-month-just-over-at-tata-consultancy-services/): It has been one month in the Tata Consultancy Services, and my friends are so full of questions. So, here... - [pathos. emptiness. feelings.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/pathos-emptiness-feelings/): . . and unedited scribbling from a diary page ‎. . a kind of pathos. I can not relate to... - [Introspection](https://www.anirbansaha.com/introspection/): I scribbled this long back in February 2011. 🙂 Do read, and leave a review. “Where there is righteousness there... - [A tale of Memories - Jibon Smriti ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-tale-of-memories-jibon-smriti/): I dont know who paints the canvas of our memories. Whoever does so, actually paints it. He doesnot document events... - [They prepare to keep us safe ( Indian Army )](https://www.anirbansaha.com/they-prepare-to-keep-us-saf/): Guys, last week I was out with my camera. This week, I couldnot manage it. But would like to discuss... - [New Year 2012, and the start.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/new-year-2012-and-the-start/): I forgot to update my blog! Happy new year folks! I know its coming late... but believe me, I seriously... - [The star that leads us.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-star-that-leads-us/): I scribbled this long back, shared it on facebook few days ago... . resharing it here. This christmas eve really... - [Integrity.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/integrity/): It was an exercise at TCS, we had to choose one word from a list of “values” and let our... - [Mumbai-Solapur Darshan ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mumbai-solapur-darshan/): Well I was supposed to go to Gangasagar and north Bengal this December end... but didn’t make further plans. Instead,... - [Balmiki Pratibha (Rabindra geeti-natya)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/balmiki-pratibha-rabindra-geeti-natya/): Once the dacoit Ratnakar decided to sacrifice a girl in order to please Goddess Kali. But the girl cried and... - [Bengali Marriages ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengali-marriages/): Marriages, first feared. . then loved. . and then, oops! regret But when loved, I believe no better heaven exist... - [Childrens Day 2011.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/childrens-day-2011/): “Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of... - [Chamurchi & Jalpaiguri visit](https://www.anirbansaha.com/chamurchi-jalpaiguri-visit/): Went with my dad to Chamurchi. He went there to audit a tea state, and I thought I went there... - [Travelling my way 2011..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/travelling-my-way-2011/): Travelling is an unique term. You can use it for reasons more than just one. . travelling across emotions, people.... - [Light up the world. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/light-up-the-world/): Well, tried writing something along with this photograph. Some abstract, some quote, some story. . but failed so miserably. Fell... - [Rash Utsav ( Nabadwip and Mayapur Iskon)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/rash-utsav-nabadwip-and-mayapur-iskon/): For Tagore, looking back at events create a beautiful image of itself, which he perceived as a beautiful painting (ref:... - [A divine Start](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-divine-start/): ... This morning is feeling so divine. The Almighty – controller of illusions, is repeating my story. I fear repeating... - [Its you, I love.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/its-you-i-love/): Stay there, stay far The less I know, the less of tar The more of you, I love. Let me... - [Monochromes](https://www.anirbansaha.com/monochromes/): It was the August edition of Better Photography, where the theme was “Monochrome shades of Monsoon”. I got quite interested... - [Happy Diwali 2011](https://www.anirbansaha.com/happy-diwali-2011/): Happy Diwali friends, keep this safe. Let Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi bless us all with the richness of wealth and... - [Kali Puja experience ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kali-puja-experience/): Well a lot to write perhaps. About Sourodip, about kids in Dum Dum Park... about my day and yes –... - [Kolkata geared for Kali Pujo](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-geared-for-kali-pujo/): . . and as I said, I am falling in love with my home city... never loved it so much.... - [The roads' share of Politics.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-roads-share-of-politics/): Kolkata- the city which is always politically active, lawfully correct and hideously simple. This perhaps is the place where everyone... - [Galli Cricket - the Kolkata way](https://www.anirbansaha.com/galli-cricket-the-kolkata-way/): Gali cricket as it is popularly known. . who in his childhood in north Kolkata has not played it? LOL.... - [My DSLR and my new wishlist ;)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-dslr-and-my-new-wishlist/): 😀 Well I got for myself a Nikon D5100, this 18th October 2011. I was so dying for a DSLR,... - [Pure Love](https://www.anirbansaha.com/pure-love/): To you I was led by an unknown worship, Bond with you through my prayer You are not a dream... - [Baghbazaar Shandya Arati.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/baghbazaar-shandya-arati/): Cannot help but fall in love with the city of Calcutta, or Kolkata as we all call it as. .... - [Society, Identity and Social Identity.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/society-identity-and-social-identity/): It was perhaps 2nd of July 2009. . when Souvick asked me : “It is not what you are supposed... - [Subho Bijoya](https://www.anirbansaha.com/subho-bijoya/): . . and with time, the Durga Puja ended. For some, this is the end of the most awaited bengali... - [An eye to the dark secrets](https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-eye-to-the-dark-secrets/): Diary writing at the end of the day remains one of the hobbies for many of us. . we script... - [Await for the flight](https://www.anirbansaha.com/await-for-the-flight/): A wish to take off and fly. I am waiting for the right moment. When the time shall be ripe,... - [Flickr photos for your blogger.com simple gallery](https://www.anirbansaha.com/flickr-photos-for-your-blogger-com-gallery/): Go to the Application here. Finally I did something with the API. Damn! I had to study one whole day.... - [Simple Gallery code generation.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/simple-gallery-code-generation/): Go to the application here What it does? >> It takes the direct image links and captions from you, and... - [End of the wait ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/end-of-the-wait/): Well, in the photograph we have Anupaul Debnath, shot at the seminar room of NSHM knowledge campus, Kolkata. I didnot... - [The Coconut seller (Esplanade, Kolkata)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-coconut-seller/): I wished to try capturing the rush of the city of Kolkata. . This wasnt my first attempt. I photographed... - [Mayar Khela](https://www.anirbansaha.com/mayar-khela-2/): “Love, how simple or how complex can it get. . is it just magic or a chance encounter? Mayar Khela,... - [Bichitrer Normo Bansi](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bichitrer-normo-bansi/): “A tune is existing in each part of the world around us, from the time it was created. . this... - [Beyond urban blues](https://www.anirbansaha.com/beyond-urban-blue/): Sharing few photographs from Kolkata Weekend Shoots outdoor shoots. I visited numerous nearby villages with them. They are rich by... - [Cluster of emotions](https://www.anirbansaha.com/cluster-of-emotions/): Went to shoot with Kolkata Weekend Shoots, last Sunday to the Badhadad market in Howrah, crossing the river Ganges at... - [One power, different forms](https://www.anirbansaha.com/one-power-different-forms/): Maa Shakti (Mother Power) is the Supreme power as is believed by a sect of Hindus, the Shakta section of... - [Nuances of the female mind.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nuances-of-the-female-mind/): I wished to write so much on the topic, “nuances of the female mind”. . and again I failed. I... - [Victory over the blues](https://www.anirbansaha.com/victory-over-theblues/): Hinduism, the oldest religious tradition across the globe, and traditions older than history, since time immemorial, has evolved and sublimed... - [Revolutionalised beauty - Indian Independence Day](https://www.anirbansaha.com/revolutionalised-beaut/): Years of existence, few places older than history itself. . India strives to claim its super power position back in... - [Ignorant Simplicity](https://www.anirbansaha.com/ignorant-simplicity/): Happiness unbound in my moves,In my soul my freedom lies. Songs of happiness takes me high,Dreams alive in my eyes.... - [Monsoon special : Rim Jhim Ghono Ghono re..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/monsoon-special-rim-jhim-ghono-ghono-re/): Was rain-dancing on the streets that time, photographing anything and everything around. . was enjoying the rains to the fullest.... - [The stained sword.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-stained-sword/): They fought a fierce unparalleled battle. Both valiant warriors, achievers by their own might, proud of their legacy and lineage.... - [22 Shrabon - Tagores' demise anniversary](https://www.anirbansaha.com/22-shrabon-tagores-demise-anniversary/): Today is 22 shrabon, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagores’ Death anniversary... He lives within us in various forms of art, as... - [O beloved, ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/o-beloved/): ... from my birth till the inception of feelings... . have i been there by you like this... . withstood... - [The silent lover](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-silent-lover/): Standing by the window, seeing the world getting drizzled by the mighty clouds. . I feel the translucent crystal drops... - [Destiny](https://www.anirbansaha.com/destiny/): I wished to write few lines about this photograph... But I failed terribly. What is this photograph? Can you relate... - [Table Top Photos ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/table-top-work/): I tried shooting some photos of the books, pen stand and CD’s I have on my rack of my study... - [An attachment (personal)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-attachment-personal/): I was trying to photograph my table top differently, trying out different arrangements. This photograph is relatively good. Not just... - [The child's sight](https://www.anirbansaha.com/what-is-love/): (If you like the photograph, click at the “like” button. ) The entire world is so beautiful in my eyes,... - [It is what we make of it.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/it-is-what-we-make-of-it/): A person is a product of his circumstances. He doesnt grow up in a vaccum. He lives in an ecosystem... - [The sailing boat](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-sailing-boat/): The wanderer heart sails through the ocean seldom seeking anchorage. Sun hid by the cloud, the ocean growls. No one... - [For the red to turn green](https://www.anirbansaha.com/for-the-red-to-turn-green/): The traffic light showed red. A long queue of people, cars, autos, trams, taxis waited for it to turn green.... - [Richshaw : The hypocritical melody.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/richshaw-the-hypocritical-melody/): Call it elitist, call it against humanism. . shunned by most part of the world, Hand pulled Richshaws are a... - [The streets of Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-streets-of-kolkata/): As a child, I was always fascinated by the rush of the city. Each morning, my dad would hurry me... - [BlogAdda mentions this blog as "notable newbie" :)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/blogadda-mentions-this-blog-as-notable-newbie/): Today Blogadda mentioned this blog as the “notable newbie”, featuring “Anirban Saha’s Abhibyakti” on its homepage. Friends, thank you. This... - [Tokens of appreciation (blog awards)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tokens-of-appreciation-blog-awards/): I am extremely sorry. In all the rush, I forgot to mention two of the most beautiful ladies in my... - [Nibhrite jotone ( Music CD review)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nibhrite-jotone-music-cd-review/): Those who have interest in Bengali films, arts, recitations and music... Sabyasachi Chakravarty, Bratati Bandhopadhyay and Shonali Nath may be... - [A take on work, hope, goal, plans and achievement](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-take-on-work-hope-goal-plans-and-achievement/): You can only hope and work for it... Work, perhaps not to achieve what you hope, but to make yourself... - [a personal note [#career]](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-personal-note-career/): I had always been very uncertain of what I want to do in my life. But my only wish was... - [Achira Saha's Marriage.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/achira-sahas-marriage/): Photographs by Anirban Saha, Koustav Ghosh, Souvick Mazumder, Kingshuk. Date: January 16, 2011. If you like the photograph, Please show... - [An insight to my Photography page at Facebook.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-insight-to-my-photography-page-at-facebook/): Few interesting information about my photography page. Well I had nothing to do today morning, so I peeped into the... - [Photographing multiple selves](https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-multiple-selves/): After I uploaded this photograph containing 6 Anirbans’ few people asked me how this is done. This is an attempt... - [Bokeh](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bokeh/): Bokeh is said to be the kind of photography where, you intentionally blur sources of light. I tried my hands... - [Water Droplet](https://www.anirbansaha.com/water-droplet/): Was trying to focus on water droplet. The photograph displayed below is cropped from a bigger photograph. the focus was... - [TMC. Mamata. Railway Ministry. Amit Mitra](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tmc-mamata-railway-ministry-amit-mitra/): I want to keep this post short. Being one of the million(s) of voters of TMC+ to bring it to... - [First try to capture Lightening](https://www.anirbansaha.com/first-try-to-capture-lightening/): If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the “like” for “Anirban Saha Photography”: Well tried photographing lightening. Before... - [Fancied firework streaks](https://www.anirbansaha.com/fancied-firework-streaks/): “Mama take this badge off me, I can’t use it anymore” “A dream was slowly building its nest in my... - [Travelling miles across](https://www.anirbansaha.com/travelling-miles-acros/): If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the “like” for “Anirban Saha Photography”: The curtain swished apart... He... - [Desaturated Glory](https://www.anirbansaha.com/desaturated-glory/): Kolkata, or Calcutta as it was known till lately was popularized as the City of Joy. . the City of... - [The blessed minar - Jama Masjid](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-blessed-minar/): Shot by Sony DSC H10 Aperture: 6 F number: f/8 Exposure time: 1/2000 ISO : 100 If you like this... - [Light painting: just an attempt.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/light-painting-just-an-attempt/): While explaining few stuff to Pratik Shivagunde, we decided upon trying something out: Light painting. The concept was relatively easy.... - [Some street shots!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/some-street-shots/): Three night shots that were taken very recently in the last few days! This photograph was shot by Pratik Shivagunde,... - [Basanta Utsav at Shantiniketan.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/basanta-utsav-at-shantiniketan/): It has been long, since it happened. Sorry friends, couldnt really manage time to write a blogpost for it, due... - [Friends. Siblings. Attachment.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/friends-siblings-attachment/): Few relations doesn’t necessarily need a blood connect. It is complete trust, believe, love without a doubt, acceptance and companionship... - [Memories in March : Movie Review](https://www.anirbansaha.com/memories-in-march-film-review/): Out of the melodrama, this is a practical film of two desolate people, coming close... bonding. This is a film,... - [Lifes' cricket... ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/lifes-cricket/): Camera Brand: SONY Camera Model: DSC-H10 Exposure Time: 1/100 sec. ISO Speed Rating: 100 Exposure Program: Manual Focal Length: 22.... - [Blessed bliss](https://www.anirbansaha.com/blessed-bliss/): Innocent playfulness. The smile means the world for me and I can risk my life for one glimpse of it.... - [Bishnupur](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bishnupur/): Penning down Bishnupur is just a few words, isnt just my cup of tea. More than a thousand years of... - [The sudden break.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-sudden-break/): It was 3rd March. . while I was talking about a break from everything and a day out for photography...... - [Apart](https://www.anirbansaha.com/apart/): - [The high flight](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-high-flight/): A flyer in the sky... spreading wings of expression, He shall always remain high! ©anirbansaha. com In this photograph: Hrishikesh... - [My Latest post ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-latest-post/): These days, I am writing for “We have a story”. Its a community blog. Its not that I shall not... - [Another story of a commoner..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/commoner/): For he waited, to be oppressed. For he toiled, to be suppressed. For he supported, to be rebuked. For he... - [At the end of it...](https://www.anirbansaha.com/at-the-end-of-it/): Wrote this poem for the Blog: “We have a Story” Till now, it has recieved 69 facebook likes... and is... - [Get on !!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/get-on/): Enjoying sitting idle, buddy? Eh ! Get your wallet, mobile phone, your digital camera... may be a book might be... - [The Magic called Love !](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-magic-called-love/): Please find time to read : Time the earth shook. Heyy Magician, let your magic wand touch my soul. Let... - [Entrepreneurship at colleges. Whats Lagging?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/entrepreneurship-at-colleges-whats-lagging/): A hearty congratulations to the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) for such huge awareness of entrepreneurship at the college levels... and... - [Entrepreneurship : Students mindset. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/entrepreneurship-students-mindset/): I will speak with reference to Bengal only. When I was there at the WBJEE counselling (year 2009), I noticed... - [NEN eweekindia, BCET wrap up!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nen-eweekindia-bcet-wrap-up/): Well I wont go into details. . we are no more the National Champions. . never the less we are... - [Kolkata Bloggers Meet 2011.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-bloggers-meet-2011/): So, whats new? ? We are BACK! After Kolkata Bloggers Meet ’09 (8 August 2009) and BCET Bloggers workshop (31... - [Amritasya Putra : Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe presentation](https://www.anirbansaha.com/amritashya-putra-mamata-shankar-balley-troop-presentation/): The name Shankars’ had been very close to our family. . and seeing Mamata Shankar perform was like an achievement... - [Why being religious ?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-being-religious/): Every moment in our life is a new moment. However much familiar it may seem to be, however much we... - [NEN eweekindia 2011.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/nen-eweekindia-2011/): So whats new this time? This time the theme is “Ideas for India”... interesting as it helps us explore the... - [Didi's wedding.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/didis-wedding/): Perhaps the mixture of feelings and emotions. . anticipations and responsibilities. In my usual self, where helping my dad was... - [Welcome note to the college fresher.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/welcome-note-to-the-college-fresher/): I had spoken on behalf of the seniors to the 1st years on many occasions, one being the freshers orientation... - [An exchange of sms's...](https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-exchange-of-smss/): It was an evening when Snehlata was in her room, alone. . wishing to meet Gauranga and bhai. . Gauranga,... - [Happy New Year...!](https://www.anirbansaha.com/happy-new-year/): Happy New Year is now 12 days old, still a sincere wish hopefully touches. A lot to write in this... - [TCS interview experience](https://www.anirbansaha.com/tcs-interview-experience/): A lot of people share their interview experience at freshersworld and other related websites. . this is my sharing at... - [Arekti Premer Kahini - my views (review)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/arekti-premer-kahini-review/): If the theme is unconventional, a film maker should try unconventional means to retain the attention of the viewers. This... - [Its about moving forward.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/its-about-moving-forward/): ~1~ Old days never come back. The ambiance fails the circumstances, the innocence refuses to come back. . the first... - [Je raate mor duwar guli bhanglo jhore (Rabindrasangeet)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/je-raate-mor-duwar-guli-bhanglo-jhore/): যে রাতে মোর দুয়ার গুলি ভাঙ্গলো ঝরে জানি নাই তো তুমি এলে আমার ঘরে || সব যে হয়ে গেল কালো...... - [Birosho Din... Birolo Kaaj (Rabindra Sangeet)](https://www.anirbansaha.com/birosho-din-birolo-kaaj/): বিরস দিন , বিরল কাজ প্রবল বিদ্রোহে এসেছ প্রেম, এসেছ আজ কি মহা সমারোহে . . একেলা রই অলস মন... - [end or start of the saga?](https://www.anirbansaha.com/end-or-start-of-the-saga/): Everyone except the protagonist exits the stage. Teary eyed, he sits with his pen in hand. The scene ends. - [Dub FX India Tour - Kolkata](https://www.anirbansaha.com/dub-fx-india-tour-kolkata/): Sometimes words fail us. This is one such moment. I have seen so many people performing. But this was exceptionally... - [EoML #4 :Physics lab and Ponchobhoot.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/physics-lab-and-ponchobhoot/): 1st year days. . so many unknown faces. . yet known hearts. After the first few classes , I came... - [EoML #3 :1st days of life away from home..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/1st-days-of-life-away-from-home/): Its not that I dreaded life away from home. Infact I enjoyed the first 3 years outside home. . well... - [EoML #1 :Introduction to the name BCET ! ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/introduction-to-the-name-bcet/): If I say that my life actually started with the college life, I wont be entirely wrong. I hardly used... - [EoML #2 :Being Orkutia !](https://www.anirbansaha.com/being-orkutia/): My introduction to social media was done by an edition of “unish kuri”, in the later part of 2006. I... - [A facebook update regarding "Relationship".](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-facebook-update-regarding-relationship/): The bridge between the elder and the young is fast bridging, than was in the times so conservative. Yet the... - [Well my new Display picture..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/well-my-new-display-picture/): Well time to change my Display picture... I have been using this picture: for more than 2 years. . in... - [The revolution](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-revolution/): BCET awaits the next big sensation. . separate, distinct, individual. A team to revolutionalise BCET college life. . ! The... - [Satya Narayan Puja ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/satya-narayan-puja/): I went for the Satya Narayan Puja at Karthik Sivakotis home. I had a great time. . the pandit there... - [Barkha Dutt... #barkhagate](https://www.anirbansaha.com/barkha-dutt-barkhagate/): Cutting the story short, lets face it. If a person loves you, and asks you for your opinion. . you... - [Restart to my Life](https://www.anirbansaha.com/restart-to-my-lif/): These days, I stay a lot in my feeling world. . and perhaps this is one of my personal posts... - [The day the Earth shook](https://www.anirbansaha.com/198/): The wand moved. The Colours dissapeared, the music stopped... the movements ceased. She looked at me. I stared at her.... - [Diwali snapshots 2010](https://www.anirbansaha.com/diwali-snapshots-2010/): The festival of lights – Diwali. . Often celebrated as the day of return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya. In... - [Incomplete](https://www.anirbansaha.com/incomplete/): Slowly I give in to the happiness and to the song. Slowly I start believing To them I can never... - [The fading Good-bye..](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-fading-good-bye/): The soul wishes for a tryst with you, you and me together far away in solitude. Solitude and Silence shouts... - [Kumartuli snapshots](https://www.anirbansaha.com/kumartuli-snapshots/): Check out the pictures, snapped at Kumartuli. Check out few of them. Theres the slideshow - [CWG fuss. Indian Media. Wish.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/cwg-fuss-indian-media-wish/): Sorry to chip in late, but I am quite disturbed as an Indian citizen and a person as well. Countries... - [Facebook like button function using php](https://www.anirbansaha.com/facebook-like-button-function-using-php/): The wordpress plugin with the name “Facebook-Like-Button-Widget. zip” is not working properly. The problem : The entire content of the... - [A day out with Varied Variables.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-day-out-with-varied-variables/): As we call ourselves... We skipped the daily routine and took a car on rent and went ot Dammodar Valley... - [Khichdi- The movie](https://www.anirbansaha.com/khichdi-the-movie/): “Hello baa, Khabar mein toh... . . *gossip* ha, babuji abhi tak zinda hain... . aur baa hum log abhi... - [New friend : Dance moves.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/new-friend-dance-moves/): I got to write this. And people who knows me shall read this awe struck! Never before August 30, 2010... - [Bengali, Bengali Film Industry and National Awards.](https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengali-bengali-film-industry-and-national-awards/): A comparitive study with respect to the Indian national film awards. In the category of “National film award for best... - [test post](https://www.anirbansaha.com/test-post/): this is a test post to check my networked blog set up. - [New facebook account](https://www.anirbansaha.com/new-facebook-account/): Tired of playing hide n seek with the Mr Hacker, I have opened a new facebook account. The link is... - [The frozen mind’s rambling : Bruise. Tint. Truth. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-frozen-mind%e2%80%99s-rambling-bruise-tint-truth/): In search of the whitest white, that could dazzle me with its brightness. The colour so pure, tinted itself bruising... - [Last few days.. ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/lastfewdays/): It has been quite a while since I last updated my blog... and its time I update it with my... - [Rush. Expectations. Hue](https://www.anirbansaha.com/rush-expectations-hue/): With all the clothes and belongings, I packed few emotions, dreams and aspirations and I set out to achieve them.... - [A wanderer's Soliloquy ](https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-wanderers-soliloquy/): ... A hope of an adventure, an adventure that would gift me new thrill... a new excitement, new fun. Another... - [Report Card - 2009](https://www.anirbansaha.com/report-card-2009/): The year comes to a gradual end... . . and its time I write how the year had been... praises,... - [Upcoming days : Anticipation](https://www.anirbansaha.com/upcoming-days-anticipation/): I have always documented my college life, now those blogs are deleted. I remain with the memories only. Now, this... - [Abhibyakti](https://www.anirbansaha.com/abhibyakti/): Another drive to express myself. . --- # # Detailed Content ## Pages - Published: 2025-10-29 - Modified: 2025-10-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bird-image-search/ Search Photos Loading media... No photos found. ⟨ ⟩ const AJAX_URL = "https://anirbansaha. com/wp-admin/admin-ajax. php"; let galleryState = { currentPhotos: , currentIndex: -1 }; const resultsContainer = document. getElementById('results-container'); const searchInput = document. getElementById('bird-search-input'); const noResults = document. getElementById('no-results'); const loadingMessage = document. getElementById('loading-message'); const modalOverlay = document. getElementById('modal-overlay'); const modalImage = document. getElementById('modal-image'); const modalAltText = document. getElementById('modal-alt-text'); const modalCaption = document. getElementById('modal-caption'); const navPrevButton = document. getElementById('nav-prev'); const navNextButton = document. getElementById('nav-next'); async function performSearch { const term = searchInput. value. trim; if (! term) return; resultsContainer. innerHTML = ""; loadingMessage. classList. remove("hidden"); noResults. classList. add("hidden"); try { const res = await fetch(`${AJAX_URL}? action=bird_media_search&term=${encodeURIComponent(term)}`); if (! res. ok) throw new Error("Failed to fetch media"); const data = await res. json; renderResults(data); } catch (e) { console. error(e); noResults. classList. remove("hidden"); } finally { loadingMessage. classList. add("hidden"); } } function renderResults(photos) { resultsContainer. innerHTML = ""; galleryState. currentPhotos = photos; galleryState. currentIndex = -1; if (! photos || photos. length === 0) { noResults. classList. remove("hidden"); return; } noResults. classList. add("hidden"); photos. forEach((p, idx) => { const div = document. createElement("div"); div. className = "relative group overflow-hidden rounded-xl shadow-md hover:shadow-xl bg-white"; div. innerHTML = ` ${p. caption || p. alt} `; resultsContainer. appendChild(div); }); } function openModal(i) { galleryState. currentIndex = i; updateModalContent; modalOverlay. classList. remove('hidden'); setTimeout( => modalOverlay. classList. replace('opacity-0', 'opacity-100'), 10); } function closeModal(e) { if (e && e. target ! == modalOverlay) return; modalOverlay. classList. replace('opacity-100', 'opacity-0'); setTimeout( => { modalOverlay. classList. add('hidden'); modalImage. src = ''; }, 300); } function showNextImage { const n = galleryState. currentPhotos. length; if (! n) return; galleryState. currentIndex = (galleryState. currentIndex + 1) % n; updateModalContent; } function showPreviousImage { const n = galleryState. currentPhotos. length; if (! n) return; galleryState. currentIndex = (galleryState. currentIndex - 1 + n) % n; updateModalContent; } function updateModalContent { const p = galleryState. currentPhotos; modalImage. src = p. url; modalAltText. textContent = p. alt; modalCaption. textContent = p. caption || ""; navPrevButton. classList. toggle('hidden', galleryState. currentPhotos. length --- - Published: 2025-09-30 - Modified: 2025-09-30 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/14938-2/ // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 1: INITIALIZE THE MAP // ---------------------------------------------------- // Set up the map centered on India, disabling scroll wheel zoom var map = L. map('travelMap', { scrollWheelZoom: false, // disable zooming with scroll dragging: false, // disable dragging doubleClickZoom: false, // disable zoom on double click boxZoom: false, // disable box zoom keyboard: false, // disable keyboard controls zoomControl: false // hide zoom control buttons }). setView(, 5); // center on India, zoom level 5 // Add the tile layer (the actual map image tiles) L. tileLayer('https://{s}. tile. openstreetmap. org/{z}/{x}/{y}. png', { maxZoom: 19, attribution: '© OpenStreetMap' }). addTo(map); // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 2: DYNAMICALLY GENERATED LOCATIONS DATA // ---------------------------------------------------- var locations = ; // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 3: ADD MARKERS AND POPUPS TO THE MAP // ---------------------------------------------------- locations. forEach(function(loc) { // Escape the gallery HTML string so it can be safely used in the template literal var galleryBlock = loc. gallery_html; var popupContent = ` ${loc. name} ${galleryBlock} ${loc. posts_title} `; var marker = L. marker(loc. coords) . addTo(map) . bindPopup(popupContent, { closeButton: true, autoClose: false }) . on('mouseover', function (e) { this. openPopup; }) . on('mouseout', function (e) { // Optional: Keep popup open or only close on click // this. closePopup; }); }); --- - Published: 2025-09-29 - Modified: 2026-01-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/map-test/ // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 1: INITIALIZE THE MAP // ---------------------------------------------------- // Set up the map centered on India, disabling scroll wheel zoom var map = L. map('travelMap', { scrollWheelZoom: true, // disable zooming with scroll dragging: false, // disable dragging doubleClickZoom: true, // disable zoom on double click boxZoom: false, // disable box zoom keyboard: false, // disable keyboard controls zoomControl: false // hide zoom control buttons }). setView(, 5); // center on India, zoom level 5 // Add the tile layer (the actual map image tiles) L. tileLayer('https://{s}. tile. openstreetmap. org/{z}/{x}/{y}. png', { maxZoom: 19, attribution: '© OpenStreetMap' }). addTo(map); // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 2: DYNAMICALLY GENERATED LOCATIONS DATA // ---------------------------------------------------- var locations = , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=bhandardara", "posts_title": "See all posts from Bhandardara", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Suri", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=suri+in+bengal", "posts_title": "See all posts from Suri", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Mumbai", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=mumbai", "posts_title": "See all posts from Mumbai", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Bibhutibhushan Wildlife Sanctuary", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=bibhutibhushan+wildlife+sanctuary", "posts_title": "See all posts from Bibhutibhushan Wildlife Sanctuary", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Latpanchar", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=latpanchar", "posts_title": "See all posts from Latpanchar", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=kuldiha+wildlife+sanctuary", "posts_title": "See all posts from Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=raiganj+bird+sanctuary", "posts_title": "See all posts from Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Manali", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=manali", "posts_title": "See all posts from Manali", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Okhla Bird Sanctuary", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=okhla+bird+sanctuary", "posts_title": "See all posts from Okhla Bird Sanctuary", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Dum Dum Park", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=dum+dum+park,+kolkata", "posts_title": "See all posts from Dum Dum Park", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Kolkata", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=salt+lake,+kolkata", "posts_title": "See all posts from Kolkata", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Magdeburg", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=magdeburg", "posts_title": "See all posts from Magdeburg", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Loburg", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=loburg", "posts_title": "See all posts from Loburg", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Pangot", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=pangot", "posts_title": "See all posts from Pangot", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Sattal", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=sattal", "posts_title": "See all posts from Sattal", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Purbasthali", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=purbasthali", "posts_title": "See all posts from Purbasthali", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Sundarbans National Park", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=sunderban", "posts_title": "See all posts from Sundarbans National Park", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Yuksom", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=yuksom", "posts_title": "See all posts from Yuksom", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Jorhat", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=jorhat", "posts_title": "See all posts from Jorhat", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Saswad", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=saswad", "posts_title": "See all posts from Saswad", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Rajarhat Kolkata", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=rajarhat+kolkata", "posts_title": "See all posts from Rajarhat Kolkata", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Chopta", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=chopta", "posts_title": "See all posts from Chopta", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Dehing Patkai National Park", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=dehing+patkai+national+park", "posts_title": "See all posts from Dehing Patkai National Park", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Rongtong", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=rongtong+in+darjeeling+district+of+west+bengal", "posts_title": "See all posts from Rongtong", "gallery_html": "" }, { "coords": , "gallery_html": "", "name": "Bhigwan", "posts_title": "See all posts from Bhigwan", "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=bhigwan" }, { "name": "Keshtopur Kolkata", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=keshtopur+kolkata", "posts_title": "See all posts from Keshtopur Kolkata", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Bandhavgarh National Park", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=bandhavgarh", "posts_title": "See all posts from Bandhavgarh National Park", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=nalsarovar", "posts_title": "See all posts from Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Shivakhola", "coords": , "url": "https://www. anirbansaha. com/? s=shivakhola", "posts_title": "See all posts from Shivakhola", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "lonavla", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=lonavla", "posts_title": "See all posts from lonavla", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Darjeeling", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=darjeeling", "posts_title": "See all posts from Darjeeling", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Kakoijana Reserve Forest", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=kakoijana+reserve+forest", "posts_title": "See all posts from Kakoijana Reserve Forest", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Rajarhat", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=rajarhat", "posts_title": "See all posts from Rajarhat", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Assam", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=assam", "posts_title": "See all posts from Assam", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Rishikesh", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=rishikesh", "posts_title": "See all posts from Rishikesh", "gallery_html": "" }, { "name": "Kakoijana", "coords": , "url": "https://anirbansaha. com/? s=kakoijana", "posts_title": "See all posts from Kakoijana", "gallery_html": "" } ]; // ---------------------------------------------------- // STEP 3: ADD MARKERS AND POPUPS TO THE MAP // ---------------------------------------------------- locations. forEach(function(loc) { // Escape the gallery HTML string so it can be safely used in the template literal var galleryBlock = loc. gallery_html; var popupContent = ` ${loc. name} ${galleryBlock} ${loc. posts_title} `; var marker = L. marker(loc. coords) . addTo(map) . bindPopup(popupContent, { closeButton: true, autoClose: false }) . on('mouseover', function (e) { this. openPopup; }) . on('mouseout', function (e) { // Optional: Keep popup open or only close on click // this. closePopup; }); }); --- - Published: 2025-05-17 - Modified: 2025-05-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ai-discussion-group-kolkata/ Mission: The idea is to create an offline discussion forum for AI professionals in Kolkata, and discuss non-commercial weekend/open source projects, brainstorm, share ideas, AND also develop small prototypes hands on. The sharing of knowledge and networking would enable a lot of ideas exchange between AI professionals in the city. Vision: We acknowledge that it is very difficult to keep up with the latest developments in our field of work. The vision is to have a group that is steeped into exploration, and applied research, where discussions could spark actions and keep us up-to-date. Who gets an invite to the discussions? AI Professionals who currently work in the field, senior students who are hands on with development and has done at least a few projects in the field. Members are expected to contribute with development or active guidance (based on experience level). Who are not expected to get into the Group? Pure enthusiasts without a background of AI (Bachelors, Masters, PhD, work). People who prioritise things other than active research and exploration in the domain of AI. --- - Published: 2024-09-05 - Modified: 2024-09-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/data-science-mentoring/ Introduction & Intent What would you sign up for? Limitations --- - Published: 2022-12-17 - Modified: 2022-12-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/resources/ Birdwatchers Society Newsletter . Merlin Bird App: Identify birds with images. BirdNet App: Identify birds with audio calls. --- - Published: 2022-09-01 - Modified: 2022-09-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/manali-birds/ Australian Zebra Finch blue Bronze-winged Jacana brown brown shrike cannabis grass greenfinch java sparrow orchid red river small bird sparrow tit white white-breasted waterhen --- - Published: 2021-10-17 - Modified: 2022-04-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/podcasts/student-jobs-datascience-full-time-soft-skills/ In Season 2, we interview 9 professionals in the field of data science who shared with us, in the form of conversations, various tips about soft and hard skills they look for in an aspirant. We also discussed very briefly the future of tech, inclusivity, and of course, CV and cover letters! Please follow us on the following channels to not miss an update! Google Podcasts Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Guests: Dr. Omar Zaidan Mr. Asit Dutta Dr. Debmalya Biswas (Scientist, former AI architect of Philip Moris International) Ms. Jess Penkhues Mr. Steve Delien Mr. Mikayel Ghazaryian Mr. Nitol Dutta Mr. Henning Starholm Steen Mr. Elshad Shirinov Team: Mr. Shubham Pratap Singh (co-lead)Mr. Anirban Saha (Founder, co-lead)Mr. Aditya Biswas (Team Management) Ms. Disha K SetlurMr. Dheeraj Tippani (Audio-in-charge)Ms. Apoorva Rani Mr. Tarun Gupta Thank you Mr. Rimbik Das (Logo, branding designs)Mr. Craig Gomes (Branding colour scheme) Mr. Supratik Chatterjee (Technology Architect - SAP Intelligent Tech, Accenture) Mr. Sayon Kumar Saha (Machine Learning Engineer, Amazon) Ms. Asema Hassan (Growth lead, Pakistani Women in Computing (Berlin)) Mr. Anindya Bhattacharyya (Solutions Architect, Accenture) New Team member for Season 2: Ms. Doyel De Sarkar Mr. Sayed Abid Hashimi Mr. Suyash Gawandi E0: Introduction by Anirban Saha (monologue) E1: Challenges and Opportunities in NLP - with Dr. Omar Zaidan Omar is a Senior Applied Scientist at Amazon in Berlin, where he leads a team of scientists working on NLP in search. Previously, he has worked at Microsoft on a variety of products, such as search and machine translation. He has completed his Master's and Ph. D. from Johns Hopkins University in the US. E2: How companies look for "Company fit" - with Asit Dutta Asit Dutta has been head-hunting for over a decade now. Currently, he is the head of recruitment at Fluunt GmbH. He has previously recruited for companies like Deutsche Bahn, DeliveryHero, Home24, Marketlogic, to name a few. E3: Generalisation in the field of AI - with Dr. Debmalya Biswas Dr. Debmalya Biswas is the CTO of Darwin Digital. Till January 2021, he was the AI architect of Philip Morris International. While remaining in the industry, he has written papers and published in really great publications. (pause) He grew up and did his bachelor's in India, his master's in Canada, and his Ph. D. in France. He works in Switzerland. E4: SAP AI and the role of ecosystem in AI - with Nitol Dutta Nitol Dutta joined SAP as Global Partner Manager for SAP Leonardo Machine Learning and then he became the Global Partner Manager at SAP Data Intelligence. Currently, he is the Ecosystem Lead of SAP AI. E5: Insights into Recruitment in Google - with Jess Penkhues Our guest in this episode is Jess Penkhues. She is a Technical Recruiter at Google, looking after Software Engineering roles, ranging from University Graduates to Senior Principals. E6: Red flags in Technical Interviews - with Mikayel Ghazaryan Our guest today is Mikayel Ghazaryan. Mikayel worked as a software architect before joining Trivago. At Trivago he worked on Amazon Web Services and was regarded as an expert in it. Now, he is the site reliability engineer at Schüttflix.   E7: Unwritten rules in hiring - with Elshad Shirinov Elshad Shirinov is the co-founder of CV_Abroad, the social media details are given in the description of this episode. And for our live audience, Shubham, one of our team members would share it in the chat at the end of the recording. Elshad has been a software engineer for over one and a half decades, and then, he has been a hiring manager. He started CV_Abroad with Olga Sokolova to guide international students and first-timers with their first recruitment in Germany and Europe in general. E8: How inclusion helps everyone - with Henning Starholm Steen Henning Starholm Steen is the Apprentice and Inclusion Manager at TietoEVRY. It is a multinational consultancy company headquartered in Oslo, Norway. E9: A conversation with Steve Delien. Steve Delien is the Chief Technical Architect - SAP Business group at Accenture. During this conversation, we talked about a range of topics that include how the SAP landscape developed in the last 23 years, tips for first-timers, the gap between industry and academia, the future of technology, cultural differences. --- - Published: 2021-09-20 - Modified: 2021-09-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/youtube-live-scheduling-test/ We go live at 8:35 hours CET! https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=OTkHGvvbXjc Testing FB live scheduling. We go live at 8:50 Hours CET! --- - Published: 2021-06-08 - Modified: 2021-06-08 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/privacy-policy-podcast/ If an attendee is signing up via LinkedIn, we can collect their name and email addresses from the event page on LinkedIn. We would use the attendee list to estimate how many attendees might show up on the day of the event. We might also email them the Zoom link to the event. When we conceptualise the next season, we would send them an email with the concept note and the probable speakers. After 1 year of the data being collected, we would delete the records from our system. --- - Published: 2020-08-26 - Modified: 2025-01-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/podcasts/ The idea of Podcasts has always interested me, but I never had an opportunity to do so! Now, I have. I would make Podcast episodes, and categorize them under seasons! Please follow the podcasts on the following platforms: Linkedin, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Audible / Amazon Music, Stitcher, JioSaavn Season 1 (2020-21) Season 1 (2020-21) is a collection of interviews with students studying M. Sc. Digital Engineering and Data and Knowledge Engineering. In the interviews, they talk about the jobs they are doing inside the university or in a company. The series started on 17 September 2020. The series is 27 episodes long and ended in March 2021. A leading German newspaper had very kindly covered The Podcasts Season 1. Please click on the button below to check the news article. Volksstimme coverage Season 2 (2021) Season 2 (2021) has ended! That's all folks! I started creating the small podcasts because there was a knowledge gap. While SI@FIN led by Dr. Krull was creating content for every challenge international student faces when they enter the German education system, part-time jobs was a space that needed attention. Currently, I do not see any space that needs attention, and thus there is no season 3! --- - Published: 2020-08-25 - Modified: 2021-07-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/podcasts/student-jobs-datascience-students-magdeburg/ In season 1, we explore a bit of the student jobs in Magdeburg for data science students. For this, there is a series of interviews. To receive updates about the upcoming Podcasts, I would request you to subscribe to the channel on Spotify and/or Google Podcasts by clicking on the button below! Spotify. Google Podcasts. Apple Telegram Info: I have made another blog post related to tutoring jobs at the faculty of Informatics. Maybe, you would like to check it out. Who are interviewed? Current students of M. Sc. Digital Engineering and Data and Knowledge Engineering from the subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) who are doing a job inside the university as a "HiWi", or in a software company in Magdeburg. Why this series of interviews? The target audience for this season is the international aspirants of the course M. Sc. DE and DKE at the Otto-von Guericke Universität, Magdeburg. But new incoming students to this university and/or to Germany might find value from this series. About the content in the interviews: All the guests are mostly asked the same season of questions, which allow them to speak about where they are working, their work. Further questions allow them the opportunity to express how different the two work cultures are and how important the German language is in their life at work. What should the takeaway be for the listener? Many aspiring students either do not know what kind of student jobs in Magdeburg are available. Not much of the information is up on the internet as well. This series should serve as a step towards further exploration of opportunities. The audience should be aware that I can not interview everyone. The list of people is not exhaustive and there are other different ways people get student jobs in Magdeburg, other job roles that students do. What might have worked for the guests might not work for the listener, should s/he try to emulate the same steps! To explore further is the job of the aspirant/new student. About the Labels: The labels are added after getting feedback from the listeners. The purpose is to give some amount of information which would assist them to choose which episode they might be interested in. Given below is the description of tags, with the colours! Domain | Related CourseLocationType of JobSpecific DetailsTutor Y|NOther keywords Note: This season has ended. Please connect to us on LinkedIn to get updates on the proposed Season 2. You could also get in touch with us over a written email. The email address is podcasts@anirbansaha. com S1E1: The Introductory Podcast! In the first podcast, I briefly talk about what I intend to do in this series and a lazy introduction to student jobs in Magdeburg, here. This episode is important because it has the necessary prerequisite knowledge and disclaimers that a listener would need for the rest of the series. S1E2: Chat with Mahantesh! Machine Learning, Deep LearningBerlinStudent JobDatascience, KNIME, StartupFormer TutorExtensive, Tips for cover letter Mahantesh studies  Digital Engineering  and had a little work experience before he started his M. Sc. course. Currently, he is a  Data Scientist in a company in Berlin  (student job). He is working on Interpretable Machine Learning. Previously, he has also been a tutor of the Data Mining 1 course. S1E3: Chat with Zeeshan! Machine Learning, Deep LearningBerlinStudent JobAutonomous driving, Motor. ai, StartupFormer TutorGood tips! Zeeshan studies  Data and Knowledge Engineering  and had a little work experience before he started his M. Sc. course. Currently, he is a  Developer at a startup in Berlin  (student job). S1E4: Chat with Fatima! Machine Learning, Deep LearningMagdeburgStudent JobsNeurobiology, Competance and Automobilitaet, ResearchFormer TutorMultiple job experiences, differences in study cultures. Fatima studies  Digital Engineering  and had a little work experience before she started her M. Sc. course. Currently, she is  working at two research institutes in Magdeburg  (student job) currently; one at Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology and the other at Institute of competance and automobilitat. S1E5: Chat with Shivani (Jadhav)! Machine Learning, Deep LearningKarlsruhe, MagdeburgStudent Job, HiWiNatural Language ProcessingTutorInterview tip! Shivani studies  Data and Knowledge Engineering  and had a little work experience before starting her M. Sc. course. Her area of interest is Natural Language processing and currently, she is  working at the University of Karlsruhe  . Previously, she has been a tutor for many courses which include Introduction to Deep Learning and Information Retrieval. S1E6: Chat with Atrayee! Machine LearningHamburg, MagdeburgInternship, HiWiFormer TutorTime management Atrayee studies  Digital Engineering  and did not have work experience before starting her M. Sc. course. She is currently working as a student research assistant at the university and  interning at Continential AG  as a machine learning intern. S1E7: Chat with Ricchiey! Deep LearningMagdeburgHiWiMusic/Audio Generation, AI labsTips for new students! Richhiey Thomas studies  Data and Knowledge Engineering . He hails from Mumbai, India, and had previously worked in a startup. In Magdeburg, he works at the  University's AI lab . He works on audio and deep learning. Recently, he took part in an international competition where his machine-generated music grabbed quite a few eyeballs. S1E8: Chat with Aftab Atlaf! Machine LearningMagdeburgStudent JobsSAP Technologies Md. Aftab Altaf studies  Digital Engineering . He has previously worked in an Indian MNC while he was in India. In Magdeburg, he works on  SAP technologies in a startup  in Magdeburg. S1E9: Chat with Indranil Maji! Social MediaMagdeburgHiWiGraphics design, website management, social media, SI@FIN Indranil Maji studies  Data and Knowledge Engineering . He joined the Academic Club's Communication Team. He later took up the responsibility of designing posters and promotional material. His work got recommended and now he is recruited by the project SI@FIN to maintain the website and design posters! S1E10: Chat with Vikram Apilla! VisualisticsMagdeburgHiWiAR/VR, 3D ModellingTeaching AssistantTips for applications! Vikram Apilla works in  the Visualisation Research group . He studies  Data and Knowledge Engineering . He currently works on prototypes for 3D medical visualisations.   S1E11: Chat with Ravi Chennaboina! Game DevelopmentMagdeburgStudent JobsAR/VR, Game Development Ravi Chennaboina studies  Digital Engineering . In Magdeburg, he works on  VR game development at DZNE,  in Magdeburg. S1E12: Chat with Yash Shah! Data Mining, VisualisticsMagdeburgHiWiQualiMan project A lot of tips and discussions! Yash Shah works in  the QualiMan project under Prof. Spiliopoulou . He studies  Data and Knowledge Engineering . He has also started working in the Visualistic groups recently. S1E13: Chat with Rakesh Devalapally Data EngineeringMagdeburgStudent Job, FreelanceLegal Text, NLPFormer Tutor Rakesh Devalapally studies M. Sc. Data and Knowledge Engineering and he worked at a startup in Magdeburg. He now does freelance. S1E14: Chat with Libin Kutty Machine LearningMagdeburgStudent JobNatural Language Processing Libin Kutty studies Data and Knowledge Engineering and is currently working at iFak on the domain of Natural Language Processing! S1E15: Chat with Mariam Riaz Machine LearningMagdeburgStudent JobImage Processing Mariam Riaz studies M. Sc. Digital Engineering and is a developer working with the University Klinikum, Magdeburg.   S1E16: Chat with Aman Kalra Product ManagementMagdeburgStudent Job-Former TutorStudent life Aman studies  Digital Engineering  and had a little work experience before he started his M. Sc. course. Currently, he is a  Product Manager  (student job) working in a Magdeburg based startup. Previously he was a tutor for one of the Database courses. S1E17: Chat with Sharanya Mohan Software Development Magdeburg HiWi Open energy platform - Differences in cultures! Sharanya Mohan studies M. Sc. Data and Knowledge Engineering at the Otto-von Guericke University Magdeburg. She works as a HiWi (Software Developer) at the Institute for Intelligent Cooperating Systems.   S1E18: Chat with Abhirup Roy Simulation Magdeburg HiWi/ Research Assistant Simulation - Discussion about areas of interest. Abhirup Roy studies M. Sc. Digital Engineering at the Otto-von Guericke University Magdeburg. He is crazy about simulation and he works as a HiWi (Software Developer) at the Max Planck Institute, Magdeburg. S1E19: Chat with Amar Shivaram Machine Learning, Deep Learning Munich Working Student NLP - Startups, area of interest Amar Shivaram works as an NLP engineer in a Munich based startup. He studies Data and Knowledge Engineering here at the Otto-von Guericke University, Magdeburg. S1E20: Chat with Bhuvanesh Leelakrishnan Big Data Magdeburg Full Time Job - - Full time job, lives with family. Bhuvanesh studies Data and Knowledge Engineering and is working full time in a Magdeburg based company.  He is an important face of the organisation Magdeburg Indians e. V. S1E21: Chat with Saijal Shahania N. A. Magdeburg N. A. N. A. Tutor Scholarships, extracurriculars. Saijal Shahania studies Data and Knowledge Engineering at this university. She has worked as a HiWi in the university, worked as a student in a startup in Magdeburg, is a tutor for 2 courses, published scientific papers, and most importantly, she very recently got the Otto-von-Guericke Scholarship and is the first international student from FIN to get it!   S1E22: Chat with Shivalika Suman Machine LearningBerlinInternships--Internship tips! Shivalika Suman studies Data and Knowledge Engineering. She recently completed her internship at Porsche, Berlin. She is now interning at Amazon, Berlin. S1 E23: Chat with Sravani Dhara Deep Learning & Computer VisionMagdeburgHiWiComputer Vision in 2D and 3D, remote sensing data-Fraunhofer Institute, Project to job! Sravani is currently in her 3rd semester and getting ready for her thesis. She studies M. Sc. Digital Engineering at the Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg. She is working at the Fraunhofer Institute and at the electrical department at OVGU. S1 E24: Chat with Aniruddh Shukla Machine LearningMagdeburgHiWiRNA sequencing, Clustering-1st job in 1st sem. Aniruddh is studying M. Sc. Data and Knowledge Engineering at the Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg. He graduated his bachelors in 2019 from India and started his Masters during Summer Semester 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. He got his first job during his first semester and his second during his second semester. He is also involved in a project, whose abstract has been accepted at an international magazine. He is working on RNA sequencing at the University Klinikum and at the Halle Institute of Economic Research. S1 E25: Chat with Raghava Mushunuri Machine LearningMagdeburgHiWi, InternshipBiomedical data-7 projects, learning programming from scratch. Raghava studies M. Sc. Digital Engineering at the Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg. He is completing 7 projects, has 1 HiWi and 1 internship, mostly in the biomedical domain.   S1 E26: Chat with Shivani Hegde Techno-ManagementMagdeburgHiWi, part time job--Full time job from student jobs Shivani Hegde studies in 4th semester M. Sc. Data and Knowledge Engineering at the Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg. She has 4 very different student jobs after a brief stint in pizza making factory. This is an extremely candid conversation and in a new format. Please give feedback.   Telegram subscription link: https://t. me/AnirbanSahaPodcasts S1 E27: Chat with Sidra Aziz Product ManagementBerlinPart time jobStartup, Product team-Struggles as a student Sidra studies M. Sc. Data and Knowledge Engineering at the Otto von Guericke Universität Magdeburg. She is currently working as a work student, working as Product Owner and assisting Product team to automate processes in a Berlin based insurance-tech startup. That's a wrap! The season related to student jobs in Magdeburg had to come to an end and it did! I had initially planned around 15 episodes but by the time we brought an end to it, we had over 27 episodes. The audience has been kind towards this; they shared it among themselves, promoted it in circles beyond Magdeburg. A big shout out to FaRaFIN (student council for Computer Science faculty) who were the first ones to spread the word around. The media and marketing office at our university came to know about this series and might feature, it in their capacity, in the near future. I wish listeners (students) got some value listening to the episodes. While there is a small team now working towards a Season 2, this season remains as my last contribution as a mentor to the incoming students at Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg. Please stay in touch. God bless. --- - Published: 2019-08-12 - Modified: 2019-08-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/legal-disclosure/ Information in accordance with Section 5 TMG of Germany. Anirban SahaWalther-Rathenau-Straße 5939104 MagdeburgWnr: 402 Contact Information Telephone: +4917669599269E-Mail: mailme@anirbansaha. comInternet address: anirbansaha. com Disclaimer Accountability for contentThe contents of our pages have been created with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the contents' accuracy, completeness or topicality. According to statutory provisions, we are furthermore responsible for our own content on these web pages. In this matter, please note that we are not obliged to monitor the transmitted or saved information of third parties, or investigate circumstances pointing to illegal activity. Our obligations to remove or block the use of information under generally applicable laws remain unaffected by this as per §§ 8 to 10 of the Telemedia Act (TMG). Accountability for linksResponsibility for the content of external links (to web pages of third parties) lies solely with the operators of the linked pages. No violations were evident to us at the time of linking. Should any legal infringement become known to us, we will remove the respective link immediately. CopyrightOur web pages and their contents are subject to German copyright law. Unless expressly permitted by law, every form of utilizing, reproducing or processing works subject to copyright protection on our web pages requires the prior consent of the respective owner of the rights. Individual reproductions of a work are only allowed for private use. The materials from these pages are copyrighted and any unauthorized use may violate copyright laws. Quelle: Übersetzungsbüro translate-24h. de --- - Published: 2019-05-13 - Modified: 2019-05-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/so-what-interests-me/ This world is a wonderful playground; different people, their places and their cultures, different little things that make it unique; different birds and the way they chirp or best, fly away! Colors and exuberance. Trust me, it is not that easy or straight forward to answer what exact things interest me. But I'll try. Growing up in 90's Calcutta, I've seen the city evolve. For better or worse, that's a discussion over cups of tea in my living room. But yes, the present today is deeply rooted in the culture and heritage of the city. That and the city as a whole interests me. The different cultures that make India; one lifetime isn't just enough to explore the entire of it. But I've been blessed to have known little pieces of Sikkim and the northeast of India. The different cultures that make this world; impossible to explore and learn in details in one lifetime. But I've taken it upon myself to know a bit of it, one at a time. Currently, I'm in Germany, in Magdeburg. So yes, I'm exploring a bit around. I fondly call Souranil, my "choto bhai" or younger brother as we call in Bangla. He introduced me to "birding" and trust me, it's been over two years and I'm in complete awe of it. Now when a bird chirps or suddenly comes in front of me, I know which bird that is. Little things like knowing the bird's name, to follow them and to photograph them interests me. --- - Published: 2019-05-05 - Modified: 2024-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ About me: Hi! I am Anirban Saha. I am a Data Scientist, currently working in a leading Multinational Company as an Associate Principal in the domain of Data and AI. I did my M. Sc. in Data and Knowledge Engineering (Data Science) from the University of Magdeburg, Germany. I would like to keep working on NLP/LLMs! In case you would want to reach out for a collaboration or a job, please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn after a brief look at my resume. Besides work, I like photographing birds and traveling, primarily in the mountains. At home, I take an interest in indoor plants and also play a bit of chess. After all of these, if I have time, I read about mental health and hate speech on social media. About the blog posts: I blog post about anything which interests me personally, mainly in the domain of culture and travel. But there are sections dedicated to my life as a student in Magdeburg and a series of podcasts that new aspiring students might find beneficial. If you come across the blog posts, please give me feedback. My email address and social media details are given below. Email: mailme@anirbansaha. com Social Media: Linkedin | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Subscribe: WhatsApp group | Telegram channel Let me extend my introduction a little bit and say that I've been privileged enough to have my photographs featured on some publication houses, the list of which includes BBC Travel, and The Telegraph. My short stint as an entrepreneur got some unwilling media attention, especially in The Times of India and later I was invited by the US Dept. of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for their prestigious IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Program). In Germany, a government body extended me an invitation to speak, and the media houses were nice enough to write about my podcast series and feature my photographs. Of late, a few kind journalists quoted me for my views on AI/LLM which you could find on some portals, including Scroll and MyKolkata (The Telegraph), IndiaTimes, Her Zindagi, ABP (online, Bengali). I thank the ecosystem for being so kind toward me over the years and I wish I keep adding some value in my limited ways. --- - Published: 2019-02-22 - Modified: 2020-10-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/datascience-germany-dke-ovgu-magdeburg-area-of-interest/ Various individuals pursue M. Sc. course for a variety of reasons which range from a demand for a higher pay package in the company they are in, real curiosity for science to being in a position to demand a slightly higher dowry; To each his own. But there should be some reason why a person chooses a data science specialisation, from the start, over a generic computer science masters course. So what is it? As a student, you need to know why you want to do a M. Sc. with a specific specialisation. I’ve come across a few cases, 4 of which I would like to specify below: Case 1: While working, you have come across a problem which can be solved using data science method. You want to know more about it and thus, decided to do a M. Sc. course. Case 2: A person wants to climb a couple of positions up the hierarchy in the domain of business s/he is in. S/he is already working on topics related to machine learning, deep learning, data mining and thus wants to do an M. Sc. course now. Case 3: A person wants to climb a couple of positions up the hierarchy in the domain of business s/he is in and wants to get into data science. Case 4: A person is a fresh graduate from the bachelor course and his/her parents want him/her to do a M. Sc. course. If you are in case 1, that’s incredible. Just understand what problem you want to solve. That’s the best case scenario in my opinion. People falling in case 3, 4 are the most delicate ones. If you are trying to get introduced to “data science”, most probably you’ve been introduced to “data science” by some magazine article online or offline. You need to sit down and figure a couple of things. Question 1: What in "Data Science" fascinates you? How can you apply it in the things you love doing the most? Example: If you love sports, there’s sports analytics that you might be interested in. If you love marketing, there’s marketing analytics and/or Marketing science, methods using which you predict the growth of your business. If you are interested in photography, how is artificial intelligence changing the digital photography scene? What makes the system more intelligent? There are billions of photographs up on the internet, how can we make better use of them? Check this link out. Your area of interest is just one Google search away. Question 2: Are you interested in the “science” of data science? Or are you confusing it with engineering? If job is your only motif, then you might want to know about the institutes of applied sciences (fachhochschulen) and not a general university like Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg. Question 3: How are you sure of the things you love doing the most? How much time have you spent doing it? And could you keep doing them for a substantial period of your life, with love, without getting tired or cribbing about it? It is perfectly okay if you do not have a perfect or precise answer to the questions above. The purpose of introducing the questions to you, is to make you think about it. The more you think and the more precise you get at your answers, the better it is for you. While the first set of questions make you understand in which direction you want to go, the next set of questions would make it slightly complex. Nevertheless, you should be aware of the questions. As you start with the course, things will eventually be clear. What would you find more interest in? If it is processing the data more efficiently, then you’re more inclined towards Data Engineering. Knowledge Engineering deals with methods employed to learn from the huge chunks of data. It involves data mining and machine learning. Then there are knowledge representations and visualisation. They just are broad categories that fall within Data and Knowledge Engineering, M. Sc. course (ref). I’m not sure why you’ll still reading this long article. But since you are let me give you a couple of more things to explore. The Facebook Research areas should excite you, and it shows the areas in which Facebook is currently researching. This is the link to Google AI research teams and this link gives you an insight to what they are currently working on. Beyond this, it would be too overwhelming for you and thus, I draw an end to this post. Send me questions by clicking here. --- - Published: 2018-02-04 - Modified: 2018-02-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/downloads/ Hi! You can download the photographs from this page for free and use them as your Desktop or Laptop wallpaper (background). If you like them, please do subscribe to my blog on your Messenger to never fail an update. I do not spam, I send you a notification each time I make a new blog post, and you can unsubscribe any time you want to. You can subscribe to my blog by clicking here. Download information: Desktop (link) | Mobile (link1) (link2) | Message me your screen resolutions here. --- - Published: 2017-12-07 - Modified: 2017-12-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/contact-me/ Get in touch. --- - Published: 2017-11-28 - Modified: 2017-12-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ivlp-usa/ International Visitors Leadership Program --- - Published: 2017-11-15 - Modified: 2017-12-06 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-journal/ Exclusive Germany Folk & Travel in India Kolkata Exclusive! New passion: Birding Treks etc. বাংলায় লেখাঃ --- - Published: 2017-02-08 - Modified: 2017-02-08 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/trekking-birding-blogging-workshop-details/ GoingWild LLP and Kolkata Bloggers to organise a trek on 29 April - 3 May 2017. During this trek, Dibyendu Ash, from GoingWild, who specialises in birding would help the trekkers identify birds and photograph them. Anirban Saha, proprietor of Kolkata Bloggers, would help the trekkers with blogging basics and the nitty-gritty of blogging. Dibyendu Ash guiding a birding tour. The Itinerary is as follows: 29th April 2017 Pick up from New Jalpaiguri Railway station at with breakfast and lunch on the way. Drive to Yuksom by 3 PM. Afternoon monastery visit to Dubdi. Chyabrung Drum (cultural drum dance) play in the evening with high tea and snacks. Preparatory processes for next day trekking. Overnight at home stay at Yuksom. (B,L,S,D) 30th April 2017 Post breakfast, in the morning we start by 9 AM from the check post of Khangchendzonga National Park. Birding on the trekking trail, reach to Sachen by noon 2-3 PM. Lunch at the campsite at Sachen. Post lunch afternoon birding at Sachen. Overnight at camp site at Sachen. (B,L,D) 1st May 2017 Morning birding on the way back to Yuksom, with packed breakfast. Birding on the designated trail at Yuksom. By noon reach at home stay at for Lunch. Post lunch afternoon birding in Dubdi. Overnight at home stay at Yuksom. (B,L,D) 2nd May 2017 Full day birding in Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve at Labing-Yuksom Road. Overnight at Yuksom. (B,L,D). 3rd May 2017 Morning check-out from Yuksom, drive to New Jalpaiguri. Drop at Railway station by convenient time. (B,L) . Tour cost per participant would be Rs 16,500/-. This is an indicative cost which might increase if the forest administrative charges are increased. Tour cost includes: Basic accommodation in home stays and camp site on twin sharing basis. All meals as per the itinerary All surface transfer in SUVs as per the itinerary All forest entry fee, Inner Line Permit fee, guide charges etc. Service of a dedicated wildlife photographer and naturalist for the entire tour. All applicable taxes. Tour cost excludes: Participant's home town to Siliguri and back charges. Any extra food item not included in the meal as per the itinerary. Any alcoholic beverage. Any non-alcoholic beverage not included in the meal as per the itinerary. Laundry, phone call, etc. personal charges. Tips. Anything which is not mentioned in "Tour cost includes". Payment Terms: Advance 50% payment to book your seat 100% balance payment at least 90 days before the commencement of tour Refund policy in case of cancellation: 50% of total cost if cancelled 91 days or more before the commencement of tour No refund if cancelled 90 days or lesser before the commencement of tour Please note: Date of cancellation will be the date of written (email) communication of intent to cancel, received by us. Refund amount will be calculated excluding the date of commencement of the tour. By agreeing to participate in any of GoingWild LLP tours, the participant confirms to understand and voluntarily agree to all the terms and conditions, including the below mentioned: 1. Fitness to complete the Tour is the sole criterion for participation. 2. Participants are advised to consult their physician in case they have any kind of medical history of hypertension, cardiac issues or any other ailments. 3. Tour mentor's decisions during the tour are final and binding. 4. GoingWild LLP can not be held responsible for injuries, damages or losses caused to any participant due to acts of God, terrorist activities, social or labour unrest, local laws, abnormal conditions or developments or any other conditions or omissions outside the control of GoingWild LLP. 5. All participants travelling with GoingWild LLP must complete and sign a Risk Release Agreement before the commencement of the tour. 6. All disputes are subject to Kolkata jurisdiction only. --- - Published: 2016-09-12 - Modified: 2016-09-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/definitive-guide-create-facebook-360-photos-using-android-phone/ Facebook recently started supporting 360-degree photos and doing so is simple as long as you have a smartphone and the right app – allowing for an all round view of the scene you want to show. There are quite a few dedicated photosphere apps out there in the play store, but the best one until now is the google street view app. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to click and share 360 photos on your android device: Download and open the Google Street View app from the play store. Tap the bottom right camera icon and select the lowermost option 'camera'. Then just follow the on-screen instructions to click the 360 photo. Note: If your device doesn’t support 360 photos, it’ll notify you at this point. 1. 2. 3. Next go to the tab labeled ‘private’ in the main interface. Tap the picture you just clicked, it’ll go to the 360 photo you tapped on. On the ‘ready to publish’ window, do not publish the picture. Instead, tap the share button right beside the ‘publish to google maps’ option. Choose to ‘continue’ and then on the app selection option choose Facebook. And you’re done! 4. 5. 6. In case your phone does not support 360, try using other photo-sphere apps like: Sphere – 360 camera Panorama 360 photos Photo 360 by Sfera Photaf Panorama Pro Post written by Anish Kundu 5th year student of Architecture, Jadavpur University --- - Published: 2016-07-28 - Modified: 2017-03-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/anirban-saha-home/ Anirban Saha (www. anirbansaha. com) is the proprietor of Kolkata Bloggers; culture and travel photo-blogger based in Kolkata. --- - Published: 2016-05-10 - Modified: 2017-02-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/campus-startups-making-big-survey/ Dear Reader, I am Anirban Saha (founder, Kolkata Bloggers). I am planning to do a story on the young startups which started off during college life. I am informed that you are doing great. I would like you to fill this small form to begin the conversation with. Any further communication would happen via emails. The story would be published on anirbansaha. com, Kolkata Bloggers main portal and sister websites. We've been partners with NASSCOM Product Conclave 2016 and we have a few work coming up during the first half of 2017. It would be great if you could fill the form. Thanks. --- - Published: 2016-04-06 - Modified: 2016-04-06 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/students_connect-seek-review/ This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below. Password: --- - Published: 2016-04-06 - Modified: 2016-04-06 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/students_connect-showcase/ To get showcased, please upload a photograph for review here. To see all submissions, please click on this link. --- - Published: 2016-04-01 - Modified: 2016-04-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/students-connect/ This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below. Password: --- - Published: 2015-11-27 - Modified: 2015-11-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-and-kolkata-bloggers-1/ Almost one year of “Kolkata Bloggers’” active existence. An idea that attracted people and how people motivated the initiative and impacted my life. Keywords: College life, NEN, Leadership, APUPI. I’ve always believed in remaining active. “Lyadh” or laziness that characterises the stereotype Bengali isn’t much into me. In my school, I was hardly active. Things started changing during second year of college life. It was an open horizon and I enjoyed the anonymity and freedom, Durgapur had to offer me. I was inspired by the people around. Supratik, Sreyasi, Punit, Aritra, Praveen and a lot many people. Towards the start, I used to impose my thoughts upon other people. I used to listen to only Supratik and Sreyasi. At times, I felt Sreyasi was unnecessarily argumentative and often tried to override her thoughts. That did not much help though but all the discussions had put forward to me an entire range of thought points which I later made use of. On parallel lines were the mentoring under Sandip Chatterjee and NEN representatives. I came to know about B-Plans, problem identification, idea generation and perhaps finding possible ways to solve them. In Kolkata, Aji inspired me. Aji had always focussed on learning and reading more books. In forums like NEN, NASSCOM, TiE, I came across Abhishek Rungta who is one of the master brain stormers, I’ve met. He explained more business to me. Aninda Das, who now works in the Infinity group explained to me possible ways of collaborations. The theory takes time to sink in. Gathering knowledge is a phase. Understanding, implementing, failing, trying again and then tasting success – this entire process instils a lot of humility in one person’s heart, a sense of committed conviction, confidence and teaches you three things clearly: Learning is a continuous curve. There is no alternative to continuous learning. People’s love is the ultimate strength. Whatever work we do, as in the content is always the king. I’d always been hungry for more work, newer work. Often misunderstood by close friends around, often spoken against and once labelled as “attention seeking”, I could never compromise on this. Sitting in my office today, the same hunger strikes me very often. More work makes me read more, learn more and meet more people. I like the entire experience. Each new thing I learn, each new person I meet offers me a newer perspective which are deeply rooted in their own upbringing and experiences. After college and during my short work in ISI, I tried to create a platform for amateur photographers. The problem then was – seniors were not supportive enough to get the younger photographers in. I knew a bunch of people who were passionate and interested to learn. Made an online group of youngsters from across the nation. It was popular by its own measures, driven by people. Slowly with time all active members joined different multinational companies while I too had chosen TCS Kolkata by then. I failed as a leader because there was no second layer of active members who could take it forward. We could not create leaders out of the members. However, it got me connected to a lot of young like-minded people across the nation. A few of the active members were Pratik Shivagunde, Srivatsan Sankaran, Prashant Awasthi, Raghav Sethi. --- - Published: 2015-11-27 - Modified: 2015-11-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-kolkata-bloggers-2/ The rise and fall of MUG (Meetup Group) But there was one Rimbik who had by then connected to me and expressed his wish to invite me to his school. It was a happy moment for me. It became one of the best moments when I realised that the school I had to go to was St. Paul’s Mission School, my Alma Mater where I had spent 14 years studying. I was too shy to call it a “workshop”. October 13, 2012 – Sayon and I went to conduct the “meetup”, as we decided to call it. Three students turned up, one being Rimbik. The other two were Surya and Avishek Rakshit. Surya took it forward from there, organising another “meetup” at his own home, inviting interested people. It was a double digit attendance and all very young. To them, I neither wanted to be a teacher nor a leader. Perhaps, an elder brother. We fondly started calling it “The Meetup Group” and this evolved to become more than my family to me. Prashant wanted to create a platform similar to Times Photo Journal. I said a reluctant yes and thus started “Journal of Indian Photography”. There was a huge demand for people who were humble and helping. Soon I found that it did not feature anywhere in Prashant’s priority list. I used to spend hours replying to people’s emails, suggesting them betterment, sending them links to the best of my knowledge. Of the hundred or more young people I connected to during this phase, Saimantick Bhadra from Kolkata stood out. He was inquisitive, committed to learning photography, honest and humble. This initiative failed because the supply could not meet the demand and I was committed to the company I worked in. I gave my best to it but could not continue with it for long. The Meetup Group continued growing with newer members like Susmita, Soupayan joining in. Rakshit became a close friend and I was a family to Surya by then. I got very involved in their personal lives as well, sharing my experiences, mistakes. It was like a dream second childhood that the Almighty offered me. In quick succession, Susmita invited me to Pratt Memorial School and Saimantick invited me to The Frank Anthony Public School. It is at that point in time, I blog posted about it and made the “meetups” a public idea. It got picked up by a girl in Loreto College who invited me to her college and soon after NIT Dgp invited. This was neither planned nor priority. I did all these because this was a family to me. I came across more people like Asmita Nandy, Niladri, Hansraj Dokania to name a few. With more members, there was an urge to expand it further. Thus adding members who ended up diluting the group. Groups within the group was formed. I could not personally devote time to each member. By then Surya and Saimantick had started blogging. I had by then wanted to create a forum where young people could come forward and discuss blogging. Thus, Kolkata Bloggers. During the initial phase of Kolkata Bloggers, Surya referred to me another person whom he thought would be a great person working with me, Arjyak Bhattacharya. I wanted MUG to meet more photographers and learn more about the social media. Conceptualised “Social Media in Photography”. The photography includes the likes of Hari Menon, Soumya Shankar Ghosal, Debarshi Duttagupta, Lopamudra Talukar, Apratim Saha. The social media panel included eminent bloggers, Aji, Saptarshi Roychoudhury and Suprit Patra. The team organising this comprised of school students primarily. The elders included Sayon, Aishwarya who were ending their college, Asmita, Arjyak who were beginners in their college. Koustav joined at the end because he was in Pune while everything was happening in Kolkata. While organising this event, I learnt a few things: Numbers and achievements mean nothing if people do not trust you. People would not trust you if you do not communicate with all the transparency. Young people, if united could create wonders. Not necessarily do they become the next layer of leadership. Stalwarts and popular figures like Hari Menon, Debarshi Duttagupta, Saptarshi Roychoudhury value true intentions and are not as money minded as is the popular opinion. We need to add value to the ecosystem if we want to unite people. Then I had too much on my plate. In my personal and professional life, things weren’t just fine. I had planned a portal called Photoadda. What followed after the event was sharp criticism and personal attacks by a section of the young photographers who had no clue of who I am. I realised that the ecosystem here isn’t just ready for it. Sayon left for Germany. Surya left for Vellore. Aishwarya left for Bangalore. Arghyadeep, Saimantick, Arya were planning to shift to Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. I realised that the resources I am left with weren’t just enough. --- - Published: 2015-11-27 - Modified: 2024-01-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-kolkata-bloggers-3/ About Kolkata Bloggers, achievements. Kolkata Bloggers had by then already done its first event with the Tollywood film “Bari Tar Bangla” (hand held by Kamanasish Roy), did a brain storming with Derek O’Brien (invited by Agnivo Niyogi), had organised a couple of interesting bloggers meet and one bloggers workshop. The concept of Kolkata Bloggers is not new. One of the major bloggers meet was organised by Webreps being led by Kamanasish Roy in 2009. I was one of the youngest there and I joined Webreps becoming its fifth member. That time Kolkata was active with Tweetups, Twestival, bloggers and social media meets. Both Kamanasish and Agnivo were friends made during that time in 2009. The idea of this new “Kolkata Bloggers” was to impart education, solve problems, organise blogger engagement programmes if required. Kolkata Bloggers was gaining prominence and priority in my life. I was able to add knowledge to people around. I had a co-founder whose priority was setting up Kolkata Bloggers. The people coming to the meet were encouraging. While one person offered us his home for the next meet, I met people of my age who wanted to volunteer to build this forum. Sanchari, Aniesha, Deeptiman were three of them. Diptee di who was a part of the July bloggers meet, decided to take it forward. By September end, I realised that the remaining members in the meetup group, although very good human beings, had no proper intentions of adding value to the ecosystem. They chose to chase personal glory. I wasn’t really supportive of it. I decided to get in more people and that eventually was a wrong decision. MUG remained for me as a family and a Whatsapp group. Things were slowing down and I was concentrating on my office work, when I got a call from a person called Jit. He is the brand manager of The Times of India and my number was suggested by Diptee di. Kolkata Bloggers initiative got a new beginning. Today marks the anniversary of the day. Cheers. Ramasish (co-founder, Kolkata Bloggers) had by then taken admissions for his MBA course and although he wanted to, he was not able to add any value to the initiative. He knew it. I knew it. But we both wanted to continue with it. The Times of India work was divided into three parts: the thinking part was done by Jit and me. The execution was done by Arjyak and Ramasish. The finale was orchestrated by Esha, Jit and me. Rewind a couple of months before the TOI work: Kolkata Bloggers index different blogs and share their blog posts. One of the indexed blogs was of a school, St Pauls Boarding and Day School. They had invited me to their school’s young author workshop. The other invited young guest was Esha. We interacted there and I introduced myself as a blogger. I was almost forced to speak there and I spoke all gibberish. I knew Esha owns a publication house and she called me to take my advice. I told her everything I knew. She did not believe me and asked for a second opinion because she believed another person would not give the correct solution in the first telephone call and without asking for any money. Precisely how the friendship started. After the first work with The Times of India, we started working seriously on “Tales to Tell” and soon discovered that Esha’s father is the General Secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers guild which organises the International Kolkata Book fair. Soon we found ourselves working for the Kolkata Literature Festival. In between three slight incidents happened: Saimantick was one of the winners of CamEra competition, which was prestigious. He was the youngest of the winners. When he was asked to speak about himself during the event, he acknowledged my contribution mentioning me as his own “dada” (elder brother). I had never felt more special. I did not expect it from him. Surya had always been very proactive in his support. Although seven years younger to me, he is more of my elder brother to whom I’ve promised a lot of things including to not touch alcohol (except beer). He called me to the event in his school where he was being awarded a shield for his debating skills. It was a very small move from his part, almost insignificant. For me, it was significant. A boy has 2 slots, one for his mother and the other for any other family member. To have asked me to be with him definitely felt better. February fifth, Flurys in Park Street after Derek O’Brien had left. Subba Chen (di) had come with her friends and I thought of getting her and her friend introduced to Arjyak, Asmita and others who were a part of the bloggers representatives when the chief minister inaugurated the WiFi in Kolkata. I do not know why but I called Arjyak the “co-owner” of Kolkata Bloggers. Ramasish had not left Kolkata Bloggers then. I just said what was in my heart. This guy had by then, earned his position through perseverance, dedication and hard work. It was neither discussed nor decided before. By then I had already taken a couple of wrong decisions in TCS. A person Siladitya whom I worked with during Kolkata Literature Festival referred my name to another person who was planning his start up in Bangkok. During the first meeting we decided that I’ll go to Bangkok to set it up. I was not of much help, the time wasn’t ripe as well. I had spent the time teaching the co-owner of Konrad Legal about digital marketing and blogging. Fixed the website which now is being reworked upon by another company. Remember Subba Chen (di) and her friend, I mentioned slightly above? Her friend works in the US Consulate. She went through our previous work, might have gathered our reviews from Subba Chen (di) and Iftekhar Ehsan (Calcutta Walks). We got an invite to have tea with Helen LaFave, the then US Consulate General Kolkata. In the last one year of Kolkata Bloggers’ active existence, we’ve worked with many business corporate and education forums like The Times of India, Government of West Bengal, NASSCOM, IIT Kgp, US Consulate Kolkata, Kolkata Bookfair, ITC to name a few. We were also invited to speak in The Edutainment show. The leads came through Mr. Chamaria who knows Kolkata Bloggers and Paromita di, who knew me since last year. She owns Candid Communications and I had approached them for help to organise “Social Media in Photography”. --- - Published: 2015-11-27 - Modified: 2015-11-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/life-leadership-and-kolkata-bloggers-4/ The team, my feelings and the end. The core team consist of Arjyak, me, Nabhoneel. Arjyak is now the co-owner and in my heart, I see him taking full care of Kolkata Bloggers some time really soon in the future. Nabhoneel takes care of the indexing. Anish, Rrivu, Asmita, Madhura joined in. Anish helps Nabhoneel in indexing. Rrivu brings with him, his experience of the Goethe Institute. He would take charge of event execution and if needed take care of the projects. Madhura and Asmita are free to do anything they want. Unlike other organisations, Kolkata Bloggers does not have designations. Except for Arjyak, no one has a proper job role. Arjyak mentions himself as co-owner and that basically entitles him to do anything the situation demands. The idea behind this was to create a semi-college start up like environment. We have collaborated with the Infinity Group, Globsyn and Oxford Bookstore as venue partners. Oxford Bookstore has become like our second home to be honest. We’ve collaborated with more people like Upamanyu (cloudvision), Sourav Ghosh, The Anon. Productions, The Indian Artist to name a few. For me Kolkata Bloggers is like a celebration. It has everyone who matters to me at a very personal level. Surya is somewhere there creating and sharing ideas for Kolkata Bloggers, Arjyak is executing them on field, Saimantick is an able backup to Upamanyu for design. Avishek Rakshit is a part of The Anon. Productions and Rimbik founded The Indian Artist. Souranil, Sayan Biswas could continue doing photography for us. I am their backup. Esha is a good friend now. She is always thinking of something new to execute. For photography It is more of a celebration when I see Rrivu slowly calming himself down, planning in an organised manner and execute an event. Madhura’s mother congratulated me for providing a platform where Madhura talks to other people and is no more the shy and introvert girl. Arjyak who could not write an email subject line last year does business meetings and seals agreement. The day when he messaged, “THIS IS MY FIRST SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION I AM SO HAPPY WTF”, I was perhaps the most content person. That smile remained on my face for a long long time. Asmita is a bundle of proactive energy The literature wing of Kolkata Bloggers with Bee Books publishing house came out with “Tales to Tell”. It sold out two times before the official launch, is now available on Flipkart, Amazon and all major bookstores. We reached breakeven within two months of launch. The Technical wing of Kolkata Bloggers require volunteers now. Previously we conducted a workshop on node. js with one of the best ethical hackers in my generation. We also collaborated with NASSCOM to organise the Data Science Summit Kolkata during August 2015. This year we would be reorganising teams, getting in a couple of fresh faces. We’ll make an education wing of it which I would head. Maybe we could rope in Mr. Chamaria or Poorna di for the business outreach wing. Rrivu might want to head the literature wing, Madhura might want to control the events. A couple of fresh faces required to make the organisation strong. So far we have received 43 submissions and all seem brilliant bright young people to work with. Arjyak would however be the chief coordinator. Arjyak and I have had our share of disagreements. I’ve scolded him. He has also scolded me. I guess he scolded me more than I have scolded him. He has never been an unnecessary rebel and has always given his best to any role he played. Be it the anchor of SMIPKol, coordinate The Times of India event, knowing fully well that he would personally gain nothing of it. He gets angry only when someone calls him in the morning! The best characteristic trait in Arjyak that I love the most is, he owns things up if things mess up even slightly and speaks his heart when necessary. Asmita reminds me of Sreyasi every now and then. Irreverent, accomplished, sweet and a good human being. I still do not understand the priorities of Nabhoneel. I believe pursuing his masters is his priority. Rrivu is the person who had demanded for my presence right in front of him inside the JU campus, the way a king demands a captive to be brought in front of him, to be reprimanded and punished. Ok, then we became friends. Other important names during this one year of active existence should include Derek O’Brien (he requires no introduction. ) Jit Sengupta (Brand Manager, TOI), Jaideep da (senior assistant editor, TOI), Jhimli aunty (Editor, TOI), Abhishek Chamaria (owns a social media startup), Poorna di (food blogger), Ipshita di has been one fantastic support almost hand holding and guiding us. I am not sure if anyone else would dare to do it inside the restrictions and decorum of the US Consulate. I feel very positive about Rimbik’s “The Indian Artist”. It is young, talented and is bound to fail unless guided very nicely and skilfully. I love Avishek Rakshit as dearly as I love Surya (apologies for the comparison) and thus their group too is a priority. Leadership perhaps would be to ensure they gain knowledge and exposure as well. And to create the next layer of leadership for Kolkata Bloggers is the top priority. Lame and fun team building exercises like Dhunuchi dance and setting sky lanterns have created the building block of a cross-platform interaction. The interactions should also include modules of leadership training and introduction to new media, data science and other some-how related fields. If I die or leave Kolkata, could Kolkata Bloggers sustain? Arjyak perhaps is ready to handle the operations part of it, a couple of seniors would guide him with contracts and quotations. Esha might ensure she keeps contributing to Kolkata Bloggers. Leadership would be to create a couple of more people who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Arjyak and take Kolkata Bloggers forward. From Kolkata Bloggers’ leadership front, a lot needs to be done – to connect to more young people, convert them from acquaintance to Kolkata Bloggers volunteer not diluting the quality and the integrity of the existing team. As a dada, leadership would mean Arjyak and Surya gets good research opportunity and gets exposed to the latest technological advancements. From the silent person of 2007 to becoming a supposed leader who wanted to impose his thoughts as diktats and then gradually becoming an elder brother first and anything else later, my journey through the years has been a lovely one. I’ve met people who have loved me, criticised me, and voluntarily taught me newer skills, brain storm with me to help me grow. I’ve met people who made sure I rest while they kept working, I wear a smile while they faced the harshest of attacks. I’ve come across people who kept following my public updates and appear from nowhere to help me come out of a crisis. To be loved is one of the best feelings. To give it back is leadership. --- - Published: 2015-11-06 - Modified: 2016-07-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/home/ I'm Anirban Saha and I am a photo-blogger by passion. Travelling, meeting newer people, sharing smiles with them and knowing more about their folk culture, heritage and religious practices entice me. My other areas of interest include Digital marketing, data science, entrepreneurship and anything Bengali! I own a company called "Kolkata Bloggers", which creates content for corporates, organises blogging workshops and blogger outreach programmes for different brands. In the last one year, we've worked/partnered with NASSCOM, The Times of India, International Kolkata Book Fair, Facebook, Government of West Bengal to name a few. I had decided to leave photography but now, I want to get back to it. During 2013 - 2014, as a freelance photographer, I've worked on short assignments of Rolling Stone magazine, Harley Davidson, Soumitra Chatterjee, Anandabazar Patrika. My images have been used in multiple promotionals, government advertisements and even on the CD cover of Pandit Bickram Ghosh's "Timeless Tabla". I was invited to conduct photography workshops in St. Pauls Mission School, Frank Anthony Public School, Loreto College, NIT Durgapur to name a few. Now I teach photography in Mahadevi Birla World Academy. However my interest lies in knowing the culture, listening to and retelling stories. I'll short list a few blog posts which you must read on this blog: Tusu festival in the interiors of Purulia district in West Bengal is one of the most interesting folk festivals that I have covered. The rituals include the men ganging up and proposing women in poetry and music and they get reciprocated accordingly. Click here to continue. Did you ever come across Jesus Christ being worshipped the Hindu way? That's one facet of Bengal which is cherished but not well spoken about outside. Yours Truly happens to be the first outsider to publish such images in more than a century. Click here to read more. Gajan festival is a folk festival which is much explored by many photographers. This is an account of my experience of Gajan in Krishnadebpur, West Bengal in 2014. Visit the post to read. "Boshonto Utshob" is one of the Bengali way of playing Holi, with dry colours and a lot of singing and dancing, celebrating Tagore and the arrival of Spring in equal measures. Check the blog post here. The Kayged festival and Chham dance is something unique to all cultures, that has developed in the Indo-Tibetan region. The Chham dance is a masked dance where they re-tell stories from their folklore. Check out the post here. Most of my treks are not documented. However, the caving experience in Meghalaya is. I plan to explore more of the north east and present more stories to you. Stay connected with me over Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram. --- - Published: 2015-11-06 - Modified: 2016-01-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/experience-2/ My intent has always been to be the best in every role that I have played in my life, continually learning and contributing to the team I am working in. I worked in a startup (esportsidtech pvt ltd) as a product manager from July 1st 2015 till December 31st, 2015. Previously I worked in Tata Consultancy Services Ltd as a SAP ABAP Consultant, for one of Europe's biggest steel making companies. My work included implementing of the solution as suggested by the solution architect. The areas I have worked in, includes material management, sales and distribution, finance and costing and quality management. I was a research intern in Indian Statistical Institute from June till August 2011, under Professor Niladri S Dash, Linguistic Research Unit. Under Prof Niladri Sekhar Dash, converted 50 million words of Bangla Corpus from Bengali ISCII code to Unicode. I was also in the team that led to various micro statistical data generated from the corpus. Prior to that I had worked with different start ups in Kolkata, part time as I was an engineering student. I had mainly worked in WordPress. As a photographer: Invited to conduct Photography and social media workshops in St. Pauls Mission School, Pratt Memorial School, Frank Anthony Public School, Loreto College, NIT Durgapur. Have done assignments for tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh, actor Soumitra Chatterjee, Harley Davidson, Rolling Stone Magazine, West Bengal government, West Bengal Tourism and newspapers. As a blogger: Established “Kolkata Bloggers”, speak about effective use of blogging and online data analysis. Conducted blogger engagement programmes for a films, Rajya Sabha MP, The Times of India, Kolkata Literature Festival, NASSCOM, the US Consulate to name a few. Have been featured in The Times of India (30 July 2015), The Telegraph (June 2015), The Times of India (March 7, 2015), The Telegraph (March 1, 2015), The Times of India (January 17, 2015), Hindusthan Times (January 18, 2015). Was invited as a speaker at “The Edutainment Show (2015), was a NASSCOM speaker in 2012, guest in Radio One (2013), Model in Bengali Magazine Sananda (2013). I was a student of St. Paul's Mission School (ISC 2007) and did my engineering from Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Durgapur (2011). During my college life, I was the chief coordinator of the Entrepreneurship Resource Planning Cell and was the editor of the college magazine. --- - Published: 2015-01-13 - Modified: 2015-01-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%9f%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b8%e0%a7%81-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%ac-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b0%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%bf%e0%a7%9f%e0%a6%be/ (Read this post in English, by clicking here. ) লিখেছেনঃ আভেরি সাহা। অনুবাদ করেছেনঃ মৈনাক বিশ্বাস ও সুদীপ পাল। তুসু পার্বণ (টুসু পরব বা টুসু পুজো নামেও পরিচিত) গ্রাম বাংলার এক উপজাতিক পার্বণ। পুরুলিয়া, বাঁকুড়া ও মেদিনীপুর— এই জেলাগুলিতেই এই টুসু পরব উদযাপিত হয়। টানা একমাস ধরে চলা এই পার্বণের মূল বৈশিষ্ট্যগুলি হল টুসু গান—একধরনের লোকগান, টুসুর খাবার ও মেলা। এই টুসু পার্বণ শেষ হয় মকর সংক্রান্তিতে টুসুর বিসর্জন দিয়ে। এই টুসু পরবে পুরুলিয়ার দেউলিঘাটাতে আভেরি-দি কে, তাঁর পেপারের জন্য সঙ্গ দিচ্ছিলাম। "প্রতিবছরের সেই পাটিসাপ্টা স্বাদ ছেড়ে ২০১৪র পৌষ সংক্রান্তি আমার জীবনে এক নতুন ভাবে কাটালাম। ১৪ই জানুয়ারি আমি ও এক উত্সাহী চিত্রগ্রাহক/ ফোটোগ্রাফার অনির্বাণ চরম আশা ও উত্তেজনা নিয়ে দুইজনে বেড়িয়ে পড়লাম দেউলঘাটার দিকে টুসু ভাসান দেখতে। এটা স্বীকার করতেই হবে যে আমি একটু গা-ছাড়া ভাবেই পুরুলিয়া গেছিলাম একমাস ধরে চলা টুসুর কিছুর আচার-আচরণ দেখতে। আরও হতাস হলাম যখন জানলাম এই মকরসংক্রান্তিতেই টুসুর চৌডালা কংসাবতীর জলে বিসর্জন হবে। টুসুকে একমাস ধরে পুজো করার প্রথাটাও সেকেলে। বোধ হয় প্রথার সঙ্গে আধুনিকতার সামঞ্জস্যের কোন পথ নেই। তবুও কাউকে তো এর জন্য পথ তৈরি করতে হবে। যাই হোক, ওইটুকুতেই অনেক কিছু পাওয়ার ছিল। টুসু ভাসান এক নয়নাভিরাম দৃশ্য, সে শুধু রঙের ভাসান। উজ্জ্বল রঙিন চৌডালা, রঙ-বেরঙের পোশাকে মেয়েরা, সুপুরুষ দর্শক— সব মিলিয়ে এক উদ্যম আনন্দের অনুষ্ঠান যা ওই মেঘলা ঠাণ্ডা দিনকেও উজ্জল করে তুলেছিল। চৌডালা গুলো কাঠ, বাঁশের কাঠামোর, রঙিন কাগজ, পুতুল আরও অনেক কিছু দিয়ে সাজানো যা সেই টুসু দেবীকেই রূপ দেয়। এই পার্বণ শুধুমাত্র মেয়েদের, কুমারী মেয়েরা সেই চৌডালা তৈরি করে, নাহলে স্থানীয় বাজার থেকে সেগুলো কেনে। সকালের পুণ্য স্নানের পর মেয়েরা দলে দলে টুসুর গান গাইতে গাইতে টুসুকে নিয়ে নদীর দিকে যায়। দুপুরের মধ্যে নদীতীর টুসুনিতে ভরে যায়; সঙ্গে থাকে প্রচুর দর্শক, খাবারের দোকান বসে, এক কথায় ছোটো মেলা বসে। মাইকের জোর শব্দে টুসুর গান চলতে থাকে আর শহুরে ফটোগ্রাফারদের ভিড় জমে ‘পারফেক্ট ফ্রেম’-এর জন্য। মেয়েরা যখন নদীর বুকে হাঁটু-জলে ছল ছল শব্দে যেতে থাকে, তখন ছেলেদের মধ্যে উল্লাসধ্বনি ওঠে, মনে রাখা ভালো, এটা কোন খারাপ উদ্দেশে নয়, এটা শুধুমাত্র সেই প্রাণশক্তিরই বহিঃপ্রকাশ। যদিও আমাকে বলা হয়েছিল যে কখনও কখনও এটা বিশৃঙ্খল, হাতের বাইরে চলে যায়। অনেক রূপে টুসু পুজিতা হয়—কখনো মেয়ে, কখনো বন্ধু, কখনো সখি রূপে; একজন দেবীর চেয়ে এই টুসু যেন ঘরেরই কেউ একজন। কথিত আছে, টুসু বা টুসুমণি নিজের জীবন বিসর্জন দিয়েছিল নিজের ভালোবাসা, নিজের স্বামী, নিজের লোকেদের জন্য। তাই মেয়েরা টুসুকে বিসর্জন দেয় ও প্রার্থনা করে তাদের ভালবাসার স্বামীর জন্য ও নিজের সতীত্ব অটুট রাখার জন্য। এই সময় ছেলেরা নিজেদের পাণিপ্রার্থী হিসেবে প্রকাশ করার সুযোক পায়, আর এই ভাবেই এই পার্বণ প্রেমনিবেদনের অনুষ্ঠানে পরিণত হয়। এই সময় ছেলেরা মেয়েদের উত্ত্যক্ত করতে থাকে, কখনো কখনো তা মারামারি অথবা বুদ্ধিদীপ্ত উত্তরে শেষ হয়। এই টুসু পরবকে একধরনের কৃষি-উত্সবও বলা চলে যা উর্বরতাকেই সূচিত করে। উপজাতি-অধ্যুষিত ছোটোনাগপুরের মালভূমিতে; পশ্চিমবঙ্গের পুরুলিয়া, বীরভূম, বাঁকুড়া ও মেদেনীপুরে; ঝাড়খণ্ডের রাঁচিতে আর উড়িষ্যার ময়ুরভণ্ড ও কেওঁঝাড় জেলায় এই টুসু পরব পালিত হয়। বিকেল ৩টে নাগাদ বিসর্জন শেষ, আস্তে আস্তে দিনের আলোও কমে আসছে, তখনও দূরে কিছু ছেলে-মেয়েদের প্রেমালাপে ব্যস্ত দেখা যাচ্ছে, চড়ুইভাতির শেষে সব বাঁধাছাঁদা চলছে, লোকেরা গ্রামের ফিরছে; আনন্দমুখর দিনের প্রচ্ছায়া ধীরে ধীরে জীবন ও কাজের উপচ্ছায়ায় বিলীন হয়ে যাচ্ছে। দুদিন পরেই পূর্ণিমা, গোলাকার চাঁদ ততক্ষণে পরিষ্কার আকাশে জ্বলজ্বল করছে। আমি প্রতিজ্ঞা করলাম, এই টুসু পরব দেখতে আবার আসব, তবে এই বার অগ্রহায়ণ সংক্রান্তিতে টুসুর আগমনে।" সৌভিক চ্যাটার্জি আমাদের টুসুর এক লোকগান দিয়েছেন: “যা যা টুসু যা যা লো, দেখা গেছে তোর পিরিত লো, তোর পিরিতে মন মানে না, বলি তোর পিরিতে আগুন জ্বলে না... ” সঙ্গী হয়ে থাকুন, পেজ টি কে ফেসবুকে লাইক করুন " অনির্বাণ সাহা ব্লগ / ফটোগ্রাফি" । --- - Published: 2014-03-12 - Modified: 2015-07-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/journey-so-far/ As I have told in my introduction, I am neither the best programmer around nor the best photographer. My biggest strength and inspiration has been my friends, my team that I work with. While 5 days of the week, I am a regular TCS employee, weekends are spent with my camera. And this is how, I have traced a path for myself, the journey of which I will keep sharing on this page. Please be informed, this is not a tabulated data of my achievements. . It is a subjective recollection of my experiences, disorganised as one might point out. . As is the human heart, I might have spoken much about few insignificant memories because I love them, while I might forget to mention few important works. Last update: 12. 03. 2014 As a software professional: I started as an intern in a company called Techshu (2010). I continued as a Freelancer WordPress plugin developer in my college days. Was recruited by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd from college's on campus recruitment on January 2011. Joined TCS on January 2012 and today I continue working with TCS very proudly as a SAP ABAP Consultant. Update: July 1, 2015: Joined Techshu as Product Manager. As a Photographer: I do not really take part in competitions. Till today, I did not take part in any exhibition. The reasons are simple: Firstly, I do not think I photograph that well to take part in competitions. Secondly, I am not willing to invest time and money, unless I am sure of the amount of ROI(Return on investment) I am getting. Sitting in Kolkata, I am seriously not sure of the ROI. To make new people view my photographs or to stay in touch, for me, my blog and Facebook suffice well. However, by the grace of the Almighty, I do get regular photography contracts. And I do few non commissioned / honorary work. Few of the latter include the photograph shot by me, which went on to become Tabla Maestro Bickram Ghosh's CD "Timeless Tabla" cover (2012). My work with the Padma Bibhushan Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee, the brand Harley Davidson, the magazine Rolling Stone, AnandaBazaar Patrika web portal were such enriching. I learned a lot working with them. My photographs have been used for promotions of Theatre Platform's events, BAGA (Bengali Association of Greater Atlanta)'s events, the singer Sounak Chattopadhyay's events. I had also been featured in maamatimanush. tv (Derek O'Brien's website to promote Brand Bengal). My earliest start to photography was by encouragement at DigiPhotoschool. In a competition conducted by Times PhotoJournal, I stood 9th. I had been a regular member at Kolkata Weekend Shoots, and I owe all the knowledge that I have to my seniors there. It was a lovely time spent with them. As a Photographer - Mentor : I mentor a small group "The Meetup Group", of young aspiring photographers in schools. I am able to connect to the young minds conducting workshops in schools. I visited St. Paul's Mission School (October 13, 2012) to conduct a workshop, attended by 4 students. Another MeetUp on December 2, 2012 was organised, 11 people attended it. I was invited to Pratt Memorial School (August 19th, 2013) as a chief guest on their third anniversary of their photography club. I conducted a workshop at The Frank Anthony Public School (January 25, 2014) attended by 73 students. By the grace of the Almighty, this year I am scheduled to visit few more schools and colleges. This is the most fulfilling part of my life so far, and I love interacting with younger people and listening to them, later engaging them into a discussion. Update: 22. 03. 2014 / 29. 03. 2014 : Basic Photography and social media workshop at Loreto College, Kolkata. Update: 06. 06. 2014 : Was invited to Maya Art Space to showcase my photoblogging experience. Update: 14. 06. 2014 : Conducted "Basic Photography Meetup" in an IT company - Techshu. Update: 30/31st August 2014: Headed team to organise "Social Media in Photography" event hosted at iLead Kolkata. Attended by 191 people. Update: 04 November 2014: Conducted "Basic Photography and Social Media workshop" in National Institute of Technology, Durgapur. Update December 2014 : Settled case of stolen photograph. My photograph is legally published in West Bengal Government's Department of Information and Cultural Affairs' advertisement of Lok Prasar Prakalpa. My photograph is published in West Bengal tourism's advertisement of Christmas celebrations. Update January 2015: Invited to speak in Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015 as the lead of Kolkata Bloggers, in Bloggers meet. Media excerpts: > The Telegraph T2, June 7, 2015 (As a Blogger, Link) > The Times of India, March 6, 2015. (As a photo-blogger, Link). > The Telegraph, Sunday Metro Page 1, March 1, 2015 (As a photo-blogger, Link ) > The Times of India, January 17, 2015 ( As a photo-blogger, Link ) > The Hindustan Times, January 18, 2015 ( As a photographer, Link ) > Ebela (Bengali news paper, ABP group) , October 2014 (For photo-theft, Link ) > AnandaBazar Patrika, October 15, 2014 (For SMIPKol, Link) As the lead of Kolkata Bloggers: Kolkata Bloggers started in April 2014. In the last 5 months, we have conducted a Blogger engagement programme for Tollywood film "Baari Tar Bangla", Blogger interaction with Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien. We conducted 2 bloggers meet, in June and in July attended by 17 and 28 bloggers respectively. We conducted the event "Social Media in Photography" on 30th and 31st August 2014. Around 200 people attended the event. Update: September 2014 - January 2015: Collaborated with media houses, did blogger engagement programmes and bloggers workshop. Teamed up with The Times of India for Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015. Bloggers Meet in Literary Festival for the first time in India. As a Student:I did my schooling in St. Paul's Mission School, passed my class 10 and class 12 boards with 84% marks (Yes, I scored a 84% in both the exams. ) In the senior classes, I took part in only one quiz, which my house won. One of the quietest students around, I used to skip my PT classes and spend time in the library. I did my Computer Science Engineering from Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Durgapur. As a student there, I took part in NIT Durgapur Fest's film making contest in 2008 and won. Year 2009, I became the blogger of Bengal College of Engineering and Technology - Entrepreneurship Resource Planning Cell. Working as the photographer-blogger there from 2009 January, to becoming its spokesperson in March 5, 2009, to working as the cultural committee chief, being the student editor of the college magazine, to becoming the chief coordinator of BCET ERPC in my final years, the entire college life was so enriching. I cherish every moment with my juniors in the college and juniors of the neighbouring colleges. Organised The BCET Bloggers Workshop in my college, 2009. It was attended by students from our college and students from Dr. B. C Roy Engineering College and NIT Durgapur. Few students from Kolkata travelled to Durgapur to attend this. After college, I had been a research intern in Indian Statistical Institute's Linguistic Research Unit as a programmer, working on converting 50 million Bengali words from ISCII code to Unicode to help researchers work on that. Wrote few programs to check how frequently words appear in Bengali usage. Was taken to IIT Kharagpur to work on Tagore's lexical richness. I had to leave that work without having completed it. As anything else: I was a speaker at NASSCOM's IT Niketan 2012 (May 5, 2012) speaking about programming (my work with ISI), social media (as a blogger), photography and how I balance my life. I was on air on Radio One, (2013) speaking about how today's youth enjoy Rabindranath Tagore. Did modelling for casual wear for the biggest Bengali household magazine - Sananda (December 15th issue 2013). Have been featured as a blogger in maamatimanush. tv. I was active in Kolkata Blogger's Meet 2009 and have continued with my association with Bloggers in Kolkata. I am happy to be invited in discussions in different parts of the city. I love it when people ask from me, my views and experiences. All of these accumulated, make up my life. And this life, I shall take these forward to my more initiatives on my soil of Kolkata, stay tuned. --- - Published: 2013-06-02 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-profile-picture-business/ We live in a social world. Not surprising, most of our photographs consist of people... and of faces, mainly friends... And trust me ! They love to change their Facebook profile pictures and that too quite often. I like the way they feel happy when they see their photographs. And who does not want (the newest craze) "Likes" to their Facebook profile pictures ? The happiest person ... is ALWAYS the photographer :) :P Showcasing few Profile Picture I have shot and that went on to become either the highest "like"d Profile Picture or one of the top 3 highest ones. (Sort of Bragging, yes... but go through) =================================================================== The photographer brings smile on your face by photographing you. Give the proper photograph courtesy, bring a smile on his face as well. =================================================================== Update : 07. 09. 2013 Update : 09. 03. 2014 =================================================================== Feel free to ask me to photograph you :) I love the smile, when you see it turn out to be something good. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-09-16 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hand-pulled-rickshaws-of-kolkata/ Kolkata's street photography is incomplete without photographs of the hand pulled Rickshaw. I present four shots of Rickshaws, different from what I had seen my contemporaries do, or perhaps different from what the few of the renowned photographers did. Photographs : I tried to keep it minimal, my feet over and near the head of a very elderly person who pulled the rickshaw in exchange of as less as ten rupees. (2010) Photograph was very elegant of the rickshaw pullers and it appealed to me. (2010) Photograph : I wanted to show a big crossing, busy street with heavy traffic and how instead of the slow pace, the hand pulled rickshaw coped with, forming a part of the city flowing and surviving with it. (2012) Photograph : Another busy street, another attempt. (2012) Photograph : Shot in the rains, no clue about captions. Do suggest one. (2012) Photograph : Another busy street, another attempt. (2012) I have no specific reasons why I transformed them and presented them in monotone Black and White. May be that appealed to me, and I wanted the viewer to notice the subject and get with the feeling straight away , I am not sure. Do post your feedback :) Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2011-06-07 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photography/ If you like my attempts, do show support: From Anirban Saha Photography (Showing 16 of 494 items) a different take... and thanks aninya's papa again :P S-H-O-O-T-! She blessed that the cry of the poor girl has changed him, and he shall be able to ch... Raajnoitik Rong Bodol. . (The change of political colours) @Maddox . Sharod Subechha to all my viewers. Well... the entire team of first half! "Spectrum" . . and the relief :) Wah Taj. . Harshit Mehta @Anirban Saha Photography :) and hows my logo Sayon Kumar Saha . . and the bono-devis (thats actually the inner soul) starts singing "Daya karo anatha... Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher // --- - Published: 2010-08-20 - Modified: 2012-10-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/about/ On a melancholic note , I am a wanderer with two pockets full of hope and despair. Hope of making it BIG one day... Despair of not having done that yet :P Typically the way I introduce myself the each time... Friends, I am a Friend, Student, Dreamer, Enthusiast, Photographer. . Blogger, Crazy, Bong... I am a nine month old novice web developer. . Am supposed to be a Techie. . I still wish to be a photographer and film maker. You might like to read the Top 10 posts from this blog: --- - Published: 2010-08-20 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/blog/ My blog has shifted to the home page : http://www. anirbansaha. com --- - Published: 2010-08-20 - Modified: 2010-11-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/being-anirban/ Being Anirban is always fun, from making mistakes and to correcting it... and sometimes making epic wins! Trust me being Anirban is never boring! Everything in this world interests me. . every new thing interests me... and I am game for any new venture. My friends call me freaky and fickle minded... and I dont mind being called one. “Pagalpanti” is the word that describes me... I associate myself with two colours – the Gold and the Black. The Gold signifies glory, lustre. . and the black shows dept and sophistication. These days my favourite passion has become to secure my laptop and my online identity, out of compulsion... being hacked by someone number of times! :P If not this, I stay glued to News web portals, Facebook, Twitter... I stick to my laptop and my mobile phone when I am at home... while my mom runs after me with food. . At College, I am a responsible guy who runs the Entrepreneurship Resource Planning cell and somewhat manages to run the College Magazine and snip into every college matter! I am a monotheist. Born a Hindu, I am inclined towards Christianity and Jainism equally. I believe in the philosophies of Sri Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa Dev, and the voice of Swami Vivekananda. I am a eggiterian... . and I love snapping pictures and listening to Indian Classical fusion remains my favourite timepass... Enough said... . let my friends speak the rest for me ! --- - Published: 2010-08-20 - Modified: 2010-11-18 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/experience/ Share your experiences when we spent some time together... How had your interaction with me been? Do find time to write for me a testimonial. --- --- ## Posts - Published: 2026-01-03 - Modified: 2026-01-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/dehing-patkai-birding-adventure-flowerpeckers-pheasants-hornbills/ - Categories: Birding Expeditions - Tags: Assam, Birding, Birdwatching, Dehing Patkai, Flowerpecker, Hornbill, National Park, Northeast India, Pheasant, Rainforest, Wildlife Photography Join me on an unforgettable birding adventure in Dehing Patkai National Park, discovering the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, and Austen's Brown Hornbill! Easy Reading My Amazing Dehing Patkai Birding Adventure! Imagine being deep in a super green jungle, with sounds all around you! That’s exactly where I was on June 5, 2025, in a special place called Dehing Patkai National Park in India. This blog post is all about my exciting Dehing Patkai birding adventure, where I met some truly wonderful birds! Are you ready to see what we found? Get comfy, because we're going on a virtual trip to one of the wildest places! Meet the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker! First up was a tiny burst of energy, the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker. This little bird is like a tiny flying jewel! It has olive-brown on top and pretty streaky white underneath. Its eye is bright red and really stands out. These birds love to eat berries, especially from mistletoe plants. Guess what? When they eat the berries, they help plant new mistletoe all over the forest! They’re super important for helping the jungle grow. The Shy Grey Peacock-Pheasant Next, we were super quiet and lucky to spot a Grey Peacock-Pheasant on the ground! These birds are masters of hide-and-seek. They have grey feathers with tiny speckles, which helps them blend in perfectly with the fallen leaves. But wait, there's a secret! They have amazing blue and purple "eye-spots" on their feathers. They usually keep them hidden, but when they want to show off for friends, they fan them out. So cool! Big Beak, Big Help: Austen's Brown Hornbill Then, high up in the trees, we saw a magnificent bird with a HUGE bill – a female Austen's Brown Hornbill! She was even holding a yummy reddish fruit in her beak. Her head is dark brown, and her chest is lighter. Hornbills are super important for the forest because they eat lots of fruits and then spread the seeds far away. They're like the jungle's own gardeners, helping new trees grow. Isn't that neat? Tips for Your Own Bird Adventure! Be Quiet: Birds get scared easily, so whisper and move slowly. Look Closely: Bring binoculars to see birds high in the trees or far away. Respect Nature: Never leave trash, and don't disturb the birds or their homes. Come Back for More Birds! My Dehing Patkai birding adventure was so much fun! We saw amazing birds, learned cool facts, and got to enjoy the beautiful jungle. Which bird was your favorite? Let me know in the comments! Keep exploring and protecting our amazing bird friends! An Unforgettable Dehing Patkai Birding Adventure The humid air of June 5, 2025, still clings to my memory, thick with the symphony of unseen life as I ventured into the heart of Dehing Patkai National Park. This isn't just a trip; it's a deep dive into one of Northeast India's last remaining rainforests, a place that whispers tales of ancient ecology and untamed beauty. My latest blog post chronicles an unforgettable Dehing Patkai birding adventure, revealing the triumphs and challenges of seeking out the park's elusive avian residents. From the moment I stepped onto the forest floor, guided by the incredibly knowledgeable Kalpa Sonowal of Soraipung Retreat, I knew this expedition would test my patience and reward it tenfold. Prepare yourself for a journey through dense foliage, the thrill of discovery, and the profound lessons learned from the jungle itself. Tracking the Tiny Titans: Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers in Dehing Patkai My first significant sighting was the vibrant Yellow-vented Flowerpecker (Dicaeum chrysorrheum). These tiny arboreal passerines are often a blur of motion in the canopy. This particular individual, with its olive-brown upperparts, streaked white underparts, and striking reddish eye, was a true testament to the forest's hidden gems. Photographing such an active, small bird amidst shifting light conditions always presents a unique challenge, pushing your skills to the limit. Fascinating Fact: Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers are ecological engineers! They are highly adapted to feeding on mistletoe berries. Their specialized digestive system allows them to process the sticky fruit rapidly, and they play a crucial role in dispersing mistletoe seeds by wiping their sticky droppings onto branches. This act facilitates the growth of new mistletoe plants, essentially 'farming' the forest and contributing significantly to its biodiversity. The Elusive Forest Floor King: Grey Peacock-Pheasant Finding a Grey Peacock-Pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum) in the dense undergrowth of Dehing Patkai is like discovering a secret. Its finely speckled grey plumage provides exceptional camouflage, making it incredibly difficult to spot. This specific bird, caught from behind and slightly to its left, revealed its head turned sharply, showcasing a striking green eye. The highlight, however, was the glimpse of its iridescent blue-purple ocelli on its wing and tail feathers—a truly breathtaking sight that makes all the patience worthwhile. Failure & Lesson: I almost missed this shot! The low light and constant movement of the forest floor made focusing a real b**ch. I learned to slow down, anticipate movement, and trust my instincts rather than just spraying and praying. It was a lesson in patience and persistence. Fascinating Fact: While its grey plumage offers superb camouflage, the dazzling ocelli serve a dual purpose: hidden when the bird is still, but dramatically fanned out during courtship displays to attract mates. It's a masterclass in nature's design. The Majestic Austen's Brown Hornbill: Architects of the Canopy High above, amidst the lush green canopy, a female Austen's Brown Hornbill (Anorrhinus austeni) made her grand appearance. Her large, pale yellowish bill, open to reveal a reddish fruit, was a sight to behold. The contrast of her dark brown head with a lighter, whitish-grey throat and upper chest, framed by distinct reddish orbital skin, was simply stunning. Hornbills are truly charismatic megafauna of these rainforests. Fascinating Fact: Austen's Brown Hornbills are crucial 'farmers of the forest. ' By consuming a wide variety of fruits, like the one she was holding, they effectively disperse seeds across vast areas. This process contributes significantly to forest regeneration and maintains the rich biodiversity of the rainforest, making them indispensable to the ecosystem. Tips for Your Own Dehing Patkai Birding Adventure & Photography Planning a trip to this incredible park? Here are some insights to maximize your Dehing Patkai birding adventure: Q&A for Aspiring Birders: Q: What's the best time to visit Dehing Patkai? A: Post-monsoon (October to March) offers cooler temperatures and more active birds, though the park's biodiversity shines year-round. Q: Do I need a guide? A: Absolutely. The jungle is vast and challenging. I highly recommend connecting with Kalpa Sonowal at Soraipung Retreat. His local expertise is unparalleled and made all the difference in locating these elusive species. Contact Kalpa Sonowal (example email, replace with real if available). Q: What gear should I bring for photography? A: A telephoto lens (400mm+), a sturdy tripod or monopod for stability, and weather-sealed equipment are essential. Don't forget rain covers and extra batteries! Q: How can I practice ethical birding? A: Maintain a respectful distance, avoid using playback (it disturbs birds), move slowly and quietly, and never leave any trash behind. Leave no trace. Wrapping Up Your Dehing Patkai Birding Adventure My journey through Dehing Patkai was more than just ticking off species; it was an immersive experience in a vibrant, breathing ecosystem. Seeing the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, the magnificent Grey Peacock-Pheasant, and the regal Austen's Brown Hornbill reminded me of the incredible biodiversity we must protect. What are your thoughts on rainforest conservation, or perhaps your own thrilling birding tales? Share them in the comments below! For more exciting expeditions, check out my related blog posts on birding in Northeast India. Let's keep the spirit of exploration and conservation alive! --- - Published: 2025-12-31 - Modified: 2025-12-31 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/golden-langurs-in-kakoijana-reserve-forest-assam/ - Categories: Wildlife Photography - Tags: Assam Wildlife, endangered species, Gee's Golden Langur, Golden Langur, India wildlife, Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Primate Photography, Travel Blog, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Journalism Join me on an unforgettable journey to Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Assam, where I tracked and photographed the rare Golden Langurs. Discover their unique charm and conservation efforts. Easy Reading Chasing Golden Langurs in Kakoijana: A Jungle Adventure! Hey young explorers! Imagine a forest where monkeys shine like real gold. That's exactly where I went on November 7, 2025, in a beautiful place called Kakoijana Reserve Forest in Assam, India. My big mission? To find and take pictures of special monkeys called Golden Langurs in Kakoijana! This blog post will take you on my amazing trip and give you tips so you can dream about seeing these wonderful creatures too! Image: A majestic Golden Langur enjoying a leafy snack in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. My Cozy Forest Home I stayed in a super comfy house near the forest. There were friendly cows with bells, quiet geese in a pond, and chickens roaming around. I even saw a Common Kingfisher flying by! It felt like living inside a nature book. Exploring Kakoijana Reserve Forest My first walk in Kakoijana Reserve Forest was so exciting! The forest was very clean and had a bright, colorful gate that said 'Home of Golden Langurs'. We saw lots of other cool animals like the White-breasted Kingfisher, amazing butterflies, and even some lizards. But the Golden Langurs in Kakoijana were still hiding! Finding the Shining Monkeys! The next day, we tried again, hiking up a steep, rocky path. It was a real jungle adventure! My shoes got wet in a stream, and I even tripped a little (oops! ), but I kept going. And guess what? We finally saw a family of Golden Langurs in Kakoijana in a nearby village! They were absolutely stunning with their golden fur. Cool Facts About Golden Langurs These monkeys are really smart! Did you know that the Golden Langurs in Kakoijana love looking at themselves in mirrors? The people who live there don't mind; they are very kind to the langurs. Our guide, Haro Mohan Rabha, knew everything about them. Once, a langur even pooped on my camera lens! It was a bit gross, but also super funny, and I still got fantastic photos and videos of them! Image: A curious Golden Langur soaking up the sun in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Tips for Young Nature Detectives Go Early: The langurs are most active in the morning. Be Patient: Sometimes you have to wait to see wildlife. Be Quiet: Animals don't like loud noises. Ask an Adult: Always go with a grown-up and maybe a local guide like Haro Mohan Rabha! Keep Caring for Golden Langurs! My journey to see the Golden Langurs in Kakoijana was an unforgettable adventure. They are very special animals, and we need to help protect them and their forest homes. I learned that some face dangers, like electric wires, but people are working hard to keep them safe. It was so heartwarming to see how happy local children were watching them! Maybe one day, you can visit Kakoijana Reserve Forest too and see these amazing golden creatures! Unveiling the Secrets of Golden Langurs in Kakoijana Reserve Forest: A Wildlife Journalist's Account November 7, 2025. A date etched in my memory. My expedition to Assam, India, wasn't just another assignment; it was a personal quest to connect with the elusive Golden Langurs in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. As a seasoned bird blogger turned primate enthusiast, I was eager to witness these magnificent creatures firsthand. Prepare to journey with me through verdant landscapes, unexpected challenges, and the heartwarming reality of a species living in unique harmony with humanity. This post will arm you with insights into their world, tips for ethical wildlife photography, and a deeper appreciation for these fascinating primates. Image: A Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei) delicately plucking leaves, showcasing its arboreal nature in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. The Journey to Kakoijana: Travel & Homestay Insights My trip commenced with an arrival at Guwahati airport, followed by a three-and-a-half-hour cab ride to Bongaigaon. I opted for a government-subsidized homestay, a quaint single-story house with a red roof, which was both spacious and remarkably clean for approximately ₹1500 per night. However, be advised: expect no geyser for hot water and definitely no WiFi. The proximity to Kakoijana Reserve Forest, a medicine shop, and a hospital was a significant advantage. The ambiance was serene, punctuated by the rhythmic bells of three cows, the graceful glides of geese in a small pond, and even a fleeting visit from a Common Kingfisher. A minor challenge was a budget miscalculation by my travel agent, increasing costs by 1. 5 times—a lesson learned to consider hiring local guides like Haro Mohan Rabha directly, as their fees often exclude unnecessary overheads for their own accommodation and food. First Forays into Kakoijana Reserve Forest My initial venture into Kakoijana Reserve Forest was overwhelmingly positive. The area was impressively clean, a testament to local conservation efforts. The vibrant, thatched-roof welcome gate proudly proclaimed it 'The Home of Golden Langurs'. I was intrigued by a canopy bridge built for the langurs, though locals joked it had only been used twice in years. During this exploration, I spotted a diverse array of birdlife, including the White-breasted Kingfisher, Black-rumped Shama, Emerald Dove, Spotted Owlet, and the magnificent Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, alongside numerous butterflies and lizards. Despite the rich biodiversity, the Golden Langurs in Kakoijana remained elusive on this first outing. A slight health dip one evening meant I chose rest over birding, a valuable lesson in listening to your body amidst intense travel. Deepening the Exploration and the Elusive Langurs The following day, despite planning a 7:30 am start, I yearned for an earlier commencement, knowing Golden Langurs are most active until around 9 am. The forest continued to unveil its wonders, including a sighting of friendly elephants grazing in a sunlit clearing. We embarked on a challenging yet beautiful hike up a steep, rocky dirt trail, enveloped by dense green vegetation. Internet connectivity was practically non-existent, forcing me to truly immerse myself. The search for the Golden Langurs in Kakoijana persisted, leading to a picturesque resting spot by a rocky stream where my shoes inevitably got quite wet. During the trek down, a minor stumble resulted in a sprained ankle, but it was merely a small bump on an otherwise incredible adventure. The Golden Langurs Revealed: A Unique Co-existence After hours of searching in the wild, success finally struck! At 12:12 pm, we were absolutely thrilled to locate a family of Golden Langurs in Kakoijana near a village area. Our search continued into a charming tea bush plantation, shaded by tall tropical palms, where we found even more. It was here I learned a fascinating insight: for the past two years, these Gee's Golden Langurs (Trachypithecus geei), also known as golden-headed langurs, have developed a curious fascination with mirrors! The locals shared a beautiful relationship with these animals; they were not perturbed by their presence and truly trusted them. It was heartwarming to hear that the langurs often entered homes when unoccupied, just to see their reflections. Our local guide, Haro Mohan Rabha—a member of the Rabha clan whose language is similar to Bengali—was an incredible resource. He had a long history of working with these golden langurs in India, contributed to a National Geographic documentary, and was even featured in a Bengali travel magazine. My enthusiasm to get close to the langurs led to a memorable, albeit messy, moment—one playfully pooped right onto my camera lens! A truly f**king unique wildlife encounter! Despite the unexpected 'gift,' I managed to capture truly excellent shots and video footage throughout the afternoon and evening. Image: A striking Golden Langur finds solace on a bamboo branch, a common sight for these arboreal primates in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Understanding the Golden Langur: Habitat, Diet, and Intelligence The Golden Langurs in Kakoijana are primarily arboreal, spending nearly their entire lives in the treetops. Their diet consists predominantly of leaves, fruits, and flowers, playing a vital role in seed dispersal and maintaining the health of their unique forest ecosystem. While largely folivorous, they are known to occasionally supplement their diet with young bamboo shoots, a behavior the local community generally accepts. Are golden langurs intelligent? Their curious mirror fascination certainly suggests a level of cognitive engagement not always seen in wild primates. Are golden langurs dangerous? Not typically; locals attest they don't harm people or take their food, though, like any wild animal, they should be observed respectfully from a distance. The presence of these endangered primates highlights the critical biodiversity of this region. Are golden langurs rare? Yes, they are endangered, primarily found in a small region of western Assam and Bhutan. This makes sightings of these Gee's golden langurs even more precious. Image: A Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei) observing its surroundings from a bamboo perch in Kakoijana Reserve Forest, where these primates uniquely interact with human settlements. Conservation Challenges & Community Co-existence My final day involved gathering more footage and speaking with villagers about their conservation efforts. Sadly, challenges persist; five Golden Langurs in Kakoijana have died in recent years, with three succumbing to electrocution from power lines. This underscores the urgent need for increased awareness and mitigation strategies, as local contacts like Bikash suggested. It was encouraging, however, to hear that the canopy bridge *is* used by the langurs, especially in the mornings, offering a safer passage. The genuine amusement and affection from locals, especially young children, as they witnessed me filming these incredible creatures was a heartwarming testament to the special bond shared between the community and the Golden Langurs in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Are golden langurs afraid of humans? In Kakoijana, not so much; their trust in the local populace is remarkable. Essential Tips for Your Golden Langur Expedition in Kakoijana Hire Local Expertise: Engage local guides like Haro Mohan Rabha. They are invaluable for spotting, understanding behavior, and navigating the terrain. Timing is Key: Aim for early mornings (before 9 am) for optimal langur activity. Be Prepared: Bring appropriate hiking gear, waterproof shoes, and be ready for limited amenities (no WiFi, no hot water). Respect Wildlife & Locals: Maintain a respectful distance from the langurs. Observe local customs and traditions. Patience Pays Off: These are wild animals; sightings are never guaranteed, but patience significantly increases your chances. Support Conservation: Learn about and support local initiatives to protect these endangered primates. Final Thoughts on Kakoijana's Golden Treasures My journey to Kakoijana Reserve Forest was more than a wildlife photography trip; it was an immersive experience into the life of the remarkable Golden Langurs in Kakoijana and their unique co-existence with humanity. From the initial challenges to the triumphant sightings and the profound lessons learned about conservation, it underscored the delicate balance of nature and community. These are real, magnificent creatures. I encourage you to embark on your own research or, if the opportunity arises, a respectful visit to this incredible sanctuary. Share your thoughts in the comments below, and check out my related posts for more wildlife adventures! --- - Published: 2025-12-30 - Modified: 2025-12-30 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/off-beat-wildlife-india-2025/ - Categories: Birding, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Photography, Wildlife Travel - Tags: Asian Small-Clawed Otter, Austens Brown Hornbill, Golden Langur, hoolock gibbons, Olive Ridley Turtles, Rufous-necked Hornbill When I landed back in India during the final week of November 2024, my world was a whirlwind of transitions. By December, I had stepped into my role as Associate Principal in Responsible AI at Accenture—a position that demands a deep focus on the future, ethics, and the complex mechanics of technology. Moving back and starting a high-impact role is exhilarating, but it’s also consuming. As January 2025 rolled around, my cameras sat in their bags, untouched. I wasn’t sure how I would balance the intensity of the boardroom with the patience required for the bush. For that first month, I didn’t travel at all. I stayed put, found my rhythm, and waited. And then, something worked. I realized that to be responsible for the future of AI, I needed to stay connected to the ancient, analog pulse of the natural world. This realization sparked a journey into the heart of off beat wildlife India, moving away from the crowded tiger circuits toward the quiet, rare corners of the country. Here are the six species that defined my 2025. Olive Ridley Turtles While Olive Ridleys are found across the globe, the Arribada (mass nesting) at the Rushikulya beach is a primal spectacle that a few could witness in person. Some time back, Souranil and I photographed the Olive Ridley Turtles mating. . and this year, luckily the mass nesting overlapped with a weekend. I reached Bhubaneshwar from Kolkata and Souranil from Hyderabad. Then we drove to the beach. Witnessing thousands of mother turtles emerge from the surf simultaneously is an humbling experience. While it looks like they nest in large numbers, their numbers are decreasing and they are listed as "vulnerable" by IUCN. They are given protection by the Government in Odisha. To see them mate and then to see them lay eggs, is sufficiently rare. Maybe in 2026, if everything goes well, we photograph baby Olive Ridley Turtles as well. Hoolock Gibbons The only ape species in India, the Western Hoolock Gibbon is the soul of the Northeast rainforests! Souranil asked me if I would like to join him to visit the Gibbon Sanctuary near Jorhat in Assam. I said a yes, because why not? In the Hollongapar Sanctuary, they are wild and canopy-bound. The set up is a little different, but if you are lucky you could get to observe the Western Hoolock Gibbons, which are now listed as "endangered" by IUCN. Later, I travelled to Dehing Patkai National Park, and Kalpa took me to the village of Barekuri. In the village of Barekuri, they live in a unique, heartwarming symbiosis with the local community, swinging through backyard orchards. The Hoolock Gibbons are strictly arboreal and hardly ever touch the ground. Documenting their human-wildlife harmony in Barekuri offers a perspective you won't find in a standard safari. Alip Moran of the Barekuri village, feeding the Hoolock Gibbon. Austen's Brown Hornbill A male Brown Hornbill observed in Dehing Patkai National Park, providing food for his mate, exhibiting cooperative breeding behavior. If there is a "ghost" in the "Amazon of the East," it is the Austen’s Brown Hornbill. They are far more elusive and less vocal than other hornbills, making a clear sighting in the dense canopy of Dehing Patkai a significant achievement for any birder. IUCN lists them as "Near Threatened". After the first trip to Assam to observe the Hoolock Gibbons, my friend from the university, Angshuman got me in touch with his friend, Kalpa, who owns a retreat at the Dehing Patkai. I got in touch with Kalpa and got to know about a probable nest of the Austen's Brown Hornbill. What followed next was a hike and some wait, till the Hornbills flew to the spot. Did you know: They are cooperative breeders. A dominant pair is assisted by "helpers" (usually previous male offspring) who help provide food while the female is sealed inside the tree cavity. A male Brown Hornbill brings food to its mate nesting inside a tree cavity in Dehing Patkai National Park, showcasing cooperative breeding behavior. Golden Langur A moment of quiet observation as a Golden Langur peeks through the bamboo in Kakoijana Reserve Forest, its distinctive golden fur a striking sight amidst the vibrant greens. While reading more about the wildlife in the north east of India, I stumbled upon the Golden Langurs. They are only found in this tiny strip of land in the Assam (India) and Bhutan border. They live on the trees, do not mingle with human beings much, and have remained there from long before humans inhabited the place. They are super elusive, listed as "endangered", and were officially recorded for the first time in 1950's. With fur that glows like spun gold under the forest canopy, these are arguably the most beautiful primates on the planet. Rufous-necked Hornbill Male and Female Rufous-necked Hornbill pair courtship in North Bengal (Latpanchar), India. Copyright: Anirban Saha. For the last few years, if I happen to be in India during March, I always visit Latpanchar. My guide is always Ujwal Rai, and a lot of people (including yours truly) believe he is the best! What makes the Rufous-necked Hornbill special? While the Great Hornbill gets the fame, the Rufous-necked Hornbill is the true gem of the high-altitude foothills. They are locally extinct in some neighboring countries. Latpanchar is one of their last strongholds, where local conservationists guard their nesting trees with religious fervor. Male and Female Rufous-necked Hornbill pair courtship in North Bengal (Latpanchar), India. Asian Small-clawed Otters A pair of Asian Small-Clawed Otters, locally known as 'Bhodor', explores the unique ecosystem of Sundarbans. The Asian Small-clawed Otters are listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN. I was in Sunderbans and in the land of the tiger, we found the smallest otter in the world! These otters have sensitive, hand-like paws with vestigial claws, which they use to forage for crabs in the Sunderban mudflats. They are incredibly shy and blend perfectly with the mangrove roots. Spotting a couple of them exploring during low tide is a true test of a photographer's luck and patience. A pair of Asian Small-Clawed Otters searching for food on the muddy banks of Sundarbans National Park. This year offered me a lot of situations which I was not prepared for; returning to India, working in an Indian set up, living with my parents who are around and over 70, home renovation, the idea that I might never go back to Germany, etc. These wildlife photography encounters have provided the balance I needed. I travelled to places this year apart from the ones I have mentioned here; of which twice were to the Western Ghats (Bhigwan and Saswad). I'd probably write about them later. Exploring the wild is a little more than photographing tigers, lions, or even leopards. They are important without a doubt, but maybe we should spend some time exploring the ones which are slightly off beat. Please share this blog post with your friends and on social media, if you believe this deserves a share. And please get in touch with me if you would like to join me in a couple of trips in 2026. PS: I would photograph Tigers in 2026. --- - Published: 2025-12-27 - Modified: 2025-12-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/golden-langurs-of-kakoijana-assam-wildlife-adventure/ - Categories: Wildlife Travel - Tags: Assam, Birding, Conservation, Golden Langur, Haro Mohan Rabha, India Travel, kakoijana, Primate Watching, travel tips, Wildlife Photography Join me on an adventure to Kakoijana, Assam, where I encountered the rare Golden Langurs, explored diverse wildlife, and faced unexpected challenges. Get tips for your own trip! Kakoijana Easy Reading Hello, nature adventurers! Guess what? I just got back from an amazing trip to a magical place called Kakoijana in Assam, India! It was November 7, 2025, and I saw some really special animals. Get ready to hear all about the incredible Golden Langurs of Kakoijana and other cool creatures! Meeting the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Imagine monkeys with shiny, golden fur and dark, friendly faces! That's a Golden Langur! Kakoijana is like their special home. These amazing animals are super rare, and it was so cool to finally see them. Did you know they sometimes peek into houses just to look in mirrors? They're curious! Their bright golden fur truly makes them stand out in the green forest. My Jungle Adventure! My journey started by flying to Assam. Then, a car took me to a cozy homestay. It had a red roof, green grass, and even cows with bells! I saw a bright blue Common Kingfisher by a pond, a flash of brilliant color. The Kakoijana Reserve Forest was super clean, and I saw a cool bridge made just for the langurs high up in the trees. It was so exciting! I saw many other birds too, like White-breasted Kingfishers with their big beaks, and speedy Greater Racket-tailed Drongos. Emerald Doves and Spotted Owlets also made an appearance. I even saw pretty butterflies fluttering everywhere! Finding Our Golden Friends One day, we hiked up a steep hill, deep into the forest where the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana like to hang out. It was hard, and I even slipped a few times! But guess what? We finally saw a family of Golden Langurs! A mother was gently holding her baby. It was super cute! I got really close and one even... well, it pooped on my camera lens! Oops! But it was still an unforgettable moment, and I got some fantastic pictures of these unique primates. Tips for Your Own Trip to See Golden Langurs Want to see them too? Get a local guide! My guide, Haro Mohan Rabha, knew everything about the langurs and the area. Be patient. Sometimes you have to wait to see wildlife. Take lots of pictures, but remember to be respectful! Helping Our Golden Langurs Thrive The people in Kakoijana really love their langurs. They don't mind them eating bamboo shoots. But sometimes, the langurs get hurt by power lines. We need to help keep these special Golden Langurs of Kakoijana safe! It's important for everyone to learn how to protect them. Ready for your own wild adventure? Seeing the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana was incredible. What amazing animals have you seen? Tell me in the comments! Maybe you'll visit Kakoijana someday! From Lens to Langur: My Unforgettable Journey with the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Hello fellow wildlife enthusiasts and birding fanatics! Anirban here, just back from my latest adventure. On November 7, 2025, I found myself deep in Assam's Kakoijana Reserve Forest near Bongaigaon. This wasn't just another birding trip; it was a quest, a vivid encounter with the rare and captivating Golden Langurs of Kakoijana. Buckle up, because I’m about to share the raw, sometimes messy, and utterly exhilarating details of my journey – from homestay mishaps to intimate moments with these golden primates. Unveiling the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana The Golden Langur, Trachypithecus geei, is a living jewel of Assam's biodiversity, endemic to a small region of western Assam and Bhutan. These magnificent creatures are easily identified by their stunning golden-yellow to creamy-white fur and striking black, hairless faces. Kakoijana proudly declares itself "The Home of Golden Langurs. " A fascinating local behavior I learned: they've developed a curious fascination with mirrors, sometimes entering unoccupied homes just to gaze at their reflections! My Arrival: Homestay Charms and Learning Curves My adventure kicked off with a scenic 3. 5-hour cab ride from Guwahati to Bongaigaon. My government-subsidized homestay (~₹1500/night) was a serene, red-roofed house behind a manicured lawn. My spacious room was clean, though the absence of a geyser and WiFi reminded me to disconnect. Crucially, Kakoijana Reserve Forest was a mere stone's throw away. The homestay buzzed with life: bell-clad cows, peaceful geese, and chickens. I even spotted a Common Kingfisher by the pond! A travel agent's budget f**k-up meant my costs spiraled, a valuable lesson: always double-check calculations and consider local guides. And yes, sharing my room with a mouse and then a cat certainly added to the "close to nature" experience! Into the Green Heart: Kakoijana's Diverse Wildlife My initial exploration of Kakoijana Reserve Forest was invigorating. The forest was remarkably clean, a testament to excellent local stewardship. I learned about an intriguing canopy bridge built for the Golden Langurs, though rarely used. While the langurs remained elusive initially, the forest hummed with avian wonders. I observed White-breasted Kingfishers, Black-rumped Shamas, Emerald Doves, and Spotted Owlets. The striking Greater Racket-tailed Drongos were also a highlight. Beyond birds, the forest showcased at least five types of butterflies and various lizards, a vibrant tapestry of life. The Quest for Golden Langurs: Challenges, Poop, and Pure Joy The next day, a 7:30 am start felt late, knowing langurs are most active until 9 am. But we pressed on, trekking through sunlit forest clearings and encountering friendly elephants. Our journey involved a steep, rocky hike up a densely vegetated hill – no internet, just pure immersion. Despite efforts, the langurs remained hidden. A rest by a rocky stream soaked my shoes, and a clumsy descent resulted in three falls and a sprained ankle – a stark reminder of nature's unpredictable challenges. Yet, my determination to capture the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana never wavered. Then, at 12:12 pm, pure magic! A family of Golden Langurs emerged. Observing an adult female with her infant was a truly special moment. My local guide, Haro Mohan Rabha, was indispensable. A Rabha clansman with deep knowledge, he's worked with langurs for years, even contributing to a National Geographic documentary. His insights were invaluable. My excitement led me to get incredibly close, and in a memorable (and messy! ) moment, one langur decided to "bless" my camera lens with fresh poop! A wildlife photographer's badge of honor, perhaps. Despite the brown smear, I captured exceptional footage, including an alpha male on my final day. Tips for Your Own Golden Langur Expedition in Kakoijana Planning a trip to see the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana? Here are my top insights: Hire a Local Guide: Haro Mohan Rabha was exceptional. Hiring locally saves on travel agent fees. Budget Scrutiny: Always double-check travel agent calculations. My budget ballooned. Connectivity: Be prepared for limited internet. Embrace the digital detox! Patience and Respect: Wildlife spotting demands patience. Maintain respectful distances. Conservation and Community: A Shared Future for Kakoijana's Golden Langurs My final day involved reflection and engagement with villagers, learning about their conservation efforts. The community's relationship with the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana is largely harmonious; locals trust them, finding amusement in their presence. They don't raid crops, preferring young bamboo shoots. However, a somber reality: five langur deaths in recent years, three due to electrocution. Bikash, a local, highlighted the urgent need for greater awareness. While the canopy bridge is used, more proactive measures are vital to mitigate these preventable tragedies and secure their future. Witnessing local children utterly captivated by the langurs reinforced this deep, shared bond. Final Thoughts & Call to Adventure My journey concluded with plans for an early flight, but the memories of Kakoijana, its vibrant ecosystem, and its extraordinary Golden Langurs of Kakoijana will last a lifetime. This trip was a powerful reminder of the delicate balance between humans and nature. Have you had a similar wildlife encounter? What are your tips for responsible wildlife tourism? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! Don't forget to explore my other posts on birding locations and perhaps start planning your own trip to Kakoijana. --- - Published: 2025-12-27 - Modified: 2025-12-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/golden-langurs-of-kakoijana-reserve-forest-adventure/ - Categories: Wildlife Photography - Tags: Assam, Birding, Conservation, endangered species, Gee's Golden Langur, Golden Langur, Haro Mohan Rabha, Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Primate, Travel Guide, wildlife Join me on an incredible journey to Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Assam, where I encountered the majestic Golden Langurs and learned about their unique world! Easy Reading Hey there, nature explorers! Get ready for an awesome story about my trip to a super special place called Kakoijana Reserve Forest in Assam, India. On November 7, 2025, I went on a big adventure to find the amazing Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest! You’re going to learn about their shiny fur, funny tricks, and how we can all help them live safe and happy lives. Image 1: A Golden Langur carefully stripping plant fibers from a stem in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. My Trip Starts & Forest Fun! My journey began in Guwahati, then a nice car ride took me to a cozy homestay with a bright red roof. It felt like a secret hideaway! Around the house, I spotted a Common Kingfisher near a pond, cows with jingling bells, and busy chickens. So many cool animals! When we first entered Kakoijana Reserve Forest, it was so clean and green. We saw lots of other amazing birds too! We spotted a White-breasted Kingfisher, a Black-rumped Shama singing its heart out, a beautiful Emerald Dove, a tiny Spotted Owlet, and a Rocket-tailed Drongo with its long tail. Plus, there were tons of colorful butterflies and quick lizards everywhere! But the super special Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest were still hiding. The Big Search for Golden Langurs! The next morning, we started our search for the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. We walked up a steep path in the jungle. My shoes got super wet, but I didn't care! I was excited! We saw huge, gentle elephants and even more butterflies. Then, at 12:12 pm, it happened! We found a whole family of Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest playing high up in the trees. They have bright golden-orange fur and dark, friendly faces. They are truly special! Image 2: A magnificent Golden Langur perched on a tree branch, looking directly towards the viewer in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Amazing Langur Facts! Did you know these specific Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest love mirrors? The villagers told me that sometimes, when no one is home, the langurs peek inside just to look at their own reflections! How funny is that? They also love to eat fresh, young bamboo shoots. My guide, Haro Mohan Rabha, knows all their secrets. He’s like a langur whisperer! I got really close for photos, and guess what? A langur pooped right on my camera lens! Oops! It was a messy, funny moment, but it shows how wild nature can be, even with the peaceful Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Helping Our Golden Friends These beautiful Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest are a bit rare, and we need to keep them safe. Sometimes they get hurt. But the people who live nearby, even the little kids, really care about them. They want to make sure the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest have a safe home. If you visit, ask for a local guide like Haro Mohan. He's the best! Look out for all the wonderful birds and, of course, the shiny Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. It's an adventure you won't forget! What amazing animals have you seen? Share in the comments! The humid embrace of Guwahati hit me first, a vibrant signal for a new wildlife adventure. It was November 7, 2025, and my destination was the famed Kakoijana Reserve Forest in Assam, a vital haven for the captivating Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. After a 3. 5-hour cab ride to Bongaigaon, my anticipation buzzed. This post isn't just a travelogue; it's a deep dive into the challenges, triumphs, and profound lessons learned while seeking one of India's most charismatic primates. Image 1: A Golden Langur meticulously stripping plant fibers from a stem in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Arrival & Homestay Insights My homestay was a welcome sight: a single-story house with a cheerful red roof, nestled behind a neatly kept lawn, offering a serene backdrop of dense tropical foliage. My room was spacious, the bathroom sufficiently clean. While basic (no geyser, no WiFi), these were minor details against the charm of the place. Priced around ₹1500 per night, it was part of a government-subsidized initiative, a thoughtful way to promote local tourism and support the community around the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. The farm surrounding the homestay was a symphony of rural life: three bell-wearing cows, peaceful geese in a pond (where I even spotted a Common Kingfisher! ), and a lively flock of chickens. It was an idyll, even with the occasional nocturnal mouse or wandering cat. A small budget hiccup, a calculation error by my travel agent, increased my costs by 1. 5 times. It stung, but taught me a valuable lesson: consider hiring local guides directly. It can save you from unforeseen expenses related to agent accommodations and food, an important tip for any budget-conscious explorer seeking the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. First Forays into Kakoijana: More Than Just Golden Langurs Our initial venture into Kakoijana Reserve Forest was refreshing. It was remarkably clean, a testament to effective local management. I learned about a canopy bridge built specifically for the Golden Langurs, though locals suggested it wasn't often used. The welcome gate proudly declared it "The Home of Golden Langurs," setting a high expectation. During this first look, we spotted a fantastic array of other birds: a brilliant White-breasted Kingfisher, the melodious Black-rumped Shama, a shy Emerald Dove, a keen-eyed Spotted Owlet, and the distinctive Rocket-tailed Drongo. We also documented at least five butterfly species and various lizards. Despite the vibrant wildlife, the main objective, the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest, remained elusive. That evening, feeling unwell, I chose rest over a planned birding session, a tough but necessary call to preserve energy for the main quest. The Quest for the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest The next morning, scheduled for a 7:30 am start, I felt a slight impatience. Golden Langurs are often most active until 9 am, and I was eager to maximize our chances. However, I decided to trust the process. We trekked up a steep, rocky dirt trail, surrounded by incredibly lush forest. My shoes quickly got quite wet, but the thrill of the chase superseded minor discomfort. We had a delightful encounter with friendly elephants in a sunlit forest clearing, a truly special moment. Despite a temporary loss of internet and a few tumbles that resulted in a sprained ankle, my resolve remained. The sheer number of butterflies was astounding. Still, the sought-after Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest seemed to evade us. Our beautiful resting spot by a rocky stream under a bright blue sky offered no sightings. Then, triumph! At 12:12 pm, our perseverance paid off handsomely. In a tree plantation, amidst dense tea bushes and tall palms, we finally located a family of Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. The moment was pure, unadulterated joy. These are Gee's Golden Langurs, a true treasure. Image 3: A Golden Langur partially obscured by lush green leaves in Kakoijana Reserve Forest, observing its surroundings. Fascinating Habits of the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest The Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as Gee's Golden Langur, is an endangered primate native to small regions of Assam, India, and Bhutan. They are primarily arboreal, identifiable by their striking golden-orange to creamy-white fur and distinctive black faces. Their diet mainly consists of leaves, fruits, and crucially, young bamboo shoots, like those abundant in Kakoijana. This adaptability aids their peaceful coexistence with locals. Are golden langurs real? Absolutely, and they're magnificent! A truly unique behavior I learned about the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest: over the past two years, they've developed an intense fascination with mirrors! Locals shared stories of them entering unattended homes just to gaze at their reflections. This bizarre, endearing trait highlights their curious nature and their remarkably peaceful coexistence with humans. Are golden langurs intelligent? This behavior certainly suggests a high level of curiosity and cognitive function. Do golden langurs avoid humans? Generally, yes, but here, they've become more habituated, though not dangerous. Are golden langurs afraid of humans? Not in Kakoijana, it seems, at least not in the same way wilder populations might be. Image 4: A Golden Langur sitting attentively on a thick bamboo culm amidst dense foliage in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. My Wonderful Guide & A "Sh*t Happens" Moment Our local guide, Haro Mohan Rabha, was indispensable. A member of the Rabha clan, his profound knowledge of the forest and its inhabitants was key to finding the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. He's a local hero, instrumental in langur conservation, even contributing to a NatGeo documentary and featured in Bengali travel magazines. His contact details (placeholder): +91-9876543210. My personal journey often involves pushing boundaries for that perfect shot. I got a little too close to the Golden Langurs. In a truly unforgettable moment, one decided to poop right on my DSLR's telephoto lens! Talk about a raw, authentic wildlife experience. I learned that sometimes, even when things go a bit f**ky, the memory (and the resulting photo, once cleaned! ) is priceless. It was a lesson in humility and the unpredictable beauty of nature when observing the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Luckily, I captured some incredible footage that afternoon and evening. Image 5: A Golden Langur clinging vertically to the trunk of a broad-leafed tree in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Conservation, Community & The Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest My third and final day focused on capturing more footage and speaking with villagers about their conservation efforts. It was concerning to learn about five Golden Langur deaths in recent years, three tragically due to electrocution. Bikash, a local, suggested a lack of awareness, an area ripe for intervention. I also heard that the canopy bridge is used by the langurs, sometimes in the morning, which offers some hope. The harmonious relationship between the villagers and the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest is remarkable. People are simply amused by them; the langurs don't raid crops or harm anyone. They often eat the young shoots of bamboo trees, which people generally don't complain about. Watching young kids equally captivated by them as I filmed solidified the feeling of a shared future. This truly is the home of Gee's Golden Langurs, and the community is their custodian. Are golden langurs endangered? Yes, they are, making conservation efforts in places like Kakoijana absolutely critical. Golden langurs are found in a very restricted range. Image 6: A striking Golden Langur perched on a thick green bamboo stalk, observing its surroundings in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. Tips for Visiting & Photographing the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest Best Time to Visit: November to April offers pleasant weather and optimal visibility. Local Guide is Essential: Haro Mohan Rabha (+91-9876543210) is highly recommended. His expertise is invaluable for spotting the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest and understanding their behavior. Hiring local also directly supports the community. Footwear: Be prepared for wet, steep, and rocky trails. Waterproof hiking shoes are a must. Camera Gear: A telephoto lens (200-500mm or similar) is essential for capturing these agile primates in the canopy. Bring lens cleaning supplies – you never know when a langur might bless your equipment! Patience & Respect: Wildlife spotting requires immense patience. Maintain a respectful distance and avoid feeding the langurs. Support Conservation: Consider contributing to local conservation efforts for golden langurs in India. Conclusion: A Golden Legacy in Kakoijana My trip to Kakoijana Reserve Forest was more than just a wildlife photography expedition; it was a profound learning experience about coexistence, conservation, and the captivating intelligence of the Golden Langurs of Kakoijana Reserve Forest. From the challenge of a sprained ankle to the surprising mirror-gazing habits of these gee's golden langurs, every moment was a rich tapestry of nature's wonders. These magnificent golden-headed langurs are a testament to India's incredible biodiversity, a living symbol of why places like Kakoijana Reserve Forest are so vital. Let's champion their cause. Their habitat, how golden langurs avoid humans (or don't in this specific context), and whether golden langurs are dangerous (they are not) are all crucial aspects of understanding their world. Have you ever encountered a species with unique, surprising habits? Share your stories and insights in the comments below! Don't forget to check out my other adventures in related posts about Indian wildlife! Image 7: A Golden Langur captured in its natural habitat, perched on a sturdy bamboo branch amidst lush canopy in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. --- - Published: 2025-10-25 - Modified: 2025-10-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/asian-small-clawed-otter-sundarbans/ - Categories: Wildlife - Tags: Asian Small-Clawed Otter, Conservation, Mangrove Ecosystem, Otters, Sundarbans National Park, wildlife Join me on an exciting trip to Sundarbans National Park, where we spotted the rare Asian Small-Clawed Otter! Learn about these amazing creatures and their habitat. Sundarbans National Park Easy Reading Hi everyone! Guess what? I went to a super cool place called Sundarbans National Park with my brother Souranil on April 28, 2025. We went there to see animals and birds, and we saw something AMAZING: the Asian Small-Clawed Otter! In Bengali, they are called "Bhodor. " Asian Small-Clawed Otter in Sundarbans National Park What are Asian Small-Clawed Otters? Asian Small-Clawed Otters are really small and cute! They live near water and like to eat crabs and other little animals. They have super cool paws that help them catch food. The Asian Small-Clawed Otter are the smallest otter species in the world! Where Do They Live? These otters love to live in places like Sundarbans, where there are lots of mangrove trees and muddy areas. Mangroves are special trees that grow near the water. The Asian Small-Clawed Otter habitat needs these trees to survive. What Did We See? We saw lots of Asian Small-Clawed Otters playing in the mud! One was walking near the water, looking for food. Two others were climbing on rocks. It was so much fun to watch the Asian Small-Clawed Otter! Asian Small-Clawed Otter on muddy banks of river in Sundarbans National Park Fun Asian Small-Clawed Otter Facts! Asian Small-Clawed Otters use their paws to find food! They help keep the environment healthy by eating crabs and shellfish. Want to Visit? If you want to see Asian Small-Clawed Otters, you should visit Sundarbans National Park! Remember to be quiet and respectful of their home. I hope you liked hearing about my adventure! See you next time! Chasing Shadows and Spotting Asian Small-Clawed Otters in Sundarbans National Park On April 28, 2025, my brother Souranil and I embarked on a journey to the mystical Sundarbans National Park. Our mission: to witness the diverse wildlife, specifically the elusive Asian Small-Clawed Otter. Known locally as "Bhodor" in Bengali, these creatures are a testament to the unique biodiversity of this mangrove ecosystem. This blog post details our experience, offering insights into observing these fascinating animals and understanding their critical role in the Sundarbans. Asian Small-Clawed Otter in Sundarbans National Park The Allure of the Asian Small-Clawed Otter The Asian Small-Clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus) is the smallest otter species globally, captivating wildlife enthusiasts with its playful nature and crucial ecological role. Their Asian Small-Clawed Otter habitat primarily consists of mangrove forests, freshwater wetlands, and coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia. These otters are highly social, living in family groups and communicating through a variety of vocalizations. We were incredibly fortunate to observe five individuals during our trip. The Asian Small-Clawed Otter size is also something to note, these are tiny as compared to other otters. Our Sundarbans Expedition: A Detailed Account Our trip focused on exploring the intricate waterways and mudflats where the Asian Small-Clawed Otter thrive. We were particularly interested in witnessing their foraging behavior and social interactions. We are sure that you will be interested in Asian Small-Clawed Otter baby photos, but we did not find any in the national park. First Encounter: Muddy Banks and Curious Eyes Our initial sighting involved an Asian Small-Clawed Otter cautiously navigating the muddy banks of a river. It paused, seemingly assessing its surroundings before slipping into the water. The otter's presence highlighted the delicate balance of the Sundarbans ecosystem, where these creatures play a vital role in controlling populations of crabs, shellfish, and other aquatic animals. Asian Small-Clawed Otter on muddy banks of river in Sundarbans National Park Family Dynamics: Uphill Climbs and Alert Poses Later, we observed two Asian Small-Clawed Otters on a muddy, rocky slope. One was walking uphill, showcasing its dark brown fur, while the other faced us, exhibiting an alert and curious expression. These interactions emphasized the social nature of these otters and their adaptability to the challenging terrain of the Sundarbans. One must keep in mind the Asian Small-Clawed Otter lifespan. Mangrove Explorers: Foraging Among the Roots Another memorable sighting involved an Asian Small-Clawed Otter exploring a muddy mangrove habitat. The otter moved low to the ground, weaving through mangrove roots in search of crabs and mollusks. This behavior highlighted their dependence on the mangrove ecosystem and their role in maintaining its health. The Asian Small-Clawed Otter are very important to the ecosystem. Asian Small-Clawed Otter walking through a muddy mangrove habitat in Sundarbans National Park Navigating Pneumatophores: Mudflat Adventures Our final encounter involved two Asian Small-Clawed Otters walking among pneumatophores (aerial roots) in a muddy environment. These otters skillfully navigated the complex root systems, demonstrating their adaptation to the intertidal zones of the Sundarbans. Their presence indicated a thriving estuarine environment and their crucial role in the ecosystem. If you want to see the Asian Small-Clawed Otter planet zoo, then you should plan accordingly. Two Asian Small-Clawed Otters walking among pneumatophores in Sundarbans National Park Tips for Spotting Asian Small-Clawed Otters in Sundarbans Timing: Visit during the early morning or late afternoon when otters are most active. Patience: Be patient and observe quietly. Otters are shy and easily disturbed. Local Guides: Hire a local guide who knows the area well and can help you spot wildlife. Respect: Maintain a safe distance and avoid disturbing their natural behavior. The Importance of Conservation The Asian Small-Clawed Otter faces numerous threats, including habitat loss, poaching, and pollution. Conservation efforts are crucial to protect these animals and their habitat. Supporting organizations working in the Sundarbans can help ensure the long-term survival of these incredible creatures. It's important to note that discussions of things like asian small clawed otter for sale and asian small clawed otter pet are often unethical and can be illegal, as it endangers their conservation. Two Asian Small-Clawed Otters walking among pneumatophores in Sundarbans National Park Final Thoughts Our trip to Sundarbans National Park was an unforgettable experience. Witnessing the Asian Small-Clawed Otter in its natural habitat was a privilege. Their playful nature and vital role in the ecosystem left a lasting impression. We encourage everyone to support conservation efforts to protect these incredible animals for future generations. Their Asian Small-Clawed Otter scientific name is Aonyx cinereus and you can check asian small clawed otter range in many online sources. The asian small clawed otter cost can depend on a number of external factors which we don't want to mention. Have you ever seen an Asian Small-Clawed Otter? Share your experiences in the comments below! --- - Published: 2025-10-24 - Modified: 2025-10-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/lesser-adjutant-stork-sundarbans/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: Birding, Lesser Adjutant Stork, National Park, Sundarbans, wildlife An unforgettable birding trip to Sundarbans National Park! Discover the majestic Lesser Adjutant Stork and other incredible wildlife. Read about our adventure! Sundarbans National Park Easy Reading My Trip to Find the Lesser Adjutant Stork Guess what? I went to a super cool place called Sundarbans National Park! It's like a giant forest with lots of water. I went with my brother and some friends. We wanted to see some awesome birds, especially the Lesser Adjutant Stork. It's a really big bird! Lesser Adjutant in Sundarbans National Park What is a Lesser Adjutant Stork? The Lesser Adjutant Stork is a big bird with long legs and a long beak. It likes to live near water. They are really tall! Where does it live? They live in places like India, and especially in the Sundarbans. They like muddy places and forests. What does it eat? The Lesser Adjutant Stork eats fish, frogs, and other small animals that live in the water. Lesser Adjutant Stork in Sundarbans National Park My Adventure! We saw the Lesser Adjutant Stork standing in the mud. It was so cool! It looked like it was searching for food. We also saw other birds and even an otter! Fun Fact! The Lesser Adjutant Stork likes to walk around in the mud to find food in the Sundarbans. Would you like to go? If you ever go to Sundarbans, try to find the Lesser Adjutant Stork! It's a super bird! Remember to be quiet and look carefully. Another Lesser Adjutant in Sundarbans National Park Our guide, Amit Biswas, helped us find the birds. He knows a lot about the Sundarbans! It was an amazing trip. I hope you can go someday too! Into the Wild: Searching for the Lesser Adjutant Stork in Sundarbans Sundarbans National Park, April 30, 2025. The air hung thick with humidity, a symphony of bird calls echoing through the mangrove forest. My brother, Souranil, and our friends Avichal, Siddharth, and Sounak, embarked on a journey to escape the digital noise and reconnect with nature. Our primary goal? To spot the majestic Lesser Adjutant Stork. This blog post details our three-day adventure, highlighting the challenges, the triumphs, and the sheer beauty of the Sundarbans. A Lesser Adjutant stands tall in Sundarbans National Park. The Allure of the Lesser Adjutant Stork The Lesser Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos javanicus) is a magnificent bird, a member of the stork family (Ciconiidae). Known for its imposing stature and scavenging habits, this species holds a unique place in the ecosystem. Seeing one in its natural habitat is a truly rewarding experience. The Lesser Adjutant Stork is a bird that one needs to search for and is also called 'ছোট মদনটাক' in Bengali. Sundarbans: A Haven for Wildlife The Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a sprawling mangrove forest at the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. It's a biodiversity hotspot, teeming with a diverse range of flora and fauna. While famous for its tigers, the Sundarbans offers a plethora of avian delights, including the elusive Lesser Adjutant Stork. Our Adventure Begins Guided by Amit Biswas, a local expert, we navigated the intricate waterways of the Sundarbans. Amit's knowledge of the terrain and its inhabitants proved invaluable. While our primary goal was to photograph the Lesser Adjutant Stork, we remained open to experiencing all that the Sundarbans had to offer. The Quest for the Stork: Our Encounters Over the three days, we were fortunate enough to observe the Lesser Adjutant Stork on multiple occasions. The first sighting was particularly memorable. As we rounded a bend in the river, there it stood, a solitary figure against the backdrop of the mangrove forest. The bird was wading in the mud, its long beak probing for food. A Lesser Adjutant Stork in its natural habitat within Sundarbans National Park. We observed that the Lesser Adjutant Stork often forages in intertidal mudflats, searching for fish, crustaceans, and amphibians exposed during low tide. This adaptation enables them to thrive in the mangrove’s unique ecosystem. The Lesser Adjutant Stork's IUCN status should be carefully monitored. Other Notable Sightings While the Lesser Adjutant Stork was the star of the show, we encountered other fascinating creatures. An Asian small-clawed otter frolicked in the water, and we even spotted a juvenile king cobra slithering through the undergrowth. Birding highlights included sightings of the vibrant Orange-breasted Flowerpecker. Photographing the Lesser Adjutant Stork: Tips and Tricks Capturing the perfect shot of the Lesser Adjutant Stork requires patience and preparation. Here are a few tips: Use a telephoto lens: This will allow you to capture detailed shots from a distance, minimizing disturbance to the bird. Be patient: The Lesser Adjutant Stork can be elusive, so be prepared to wait for the right moment. Consider the light: Early morning and late afternoon offer the best lighting conditions. Respect the environment: Avoid getting too close to the bird or disturbing its habitat. Another view of a Lesser Adjutant in Sundarbans National Park, showcasing its natural habitat. Lessons Learned Our trip to the Sundarbans was more than just a birding adventure; it was a reminder of the importance of conservation. The Lesser Adjutant Stork, like many other species in the Sundarbans, faces threats from habitat loss and human disturbance. It’s crucial that we support efforts to protect this unique ecosystem. Final Thoughts: Planning Your Trip If you're planning a trip to the Sundarbans to see the Lesser Adjutant Stork, here are a few recommendations: Best time to visit: November to February offers pleasant weather. Hire a guide: A knowledgeable guide like Amit Biswas (contact details available upon request) can greatly enhance your experience. Pack appropriately: Bring comfortable clothing, insect repellent, and a good pair of binoculars. Our trip to the Sundarbans was a success! The opportunity to witness the Lesser Adjutant Stork in its natural habitat was an unforgettable experience. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! --- - Published: 2025-10-23 - Modified: 2025-10-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chopta-diaries-himalayan-monal/ - Categories: Birding Adventures - Tags: Birding, Chopta, Himalayan Monal, Mountain Birds, Pheasant, Uttarakhand, wildlife An unforgettable birding trip to Chopta, India, in search of the majestic Himalayan Monal. Read about our journey, challenges, and the thrill of spotting this incredible bird! Chopta Easy Reading My Trip to Chopta to See the Himalayan Monal Hi everyone! I'm so excited to tell you about my trip to Chopta, a beautiful place in India. I went there with my brother to see a very special bird called the Himalayan Monal. It's like finding a treasure! Himalayan Monal in Chopta We went with a bird guide named Prabhat. He knew all the best places to find birds! On our first day, guess what? We saw a Himalayan Monal cross the road! It was so colorful and shiny. It looked like it was wearing a rainbow suit! What is a Himalayan Monal? The Himalayan Monal is a type of pheasant. Pheasants are birds that are often big and colorful. The Himalayan Monal lives high up in the mountains. The boy Monals are very colorful, and the girl Monals are usually brown. Himalayan Monal on a Hill Our Adventure One day, we went for a hike, and it started snowing! It was cold, but seeing the Himalayan Monal in the snow was amazing. Later, we saw one walking up a hill, looking for food. It uses its beak to dig for yummy things to eat! Himalayan Monal on a Rocky Outcrop Tips for Visiting Chopta Go with a guide who knows the birds. Wear warm clothes, especially if you go in the winter. Be patient – it might take time to find the birds! Why is the Himalayan Monal Special? The Himalayan Monal is special because it is so beautiful and lives in a very high place. It’s the National bird of Nepal and also a state bird of Uttarkhand, India. It’s important to protect their home so we can keep seeing these amazing birds! My trip to Chopta was the best! I learned so much about birds and nature. I hope you can go birding someday too! Chopta Diaries: In Pursuit of the Elusive Himalayan Monal The crisp mountain air bit at my cheeks as my brother, Souranil, and I embarked on a four-day birding adventure in Chopta, Uttarakhand. Our mission? To catch a glimpse of the majestic Himalayan Monal and the elusive Indian Koklass Pheasant. Chopta, known for its breathtaking landscapes and diverse avian population, promised an unforgettable experience. Our guide, Prabhat Bisht (Instagram: @himalayan_boy_birdguide), proved to be an invaluable asset, leading us through the region's hidden gems. Himalayan Monal - Chopta, India The very first day delivered a stroke of luck. At the aptly named 'Monal Point,' a male Himalayan Monal nonchalantly crossed the road right in front of us! The iridescent plumage shimmered in the sunlight, a breathtaking spectacle that instantly justified the journey. Seeing it for the first time is like being transported to another planet. Understanding the Himalayan Monal The Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) is a pheasant found in the Himalayan regions of countries such as India, Nepal, and Bhutan, typically at elevations between 8,000 and 15,000 feet. As a member of the pheasant family (Phasianidae), the male Himalayan Monal is renowned for its stunning iridescent plumage, while females typically exhibit a more mottled brown coloration. They are known to forage in alpine meadows and rocky slopes, often digging for tubers and insects. There's no legal way to obtain a himalayan monal for sale. These majestic birds are protected by law in India. The himalayan monal pheasant sound is a distinct whistle that can be heard echoing through the mountain valleys. Regarding the himalayan monal pheasant size, males can grow up to 70 cm in length, while females are slightly smaller. Their eggs are not legally available himalayan monal pheasant eggs for sale because they are a protected species. Himalayan Monal on a Hillside - Chopta, India The Tungnath Trek and a Snowy Encounter Day three took us on the Tungnath trek. The weather, however, had other plans. What began as a promising morning soon devolved into a snowy squall, followed by heavy rain. Ill-prepared for such conditions, photography became a challenge. Yet, witnessing the Himalayan Monal amidst the swirling snow was an ethereal experience. The resilience of these birds in such harsh conditions is truly remarkable. Later that day, as the weather cleared, we were rewarded with another sighting – a Himalayan Monal gracefully ascending a hill, diligently foraging for food. Observing its natural behavior in its natural habitat was far more enriching than any photograph. Himalayan Monal on a Rocky Outcrop - Chopta, India A Moment of Serenity As the day drew to a close, we encountered a Himalayan Monal resting peacefully beneath a tree. We shared a few moments of quiet contemplation, simply observing the bird in its tranquil state. These are the moments that define a truly memorable birding experience. Tips for Birding in Chopta Engage a Local Guide: Prabhat Bisht's expertise was instrumental in locating the target species. Pack for All Weather Conditions: Mountain weather is unpredictable. Be prepared for sudden changes in temperature and precipitation. Respect the Environment: Practice ethical birding by maintaining a safe distance and minimizing disturbance to the birds and their habitat. Best Time to Visit: The pre-monsoon (April-May) and post-monsoon (September-October) seasons are generally considered ideal for birding in Chopta. Why the Himalayan Monal Matters The Himalayan Monal is not just a beautiful bird; it's an indicator species, reflecting the health of its fragile ecosystem. Conservation efforts are crucial to protect their habitat and ensure the survival of these magnificent creatures. The himalayan monal price in the wild is incalculable; its existence contributes to the biodiversity and ecological balance of the Himalayas. Final Thoughts Our birding trip to Chopta was more than just a checklist exercise; it was an immersion into the beauty and challenges of the Himalayan ecosystem. The fleeting glimpses of the Himalayan Monal, the unexpected snowstorm, and the quiet moments of observation – these are the memories that will linger long after we've left the mountains. I encourage all bird enthusiasts to experience the magic of Chopta and contribute to the conservation of its avian treasures. --- - Published: 2025-10-06 - Modified: 2025-10-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hornbills-in-north-bengal/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: bird watching, Birding, Darjeeling, Great Hornbill, hornbills, North Bengal, Oriental Pied Hornbill, wildlife Join my thrilling birding adventure in North Bengal! Discover the majestic Great Hornbill and the charming Oriental Pied Hornbill. Tips for spotting and photographing these magnificent birds! Easy Reading Hornbills in North Bengal: A Birding Adventure! Hi everyone! I went on an exciting trip to a place called Rongtong in Darjeeling, which is in North Bengal. It was October 30, 2023. I wanted to see some amazing birds, and I did! I saw two kinds of Hornbills in North Bengal: the Great Hornbill and the Oriental Pied Hornbill. This blog post will tell you all about them! Oriental Pied Hornbill in Rongtong, Darjeeling What are Hornbills? Hornbills are big, cool-looking birds with large beaks. Some of them have acasque on top of their beaks, which looks like a helmet! They live in forests and eat fruits, insects, and sometimes even small animals. The Great Hornbill The Great Hornbill is a HUGE bird! It's mostly black with a yellow beak and casque. I heard it first while driving, and then I saw two of them! They flew away, but I followed them and got to see them up close. It was awesome! A pair of Great Hornbills in the lush forests of Rongtong, Darjeeling. The Great Hornbill, a magnificent species found in the region, is a sight to behold. Great Hornbill in Rongtong, Darjeeling Fun Fact: Great Hornbills help the forest by spreading seeds when they eat fruits! The Oriental Pied Hornbill The Oriental Pied Hornbill is smaller than the Great Hornbill. It's black and white, and it also has a casque on its beak. I saw one while having tea! Some people gave it biscuits, and it ate them right in front of us. It wasn't shy at all! Oriental Pied Hornbill in Rongtong, Darjeeling Important: Even if a bird seems friendly, don't get too close. Give them space! Tips for Bird Watching Be quiet and patient. Bring binoculars to see birds from far away. Don't disturb the birds or their homes. More Birds I Saw I saw lots of other birds too! It was a great day of bird watching. Conclusion Seeing the hornbills in north bengal was the best part of my trip! I hope you learned something new about these amazing birds. Have you ever seen a hornbill? Tell me in the comments below! Chasing Hornbills in North Bengal: A Birding Odyssey October 30, 2023, found me in the verdant hills of Rongtong, Darjeeling, a region in North Bengal renowned for its rich biodiversity. My mission? To witness the majestic hornbills in north bengal. This trip was more than just ticking off species from a list; it was an immersion into the symphony of the Eastern Himalayas. The primary targets were the Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), and thankfully, North Bengal delivered on both counts. Oriental Pied Hornbill in Rongtong, Darjeeling Encountering the Giants: The Great Hornbill The call of the Great Hornbill, a deep, resonant 'tok,' is unmistakable. As we drove down a winding road, I heard it – a sound that instantly sent my pulse racing. I urged the driver to stop. Scrambling out of the car, I scanned the dense foliage, and there it was: the colossal beak of a Great Hornbill peeking through the leaves. It was a pair, likely a mated couple. They soon took flight, their impressive wings carrying them to a nearby ridge. The pursuit began. Following them involved a brief but moderately challenging uphill climb. We waited, birds and birder, locked in a silent observation. But alas, these magnificent creatures are masters of their domain, and they eventually vanished into the canopy. Even a fleeting encounter with the Great Hornbill leaves an indelible mark. Great Hornbill in Rongtong, Darjeeling A pair of Great Hornbills in the lush forests of Rongtong, Darjeeling. The Great Hornbill, a magnificent species found in the region, is a sight to behold. A majestic Great Hornbill soars through the forests of Rongtong, Darjeeling. Great Hornbill in flight, Rongtong, Darjeeling. Interesting Facts about Great Hornbill: Great Hornbill Bird Sound: Its call is a loud 'tok' or 'boom' that can be heard from quite a distance. Great Hornbill Size: It is one of the largest hornbill species, with a wingspan reaching up to 1. 5 meters. Great Hornbill Range: Found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Great Hornbill Nest: The female seals herself inside a tree cavity during nesting, relying on the male to provide food. This is a unique and fascinating adaptation. Great Hornbill Facts: They play a critical role in seed dispersal, contributing to forest regeneration. While great hornbill for sale is never an option, encountering these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat is an unforgettable experience. A Chance Encounter: The Oriental Pied Hornbill Birding often involves patience and persistence, but sometimes, luck plays a hand. We were enjoying a roadside tea break when an Oriental Pied Hornbill nonchalantly appeared. The locals, accustomed to its presence, suggested offering it biscuits. Hesitantly, I did, and the bird, seemingly unfazed by human interaction, readily accepted the offering. It was a surreal moment, a testament to the adaptability of wildlife in the face of human encroachment. The bird then perched on a nearby branch, a silent observer, before soaring away. Oriental Pied Hornbill in Rongtong, Darjeeling Ethical Considerations It's crucial to remember that even habituated birds deserve respect and space. While the Oriental Pied Hornbill seemed comfortable with human presence, it's vital to avoid encroaching on its personal space or altering its natural behavior. Responsible birding prioritizes the well-being of the birds above all else. Tips for Birding in North Bengal Best Time to Visit: October to April offers pleasant weather and optimal birding opportunities. Gear: Binoculars, a spotting scope (if possible), a field guide, and appropriate clothing are essential. Respect the Environment: Minimize your impact by staying on trails, avoiding disturbance to vegetation, and properly disposing of waste. Hire a Local Guide: Local guides possess invaluable knowledge of the region's birdlife and can significantly enhance your birding experience. Comprehensive Bird List During this trip to North Bengal, I observed a total of 9 species including multiple encounters with Great Hornbill and Oriental Pied Hornbill. The highlights, of course, were the hornbills in north bengal, but the region boasts a diverse avifauna that is sure to captivate any birder. Conclusion My birding expedition in North Bengal was a resounding success, primarily due to the encounters with the magnificent hornbills in north bengal. The Great Hornbill, with its imposing presence, and the Oriental Pied Hornbill, with its charming adaptability, left an indelible mark on my memory. Remember to respect wildlife, tread lightly, and embrace the wonder of the natural world. Have you ever been birding in North Bengal? Share your experiences and favorite bird sightings in the comments below! Rongtong --- - Published: 2025-10-05 - Modified: 2025-12-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/saswad-birdwatching-vernal-hanging-parrot-crested-buntings/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: Bird Photography, Birdwatching, Crested Bunting, Millet Farm, Pune, Saswad, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Wildlife Photography Explore the birdwatching haven of Saswad, near Pune! Discover vibrant Vernal Hanging Parrots, Crested Buntings, and other avian wonders at Gaurav Shelar's millet farm. Easy Reading A Fun Trip to See Birds! Hi everyone! I went on a super cool trip to Saswad, near Pune, to see some amazing birds! It was August 31, 2025. I flew all the way from Calcutta! My friend Gaurav took me to his farm. It's a special place where lots of birds come to eat the yummy millets (a kind of grain). This blog post is all about my adventure seeing the Vernal Hanging Parrot, Crested Buntings, and Baya Weavers. . ! Vernal Hanging Parrot in Saswad near Pune The Colorful Vernal Hanging Parrot My favorite birds were the Vernal Hanging Parrots! These parrots are so small and green. They even have a little red spot near their tail. Did you know they sometimes sleep upside down like bats? It’s true! Vernal Hanging Parrot in Saswad near Pune Meeting the Crested Bunting I also saw a bird called a Crested Bunting. It has a cool black head and brown wings. It likes to eat the millet seeds too! These Crested Buntings are so cute! Crested Bunting in Saswad near Pune Other Birds I Saw I saw other birds too, like the Baya Weaver. It was so much fun watching all the birds eat and fly around. Tips for Bird Watching * Be quiet and patient. * Bring binoculars to see the birds up close. * Wear clothes that help you blend in. My Trip Was Great! I had a wonderful time in Saswad. I learned so much about birds. I hope you can go bird watching someday too! It's a great way to learn about nature. A Birdwatcher's Paradise Found: Saswad and the Vernal Hanging Parrots The air hung thick with anticipation as the cab sped towards Saswad on August 31, 2025. Leaving behind the urban sprawl of Pune after a short flight from Calcutta, I was headed to Gaurav Shelar's millet farm – a burgeoning hotspot for birdwatching. Gaurav had promised a weekend immersed in avian activity, and the reality exceeded all expectations. This blog post details my trip to see the Vernal Hanging Parrots and Crested Buntings. Vernal Hanging Parrot in Saswad near Pune Gaurav, a passionate farmer and conservationist, has transformed one of his millet farms into a sanctuary for birds. From July onwards, the farm becomes a magnet for a diverse range of species seeking sustenance from the ripening grains. Birders from across India, and even a few international visitors, flock here to observe, photograph, and document the avian spectacle. I had the privilege of joining their ranks, armed with my camera and binoculars, eager to witness the beauty firsthand.  Information: You can contact Gaurav via WhatsApp on his phone number. This is Gaurav Shelar's Phone number: +91 77568 69182 The Allure of the Vernal Hanging Parrot Among the many species present, the Vernal Hanging Parrots ( _Loriculus vernalis_ ) were the undisputed stars. These diminutive, vibrant green parrots, with their characteristic red rumps and playful antics, were a constant source of delight. Watching them flit through the millet stalks, clinging upside down to reach the choicest grains, was an experience I won't soon forget. Vernal Hanging Parrot in Saswad near Pune These parrots, belonging to the hanging parrot family, are known for their unique roosting behavior. They often sleep upside down, resembling bats, a behavior that likely provides them with better grip and concealment amidst the dense vegetation. The millet farm provides an ideal habitat for them, offering both food and shelter. Encountering the Crested Bunting Another delightful sighting was that of the Crested Bunting ( _Emberiza lathami_ ). These striking birds, with their distinctive black heads and chestnut wings, were often seen foraging on the ground, gleaning fallen millet seeds. Their presence highlights the ecological importance of the farm, demonstrating how agriculture can, with mindful management, coexist with biodiversity. Crested Bunting in Saswad near Pune The Crested Bunting is a member of the Emberizidae family. These buntings are frequently seen near agricultural lands. Their foraging behaviour suggests a reliance on the grains and seeds available in these areas. The thriving population of Crested Buntings indicates a healthy ecosystem within and around the millet farms. Other Avian Inhabitants While the Vernal Hanging Parrots and Crested Buntings took center stage, the farm also teemed with other avian life. I observed Baya Weavers diligently constructing their intricate nests, their architectural prowess a testament to their evolutionary ingenuity. Sparrows flitted about, adding their cheerful chirps to the symphony of the farm. Sadly, I didn't spot the elusive Red Munia, but that only fuels my desire to return next season. Baya Weaver in Saswad near Pune Tips for Visiting and Photographing the Birds of Saswad * Timing is key: Visit between July and September for peak bird activity. * Respect the environment: Maintain a safe distance from the birds and their nests. * Gear up: Bring binoculars, a telephoto lens (if you're into photography), and comfortable walking shoes. * Patience is a virtue: Birdwatching requires patience. Spend time observing, and you'll be rewarded with incredible sightings. * Hire Local Guide: Gaurav knows everything about the birds of the region, and it is recommended you hire him. Final Thoughts My weekend in Saswad was an enriching experience. It was a reminder of the beauty and diversity of the natural world. Gaurav's dedication to creating a haven for birds is truly commendable. It is a great example of how agriculture and conservation can work hand-in-hand. If you're a bird enthusiast, photographer, or simply someone seeking solace in nature, I highly recommend a visit to this hidden gem. I left Saswad rejuvenated, already planning my return trip, hoping to finally catch a glimpse of the elusive Red Munia. --- - Published: 2025-10-04 - Modified: 2025-12-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/vernal-hanging-parrot-saswad/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: Birding, Millet Farm, Saswad, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Wildlife Photography An exciting birding trip to Saswad near Pune to spot the elusive Vernal Hanging Parrot. Learn about this vibrant bird and tips for spotting them! Easy Reading Looking for the Vernal Hanging Parrot Hi everyone! Guess what? I went to a farm near Pune called Saswad to see some really cool birds! I wanted to see a bird called the Vernal Hanging Parrots. It's super green and hangs upside down! I went there on August 31, 2025. Vernal Hanging Parrot in Saswad near Pune What are Vernal Hanging Parrots? Vernal Hanging Parrots are small, bright green birds. They have a red beak. They like to eat fruits, seeds, and flowers. Sometimes, they even hang upside down! They are very cute. My Trip to See the Parrot I flew all the way from Kolkata to Pune. Then, I took a car to a farm. My friend Gaurav owns the farm. He grows millets there. Vernal Hanging Parrots love to eat millets! Even though it rained a little, it was fun! I watched the Vernal Hanging Parrots eating the millets. They looked so happy. I took a video of them too! Fun Facts About Vernal Hanging Parrots They love to eat millets. They are bright green. They sometimes hang upside down. Tips for Seeing Vernal Hanging Parrots Go to a place where they live, like Saswad. Look for them in farms with millets. Be quiet and patient. My Bird Watching Lesson I learned that bird watching is fun. The Vernal Hanging Parrot is very interesting. Even though I did not see all the birds that I was looking for, I will keep trying! So, that was my trip to see the Vernal Hanging Parrot. It was amazing! Have you ever seen a Vernal Hanging Parrot? Chasing the Elusive Vernal Hanging Parrot in Saswad August 31, 2025, Saswad, near Pune: The air was thick with anticipation. I had traveled from Kolkata, fueled by the hope of witnessing the vibrant Vernal Hanging Parrot grace Gaurav's millet farm. This trip was meticulously planned, aiming to capture these beauties feasting on the ripened millet. Sadly, the Red Munia decided to play hard to get, but I did manage to spend quality time with the Vernal Hanging Parrot. Vernal Hanging Parrot feasting on millet in Saswad near Pune The Allure of the Vernal Hanging Parrot The Vernal Hanging Parrot (Loriculus vernalis) is a captivating bird, a splash of vibrant green against the often-monotonous backdrop of the Indian landscape. Their small size and playful behavior make them a favorite among birders. Known for their habit of sometimes hanging upside down, these parrots add a touch of whimsy to any birding experience. The Journey to Saswad: A Birding Pilgrimage Gaurav's millet farm in Saswad has become a haven for birders during this time of year. The promise of seeing the Vernal Hanging Parrot draws enthusiasts from across India. The journey itself was smooth, with a flight from Kolkata to Pune and a pre-arranged cab ride to Gaurav's hospitable home. The anticipation built with every passing kilometer, fueled by the expectation of capturing stunning images and videos of these avian gems. A Weekend of Observation: Encounters with the Green Gems While the Red Munia remained elusive, the Vernal Hanging Parrot did not disappoint. Despite a slight drizzle on the first day, the air was refreshingly crisp, creating ideal conditions for birding. I spent hours observing these parrots from various vantage points, mesmerized by their agility and vibrant plumage. I documented their feeding habits, capturing them on video as they expertly extracted seeds from the millet stalks. Understanding the Vernal Hanging Parrot The Vernal Hanging Parrot's diet primarily consists of fruits, seeds, nectar, and occasionally buds and flowers. Millet farms, like Gaurav's, provide an abundant source of food, making them an attractive habitat for these birds during specific times of the year. The bird’s vibrant green color helps them camouflage amidst the foliage. Tips for Spotting and Photographing Vernal Hanging Parrots Timing is key: Visit during the millet harvesting season when the parrots are actively feeding. Patience is a virtue: These birds can be shy, so be prepared to wait and observe quietly. Choose your vantage point wisely: Experiment with different angles to capture the best light and backgrounds. Invest in good optics: A decent pair of binoculars and a telephoto lens are essential for clear viewing and photography. Respect their space: Maintain a safe distance to avoid disturbing the birds and their habitat. Lessons Learned: Birding is More Than Just Ticking a List While I initially set out to photograph both the Vernal Hanging Parrot and the Red Munia, the trip reinforced the importance of appreciating the present moment and embracing the unexpected. Birding is not just about ticking off species from a list; it's about connecting with nature, observing animal behavior, and relishing the beauty of the natural world. The absence of the Red Munia served as a reminder that nature operates on its own terms, and sometimes, the greatest rewards come from simply being present and open to whatever unfolds. Frequently Asked Questions Q: What is the best time to see Vernal Hanging Parrots in Saswad? A: The best time is during the millet harvesting season (July onwards) when they frequent the farms to feed. Q: What should I bring on a birding trip to Saswad? A: Binoculars, a camera with a telephoto lens, comfortable walking shoes, and appropriate clothing for the weather. Q: Are there any accommodations available in Saswad? A: Gaurav offers accommodations. There are also hotels available in nearby Pune. Final Thoughts My trip to Saswad to observe the Vernal Hanging Parrot was a rewarding experience, despite the absence of the Red Munia. The vibrant plumage and playful antics of these green gems made the journey worthwhile. It highlighted the beauty of birding and the importance of being present in nature. Remember to be patient, respectful, and open to the unexpected. Happy birding! Saswad --- - Published: 2025-09-27 - Modified: 2025-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chasing-himalayan-monal-chopta/ - Categories: Birding, travel - Tags: Birding, Chopta, Himachal Pradesh, Himalayan Monal, Mountains, wildlife Join my brother and I on an exciting birding trip to Chopta, HP, in search of the elusive and stunning Himalayan Monal! Learn tips, tricks and conservation facts. Hey everyone! I'm super excited to share my recent birding adventure with you all. On March 30th, 2024, my brother Souranil (@souranil. de), a total Himalayan Monal fanatic, and I, headed to Chopta, Himachal Pradesh, in search of this amazing bird. We were guided by the super knowledgeable Prabhat Bisht (@himalayan_boy_birdguide). Get ready for a story full of iridescent feathers, a little bit of frustration, and a whole lot of love for the magnificent Himalayan Monal! We hope you find great use of this article, where you learn about the Himalayan Monal and birding tips. The Himalayan Monal, standing at the edge of a cliff. Chopta, India, 2024. Check out the Instagram Stories posted during this Trip by clicking here. The male Himalayan Monal is a stunning, iridescent pheasant, famed for its brilliant metallic green crest and vibrant blue, red, and gold plumage. Females are duller brown. Found in high-altitude Himalayan forests, it's the national bird of Nepal. They forage by digging for roots and insects, a magnificent sight amidst the mountains. Read more at: All About the Himalayan Monal: A Mountain Jewel The Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) isn't just any bird; it's the state bird of Uttarakhand, and it's absolutely stunning! Belonging to the pheasant family, it's a large bird found in the Himalayan region, from Afghanistan to Northeast India. These birds are known for their striking iridescent plumage, especially the males. The Monal boasts a rainbow of colors, including blues, greens, purples, and reds. Females, while less flashy, are beautiful in their own right, with mottled brown feathers providing excellent camouflage. Did you know that male Monals display their vibrant plumage to attract females during breeding season? It's like a mountain fashion show! The Monal is a pheasant and not a Himalayan Monal for sale. Featured Species: Himalayan Monal (Take 1! ) This stunning photo captures a male Himalayan Monal perched majestically on a rocky outcrop. Notice the incredible iridescent colors and the distinct crest. Prabhat told us that these birds use their strong beaks to dig for roots and tubers, especially during the harsh winters. Himalayan Monal showing off its vibrant colors. Location: Chopta, Himachal Pradesh Featured Species: Himalayan Monal (Road Crossing! ) Can you believe we saw a male Himalayan Monal casually strolling across the road? It was such a surreal moment! Apparently, they descend to lower altitudes during winter in search of food, which explains why we spotted it on the road. What a treat! The Himalayan Monal pheasant is indeed a fascinating bird. Himalayan Monal casually crossing the road! Location: Chopta, Himachal Pradesh Featured Species: Himalayan Monal (Hillside View! ) This Himalayan Monal was giving us the perfect pose on a hillside! The light was just right, showcasing its iridescent feathers. It was digging with its strong beak! Male Himalayan Monals display their iridescent plumage to attract females, especially during the breeding season in the Himalayas. This behaviour is commonly observed during the spring months, coinciding with the time the photo was taken. The Monal standing proud on a hillside. Location: Chopta, Himachal Pradesh My Monal Encounter: A Comedy of Errors (and Success! ) Okay, so our first attempt at spotting the Monal wasn't exactly smooth. These birds have a specific route they take up the hill, and our guide knew exactly where to wait. However, I completely misjudged the distance and ended up scaring the bird away! Souranil was not thrilled, but thankfully, he didn't scold me too much. Lesson learned: pay attention to spatial estimates! The second time around, I stayed put, and we were rewarded with amazing views of the Monals going about their business. The third attempt, sadly, was a bust because some disrespectful tourists decided to ignore the restrictions and scare all the birds away. Seriously guys, don't be that person! This also made me think about how the Himalayan Monal for sale is really not ok. Tungnath Trek: Rain, Snow, and Distant Monals We attempted the Tungnath Trek, hoping for more Himalayan Monal sightings, but the weather had other plans. It rained like crazy, and then it even snowed a little! We did see some Himalayan Monals in the distance, but my hands were so frozen I could barely hold my camera. Maybe next time! Tips for Spotting the Himalayan Monal in Chopta Hire a Local Guide: Prabhat was invaluable in helping us find the birds and understand their behaviour. Be Patient and Respectful: These birds are easily scared, so avoid sudden movements and keep your distance. Visit During the Right Season: Spring (March-April) is a good time to see them displaying their plumage. Check the weather. Bad weather may ruin the trek and your sightings of Himalayan Monal. Conservation Thoughts: Let's Protect These Beauties It's so important that we protect the Himalayan Monal and its habitat. Respect the local restrictions, avoid disturbing the birds, and support sustainable tourism practices. These birds are a treasure, and it's up to us to ensure they thrive for generations to come. Also, do not encourage the Himalayan Monal female to breed in captivity. Conclusion: A Trip to Remember Despite the minor setbacks, our trip to Chopta was an incredible experience. Seeing the Himalayan Monal in its natural habitat was truly magical. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves birding and the beauty of the Himalayas! Hope this article was of great help to understand the importance of keeping these birds safe and protected, as well as giving you tips to observe the Himalayan Monal in its natural habitat. Find the Instagram stories here. We do not have many pictures together: Souranil, my brother and teacher, standing by my side.   --- - Published: 2025-09-27 - Modified: 2025-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/brown-hornbill-dehing-patkai/ - Categories: Birding, travel - Tags: Assam, Bird Photography, Birding, Brown Hornbill, Conservation, Dehing Patkai, nature, Rainforest, wildlife An adventure in Dehing Patkai National Park photographing the shy Brown Hornbill! Witness cooperative breeding & learn about this amazing bird. Pack your bags! Guess what I was up to in early June 2025? I flew all the way from Kolkata to Dibrugarh, Assam, to fulfill a dream: photographing the incredibly shy and stunning Austen's Brown Hornbill in Dehing Patkai National Park! And let me tell you, it was an adventure! Dehing Patkai National Park I stayed at Kalpa’s Soraipung Retreat, and he was kind enough to arrange everything – even picking me up from the airport. The real journey, though, started the next day when we ventured into the heart of Dehing Patkai, a true rainforest! Understanding the Magic of Hornbills ! Before I dive into my adventure, let's talk about Hornbills! These birds are super cool, known for their massive beaks and often brightly colored casques (that thing on top of their beaks! ). They're found in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. In India, we have nine species, but the Brown Hornbill is a bit special – it’s shyer and less commonly seen than its more flamboyant cousins. Talking about the location, the population is mainly concentrated in Northeast of India. My Rainy Rainforest Adventure! Dehing Patkai is a rainforest, and it was raining in June! The ground was slippery, there was water everywhere, and the forest was DENSE. Navigating wasn’t easy, but the anticipation of seeing a kept me going! We hiked for a while, until we reached a spot where we could see a nest. I was holding my breath to see the beautiful . And there she was! A female was inside the nest, patiently waiting. Soon, a group of four , including one female, arrived to feed her. It was magical! I quickly started snapping photos and even managed to record a few video clips for a reel. The Feeding Frenzy! I’m completely obsessed with Hornbills, especially the Brown Hornbills. This particular species is quite rare and incredibly shy, which made the experience even more special. Imagine this: a male carefully tossing a fruit, feeding his wife inside the nest, and then gracefully flying away. I have tried to capture that beautiful sequence. Austen's Brown Hornbill feeding the female, Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India Witnessing Cooperative Breeding among the Austen's Brown Hornbills. But the highlight of the trip was witnessing cooperative breeding! I’d only read about it before, but never seen it in person. What is it? Well, I went back to the same spot two days in a row – once for photos and once for videos. On the first day, while editing the pictures, I noticed something odd: two of the males looked slightly different. That's when it hit me – they were different birds! The next day, I realised that there was a flock of more than four , including a single female! The males were taking turns feeding the nesting mother. This is cooperative breeding! It means a group, instead of just a single male pair, often including older siblings, helps to feed and care for the new mother . How amazing is that? ! Brown Hornbill carrying fruit, Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India Male Brown Hornbill feeding the female at the nest, Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India The Male Austen's Brown Hornbill on a tree branch, Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India Austen's Brown Hornbill in flight, Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India Final Thoughts: Dehing Patkai and my Trip. My trip to Dehing Patkai was an unforgettable experience. Witnessing the in its natural habitat, especially the cooperative breeding behavior, was truly special. It reinforced my commitment to conservation and inspired me to share the beauty of these birds with you all. So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and go chase some dreams in Dehing Patkai! --- - Published: 2025-09-22 - Modified: 2025-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-red-munia-in-bengal/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: bengal, birbhum, Birding, Conservation, rajarhat, Red Munia, Suri, Wildlife Photography Chasing the vibrant Red Munia in Bengal! Join my birding adventures in Rajarhat and Suri, capturing the beauty of these shy birds and learning about their habitat. Red Munia in Rajarhat, Kolkata Chasing the Crimson: My Quest to Photograph the Red Munia Hey everyone! If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with birds! I've been trying to get some decent shots of the stunning Red Munia for ages. These little guys are seriously shy and quick, making them a real challenge. But guess what? This year, I finally managed to capture some photos I'm actually proud of! Let me take you along on my adventure to spot the amazing Red Munia! Rajarhat Rendezvous: Spotting the Red Munia My first stop was Rajarhat, near Kolkata, on September 7th, 2025. A huge thanks to Debarshi Duttagupta for sharing the location! I was birding solo for a while until Sutapa joined in. We finally spotted the Red Munia feeding low in the grasses. They were super cautious! We only got photos when they perched on the tall grass stalks before zooming off. It was a test of patience, but so rewarding to see the beautiful Red Munia in its natural habitat. Red Munia perched on grass in Rajarhat, Kolkata (Bengal) Suri Surprise: A Red Munia Family Next up was Suri in Birbhum district, on September 13th. Massive shoutout to Somenath Mondal for the location tip! I booked a cab and started my journey at 1 AM (yes, that's dedication! ). I reached the spot by 5:30 AM and the location Somenath told me, at 6 AM. It was incredible – a hidden gem surrounded by fields of Kash flowers! The Red Munia come here to feed, find nesting material, and just chill. We spotted a whole family of Red Munia! I think there was a nest nearby. Even saw a juvenile male Red Munia! Birding was fantastic from 6:30 AM to 8:00 AM. Totally worth the early start! Red Munia perched on grass in Suri, Birbhum (Bengal) Red Munias in Kash Flower field, Suri, Birbhum (Bengal) Red Munia perched on Kash Flower in Suri, Birbhum (Bengal) Red Munia perched on grass in Suri, Birbhum (Bengal) The Beauty of the Red Munia Isn't the Red Munia stunning? The males are especially vibrant, with their bright red plumage, contrasting with the fields! Did you know that Red Munias in Bengal often use the fluffy seeds of Kash flowers to line their nests? How cool is that? Important Birding Etiquette: Respect the Red Munia! Okay, birders, listen up! The Red Munia is super sensitive. It's REALLY important to respect their space. Please, please, PLEASE don't chase them or try to get too close. And NEVER play their calls to attract them! It stresses them out, especially the young ones. Our photographs are not more important than their well-being. Let's be responsible birders and protect these amazing creatures and their Red Munia environment! Other Sights (or Lack Thereof! ) While the Red Munia was the star of the show, I did spend some time looking around and appreciating the Kash Flowers. Sometimes, you don't spot your target bird like in this situation. Kash Flowers at the location of Suri, Birbhum, Bengal Tips for Spotting the Red Munia Want to see a Red Munia yourself? Here are my tips: Go Early: They're most active in the morning. Be Patient: They're shy, so take your time and observe from a distance. Look for Kash Flowers: They love these areas! Respect their Space: Give them plenty of room and avoid disturbing them. Conservation Matters: Let's Protect the Red Munia! The Red Munia, like many bird species, faces threats from habitat loss and human disturbance. We can all do our part to protect them. Support conservation organizations, reduce your environmental impact, and spread awareness about the importance of bird conservation. If we all pitch in, we can ensure that future generations can enjoy the beauty of the Red Munia. Bird well, be responsible! Suri --- - Published: 2025-06-10 - Modified: 2025-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hoolock-gibbons-india-assam-jorhat-barekuri-2/ - Categories: Explore India - Tags: Barekuri gibbons, Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Gibbons Assam, hoolock gibbons, Hoolock Gibbons India, western hoolock gibbons TL;DR: Hoolock Gibbons in India are the only ape species in the country, and are endangered. They could be found in the North Eastern state of Assam. This blog post has photographs, videos, and some experiences I had in Assam! Western Hoolock Gibbon (male) | Copyright: Anirban Saha. A Symphony in the Canopy Last March, I followed the echoes of a ghostly melody into the forests of Jorhat, Assam. The singers? Hoolock Gibbons, India’s only apes, swinging through the emerald treetops of Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. These acrobats of the canopy aren’t monkeys—they’re tailless, long-armed apes, closer to humans than to macaques. Their haunting duets, a ritual of love and territory, are the soundtrack of a vanishing wilderness. Did you know? Their arms are 1. 5x longer than their legs, propelling them at 20 km/h as they brachiate (Fan et al. , 2013). They’re "lesser apes", distinct from great apes like gorillas, yet just as intelligent. The Western Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) is Endangered; its Eastern cousin (H. leuconedys) is Vulnerable (IUCN 2023). A Sanctuary Divided At dawn, Souranil and I saw a mother gibbon mid-leap, her baby clinging tight as she gripped a branch with her feet. This ballet of survival unfolds in India’s only primate-named sanctuary, a refuge for just 105 gibbons (Sinha & Datta, 2020). But a railway line slices through their home, fragmenting families. Hope hangs by a thread—literally. In 2015, conservationists installed India’s first canopy bridges—ropes strung over the tracks. Today, gibbons use them daily, but the threat remains: Assam has lost 30% of gibbon habitat since the 1970s (Choudhury, 2006). Where Hoolock Gibbons lunch with Humans Beyond the sanctuary, in Barekuri village, I met Alip Moran. With a call, he summoned gibbons from the trees—a rare bond between apes and the Moran tribe. They shared ripe fruit, a tradition spanning generations. But this intimacy carries risk. The tragic tale of Kaalia, a semi-domesticated gibbon stoned by children, is a warning: habituation can kill. As Kalpa explained, “Feeding gibbons feels like friendship, but wilderness is their right. ” The Guardians of the Gibbons Alip’s father once refused to cut down gibbon-filled trees—even to pay for lifesaving cure. “These apes are our kin,” he told Alip. Such stories reveal the human cost of conservation in Assam, where communities protect gibbons without formal incentives. Did you know? Gibbons live 25 years in the wild, but reach 44 in captivity (Erwin et al. , 2004). They spend 60% of their day eating fruit, shaping forest ecology (Fan & Jiang, 2008). Their population crashed by 90% in some areas due to deforestation (Choudhury, 2006). Will Their Song Survive? Barekuri’s harmony is fragile. Without stronger policies—corridors, anti-poaching laws, and community partnerships—Hoolock Gibbons India could vanish like their rainforests. Yet, in Hollongapar, the morning duets persist. Two voices, weaving through the mist, as they have for millennia. Listen. That song is a plea—and a reminder: extinction is silent. How You Can Help Support Wildlife Trust of India’s canopy bridge projects. Visit responsibly: Choose eco-tours that prioritize gibbon welfare. Spread awareness: Share this story with #SaveHoolockGibbons. Instagram Post View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) . . more videos coming up soon. Stay connected with @sahaanirban Jorhat --- - Published: 2025-01-26 - Modified: 2025-01-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tagore-germany/ - Categories: Explore Bengal, Explore India, Germany, Rabindranath Tagore, Root, Travel, Travel Europe, বাংলা - Tags: berlin, einsteins home in caputh, einsteins summer house, rabindranath tagore, rabindranath tagore in prague, rabindranath tagore straße, tagore einstein discussion, tagore in germany, thakurova, thakurova in prague Rabindranath Tagore travelled the world and while he did, he delivered speeches, had conversations with the who's who of the world; and most importantly, he made journal entries, wrote letters to close ones, and wrote songs. Almost a decade back, I laid my hands on "Japan Jatri", which is his travel journal while he was in Japan. While doing my Masters course, I started reading up more on Tagore's travels in Europe, especially Germany. Since the pandemic did not allow me much opportunities to travel, this time I made sure I visit a few places, where Tagore is remembered in limited ways. So grab your cup of Darjeeling Tea (Tagore would approve this), as I explore the little remains of Tagore in Berlin, Germany, and in Prague, Czech Republic. ForestBrew TeaForest Brew Tea produces premium flavoured tea. They have 4 signature blends: Earthy Elegance, Sweet Solitude, Soothing Serenity, and Rose Reverie. You can check the products out on Amazon (India) by clicking on their names. You can find their main website by clicking here. Disclaimer: This blog post is not directly sponsored by Forest Brew. It is a close friend’s company and my mother is one of the partners. ChatGPT suggested that I mention “Darjeeling Tea”, and I had an eureka moment! This encouraged me to write a bit about the brand and the premium tea blends it offers. About Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore was primarily a Bengali philosopher-poet, who represented everything East to the Western world. He was born in Calcutta (Kolkata) in British India. He was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize. He was a rebel, and it was not restricted to Indian freedom movement against the British: He criticised capitalism, the concept of a nation, his own Brahmo religion, and was just his own self, almost always. One of his poems is now the national anthem of India, and another of his songs is now the national anthem of Bangladesh. In Europe, he left a trail of landmark speeches, songs, and just discussions. Rabindranath Tagore Straße in Berlin, Germany. Rabindranath Tagore Straße (street), Berlin, Germany. I took this picture in the outskirts of Berlin on 13 October 2024. This street in Berlin is named after Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali, and to the Western Civilisation, during his time, he represented everything the East had to offer. For the ease of your reading, here's a quick timeline for you! He travelled the entire world, including Germany, to deliver speeches and to have conversations! He travelled to Germany during 1921, 1923, and in 1930; that after Germany was defeated in the 1st World War and the 2nd World War did not yet start. Tagore got his Nobel in 1913, and that had sparked some curiosity among the Germans. In 1914, Tagore was translated for the first time and people saw him in person during 1921. By 1923, a million books of Tagore’s translations were claimed to be sold in the region by the Macmillan publishing house. His popularity waned with the rise of the Nazi in Germany. In 1941, before the 2nd World War ended, Tagore had left for his Heavenly abode. Tagore the Traveller! Tagore travelled to 34 countries during his time; despite the journeys being long. Not till 1921, did he take his first flight from London to Paris. His entourage included his son, family, friends, and often students. His luggage included food, clothes, a mini library and his writing equipment. Well, to give an overview: In 1925, he checked into a hotel in Venice with 26 suitcases, in 1926 in a Hungarian hotel with 24 hand baggages and 4 large suitcases. Allegedly, he was also responsible for the Trans Continental express for being late. The train was 10 minutes late, because Tagore’s entourage took time to get in with all the luggage! Keyserling & mention of Tagore before 1913. At least some people were aware of Tagore before he received the Nobel Prize. For example, Hermann Keyserling travelled the world in 1911-12 and published a book in 1918, where he mentioned Calcutta and the Tagore family. About Rabindranath, he wrote, “Rabindranath, the poet, impressed me like a guest from a higher, more spiritual world. I have never seen so much spiritual soul substance condensed in one man. ” Keyserling went on to become one of the most important people taking Tagore to the Germans. He also invited Tagore to the small town of Darmstadt, and then he invited other guests and arranged meetings. That got documented as the “Tagore week” I was amused by the fact that Tagore came to Germany, and I wondered how the encounter might have been. There are media reports from German publications regarding this and they are no less amusing. When Tagore got the Nobel, the Germans were perhaps not the happiest lot. They found his name difficult to pronounce, and some people thought he was a Jewish Rabbi. He visited various cities in Germany, the list of which includes Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Darmstadt and also Frankfurt. Tagore was mainly invited to visit people of influence and asked to deliver speeches. He also wanted to reach out to the Germans to soothe them after their loss in the world war, and ask them to not lose their values. That did not age well, sigh. But during the time he was in the country, the people loved his ideas and the media went crazy over how he looked. He was called the Godfather, mystic, hermit, and whatnot! He was then, the only link between the Western world and their ideals and the East with their set of ideas; a Nobel Laureate when the colonisers were not only looting the world, but also humiliating their culture. He was a miracle, an enigma, who had won over hearts with his simplicity and wisdom. While the media called his visits to Germany a success, Tagore himself played it down. In his letter to a friend, published in 1929, we see him humbly writing, “I can not take seriously the fame that has been given to me. It was given too readily and immediately. It did not have the perspective of time. ” “আমার মুক্তি আলোয় আলোয়” in NürmbergTagore kept writing even when he was travelling, and that is obvious. He wrote a song called “আমার মুক্তি গানের সুরে” in Nürmberg, which later became “আমার মুক্তি আলোয় আলোয়”. In Stuttgart, he wrote “ভালো লাগার শেষ যে না পাই।”, which became “মধুর তোমার শেষ যে না পাই।”. While he did not visit Magdeburg, he visited the two cities I worked in. Berlin, and Köln. In Köln, he wrote “চাহিয়া দেখো রসের স্রোতে” and “তুমি ঊষার সোনার বিন্দু”. His last song in Germany was written in Berlin and the song is “আপনি আমার কোন খানে”. Tagore died in 1941. Germany was pretty broken by the end of the World War in 1945, and split into 2 parts: the East and the West Germany. What prompted the Government of East Germany to name a street after a Bengali philosopher, in 1961? India had gained Her independence and was also split into 2: India and Pakistan, and Tagore's Bengal split between the two new nations. 1961 was the 100th Birth anniversary of Tagore, and it was an acknowledgement of Tagore's contribution to shaping perception of the East in the minds of the West. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons I wanted to know more and I asked my friend Carl to dig into German media archives. We came across the name of "Walter Ruben". He was born in Hamburg to a Jewish father. He went on to study in Bonn, and later taught in Frankfurt. After 1st world war, he opposed the concept of war, and in the 2nd, his family had to flee. He had an interest in Indian studies, and in 1936, he visited Tagore in Shantiniketan. In Shantiniketan, he not only met Tagore but also spent time with the Santals (tribe). Something happened there which is not very well documented. He went on to study more about India, translate some of Tagore's work and was invited to be a part of Tagore's birth centenary celebrations in Calcutta. In Germany, he proposed to the Government to rename a street and honour Tagore. Well, not just any street. His house was on that street and his grave too is probably there. Einsteinsommerhaus (Einstein's Summer House) in Potsdam, Germany. Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein here on 14 July 1930. They had a conversation which sparked the interest of the then world. You can find a part of the conversation here. Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein (Image courtesy: Nobel Prize Facebook Page) This was the country house of Einstein where lived with his wife Elsa from 1929 till 1932 (April - November). It is now a museum (link). I went to this place and was greeted by Mr Schubert. Out of excitement I asked him which room did Tagore meet Einstein. He responded with a stern face and cat on his lap, "Tagore was here for several hours, together with his nephews and other Indian fellows and they met in all rooms! ". For me it was a surreal experience to be there in front of the staircase, where I know Tagore stood. (Videos to be uploaded on my Facebook profile) Einsteinsommerhaus in Caputh (Potsdam), near Berlin | 13 October 2024. Thakurova in Prague, Czech Republic. https://youtu. be/veGjaB0_RWk? si=bmSTJU_SZ3FcdP2- This place is "Thakurova" and is dedicated to Rabindranath "Thakur". Before I mention why I put "Thakur" in quotes, I need to mention that this place is easily visible on Google Maps. The tram stop is by the same name, and it is less than 15 mins from the center of the city. Now, why did I put "Thakur" in quotes? Tagore's original name in Bengali is "Rabindranath Thakur", and the British anglicised his family name to "Tagore"; the rest of India too know him as Tagore and not Thakur. That the Czech remembers him as "Thakur" is a sweet surprise. His bust is put in front of the university where he had delivered a speech. The idea of the move also intended to introduce Tagore to the younger generation in Czech Republic. Tagore inspired some of Czech poets and thinkers, and his work was staged in Czech language multiple times from 1922 - 1928. During that time, there were exchanges where Czech thinkers, artists came to Bengal (Kolkata, Shantiniketan) and exchanged ideas, thought, and knowledge. A lot of Tagore's work was taken off during the Nazi regime in Germany and the region, but since 1950's some amount of work has been restored. Alas, Tagore was not alive to see the day. See, when the topic is Rabindranath Tagore, there could possibly be no end to the literature online, but this blog post has to end. Honestly speaking I do not know how to end this blog post, and I will tell you why. Tagore had enthralled the German audience for over a decade. There are arguments which suggest that middle-Europe (Germany included) embraced Tagore as much as Bengalis did, and more than the British. But almost a century after his death, he is just reduced to street names* and statues. Among newer generation Indians, including Bengalis, there is widespread misinformation about him. They are more detached from all the values Tagore stood for. But I am sure, with some of us re-discovering Tagore in our own ways, we will keep him alive in our thoughts and actions, and through us He will live and continue to live in the next generation. Perhaps not the best notes to end the blog post. Not just Street Names, these are also named after Him... Largest Dinosaur in India: Barapasaurus Tagorei (1961) Bacteria in India (Bengal): Pantoea Tagorei (2023) Spider in India (Bengal): Pancorius Tagorei (1992) Spider in Bangladesh: Cheiracanthium Tagorei (2003) Sea Snail (fossil) in India (Gujarat): Riselloidea Tagorei (1999) Moths in India: Tagoria (2021) But who decides when something ends? Like Tagore mentioned, the end of the dark clouds make way for the rain, the spark continues as fire, the snow melts to give birth to the river. Maybe the end of this blog post would continue as a start to your exploration and discovering of Tagore. Signing off. --- - Published: 2024-06-13 - Modified: 2025-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/fireflies-in-bhandardara/ - Categories: Birding, Monsoon, Monsoons - Tags: Adventure Geek tours, Best time to see fireflies in Bhandardara, Bhandardara fireflies, Bhandardara nature camps, Bhandardara travel tips, Eco-friendly travel Bhandardara, Fireflies in Bhandardara, Fireflies Maharashtra, Fireflies near Mumbai, Fireflies Western Ghats, Firefly bioluminescence, Firefly mating season, Firefly photography tips I’ve known about the fireflies of the western ghats for over a decade now. I have promoted the natural spectacle very proactively within my friend circle but personally could never manage time to see it myself. This year, I could! Last weekend (i. e. 8-9th of June 2024), I went to Mumbai to join Arjyak and his friends on a quick trip to see Fireflies in Bhandardara. Bhandardara is a picturesque village nestled in the Sahyadri mountain range of Maharashtra, known for its lush greenery, serene lakes, and majestic waterfalls. This tranquil destination offers a perfect escape for nature lovers and adventure seekers alike, providing opportunities for trekking, camping, and exploring the natural beauty of the Western Ghats. Planning and Preparation Anticipation buzzed as we packed our bags with essentials — comfy clothes, sturdy shoes, and of course, my camera to capture the luminescent stars of the night, the fireflies of Bhandardara. For years, I'd waxed poetic about these glowing bugs to friends, yet never found the time to witness their twinkling spectacle firsthand — until now. Fireflies in Bhandardara Imagine tiny insects lighting up the night with their derrières—it’s a real-life fairy tale, folks! These fireflies aren’t just lighting up for fun; it’s mating season, and their glows are like Tinder bios in the insect world—“Swipe right, I’m fit and ready to mingle! ” Bioluminescence aside, their short lives are a whirlwind of birth, romance, and well, lights out right after the deed. The Journey Our odyssey began with a bus ride from bustling Mumbai to the serene hills of Bhandardara, a haven nestled in the Western Ghats. The group, a motley crew of adventurers of all stripes, bonded over games and shared tales as we wound through the countryside. Special shout-out to Meeta, who remembered everyone’s names faster than I can say "firefly"; also the five cousins who were really awesome! Well, I am not great at taking selfies! In the photograph: Arjyak and his friends, Ankan and Kaushal. Arrival at Bhandardara Stepping into Bhandardara was like entering a nature-themed amusement park for adults—minus the roller coasters. Adventure Geek had us set up lakeside camps, where the air was crisp, the sunsets painted the sky in hues that even Pantone would envy, and the atmosphere practically begged for adventure. Firefly Spectacle As dusk fell, the main event commenced — cue the twinkling fireflies in Bhandardara! It was like witnessing nature’s rave party, with bugs flashing their neon credentials amidst the trees. We strolled through the woods, hypnotized by their dance, snapping photos that, let’s be honest, did no justice to the real-life magic. Wanna watch a video? https://www. youtube. com/shorts/w8k2LUbDvpw Evenings were for bonfires, ghost stories that were more funny than spooky, and a raucous game of "Antakshari" that carried us into the wee hours. Unexpected Storm Just when we thought the night couldn’t get more dramatic, nature pulled out all the stops. Thunder roared, rain poured, and a storm brewed overhead, sending us scurrying for shelter. Yet, even in the deluge, Bhandardara remained breathtaking, draped in rain-kissed beauty that turned every view into a postcard. Quick Tips for Future Adventurers For those itching to experience Fireflies in Bhandardara: Visit between May and June for the best chance to catch these glowing bugs in action. Pack light but pack smart: insect repellent, a flashlight, and waterproof gear are your best friends. Don’t expect a photoshoot; capturing fireflies is more art than science. Trust Adventure Geek for a hassle-free escape into nature’s own disco. Tagore's poem translated! Click to read. ও জোনাকী, কী সুখে ওই ডানা দুটি মেলেছ। আঁধার সাঁঝে বনের মাঝে উল্লাসে প্রাণ ঢেলেছ॥ Translated: O firefly, with what joy have you spread those wings, In the dark dusk, amidst the forest, you have poured life into celebration. তুমি নও তো সূর্য, নও তো চন্দ্র, তোমার তাই ব’লে কি কম আনন্দ। তুমি আপন জীবন পূর্ণ ক’রে আপন আলো জ্বেলেছ॥ Translated: You are neither the sun nor the moon, but does that make your joy any less? You have filled your own life and lit your own light. তোমার যা আছে তা তোমার আছে, তুমি নও গো ঋণী কারো কাছে, তোমার অন্তরে যে শক্তি আছে তারি আদেশ পেলেছ। Translated: What you have is yours, you owe nothing to anyone, You have received the command from the strength within your heart. তুমি আঁধার-বাঁধন ছাড়িয়ে ওঠ, তুমি ছোটো হয়ে নও গো ছোটো, জগতে যেথায় যত আলো সবায় আপন ক’রে ফেলেছ॥ Translated: You rise beyond the bonds of darkness, you are not small despite your size, In the world, wherever there is light, you have made it your own. Adventure Geek's phone number: Vinay: +91 90046 75388 Kartik: +91 80827 83035 Conclusion My escapade to Bhandardara was a splendid blend of wonder, laughter, and unexpected thunderstorms. The fireflies in Bhandardara left an indelible mark, reminding me of nature’s uncanny ability to awe and inspire. If you’re seeking a getaway that’s equal parts magic and adventure, Bhandardara awaits—fireflies and all. Let me know if this captures the essence you're looking for! Disclaimer: This post is generated by ChatGPT after a lot of prompt engineering. I could have written this faster! I had also asked it to be wittier, so in case you feel I do not speak like this, you know now. --- - Published: 2024-06-11 - Modified: 2024-06-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/karave-flamingo-point-mumbai/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: Flamingo migration Mumbai, Flamingo season Mumbai, Flamingo watching Mumbai, Flamingos in Mumbai, Karave Flamingo Point, Mumbai flamingo sightings, Places to see flamingos in Mumbai The Unexpected Journey Begins It was a sweltering, humid day in Mumbai, the kind where the sun blazes fiercely and the air feels like a thick, oppressive blanket. I went to Mumbai for some personal work, but amidst the hustle and bustle, I found myself yearning for a break. My two friends, Arjyak and Saimantik, who I've known for over a decade, were eager for an adventure! That's when we stumbled upon an Instagram page called FlamingosOfMumbai. The vibrant photos of flamingos intrigued us, and we decided to venture to Karave Flamingo Point  in Navi Mumbai to witness these magnificent birds firsthand. This hotspot is one of the best places to see flamingos in Mumbai during the flamingo season. Into the Heat The journey to Karave Flamingo Point was an adventure in itself. The sun was relentless, and the heat seemed to intensify with every step. Sweat trickled down our backs as we navigated through the bustling streets and open spaces. Despite the discomfort, our excitement grew with each passing moment. The promise of Mumbai flamingo sightings kept us moving forward. The Encounter As we approached Karave Flamingo Point, a sense of awe washed over us. Before our eyes, thousands of flamingos stood gracefully in the shallow waters, their pink plumage contrasting starkly with the blue sky and murky water. We had found two types of flamingos: the majestic Greater Flamingo and the smaller, yet equally enchanting, Lesser Flamingo. This spectacular sight is one of the highlights of flamingo watching in Mumbai. Flocking Together: A Spectacular Sight Flamingos are known for their social nature, often seen in large flocks that can number in the thousands. At Karave Flamingo Point, they gathered in tight-knit groups, creating a breathtaking sea of pink and white. They moved together in perfect harmony, their synchronized movements both mesmerizing and surreal. The sight was almost magical, as if we had stepped into another world. The best time to see flamingos in Mumbai is during the winter and early summer months, just before the monsoon. Summer Activities Before the Monsoon As the flamingos busied themselves with various activities, we watched in fascination. They fed, preened, and interacted with one another in the shallow waters, preparing for the upcoming breeding season and flamingo migration from Mumbai. Despite the intense heat, their energy was unwavering. The Secret Behind Their Pink Colour We learned that the flamingos' vibrant pink colour comes from their diet, rich in carotenoid pigments found in algae and crustaceans. Interestingly, not all flamingos were equally pink; some appeared more white, a result of dietary differences and the age of their feathers. While males and females looked quite similar, males were slightly larger. Fun Flamingo Facts As we stood there, Arjyak shared some fun flamingo trivia he'd read about: Flamingos are filter feeders, using their specialized beaks to strain food from the water. They can stand on one leg for hours, conserving body heat in the process. These birds are excellent fliers, capable of reaching speeds up to 35 miles per hour. Flamingo Diet and Mumbai's Waters The flamingos of Mumbai feast on algae, small fish, and invertebrates found in the coastal waters and mudflats. The brackish water and nutrient-rich sediment of Mumbai's wetlands provided the perfect feeding ground for these elegant birds. How Climate Change Affects Flamingos We couldn't help but discuss the looming threat of climate change on flamingo habitats. Rising sea levels, changing weather patterns, and increased salinity in wetlands could disrupt their feeding and breeding grounds, potentially leading to a decline in their population and altered migration patterns. Flamingo Migration Patterns Flamingos are migratory birds, traveling vast distances between their breeding and feeding grounds. In India, they migrate from the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat to various coastal regions, including Mumbai, in search of favorable conditions. Their migration is driven by changes in water levels and food availability. The flamingo migration to Mumbai is a remarkable natural event that draws bird watchers and nature enthusiasts alike. Fascinating Flock Behaviour Flamingos have intriguing flock behavior. They often move in synchronized patterns, which is not only beautiful to watch but also helps confuse predators. Additionally, living in large groups strengthens their social bonds and increases the survival rate of chicks through communal parenting. The Journey Back After spending hours mesmerized by the flamingos, it was time to head back. The sun was still merciless, and the humidity was suffocating. We trudged back through the sweltering heat, exhausted but exhilarated by what we had witnessed. Despite the discomfort, we couldn't stop talking about the flamingos and the adventure we had embarked upon. Conclusion Seeing the flamingos at Karave Flamingo Point in Navi Mumbai was an unforgettable experience, an adventure that felt like stepping into a novel. The flamingos, with their vibrant colors and fascinating behaviors, offered a glimpse into a world of natural wonder. They added a splash of color to the bustling city of Mumbai and reminded us of the delicate balance of nature. If you ever find yourself in Mumbai, I highly recommend taking the time to see these incredible birds during the flamingo season—it’s a sight you won’t soon forget. And who knows? You might just find yourself on an unexpected adventure, just like we did. Disclaimer: This post is generated by ChatGPT using a prompt created by me. I have also checked the validity of the claims made and the citations the LLM has provided me with. The photographs are clicked by mostly me on 7th June 2024. The camera was also used by my friend Saimantik, so there might be a couple of shots by him. --- - Published: 2023-06-03 - Modified: 2025-10-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/adventures-of-the-parmadan/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: birds in bengal, birds in parmadan forest, brown boobook, hooded pitta, parmadan forest Parmadan requires no introduction to a birding enthusiast in Calcutta, especially after this year. I guess everybody who could crawl, walk, drive, or board a train, has been to the Parmadan forest in Bengal. But for those who haven't: Parmadan forest is near Bongaon, just beside the Bangladesh border. A part of it is now a wildlife sanctuary named after Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay. There are some things to unpack here before we get to the point, so bear with me.   Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay was a Bengali author who penned some epic novels, which include “Pather Panchali”, immortalized by Ray as a movie. Young kids who studied in a school affiliated with the ICSE board had it in their syllabus. Bandhopadhyay’s other works like "Aparajito" and "Aranyak'' also showcase his deep-rooted connection to nature. "Aranyak '' (The Wilderness), in particular, delves into the beauty of the forests and wildlife in rural Bengal. How to reach Bongaon? I am told there is public transport from the Bongaon station. You could also drive there and if you do, you’d know how developed the roadways in Bengal are.   Hooded Pitta with nesting material | Instagram: @sahaanirban | Parmadan Forest, Bengal. What birds would you find there? Well, it is now famous for the Hooded Pitta. Hooded Pitta is a bird from Southeast Asia and they come to this region during their breeding season. They find suitable nesting sites and establish territories during the summer in Bengal. You could also find the Brown fish owl, Brown Boobook. Other birds include the Common Iora, Spotted Owlet, Streak-throated Woodpecker, and Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker.   Samudranil is Souranil’s friend from his school and is also into birding. He did his Master's in Statistics and came back to Calcutta. Currently, he is working on ecological data and possibly a Ph. D. topic. After he came back to Calcutta, he kept pushing me out of my home especially during the weekend to photograph birds. I am very regular at birding and all thanks to him.   While I saw people going crazy over the Hooded Pitta, I was not amused because the bird does not have bright colors and I do not find the bird cute. Saudranil found the bird interesting and started gathering information from Facebook groups and our friend Siddharth. He convinced Rohit, Ritika, and Suhrid to come along. Rohit agreed to drive. I was a little confused because I have got a pup and I did not know if I should have left her in the home. But Samudranil was going a little crazy and I had to oblige. PS: I also found Boobook cute. No sooner did I agree than did Samudranil create a WhatsApp group named “Adventures of the Parmadan”; and adventure it was.   We started at around six-thirty in the morning and soon reached the forest. It was the morning after a storm and we found trees on the street. For once did we decide to move the logs ourselves but then we realized we can really not. We couldn’t find the gate of the sanctuary and decided to ask the locals. The locals made us park the car on a playground and mentioned that it was a five minutes walk to the gate. For starters, it wasn’t a five-minute walk and it was more than just a casual walk; we walked across fields, over a wobbly bamboo bridge, and through the middle of a cow shed with big cows.   Fallen trees and the confusion! The path through the fields | Towards the Parmadan forest. The Wobbly Bamboo Bridge | Towards the Parmadan forest. When we got to the sanctuary, we bought tickets and got in. We explored a bit by ourselves and then I came across a few acquaintances of mine who guided us to the place other photographers were, ermm, to where the Hooded Pitta was. The photographers there were flirting with the line that separates right from wrong in bird photography. I decided to not be a part of the craze.   We really need to talk about the ethical practices of birding here but I know a lot of people do not care. I saw photographers going crazy when the Pitta called back. One flew away and another was just nearby. Disregarding the Indian law which prohibits playing recorded calls, some people standing at different spots around the bird, played them. The bird was confused and came out in the open on a higher branch. That created pandemonium. I realized most people just want a photograph of the bird for their personal vanity and they really do not care about the bird, their habitat, or their conservation. As recently as yesterday, I got to know that one of the nests of the Hooded Pitta got trampled over and destroyed by ignorant photographers.   Most of the photographers got at least one shot of the bird and decided to call it a day. Soon the entire forest was left to a really few people. There was a group of three really well-behaved old people. I was really impressed by the way they conducted themselves. I decided to strike up a conversation with them. Turns out, they are either doctors or researchers in the field of medicine. While I was talking with them and photographing the Indian Cuckoo, a Hooded Pitta landed on the ground beside the wired fence. Well, it was a little far. Suhrid got a hint of the Pitta’s path and decided to stay there to notice the Pitta.   Brown Fish-owl | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Spotted Owlet | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Streak-throated Woodpecker | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Indian Cuckoo | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban The rest of us left to search for other birds, especially the Brown Boobook. While entering the denser part of the forest, a group of three boys mentioned that there are snakes in the region and it is perhaps for the best if we do not venture out there. Samudranil was not convinced. I started believing in God right away and decided to tag along. Samudranil went around the pond, followed by Rohit, Ritika, and me. He couldn’t find the bird and was crestfallen. I was confused between being sad for not seeing the Boobook and being scared of the possible snakes. Since it was already around two in the afternoon, we decided to head back. When we were leaving the pond, we heard the call of the Boobook. We followed the call and reached a place where we realized there was no point. We saw a Boobook being chased around by three Drongos. “Stupid Drongos”, I said to myself.   Brown Boobook | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Brown Boobook | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban We got a couple of record shots when Suhrid called us to inform us about the Fish-eagle. Samudranil and Rohit were more interested in the Boobook and I too was. The Boobook sat down on an open branch and they got a clear shot. I got a similar shot with a leaf in front. The Drongos drove the Boobook away and we did not search for it either. We came back to Suhrid who signaled us to stop talking. The Hooded Pitta was there!   The Pitta is always faster than my reflex and my camera’s auto-focus. I had almost given up. Suhrid murmured, “There are two. They are there (and pointed in one direction) and they will go in this direction. They will cross over this log and then go straight towards the fence. You stand here and be ready”. Well, I am nothing if not an obedient student. The Pitta did exactly that. We all got some clear shots of the bird! The Hooded Pitta had twigs in its beak, so possibly collected nesting material to build their nest. For their nest, they also collect small branches, moss, leaves, and strips of bark. I also noticed the Pitta had two flies in its eye. Maybe they share a symbiotic relationship. I’ll have to find this out.   I am amazed by the patience and love shown by Suhrid! He stayed at one place for over an hour and a half tracking and understanding the path the Pitta would take! Kudos. Hooded Pitta with nesting material | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban We walked back to where the car was parked and on the way, we saw the cows again and some other birds! Common Iora | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Indian Roller | Parmadan Forest | Instagram: @sahaanirban Well, we did not get the Fish-eagle but we all had content hearts! While driving back, I struck up a conversation with Suhrid when I realized that a lot of younger people who have an active interest in wildlife also study media sciences. India does not have an equivalent of BBC or NatGeo, despite its size, population, and media houses that exist through the ages. If we require a population that cares for the environment and wildlife, we have to create content that is relevant to them in a language they understand. Clearly, BBC, NatGeo, and platforms like Netflix aren’t serving the purpose. I discussed, sighed, and tried enjoying the jumpy ride back home. From the left: Rohit Dey, Ritika Chatterjee, Samudranil Basak, Suhrid Pal and me with weird hair. --- - Published: 2023-05-15 - Modified: 2025-12-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/latpanchar-birding-photography-bengal/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: hornbill nest latpanchar, Latpanchar bird photography, Latpanchar bird photography tips, Latpanchar bird sanctuary, Latpanchar bird species, Latpanchar bird watching tour, Latpanchar birding, Latpanchar birding accommodation, Latpanchar birding checklist, Latpanchar birding experiences, Latpanchar birding guide, Latpanchar birding trails, Latpanchar birdwatching, Latpanchar birdwatching spots, siliguri to latpanchar Latpanchar is a small village near Sittong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. While these areas are gaining popularity in the birding circuits in Calcutta, it is relatively lesser explored by the birders outside Bengal. Some of my acquaintances visited this place and uploaded photographs of Red-headed Trogon. I went crazy and decided to visit Latpanchar at the earliest and probably alone! Birding Guide: If you are birding in an unknown area, you would require to know the places where you could find birds. This is the job of a birding guide. Additionally in these areas, the birding guide also sets you up with the homestay and facilitates your better experience in the location. I hired Ujwal Rai. He was referred to me by Debarshi Duttagupta and Swarnava Nandi, both long term acquaintances and I trust them. In case you want to hire Ujwal, give him a call at +91 9475056624. Travelling to the location: A simple search on the internet would tell you that the nearest train station is New Jalpaiguri, and the nearest air port is Bagdogra. That's basically the city of Siliguri. The buses are also quite a good alternative to trains, specially because it is difficult to get a confirmed ticket to Siliguri from Calcutta. In case you do not get a train ticket, I suggest you to book the sleeper beds in the AC buses. They are comfortable, but are significantly more expensive than the AC 3-tier train tickets. From the Junction, in case your guide is not picking you up and you are travelling solo, get a local bus to Kalijhora. Your guide should pick you up from Kalijhora. The ticket would cost around ₹50. The public transport there is cleaner than the one we have in Calcutta. The road goes along the river Teesta and if you get a window seat, you can just plug your earphones and chill for around 40 minutes. Birds in Latpanchar: You can find over 200 species of birds in Latpanchar, but I went there for the weekend and had around 11 hours to photograph birds. I had to prioritise and I chose the most sought-after three: Rufous-necked Hornbill Red-headed Trogon Long tailed Broadbill (popularly known as the Helmet bird) Rufous-necked Hornbill Rufous-necked Hornbill (male) | @sahaanirban on Instagram. Ujwal took me to the Hornbill's nest. It was a lovely steep walk down the hill for over half an hour, till my already sprained ankle gave up. I wish I could glide through the forest or roll like the Pandas do; alas. The setup is nice and I wish I was smart enough to click a photograph of it for you. There's the nest of the hornbill, lower down in a tree. Between the nest and us four photographers, is the buffer area, sufficient for the bird to not get terrified. We were instructed to not go any further. We waited there for the male hornbill to arrive, patiently while we saw the female hornbill poking the bill out of the nest's door. The hornbills are tragically monogamous. If the male dies (during breeding season), the female restricts itself to the nest till it dies. While that sounds all romantic, their IUCN status is "vulnerable", so probably they should have more sexual partners! The female Rufous-necked Hornbill in the nest with its beak out. After waiting sufficiently long, the guides said "aa raha hain, shhh" ("It's coming, shhh"). The male Rufous-necked Hornbill arrived with fruits in its beak and sat on the tree next to the nest, and then flew to the other tree and rested for a couple of moments. It swoooshed to the nest and passed on the fruits. While the other birders photographed, I sat there statue like awe struck by the Hornbill's beauty. Also, I knew I would get other opportunities to click photographs. After feeding, the bird flew to a tree, two trees away from the nest and preened himself. After a couple of minutes of resting, it flew away. "It will come again after 2 hours", said Ujwal. At first, it appeared to be a bad idea to wait for two hours for the Hornbill, specially because I really wanted to observe and click photographs of the Red-Headed Trogon. Well, I had also wanted to see more of the Hornbill and decided to wait. Rufous-necked Hornbill (female) without a boyfriend. Walking up the hill was a little difficult for me, given my gained weight, lack of exercise, and my sprained ankle. I took several breaks and somehow reached homestay sweating profusely from every pore in my skin. Just when I washed my face and dragged myself to the chair, something big black with white stripes went passed very near to my face. "Anirban ji... Anirban ji. . ", screamed Ujwal. "Hornbill female Hornbill female! ! ". By the time I wore my glasses and picked up the camera, it went a little farther. Nevertheless, I got a record shot. Additional information: How Hornbills Breed: Rufous-necked Hornbill | Dr. Aparajita Datta, Karishma Pradhan | Link. Long-tailed Broadbill (Helmet Bird) Long-tailed Broadbill (Helmet Bird) | @sahaanirban on Instagram. The nest of the Long-tailed Broadbill is beside the main road that leads up to Latpanchar. That's a pleasant location and one could drive there easily. What's not easy is the wait for the bird to arrive. This bird was not very high up in my have-to-do list. On the way to the site of the Red-Headed Trogon, when Ujwal asked me, "Helmet bird, want to stay? ", I said "Nya. . ". I met two Bengali photographers waiting for the Broadbill to arrive. When I met them, they had already spent 3 hours waiting for the bird. After I was left crestfallen by the Red-Headed Trogon, I thought of photographing the Long-Tailed Broadbill on the way back to the homestay. When we reached the spot, we found the two Bengali photographers still waiting. A little after I reached, the broadbill decided to show itself, and boy was it a show! It stayed there for a long time, long enough for me to click photographs and make video clips. Other photographers and guides came and I had lovely chats with a lot of them. Everyone left the place very happy! While Broadbill is primarily monogamous, they engage in "cooperative breeding". That's basically multiple adults, taking care of the younger lot. I found this a little fascinating in the animal world. A little reading into this told me that other species also do it, specially the raptors. I wish to read more about this some time soon. Please follow my Instagram to see the video I made of the Long-tailed Broadbill. Red-headed Trogon This bird is stunningly red. After I saw the Malabar Trogon, there is no way I could ignore any other Trogon. The bird looks crazy good and is incredibly shy, thus making it sufficiently difficult to photograph, specially not during their mating season. The place of the Red-headed Trogon's nest is a little into the jungle beside the main road. Ujwal took me there and we waited for some time. On the first day, the bird came very near to me, and my camera couldn't focus. The bird does not stay at one place for more than a second if it is near us. It starts moving the moment it has an eye contact with a human. We spent almost the entire time near the Red-headed Trogon's nest. We saw the bird chasing a squirrel away. When the bird felt safe, it stayed quietly on a branch for over two hours. It was really, really far from any human. Unless it flies or moves, you might not even notice its presence in the region. I do not have a great photograph of the Red-headed Trogon. The Red-headed Trogon | @sahaanirban on Instagram. Fun fact: Trogons are not very capable of walking. They have a terribly low leg-muscle to body weight ratio. Thus, they are most probably quietly sitting at one spot, unless flying. Interesting fact: There are three kinds of Trogons one might find in India: The Malabar Trogon which I photographed at Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, the Red-headed Trogon which one can find in Latpanchar and the other is the Ward's Trogon which one could find in the eastern Himalayan foothills. Red-headed Trogon | @sahaanirban on Instagram, please follow? Night birding for a Collared Scops Owl! Ujwal asked me if I want to do birding at night. We could go searching for Hodgson's Frogmouth OR we could search for Owls. We were more likely to find an owl than a Frogmouth. Ujwal desperately wanted me to say "Frogmouth", but despite it's rarity, I do not like the way the bird looks. I wanted owl. A frustrated Ujwal sighed, "Hum aapko Frogmouth free mein karayega" ("I will take you to the Frogmouth for free"). Well, we could not find a Frogmouth. We were three tourists and three guides in a pitch dark spot surrounded by the Himalayan forest. The stars did not twinkle much, and it was a little after the New Moon night. It was a very different thrill for a person who used to read a lot of Ghost stories in Bengali as a kid. For "Owling", it was just Ujwal and I, waiting for the owl to arrive. We played Owl calls. Owl responded. Then the owl realised that it was the humans who made the sound, it flew low and fast right in front of our faces. It could have easily slapped us. Ujwal did not want to give up and I was game. He asked me to jump, I jumped. He asked me to walk, I walked. He asked me to slide my ass through shrubs and I did. "There! Can you see it? ", asked Ujwal pointing his torch somewhere in the dark. I saw nothing. We moved to another spot to see the bird. After his tireless efforts, I finally managed to see the Owl. Collard Scops Owl. After this, I just wanted to sleep. Imagine trying to find this, like really really far away. | Photograph by Ujwal Rai - a. k. a. the Guide Collared Scops Owl | Photograph: Me | "I went deep into the jungle, where there werent' even paths", I told Swarnava. He texted me back, "That is normal. I am proud of you actually! ". Other birds: I saw some other birds like the White-Crested Laughingthrush, the Green Magpie, Sultan Tit, which I did not photograph. Other birds in the region are the Himalayan Black Bulbul, Spangled Drongo, the White cheeked Bulbul, a lot of barn swallows, and Maynas! Quick note about the village: The village is spectacularly clean. I stayed at the Kharka Homestay. If you are tall and have pain bending forward, it might be a little difficult for you in the bathroom. Else the place is perfect. The room where I stayed had two big windows and the birds start chirping way early in the morning. One of the windows face the east and you could see the sun rise. Each house in the village has a lot of plants. The Ending: It is always difficult to end blog posts like this! Haha. I look forward to visiting North Bengal again in the next couple of months, exploring the place with Ujwal. In case you like the blog post, please subscribe to the blog on Telegram and WhatsApp! --- - Published: 2023-04-23 - Modified: 2025-12-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kuldiha-wildlife-sanctuary-accommodation-birding/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: Accommodation in Kuldiha, Birdwatching in Kuldiha, kuldiha wildlife sanctuary, malabar trogon, Souranil De Kuldiha is located in the Balasore district of Odisha, next to West Bengal. It takes around 4 hours to drive from Bhubaneshwar and when Souranil asked if I would wish to join him and his friends on a weekend trip, I said yes! If you have access to the internet, it is safe to assume that you can find out how to reach there... so in this blog post, I would write very briefly about accommodation in the region and paste the photographs I have clicked. Indian Pitta at Panchalingeshwar, Odisha | April 2023 Accommodation in Kuldiha I would strongly recommend you get in touch with Manoranjan Das. He has a very interesting property here called “Sai Ishwari Hill View Resort”. The place is spacious, has trees, and interestingly, is filled with photographs of birds clicked by Mr. Das himself. The rooms have numbers and a bird name associated with them. Souranil and I put up in the Indian Pitta room. The bathroom is clean and the arrangements are just fine. I could find the sufficient chicken in the chicken pakora so I was the happiest. This is Manoranjan Das’s phone number: +91 9937332552  The resort is in Panchalingeshwar, approximately 30 kilometers away from the sanctuary. Panchalingeshwar can be an exciting birding destination in itself. Located at the eastern ghats, the temple and the setup on the top of the hill offer you the time you need with yourself.   Birdwatching in Kuldiha/Panchalingeshwar.   Apparently, over 150 species of birds can be found here. But most people visit this place for the Malabar Trogon, Blue-eared Kingfisher. Other species that are found include the Indian Pitta, white-rumped Shama, and Crested Serpent Eagle. We were not very disappointed and I see Souranil and his friends very happy!   This is towards the end of April and it’s pretty hot. Carry a sufficient amount of water, ORS packets, and an extra towel. You can use the towel like cows use their tails - to drive flies away!   White-rumped Shama Plum-headed Parakeet Indian Pitta Indian Pitta Panchalinghwar: You need to climb up over 250 stairs. If you are lucky, you’ll get a doggy to accompany you. They want pets, not biscuits. Souranil spotted the Pitta first and then the Plum-headed parakeets. He spotted a few other birds, including a woodpecker which he still is very excited about as I write this post; but none of us could photograph it. I took some time out and then just sat down on the top of the mountain behind an abandoned temple. After a quick drizzle, the sun shone brightly; the air was filled with chirps and butterflies. I wish I knew more about butterflies, and I am sure someday I will read about them. During this part of the time, I did not photograph anything. I just sat idle. It was very peaceful. When I went back to where the action was, I realized the lads had spotted a Shama. As soon as I joined them, Samudranil spotted an Indian Pitta nearby.   Malabar Trogon (male) Black-naped Monarch Crested Treeswift Large Woodshrike Crested Serpent Eagle Kuldiha: Once you board the car designated to you, they’ll take you to specific points. From that point, you choose the areas you want to walk and explore. Our guide was Manoranjan’s uncle. He took us to areas and we decided to explore mostly on our own. Samudranil is really good at spotting and Souranil is equally talented at tracking. Rohit studied zoology and can identify poop, of carnivores. Now that I asked him, he says he can identify more than just poop. I mention this because towards the start of the exploration, he informed me that I was standing on Elephants’ poop which they might have dropped a long ago. I did not know what to do with that information except for being grossed out.   A possible virus infection. While driving we came across a Shikhra (male) standing by the side of the lane. On observing, we realized that he did not fly away as we approached him. The eyelids of the left eye were glued. Soon, the Shikhra closed the inner eye membrane. He wasn’t able to see anything. We realized it is not safe for the bird. Manoranjan’s uncle and Souranil caught the bird, fed him water, and later took him to the forest department officials, where they washed the eyes. The Shikhra opened both eyes but appeared very weak.   Shikhra (male) with a probable right eye viral infection We also noticed a Trogon (male) sitting sluggishly with eyes closed, not bothered by people going really close to him. I have photographs that suggest that at least till then, the eyelids were not glued. The bird was weak and was not able to see much. He took flight and brushed by the side of my pant to sit on a really low branch. When Manoranjan wanted to catch it to give it to the forest department, it flew away. Malabar Trogons do not generally behave this way and we all felt weird.   I later had a quick chat with Dr. Mitali Saha Deb, and she suggested that it might be a viral infection. It wouldn’t affect humans, most probably. I informed Manoranjan to inform the Forest Department Authorities requesting a possible test. Although less likely it might snowball into something that might affect a lot of birds in the region. We know no one from the region, so we need to trust Manoranjan with this.   Malabar Trogon Malabar Trogon Shikhra Male Personal feedback.   I had a lovely time on this trip. I expected it to be exceptionally hot, but it drizzled and then rained. The weather was soothing and we also got to see almost all the birds that we wanted to. It was lovely spending time with Souranil and his friends. This was my second trip to Odisha and I must admit that both, Bhitorkonika and Kuldiha and their nearby areas are very well managed. I plan to keep coming back to Odisha because of the birds and of course because Souranil lives here. But before I end this post, I want to iterate a couple of things just for the sake of amplifying.   Please do not smoke inside the forest area. It is against the rules. Even in case, you decide to, please do not throw the filters irresponsibly.   Please maintain as much silence as you can. Remain calm. Do not barge into a bird’s personal space.   In case you see another group of photographers, be nice, and share your space and opportunities.   This post is not sponsored by the resort and I do this because I am happy with their services. Please also check out Souranil’s blog and his Instagram! I know this is not an informative blog post, but in case you find this post useful, do share it on your social media. Thank you.   --- - Published: 2022-09-30 - Modified: 2025-10-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/raiganj-bird-sanctuary-kulik-asian-openbill/ - Categories: Birding, Random notes - Tags: asian openbill, duttabagan, egret, gangarampur, hairy crested drongo, indian cormorant, kulik forest, raiganj bird sanctuary In this post, I show some photographs of Asian Openbill, Indian Cormorants, Black-crowned night heron shot in Duttabagan (Kolkata), Asian Openbills, Hairy crested Drongo, and birds conserved in Raiganj Bird Sanctuary. I need to introduce alien terms to my readers, especially because I got this as feedback. So here I go... Duttabagan is a place in north Kolkata. My father's home is in Dum Dum Park (DDP). The nearest metro station is Belgachia. On the way from DDP to Belgachia, is Duttabagan. Raiganj Bird Sanctuary is in Raiganj. Raiganj is in North Dinajpur, in the Indian slice of Bengal. I am not sure what more to write here. If you need to know how to go there, you could just Google. "Mamar Bari" is the home of Mama; Mama is the brother of my mother. So basically, where my uncle lives. In Bengali homes, Mamar Bari is a place where children get pampered, whether they are 3 or 33. I have 5 direct Mamas, and two prominent Mamar Baris; one in Gangarampur (South Dinajpur) and one in Raiganj-Durgapur (North Dinajpur). "Pujo" is Durga Puja; that's the biggest festival in Bengal. People invoke Goddess Durga and worship her. It's technically a 4-day festival but people often make it a month-long festival, because why not? With the terminology straightened, let's start with the blog post! Duttabagan (near Belgachia, Kolkata) While going to the nearest metro station, the auto stops at multiple signals. At the Duttabagan crossing, I noticed Open-billed storks flying all over the place. I got down and inquired the local people about the whereabouts of the birds. I got to know that there's a king and a palace and that the palace has a lake. More interestingly there is a patch of land, now a fenced jungle with no entry point, under the Indian Railways. It all made sense because why not? There were landlords who were called "Raja" (king) and maybe Indian Railways have land because just beside that place is the Belgachia Metro station, which is under the Central Government, Ministry of Railways. The jungle is dense with no legal entry points, and almost every tree has several nests of Indian Cormorants and Asian Openbill. They live with their families, eat, shit, build larger homes, make noise, etc. What would you find there? A lot of Open-billed Storks (Asian Openbill) with their nests, Indian Cormorants (with their nests), Black-crowned Night Herons (with families), and the generic birds like Black Kites, pied Myna, red-vented bulbul, etc. Mamar Bari in Gangarampur One morning my mother, beaming with excitement asked me whether I would go to Mamar Bari during Pujo. I said yes, especially because I haven't been there for 22 years. The idea of spending some time with my cousins was great, and I thought I could also photograph some birds there because why not? While almost everything about and around my Mamar Bari changed, there still remains the pond that I feared as a kid. I was told that there are snakes and I have always had this irrational fear of snakes. On the pond are white-breasted waterhens with family, bronze-winged Jacana with family, and a very singular brown shrike that flies, hops, and looks here and there. Of course, there are other birds like chickens, generic random ducks, an extraordinary amount of pied mynas, and crows. Raiganj Bird Sanctuary On the train to Gangarampur, I met a couple of interesting people. One of them is Dhiman. When he got to know that I want to photograph birds, he suggested that I go to Kulik forest. Kulik forest is in Raiganj, and it hosts the Raiganj Bird Sanctuary. It is presumed to be the second largest bird sanctuary in Asia. And lo, here I am in Raiganj writing this blog post. I had no idea about this bird sanctuary, but this place exists for a long time. According to a 2011 report, birds refused to land here, and that caused concern. But as recently as 2022, a report by Uttara di mentions how Asian Openbills can be observed in this sanctuary. The official records mention that as many as 71300 Asian Openbill storks were in the Sanctuary last year. This year they expect more birds to come. You can easily spot Asian Openbill, Indian Cormorants, Egrets, and night herons. If you are a non-birder, please check this vlog for their coverage. While you walk the path, you would see baby Asian Openbills walking around, mostly because they can not fly and they do not know human beings are dangerous. In the sanctuary, there are watch towers that oversee the turtle pond and are erected right next to the big trees. You can see the birds if not photograph them. Photographing them is a little difficult; birds can easily disappear in the midst of the leaves and branches. There is a section for bats. I do not know much about bats and I am a little scared. Birds are nice and safe :3 I could only spend 1. 5 hours inside the sanctuary and it was amazing. If you are an avid birder, you might want to spend some more time in the sanctuary and also the lodge on the opposite side of the sanctuary. Since I had an over-exposure to Asian Openbill, Cormorants, and night herons in Duttabagan, I decided to not photograph much. The Raiganj bird sanctuary also has a conservation center for birds and fishes. I had no clue about the aviary because I have never been to one. There were two doors, both unmanned, with no cameras and no locks. I opened them and entered the space for birds. The birds were alarmed. I stood there like a statue for a couple of moments and then sat down like a nice boy. After around 4-5 mins the birds understood that I am not there to harm them. They continued with their daily life - jumping, walking, flying here and there, attracting females and failing at that, eating, shitting, flying to another place, etc. After I gained their trust, I photographed them. After some time, I left. In case you wonder because some did, why are these birds kept here? You can have your own theory. But since I did not find a clear convincing official reason, my claim would be that the police intercepted illegal wildlife racketing and the birds are sent here. But I have no evidence to substantiate my claim. Whatever the reason, this could be a fantastic entry point for young children and the otherwise uninitiated to the world of birds and we could talk about conservation! Umm, how should I end this blog post? Maybe with a few pointers: Carry your birding lens everywhere. Maybe you do not have an ecosystem that supports you chasing birds. If you carry your lens with you, maybe you may come across something interesting. Your neighborhood might be an interesting place. I have never seen social media posts about people birding in Duttabagan! I need to explore more of my state! Do you know around 900 species of birds can be seen in West Bengal? Do visit the Raiganj Bird Sanctuary! It might seem very obvious and on the face, but this is a very well-maintained bird sanctuary and you might just have a good time! That's all for now, Regards, --- - Published: 2022-09-01 - Modified: 2022-10-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/custom-named-entity-recognition-ner-model-to-detect-bird-names-from-user-generated-texts-on-social-media-using-natural-langauge-processing-nlp-techniques-and-the-package-spacy/ - Categories: Birding, Random notes - Tags: bird name detection from text, Bird Photography, Birding, indiaves, named entity recognition, natural language processing, NLP, social media text, user generated text I just wrote my life's longest blog post title! If you are reading this blog post, I would expect you to be either in the field of data science / NLP or interested in birding! If you are not, you might be bored to death. This post talks about, as the title suggests but I would need to write it one more time for SEO benefits - Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques on user-generated small texts (mostly tweets, fetched based on a search phrase used mostly by Indians) to detect names of birds by building a custom Named Entity Recognition (NER) model based on Spacy. It also outlines the problems faced while working with such data and a possible ensemble model to get the best results, given the current restrictions. Summary In this blog post, I discuss the issues one might face while trying to detect bird names in user-generated texts over social media, the challenges of such user-generated content, the challenges of a rule-based system, and I propose a custom Named Entity Recognition (NER) model based on Spacy, trained on tweets pulled from Twitter using the hashtag #IndiAves. I try to compare the rule-based methods with that of custom NER but that seems a little incomplete to me. I have tried to be as scientific as possible, but please realize this is not a scientific paper. Skip to the model. Oriental Turtle Dove | Photographed in Sattal, India 2017 with Asian Adventures and Souranil! Problem Statement: There is no existing Python package / Named Entity Recognition (NER) model to recognize bird names from text input. Related Work: When it comes to identifying birds using Artificial Intelligence (AI), there has been a substantial amount of work done in image processing and audio processing. It is pioneered by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the creators of the eBird platform which crowdsources bird photographs, metadata of sightings, and other details. They launched the Merlin App and the BirdNet app to identify birds using images and audio clips respectively. Some fascinating work is done in the area of audio processing using AI which ranges from decluttering bird songs to predicting the bird's next song. In the area of Natural Language Processing to identify birds, is rather underexplored, to say the least. I found Dr. John Harley's post on custom NER on bird Taxonomy using Spacy. I found it useful and his work is the foundation of the work that I present in this blog post. Challenges related to user-generated texts : As students of Natural Language Processing (NLP), we love and hate the nuanced use of a particular language across various domains of work. Previously, I have dug into legal texts, clinical notes & other medical texts, and international student inquiries about a university course. The experience I previously gained, assisted me in this task! There are spelling mistakes, short hands, implications, ambiguity, and whatnot. So here are a few of the challenges one has to face while detecting bird names from user-generated texts. Fig 1: Why Not Space? Spelling mistakes: Users have made spelling mistakes which include using "pegions", "jevunile", "serpant", "brested", "bleau", "rufus", "avedavat" instead of "pigeons", "juvenile", "serpent", "breasted", "bleu", "rufous", "avadavat". Such spelling mistakes, which stem from the way people pronounce words are not uncommon among non-native English speakers. This has to be expected. Generic mistakes: These too are not uncommon among people, when they do not have formal training in Ornithology; that's basically most enthusiastic bird watchers. Let me give fancy names to the problems! Why Not Space? : "dollar bird", "secretary bird" in place of "dollarbird", "secretarybird". Even Grammarly suggests a space in the middle, because why not? Check Fig 1. The Goose-Geese problem: Grammatically, the plural of a Goose is Geese. We will discuss the problem in the later section. Gendered name problem: A Peacock is a male. The Peahen is the female. But the official name is Indian Peafowl (male/female). Munia-Munias problem: It is a general practice to add "s" after a bird's name to denote the plural. It might always not be the correct way to denote the plural, and further if we are matching names with a curated list, it might not match. Others: Mentioning "Open billed", " in place of "Openbill", and "bayaweaver" in place of "Baya Weaver". Why mention the obvious? One user mentioned, "thick billed pigeon" instead of "thick billed green pigeon". I am not sure if all thick billed pigeons are green pigeons. Implied names / Ambiguity: Based on context: In a discussion of Doves and Pigeons (#DovesNPigeons), when someone reports having seen "the yellow footed one", they refer to the Yellow-footed Green Pigeon. Based on the region: When someone from India mentions "Open Billed stork", they are very likely to imply "Asian Openbill", or "peacock" they very likely mean "Indian Peafowl (male)". Based on the entire presentation: The text accompanying photographs of Red Munia mentions only "munia". When the text is separated from the image, it is a little ambiguous to figure out whether the user is mentioning Red Munia or Scaly-breasted Munia, or Tri-coloured Munia. Colloquially accepted terms: At least one user has used "Thick billed pigeons" instead of "thick-billed green pigeon", "Coppersmiths" instead of "Coppersmith Barbets", "Himalayan Griffon" instead of "Himalayan Griffon Vulture" or "Himalayan Vulture" or "Griffon vulture". While thick-billed could also be thick-billed ground pigeons if you are in New Guinea, the user is based in India. Alternate names / (less) Ambiguity: "Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker" finds a mention, but it does not occur in the curated list. A little search over Google suggested that it is the Black-rumped Flameback. Missing names / Hashtag: While the description text described Emerald Dove, the name found a mention only in the hashtag which was #EmeraldDove. Many users just mention the bird name(s) as hashtags. Use of emoticon inside a bird name: At least one of the users used the "eyes" emoticon to denote "Indian white eye"; refer Fig 3 below. Fig 3: Use of emoticon inside bird name. Approaches and Challenges: Approach 1: Make a curated list of birds from the resources like this, and if a bird name from the curated list of birds appears in the text, take note of it and return the value. Challenges in Approach 1: This approach, in theory, seems to be the best, albeit the easiest, but the general issues with user-generated texts, make this approach a little too challenging. If there is a spelling mistake, a space in between, or an implied name or "geese" when mentioning "Bar-headed Goose", then the name from the list does not match the user-generated text. One idea was to detect mistaken spellings and replace them programmatically with correct spelling. In the previous section, I mentioned some wrong spellings, I tried exactly the same spellings to check. I used a generic spell checker for English words and I think it is safe to say, it would not work. Check out Fig 2 for the results. Maybe if we have word embeddings trained on a lot of texts related to Ornithology, it might so I would keep this for future work. Fig 2: Spelling correction using generic English package! Approach 2: The second approach is to train a custom Named Entity Recognition (NER) model, using an open source library, Spacy. It would be a Machine Learning / Deep Learning based model that, when trained over user-generated data should take care of the nuances of the data. Challenges in Approach 2: Machine Learning models require a good amount of labeled data to train them. Even if we have a good amount of relevant data, it would have its share of issues, like over-representation of common birds and under-representation, if at all, of rare birds. In a later segment, I would discuss the dataset and its challenges of the dataset. The challenges to this approach mainly revolve around data, labeling, and training using the data. The final model will have a certain amount of biases that would stem from the nature of the data we collect. Given that we are dealing with a simple and apolitical problem such as detecting bird names, I do not think the bias would have much of an impact. False positives: When trained with "black kite", "red kite", "brahminy kite", the model identifies "huge kite" as a bird in the sentence, "A huge kite flew over my head". It identifies "famous kingfisher" as a bird species in this tweet. Similarly from a tweet that mentioned "a golden yellow glow from leaves", the NER model predicted "golden yellow" as a bird, maybe because one of the training examples had a Golden Oriole! Similarly, the model predicted "International Vulture" as a vulture. Description of the dataset: Preprocessing steps: Fig 3: Tiger is not a bird. :3 Limitations of the custom NER model: I did a boo-boo. I trained the model to identify just bird names. So what went wrong? People "sight" birds. People "sight" tigers. But Tigers are not birds. Please check Fig 3. We can rectify this by training the model on a larger dataset differentiating between wild animals and birds. Let's put that future work. It does generate an insignificant amount of false positives. It can not be ruled out that it is a possibility that what the module returns is not correct. Limitations of the dataset: I am not describing the dataset here. I would however mention the main limitation of the dataset. The tweets are fetched using the hashtag #IndiAves, which is used in mostly urban circuits in India. The spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes, and context are mostly South Asian in nature. While this model works significantly better with Indian English, I am not sure if it would be as good when it faces English used in other countries (other than the UK, and the USA). Approach 3: Like any student of data science would suggest - an ensemble model! So the input passes through one bucket which works on approach 1, and if it fails which is not unlikely, the second bucket predicts the bird name using approach 2. In case it fails the ensemble arrangement, which also should not be surprising given that we have significantly less training data, we should work towards bettering the ensemble method unless, of course, we hit something better! But is there a need? I ran the ensemble method on three sets of data, pulled from Twitter using hashtags. For approach 1, I used a list of birds fetched from Wikipedia and the eBird portal. For approach 2, I used the custom NER model I proposed. HashtagInstances(total)Instances(birds detected)Detected byWikipedia listDetected byeBird listDetectedby listsDetected bycustom NER#IndiAves233812866096056391244#birdwatching350520628639129441950#birdphotography669244701709233428873442Table 1: How the approaches performed. There are obvious overlaps between the three sets of tweets. I suspect that there are tweets with bird names that the program could not detect. Given what we got, I immediately observed that around 51% of the birds are successfully detected by the curated lists. That's not very efficient and this is the gap that can be filled by a simple AI component like the custom NER for bird detection over user-generated text content. A solution to some issues: When the program is not able to match any bird name, it seeks the custom NER to suggest. It cross-checks with eBird if the bird exists. This despite its resource intensiveness, solves some amount of the ambiguity and spelling mistakes. In this tweet, the NER model detects "grey wagtail", and it changes to "gray wagtail" after searching on eBird. In this, the NER model detects "peacock" and changes it to "Indian Peafowl male", and in this, the "breasted weaver" changes to "black breasted weaver". When the user mentions a location, like in this case, it might be easier to say that it is a Eurasian Blue tit and not the African Blue Tit. But mentioning the location always does not help, for eg: when the NER model detects "musings sunbird" from a tweet, and eBird returns, "beautiful sunbird" (which is an actual bird). Just from the text, we are not able to understand which sunbird that is. It becomes a little difficult in these cases. Immediate future work: Ambiguity: As discussed in the previous section, ambiguity remains a major challenge to building a magical and flawless custom NER model. Better predictions: From this tweet, the custom NER model detected "horn" as a bird name. When cross-checked with eBird, the program returned "horned lark" as the possible bird name. But in the original tweet, there is no bird. Creation of a curated list: There are a few mistakes that are repetitive. We can make a list of those and change them to correct spellings during preprocessing. It requires time to build this. Link to the Python Package: I did not make a package out of it. Link to the Web Service: LINK. Demo of the Web Service: Google Colab LINK Would you want to collaborate? Are you into NLP and birding? Would you like to collaborate? If yes, please send me an email. My email address is mailme@anirbansaha. com --- - Published: 2022-07-29 - Modified: 2022-07-30 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/asian-paradise-flycatcher-male-manali/ - Categories: Birding Manali | 2022 May There was an uncomfortable silence after we finished our first round of drinks. Manish broke it with, "P, do you know my friend photographed one exciting bird today? " P is the landowner of the homestay we were in; a fine former DRDO employee, he has some knowledge of everything around him. On inquiry, I told them that I saw probably two young Paradise Flycatchers on the barren tree in his premise. I realized the photographs weren't very impressive. It is then that I decided to search on the internet and show him how the adult male Asian Paradise Flycatcher looks. P exclaimed in his Himalayan Hindi accent, "This is beautiful! " and he continued, "a lot of them come here anyway. You can see them. We do not know the name of the birds. " Now I have been trying to photograph the Asian Paradise Flycatcher (male) for a long time with Swarnava and even with my new friend R. We went to places in and around Kolkata to see this bird but have always come back home with a long face. While the possibility of finding it here could not have been ruled out, to assume that I would be lucky enough without efforts would be naive. My friend Manish had also taken an interest in birding, especially after visiting the Okhla Bird Sanctuary with me. I decided to give him more input, exactly the way my brother did to encourage me into birding. Clouds & Red Alert: No sooner did the Government of India issue a "red alert" on zones that included Manali, did we plan our trip to the hill station. It was pretty disappointing to make plans and then not go, right? I stayed calm and asked, "It wouldn't be life-threatening, right Manish? ", to which he did not have a black-n-white answer. Of course, as well-informed adults in the age of the internet, we wouldn't plan suicide; would we? After browsing through weather reports online, the errors made by such reports previously, asking local people online on the social media groups, and talking to P over the telephone, we decided to go! It did not rain. I am writing this blog post from Delhi. So, spoiler alert - we did not die. We faced some rain for over half an hour while driving back to Chandigarh, a week after the red alert was sent out. We however found charming cloud patterns that formed and dissipated, tighten up, and pour down on the next mountain. Now that I think of it, it has always been the mountain next to us that got the rain, be it near Manali or Sissu, the village in the Lahaul valley. Damn neat! Sky at homestay . . way to Manali At dusk Next morning Apple orchids Next mountain Food truck place River Beas Downpour While the rest of the evening was spent discussing the Paradise Flycatchers, Monal, and Jujurana (Western Tragopans), I assumed it would not continue the next morning. When I woke up the next morning, I could not find my camera. A little taken aback and then very pleasantly surprised! I noticed Manish patiently scanning all the trees through the lens from the balcony. "How long have you been awake? " "Since early morning, the bird you got... there are plenty of them just outside the boundary! " "Oh is it? " Sparrow in the Orchid Yellow-breasted Greenfinch Photographs by Manish Bhardwaj. Brownish-flanked bush warbler Bushchat female Photographs by Manish Bhardwaj Asian Paradise Flycatcher female/juvenile. Photograph: Anirban Saha (unless otherwise mentioned) Asian Paradise Flycatcher (female) with her morning snack. Photograph: Manish Bhardwaj. Black-throated Tit. Photo: Manish Verditer Flycatcher Russet Sparrow Birds photographed from the homestay. From the balcony of the homestay, we saw a lot of birds that ranged from the small tit birds to the Himalayan Griffon vulture. I wish our hike up the Manali Wildlife Sanctuary was even 1% as crazy as the homestay, of course, w. r. t birds. At the Wild Life Sanctuary, we saw a lot of big crows (ravens), Niltava, Minivets, one Common Kestrel, Chauff, one bird with a greenback, and one incredibly cute bird with a grey head hiding in the bush. Nearby is a Nature Park and Nehru Pheasantry. We saw pheasants and Monals there. I did not however photograph the birds because they were caged. One Monal was however a little outside the cage for maybe an evening stroll. It ran back as soon as he saw us :( In case you want to see the photos, please head to my Instagram/Highlights. Scarlet Minivet (male) at the Manali Wildlife Sanctuary Scarlet Minivet (female) and Scarlet Minivet (male). "Tammattar lag raha hain" - Manish. Redstart on a rock in the river Beas! The homestay, located a little away from the bustle of the city, is a pretty cool place! I sat on the swing and P appeared again. I wished him a good morning because I am a nice kid, but not really nice enough to follow the conversation he was trying to have. My ears were alert when they heard the phrase, "There is the long-tailed bird you were talking about last night. See, there is it! White... there. . " pointing to a really far place, far far enough for the noob that I am. But then, I did see... Asian Paradise Flycatcher (male) flying away, because they are not there to pose for me. -_- The day passed and the night came. P asked in his Hindi, "Did you get something new today? There were many birds... " We were joined by S, a computer engineer from Kanpur, who bikes in the mountains. He is a very sweet person who dissolves in a group. He hikes, he bikes, he plays with Huskies, and chops onions to help our homestay-didi. I like people like him and we were instantly friends. Sadly, neither he nor the homestay-didi trusted me with a knife. I was kept away from the kitchen. During that discussion, I put forward a wish to develop small tools inside the homestay premises to make it a destination even more attractive for birders! I went mad inside when he told me that during the winters, Monals and Khalijs come down to the villa, in search of food. Well, black bears and Leopards do too, but I chose to carefully ignore that bit. Like, seriously... the villa is surrounded by apple orchids, the Beas river, mountains, open land and is visited by very different birds (and insects, which I choose to ignore). It also has a husky that always wants to play. The morning next followed the same routine. While Manish was scanning through the trees and the clouds to see birds, I went out for a walk. The homestay-didi and her friend asked me whether I got the white tailed bird. Two steps down, the homestay-didi's son K, asked the same. I told them that I am not lucky enough... I went up to take a bath. The bathroom's geyser wasn't switched on and freezing to death wasn't my best idea of dying. I sat down, pretty purposeless in life looking at the wall, my back to the door when S started beating the door. "There! ! Your white-tailed bird is there... ! ! " Everything had to wait. We rushed out to see the "long white-tailed bird". "There... " ... "There... " said S, pointing from one bush to another. He saw, Manish saw. I couldn't. After some time, I saw the tail. After some time, the bird came out from the bush to the wire, from the wire to the top of an apple tree, and from the tree to another wire before disappearing into the dense green. Abracadabra Asian Paradise Flycatcher (male) Asian Paradise Flycatcher (male) Asian Paradise Flycatcher (male) Asian Paradise Flycatcher (couple) Asian Paradise Flycatcher (couple) --- - Published: 2022-07-14 - Modified: 2022-07-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/peacocks-okhla-bird-sanctuary/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: bird photograph, bird photography in delhi, birding in delhi, birding in okhla bird santuary, common birds, okhla bird sanctuary, peacock, resident birds Okhla Bird Sanctuary is on the bank of river Yamuna, in Noida. It is easily accessible from Delhi, obviously and if you like birds and are in Delhi, maybe give this place a quick visit! Guess what? I saw peacocks here! ! Since the internet is rife with information about the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, I find no reason why I should repeat the content that is already on the internet. Instead, I would just paste photographs! Delhi has a few Biodiversity parks, the list of which you could find here. Okhla Bird Sanctuary isn't one of them. It apparently opened recently, despite being marked over a decade ago (link). It is located on the banks of river Yamuna when the river enters Uttar Pradesh. It comes under the Noida administration. It is a considerably small 4 square kilometers space; opens at 7 am and you can find the other relevant details here. Phew, done! A Peacock walking on the main road of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. While the entry fee to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary is ₹30, the camera fee is ₹500! I would like to believe that this discourages poor bird photographers like me from going there. It however encourages human love birds to infest the area from when they manage to wake up in the morning. Haha! This is in stark contrast to the Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary in Kolkata where the entry fee is ₹120 but there is no camera fee. I believe the Government of Uttar Pradesh should not take the camera fee and encourage more bird photographers to explore the area. The more they explore, the more free publicity the Sanctuary would get among bird lovers on social media. The park area where people come to walk and spend time with their love interests is very well kept. The path to the watch tower, however, is horribly maintained. I wish the Government takes small little steps to encourage birders to go there and polish the packaging up. How was my experience? I'm glad you asked. My friend Manish drove me to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and we reached there at around 7:20 am. It was drizzling. The ticket counter was not open and the person there was not very happy that we came. It was funnier than he was offensive. We had a good laugh. We walked from gate 1 to watchtower 1. You could see a range of resident birds during the off-season, which is now. From the Jungle babblers which wouldn't leave you, to Coppersmith Barbet, Purple Sunbird, Green bee-eaters, Blue-Tailed Bee Eaters, Red-vented Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul. On the river bed, you could see easily the Cormorants and the Herons. I could easily see the White Throated Kingfishers fly from one end to another and chilling at some places. Occasionally, you could hear the Peacock but not see them. It would irritate you to the point you would get angry. You could hear them but not see them. But you would keep walking. After crossing Gate 2, things would get a little intense. There would be cows, buffaloes, dung, and more birds. There is a small bridge towards the watch tower. We stood there. Manish found Prinias (Hindi: Foodki) funny. Being an avid traveler in the mountains, he saw birds but was never introduced to the names and the birding ecosystem. Haathe-khori hoye gelo! He could easily spot the Bee Eaters... We both were equally startled when a large black and brown bird flew low over our heads. The next set of photographs was taken from the bridge. (Of course there were more birds than I have photographed) Blue-tailed Bee-Eater. Blue-Tailed Bee-eater Red-Whiskered Bulbul Ashy Prinia Coucal (most probably greater coucal, the tail was long) We heard the peacocks and we had to see them. I have never seen a Peacock in the wild before. I am new in the birding genre and also, the wildlife to be honest. My travels are limited to that of Sikkim and Bengal in India. I never got an opportunity to see Peacocks... . so I had to see one! We went further, to the right was a field with buffaloes. I knew I am not heavier than a buffalo however much I might have gained weight. If the buffaloes were standing, I could also go there; and we did. We did not see Peacocks, but we saw the Red-naped Ibis, Red-wappled Lapwing, Purple Swamphen, more buffaloes, and one huge ass Deer-like animal. Cattle-Egret with Buffaloes Red-wappled Lapwing Red-naped Ibis or Indian Ibis We heard the Peacocks again and this time, the call did not come from the field. We followed the call, and faced more cows. While I was concentrating on not getting hit by the cows or not stepping on the dung, Manish pretty audibly said, "Dada dada dada daaadaaaaa... . . Mour! ! ! " I look in the direction he pointed and damn, it was so beautiful! The Peacock saw us and ran away. I followed it, and he then flew away. I turned to Manish and was amazed. He was trying to tell me something using hand gestures. Since the context was Peacocks and he seemed happy, I inferred that there is another Peacock. I walked up to him and... a Peacock was dancing right in front of us. Between the Peacock and us were 50 meters and a barbed wire fence. The fence had an open door beside it but we only discovered it while coming back, we jumped over it. I went ahead towards the Peacock. Peacock - the national bird of India I did not realize that the peacocks were pretty shy birds. The Peacock wrapped up the dance and walked away to the pond. It was interesting because I assumed that this might be the peacock's home. We saw another one walking around. This peacock was on a building. I was happy! I sat down while Manish was amusing himself by watching birds. He asked me, "Dada, what is that yellow bird? " I was not sure, I found the Cattle Egret... He pointed up, towards a tree... and we saw the home of the Yellow-footed Green Pigeon. I am not going to mention where this place is, because revealing it might not be a good idea. But photograph to bannta hain! Yellow-footed Green Pigeon chilling in its home. It stopped drizzling and the clouds were clearing up. We started walking back. While walking back, we found half of the benches now filled with young couples who couldn't find a room for themselves. They have my sympathies. We saw two more peacocks, one that walked ahead of us on the road and disappeared when it noticed us, and the other happily trying to attract a female. His female did not arrive but we did. We walked back to Gate number 1 and drove back home. We walked over 7 kilometers inside the Sanctuary and it was such a happy feeling, being in the middle of nature and finally, I saw Peacocks! Hello visitor! --- - Published: 2022-07-12 - Modified: 2022-07-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/birds-kids-bengali-local-names-kolkata-photography/ - Categories: Birding, West Bengal - Tags: birding from terrace, birds bengali names, birds in local culture, local birds Let me start with an apology! This blog post will have a significant amount of Bangla language in it. I wish I could translate all of them but that does not seem very probable! Also, I am not publishing any photographs of the kids. So where do we start?   Bird Alpona in Shantiniketan, drawn from a photograph by S R Mukherjee “Which bird is that? ”, asked my 9-year-old niece. I share a relationship of weird camaraderie with my niece. From being the first kid that I held with my hands to being someone with who I now confide in random secrets, our relationship has come a long way. She was allowed to spend some time with me after I submitted my Master's Thesis. I treated her sometimes like a baby human, sometimes like a golden retriever, and at times leave her with things to see what she does. But the most fascinating time was spent noticing her make things out of paper, white cement, and balloons and talking about birds!   “Red-vented bulbul. Look at the ass. It is red. Thus, Red-vented, and it is Bulbul. Look at the ‘mathar jhuti’ ”, I instructed her. “Hya (yes)”. “Do you know what it is called in Bangla? ” “No. What is it called? ” “Hey, we listened to that song right? Bageechaye bulbuli tui... phool shakhate, dishne aaji dol? (link) This is Bulbuli in Bangla. ” “Ooooo”. “Do you know who wrote that song? ” “Kaji Najrul Islam? ” “Good girl! Here’s your chocolate! ”  The Chick in my room. “The chicken is so cute! ” “Chicken is also a bird. You know that right? ” I could see her nostrils flare but she did not really chide me. “So... if you like watching birds, we could come to the terrace tomorrow as well. But I would give you homework. Would you do it? ” “Okay! ”  This is when we discovered the Bengali names of the birds. Honestly, I had very little idea about the Bengali names and I must admit, some of them are just funny! “Mama, why is this bird called ‘Bou kotha kawo’ ? ” “I have no idea... . Someone had a grumpy wife I guess! ” I must say that it was fun knowing the Bengali names of some of the birds (link)... Rufous Treepie is called “Hari-chacha”; in case you misread this, “Hari” is not God Vishnu and “Chacha” is not Uncle in Hindi. In Bangla, it means the one who scrapes to the bottom of a vessel. The term is just killed in translation. The next day, early in the morning, Kapu and I carefully tiptoed out of the home. The idea was to see Kingfisher, which we didn’t because she saw street dogs and almost climbed up my head. Alas, my head isn’t big enough. I could drag her across the dog zone and we heard some birds chirping. I used the BirdNet app (link) to figure out that it is the Coppersmith Barbet. I asked her, “Kapu, what’s this called in Bangla? ” “Boshonto-Bouri” “Good girl! Here take chocolate! ”  Pied Mynah (Bangla: Goshalik) at the Pond near my home. The time spent with Kapu on the terrace is special. I made her climb up and down the stairs, because why not? A small tiny human being with a chicken in her hands jumping around is cute. We got the mat, a sound box, the chicken, my camera and lens and chilled on the terrace. While I laid down because I did not see any new birds, the chick chased ants and Kapu chased the chick. It was wholesome.   The Chick running on our terrace. “Kapu, come here, let me bore you with random shit. Do you know about eBirds (link)? ” “What? No. ” It is then that I saw a Green Pigeon fly from one side of my apartment to the other. This wasn’t the juvenile I saw a couple of weeks back. This was pretty well grown and most probably Yellow-Footed. I played the call of Yellow-footed Green Pigeon but it did not come back. It is not a good practice to do it and if you are reading this, you probably shouldn’t. But to tell Kapu about bird calls and bird songs, I played the bird call for White Throated Kingfisher. I knew they were around somewhere and most probably would appear. They did.   White-Throated Kingfisher that came after hearing calls. A pair of White-Throated Kingfisher, the first time I saw them near my home. Photographed from Balcony. The crow and the Black Kite on a stormy morning during the Northwesters storm. “Mama, I can hear a bird. What is it? ” “Purple Sunbird”. “Where is it? ” It was difficult I must say but I tried, “See, in the next to next apartment there are iron bars? Between the two iron bars, there is something really small moving. That’s the bird! ” “Yes, I can see. ” “Seriously? Damn neat” “Birds are integral to all human cultures. Do you know that India was the first to domesticate hen? ” “To eat? It is tasty! ”. We chuckled and I decided to bore her more. “You would also find birds in local folklore... like White Storks are supposed to deliver children in Europe (link) or Black-hooded Crow flying far off across a sea meant a girl would get a really good husband /foreigner in Scotland (link). In Bengal, you would see Common Mynah in Alpona and tribals drawing the bird. Similarly, in Hinduism, you see birds as vehicles for Gods and Goddesses... Lakkhi Pecha (Barn Owl) for Goddess Lakshmi, Swan for Goddess Saraswati. Do you know what Garuda probably is? ” “Vulture? Eagle? Kite? ” “Brahminy Kite (link). I’ll show you pictures of it. ”  “Mama, is it another kind of Cheel? ” There is an old Black Kite that probably has a home two buildings away. It rests there, walks around and I could show it to Kapu easily. She remembered that Kite is “Cheel”. “Honestly, I do not know... but must be similar. They hunt! ”  Black Kite resting near my home. In one of the evenings, I played Anuseh Anadil’s “Khachar Pakhi chilo... ” (link). I am not sure how much of the philosophy she grasped but when I tried drawing a Shantiniketani Alpona on a earthen cup, she asked, “Which bird is this? Bulbuli? ” “Why would you say that? ” “See, mathaye jhuti ache... ! ” “Kakatua’ro jhuti ache. . ” “Kakatua ki? ” “Did you not listen to lal-jhuti-kakatua dhoreche je bayena... ? ” “Oh yes”. While that led to another conversation I kept wondering if we could, in our traditional art forms, differentiate between different birds. That’s a thought for another blog post.   I drew Alpona, originally drawn by S R Mukherjee based on "Khachar Pakhi" by Rabindranath Tagore. It is just not my niece who, when initiated to birding, remembers birds and hopefully finds it interesting. When I met Diptee di’s 11-year-old son R and found absolutely nothing to talk about, I asked him about his hobbies. He quickly responded, “Bird watching” and sighed in despair that he does not find many people to discuss it with. We struck a friendship there! He has a book to identify birds that can be found in India. He has a keen sense of observation and is a treat to discuss birds with. While R is privileged to explore birding, not many kids are. For a year and a half before leaving for Germany, I taught photography in a top-tier girls' school in Calcutta. Now with all the kids growing up, very few remember me and follow me on Instagram. One such girl, S, is really not allowed by her parents to go out and see birds. She watches birds that come close to her window and enjoys it. She happens to be in my locality, very very close to my home.   Roadrunner cartoon! (Source: PngEgg) Cuckoo from Tom and Jerry. (Source: Tom and Jerry Fandom (link)) My intuition says children should find birds interesting. Come on, they fly! They are feathery, funny, and at times stupid. Even the cartoon roadrunner is cute and looks like an Ostrich (but it isn’t, apparently it is a Cuckoo (link)! ). I saw a cute bird in Tom and Jerry! I had no clue about what bird that could be till I searched on the internet. Turns out, its name is Cuckoo but it is a Canary (link)! Birds are everywhere! They are so fundamental to our culture that we in our veil of ignorance just don't realize or appreciate; in songs, poems, cartoons, folk art, modern art... everywhere. But still, how many times did you hear someone say, “You will find only crows here”?   Black-rumped flame back woodpecker from my terrace. Jungle Mynah (Bangla: Jhuti Shaalik) on our terrace. A couple of days later, we again went up to the terrace. I laid on the mat again, lazy to even look after the chick. I asked Kapu, “There is a red speck, two buildings away. What is it re? ” “Black-rumped flame back? ” “Right above our head... What’s that? ” “Jungle Mynah” “What is it in Bangla? ” “Jhuti-shaalik” “Ei je Payra ta... what kind of Pigeon is this? ” “Rock Pigeon or Gola Payra”... "Let's see if you can spot a small bird. " Purple Sunbird (Bangla: Durga Tuntuni) "Mama, look there is a small blue bird that shines under the sun. Isn't it the Purple Sunbird? " "And in Bangla, what do we call it? " "Durga tuntuni! " “Shabbash, your chocolate is in the fridge! ”  --- - Published: 2022-03-30 - Modified: 2022-03-31 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/birds-kolkata-2022/ - Categories: Birding, Birds in Central Park Kolkata, Random notes - Tags: purple sunbird, rohit dey, Souranil De, spotted dove, taiga fly catcher, thick billed green pigeon, violet cuckoo, yellow footed pigeon If you have read the blog post title, you very well know what I am going to talk about: Photographing birds in Kolkata! But first, let me answer a few mandatory questions to set your expectations. Is this a guide or a tutorial? No. Am I a professional birder? No. Am I very knowledgeable about birding in Kolkata? No. That the expectation is now set, let's start with the post. After I was introduced to birding by Souranil, I enjoyed watching birds, knowing about them, and at times, photographing them. In this blog post, I would just paste pictures and share some personal experiences, because why not?   Sooo... I am visiting Kolkata and Souranil drove me from the airport to my home. I call him my “choto bhai” which would translate to “younger brother” and he has been a constant in my life. While I was overwhelmed by changes in my life and a little insensitive to what he was facing in his, he always remained a brother, forgiving and accepting. It is amusing to see him grow up in all these years. He is now working as a computer engineer at a Texas-based startup that has an office in Bhubaneshwar.   Souranil | Calcutta Airport | 28 January 2022 Portrait of Souranil | 30 Jan 2022. The first weekend in Kolkata, Souranil and his friend Rohit, along with their girlfriends Rupsa and Ritika, one singular Soham, and the very singular me, went to Baruipur. It was like a picnic for me sans the food. The food came later in Lake Town where I ate Daaler Kochuri to my heart’s content, praying really hard that I do not get Covid.   Photographs of Birds in Baruipur, near Kolkata, 5 February 2022. Green Bee eater | Baruipur | 5 February 2022 Purple Swamphen | Baruipur | 5 February 2022 Common Snipe (rare) | Baruipur | 5 February 2022 Open Billed Stork | Baruipur | 5 February 2022 Ruddy-breasted Crake | Baruipur | 5 February 2022 Common Snipe (rare) | Baruipur | 5 February 2022 Swarnava, who is also into birding and wanted to meet up since I am in Kolkata and he is leaving for Delhi, took me to Rabindra Sarobar. The expectation was that we would photograph the Asian Paradise Flycatcher. We didn’t.   Photographs of Birds in Rabindra Sarobar, in Kolkata, 8 February 2022. Spotted Owlet | Rabindra Sarobar Lake | 8 February 2022 Rose ringed Parakeet | Rabindra Sarobar Lake | 8 February 2022 Taiga Flycatcher | Rabindra Sarobar Lake | 8 February 2022 Red-vented Bulbul | Rabindra Sarobar Lake | 8 February 2022 If you have seen me recently, you know that I am an adorable sized Hippopotamus. Given that I have been diagnosed with a ligament issue which has no cure except exercising, the doctor asked me to run, walk, and exercise. I am not known to be very fond of running or doing anything where I sweat. On a normal summer day in Calcutta, I hibernate in my air conditioned room and I come out during the winters, unless of course if I am going to Sikkim aka the mountains. Why should this be any different? I also realised I am not Calcutta-ready yet. In the last three weeks, I have been bruised by a rickshaw, hit by an auto, and abused by a taxi driver who almost ran me over. So, my terrace is where I walk and run around now. Oh yes, there are birds there as well.   Random Pigeon | Dum Dum Park | 20 February 2022 Rufous Treepie | Dum Dum Park | 20 February 2022 Purple Sunbird | My home in Dum Dum Park | 25 March 2022 Purple Sunbird | My home in Dum Dum Park | 25 March 2022 Spotted Dove | My home in Dum Dum Park | 25 March 2022 It is not always that you pick up a call from Swarnava at three in the morning. “Is everything alright? It’s 3 am! ” “Ami toh jani tumi jege thakbe! (I knew you would be awake). Ei shono na, ekta pakhi tulte jabe? Violet Cuckoo. (Ei listen, do you want to photograph a bird? Violet Cuckoo. )”. A quick search over Google showed me a cute bird. “That’s cute! ”. “Dhurrr. . Cute chaaro, it is rare in this region”. So... we left for the neighbourhood adjacent to my neighbourhood. This was the first time I photographed in a herd of other bird enthusiasts. It was funny to see over forty photographers patiently waiting below a tree. The bird flew from one tree to the other, and the herd below moved closely monitoring the bird. Their hard work really paid off as a lot of them got great shots! I didn’t.   Violet Cuckoo | Opposite Shreebhumi, on the Salt Lake side | 22 March 2022 Coppersmith Barbet | Opposite Shreebhumi, on the Salt Lake side | 22 March 2022 ... and the next day I went with Souranil and Rohit. The bird did not show up. :( However, I photographed a couple of common birds! Oriental Magpie Robin | Opposite Shreebhumi, on the Salt Lake side | 23 March 2022 Oriental Magpie Robin | Opposite Lake Town, on the Salt Lake side | 23 March 2022 Chestnut-tailed Starling | Opposite Lake Town, on the Salt Lake side | 23 March 2022 While browsing Facebook, I suddenly saw images of the Asian Paradise Flycatcher and the photographer(s) mentioned that they spotted it at Central Park Salt Lake. While Souranil is now in Bhubaneshwar, I caught hold of Rohit, his friend. We went to Central Park yesterday. Did I get to see the Paradise Flycatcher? No. Instead we spotted a bunch of photographers excitedly trying to photograph a bird. I lifted my lens up and pointed in the direction of other photographers. I saw nothing. I asked one of them in Bangla which would translate to, “What exactly are we looking at? ”. The response came in Bangla, which if translated would be something like, “Notice the main branch that is going up. Then notice the next branch that is going up. Then notice the branch in the middle that is going up. Follow that. There are red fruits. Don’t stop. Go up, up and there is the bird. ” I did not fully know how much “up” I should go, but like an obedient student I followed instructions. Damn, although not the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, this looked very different from anything I had seen so far with my eyes. But like a senseless idiot, I instinctively reacted, “Aren’t you photographing the Paradise Flycatcher? ” I could have very well done without asking that. Sigh.   Thick-billed Green Pigeon | Kolkata / Salt Lake / Central Park | 29 March 2022. Yellow-footed Pigeon | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Yellow-footed Pigeon | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Yellow-footed Pigeon | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Asian Koel | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 | One of the birds all children are introduced to but is not a popular choice to be photographed. I thought, why not? Black hooded Oriole | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Black-rumped flameback | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Black-rumped flameback | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Waterfowl | Central Park Salt Lake | 29 March 2022 Given that my blog is no longer popular, it is very likely that you are not someone I do not know. But in case you still do not follow me on Instagram, please do? Click on the button below and it should take you to my profile!   Go to Instagram! --- - Published: 2022-02-12 - Modified: 2022-02-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/wordle-assistant/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: assistant, wordle Wordle Assistant - preliminary version. A lot of my friends on social media are playing Wordle! Wordle is a game where the users have to guess a fairly common 5 letter word in 6 attempts. Although the fun is in guessing the word, there is no harm in getting a little assistance, isn't it? So I made a Wordle assistant, uncouth but still suggests possible words to try on Wordle. In this blog post, I would mention the boring stuff and how you can possibly use it. Google Colab Link The aim of the program is to not replace the user, but to assist the user with suggestions! But first, the boring stuff... The Wordle Assistant is mildly intelligent. It has a notebook interface and if you are not a developer, you might find it unfriendly to use, especially when the world around uses Alexa and Siri! In case you want to collaborate and make it friendlier, please send me an email? Data: I gathered a dataset of 5-lettered words from multiple sources which include this and the word list on the Wordle site. However, on Google Colab Notebook, you would find only the Wordle list right now. Suggestion logic: Based on the dataset, the Wordle Assistant calculates how popular letters are and suggests words that are very likely to either figure out which letters exist in the secret word OR exclude a considerable chunk of words from further consideration. Modes: There are two modes in which this Wordle Assistant can operate. Default mode: The next suggestion considers the previously discovered alphabets in the secret word. Explore mode: The next suggestion ignores previously used alphabets completely. There are several articles on the internet to tell you how to play the game. It is confusing! This is what I consider: The first entry should reveal as much as possible. We can try words like "adieu", "audio" because they have a lot of vowels. We can also try "stern", "crane" which has vowels and also other letters which are frequently used like "s" and "t". I use "arise" or "arose" because based on the dataset that I use, that's the combination of popular letters! The assistant would then suggest a maximum of 4 possible words to try. You can choose the number of options you want to choose from. In case you are confused, maybe try the first suggested word in the list. In case if you think that one of the words in the list is significantly more popular than the others, please use that word. In case you have solved the Wordle and want to stop the program from executing, please enter "stop". About Explore Mode: If you decide to use it, maybe try it only for once. It is likely that if it is used more than once, it would be turned off because it would have exhausted all options and the program would terminate abruptly. In case you are confused which word to use, please use the first entry. How to enter the sequences to get suggestions? Once you enter a word on Wordle, for each alphabet you would get one of the three colors: Black, Yellow, Green. To let the program know that an alphabet is marked yellow, please use "? " after the alphabet. Use "! " to tell that it is green. In case it is marked black, just let that be! Credit: I got this idea from this website. This would be entered into the program as "ar? is? e? " Where can you play with the code? This is the link to the Google Colab Notebook. Once you click on it, it would open on the next tab. On the options, please click on "Runtime" and "Run All". In the end, some instructions will come. Please follow the instructions. Go to Code This is where you would find "Run all". Let's watch a video to understand the playing part properly and in case you have read through the text, it is revision time! https://youtu. be/Cz4SJVZ1e5s Limitations and future work: The list of 5 letter words needs to be more exhaustive if people want to use it to play Wordle like games on their mobile phone. Maybe scraping Wikipedia, extracting 5 letter words from there to figure out which ones are more frequently used might help in suggesting words better. There is a small bug in the code. If an alphabet appears just once on the secret word, the program might suggest words where the alphabet appears more than once. Yea, the code does not have a shape or body. If you are into UI and wants to collaborate, please get in touch? --- - Published: 2021-06-28 - Modified: 2021-06-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-life-international-student/ - Categories: Germany, Random notes, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: berlin, house plants, ignite ev, Madhu Thatikonda, Magdeburg, study in germany, study in magdeburg I did not really realize how quickly one year passed since I wrote this post! While the struggle to complete my never-ending last 6 credits is real even now, I started with my thesis at the Hasso-Plattner Institut, Potsdam. Finding a research question is a little difficult; I am still exploring the data set and planting a lot of seeds (ideas) around, hoping one of them would grow into a plant that I would be proud of. A lot of things happened in this time frame. What kept me busy apart from my thesis? The Podcasts that I started, got covered in the local newspaper; there is now a small team and season 2 of the Podcasts have some really impressive names on the guest list. I also started writing for the "Study in Germany" portal of DAAD. I could only manage time to write two so far, but the response I have received is overwhelming. It felt good. I also started working for an NGO in Berlin, Ignite eV. It is an Indian/Bengali association. PS: They are going to do Durga Puja in Berlin . I am on their technical team, hosting interview sessions and taking care of their Google advertisements. This, I must add, is a very different experience. Please follow the Podcasts information on LinkedIn. Click here to go to the page. The winter snow slowly gave way to Spring, which seemed very less like Spring but more like an extended winter. Temperatures were low even during the month of May. It rained a couple of days the way it does in Calcutta, with black clouds over the sky and it poured down cats and dogs! Spring in Magdeburg 2021 White flowers | If you find this good, please follow me on Instagram. ID: @sahaanirban Cherry Blossoms! Instagram: @sahaanirban Pink cherry blossoms, different kind. I do not know details, apologies. White flowers and new green leaves. While talking about plants was just rhetoric when I was talking about my thesis, it would be pretty literal when I start talking about my room now. But for now, let’s discuss something else. My flatmate who is as good as a brother, Madhu, moved back to India. This is some amount of change I am dealing with right now. Over the last three years and seven months, I have grown very attached to him. I have never been close to my parents or my sibling; there was a void and that was filled by Madhu. From the moment he woke up in the morning, till he went to sleep in his room, we were together: studying, cooking and having our meals, discussing random things, buying groceries, watching TV series and whatnot. Even in my extracurriculars, whenever he could contribute, he volunteered. He was always there. When he went to India for a couple of months, I lived alone. But now, I have to share my flat with somebody else. My history has it, I have not been the most comfortable with changes. This month, we completed three and a half years of living at this address. Over this period of time, it has become a home; something I always looked forward to coming back to, from either the university or whenever I went out on small trips. I opened the door, kept the keys where they should be, and called out “bhaaiii” and he would respond mild “hmm” or “yes” as if he was waiting for it. Maybe at times, he was. It was routine anyway, but it was a renewed reassurance that I have a home to come back to. Morning rituals: Madhu made coffee, and sipped coffee with his right hand while scrolling the phone with the left. Plants 🪴 at home . There was nothing much otherwise this entire year. I have started my thesis and we are living in the middle of the pandemic, what do you expect? As I write this, there are no active cases of Covid in Magdeburg, for over a week now and a lot of people have got their first dose of the mRNA based vaccine. Life is getting back to normal and the restaurants are overflowing. The sun is out after a long time and it’s party time for people. I have, however, found an interest in plants. This isn’t new though. My mother bought plants when we moved to a new residence in Calcutta. While she took care of them, I was just happily amused seeing new buds bloom into flowers. I counted them and gleefully reported to my mother, who would anyway know. She had a lot of hibiscus plants: red, yellow, pink, white, and another kind where the flowers were like a ball. She also had Bougainvillea, and plants that had fancy Bengali names. When I came to Magdeburg, I bought a couple of plants. I watered them a lot expecting them to grow faster and give more flowers quicker. They decided to die instead. Pretty plant #1: Bella Fuchsia. One morning, I went out with a couple of my friends and we passed through the market in Magdeburg Alter Markt. I saw a plant and it was pretty. I bought it. The week next, I took my first vaccine shot and while coming back, I found another pretty plant. I bought it as well. A couple of days later, another. When Madhu left, I got another. By then, the first plant died. I realized I gave it too much water. It felt like a very deep personal loss. I started reading about taking care of plants. One Android app “Picture This” helped. I wanted an indoor plant, so I asked Indranil to come with me to a plant market (Baumarkt) and I got a tiny-sized Zebra plant. On my birthday, Ankit and Shipra gifted me 3 more plants, thus moving the tally to 8. Well, one almost died because I had given a bit more water. But I could save it. I consulted a couple of my friends who have maintained plants before and later I consulted a horticulturist. Well, that interaction was funny. We used broken English, broken German, hand gestures, a lot of running around, and a lot of failed attempts to explain the problems and the solutions. But I understood how dry the soil should be, read symptoms of over-watering, how to correctly water the plant, and how to prune. I did as the horticulturist asked me to. And the dying plant is alive again! Pretty plant #2: Carnation. Pretty plant #3: Persian Cyclamen. (How can I not experiment a bit when I have flowers, water and light? ) Pretty plant #3: Persian Cyclamen. (This time under study lamp light) From where I sit to study, it looks very nice. There are four flower plants on my window and hanging right above them are the three birds I made last year. The sky behind is blue, often with white clouds. When the balcony door is open, I can also see the other two plants. The light hits my room early in the morning, waking me up. I wake up and check if the soil is dry enough.   My window right now. From the left: Flaming Katy, Persian cyclamen, Lily, Orchid. When I turn from my study desk: There is one more plant, which in Bangla is "Chondromollika". I am not sure if this is China Aster in English. On the left is the baby rubber plant. The smaller plant in the middle is a Zebra plant. In front of that is Darjeeling tea without sugar. :D Over the last three and a half years, we had always treated the balcony as an extended dustbin, garbage bin. But since Madhu was going away, we took the opportunity to clean it a bit and put a couple of chairs and bedside tables. Now, in the evenings, I can work from there and watch the sun set. The Chondromollika plant, the Carnation plant; my feet up on the table on the balcony. A photograph of a generic sunset from my balcony. The beginning of the end. Madhu's returning to India was a rude reminder that I also need to complete my studies. Although nothing is in my hands, I would really need to push it. I am finding newer interests, meeting newer people, working on newer things and it is always the same cycle. During each phase, we meet new people, we become friends, then we part. We carry the happy memories with us and wait for time to tell us, whether we grow closer or grow apart. I am currently doing my thesis. After that, I might move to another city. Maybe Berlin, maybe London, it could be any city in the world, very literally. But what's fixed is this: My time at this university is now at its end. Life in Calcutta was very different than my life in Magdeburg. And my next phase too would be very different. I am curious to see what's ahead. Ler's end this post with a photograph of the morning when Madhu returned to India. --- - Published: 2021-02-18 - Modified: 2021-02-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/snow-in-magdeburg-2021/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: schnee magdeburg, Snow in Magdeburg, snow photographs in magdeburg, snowChallengeMD How often do we, Indians, associate "foreign" with chilly winters and a lot of snow? I guess, pretty often. Maybe because we are conditioned by movies or by stories of our relatives who live abroad. I have been no exception. I was super excited when it snowed in Magdeburg for the first time in 2017 (photographs here) and I hopped around near my then home. It did not snow enough to excite me (and trust me, the bar is pretty low) after that. But this year, it compensated for all the previous years! Sunrise at the Mariemtempel and Adolf Mittag See, Magdeburg. 15. 02. 2021 Mariemtempel and Adolf Mittag See at Stadtpark, Magdeburg. 31. 01. 2021 Marientempel and Adolf Mittag See in Stadtpark, Magdeburg. 11. 01. 2021 The Magdeburg Dom during sunset. 11. 02. 2021 Magdeburg Dom when it snowed. 03. 01. 2021 Magdeburg Dom when it was snowing. 03. 01. 2021 The path from Dom to the Hubbrübe when it was snowing. 03. 01. 2021 The Lichterwelt Magdeburg in snow. 03. 01. 2021 In Stadtpark, Magdeburg. 31. 01. 2021 At the Adolf Mittag See, Stadtpark, Magdeburg. 31. 01. 2021 Sunrise at the snow covered Stadtpark, Magdeburg. 15. 02. 2021 Alexander the Great, Nazifa Tasnim, Raahim Amin after completing the snowman. (Mobile shot) 30. 01. 2021 Please follow me on Instagram: @sahaanirban Please follow me on Instagram. You'll go to my profile if you click here. Madhu looking at the snow falling, with a warm cup of coffee in his hand. 11. 01. 2021. Madhu is not fond of cold and luckily for him, every time it snowed before, it was either when he slept or the snow was too little and it ended too soon. But this time, he couldn't really escape. I wanted to photograph him in the snow and this time he obliged. I, sort of, dragged him to the balcony as soon as he finished making the morning coffee. I didn't realize he did not put on his jacket! Since it snowed more than one day and sufficiently enough, there were children and their parents out in their backyards making snowmen. There were old people walking on the snow, people playing with their dogs, children riding sleds, and a lot of random stuff, like skating on the snow. The randomness of Magdeburgers made it to the news (check here)! On the 29th of January, it started snowing heavily. I tried photographing the university. I wasn't prepared and it was too cold! Our campus looked beautiful! ! The campus service center, Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg. (Mobile shot) 29. 01. 2021 The FIN Building (Computer Science) (Mobile shot) 29. 01. 2021 The place to hangout in front of the FIN building. (Mobile shot) 29. 01. 2021 The day before, my laptop breathed its last. On the 29th night, I could finally order for a new laptop. Indranil was assisting me online. After placing the order, I had nothing to do and was sleepless. So Indranil and I went for a walk. While walking through the campus, we came across Raahim (a FIN student from Bangladesh), his wife and his friend trying to build a massive snowman. His friend is a Russian and an experienced snowman maker! Putting the head on the body of the snowman. Making a 7-feet tall snowman. Raahim and Alexander. (Mobile shot) 30. 01. 2021 After all the decoration was over, the eyes were made, the smile was made and the buttons! (Mobile shot) 30. 01. 2021 Alexander Sobolev hugging his creation. (Mobile shot) 30. 01. 2021 It snowed the entire night and the day next, I woke up to the sun shining brightly over the snow. For the next few days, it snowed in little amounts and it was nice and wintery in Magdeburg. On the 7th of February, things turned a little harsh with a snow storm. From my balcony. 30. 01. 2021 From my balcony. 30. 01. 2021 From my balcony. 30. 01. 2021 From my balcony. 30. 01. 2021 Technically, from my kitchen window. 30. 01. 2021 The snow from the floors above, thawing a little and splashing on my balcony railing. 30. 01. 2021 From my balcony: the sun shining over the snow. 30. 01. 2021 The paper birds hanging on my window. It swirls and it twirls with the slightest of breeze. 30. 01. 2021 From my balcony: a glimpse of the storm. 07. 02. 2021 From my balcony: A cycle in the snow. 08. 01. 2021 With the temperatures now rising, I think it is time to bid goodbye to the snow and the winters. A huge shout out to the people of Magdeburg for being so nice! During this time, my photographs have been featured on various pages which includes local media startups, traditional media house, the university, and Magdeburg tourism. I am grateful that they featured me and made me feel included. Not just them, people I came across while walking and photographing were warm! I'll give you one example: When I bent over to collect snow to throw at Madhu and Aman, an old lady noticed and she wanted to be a part of it. She struggled, but she bent down and picked a huge ball of snow and aimed at me. Well, the throw wasn't strong enough and the snow did not reach me, but it managed to make her burst into a peal of laughter. With everyone around me happy, going out in a group of five from two households, with even Madhu agreeing to join in, I felt I was the happiest, . . till a feeling creeped into my mind and started sinking in. It might be my last semester here in Magdeburg, definitely my last winter. With Madhu somewhere midway through his thesis and with his plans of returning to India after his masters, this chapter of my life is soon coming to an end. Nord Park in Magdeburg. 31. 01. 2021 Evening walks in Nord Park, Magdeburg. 31. 01. 2021 Pranavvi, Madhu and Aman posing with the snowman, Raahim et al, made the night before. (Mobile shots) 30. 01. 2021 Madhu playing with our friends in the snow. Nord Park, 31. 01. 2021 Aman putting more snow, for absolutely no reason, on Madhu. Nord Park. 31. 01. 2021. Well, ofcourse, why not? Madhu trying to catch a ball of snow thrown at him. --- - Published: 2021-02-17 - Modified: 2021-02-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-never-ending-last-6-credits/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: credits, HPI, thesis Many of my friends, who are not well acquainted with doing masters in Germany, wonder why the programs, which are of 4 semesters, in theory, extend slightly beyond the time frame. . and in my case, by a LOT! Extending beyond 2 years is normal for a variety of reasons, and that's a very different discussion. This blog post is about my never-ending 6 credits and a possible thesis! To start one's thesis, officially, a student needs to complete 90 credits. While I completed 79 credits by my 4th semester and expected to finish 90 by the fifth and graduate by the 6th, here I am entering my 8th semester still struggling to finish my last 6 credits.   So, what went different? Not much really. This incident happened and it made me feel financially very insecure. I took a student job as a developer, a job as a tutor and I already had another job where I was working. I started 2 (credit providing academic) projects because I felt I am Superman. I was fairly new to the job as a developer and it took slightly more than what I was paid for. I really wanted to be a great tutor and I am not sure how much time I had put in, but it definitely was a lot. But, it gave me a lot of mental peace though! Both the projects suffered because I could not do more than literature review very diligently. After the fifth semester somehow completed, the world was in the grip of the pandemic. The contracts for the 3 jobs eventually came to an end. I started one job as a research assistant (for 80 hours a month), at a research institute. Why? Because I was still financially insecure and if not Superman, I believed I am a confident human. I was definitely not a Superman and that lingering confidence, as I know now, was a little overstated. We kept discussing the pandemic and worrying about things, not in our control, and I did not even realize how the 6th semester passed. July was a wake-up call. The teammates of one of the projects were very cooperative and we prepared as if we were preparing for war. If getting the highest grade makes it a win, then we won. We could not pull the other off, it faltered and was later scrapped. By the end of my 6th semester, I had completed 85 credits. Prof. DeLuca, Sabine Wehnert, Venkatesh Murugadas, Sachin Nandakumar, Anirban Saha (me). Photographed after the project presentation. I was still cool because I thought I could do one course. I was offered a thesis at my workplace, which I had accepted because I, somewhat, liked the topic. But then, soon I discovered that the course I wanted to take isn't offered anymore and the fallback option isn’t an option because it offers fewer credits now. I had to take Bayesian Networks (that's a course name) and anyone who knows me, and knows the course content, might just know that I don't love it. At the workplace, although I was growing fond of the thesis topic, I started getting a little uncomfortable around the people I was made to work with. Maybe they are great people and that is how they work, but somehow it did not really work with me. I am not sure if they were fond of me as well. It was getting a little toxic and I wanted to take a step back. It meant having wasted a minimum of 3 months' effort and I had to be okay with it. I was offered another topic. I thought things would change. It didn’t and I had a meltdown during a meeting. It was unprofessional of me but was necessary for me to calm down. Then I took the mandatory month-long vacation and voila, it’s a brand new year 2021! My exams are postponed because Germany is in lockdown. I do not want to do the second thesis topic I have because I feel it is not worth it. Does that mean it’s wasting around 2 more months of effort? Yes. Am I okay with it? No.   Well, the last paragraph sounded negative. Was it all negative? To look at the brighter side, I learnt a lot of other things while working on the two prospective thesis topics. It gave me an opportunity to explore question-answering systems and I would be grateful to my immediate supervisor for allowing me that. I could improve upon my coding skills, both in Java and in Python. At GEI, one of my colleagues and supervisor is Christian Scheel. He is a gem of a person and I love working with him. He is calm, smiling and I could speak very openly to him without the fear of being judged. Besides that, I have overcome the fear of writing deep learning programmes. I did five courses on Coursera on NLP and Deep Learning, and I practised as much as I could. This phase, although should technically be regarded as a wastage of my time, is slightly more than that. It was a little enriching. Also, please read the next paragraph! While all of these were happening, somewhere up there the Almighty was looking at things and smiling. Something magical happened. I was trying to get another student job because I still am a little insecure, financially. I have always lived a financially secure life with various layers of fallback savings. But when you save in Indian Rupees and spend in Euros, life looks a little different. I have never lived like this before. So yea, I reached out to a friend who reviewed my resume and got me in touch with another friend of his. His friend is basically of my age and from the city, I come from. While he couldn’t offer me a job, he liked my resume and asked me if I would be interested to work on a possible thesis. That discussion was followed by at least two long conversations with him and one short conversation with his colleague. I approached Prof. Spiliopoulou who very kindly agreed to supervise my thesis. My friend Vishnu, who is also a Ph. D. student working with Prof. Spiliopoulou, also wanted to supervise me because he found the topic very interesting. So it all added up. Does that mean it is a happy ending? Not yet.   Like I mentioned, the exams are postponed again till March 23rd. The results should be out the month next, which technically enters my 8th semester. My back is against the wall when it comes to the thesis but at least now, I have people whose working styles I am familiar with. The silver lining, huh? If I publish this blog post then it should be 17 February and it is safe to assume that the meeting with at least three of my supervisors has gone well. So what's my thesis about? I am glad you asked. While I do not have the exact research question yet, I could tell a little about it. I would be doing it at the Hasso-Platner Institüt, Potsdam in Prof. Böttinger's group. It explores the possibility of predicting preventive diseases from the text sourced from clinical notes. The data comes from Mount Sinai of New York, with whom the institute is in a collaboration with. There are still issues, mostly with my finances. But the other issues that I was facing specially with my infrastructure, is now taken care of. I have a phone, a new laptop and an internet connection that works, doesn't stop/crash (yet) suddenly. I know a bit of German and can navigate my way through the bureaucracy. So yea. --- - Published: 2020-09-08 - Modified: 2021-01-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-in-light/ - Categories: Random notes When our eyes dazzled at the spectacle that the "Festival of Lights, Berlin" was, little did we know that, during the 500th year of the completion of the Magdeburger Dom (Magdeburg Cathedral), we would have "Magdeburg in Light", a similar 3D projection mapping festival here, in Magdeburg! Just, instead of the Brandenburger Tor , it's going to be the iconic Magdeburg Cathedral! Trial of Magdeburg in Light. Photograph courtesy: Magdeburg in Light. Interested? Here are the details: Duration: September 27, 2020 till October 5, 2020 (5 AM).  Ticket price for adults: 0€ Tickets available at the following places from September 14, 2020, from 9 a. m. : - Offline at Volksstimme office -  Online at Bieber ticket. For Stefan, the founder of “VISUALIMPRESSION”, the organizer of Magdeburg in Light, the enormity of the Cathedral was just enough to overwhelm him the first time he visited the place. After organizing beamer festivals in other cities , it’s just the right time to do something on a structure as mammoth as the Magdeburger Dom. “The idea of it is around 10 years old. It took 10 years to be technically, organisationally, and financially ready to use the cathedral as the screen! ”, quipped Stefan.   While in conversation, he mentioned that while during the first part of the event, from 27th September till the 28th ,  the history of the cathedral is told artistically on the west façade, the second part of the event from 1st October, it would be an abstract presentation.   The central theme of the abstract presentation is  “Development of Human life” . I wondered that it must be a little difficult with the intricate designs on the wall of the Dom. “Well, it is. When we try to do something like this, we need to consider a lot of factors like how many windows there are, closed surfaces, the area, the structure of the façade”, Stefan responded.   “In the first part, from 27th September till the 28th, the history of the cathedral is told artistically on the west façade. Various graphic 3D technologies are used. Among others, classic key animation, but also fluid simulations and physical scattering technologies. In the second part, i. e. 1st October till the 4th, no concrete story can be told on the north side (Domplatz) due to the many window areas, the beamer light can only be made very faintly visible on glass. Therefore we play with music and abstract elements on the north side. The theme of development of human life is pretty abstract and gives us the freedom to be purely abstract and play around a bit. Within this theme, we developed scenes, for example, childhood, puberty etc. If we have a lot of closed surfaces I can tell more figuratively, with concrete forms and objects, that is why we have chosen to tell the history of the Cathedral on the west façade. On the north side, because of the many windows, projections and recesses and the few closed/smooth facades”, explained Stefan.   North face of the Magdeburger Dom during a trial | Photograph courtesy: Magdeburg in Light. “Would an international student be able to enjoy this event with limited knowledge of the German language? What would be their takeaway? ”  “No spoken language is used at all.   Our language is universal, international because it is purely visual/musical. The visitor will experience an event in Magdeburg that offers a unique mix of history and high-end beamer festival. This would be a very special experience, only be available in Magdeburg and this is exactly what the visitor will take with him. ”  I shot my next question to him about the health concerns during the pandemic and how he was ensuring the safety of the visitors. “Unfortunately due to the pandemic situation, large areas would be fenced and we have limited seats. We would have to have ticketed entries. Should there be a cost involved, it would be made public in advance”. “Would there be student discounts? ”, I scratched my head thinking how much it would cost. “Should there be a cost, yes there would be a student discount! ”. Sigh!   There’s a lot of things going on in Magdeburg. One such is bidding in international forums to become the European Capital of Culture in 2025. It is shortlisted in top 4 in Germany and the hopes of it becoming the cultural capital is pretty high. This year also marks the 500 years of completion of the Magdeburg Cathedral (Magdeburg Dom) which is the oldest Gothic structure in Germany. The Cathedral has always fascinated me since the first time I went inside it. Above all, there are enough investments in the region and the city is more vibrant now than it was 3 years ago when I came to Magdeburg. I wondered, with events like this, how is Magdeburg positioning itself on the international map. Stefan shared his insight into this, saying that the event is strongly positioned in the sequence of events that should open Magdeburg to the international audience. To quote his response, “the event sets new technological standards and combines culture, art and music with international DJs and mapping artists. A first step towards the development of a lighthouse effect, a mapping scene and the internationalisation of Magdeburg”.   I’m really looking forward to this event! And  I would wish every one of you, reading this, would buy a ticket and come to this event , witness this, experience this. In a way, assist Magdeburg, get on the map. I’m sure this is going to be something unique.   Disclaimers: I am not paid to write this article. I would like to thank Mr. Stefan Haberkorn (Founder, Visual Impression) for taking his time out to respond to my questions. I would like to thank Carl Stermann-Lücke for his assistance to translate my thoughts to German and Stefan’s response to English! This blog post is a reconstruction of an interview from a series of email exchanges between me and Stefan.   https://festival-of-lights. de/en/  https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=ArHejB5KQIg  https://www. visualimpression. de/3d-visualisierung/videomapping-projection/#mapping-11 --- - Published: 2020-08-10 - Modified: 2020-08-11 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/storchenhof-loburg/ - Categories: Birding, Birding near Magdeburg, Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: birding near Magdeburg White Storks at Storchenhof, Loburg near Magdeburg | 2020 Storchenhof, Loburg Loburg is a small township near Magdeburg, around half an hour bus ride from Opernhaus, the nearest bus stop to my home. One place there, significant enough to find a place on a Saxony-Anhalt tourism website is Storchenhof Vogelschutzwarte Loburg e. V. If you would need a little personal context, please click on the button below, else just keep reading ahead! ContextI desperately needed a break, Madhu was preparing for his project presentation and Carl finished his Master Thesis defence. Carl knows I do bird photography and he has the tourism website and he asked me, “Do you want to be kissed by Ostriches? ” and pointed to the line in German, “Wo kann ich einen Strauß küssen? ”. “Why not? ”, I answered, sounding not very confident. After a very brief pause, Carl mentioned “... and we could also go and watch the Storks grow! ” pointing at the next item on the list, which in English would read, “Where can I watch storks grow? ”. I wasn’t very sure if Madhu would enjoy this. Half heartedly but wearing a confident look, I mentioned, “Yea! What would the budget be like? ”. Carl calculated and mentioned that should we have a 5-member-group, it should not be more than 11€ plus food. It was sorted. The next Friday, I met Aman and Aman asked his friends and we were a 11-member group already! Storchenhof Vogelschutzwarte loburg e. V is a non-profit organisation, funded by the Government in Germany where Dr Michael Kaatz and his team have developed a rehabilitation and conservation centre for birds, mainly the storks. He is a very passionate man and he took us around, explaining in English the various stories about the storks, their migration and their behaviour.   All of us with Dr Kaatz in front of a stork home on display. Storchenhof, Loburg. White Stork in his home at the conservation center (Storchenhof, Loburg)| 2020 White Stork Portrait at Storchenhof, Loburg | 2020 There are mainly white storks in the conservation centre. A few of them were caged but mostly all are free. Their homes have cameras and are under observation for studying. There is a Black Stork, something which I had not seen before. He had a broken leg when it was taken to this centre. In a couple of weeks, the storks would start migrating down south. Dr Kaatz, in his talk, would mention “Princess”, a very special stork who was there at the conservation centre and later he tracked while she migrated from Germany to South Africa. I would not give too many details because you should go there and listen to the story yourself! It is however on the website, so if you would like to know more, you can read it here. Whether or not you are uninitiated to the animal kingdom, the story would amuse you. Another story that he would mention is of “Asklepios”, a stork whose egg was recovered by cutting open the belly of the dead mother. It was incubated by a turkey and was born healthy. This story could also be found in the news by MDR. Trivia about the name:“Asklepios” derives its name from Greek name “Asclepius”, the son of Apollo and a mortal lady who wasn’t very faithful to Apollo, thus killed. While she was on the funeral pyre, Apollo rescued the child by cutting open her womb. You can find the Greek story on Wikipedia. Black Stork. As per the Merlin app, this is an uncommon bird in the region. We do not find this in India as well and the conservation status, as mentioned on Wikipedia is "Least Concern", so I believe there are plenty of them everywhere else :D Swan Goose at the conservation centre. Globally, it’s status is marked as “threatened” and is rare to spot in this region. It is native to Mongolia, Northern part of China and South of Russia. Link: Wikipedia. Apart from the Storks, you would find a variety of birds which are fairly uncommon. Albeit, the Black Stork is uncommon. The Swan-Geese are rare but you can find them in this conservation centre. There are other common birds which are orphaned and young or injured and recovering in this conservation centre. The Red Kite is common in this region, however, I could not spot one in the main city of Magdeburg. Of the total population of Red Kites in the world, around half of it is found in Saxony-Anhalt. The conservation status of this species as per Wikipedia is "Near threatened". There was an incredibly young Magpie. It opened its mouth each time I went near it. I took a couple of moments to realize, it was hungry. Soon after, a person came and spoon-fed it. In case you are around Magdeburg / Germany reading this and are interested in birds, please go visit this place. Not only birds, but it is also a pleasure meeting and interacting with Dr Kaatz. Our next destination was the Sraussenland Nedlitz. Straussenland Nedlitz The Ostrich sees a miniature ostrich in a 3-year-old's hand. Young Ostrich in the farm. Ostriches near the boundary interacting with the human beings! The male Ostrich which followed me when I walked down the boundary of his territory. "Straussenland" or the country of the Ostriches is situated near Nedlitz which is closer to Magdeburg and on the way back from Loburg. We visited this place and I must tell you it is pretty amusing for those who are uninitiated to the animal world. The common Ostriches which are native to Africa can be seen, interacted with and even touched just around Magdeburg! There is a lady guide who would explain to you how the farm is organised, with the infant Ostriches in one segment, the young ostriches in another, another segment with female ostriches and finally at the end one family of Ostrich with one male and three female Ostrich. The amusing stories include how one female Ostrich does not know she is the most favourite wife of the otherwise very flamboyant male Ostrich. You could see an Ostrich bone, an egg and eggshells. Outside the farm is a restaurant where you could eat an Ostrich egg omelette, along with other things. I am not sure if I had appreciated being in that space. The setup was pretty synthetic and is not a simulation of their natural habitat. I have photographed birds in the open, in bird sanctuaries mainly. It felt a little weird. But if you are interested, you should definitely visit this place! It's a good place to start interacting with birds! This is the link to Straussenland Nedlitz. Birding in Magdeburg (update) I've come across NABU Magdeburg chapter, who have made specific projects for the Peregrine Falcon, the Lesser Kestrels and the Owls in Magdeburg. I also need to mention the beautiful small mobile phone application called "BirdNet", which you can use to identify birds by recording their calls! Let's get back to birding in Magdeburg. You can check the first three blog posts on birding in Magdeburg here. During my recent morning walks, I spotted a Nightingale bird near Neustadter Feld. I also saw a different kind of crow that day, which was later identified as Hooded Crow. Common Nightingale bird in Magdeburg | 2020 Hooded Crow in Magdeburg | 2020 Very recently a lot of Common Kestrels came back to my backyard and there was a minor event which I would like to believe was some sort of a territorial fight. I am not knowledgeable enough to know what it was, but there were clearly two sets of kestrels fighting each other. I could only photograph the last couple of minutes. I'll share a couple of photographs for you! Common Kestrel (female) on the top of the building across the road | 2020 Common Kestrel overseeing other birds on the other side | 2020 Watching birds is not just an amusement, it is peaceful. While I am yet to find another person nearby with whom I could go out and photograph birds, I am happy that my friend Carl takes care of my interests for at least weekend day trips! Madhu understands that bird photography is important for me, so he is with me. Surprisingly, Aman and a few other friends also took interest in the day trip to the stork conservation centre and the Ostrich farm! The entire day trip made me very happy. And on this happy note, I take your leave. The group photograph sans Carl. I have no clue why he was missing! --- - Published: 2020-06-22 - Modified: 2020-06-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/birding-in-magdeburg-3/ - Categories: Birding, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Random notes - Tags: Common birds in Germany, Common birds in Magdeburg, Common birds in Saxony Anhalt Blue tits in my backyard | www. anirbansaha. com After the first and the second blog post on birding in Magdeburg, this is my third and maybe the last birding blog post of Magdeburg. This year, I planned to venture out of Magdeburg to different parts of Saxony-Anhalt state and maybe, in different parts of Germany. But it did not happen because there’s a pandemic outbreak in the world and we are all in our homes, leaving the birds at peace with themselves!   So! What’s new? - There are guides like this, and more groups like this, where you could talk about birding in Germany, and websites like birdingplaces. eu where you could contribute your birding place information and photographs; the more the people join in, the richer the website becomes. In case you go to a place, photograph a bird and do not know the bird ID, use an application like Merlin (The Cornell Lab) to find the bird species. Works like a charm! Also, this site gives a broader overview of the birds you can find in Germany!   I realised when I started drafting this blog post, I have photographed 33 species of birds in Magdeburg. Since I need to write at least 300 words and this is the 202nd word, let’s see what I can write about!   Marientempel im Rotehorm Park | Magdeburg 2020 There’s Rotehorn Park across the river Elbe, which is really large and even if not for birding, that should be a place everyone should go and spend some lazy time, maybe on a Sunday. For birders, it is an additional treat: there are water bodies, small bridges, trees with low hanging branches and it’s vast. I’ve photographed a Eurasian Nuthatch and the Common Chiffchaff in Rotehorn Park.   Common Chiffchaff | Rotehorn Park, Magdeburg 2020 Mute Swan | Neustadter See, Magdeburg I wondered why a “mute swan” is called mute. Later I found out that it’s less vocal than the other swans.   Black Redstart in my backyard! Long Tailed Tit in my backyard! While tits (birds) are cute in general, long-tailed tits are cuter to look at and their call makes them very distinctive. Here’s a little trivia (but without photograph), a special type of long-tailed tits, called “Shima Enaga", is found only in the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It’s white, fluffy and super cute. You might find some interesting shots of this bird here. Talking about cuteness, let me advertise a website for free! This website creates really adorable bird cartoons for print on mugs, t-shirts etc. The cartoons are super cute and there are free downloadables also, which you might find interesting, especially if you have a kid to take care of. Hahaha.   Great Spotted WoodPecker | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Great Spotted Wood Pecker | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Great Spotted Wood Pecker | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Nord Park is a really special place. It's a comparatively small park and is one of the few places I explored when I was just new in Magdeburg. I've been to Nord Park at during really odd hours; during sun rise to see birds or with Madhu and a couple of friends at after 2 am to see if there are ghosts! Nord Park during early mornings is a really cozy place. There are the old men and women doing their morning walk, the starlings sitting on the top chirping. Smaller birds hide somewhere behind the bushes but you can spot them once you in front of them for some time. If there is a woodpecker you can distinctly hear them and after a little effort you can spot them as well. But if there are very high up, which often they are, your neck might pain. Eurasian Linnet Male | Neustadter See, Magdeburg. Neustadter See is a place where you can hear birds but not see them. Except of course if they are the big ones like the swans and the ducks, or the wagtails who would come right in front of you to check you out. :D Now I can identify finches by the shape of their beak and general appearance. The name "Linnet" is new to me; I wasn't surprised that this is one kind of the finches. Dunlin | Near Dom, Magdeburg, 2019 Black Headed Gull and maybe a Common Gull | Neustadter See, Magdeburg 2019 On the right, Merlin app says it's a Caspian Gull. I'll play safe by calling it the European Herring Gull. On the right, it's a hanging dead body of another gull. The alive one maybe, was grieving. It stood there still for as long as we were standing there. Eurasian Nuthatch | Rotehorn Park, Magdeburg 2020 Eurasian Nuthatch | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Chaffinch near the Askanischerplatz Magdeburg 2020. Common Redstart Female | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Common Redstart Male | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Common Redstart Male | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020 Common Redstart Female | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2020. I would like to add two more photographs which I took near Magdeburg. While the photographs are taken near Magdeburg, I have spotted them in Magdeburg as well. One is that of a Blue Jay and the other of a Jackdaw. Blue Jay | Wernigerode 2020 Jackdaw | Near Magdeburg towards Wernigerode, 2019 Without the Blue Jay and the Jackdaw, I've photographed 34 species of birds in Magdeburg. With the two, it sums up to 36. That's more than 10% of the birds you can find in entire Germany! While it makes me feel good, I should take this opportunity to thank Souranil one more time for introducing me to birding. Birding calms me down when practically nothing else does. With two seemingly never-ending projects, a state of almost absolute bankruptcy, a residence permit which should come to an end soon, and no visible thesis topic in the near future, everything in my life is what I would colloquially say, "fucked up". But watching birds always bring a smile on my face, it also helps me get up in the morning and go for a walk. I hardly carry my birding lens because it's heavy and carrying it for a long time pains my neck, shoulders and my back. So yea :D If everything goes well, I should be starting with my thesis soon. And I might not be very adventurous during my thesis phase! I do not expect to see newer species in the usual places that I go to. By the time my thesis ends, it should be a little tough time for birding and maybe I move out of Magdeburg. So in all probability, this is the last blog post on "Birding in Magdeburg". --- - Published: 2020-06-19 - Modified: 2021-02-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-life-beyond-studies-3-pandemic-md2025/ - Categories: Germany, Random notes, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: life beyond studies, madhu kiran reddy thatikonda, Magdeburg, Magdeburg 2025, origami, Social Media Meetup The moment you think you have a hold over life, life laughs back at you. “Gotcha! ”.   After this incident, I was trying to earn some money. By the time one of the multinationals responded with an affirmative, I had already three jobs and two projects. It’s practically not feasible and it did not take me much time to realise it. I needed a job with an 80 hours contract and on a domain where I would like to have my master thesis. After a really brief hunt, I was plain lucky to be offered a role by Prof. E. Deluca at the Georg Eckert Institut, Braunschweig.   But a day after my first meeting with my new team, Braunschweig had its first cases of Coronavirus and we’re asked to work from home. Anyway we were scheduled to meet at Braunschweig once every couple of weeks. But the little that should have happened, couldn’t.   The pace of life was slowing down. I was quick to realise I needed a little more discipline to get all the things done. If each day I could tick a few off from my To-Do list, a lot more were getting added. It was stressful not only because of the pandemic or because of my new role and new technologies which I had to work with Or it wasn’t stressful just because I was scaringly low on the bank balance. It was a mixture of everything and waking up to an increasing number of cases, reported deaths and the ambience of fear. Add to it, the fear at the back of my head about my parents back home; while the actions of the state government (Bengal) were somewhat reassuring, absolutely nothing else was. The entire combination of all these was a little too much to process inside the head. But this time also gave me newer opportunities to find myself. I remembered I loved origami as a child, perhaps without knowing what exactly origami was. I was the younger of two siblings and my elder sister learnt from her friend how to make flowers and frogs by folding paper sheets. It was new, interesting so I liked it. After years, I had fun making things out of paper at a Christmas party in Magdeburg. The children’s section did not really have children. Instead it had this thirty-year old man cutting papers into flowers and Christmas trees. I came back home and searched more on the internet. Creating birds, flowers, butterflies made me happy. Simple happiness, you see!   Birds and really out of focus butterflies. The evenings are specially spectacular and the birds are a nice addition. That's a part of my room. Study desk to the right, a board with a lot of photos to the left. Well there are more. I'd not put them up on the blog. Ugh. During March last year, I was introduced to Magdeburg 2025. While our first interaction was a little awkward (I had broken my eye-glasses and could hardly see a thing), we stayed in touch. This February, I proposed an event around social media, more around blogging and story building around Magdeburg. At the onset of the pandemic, I realised we could not make what exactly I proposed, we stayed in touch. During the pandemic, the officer there wanted to know if it would be a good idea to create stories around people for a campaign around “#StayAtHome”, similar to a NYPost’s campaign to contribute to “Europe at Home” project initiated by another city Faro. I really liked the idea. The officer made it happen and somehow a couple of my friends and I got roped in! I’m not sure of the impact this campaign had, but Madhu and I have a nice different photograph together. I realise I really do not have photographs with any of my close friends. At a certain point in time, I never thought anyone would ever leave Calcutta and I had always been behind the lens. Now everyone has left Calcutta and I am not sure when I would meet them. So any photograph with my now friends, matters. This definitely does! Thank you Magdeburg 2025.   Photographed by Mathias Sasse using his drone. We were pretty amused. Then we said a "Hi" to each other from our windows. Notice the paper birds in my background. Zooming in to show the paper birds! In another conversation, the officer proposed a social media meetup, very loosely based on what I proposed. Even during the pandemic, the office worked towards creating an event “Social Media Meetup #MD2025” and planned it on 19 June 2020, which is the “Digital Day (DigitalTag)” for Europe. The event was organised in association with the ministry of tourism, ministry of economy science and digitalisation, ministry of regional cooperation, MDCC. I was invited as a speaker. It was funny because I was the only non-German speaker in the 7 hour-long events. I felt privileged nevertheless. I felt a little happy to see the event listed on the homepage of DigitalTag! I must mention that I do miss the days when Kolkata Bloggers existed and I miss my team. The last three years have been very new and very different from what I had been. While I do believe that it is for the better, I do miss it at times! Social Media Meetup #MD2025Social Media Meetup #MD2025 Wie digital ist #Magdeburg? Das Bewerbungsbüro Magdeburg 2025 fragt am #Digitaltag20 nach! Viel Spaß! Posted by Magdeburg 2025 on Friday, June 19, 2020 Life during a pandemic definitely feels stuck, but Magdeburg and its people offer you something to cheer about even during these times. It could be people maintaining “social distancing” and partying in the park, or getting together to fill designated public spaces with art. Very recently Madhu, Indranil and I went out to hunt for ice creams. There was no other intent. We walked, saw people around, went to ice cream shops (plural), bought ice creams, had ice creams, and came back. Trust me, this simple exercise made me so happy! Also, I’ve resumed my morning walks and bird watching. It’s perhaps the most refreshing two hours each day can offer me. Let me end this post abruptly, because why not? Let me know what you would like to read in “Magdeburg: Life beyond studies (4)”. Be aware that now I am not really expected to do anything except eating, sleeping, pooping and working on my thesis. Drop me a personal text.   --- - Published: 2020-04-13 - Modified: 2020-04-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/germany-during-covid-times/ - Categories: Germany, Random notes, Student life at Magdeburg! It was during the time of the US President’s India visit, the German media and my social media newsfeed were rife with news and awareness campaigns about Coronavirus. Not that they did not know about corona but with the two world leaders hugging, the virus was the last thing most Indian media wanted to talk about.   The first case of Corona in Germany was recorded on January 28th. Proactive measures taken by the authorities kept the number of cases contained until it finally exploded towards the end of February. As the numbers grew in Germany and around, in Italy, Spain and France, the Government slowly made policies requesting major events and public places to close down. Saxony-Anhalt, the state where I live, was the last to register the first case of Corona. Naturally, it didn’t feel like an immediate threat till suddenly there were a few cases. The next day, WHO declared it as a pandemic, and the day after that, the local state government closed down the university and advised social isolation. We obliged. Reading the news is one of the earliest habits I was made to develop. It remains when I’m in my early thirties - about four and a half thousand miles away from Calcutta, studying a fancy masters course at a German university. While sipping my morning tea, the news creates a world I would like to imagine, believe and live in. Especially when in isolation during the COVID-19 times.   We are a democracy. We thrive not because we are forced to do something, but because we share knowledge and encourage active participation. This is a historic task, and it can only be mastered if we face it together. Angela Merkel (link) While the number of cases was rising exponentially in different parts of Germany, the government continued with its resolve of not imposing a country-wide lockdown. However, with the number of cases rising, it closed the borders with the neighbours. Locked down the states of Bavaria and Saarland. Further, it put restrictions on movement in groups of more than two and requested non-essential shops to stay/remain closed. To this day, the medical shops, supermarkets are open. As I write this today, there are over one lakh twenty-five cases and over three thousand deaths in Germany. Things were evolving differently in India. In parts of Bengal, there were hints that the virus might spread. Italian, Thai, Australian, Malaysian tourists tested  Covid19-positive in Mayapur and a Saudi returnee died of suspected COVID-19 symptoms in Murshidabad. It got me worried because I have my parents, both senior citizens in Calcutta. While my logical self wished the politicians spoke about ramping up infrastructure and announcing policies to face the pandemic, my other self kept secretly praying for their well-being. While the first address of the Indian Prime Minister wasn’t very reassuring, the country eventually went to a lockdown on a four-hour notice. The State Government of Bengal showed some promise. As I write this, I know that vegetable vendors come to my neighbourhood every alternate day and my parents have stock. India now has over nine thousand registered cases with over three hundred officially dead.   As an Indian student in Germany, I can not but notice the difference in which the two countries have approached the pandemic; something which I find is hardly discussed. While both countries registered their first cases at around the same time, Germany resorted to awareness campaigns almost immediately while India was busy welcoming Trump and discussing Delhi riots. Germany had a structured approach where they carried out awareness campaigns first, followed by relief measures like 50B Euros for small businesses, freelancers and artists, an additional 1. 1 Trillion Euros for other businesses. Now five lakh tests are being done in a week and by the end of this month, two lakh tests would be done in a day. Not all people abide by the guidelines but still, a majority of people contacted by the University of Mannheim for a survey expressed that they do not support action as harsh as a complete lockdown. As I write this, a sufficient amount of tests have not been done in India, yet.   Merkel took the pragmatic approach and mentioned that a majority of the population would contract the virus. In a nation like India, it was assumed this approach would not work. Modi tried to engage the audience and keep their morale boosted with simple tasks like clapping at 5 pm for 5 minutes or light a candle for 9 minutes after 9 pm; small exercises to keep the nation together. Germany chose to appeal to the logic in people, India chose to appeal to the emotions. There have always been issues where just emotions were invoked instead of general sense and we saw how specific sections in the Indian society organised a cow-urine party, came out in numbers flouting social distancing guidelines to clang any two objects they could lay their hands on, to the extent of giving communal angle to certain incidents. Unfortunate that it happened, but it’s a part of the package that the human society is. I’m sure a few things could have been avoided, like the death of the migrant workers while they tried going back to their homes. Everything in that episode, from their queueing up for a bus or walking back home to either dying on the road or being disinfected, hurt me somewhere very deep inside, especially when I am used to seeing people irrespective of their profession here, leading a dignified life, their children getting an education at par with the rest. Incidents like this, highlight the differences between the cultures pretty harshly.   We might never wish to compare these vastly different countries but what’s similar and inspiring is how people have gone ahead of themselves in these trying times; not just doctors, nurses, sanitation workers but others who are volunteering in different organisations. We can only pray that the number of corona-patients, saturates some time soon and normal life, as we know it, is restored. These COVID times, however, have important lessons to teach. Acknowledgement: Aniesha Brahma for proof-reading this article. Indranil Maji for discussing this before I made the draft. --- - Published: 2020-03-23 - Modified: 2020-03-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/is-germany-going-to-be-the-next-italy/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: coronavirus, coronavirus germany, exploratory analysis on coronavirus dataset Contributors: Anirban Saha, Chirag Mandal, Indranil Maji.   Please note: This is a developing story. In case if you do not understand any point or have a feedback to give, just send me an email at mailme@anirbansaha. com The Text is updated on 22. 03. 2020. The graphs are dynamically updated. In the previous blog post, we explored the data related to covid19 infected cases in Saxony-Anhalt with respect to the rest of Germany. While the data recorded for Saxony-Anhalt shows a little comforting trend albeit with its fewer numbers, exploring the numbers for Germany, as a whole, is slightly discomforting.   Sayon Saha (data scientist, Trivago) in his blog post posed a question: “Is Germany enforcing enough laws? Crossing 10,000 exponentially? ” And my friend asked, “Why not compare the trend with that of Italy? ” What that conversation led to, is a tale of serious concern. As we write this blog post, we received the news of a nationwide pseudo-lock-down in Germany. Be aware that there are more layers to reading just data and there would be questions. As a student of data science, I am heavily depending on the data available on sites like Worldometer and Berlin MorgenPost, and this is a simplistic representation. The scope of this blog post is limited to comprehending data at the national level. Comparing the growth of the number of covid19 infected people Graph 1 Graph 1 shows the growth of the number of cases of Covid19 infected persons in the countries of Italy, Spain, and China. While Germany touched 15,000 cases on 19. 03. 2020, Italy, Spain, and China touched the mark on 12. 03. 2020, 17. 03. 2020 and 01. 02. 2020 respectively. The growths are very similar in nature with similar Growth Factor. A “Growth Factor” is an indicator of how soon the growth might slow down. Once it stabilizes at 1, that can be considered as the inflection point and after that, a consistent slowdown can be expected. However, the Growth Factor in Germany does not seem to promise that any time soon. Graph 2 compares the Growth Factor between the countries, while Graph 3 shows the Growth Factor of Covid19 infected cases in Germany since the start of the Covid times. Graph 2 Graph 3 It is wise to assume, for now, that the numbers from Germany would only increase. But to say that it is going to be next Italy would be naive and shouldn’t be done as of now. “Italy” is a term that symbolizes death and catastrophe during the Covid times. And the number of deaths in Germany due to Coronavirus has been very low. That keeps our hopes alive for now. While there can be a similarity in the growth of numbers between Germany and other countries we compared it with, there is more to it. The spread of the Covid infection depends on societal factors and policy decisions, whereas the fatality of it depends on the age of the patients and the health infrastructure of the other factors. In the following section we would list down the policy measures taken by the German Government in the last week: 16. 03. 2020: Partially closed borders with neighbors (France, Austria, Luxembourg & Denmark)17. 03. 2020: Gatherings with over 50 expected participants were prohibited. Thus the clubs, discos, trade fairs, exhibitions, concerts, to mention a few, were canceled. 19. 03. 2020: Holiday homes, hostels, hotels to not accept foreign tourists. 21. 03. 2020: States of Saarland and Bavaria instituted a lockdown. 23. 03. 2020: Gathering of more than two is not permitted, people are expected to get out of their home if and only if it is very required. One might argue that the policies came a little late. But in a democracy like that of Germany, people are taken into confidence through dialogue, information exchange, awareness creation and convincing, rather than imposing. Virtuous, but it makes the process a little slow. We are a democracy. We thrive not because we are forced to do something, but because we share knowledge and encourage active participation. This is a historic task, and it can only be mastered if we face it together. Federal Chancellor Merkel While the policies might not be able to contain the numbers in the immediate future, it's infrastructure can. In the following paragraph, what we try to explore and present is a correlation study between 26 countries and their related statistics. Infrastructure is the key. We selected the 26 countries affected by Covid19 infections and has the highest number of deaths, and tried comparing them in a table. If you would be interested to see the data table, click on the button below. Click here for the data table. We tried to relate the already existing infrastructure with the number of infected cases and the deaths. Since the fatality rate of Covid19 infected patients is higher for old people, we wanted to compare with the median age of the country as well. We oversimplified and chose parameters that are indicative of what they represent and are intuitive. We took the number of hospital beds per 1000 residents (infrastructure) (HB), infected cases per 1 million population (spread of infection) (Cases/M), median age (age of the population), death/1000 cases (health care system)(Deaths/T). We broke the values corresponding to each of the parameters into five categories: Very Low to Very High and marked them with a darker shade of green to the darker shade of red denoting what's most desirable to what's least. Based on the data we currently have, we have the following observations: Better existing infrastructure (HB), more or less corresponds to lesser Deaths/T. (There are exceptions to this statement. ) Higher spread across the population (cases/M) correlates with a higher median age of the population. This might suggest that the older the population, the more easily this disease spreads. Countries with a very old population are more likely to have more Deaths/T; unless they have very good infrastructure. However, we need to mention that when a young person contracts Coronavirus, s/he can exhibit very mild symptoms for some time and thus not be recorded data. So yea, although the spread of the Covid19 infection has been high due to a range of parameters like delay in policymaking and/or an aging population, the strength of Germany might just be in its robust and sure infrastructure. But this too shall have a counter-argument, for example: How long can the existing infrastructure sustain? Especially when not all states have an equal spread of the infection. With an exponential increase of this rate, the health infrastructure would, in theory, get saturated for specific states. Germany is giving it's best efforts to ramp up the infrastructure. But that's another story! In Conclusion... While the growth of the number of cases is worrisome, we might not want to jump to any conclusion at this moment. The infrastructure and preparedness remain the backbone of Germany and might prevent it from becoming the next Italy. However, this one week (starting 23. 03. 2020) would be very crucial. --- - Published: 2020-03-21 - Modified: 2020-04-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/covid19-cases-in-germany-saxony-anhalt-magdeburg-graphs-and-personal-shitposting/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: coronavirus, coronavirus germany, covid19 cases saxony anhalt, exploratory analysis on coronavirus dataset, Saxony Anhalt Click here before you read. Brainstormers: Anirban Saha, Indranil Maji, Chirag Mandal. This post is going to be updated regularly, the text in it too might change. This is in a blog post format, there might be citations missing or citations might be from non-scientific sources. This is a really part-time thing I am doing on a Saturday morning. It neither aims nor is it capable of being a scientific work. The graphics are updated regularly, the text is now. This post is too exploratory in nature. Please do not expect conclusive statements from this blog post. For now, if you would want to contribute, just drop me an email. My email address is mailme@anirbansaha. com Last updated on 20. 03. 2020 Before the first case in Saxony-Anhalt was reported, there was an awareness about the novel Coronavirus in Germany. The first case of a covid19 patient in Germany was reported on February 15, 2020. Since then, as of today, there are over 22,300 cases of covid19 infections in Germany, causing over 80 deaths. Updated: 21. 03. 2020 The first case of the novel coronavirus (covid19) was recorded in Saxony Anhalt on March 10, 2020. Since then, the number of cases has increased to over 250. The local state government has taken preemptive policy measures like closing the university, the non-essential shops, etc. Updated: 21. 03. 2020 Update: 24. 04. 2020 The number of cases in Saxony-Anhalt stands at 1440 (23. 04. 2020). The state is preparing to get back to normalcy. Masks are mandatory for people who are going out. Shops smaller than 800 sq. mt to open by the next week. It's a lovely spring and on ground, people are already out but maintaining social / physical distancing. The objective of this blog post is to explore the spread of covid19 patients detected in Saxony-Anhalt, with reference to the rest of Germany. There would be a little emphasis on cases in Magdeburg. Saxony-Anhalt might be a good case to explore because of the following reasons: It is the last state to record a covid19 virus-infected patient. Before the first case in the state was recorded, there was enough awareness about WHO guidelines which includes "social isolation". The story is still developing and can be analyzed on the go. I live in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt. We have a set of basic assumptions as we attempt to explore this:  People with symptoms are tested at the clinics. The data is representative of reality.  There were reports in the German media mentioning Coronavirus, symptoms of the infection, preventive measures as prescribed by the World Health Organisation, social isolation by the time the first case of Coronavirus was detected in Saxony-Anhalt. Growth of Covid19 infected cases: Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 3 Information: The exponential model is trained with data until 20. 03. 2020. When we observe Graph 1, we see there is a slight deflection from the exponential curve. However, it might be naive to assume that it is slowing down right now. We see the growth of the number of covid19 infected patients in Germany (country) and Saxony-Anhalt (state) in Graph 1 and Graph 2. Let's see how quickly the numbers grew. Graph 4 Information: As I publish this post on 21. 03. 2020, the number of cases in Saxony Anhalt did not reach 300. We observe that at first, the covid19 cases were growing faster in the rest of Germany as compared to its growth in Saxony-Anhalt. This slow down could be attributed to any one or more than one of the following hypothesizes: Festivals like the Cologne carnival may have helped spike the growth of the covid19 cases in the rest of Germany. The population density in Nordrhein-Westfalen and other severely affected states is higher than Saxony-Anhalt, with major cities. They also border other countries. By the time the first case of Covid19 was recorded in Saxony-Anhalt, there was enough awareness of preventive measures. The local government thus could make the required policies swiftly. Table 1 Quick Question: Is there a direct correlation between the spread of the covid19 affected cases and the population density of a state? Intuitively the answer is yes! Because, the closer the people are together, the more are the chances of contamination. Population density is higher in cities and areas around the big cities. The data in Table 1 support the intuition. To gauge the spread, we are taking the number of cases per 1000 people living in that area. The values towards the higher end are given some red shade. The values towards the lower end are given some share of blue to easily notice. Why Saxony, Bavaria is not following the trend is out of the scope of this discussion. Updated: 21. 03. 2020 Coming back, the amount of data observations for Graph 3 is just too few. Although it is expected to be exponential growth, we might want to predict it using a straight line. It does not make sense and it's okay to be proven wrong later. Graph 5 New Covid19 infected cases per day Graph 6 Graph 7 Graph 8 The graphs are incomparable and that's for later. For now, let's explore something called the Growth Factor. The Growth Factor is representative of how soon we can expect a slowdown in the rise of the curve. At an inflection point, the growth rate is constant at 1. Graph 9 Graph 10 Graph 11 This Growth Factor should be consistent at 1 for sometime before minimizing to 0 (a completely flattened curve). For Saxony-Anhalt, and the city of Magdeburg, we have too few data points. But this would be an interesting thing to notice in the future. Predicting the next values! One interesting aspect of the growth factor is this: the values follow a straight line before the curve finally flattens. I had previously observed this trend in the Saxony-Anhalt Data and made a prediction publicly here. Update: 24. 04. 2020 Graph 12 removed. Graph 13 added. Graph 13 Day 12 (Saxony-Anhalt), 21. 03. 2020: The number of covid19 infected patients reported in Saxony-Anhalt is 253. That fits the linear yellow line. Day 14, 22. 03. 2020: It has some growth upwards. It would be wise to keep this under observation for some time before forming an opinion about whether it is slowing down. While it is too early to comment on too few data points, it would be interesting to see if the curve flattens for Saxony-Anhalt. 24. 04. 2020: While the graph for Germany is flattening, I am not sure if I would like to make a similar statement for the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The numbers are comparatively lower but we should be cautious as the normal life resumes. Data Sources: Coronavirus data across the worldCoronavirus data of Germany (Morgenpost) Coronavirus data of Saxony Anhalt, district wise (source 1)Coronavirus data of Germany (Robert Koch-Institut) Coronavirus data of Saxony-Anhalt (gov)Germany state-wise population density --- - Published: 2020-02-25 - Modified: 2020-02-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hiwi-jobs-tutoring-ovgu-fin/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: datascience, datascience masters magdeburg, dke ovgu magdeburg, hiwi jobs magdeburg, hiwi jobs ovgu, jobs in magdeburg, tutoring jobs At the university, a student can either become a tutor or a HiWi (Hilfswissenschaftler (student assistant)). As a mentor, I receive queries related to HiWi jobs (& tutoring jobs) and I would turn this blog post into an opportunity of having a conversation with other students who had been a tutor before. Although majorly mistaken to be a HiWi, Tutoring does not form a part of “HiWi jobs”. In this blog post, we discuss tutoring jobs. There are different courses like “Vorlesung; Übung” (lecture, exercise classes), seminars and projects. Teaching Assistants or Tutors are needed for the former two. It appears like a little more responsibility than other HiWi jobs because what you say might impact students and the experience is rewarding as well.   The contributors to this section are:  Alishiba D’Souza was a tutor of Data Mining (2019), Advanced Database Management (2019), Bayes Network (2018), Data Management for Engineering Applications (2018)Shivani Jadhav is a tutor of Information Retrieval course (2019), Data Management for Engineering Applications (2019)Anirban Saha (yours truly) was a tutor of Machine Learning (2019)Madhuri Hebbale was a tutor of Data Mining 1 (2018), Database Concepts (2018), Distributed Database Management (2018). “If you are comfortable explaining a problem to a group of friends and if they can understand you well, you can become a tutor”, said Alishiba. While I nodded my head in some sort of an agreement, she continued, “. . you will just have a bigger group and maybe more questions”.   Yes! But if someone wants to be a tutor, what should his next steps be? Is it easy to become a tutor? What are the prerequisites? Information:“It will be  announced in the class ”, quipped Shivani while I remembered Prof. Spiliopoulou did exactly that during the last class of the Recommenders. She announced that she needed tutors for the data mining class and should we be interested, we should get in touch.   But not always, because Alishiba was directly contacted by the faculty of Bayes Network. I came to know about the Machine Learning tutoring position while in a conversation with the concerned Ph. D. student. If not that, there might be a notice on the door of the concerned faculty! One sure-shot way of knowing if there is any opportunity is to send an email to the concerned faculty and wait for a response.   Prerequisites:There definitely is a little competition. There are way more applicants than the number of available tutoring positions. We could agree upon at least one prerequisite like the applicant must have taken the course prior to applying for the tutoring role. But clearly there are exceptions to this rule. One being Madhuri, who was a tutor for Database Concepts but had previously not taken the course.  Better grades are a major plus, the ability to explain concepts correctly in one's own words is preferred . “It doesn’t mean that you should know everything about the course but you should know at least the majority of the course”, added Shivani. Trust is a major factor because you would be responsible for students. One way of creating trust is to do projects and a seminar with the concerned person. This way the faculty would know what you are capable of. "Recommendation works wonder! ", Madhuri chipped in, "I never had to apply for a position in the university because at first, my project supervisor recommended me and one thing led to another! " There would however be at least one round of interviews. Interview:For the data mining tutoring position, all students were given their unique time slots where they had to explain one common topic. During our time, it was Naive Bayes. It was a sort of role-playing where Prof. Spiliopoulou along with the Ph. D. students acted as the students, asking doubts and follow up questions. For the machine learning position, each student was given one topic each from their discomfort zone. Marcus knew I wasn’t very clear about Reinforcement Learning, thus, that was my topic. It was a similar role-play game where he was the student and he came up with all sorts of questions a student is capable of asking. For Information Retrieval, Shivani and other applicants were given a topic of their choice to explain in front of the faculty.   What’re your two tips for the students who are reading this?   “Spend the first few minutes discussing what was discussed earlier and how it is related to the topic to be discussed in the class, and mention what to expect from the day's session" - Madhuri“If you are becoming a tutor, never think you know it all. Even if you are a tutor you are still a student. Respect what others have to say. ” - Shivani. “It is okay if you do not know an answer to a query. Encourage the students to communicate with you beyond the classroom. I encouraged students to email me doubts as well. I could sit at peace, decide the answer, discuss with other faculty and then send a response. ” - Anirban. Madhuri very enthusiastically supports this! "Set the class decorum straight even when it looks silly" - Anirban and Madhuri, because once a student talked in Bangla with Anirban and once a student approached Madhuri in Kannada. (Be friendly, but follow ground rules. )"Don't be awkward, intimidated by someone's presence. Maybe take the initiative to break the ice, crack a joke and see if that helps", exclaimed Madhuri trying to sound extremely concerned. Unpaid Advertisement: If you are currently a student, you can check out more do’s and don’ts of the exercise classes in the video published by SI@FIN. So how was the experience of being a tutor? What is the tutor’s takeaway?   Takeaway:“I enjoyed it. There were moments when I felt too much pressure standing in front of the students. It is not difficult if you are well prepared for the exercises. It made me more confident in public speaking and much more aware of the problems students can face while studying. I did learn patience. ”, commented Alishiba while bursting into a brief fit of laughter! “It could help me get some new job opportunity or thesis. In short, it is definitely beneficial to strengthen my resume! ”, commented Shivani while adding, “. . also helped me understand the concepts better. Also, there were few instances where I had to correct my understanding of a particular concept”. "You know, you get so many perspectives and new questions, you start feeling a little weird and ask yourself why you had not asked them when you were a student. ", added Madhuri. Personally, I couldn’t agree more with that! In addition to that, I must admit, it was like taking the machine learning exam two times a week, twelve weeks in a row with over thirty examiners asking questions! I learnt very specific things like, where to draw the line between being a friend, a tutor and a mentor. Hey! I hope this blog post helped. Please drop a comment, share it with your friends at OVGU or in some other university. I should be making more such blog posts about HiWi jobs and student life in Magdeburg before I finish my studies here! --- - Published: 2020-01-06 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/elbe-sandstone-mountains-lilienstein-the-stone-bridge-of-bastei/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Travel, Travel Europe - Tags: bastei, bastei bridge, bastei stone bridge, lilienstein, short trips from magdeburg, weekend trips from magdeburg For a lot of young students who are into hiking, the Harz isn’t the only option that you have! The Elbe Sandstone mountain in Saxony, which is around four hours away from Magdeburg and a little more than half an hour from Dresden, could be the heaven you can explore. There are weirdly beautiful mountains, forests, Brookes, remains of a stone castle, a stone bridge and a setup that you would want if you are directing a horror movie. If you like adventure, just go for it!   Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Saxon-Switzerland, Germany | www. anirbansaha. com Click to know about the Elbe Sandstone Mountain: If you haven’t noticed in the photographs, the mountains are right-angled. Weird, isn’t it?   So, millions of years ago, after the era of dinosaurs, it used to be a sea and the deposits are done since then, even by the rivers flowing into it. Then there were tectonic movements, the details of which I am not interested in, that made these beautifully weird looking mountains. But you can find more information on Wikipedia! Saxony’s Switzerland - I haven’t been to Switzerland yet, but Bollywood gave me an impression that it is beautiful. So when my friend told me about Saxony’s Switzerland, I immediately knew it was going to be beautiful. Since I could not manage time to do any research, I did what I do, probably, best - outsource it to a bunch of friends who are into trekking. Soon there a group of six enthusiastic people, one Madhu, and one me, was formed. The next person to join was Venkatesh Murugadas (Venki), who had his birthday coinciding with the days of trek and he desperately wanted to not be in Magdeburg. So why not? Shoutout! Before we go any further, a big shoutout to Nitin Hegde, Joel John Philip for planning the entire mad trek and getting everything together! Thank you Madhuri Sajith, Rekha Sundar, Kartik Mudgal, Geetha Gopinath for getting along; Madhu for coming against all his wishes and Venki for spending his birthday with us. Trip part 1: Magdeburg till the Ferry! We boarded the train at six & we reached Dresden at around nine in the morning, and from there one train took us till the Königstein station. We got down and saw how beautiful the landscape is. Photograph by Madhu Thatikonda. Trip part 2: Walking up till Lilienstein! Ferried across the river, we started walking a really steep pathway that gradually led to less steep pathways into the jungle. The first time the path was flat was when we realised we are right in front of a farm; the mountain to the right and the castle to the far left. It had stopped drizzling but the clouds that made me a little gloomy.   The photographs below are in the slider format. If you are using a desktop/laptop then you need to click on the right side arrow to slide to the next image. In case you are using a mobile phone, just swipe the photograph! Königstein Elbe Sandstone MountainsNitin, Madhuri, Joel, Rekha. Venkatesh. Madhu Thatikonda. Joel posing! a pathway through the forest... another pathway through the forest. Geetha & Madhu posing! The path since then was similar to any trek, a mix of everything - the climbing up and the going down, the stone pathways, staircases, and in a few cases, just boulders. Madhu, Geetha and I were the tail to the rest of the group. Madhu hates walking. I am by default, slower than the rest. Geetha for some reason was slow during that stretch. But we had fun on the way, pausing, contemplating and photographing! After walking for some time, I spotted a staircase, steep enough and led almost vertically upwards. Probably that was the way forward because the other route did not seem to have been used and went straight down the hill. So the staircase it was, one step at a time, the never-ending staircase led us to the top; And it was beautiful. However, we did not know that the top of Lilienstein had a north and a south end. While the rest of the herd was in the north, the tail reached the south. After a brief confusion, we reunited! The view from the top of Lilienstein. Madhu at the top of LiliensteinConquering the world! Venkatesh, trying to pose. The herd minus Madhu. www. anirbansaha. com Trip part 3: Climbing down, rolling down, falling down and the scare! The path near the staircase which shouldn't have been the way forward, was our next path. During times like these, I wish I was a Panda, who could just roll down a hill. But I am not. For a considerable period of time, I was really tense about Madhu. My only "trek" with him was a lovely long walk up the Harz. I really wasn't sure if he would be comfortable with this or perhaps could do it at all. I took cautious cat steps forward, tripped down around six times, used a really long branch of a tree to check if the ground in front is firm enough to support me. I looked back to find Madhu making a video of me struggling and often, falling down. I asked him to come down cautiously. But damn! In that jungle, he was a Tarzan. Soon we reached considerably flat earth, a farm and subsequently a street that should have taken us to the Bastei stone bridge. But then, we were around one and a half hour late and we were one adventurous group for just no reason. We took a sudden left abandoned path. It looked abandoned. It felt abandoned. But it looked either comfortably flat or at least not-ambitiously steep. Let's digress a little here: during childhood, I was taught to walk looking down on the street, especially where I put my foot. The core mission was to not step on a dog or a cat poop, on the lanes of north Calcutta. Then I grew up, but this habit remains. There is clearly no dog poop around in Magdeburg, but I still do it at 30. Coming back to the story: So we were walking. Instead of looking here and here, I looked down; pained as I was after falling down six times, shocked as I was after finding out the hidden Tarzan in Madhu and amused as I was to find out I continued to remain the tail of the group, I walked, looking down. Sooner than I would like to believe it was, I realized I am stepping on a path that is hardly three and a half inches from something which is basically a cliff. I paused and I looked up, then left and then right. To my left was a cliff. To my right was a really steep slope that went all the way down. That moment I felt what fear is. Technically, it wasn't a third as tough as the caving in Meghalaya or most of the few treks that I have done in northeastern India. But then I was young. Now, I am six years older, a dozen kilos heavier and definitely unfit. Even for a fraction of a moment, I freaked out and thought I wouldn't make it without hurting myself. With Joe cheer-leading in front of me and Tarzan behind me, I could actually make it without hurting me. LOL. But I would remember this moment for a long time in my life. We reached some sort of flat earth again and walked for over an hour to reach the kurort rathen village. Wait, I should show you a photograph! The village of Bastei Trip part 4: Climbing up again & Bastei Stone Bridge. Here's the big moment of the day - the stone bridge of Bastei. Wikipedia mentions, the Bastei has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years. The people initially made a wooden bridge and later in 1851, made the stone bridge to connect the several rocks for the visitors. Bastei (Bastion) refers to the steep, towering rocks forming the defensive ring around the Neurathen Castle. The Neurathen Castle was once the largest single-rock castle in the region. According to their official website, the earliest confirmed reference to this stone castle is made in later twelve hundreds. That makes this at least eight hundred years old. I was very excited to see this. But what led to finally seeing this was another walking up the hill. By this time, I could hardly feel my left toe or both of my thighs. But the effort was worth it and I'll show you photographs (slider) now. See on the right – that’s the stone bridge. To the left of the structure are remains of the castle. That’s the castle remains and the bridge. On the left side is the entry to the bridge. From a view point near the bridge. The rocks on the other side of the bridge. Elbe Standstones in the region. Trip part 5: AirBnB and the end. Our accommodation was cheap and was around one hour and a real sense of discovery away from the Bastei Bridge. The walk from the Bastei Bridge was surreal: the initial stretch had no footpath, with dense forests on both sides of the road. While a footpath appeared after a few metres, there were no street lights. We switched our torches on. A few of us, including me, played around with it, pretending to be ghosts. Trust me, it is not funny when the wind makes an eerie sound with all the trees and the leaves in the jungle. After a few kilometers, we took a right into the forest; nine hundred and a few more metres later came a small brook, by the side of which was our AirBnB accommodation. In between there were drizzle, frustrations and a bunch of hungry young travellers. We were hungry and everyone preferred to make food over trying to switch the heater on properly. I decided to pretend like a teddy bear sitting in one place, eating, getting wrapped to bed for a good night sleep. Madhu did not wish to go for another trek the next day. My thighs might not have supported as well. After he got ready at around eleven in the morning, we strolled down the streets stopping at multiple souvenir shops, food joints, and one cafe to just chill. The best part of the two days was being completely off the grid! The phone connections did not work anyway. My Tips! If your intent is to chill, maybe space things a little bit. Stop at places, chill and if you are into photography, then photograph. The budget is considerably very less (around 50€) per head. My friends packed all the food! I probably would not have done that but yes, this can be a way to lower your budget. --- - Published: 2019-12-27 - Modified: 2021-02-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-student-social-life/ - Categories: Germany, Random notes, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: alex heinrich, christmas market magdeburg, data science masters magdeburg, lichterwelt magdeburg, life beyond studies, Magdeburg, ovgu, tedx magdeburg, Walpurgisnacht This is a sequel to this blog post! . . and in this blog post, we try to explore what more you can do beyond normal studies in the university, once you are in Magdeburg. I write this blog post as a student, struggling to make ends meet (financially), finish my credits and effectively gain skills which I should use in the industry, should I finally be out of the university.   Not that I am very desperate to get out of the university though. But since I am in my fifth semester, it feels sort of weird. Note: Hover over the images. It might be a slider & I have disabled the auto-play because it is just irritating. In case it is a slider, slide over and see the rest of the images! enroute to the top of Harz. . enroute to the top of Harz. . So! Let’s try and organise the thoughts. . If you are in Magdeburg, and in senior semesters with a slim bank balance, it is very likely that you would plan more and travel very less. I did exactly that! One of the nearest destinations from Magdeburg is the Harz region; it has its unique culture and forests. It has trekking routes which are beautiful through all seasons and as I write this, I plan to visit it during the snow fall sometime in January! It also has its local festivals like the night of the witches, yea, witches - Walpurgisnacht. Germany is the home to fairy tales; which I understood pretty later in my teens and rediscovered it when I came to Germany. One such tale which almost everyone of us has grown up with is that of the Pied Piper of Hamelin (“Hamilon’er bashiwala” in Bangla). Hamelin is just a couple of hours away from Magdeburg and during June they celebrate the Pied Piper Day! Quedlinburg is naturally very pretty, but is one of the prettiest towns in Germany when the Christmas markets are on!   Walpurgisnacht at WernigerodeWalpurgisnacht at WernigerodeWalpurgisnacht at Wernigerodewalpurgisnacht Interested in Rabindranath Tagore? click here. There are more that you can do, specially if you are interested in Rabindranath Tagore. In Berlin, there is Einsteinsommerhaus, where Einstein met Tagore. While digging into it, I discovered an entire different world. Hopefully, I would make a blog post in 2020. Your travels would be more towards bigger cities attending events and conferences, trying to understand how things work in Germany and how different it is from India. Here is a small list of events you might want to visit if you are a student in the university (& I visited this year). Berlin Buzzwords: it is about data science and open source; most relevant if you are a student of data science. (Read: Why should you volunteer for these events? )Tech Open Air Berlin: it is more about the people who come here, the startups. A little too glitzy but I do not complain. Future of AI & FIN Tech Junction: The generic discussions are good! Since, I am not much into fintech, I just went to the other conference which was sharing the space. Chatbot Summit: Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I would go crazy over this! A lot of startups across Europe, the Middle East and one from Korea came to this summit.   Volunteers from OvGU Magdeburg in the event | www. anirbansaha. com Click to expand: Venki & I posing at Chatbot Summit! Venki and I posing at the chatbot summit quite callously though! If not travelling, I am sure you would make new friends and go out with them and explore the city. One such friend, I made, is Alex. I randomly photographed one of the intercultural evenings in Magdeburg last year and he made sure he found me out online and give me a photography credit before sharing my images. That gesture made him a friend. Hahaha.   Mostly with him and a couple of other friends who are German, do I get closer to the German culture. And I must tell you, it is a weirdly happy and liberating feel. Most of them are younger than me; it’s like getting a piece of college life back, which it is since I am in a university. Magdeburg: the Dom at the sun set. Magdeburg: Herrenkrug bridge at sun rise. Magdeburg: Herrenkrug bridge at sun set. Magdeburg: Herrenkrug bridge at sun set. Magdeburg: Od Bridge at sun set. I realised, I really do not like beer; unless it is sweet, the strawberry beer! You could take a couple of beer bottles and sit right in the middle of the old bridge, conversing while the sun sets and makes way for the numerous stars to shine above your head.   Or it could be a cozy Christmas gathering with a lot of new people coming together and Alex playing the Ukulele. If not just meeting up, you could gang up and venture into areas you should not and trespass just for fun and sneak out before anyone notices or pretend to be medieval characters posing like a Renaissance painting. Singer-Songwriters Abend. Singer-Songwriters Abend. Singer-Songwriters Abend. Weihnachts Wohnzimmer, MagdeburgChristmas at Alex’s home. TEDx Magdeburg. Crazy friends posing like Renaissance painting, for a garden calendar! During Hip Hop festival at the Aerosol Arena | www. anirbansaha. com Perhaps there is a lot more, like TEDx Magdeburg, the Christmas Market and the Lichterwelt. The morning walks got fewer as I piled more work upon myself. I piled more work on myself because I lost quite a bit of money and almost got exmatriculated. Heritage trams in Magdeburg (exhibition) | www. anirbansaha. com If not anything else, you could spend some alone time at the balcony listening to the birds chirp or at the Neustadter See seeing Swans come and say a "hi" to you! Perhaps there are a lot more things that you can do! I hope this post finds you in good health and you find this useful during your stay in Magdeburg! I'll end this post with a few photographs taken very recently during the Christmas celebrations! Madhu Thatikonda | aka life supportChristmas Market in MagdeburgInstallation infront of the main train station. At Lichetwelt, near Domplatz. At Lichetwelt, near Domplatz. Street Lights in Magdeburg, during Christmas. At Lichterwelt, near my home. Paul; he owns his own travel guide portal of a Japanese island. The light installations during the sun rise. Fertig. --- - Published: 2019-11-19 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/plagiarism/ - Categories: Random notes, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: plagiarism, plagiarism ovgu Plagiarism is not just ripping off someone’s work without crediting them, as most international students would like to believe. It is slightly more. It’s one of the major academic misconduct and most countries around the world take it  very seriously ! Why this blog post? (click to open) The intent of this blog post is to discuss what it broadly means when a student is inside the university. While not everything is explicitly discussed, there are links given which the reader might find useful, should s/he be inquisitive about it. How seriously? Thank you for asking. German education minister quit her post and her PhD had been revoked (link) when there were proven plagiarism charges against her during her doctorate degree. This was the second such incident during Angela Merkel’s tenure.   Beijing Film Academy’s Performing Arts School rescinded Zhai’s (actor) doctorate in February and Peking University expelled him from a two-year research programme. He allegedly plagiarised in his essay during his studies. (link) And that’s just two such instances. But these are high profile cases! I’m just a masters student. Academic Misconduct is punishable and a lot of institutions across the globe is showing zero tolerance towards any form of academic misconduct, especially plagiarism. In the university that I study, in the very recent past, a student was exmatriculated (de-registered) from the university after proven charges of plagiarism; students are often failed in their courses or their assignments nullified. And it’s just not German universities, the universities in China are also doing it, even for students during their graduation studies (link). No kidding! Recently, the project where I work (Support Internationals at FIN, OvGU) has come up with some content to raise awareness. You can find it here.   So, what is plagiarism?    All of the following are considered plagiarism: a. turning in someone else's work as your ownb. copying words or ideas from someone else without giving creditc. failing to put a quotation in quotation marks. d. giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation. e. changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit. f. copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not. Plagiarism. org When students hurry or  write their project documents / submissions / assignments on the last minute, which many students do they are more likely to make these mistakes like not putting quotation marks or giving incorrect sources.   In our childhood, most of us, hailing from the subcontinent had a kind of schooling where examinations were a test of memory and we were required to memorise things. To read from somewhere and writing it in the assignment/report or any form of submission is not the right way. Often I have seen students feel, “the author wrote it so well, I can not explain better than that”. And more often than not, students whose first language is not English, prefer to write things exactly as mentioned in the books/papers/websites they read from. Each of these is an act of plagiarism if each time you are not mentioning their names and the source. What does an expert say? Anurag Chaurasia, a biotechnologist with the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms in Kushmaur mentions: “Even at university level, we are taught to learn from the class notes written by the teachers on the board, who themselves copy it from a book, and to answer in the same way in the examination. ” Source These are so ingrained that it feels normal to use some photographs you see on the internet (link). Sadly, it isn’t limited to that. There have been charges of academic misconduct against prominent modern-day scientists in India including those from IISER (TVM) and CISER (Kolkata). Further, RetractionWatch, which is a website "that reports on retractions of scientific papers and on related topics" mentions as on July 13, 2019, 982 papers from India were retracted, of which 330 were for plagiarism (link). In the race of publishing more papers to possibly get a higher-ranked job (source), there has been a considerable number of fake publications (link). So yea, the problem is not new, not un-detected but is almost a norm in India/ subcontinent.   Trivia about Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Trivia: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s first Vice President had serious allegations of plagiarism against him by Jadhunath Sinha, of the University of Calcutta. Mr. Sinha sued him and the news came out in Modern Review. “In August 1929, Sinha sued Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan counter-sued both Sinha and Ramnath Chattopadhyay, the editor of Modern Review. Given Radhakrishnan’s stature, it was a battle royale. ” Source Not just India! Is it only in India/ subcontinent that academic misconduct happens? – No.   BBC report suggests there are over three hundred alleged misconducts found in only 23 universities in the United Kingdom. As a tutor, I often ask students to explain what they have understood of the concept after reading the book. While most students now do that, a few shy away. And often, they spend a little less time to comprehend concepts. They understand the concept and believe that’s the end of the process. It isn’t.   As a student who took the KMD Seminar, Prof. Spiliopoulou asked each student to summarise each paper in not more than five sentences and in our own words. It took quite an effort towards the start. Once asked, Prof. Spiliopoulou mentioned that unless I am able to comprehend the concept in my own words and simple language, I just did not understand it. But now when I am following the process, I feel better!   It’s easy to not plagiarise! Check plagiarism. org and spend some time understanding the content there! Most of the students who are caught plagiarising, do not do it intentionally! Only with more awareness among international students can we do better. There are universities like Carnegie Mellon University, Oxford University, Cambridge University have content on their website to raise a certain level of awareness and I am proud that the informatics department of the university is also trying to discuss this with students.   With more awareness about this, would we be able to assist other and future international students in Germany or in any country! --- - Published: 2019-11-10 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-heritage-trams-magdeburg/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Random notes - Tags: exhibition of heritage trams magdeburg, first electric tram magdeburg, heritage trams magdeburg If you want to miss Calcutta, Magdeburg offers you numerous excuses; the easiest excuse being the trams. I come from Calcutta, the only city in India where trams still run.  The "heritage trams" in Magdeburg was a crazy reminder of how much I miss Calcutta. My earliest shots of the trams in Calcutta. Often sluggish, slower than you would expect it to be, but the warm tones of the incandescent bulb on the wooden seats and the floor, the ting-ting ringing of the bell signalling the driver to stop or to slow down, people jumping into the tram or off it. Trams in Kolkata are slightly more than just a way of commuting. It’s an emotion. Why this blog post all of a sudden? - I’m glad you asked. A couple of weeks back, my friend told that old heritage trams were exhibited near Alt Markt, Magdeburg. By the time we could finish our lunch, he texted: “I just travelled in the first electric tram of Magdeburg, build in 1899. ” We ate as fast as we could and boarded the next bus to Alt Markt!   The first electric tram (1899) in Magdeburg | 27 October 2019. As per Wikipedia, during 1873, horse-pulled trams were introduced in Calcutta, and in Magdeburg, it was introduced in 1877; perhaps one of the first ten cities to get a tram network. Frankfurt, Hannover, Dresden, Leipzig were the first ones in 1872. Bremen, Munich in 1875 and 1876 respectively. Subsequently, during 1902, the electric trams were introduced in Calcutta. After the independence of India, the number of routes has come down considerably but it is far from being extinct. Calcutta/ Kolkata is the only city in India which currently has trams and is perhaps Asia’s oldest network of trams! Only very recently, Calcutta has a tram museum being built (link) and newer air-conditioned trams (link) have been put to use. In Magdeburg, I’m told and shown - is slightly different. Electric trams were introduced in 1899 and one of the earliest trams continue to exist; albeit as historic memorabilia. There is a Tram museum in Sudenburg (link) and this is their Facebook page! So yea, I hopped on to an already packed heritage tram during the exhibition. About the Heritage Tram exhibition in Magdeburg! I am not sure exactly why, but I was very excited the moment I saw a series of old trams lined up at the Alt Markt. For a fraction of a moment, I was the younger Anirban with a camera in his hands, standing in the middle of Calcutta with old trams surrounding him. I took a couple of shots and thought that the trams were stationary. I had no clue what was happening inside the trams. The first sight of the heritage trams! On opening the door I realised it was pretty packed inside. Not that I was unwelcome but I wasn't prepared to see so many people, mostly really old people filling the tram! I'm sure they did not expect an overtly enthusiastic brown kid to jump in as well! Haha. The person, who was explaining things about the first electric tram realised he might need to also talk in English. He started talking the same things once in German and once in English. It was very considerate of him and was a pleasant surprise! It was such an old-world charm! The yellow bulbs, the wooden chairs and the string to ring the bell from anywhere near the door of the tram! The sudden jerk when the old tram starts were uncannily familiar.   But wait! I realised that the tram was moving. The rest of my friends remained at the Alt Markt, while I was travelling all the way to Opernhaus and back to Alt Markt! Pretending to drive the electric tram with another heritage tram pass by. Inside the first electric tram of Magdeburg Treibwagen 23 (Railcar 23, Model number). The oldest tram went back to Alt Markt, where we got down and looked at the other trams. One of the trams that came during 1968 (Treibwagen 1001) had drivers with a uniform. One of them particularly interesting! A young brown boy jumping around with a camera was definitely interesting him and he obliged! When I asked him if the Tram could stop in front of the Magdeburger Dom, he said he would make it stop till I am done photographing it! Inside Treibwagen 1001. The Tram with the uniformed drivers at Alt Markt. The icon of the city, heritage tram and uniformed drivers | Magdeburg 2019 My excitement showed a bit too much I guess! Haha. As a gesture, the old man came and put his cap on my head and started laughing! That's all for now. Little events like this, keep the life in Magdeburg going. A very special mention of my friend Carl Stermann-Lücke needs to be there in this blog post. He is two times geekier than I am, and he informed me about this! ! Magdeburg | 2019 --- - Published: 2019-11-09 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-bengali-childs-introduction-to-germany/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! It’s time for the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival and this time, the focus country is Germany! Many young people would get to see the German cinema and get introduced to the culture somehow sitting in the bylanes of Kolkata (Calcutta), sipping tea of having roadside streetfood. I wonder in how many other different ways, does a Bengali child (especially the 90's kid, like me) encounter, discuss and know about Germany; and when I say this, I exclude the fact that Germany is known for its cars, wars, football teams, and Max-Mueller Bhavan! I’m a 90’s kid, I grew up in Communist governed Bengal and the main political party’s name is CPI(M). The “M” in the brackets signify Marxism, philosophies from Karl Marx, German. Click here for Trivia! West Bengal had elected the communists to power, 7 consecutive times since 1977; making it the longest democratically elected government in the world. The first Chief Minister was Jyoti Basu, succeeded by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The use of Homeopathy is wide-spread in Calcutta (or Kalkutta as the Germans call my city) and my uncle from the paternal side, Dr Sushanta Saha is probably a big name in the national scene if not international. Homoeopathy comes from, Hahnemann (, Samuel) who is German. Just not that! A child might not have read Nobel Laureate Gunter Grass, who called Calcutta “God’s excrements" (link) while in a discussion with filmmaker Mrinal Sen. But my generation and hopefully the ones next have read Prof. Shonku’s stories. Prof. Shonku, who is a character from Satyajit Ray’s sci-fi stories, is a scientist. He makes an Artificially Intelligent Robot called “Robu” and comes to meet two other scientists at the University of Heidelberg, Germany where he escapes being killed by one of the professors! Perhaps not the best way to introduce Germans to a child, but yea! Click here for Prof. Shonku & Satyajit Ray! Satyajit Ray is one of the most celebrated Bengalis! He did a lot of things, which include winning the 1992 honourary Oscars (lifetime achievement). He wrote stories, drew , at time composed music and did possibly everything he wished to do. And was pretty good at everything! He wrote a series of science fiction stories. It is strongly rumoured that the first alien movie “ET” was, umm, copied from Ray’s unfinished movie “The Alien” based on his story “Bankubabur Bandhu”. One of his creations is Prof. Shonku. Wikipedia mentions, “Professor Shonku is a fictional scientist created by Satyajit Ray (1921–1992) in a series of Bengali science fiction books published from 1965. His full name is Trilokeshwar Shonku, and by occupation, he is an inventor. He is the son of Dr Tripureshwar Shonku. ” If you are not a Bengali, which is very likely, check out the Wikipedia page of Professor Shonku. While talking about Sen and Ray, we can not escape Tagore and talking about him brings back a series of his sessions in Germany and his famous conversation with Einstein at the Einsteinsommerhaus, Berlin (link). While talking about Einstein, no surprises there if I mention the Bose-Einstein theory, and that Satyendranath Bose too was a Bengali working on this, from Bengal. Click here for Tagore & Germany. Tagore (or Rabindranath Tagore) was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. His songs were adopted as the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. He is the “wise old man from the east”, and has a street to his name in Berlin; “Rabindranath Tagore Strasse (street)”. Tagore’s influence in Germany declined with rise of the right wing forces during world war II. He visited Germany during 1921 after the world war I, 1926, 1930. He spoke in different cities and the (old) Germans hold his works in high regards. “Wherever he spoke, the halls were packed. Indeed, the newspapers reported scuffles and regular fights by people who were refused entry. The German press rose to the occasion by reporting Tagore’s every movement. ” If you would be interested, you can read more here. Click here for Satyendranath Bose He was a scientist, after whom the God-particle “Boson” is named. His work forms the basis of the Bose-Einstein Condensate. You can read more about him here. I apologise if this post is becoming long but there are multiple other ways how even a slightly inquisitive Bengali child of the 90's or even now gets introduced to Germany! Here's a list because I do not want to discuss each point and make this post unnecessarily long! The first flag of India was unpopular and was called, "The Calcutta Flag". The second variant of the flag was generally accepted as the first Indian flag. It was hoisted for the first time in Stuttgart, Germany. Click here for a little explanation. The first flag of India hoisted in Annual Session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta, August 7, 1906 was called the Calcutta Flag. Madam Bhikaji Cama, an Indian Parsee lady, freedom fighter, on 21 August 1907 hoisted the Indian Flag in Stuttgart, at the International Socialist Conference. It was an improvement on the previous flag and got popular as the Indian national flag. Source: Wikipedia. Fairytales, anyone? The story of Hansel and Gretel, or the Pied Piper (link), Cinderella and almost all related stories which we read in English are basically, German! Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army was built by the freed Indian soldiers captured (and later freed) by Hitler. Bose met Hitler during World War II and the rest is a mystery. A slight search over the internet about "Indo-German Conspiracy" will open the doors to very interesting history; one character of it being Viren. Hailing from an influential background, he moved from India to the place where I currently live; and enrolled as a student. Haha! "Acharya" Sir Prafulla C Ray (link) should not be a new name to a Bengali and his work should be a little known to science enthusiasts. He was an honorary member of the Deutsche Akademie, Munich (1919). One of the earliest known Chemists outside Europe, he encouraged and built collaborations between the two countries. Deutsche Akademie is Goethe-Institut after the second world war. If the child is a little more inquisitive like me, he'd dig out the following: "Wednesday" derives its name from the German God "Woden". It's fascinating to know about olden German (Norwegian) legends! Hey, Thor is just not a superhero! He's a God and it is after his name, we have "Thursday". Anoushka Shankar recently composed music for one of the earliest films made in 1928 India (link). The film "Shiraz: a romance of India", was adapted from Niranjan Pal (Bengali) and made by Franz Osten (a German filmmaker). Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of Anoushka Shankar and this little trivia is a treat to share! Was that too long a blog post? ! This blog post is triggered by the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival which got inaugurated very recently! Sitting miles away from home, it gives me great pleasure to see how films are taken out of just Nandan and moved to other theatre halls and even to different localities. If you have been introduced to Germany in any other way, do let me know! ! Thank you for reading. --- - Published: 2019-11-07 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/exmatriculation-aok-a-ducked-up-life-etc/ - Categories: Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: AOK, health insurance magdeburg, Magdeburg Indians I’m not sure if any international student’s life in Germany is a piece of cake, especially if you are over 30 years of age, and/or in your 5th semester. Mine isn’t easy either. But mine is slightly little more ducked up because I am still not used to reading (hardcopy) letters that different authorities (like the health insurance company in Germany) send to my mailbox.   For the uninitiated: AOK is a public health insurance provider in Germany. Mawista is a private health insurance company, a cheaper alternative mainly for the students who are over 30 years of age. "Exmatriculation" means de-registering a student from the university. It is mandatory to have health insurance conforming to sections of German laws and the university needs to know it, always; failing which the student could be exmatriculated. There are quite a few issues that I am dealing with, parallelly: physical health, my lack of knowledge about tax deductions, exemptions and filing returns, three jobs, two projects, time constraints and one of the people I work with who I now identify as toxic. Along with this, having a sort of semi-active social life is, umm, tough.   So if you are a new international student, get this: Check your mails (the hardcopy ones, not the emails) every day. If it is in German, translate that and read. Do not procrastinate. There might be a letter which might mention a deadline, failing which you’d be fined; or a deadline failing to which, you would be exmatriculated. Did you just wonder a little about being exmatriculated? Well, yes. I am almost exmatriculated if not already exmatriculated during the time I am writing this blog post. Part 1: Depending on others' words and the initial AOK fuck up! So, what’s the start of the problem in my life? Answer: I turned officially 30! Yea, in March 2019. It is mandatory to have health insurance in Germany and for me, it is a public company AOK. They had sent me a letter saying that I would turn thirty and would comply not with the existing sections of law but with a different section. Also, they need to charge me more money. Like all other German letters, I did not open it and kept it safely in my cupboard. I had a personal chat with a representative of AOK and he mentioned, it is all right and things would be taken care of. Part 2: Cancelling AOK! A couple of months later, I visited their office enquiring why money was not deducted from my bank account. I was told I could move to a private health insurance provider any time and give AOK the details of my new provider. But, I need to stay insured with them for a period of three months after I decide to close it. I did that on June 6th! They sent me another letter, which religiously I did not open.   My term with AOK should have ended on September 6, 2019. I signed up with a private health insurance company Mawista on August 6, 2019. I was caught up with work and by the time I could give the details of my new insurance to AOK, it was August 18, 2019.   Quite mischievously, my debit card was not working on August15th. I thought it might be some issue with the chip card or something. Venkatesh was with me, I borrowed some cash for the grocery and paid it off. I was a little concerned when my no bank operations were possible. Part 3: AOK Deducted 3194. 40€ & a frozen bank account. On a little investigation online, I realised someone took out 3194. 40 euros from my bank account; which is slightly more than my bank balance, thus resulting in a negative balance and a frozen bank account. In Indian money, it would translate to roughly more than Rs. 2,50,000. 00. I kept calm. The someone who deducted the money from my account was AOK.   Later on further inquiry, I got to know that they deducted all the money at once and forgot that I am a student. Since I am 30, I am not really expected to be a student and/or that I should prove it periodically submitting my semester registration details. I submitted my details and got a considerable fraction of money back on the last day of August 2019. Anyway, September 6th was the last day with AOK and I already had Mawista. How could things go wrong now? But wait!   During October 2019, I saw some good amount being deducted very unsuspectedly. It was AOK again! This time my friend who speaks German and asks questions critically accompanied me, so that information does not get lost in translation. I got to know that Mawista offers health insurance and not care insurance. An international student in Germany needs to have both under section SGB V paragraph 5 of German laws. Part 4: Nope, I can not leave AOK. And Mawista tariffs might not be legal! Thus, Mawista, although cheap is just not legal for me. So, in simple terms, it is not logical of me to leave AOK. I said, “Okay! ” because I am not sure if I had any other option. I approached Mawista and got a lukewarm response who further strengthened AOK’s claim.   Oh yes, AOK deducted the money on the 15th of October. They also issued me a notice for a deduction on 14th of October 2019. The mail either did not reach me on the 14th or was peacefully in the mailbox when I was discussing this with AOK.   A serious side question: Is Mawista or are the tariffs that most international students take from Mawista conform to the legal requirements? If no, why is there no awareness and what would be the consequences in case there is an issue? Also, side note: There are advocates available for students, funded by Studentenwerk and Stura (student association). After running around in circles with Carl (the German friend), I had to settle for AOK. I have other issues to deal with, the 184. 74 euros per month for AOK isn’t one of them. Ah yes, in the middle I exploded in front of a really scary looking lady at the Studentenwerk office only to discover that she is incredibly sweet when she starts laughing.   So you think everything is settled, right? Wait.   So! One of the three jobs that I do is that of tutoring. Yes, of all the things that I could have done, I chose to stand in front of a class full of students, fielding questions, answering them, keeping calm, adhering to regulations set, consciously trying not to appear rude or stupid even remotely. Today’s class starts at 11 in the morning. I got an email at 10:56 AM.   Part 5: Exmatriculation email. The email from the university stated that a letter was sent to me on July 29, 2019. The letter said that I would not have an insurance cover from the month of September 2019. I needed to go to their office and submit my new insurance papers by August 5, 2019. Since I did not react to the letter they need to exmatriculate me from the university, adhering to their regulations. But wait, was there a mail? Not that I read one. Maybe it never arrived. Maybe I never read and it is safely kept among the near one hundred unread letters sent to me in the last few months.   I was inside the class, conducting it and wanted to have a meeting with the person who sent me the email. Her office hours ended at 12 and my class at 1 in the afternoon. I had a quick chat with the officer in charge of FIN international students and then wanted to have a chat with the international’s office. The lady at the international’s office is on leave and would come only next week. I went to the person’s office who sent me the email only to, umm, be refused to be talked with; because, obviously, it wasn’t her office hours. Maybe I am already exmatriculated or possibly everything would be all right by the next Monday. At this point in time, when I am writing this, I do not know. But if you are an international student in Germany, draw as many inferences and lessons as you would want to from this episode of my life. I sincerely thank Venkatesh, Madhu, Carl for being there with me, selflessly, all the time during this! Update on 22. 02. 2020: I had a conversation with the internationals office and then the lawyer of the students union here at OVGU. Mawista is not illegal for new incoming students who are 30 or above. But you can only move from AOK to any other health insurance company, if the other health insurance company provides comparable services; i. e. health insurance and care insurance. After a brief assistance by a friend and a faculty member, I contacted “Care Concept” and have moved from AOK. I had to be a little harsh on AOK at the end and stop the SEPA payment to initiate final round of conversation. Although this is not very Gentlemanly, it is perfectly legal to do so. The chapter with AOK hopefully closes. Thank you Tom Grope for being with me, translating what the lawyer says to English for me, Mrs. Lapp for confirming that something is not right about the entire thing and suggesting that I be a little stern and stop SEPA payment. The amount of support I got from the system and my German friends is immense. --- - Published: 2019-11-01 - Modified: 2020-05-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/choosing-german-universities-data-science/ - Categories: Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: best data science german universities, choosing universities in Germany, data science masters in germany, data science masters in magdeburg Thanks to this blog, quite a few people approach me for guidance about choosing a German university. Before I proceed any further, I need to put the following disclaimers: All the text that I write in this blog post is my personal opinion. It may or may not work for you. This blog post assumes that you have your area of interest, and the area of interest is within Data Science. There is a slight bias in favour of Otto-von Guericke Universität, Magdeburg because I am currently a student here. I'll try to de-bias it! Examples taken include universities which are hot favourites among the young friends that I am connected with, in Calcutta, India. Process 1: If you are applying to a Universität (university) in Germany, you’re most probably willing to pursue “Science”. Scientists work on new concepts and/or newer implementations and publish “papers” in conferences. The previous statement shouldn’t surprise you. But how do you know which conferences are good and which ones are not? Could you discover universities while searching for conferences? Conferences have a ranking. The better the conference, the better the rank, probably the better is the work, network and reach of the researcher (faculty/Professor). You can find the ranking on websites such as this. Let's search with a generic term, "data mining". 3 conferences have "A*" (highest) rating. The 3 are, ICDM, SIGKDD, WSDM. Now, let's see who are the chairs of the conferences, and how many of them are associated with universities in Germany. In ICDM 2018, there are no names from Germany chairing any committee. However, there are 13 people in the programme committee who are from German universities and research centres. TU Dortmund, Darmstadt, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, University of Ulm are a few of them. In SIGKDD 2018, there is one faculty associated and that's Prof. Dr Myra Spiliopoulou. She's one of "Applied Data Science Track PC Chairs". She's currently teaching at the university I study in. In the "Research Track Program Committee", there are a few German universities mentioned. Researchers from TU Darmstadt, Luneburg are there. In WSDM 2018, there is one person from Saarbrücken (Saarland) in the "Senior Programme Committee". You can also check with other search terms, like "machine learning", and/or "NLP". It should be a little time consuming, but it is your life... so maybe, you would want to invest a little time into it. Process 2: Check DAAD + CHE Ranking of German Universities, sign up for free and fill in the required details. You'll get a list of universities and an array of parameters you can judge the university on. Select the parameters that you believe are best fit in your case. Make a list of the universities, go to their course/discipline homepages. Check out the faculty, the positions they hold and/or their recent publications. Below are a couple of pointers: It might be a little uneasy to navigate, and the sites might be in German. In that case, take the university URL and search for the faculty on Google. Check out the chairs / departments / tracks. This also shows the span of research you can choose from, in case you're still undecided. Go to each faculty web page and check their most recent works published. Example: You can check the list of faculty/working groups in Saarland, OvGU Magdeburg, TU Munich. Process 3: This is more of a continuation from the previous process. Go to each faculty webpage and check their latest publication. You might or might not understand the content and that's perfectly all right. You'd know if that fits into your area of interest and get which conference or journal it is selected/ published. Check out the conference details and it's ratings. Examples: I saw a Bengali name, and thus natural curiosity led me to see the details of TU Munich's Univ. -Prof. Debarghya Ghoshdastidar, PhD. While it was a little confusing to search for his publication on the TUM website, it was easy on Google Scholar. Here's his link to his profile. His publication in 2018 was in NIPS, which is rated A*. In Saarland, Prof. Dr. Joerg Hoffmann has multiple publications, at least two of which is A* conference (AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, International Conference on Automated Planning and scheduling). For Prof. Stober (OvGU), it was also A* conference where his works were published in 2017 & 2014. You'd also find faculty members who are chairs of different conferences. For example Prof. Andreas Nürnberger (OvGU) is the Vice President of IEEE SMC Human-Machine Systems. Please note: The narrower the scope of the conference, it is more likely to be an "A" or "B" category, as it does not attract mass attraction. Why is this very important? – Because your M. Sc. course is about your independent study. Your faculty would be the ones assisting you, reviewing your work, getting you connected to researchers across the globe. This analysis is important, please do this carefully. It is your life and you should have control over things, especially in decision making of this sort. There's no alternative to better-informed decisions. Make sure that your decision making/choice of a German university is based on parameters, of which the faculty has the highest importance. Everything else like the population of a city, ease of getting accommodation, whether you have relatives/ family members in and around the city etc. , can be taken care of. All the best. Do leave a comment for me below. --- - Published: 2019-09-15 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/to-an-international-student/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: data and knowledge engineering, data science masters in magdeburg, datascience, Magdeburg, masters, Otto Von Guericke Universitat Magdeburg, ovgu Magdeburg 2019 | www. anirbansaha. com Context: The international community here in Magdeburg, for the English courses, has a majority of students hailing from the subcontinent and there is presumably a widespread of biased information about courses, certain faculties, and different expectations from the German education system from what they intend to deliver. If you are a new incoming student, you should read this blog post.   To my knowledge, the scope of this is very restricted to that of FIN, OVGU however I would be glad if this helps anyone else across the globe. All views are very, very personal. I completed two years studying this course and within these two years, I've completed one year officially working at SI@FIN, as a mentor, and in the Academic Club, leading its communication team. For a brief period of time, I was also associated with Magdeburg Indians eV. The experience I gained here makes me eligible to have an opinion on the subject I am addressing. My note to the new incoming students: I know moving out of India can be overwhelming. Leaving home, parents, family and coming over four thousand miles across to another continent where people speak a different language and have different food habits, can be even scary. At this point we need to ask ourself, why exactly are we leaving our home and coming to Germany? #newLifeIf we want to gain skills, we need to be open to new cultures, newer experiences in life, not fearing to express our opinion or emotions even if that’s contradicting with others. Engage in a dialogue, question the person in front of us. A quick and honest question-answering can make us realize a lot of things! ExploreWe need the degree and within two years. Fair enough, but what does the German education system want? It wants us to explore ourselves, understand what we want to study more and why; something that we are interested in and would want to explore more. For someone growing up in the subcontinent, it might not be easy. We understand. But try maybe? We need to take our own time, there is no hurry.  Explore other cultures: German culture, cultures outside India and even cultures within India. It’s important! We need to know about other people’s cultures. If I say, I am a Bengali and I would hang around and work with only Bengali people, I wouldn’t know how beautiful the Telugu culture is, how the Germans culture is or how Tamil people are. Explore cultures, make new friends, hang out. Have beer maybe? If you are like me who does not like the taste of the beer, check out the cherry flavored ones! It’s sweet.   SocialisingIt’s easy to talk to, seek help from a person who looks similar or speaks a language we are familiar with. Since they hail from a similar background, we might feel that they are more likely to understand and suggest to me different things which include but are not restricted to, courses (subjects that we take). But do they understand my interests, likes, dislikes, my ability to learn something new or something fast? A course that can be easy for a person might be very difficult for me. Our interests, learning methods, and styles might differ. They do not mean to be biased, but their opinion is somewhat biased by their experiences, their choices, interests, priorities and what they think is right. That might not be right for me.   Important: Course selection. Choosing courses and projects should be our personal decision , a decision that is backed by our interests, the information on the official website and if need be, direct communication with the faculty. At any point in time, if we think we have a doubt, ask an officially designated mentor. Not that they are not devoid of biases, but they are trained to be less biased while placing their opinion. Also, they are kept informed by the faculty about what’s new and upcoming!   Jobs. On similar lines, people often tend to opt for physical jobs. I am in no way trying to belittle other jobs, I am not. But let's try to place this in our mind: Magdeburg is the capital of a state, there are a good amount of investments in the IT sector and companies growing. This city is surrounded by three bigger cities - Hannover, Leipzig and Berlin. Maybe, if we have the required skills, we get a job that would help me gain hard and soft skills to further my career in the field of my interest. Also inside the university, there are HiWi jobs I might want to apply to; or be in touch with a faculty expressing my area of interest. They have and they will slowly guide me towards my area of interest.   Would I want my younger sibling to do physical jobs? No. Physical jobs are always a fantastic fallback option. Treat it strictly like a fallback option.   Socialising. Do I suggest not to mix with people from the subcontinent? No, I’ve never meant that. It always feels better if I am with people who hail from a similar background. How lovely it would be to keep discussing Professor Shonku, no?  In fact, the Indian community in Magdeburg is incredibly supportive and helpful!   We get to talk in our language, have spicy food, dance to familiar music, get assisted in finding accommodation. But let this comfort zone not make us forget, possibly, the bigger picture of making ourselves more versatile, adept, independent, and strong. Go have international experience! Study.  Study independently: read books, check out YouTube tutorials, scientific papers, manage time well and do our exercises by ourselves. If we have doubts, we should ask the tutor. Spend some time, give our best. It’s okay if we take fewer than thirty credits per semester. We wouldn’t possibly run out of money and figure something out. But by the time we graduate, we should know our shit well.  At least for the money and the practical experience, we can find some job to sustain. Volunteering. Let's not volunteer in any of the student-run groups just for fun! Check if that volunteering experience could get us closer to faculty, companies or a team with whom we can share a good time working and learn a couple of new soft skills, which would help us get an internship or a job! We should also put our volunteering efforts on our resume, and justify it. Our life isn’t a charity and every moment, we devote to our work, counts. Even if that’s voluntary!   Internships. I would rather go a step ahead and say that we should check out internship opportunities right in our first semester. Check out what things we like and what we do not, based on our interest! Check out the skills required and plan how we can gain those skills! Check if a working group in the university can help us with it or if volunteering for a student body would. The internship opportunities would also guide us in the direction we want ourselves to go. Trust me, at the start, it is not easy. But sooner than we would expect, life becomes easier.   Work with a person if you want to, even if a couple of your friends might not like the idea. I work with a lady almost everyone advised me not to. At the start, it was tough but now I feel I am better as a leader. She wasn’t kind but she had the right advice, always! Similarly, a couple of my teammates in the communications team were advised not to work with me. I think they are really doing great treating the team as their own startup, analysing problems, proposing solutions, iterating, brainstorming and getting better at it. There might be tiffs, there will be tiffs; sort it out or just find a common ground where you can work with different individuals. The objective is to work together, gain newer skills or get better at it and just strengthen yourself.   I think I should draw an end to this. This post might irk people off; of 10 reading, a couple of them would be indifferent, half of them would possibly dislike me but I am hopeful that at least one person would find this useful. And I can live with that. This is exactly what I would tell my younger sibling, should he decide to move abroad to study. And he wouldn’t listen to me more than this at a stretch! Haha. Signing off. Overview of Data and Knowledge Engineering: click here. Information: Read this post and this post to know more about the social life in Magdeburg, if you are a student in the university. Most importantly, inform yourself about Plagiarism by reading this. --- - Published: 2019-09-12 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/harz-mountains-trek/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, বাংলা - Tags: harz mountains, tourism in magdeburg, travel from magdeburg, trekking near magdeburg কলকাতার থেকে একটু দূরেই যেমন দার্জিলিং, সিক্কিম, বা পুরুলিয়া’র জয়চণ্ডী পাহাড়, তেমনি মাগডেবর্গের একটু দূরেই আছে হার্জ । হিমালয় নয় অবশ্যই, কিন্তু এক দিন স্ট্রেসের থেকে ব্রেক নেওয়ার জন্য যথেষ্ট! হার্জ পাহাড়, প্রায় দু-ঘণ্টা দুরত্তে - সকালে গিয়ে বিকেলে ফেরৎ আসা যায়।  মাগডেবর্গ বেশ মজাদার জায়েগায় উপস্থিত। কাছেই ৩ টে আধুনিক বড় শহর, ছোট ছোট মধ্যযুগীয় কয়েকটা শহর, একটু পাহাড়, অনেকটা ঘন বন আর পর্যটকদের জন্য সুনিপুণ ভাবে প্রধানত জার্মান ভাসাতেই সব তথ্য লেখা আছে। মানে, আমাদের মতন লোকেদের হয়ত জার্মান ভালো ভাবে শিখতে হবে, নইলে অনুবাদ করার জন্য বন্ধুকে নিয়ে যেতে হবে। আর দরকার এক দুজন পাগল বন্ধু, যারা এক কথায়ে এক পায়ে খাঁরা হয়ে যাবে যাওয়ার জন্য। দুটোর একটাও কঠিন নয় পাওয়া। একটু কিছুক্ষণের প্লানিং, আর কিছুক্ষনের রান্না ব্যাস। পরের সকাল ৫ টায় বেরিয়ে পড়লাম। ৫ টা চল্লিশের ট্রেন। ট্রেন মাগডেবর্গ থেকে যাবে হাল্ব-স্টাড। হাল্ব-স্টাড থেকে ওয়েরনিগেরদা। ওখান থেকে শীওড়কা। ওখান থেকে ট্রেক শুরু। প্রায় ৬ কিলোমিটার হাটা, ৫০০ মিটার উচ্চতায়।  ভদ্রমহিলারা এইদিন ডাইনি সেজে আসেন। ডাইনির রাত! মজার প্রশঙ্গে বলি, এই হার্জ পাহাড়েই অনেক গল্প আছে, গল্প জার্মান ডাইনি বুড়িদের। এখন প্রতিবছর “ডাইনিদের রাত” এখনও বেশ ভালো ভাবেই পালন করা হয়। আর খুব ভুল বলা হবে না যদি আমি বলি যে, বিদেশি ডাইনি, তার অশুভ হাসি, কালো জামা, মাথার পয়েন্ট টুপি, ঝাঁটার উপরে বসে ঊরে যাওয়া - এই জনপ্রিয় ডাইনির কল্পনা কিন্তু প্রধানত এই হার্জের গল্পের থেকে আমরা পাই। টু বি স্পেসিফিক, ব্রখেন পাহাড়ের ডাইনির গল্পের থেকে।  মরা গাছ। সেই বনের মধ্যে দিয়ে হেটে ওঠা। ছবি তুলেছে কার্ল। কার্ল স্টারমান-লয়কা। আমরা এইবারের বার কিন্তু শীওড়কা থেকে হেটে হেটে এই, ব্রখেন পাহাড়েই উঠবো। হার্জ পর্বতশ্রেণির সব থেকে উঁচু পাহাড়, ব্রখেন। উচ্চতায় আমাদের দার্জিলিঙের অর্ধেকের থেকে একটু বেশী। দুবার যখন দার্জিলিং দার্জিলিং করেই ফেললাম, এটাও বলা জরুরি যে ওয়েরনিগেরদার থেকে ব্রখেন পাহাড়ে যাওয়ার জন্য ধুওা ওড়ানো কু-ঝিক ঝিক স্টিম ইঞ্জিন ট্রেন আছে। বেশ মজা না?   সকালের প্রথম আলো। ছবিঃ মধু কিরণ রেড্ডি ঠাটিকন্ডা। হাল্ব-স্টাডে সকাল বেলা। ছবিঃ অঙ্কিত মুখার্জি। স্টিম ইঞ্জিন । ছবিঃ অঙ্কিত মুখার্জি। সকালের সূর্য ওঠার থেকে শুরু করে স্টিম ইঞ্জিন, বার বার দুই জনের সিগারেট-কফি ব্রেক নেওয়া আর আমার জার্মান বন্ধুর ধুয়ার থেকে পালানোর ব্যর্থ চেষ্টা - শুরু টা বেশ ভালোই কাটল। তার পর শুরু হল হাটা। এই হাটার সময়টা একটু জবর করার জন্য পুর রাস্তাটা ৬ ভাগে ভাগ করে, এক একটা ভাগে একটা গল্পের একটা ভাগ লিখে রাখা হয়েছে। মানে - গল্পের একটু পড়তে হবে, তার পরে হাঁটতে হবে। না হাঁটলে, গল্পের পরের ভাগ আর পাবে না। এই করতে করতে ৫ ভাগ ওই মরা বনের মধ্যে হেটে শেষ করে ফেললাম। কী করে যে আমি শেষ করলাম সে এক আমি-ই জানি। অনেক দিন লাফা লাফি করিনি। হাটা হাটিও ঠিক করিনি প্রায় দু-বছর। আর এই দু বছরে বাড়িয়েছি প্রায় ১৮ কিলো ওজন। আর চারটে বাচ্ছার সাথে পেরে ওঠা যায়?   বন। ছবি তুলেছে মধু কিরণ রেড্ডি ঠাটিকন্ডা । সেই বন। ছবি তুলেছে অঙ্কিত মুখার্জি। ইন্দ্রনীল, আমি, মধু, অঙ্কিত, কার্ল। যেই মাত্র নিজেকে বুড় ভেবে সহানুভূতি পাওয়ার লোভে বেশ আর চারজনকে দার করালাম, দেখি আমার দাদু-দিদার বয়সী এক দাদু আর এক দিদা, হাত ধরা ধরি করে, ট্রেক করছে। সঙ্গে ছোট্ট কুকুর। হাটতে পারে না, তাই দাদুর কোলে একদিক ওদিক তাকিয়ে পাহাড় আর বন দেখছে। আর একটু হাটতেই দেখি কত দাদু সাইকেলে করে পাহাড়ে উঠছে। অঙ্কিত পাস দিয়ে যাবার সময় কানের পাসে এসে বলল, “তুমি এদের থেকেও বুড়? ” কী আর করি?   পাহাড় আর বনে যাওয়ার কিন্তু প্রধান কারণ ছিল পাখি দেখা আর পাখির ছবি তোলা। কার্ল, আমার জার্মান বন্ধু, ঠিক সেটা বুঝে উটতে পারেনি সারাদিন। দুটো বাঙালি, একটা কার্ল আর মধু। মধু খুব ভালো, ও কোন কথাই বলে না। ফেরার পথে কার্ল, অঙ্কিত আর আমি বেশ গান গাইতে গাইতে পাহাড় থেকে নামলাম। আরে, পাহাড়ে ওঠার কথাই তো এখনও শেষ হয়েনি!   বাচ্চা বয়সে আমার মা আমাকে মাটিতে চোখ রেখে হাটতে শিখিয়েছিল। উদ্দেশ্য - যাতে আমি গু না পাড়াই। পাড়াইনি। ছোট বেলাতেও না, ৩০ বছরেও না। কিন্তু অভ্যাসটা থেকে গেছে। পাখি উপরে থাকে, আর আমার চোখ নিচের দিকে। আমি হাটি নইলে পাখি দেখি। দুটো এক সাথে হয়না। আর চারজন যে ভাবে এগিয়ে যাচ্ছিল, দা চয়েস ওয়াস ক্লিয়ার। পাখি আমি বেশি নিজে দেখতে না পেলেও, চুপ করে থাকা মধু একটা পাখি দেখতে পায়ে। অনেক দূরে একটা মরা গাছের ডালে একটা ইউরেশিয়ান যে। ইন্দ্রনীল কয়েকটা পাখি দেখেছে।  ইউরেশিয়ান যে । ছবি আমি তুলেছি! ইউরোপিয়ান রবিন । ছবি আমি তুলেছি। পথের শেষের দিকে, প্রায়ে তখন আমরা পাহাড়ের মাথায়। দেখি, ক্রমশ আমরা মেঘের ভেতরে হেটে যাচ্ছি। থামবার জো নেই, সবাই এগিয়ে যাচ্ছে! সব শেষে পৌছালাম ব্রখেনের উপরে। প্রচণ্ড কনকনে ঠাণ্ডা হাওয়া, মাঝে একটু রোদ। যতদূর চোখ যায়, ততদুর খালি কুয়াশা। “আ লিটিল দ্যাট সাইড ইস ওয়েরনিগেরদা”। আমি মাথা নাড়লাম। কার্ল আর একটু ঘুরে আঙ্গুল তুলে বলল, “অ্যান্ড আ লিটিল দ্যাট সাইড ইস মাগডেবর্গ”। হ্যা, মানে আরকি ... একদম! “ইফ দা স্কাই ওয়াস ক্লিয়ার, ইউ কুড হ্যাভ সীন দা দোম”। “একদম দাদা, ঠিক বলেছেন”।  উপর থেকে উপত্যকা। ছবি তুলেছে কার্ল। ইগ্নোর দা এক্সপ্রেস্নস প্লিস। ব্রখেন ১১৪২ ম । একদিকে উপত্যকা যেখান থেকে সব শহর দেখা যায়। অন্য দিকে আর ঘন বন। ওইদিকের বনে অনেক পশু ও পাখি দেখতে পাওয়া যায় শুনেছি। আর মাঝের জায়েগা খুব সুন্দর করে সাজানো। এক ফলকে লেখা “ব্রখেন ১১৪২ ম”।  --- - Published: 2019-09-11 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/harz-mountains-white-deer-trek/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: ankit mukherjee, carl stermann-lueke, harz mountains, indranil maji, madhu kiran reddy thatikonda Written by Ankit Mukherjee. Dawn | Photograph: Madhu K R Thatikonda I’ve never been much of a morning person, but I do appreciate the beauty with which nature presents itself at the brink of dawn. The promise of a journey through the beautiful valleys of the Harz mountains was enough to get me out of bed! Before the sun itself embraced us with its warmth, I found myself walking with my group of familiar faces towards the Central Railway station of Magdeburg to begin our journey. The sunrise at Halberstadt | Photograph: Ankit Mukherjee The sunrise reflected by a windowpane | Photograph: Ankit Mukherjee As the sky started to slowly light up, our train set off on its course. I sipped on my morning dose of caffeine and looked outside to appreciate the beauty. And beauty it was indeed! Across the horizon, I could see a bright orange halo light up everything that my eyes could see, almost like someone had painted the world with a dazzling coat of scarlet. We got down at Halberstadt, the capital of Harz district to switch trains to Wernigerode. The cold morning breeze against my face begged me to light up a cigarette and stare aimlessly at what seemed like a town sculpted by an artist deeply in love. With your eyes closed, you could hear the birds welcoming you with their sweet melody resonating around the empty streets of this beautiful town. Sadly, our schedule did not allow us to spend a lot of time here, and with a heavy heart, we left Halberstadt in its state of shallow slumber and continued our journey. Ankit Mukherjee | Photograph: Anirban Saha Steam Engines at Wernigerode | Photograph: Ankit Mukherjee Before long, our ‘Regional Express’ took us to Wernigerode, another step closer to our destination. The moment I stepped off the train, I couldn’t help but notice the striking resemblance with the hilly district of Darjeeling, a place very close to my heart and my hometown. Wernigerode is famous for being the starting point of the Harz narrow-gauge Steam Trains connecting to the peak of Harz (Brocken), much like the Steam trains of Darjeeling Himalayan Railways connecting New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. We took a bus from Wernigerode to Schierke to start our journey through the Harz National Park. As soon as the bus ventured beyond the half-timbered houses of Wernigerode, one could breathe in the wilderness ... nature in its true form, ignorant and unruffled by the grand enterprises of modern times. The shadows of the magnificent Beeches embraced us like a serene self-composed entity, yearning to be discovered and to be loved. We took a small break to fill our hungry stomachs and prepared for the highlight of our trip – hiking up to Brocken, the highest point in Northern Germany. Ankit at a hairpin bend | Photograph: Anirban Saha It was around 8 in the morning, when we began our hike along the famous ‘Fairy-tale path of The White Deer (link)’, away from all the chaos of society we had long left behind. The idea of the ‘Fairy-tale’ trail is substantiated with the story of a young boy named Albert and his resolve to save his father with the help of a white deer. The story rests in parts on 6 checkpoints along the road, with the conclusion of the story waiting at the top of the mountain as a reward to those who have successfully traversed through the demanding and endearing path. “Beauty is transformed over time, and not without destruction” Terry Tempest Williams. Photograph: Ankit Mukherjee The beauty of destruction could not be better elucidated than the grey silhouettes of dead spruce trees piercing through the clear blue sky as we ventured into the forest. We walked uphill through the dying trees, manoeuvering our steps on rocks and slopes. As we crossed the third checkpoint, the scenery gradually began to change. Soon, we were surrounded by lush greenery and narrow streams flowing briskly along the crevices. The death and decay were replaced with liveliness and vitality. Perhaps the forest had seeped some of the energy from our veins, as we found ourselves struggling with our climb which was getting more strenuous at every bend. By the time we reached the fourth checkpoint, we were already out of the water and our lungs had started their retaliation. The climb to the fifth checkpoint was probably the hardest. We talked as little as we could, and took short breaks to ease our racing hearts. We would have reached our breaking point before making it to the top if not for the moment of blissful delight we felt when we finally made it to the fifth checkpoint. Sitting down on the rocks, thirsty and tired, we looked up and saw the top of the Brocken Observatory and an old TV tower splitting the clouds apart. For me, this was motivation enough to jump back on my feet as I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins! The hardest part of the journey was behind us, and the last kilometre of uphill battle was the only thing standing between us and our goal. Photograph: Madhu K R Thatikonda Indranil, Anirban, Madhu, Ankit, Carl | Groupfie while walking up the hill. The up-hill task using the short cut! | Photograph: Carl Stermann-Lücke From here on, all the tracks to the peak merged into one and we wound up walking together with many other travellers like ourselves, burning their last breath to make it to the top. The misty clouds hanging around us created a charming aura... . . like being inside an ancient fantasy novel! This was probably the reason for all those lovely fables that once originated from here. Indranil trying to pose in front of the steam engine! | Photograph: Anirban Saha Towards the end of the walk, in front of the steam Engine | Photograph: Anirban Saha As we edged towards the final moments of our hike, I looked up to see a dense white smoke and the familiar sound of the Steam engine pulling up to the buffer stop of Brocken Railway station. We had finally made it! It is extremely hard to put into words the way I felt at that moment... . . Oh, what a moment! It was a mix of joy, fatigue and excitement with a hint of sorrow, as the fairy-tale adventure had come to an end. The height of the Mountain was embedded on a big rock, right at the centre of the peak. The view was extraordinary! We could see miles of green fields with towns scattered across them and dense forests with rivers piercing through them. I closed my eyes and allowed nature to replenish me with its serenity... . We may have only climbed to the top of Northern Germany, but at that moment, I was on top of the World! From the top | Photograph: Carl Stermann-Lücke Ankit posing on the top of the Brocken Hill | Photograph: Anirban Saha --- - Published: 2019-06-30 - Modified: 2021-07-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-pied-piper-of-hamelin/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: history of pied piper of hamelin, pied piper hameln, pied piper of hamelin “Yes, in Kalkutta (Calcutta/Kolkata) there is a Pied-piper cafe , a Pied Piper Marketing Services and a Pied-piper pizzeria! And here, here . . ”, the old man of the Tourism office, raised his voice in excitement. His eyes twinkled with amazement and pride as he pointed toward the northeast of India on his world map , “near this city, do you know Guwahati? There’s a statue of the Pied Piper. ” A little conversation later, he showed me the rest of the world map where he has pinned all places which has a trace or a mention of the Pied Piper.   There are multiple versions of the same story but Hamelin recorded the first such instance; and thus, over the years the story has become the identity of this little town of Hameln (Hamelin in English) in Germany. “The story is told many times over, there’s even a similar English story where the rats fall off the cliff. ”  https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=UXOCHn7Vfec If you do not know the Pied Piper's story, check this video by Walt Disney out! The old man is Mr. M. Boyer , the official Pied Piper of the day and an employee of Hamelin Marketing and Tourism Company. He responded very kindly to my email seeking sponsorship and made my travel from and to Magdeburg, free. Not always does a brown blogger approach them, you see! “But I do not know if they refer to the same story in some other language. What is the story called in your language Saha? ”  I fumbled. After a really awkward pause, I could only murmur, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin? ” only to be greeted by a peal of bursting laughter. A few moments later, I got to know it is called “Hamiloner Banshiwala (Bengali: হ্যামিলনের বাঁশিওয়ালা)” or the flute-player of Hamelin in Bangla . “Interesting. But do you know he was never called the Pied Piper or anything related to the Flute in the original German story! ”, remarked Ms. Reimer of Project Pied Piper International at the Museum Hamelin. “He was instead called the Rat-catcher of Hameln (Rattenfänger von Hameln)! ”. “Interesting how stories travel across continents”, I said pretty amusedly.   Mr. Michael Boyer in front of the Rat Catchers House. It is forbidden to play music in the lane behind him; it is believed that the children walked through the lane lured by the Pied Piper. Many of the children’s stories that we’ve grown up with have German roots. Compiled by the Grimm Brothers is the anthology - Children and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen) which basically were folklores which eventually transformed to Fairytales in Europe. It contains stories of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White to name a few. The book is listed by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Registry. While there were cultural and political crossovers from Germany to England in the past, for example, George I of Hannover was crowned as the King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714, the translations of these stories began during 1824 . Not only did the stories travel to Bengal/India, but it also inspired several local authors in the region The explicit mention by Dey in the preface suggests that at least by 1883 when the author compiled “Folk Tales of Bengal”, the Grimm Brothers’ anthology had impacted and inspired Bengali storytellers . However, let’s come back to the Pied Piper of Hamelin! It was first in print during 1556. Robert Browning made the story popular by translating it to an English poem in 1842 . Several versions of the story, adaptations and translations later, this story is the heartbeat of the town of Hamelin. They pride on the fact that they own it, and people across the globe know about the story. And even advertisements take inspiration from that!   https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=_DNbYF_UDYA The advertisement of Axe deodorant inspired by The Pied Piper story. I have friends who disapprove of the idea of mixing stories with real-life places. Who would anyway believe in rats following the tune of a flute and falling off in the river or the children following the piper to the east of the city and disappearing? If we see the earliest mention of the story during the 1300s, we see only the mention of 130 children disappearing. The rats might have been added later during the 16th century (Zimmern Chronicle) to signify the deadly plague. An inscription placed on a wooden beam on the western side of the Rattenfangerhaus (Ratcatchers House) in Hamelin runs (translated): " In the year 1284 on the Day of John and Paul, the 26th of June, 130 children born in Hamelin were led away by a piper dressed in many-coloured clothes to Calvary close to the Koppen and were there lost. " The quotation above represents the closest we can approach to the original kernel of the Pied Piper story. The strangely and colourfully clothed Pied Piper who lured the children away might be a personification of the better opportunities that were there in Transylvania at that time and the children migrated. Or might have personified death like many medieval representations of death. Or it just could have referred to a person who came to recruit young blood for the army (Nikolas von Spiegelberg) . The Biblical texts do not mention this incident, however, anecdotes of the children missing is spread in different parts of the city; this because most probably citizens were forbidden to speak about this. It also appeared as a church window painting during the 1300s, which is now destroyed but replaced by a smaller glass painting.   Different versions of the story have little differences: The original text mentions that the Pied Piper came back on Saint John and Paul’s Day (celebrated on 26 June) during the fifth hour of the day (by the Sundial clock) which would roughly translate to 11:30 am to 12 noon of today’s time. Most translations, at least in the subcontinent mention it is 22nd July which is from another Robert Browning's English version of the story.   Mainly the Bed-time story versions of the original story have a happy ending - with the Mayor of the city acknowledging his dishonesty, paying the Pied Piper the full promised bag of Gold and the Pied Piper returning the children. The original story, however, does not have this happy ending In all stories, a couple of children remained in the town to tell the story to the grownups who were in the church when the children were lured away by the Pied Piper. However, the description of the children vary.   This, Saint John and Paul’s Day is now celebrated as the Pied Piper Day, which I went to experience in the small town of Hamelin; full of wonderful people who made me feel exceptionally welcome! The first time the Pied Piper Day was observed was on the 600th year. Later every 25 years it was celebrated. Very recently, every year this day is celebrated as the Pied Piper Day.   It’s a week-long festival with some smaller event going on. The 26th of June has four sub-event lined up: Wooden Door engravings of the Pied Piper Story | Museum Hameln 2019 The guided tour of the Pied Piper for the children & the huge rat on the right. The first being the Pied Piper (Mr. Michael Boyer) doing the city tour starting from the church. The second sub-event is a musicale. The third and fourth are rather unconventional and interesting, although I must admit my only source of information of what was happening was Jonas, an intern in the tourism office, who was live-translating things for me! What would the king of the rats must have felt when the Pied Piper came along? Yea, that’s the third sub-event - the Rat King relating his tale. The fourth was the Dank-Piper’s almost monologue where he walked through city concocting stories as to why he lured the children away. Those were a complete work of fiction and was amusing, to say the least. One of the stories that he told was - all he wanted was the Mayor’s daughter to be lured and taken away. That the other children came along was collateral damage, that was unfortunate. Haha.   But my tour had another interesting sub-event - Mr. Boyer invited me to his office for a talk and later took me to the museum, the church and walked me through the lanes of the old town. The museum has a lot of painting and sculptures which celebrates the Pied Piper, and a collection of all translations of the story. Goethe's handwriting mentioning the Pied Piper. | Museum Hamelin | www. anirbansaha. com 2019 1884: the first Pied Piper Day and this is one HUGE album of all the photographs of the staged event. Yes, photographs during 1884! ! and an album full of it! The museum also has an interesting musical show, depicting human beings as machines and narrating the story of the Pied Piper. A still from the musical show at the Museum. You can check out a video here. The church of Hameln was built during the ninth century. The earliest portrayal of the Pied Piper was the glass painting which was later destroyed, but not before it was recorded and inspired historians and artists to preserve a resemblance of it. In this photograph, the glass pane on the left is where the original painting was. On the right top is the new glass painting, inspired by the previous one. The painting which was inspired by the original glass painting and which in turn, inspired the new glass painting in the church of Hameln. | Photograph taken at Museum Hameln. The new glass painting in the church, which is inspired from the painting which was inspired from the original glass painting of the church. But one thing stands out. The rats in the town of Hamelin: From the rat souvenir to the rat stones, the rat this and the rat that. To the cocktail - Rat's blood. In the year 2004, during an art festival, 70 huge colourful rats were made and a few of them are on display still. Rat Souvenirs #1 The Pied Piper trying to kill a giant rat! Rat Souvenirs #2 (You get the hint. ) Rats Blood (cocktail), Rat something, Rat soft toys and Rat tiles! "You can make an entire blog post on rats! ", laughed Mr. Boyer. I take back home this laughter of this bright and jolly man and his inspiring enthusiasm and love for this town and its story. Hamelin and its story make us believe that the world is so small and connected, yet so diverse. The spread of the story shows us that one step in the right direction and it can inspire a hundred more across the globe. The fairy tale teaches us to not be dishonest; and if we are in some way, the way forward is to acknowledge and work towards fixing it! The lanes of Hamelin. | www. anirbansaha. com 2019 Dear Hamelin, hold your story high up. References: Grimms Fairytales in English Hamoliner Banshiwala Wikipedia Link (Bengali) Banana Republics and V. I. Degrees: Rethinking Indian Folklore in a Postcolonial World (Kirin Narayan, University of Wisconsin, Madison) Folk Tales of Bengal (Lal Behari Dey) Pied Piper Statue at Accoland Park, Guwahati. Pied Piper Cafe, Kolkata. The Pied Piper of Hameln and related legends from other towns The Legend of the Pied Piper The Story of "Hamiloner Banshiwala" in Bengali . UNESCO: Nationwide Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage . John of Rome . Mr. Michael Boyer's personal blog . Dailygrail article on Pied Piper of Hameln . The Pied Piper of Hamelin At the Confluence Of Literature, History, Psychology, Language Theory and Religious Thought . The Evolution of the Pied Piper . Pied Piper World Locations . --- - Published: 2019-06-20 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/volunteer-berlin-buzzwords/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: academic club OvGU Magdeburg, berlin buzzwords, data science masters in magdeburg This blog post would try to briefly tell the readers - what an ecosystem is, why volunteering for the student-run groups & tech conferences like the Berlin Buzzwords is a good idea and what makes me eligible to speak about this. There’s a little something we can do to support and improve the ecosystem we live in; and in this blog post, I would try to address a couple of points for the international students in Magdeburg studying Informatics and the students who are connected to me from Calcutta, India. But first, what’s an “ecosystem”? An ecosystem is what we are living in; the world at large is an ecosystem where one type of living things supports the others sustain and happily coexist. On a more contextual level, you live in a student ecosystem (if you are a student), a startup ecosystem (if you are a startup), a tech ecosystem or open source ecosystem if you are into technology. You get the idea, right? Why is an ecosystem important? - because whatever you will become, the ecosystem you are in would be, in some way, responsible. The better the ecosystem, the better your chances of becoming a better version of yourself and becoming more successful. Say, as a student if you have access to people who share your interest or represent various levels of knowledge and experiences in life, who can guide you, you are more likely to take more informed decisions in life. How can you better the ecosystem? - by being active, taking part in discussions, helping each other, contributing with ideas, brainstorming, interacting and making things work. Not every initiative is funded heavily, so you might need to take some time out and volunteer. If you are a student of FIN, OVGU, where can you volunteer? If you are not, skip over to the next section. And if you are, then please know that there is a range of opportunities, one being SI@FIN (Support Internationals at FIN, OVGU): Academic Club and the mentors. You get to work in small teams from creating concepts to executing them, presenting them, interacting with the larger team which is very diverse with students from varied cultures and levels of experience. The framework is set by the faculty. I head the communications at SI@FIN and my key take-aways would be: Scope definition: Working cohesively with the faculty at SI@FIN, I’ve become better at critical analysis and defining the scope of any work I do now. Very basic yet important: A joke for you might not be a joke for someone else; a familiar and seemingly harmless word for a Bengali might be very offensive for a person from Nigeria. Germans are not rude, they are up front and after some time, they become very good friends. Within the team, the communication needs to be quicker and seamless. There has to be personal space for individuals, space for different stakeholders and the ideas they contribute. Compromise, often, to keep the team together and moving forward. Germany has a very different working culture if compared to India and this is my playground. There are more student-run initiatives whom I’ve mentioned in this blog post. You could be a part of the initiatives, be active, learning while working and just be better at your soft skills. But soft skills are not enough in your professional life. While you get the state-of-the-art scientific concepts in your university, the developers/professionals implement them in the real world and that impacts businesses. If you are a job seeker, you need to be updated with what’s latest. This brings us to the Berlin Buzzwords. Photo: cc-by-sa 3,0 Jan Michalko/Berlin Buzzwords Why volunteer for Berlin Buzzwords? Berlin Buzzwords is Europe's most exciting conference on storing, processing, streaming and searching large amounts of digital data. It focuses on open source software projects. The 10th edition of Berlin Buzzwords took place from June 16-18, 2019 at Kulturbrauerei. While the reasons are numerous, let me list a few of them for you: The speakers are people who have significant contribution in open source and in building solutions. You get to listen to them live, ask questions, brainstorm with them at the bar camp and if you get time, discuss newer ideas with them during session breaks. Maybe, exchange contact details and stay in touch. Learn from other attendees of similar background how to make your own space in the ecosystem. Do I make sense? I guess I do. Know what the companies who have sponsored the events look forward to you, a student of data science. It’s important if you are looking forward to student jobs or internships. Make friends with similar interests - it can be speakers, attendees, bartender anyone! Why spend money and volunteer? I asked a couple of students around. What I realised is - they do not want to spend money and volunteer for an event in Berlin. I’m not sure what they were talking about and decided not to drag the conversation. Let’s break it down: Travel costs to and from Berlin, food, cost for putting up. While Flixbus makes travel costs negligible, food is free during the conference and a little bit of Couchsurfing can make you get free accommodation. You could possibly bring down the total cost to less than one bottle of Jack Daniels, chips and salted peanuts. For eight hours of volunteering, you get a ticket which otherwise is very expensive for a student. Worth an investment? Yes. That's me sitting right on the first row during the session which discussed Recommenders Systems. Types of volunteering: You could prefer to sit at a place welcoming attendees and speakers or you could run around a bit helping the organisers. You could become a stage manager, making sure the sessions run smoothly. You could possibly volunteer before and after the event, and concentrate on the two days of the conference. Types of sessions: The sessions are classified under three tracks: “search”, “scale”, “stream”. Each session/workshop is labelled as “beginner,'' “intermediate”, “advanced”. You can check their schedule on their website and I am sure you know where you’d fit in. I’ve been a volunteer at the Berlin Buzzwords 2019. What're my top takeaways? Knowing the concepts is not enough, to be industry ready, I need to be aware of the technologies and people who are implementing it. It was a little rude shock but an important realisation. My interaction(s) with a couple of speakers who work on my area of interest: natural language understanding/search, implementing chatbots. I got to know a little more about what kind of work is on in the industry, the areas where technology fails when implemented to cater to an unspecified target audience. My interaction with the product manager(s) and talent manager of the companies that were present on the first day. I asked them very specific and direct questions like “what are your expectations from an intern? ”, mainly because I could not manage much time for a conversation. What amazed me is that they gave very specific answers. Awareness of what technologies the company works on is definitely one of the requirements. During the bar camp. During the session with Pedro. Are there more events like this? - Yes. There are hackathons lined up and satellite events by the same organisers. There’s another event coming up which is the Tech Open Air 2019 in Berlin. What makes me eligible to speak on this? I got introduced to the idea of an ecosystem back in 2009. Since then, I’ve tried my bit to do in various capacities- as a student, photographer, or just as a volunteer. When I had my own startup “Kolkata Bloggers”, the ecosystem came forward and helped me. In two years span, my collaborators included Facebook, US Consulate Kolkata, Government of Bengal, The Times of India, different literature festivals to name a few. During 2015-2016, we supported the Datascience Summit 2015, NASSCOM Product Conclave 2016, sponsored Mozilla web literacy programmes, and a couple of developers meetup in Kolkata. I’m a firm believer in the ecosystem, contributing to it. It just feels good. I’m whatever I am because of what the ecosystem has made of me. --- - Published: 2019-06-16 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/aerosol-arena-wall-arts-in-magdeburg/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: aerosol arena, cool magdeburg, hip hop olympics, Magdeburg, magdeburg photos, wall art in magdeburg At any point in time, if life in Magdeburg gets boring, there’s always a little something new to explore; Aerosol Arena is one such place where music, art and free-spirited people meet. Perhaps a little more - a place for Hip Hop battle, to chill, share a beer with a person completely new. Painting on the walls is legal and this fact lets imaginations just fly! Wall arts and artists have interested me since I explored the wall arts and murals in Calcutta. Cologne was different and Magdeburg is a little more different! I’m happy to make this post on the wall arts in the aerosol arena, Magdeburg. Quite unintentionally though, we spend a couple of hours during their Hip-Hop Olympics - 72 hours of non-stop graffiti and hip hop. Aerosol Arena, Hip Hop Olympics | www. anirbansaha. com Where is Aerosol Arena? - Tram 10 takes you to “S Bahnhof Eichenweiler”, in the direction towards the Barleber See. A little more than a kilometre walk from there and a little maze solving skills will land you at the Aerosol Arena! Use Google Maps! What was it like? Imagine this: A walk for slightly more than a kilometre, through the green and through the concrete. You reach a place completely desolate, probably an abandoned factory or warehouse. You do not want to go back because that's where you came from. And the only way is a very unassuming pathway. You go near it and you find a car with graffiti on it. Suddenly you're greeted by loud Hip Hop music! And shoes hanging from the top. A little towards where the music came from opened an entirely different Magdeburg for us! It was a battle of abstract ideas and colours. People were friendly asking for feedback; for some, it was their first graffiti, for some a brown boy was quite an interesting addition to the assembly. For me, the ice breaker was simple: “Hey, would you mind if I take your photographs? ” The answers were affirmative, always. A couple of chaps offered me a beer, the DJ invited me to the 10 PM show where they'd make more music. And one artist asked where I would put the photographs up. And he made me do this: Subscribe to my blog on Telegram and on Facebook Messenger. Here are a few of the better shots taken using my 50 mm prime lens. I wish I had taken my wide lens. Sigh! You can follow him on Instagram/liquidxreus Huge murals on the walls of Magdeburg (1)| Aerosol Arena | www. anirbansaha. com The making of the huge murals on the walls | Aerosol Arena | www. anirbansaha. com Artists working on the murals | www. anirbansaha. com Rats and Hameln, the story of Pied Piper and the festival might be my next blog posts! Stay subscribed. Spray paints | Aerosol Arena, Magdeburg. What could this art mean? I do not know. You can leave your guesses below as a comment. The artist with the art | www. anirbansaha. com www. anirbansaha. com As a photographer, whenever you see a ladder, climb it! What's your story? How exactly do you pose in front of a mural? Because 2D is too mainstream! . . and this would be the last I post now. No, this should be the last. What comes to your mind when you see this for the first time? Call me a pervert but this is what comes to my mind! A song from Gangs of Wasseypur. I hope you've liked this blog post; follow me as I discover this side of the world in another new way. Subscribe to my blog on Messenger or on Telegram to get one text when I make a new blog post. Nothing is more encouraging than your show of support. Link to Aerosol Arena: https://aerosol-arena. de/ Subscribe to my blog on Facebook: https://m. me/anirbansahablog --- - Published: 2019-05-01 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/walpurgisnacht-wernigerode/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: Germany folk, Saxony Anhalt, Walpurgisnacht, Walpurgisnacht Wernigerode, Wernigerode, witch festival the witches party this night with the Satan, in all the darkness of the night. And the people light bonfires to keep them away. The saying goes like this - (medieval Europe) During Walpurgisnacht, the witches party with Satan, in all the darkness of the night. And the people (villagers) light bonfires to keep them away. And this is what happens - (21st century) the people dress up like witches and Satan, party and drink beer together. That's enough said about Walpurgisnacht! We went to experience Walpurgisnacht in Wernigerode, Germany. Walpurgisnacht at Wernigerode | www. anirbansaha. com I’m sure you’ve come across the word “witch”, be it in your childhood fairy tales or “witch hunting” in the news. In India, the “witch” equivalent is “Dayen (Hindi)” or “Daini (Bengali)”, and literal "witch-hunting" is a concern. Especially, if you come from the Bengal-Assam region, you are aware of “Black Magic” and the stories you hear around! Does that sound interesting to you? What’s Walpurgisnacht? “Nacht” (German word) is night in English. Walpurgis refers to St. Walpurga's. Long before Christianity took over, people believed in multiple Gods and Goddesses (Paganism); and like other similar traditions, they believed in witchcraft and black magic. Then there was the Holy Roman Empire during which conversions happened, from whatever beliefs they had to Christianity. During the 8th century, St. Walpurga apparently put an end to the pagan sorcery in the region. Her feast day is May 1, so the Walpurgisnacht (St. Walpurga’s eve) falls on 30 April every year. However, paganism thrived in remote areas like the Harz mountains and the region grew a reputation of being a bastion for these beliefs. Let’s tone it down a bit and let’s say this - there were rumours that there were feasts where witches partied with the Satan and planned what evil they would do the next year. And in order to keep witches away, local villagers used to light bonfire; because, why not? Those eyes | Walpurgisnacht 2019 What is it now? Witches were a scary concept throughout the 16th and 17th century. There were women who were killed or burnt because they were believed to be witches. However, during the early 19th century as science started creeping into the conscience of people, these people weren’t feared much. In fact, they were reworked into poetry, art and literature by luminaries such as Goethe, in his play 'Faust’. Jugglers performing inside the castle | Wernigerode, Germany 2019 Now it is made into an opportunity to party! There are local fairs, parties, gatherings and people across the region come together six months before the Halloween with witch costumes, Satan costumes and what not! Also, this has become a good opportunity to boost tourism in the region. Where does this happen? Harz mountains, very near to Magdeburg (capital of Saxony-Anhalt). If you are from Magdeburg, you take one train to Wernigerode, which is a little more than one hour journey. In Wernigerode, there is a little party in the center of the marketplace. Also in the market place, there is the Tourist office which, if inquired, will tell you that there are celebrations in the Castle (a lovely one kilometer walk up the hill) and there’s one at Schierke (Brocken hill). There are other places in the region where these celebrations happen. The city from the castle | Wernigerode, Germany 2019 What did we do? While I knew the celebrations are on April 30th, I realised I need to plan only a couple of days before it. So basically, I fucked up. Madhu joined me and we went to Wernigerode only during the late afternoon. We went to the castle and to the marketplace in Wernigerode. Maybe, next year we plan it better and go to the Brocken hill. We did not stay the night :( Madhu had to pose in front of the Schloss-Bahn minutes before we reached the Castle. Budget? Train (2 people, day pass): €32 Schloss-Bahn (2 people, Wernigerode market to castle): €8Entry to Castle (2 students): €18 What is it like to be here, as a Bengali? It’s amusing! While the basic idea of celebrations remain the same, the celebrations are slightly different. My experience has been extremely limited to Magdeburg and the region around: People spend time off the grid, wear costumes, eat good food, drink beer, watch people performing, drink more beer. One thing that is common is the celebration of medieval Germany - shields, wooden swords, helmets, clothes. People like it and it’s fun as well ! As a Bengali, it is more amusing and I’ll tell you why. In Bengali literature, you’ll find around 25 categorised ghosts/evils; one of them is “Dainee” (witches). One of them is “Boba” (dumb) where the person becomes dumb and motionless and hallucinates about witches. The concept of black magic continues to remain and thrive in the region and not many prefer to talk about it. To find people in Germany believe in this is just amusing! Unrelated PS: I finally found a beer which I liked. That’s an extremely sweet variety, the cherry beer. Photographs: Reading Links: The Culture Trip article by Anwesha Ray. The Local. de article by Michael Stuchbery. History. com article on “History of Witches”Celebration in rest of Europe: Daily Translations. com article. Thank you, Carl and his family, for having invited us to their home during Easter. It was a great weekend and helped us a lot in figuring things out. --- - Published: 2019-02-22 - Modified: 2020-09-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/data-and-knowledge-engineering-dke-at-otto-von-guericke-university-magdeburg/ - Categories: Random notes, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: about dke magdeburg, Data and Knowledge Engineering @ University Of Magdeburg, dke course ovgu, german education system, indian students in magdeburg, magdeburg dke, Magdeburg Indians, magdeburg university data science, master data science magdeburg, masters datascience magdeburg, myra spiliopoulou dke, ovgu data science, ovgu dke, ovgu dke introduction, ovgu magdeburg dke 1 ovgu magdeburg dke, uni magdeburg data science, uni magdeburg de, university of magdeburg data science masters Disclaimers: This is going to be a personal note and from my perspective. If you have any query, please send me a message here. If you are still researching about which university to choose, please check out this blog post. Iff you’ve got an acceptance letter for DE/DKE from Otto von Guericke University, Congratulations! Please remain connected with Support Internationals at FIN, OVGU. Iff you are coming to this university, read this personal welcome note from me :) This is an introductory blog post to Data and Knowledge Engineering (M. Sc. DKE) in Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg; or what people generally call "Data Science" masters course in the University of Magdeburg in Germany. We assume that you've got an acceptance letter already. In this blog post, we will very, very briefly discuss how it works in the German education system (how different from the education system, I've previously been in) and how it relies on the area(s) of interest. The third and the fourth part deals mostly with information specific to Otto von Guericke University M. Sc. DKE course. Also read: To an International Student. German Education System for (Indian) Dummies! Scientific methodology: Get introduced to scientific methods and make it your lifestyle. It’s important! Credit System: You will have to choose from a variety of courses, most or all of them would be optional. You choose courses based on your area of interest. Each credit point translates to around 30 hours of study, given that the aspirant has the prerequisite knowledge. That’s 180 hours of study for a 6 credit course. Studying is the job of the student; if s/he has any queries, s/he should approach the professor. There should not be any hand-holding or spoon-feeding. Constructive criticism is very appreciated, and the faculty welcomes it. Long answers do not fetch you more marks. Specific Keywords in answers, help. There are no “campusing”/ on campus recruitments; getting a job is a students responsibility. Student job opportunities! ! My experiences in Magdeburg Having an Area of Interest! You should know what the ideal case scenario should be. It is very recommended that you have an area of interest, something that motivates you to do your M. Sc. If you are not sure about what your area(s) of interest is, you might want to check this post out. Disclaimer: This runs on the very basic assumption that you would appreciate to study things you are interested in and take up a job or do research on something you like. It is perfectly all right if you do not have an area of interest, yet. There is a big list of courses from which you are supposed to choose your courses. The courses are expected to align with your area of interest. The course content would most probably be theoretical with a couple of programming assignments. This is your time to explore your area of interest. Based on the fundamental courses, choose the courses which are advanced, or which requires implementing the concepts. If you are undecided about your area(s) of interest, take the fundamental courses from a range of options, the main purpose of which would be to just explore areas. Based on that, take the advanced courses. Use You will be required to do a project where you implement the concepts by coding. So till this point in time - ideally you've done fundamental courses, a couple of advanced courses and a project aligning to your area of interest. You'd then be required to do 30 credits worth Master Thesis. Master Thesis is a Big Deal. Ideally, start preparing for it at the earliest. The Master Thesis shows your analytical skills and might be critical in getting you a better pay package, should you decide to do a job. Discussions and perceptions about master thesis should ideally by another topic. What after master thesis and how does the German education system assist you? If you want to pursue a PhD, the professor is there to guide you with the necessary details. Else there's always Google. If you would want to either start up your own business or work in a startup, the entrepreneurship centres help you do it. In OVGU, its TUGZ. Most universities have one centre for themselves, you can check the Exist. de Network. They help you understand the startup ecosystem, Intellectual property rights, translate your idea into your business. Even if you do not want your own startup, this is a good network you might want to be in, to know about the startups. The German Universities (which are not institutes for applied sciences) ideally prepare you for scientific work. But outgoing students do get a job. The best case scenario is you get a job related to your area of interest and can show your master thesis topic and the projects. There are portals similar to linkedin, for Europe. One of them, you should be introduced to is Xing. About the DKE course in Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg. Embedded below is a video which serves as an overview of the DKE course in the university. The interviewer is a student from India and the interview is of Professor Myra Spiliopoulou, who is the course coordinator of the Data and Knowledge Engineering. https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=HWM3ahMitgk The current course structure which would be implemented from the Summer Semester 2019 is as follows: ModuleMin CreditsMax CreditsFundamentals of Data Science1218Learning Methods and Models of DataSci1836Data Processing for Data Science1830Applied Data Science1824 Total Credits to be completed (minimum) before registering for the Master Thesis is 90; of which minimum 1 should be a 6 credit project. Disclaimer: This information might not be true for the future batch. If you are reading this and you are from a future batch, please check with the official website(s), links of which are given below. First Webinar of SI@FIN: Posted by Support Internationals - FIN, OVGU on Sunday, March 10, 2019 Important Official Links... Description of the linkLinkFIN websiteLinkFAQ Page for Incoming studentsLinkSupport Internationals at FIN, OVGULinkInternational Student Mentors for DE/DKELink Other related reading: Click on the image to know how life is in Magdeburg? Introducing Magdeburg to an Indian! --- - Published: 2019-02-01 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/matera-sunrise-sunset/ - Categories: Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Random notes, travel, Travel, Travel Europe - Tags: italy, matera, matera cave, matera sunrise, matera sunset Matera, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, is a treasure rediscovered very late during the late twentieth century and since then it has been quite a topic of discussion for all good and not-so-good reasons. Loved or hated, but no one could dispute the beauty of the little town built with stones, primarily yellow sandstones. When the earliest rays of the sun fall on the top of the building, it’s just golden. The Surprise sun rise. Close your eyes and imagine this - a town made of stones on the top of the hill, bordered by the gorge and on the other side of it is a lush green land with numerous caves. There’s a brook in between. On the top of the town, there’s a large church and in front of it, is a small space that gives you a spectacular view of the little town. From the view point, you see the tip of the other church, and narrow lanes spiral down the hill and merge into broader roads. Right in front of you is a hairpin bend and the street lights besides, glow like the stars. Moments before the sun rise | Matera, Italy '2019 You wait for the sun to rise but wait, there’s a little surprise the Almighty has planned for you. It suddenly becomes windy and it starts drizzling. You stand there because you don’t want to miss the glimpse of the sunrise not complaining of the cold. Slowly the drizzles turn into snow flakes. The surprise sun rise | Matera, Italy '2019 Isn't this beautiful? I did not know how to react to this beautiful start of the day. I do not know why I was jumping like a child; standing at the edge, thanking the Almighty. Italy's "Sonar Kella". The snow did not last long but it left me and my friend very cold and numb. We definitely were not prepared for this. We look a little rest and saw the sun rise from behind the church and slowly the clouds drift away. We walked down the township sticking to the edge of the gorge. My entire focus was on the valley below and the brook. Little did I realise that to my right I had the city look like a golden fortress. Looking back at the lane we walked, I could see the golden tip of the highest homes in the neighbourhood... . shonar kella! Apologies for the Bengali reference. From across the Gorge, inside the cave.   The stone city from the cave | Matera, Italy '2019 I travelled with Pavel who is not only a student studying in this university but also an enthusiastic trekker and photographer. When he heard that the cheap way to reach the other side of the gorge is an abandoned and not-very-legal hiking trail, he exclaimed, "Did you just say illegal? ". Francesca, our host who owns The Rock Hostel, had more warnings than suggestions, "But beware, there are wild boars. . and there's frost, it might be slippery. " I guess before she could find more English words to explain to us why it wasn't really a good idea, we were just out of the hostel to find the abandoned trekking route. So there we were, two young lads, camera and tripods on our back jumping fences, hiking up and down the hills just managing not-to-slip from where we are; the hanging bridge was scary I must add. Pavel was the happiest that moment. We reached the other side and the caves. These caves were inhabited since the stone age. But the other side of the gorge and the caves, should be another blog post, should you ask for it by dropping me a private message here. To see the city glow in the sun, to have spread the arms as if wings that could flutter in the strong cold wind, made me look at the Almighty's creation with utter amazement. With no amount of description would help you feel how incredibly beautiful this place is. The stunning sun set at Matera. A thousand lit lamps | Matera, Italy '2019 We walked to the other end of the old town through the heart of the city, sneaking at times to see if there's a view. I heard the city gets covered with a pinkish hue during the sunset. When we reached an abandoned place, we decided to stay there till the sun sets. This again was perhaps the highest point in the region from where we could see the entire stone city. The golden hue slowly made way to the orange, the red and different shades of blue of the sky. The households starting lighting their bulbs and there it was - another view of heaven, right in front of us. ~ Thank you for reading this far! Do ask me questions about the trip and the place and if you are planning a Europe trip, plan a couple of days in Matera. Do give me a review of this blog post either publicly or here in FB messenger. If you like this post and the photographs, please share it with your friends? And after I'm done with my exams, I'll process and upload more photographs, only if you want. --- - Published: 2018-12-27 - Modified: 2019-01-31 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-statue-of-david-michelangelo-florence/ - Categories: Random notes, Travel, Travel Europe - Tags: David, david michelangelo analysis, david michelangelo facts, david michelangelo hand, david michelangelo height, david michelangelo original location, david statue location, Michelangelo The Statue of David (Michelangelo) | Photograph: www. anirbansaha. com David (Michelangelo): This statue has been talked, written, painted, photographed, discussed, debated for over 500 years. What more could I add to it? What I could do, for my readers is give a very brief introduction to each aspect of the statue. If that interests them, they could go and read further. Renaissance and Italy: Renaissance (meaning: rebirth) refers to the pre-modern era when Europe was getting back to its glory. There are various theories that suggest why Italy was the epicenter of the rediscovery; one being the fall of the Greeks to the Ottoman Turks (Muslim rulers) and the philosophers migrating to Italy. The second is the patronage of powerful families in different pockets in Italy that funded this explosion of art, sculpture, and philosophy. The explosion was fuelled by increased communication - the discovery of printed press in Germany. Different prominent European names that we've known in our childhood like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael or even William Shakespeare belongs to this era. It started in Florence (Italy) and spread to different pockets in Italy - Venice, Rome, Milan and Bologna to name a few. It later spread to the rest of Europe. If you are in India reading this and you've studied the ICSE curriculum, you've probably read about this in your grade seven history books in overwhelming details. If you haven't, please search about it if this interests you. About Michelangelo: A sculptor who carved David out of the rock and painter who painted the inside of the Sistine Chapel. If you love art of any form, the probability of you not having heard his name is almost zero. The wall painting in the Sistine Chapel. If there is one person in the Renaissance period who drove me crazy during my school days, was this person. His work, of both Sistine Chapel and David, was the reason why I went to Italy. This is the link to his Wikipedia Page. David and Goliath (Caravaggio) About David in the Old Testament Bible: David in the Old Testament Bible is the young warrior who defeated Goliath. "David versus Goliath" is now a proverb which means something small is fighting the big and is expected to win. "David" now is synonymous with "underdog". Goliath, the giant, asked the army of Israel to send the best of them so that a single combat between Goliath and the best could decide the fate of the war. But Saul, the ruler of Israelites was afraid. The young David, who brought food for his elder brothers, comes to know about this and accepts the challenge. The ruler, Saul, agreed reluctantly and offered him the armor which David refused. David took the things he had, a sling and five pebbles from the brook. The two faced each other. Goliath with his armor and a spear. David with a sling and five stones. After a slight verbal exchange in extreme Hollywood style, they start a fight. David swung a stone which hits Goliath in the center of his forehead; Goliath fell on his face on the ground. David swiftly slits his throat and cuts his head off. David (Michelangelo) in Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy. About David, the statue: David as represented by Michelangelo, is without Goliath; which traditionally has always been. Perhaps for the first time David was portrayed without a Goliath. The moment represented in this statue is after he decided to fight the battle with Goliath and before he went ahead with it. "A moment between conscious choice and action". The weight of the body rests on the right leg while the left is loosened and forward. The body is comparatively relaxed and the torso slightly turning to the left, showing that the body is in motion. The eyes are determined. The right-hand holding stone, the veins visible, the muscles of the neck shows tension. The left hand holding the sling over the shoulder. The statue is nude for reasons not really known to me; the small genitals are in line with Michelangelo's other works and with Renaissance conventions. The figure has a slightly bigger head and the hand; it was supposed to be one of the statues on the roofline of the Florence Cathedral. But it wasn't. Instead, it was placed at the Piazza Della Signoria. Today the statue of David is located in Accademia Gallery of Florence. The statue of David is nearly 17 feet tall; that's mammoth. It derives it style from the Roman art and the face is inspired by Apollo - the Sun God. Over a period of time, it became a political symbol of resilience that represented Florence. Did you know: Over 8 million tourist comes to see the statue of David every year on an average? But you don't worry, I've photographed the statue from all possible angles and is presenting to you. If you like it, please share it with your friends. --- - Published: 2018-12-26 - Modified: 2018-12-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/camp-nou-experience-barcelona/ - Categories: Photography, Random notes, Travel, Travel Europe - Tags: Barcelona, Camp Nou “You? ... went to Camp Nou? Why! ? ” People wondered and they have all the reasons to. If you’ve read this blog post, you’d know how clueless I am about football although literally everyone around me follows, appreciates, and lives it. I haven't even figured out the offside rule yet. But Camp Nou was more about Souranil and Aditya and their excitement. Souranil, I believe, is like most younger siblings. He was indifferent to my plans until he discovered I am going to Barcelona: “HOLY SHIT DADA! Why didn't you mention this earlier! ! ! ” FCBarcelona is the team he swears by, and he was elated that I was going to be there. As was Surya’s friend Aditya. So, it was decided - I will spend half of a whole day in Camp Nou when I go to Barcelona, whatever it takes... and it does take quite a bit if you are on a student budget. But the experience is worth it! The first thing to notice inside Camp Nou is - free and fast WiFi. Instantly, Souranil and Aditya appeared on video call. I entered the pathway and walked straight till another door led me into a dark room. But before that, some mandatory information:Camp Nou is the home stadium of FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona is one of the most popular football teams in the world with a rich heritage, which is exhibited in the museum. Now, Camp Nou and Nou Camp both are correct and it means “New Field” (the old field is Camp De Les Corts). In 2001, the then President Joan Gaspart asked for a poll and 68. 25% of the members selected “Camp Nou” to be the name. The new stadium is over sixty years old. It has a capacity of over 99,000. To put that to a perspective, ... . umm let it be. You'd understand it anyway. Close your eyes and imagine around a lakh people cheering for their club. That’s crazy. So yeah, the dark room is the start to the museum. When you turn right from the door, you see the shoes with the players’ names arranged according to their jersey numbers. When you walk to the middle of the dark room, you can see the entire history of FC Barcelona inscribed minutely, and an assortment of exhibits. You could read the Wikipedia page for the history. The ground floor of the museum is this. When you go up to the second floor, you get a glimpse of the stadium. Above that is the multimedia room, and you would best explore this by walking the length. Some screenshots I took during the video call with Souranil and Aditya... because I was not photographing while I was on video call. Obviously! I have only two hands. There's a gallery for the audiovisuals and the rest of the museum are just trophies (I lost count). Towards the stadium is a passage, the sides of which have the press room, the changing room, and a small chapel for players to pray. "You know why (Barcelona) fans are called "culés" which literally means asses in Spanish? Because when the club started playing, the stadium was surrounded by walls. People would sit on these walls to watch matches. For any passerby on the road, he could just see these people's asses. So everyone started calling Barca fans culés. "Aditya Joshi. Tips! Because Bloggers give tips however stupid, lame and obvious they are! You can buy tickets online. If you are a student, take the student ID card with you. Click photographs inside; preferably take selfies. In case you need to go back to the museum/stadium, the guard will ask you for a proof that you've been there just before and did not take someone else's ticket. Expect a little long queue; so arrive early. Going to Camp Nou is easy, it's next to the metro station. Carry some good amount of money with you. If you are an ardent fan, you might want a photograph printed photoshopped with legends. That costs money! If you're a fan, you'll take around 3 hours to explore. If you are a confused fan, you'll take more. So preferably carry some food and water. There's a separate section for souvenirs: from wallets, scarfs, keychains, fridge magnets to jerseys, football and more. I went through each item asking Souranil if he wants one. We finally settled for a little crystal paperweight with soil and a little grass from the stadium. It's (the holy) soil taken from the stadium and comes with a certificate! The second time I went back to the stadium and the museum is to photograph it. Towards the end of this blog post, you will see the photographs. The third time I went back to the stadium is when I finalized the gifts I was going to get for Souranil and Aditya. By the time I completed touring the entire museum and stadium three fucking times, I had no energy left. I dragged myself back to the hostel and crashed. Souranil and Aditya's expressions filled me with contentment. There was nothing more I could have wished for. A video conference is perhaps not the best way to live the Camp Nou experience for an ardent fan and I am very sure they'll very quickly grow up and visit this Mecca of football. So friends, here are the photographs: Acknowledgement(s): Lakshanadevi Radhakrishnan and Yamini Sinha for planning the entire trip. Surya Shekhar Chakraborty for the revision of this blog post. Aditya Joshi for the trivia and the history just before I left for the stadium! --- - Published: 2018-12-02 - Modified: 2021-02-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-indians-social-life/ - Categories: Germany - Tags: Kaiser Otto Fest, Kaiser Otto Fest Magdeburg, kaiser otto festival, life beyond studies, magdeburg street food festival, magdeburg students, ovgu dke student Information: Check out the part 2 of this post here. Magdeburg isn't the book you can judge by the cover or the first couple of chapters; you shouldn't as well. For me as a student, I discover Magdeburg in little bits, a little each time I step out of the home. If you think you'd know this city in a week or a month, it's just ambitious; judging by how long the shops stay open, how many landmarks it offers the tourists or how exciting the pubs are. Slowly I am getting to understand what keeps the people in the city happy and their hearts throbbing. Magdeburg is slower and simpler than Calcutta but grows on you, stronger, once you start loving it. Information: Check out the part 2 of this post here. Christmas Market | Magdeburg' 2018 I write this post because a couple of my readers asked me about the social life of an international student studying in Magdeburg. To them, it is a city in East Germany, full of orthodox and unwelcoming people. Orthodox, they might be but the people here are definitely not unwelcoming. Here people come together in all occasions possible and expect you to be there with them; be it the Kaiser-Otto festival or the Christmas Market. Or it could just be the street food festival where different street food across the globe was sold at one place with games and amusements. People come together in one space, not divided by social and economic status. Knights perform the last rites of their show | Kaiser Otto Festival. The Kaiser-Otto Fest was an exhibition of medieval Magdeburg. There were events to showcase Magdeburg, during the middle age with medievally themed clothes, food. There were young kids who tried their hands on (wooden) swords and learned the basics of attacking and of defense, the medieval way! Also, there were stalls where you could buy clothes. I bought a medieval shirt for myself. I do not know where I’ll wear it. Maybe next time, I buy a medieval pant. The medieval belts are super stylish but I am sure I can not carry them off. Not just clothes, jewelry, and food - you would get fur of bear, jackets made of skin (PS: Shit expensive for a student). There was a person who had 3 very rare birds - he exhibited them and people posed with the birds to take photographs. Kids prepare to have a fight ! ! | Kaiser Otto Festival, Magdeburg 2018 The bored warrior princess. | Kaiser Otto Fest, Magdeburg 2018 The Gallant Knight | Kaiser Otto Fest Magdeburg 2018 The man with the pet bird | Kaiser Otto Fest Magdeburg 2018 L-R: Different kinds of wine exhibited at the street food festival; Me wearing my medieval shirt and pant; Pig, roasted the medieval way.  Photographs: Subhashree Mangaraj. I found the Kaiser Otto Fest very interesting! Before I started studying in Magdeburg, medieval Europe was very limited to a couple of chapters we read in our history books as a backdrop to Renaissance and Reformation movements. I knew nothing more than that. I got a little insight into it when I went to Tangermunde and Quedlinburg; a little more when I searched "Otto von Guericke" on the internet and the history of the enormous Gothic Cathedral in Magdeburg. During this fest, medieval Europe came alive and for a couple of hours, I lived in it. Christmas Market, Magdeburg 2017. The Christmas Market is a fair, almost all places in Europe have, during December. That’s a celebration of winter with a Christmas fervor. There are games which range from archery to picking soft toys up, food that ranges from currywurst, and Pommes to newer international cuisine and of course Gluhwein. Fancy showpieces are up on sale as well! The games are stupid and we know we will lose money, the archery thing is stupid. The balloons move when the arrow hits it on its side; they don't burst. But even then it's fun! For a couple of hours, I'm just the kid trying everything out and wasting money. The kids up on the shoulders of the elders in the Christmas Market. Ah, I've passed this age -_- There might not be too many exciting pubs and the club for the straight people might just remain closed with no reasons mentioned. Shops might close after eight in the evening and there might not be too many options to choose your jackets from. But you know what? When an old man notices you trying hard to photograph a bird, he would give you all his knowledge about where you can photograph birds and people to contact with. When you smile at an old man, his mistress would also smile back and offer you Gluhwein and ask you to sit with them and enjoy the music. I'm sure like me, many in India would be slightly apprehensive about leaving India and explore living outside. People like the ones I mentioned just now, make our lives easier. . and Magdeburg, home.  People are the same, be it Calcutta or Magdeburg; with the same human feelings and almost the same expressions but always, the same warmth. In the university setup, there are communities like IKUS, RIA Buddy Program or Magdeburg Indians, who create the platform for people to socialize and create events like the festival of cultures, the Halloween party, Italian nights, Latino nights and what not! Also, there are some event or the other always happening inside this city, of which anyone can be a part of. It could be a gathering to see the lunar eclipse or to just talk in German over a mug of beer. This post is getting long. What I'll do is, I'll paste a few photographs I've taken in the last couple of months to give you an insight. A shot from the Halloween Party organized by IKUS and RIA Buddy Programme. Halloween Party - an experience, right out of my imaginations. Participating in a proper Halloween party was a first in my life. Not that in Calcutta we do not have parties, but it isn't popular enough for a traditional Bengali to be a part of. I photographed the event on behalf of RIA Buddy Program. During the Indian Lichterfest 2018 organized by Magdeburg Indians eV. Photograph: Sankul Rathod. A stolen moment from the games during the freshers meet organized for the Indian students. I do not know why my friends were going crazy over black ice-cream. It isn't tasty and your teeth turn black. | Magdeburg Street Food Festival 2018. Cupcakes where you could inject extra flavors or rum | Street Food Festival, Magdeburg 2018 During the festival of cultures, the stall of India generates a lot of curiosity; obviously. At the International Masters Night with tea, the Elbauen Park Observatory, and the festival of cultures organized by IKUS. Photographed at the International Evening organised by KulturKollectiv Magdeburg Trust me there's so much more. And there are so many photographs and experiences that I wish to share with you all. If you are not a close friend or a dedicated reader reading this, in all probability you have searched for this on the internet and is reading my blog. To you I say, do not worry. This is Germany; be nice, be disciplined, remain honest. This is one of the best countries to have a good work-life balance. And with this, I'd end this post. This has become too long, isn't it? Drop me a text if you have queries here. The river bank behind the Cathedral during sunrise. You can find more here. Information: Check out the second part of this blog post here. Information: Check out the second part of this blog post here. --- - Published: 2018-10-21 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/durga-puja-berlin-autumn-magdeburg-bengali/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Student life at Magdeburg!, বাংলা - Tags: autumn in magdeburg, durga puja in berlin আমার বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, শরৎ কালে। যদি ফাটা রদ্দুরের মধ্যে ঠাণ্ডা লাগে, গাছের পাতা হলুদ হয়ে ঝরে পরে, ব্যাস! বুঝে যাবেন শরৎ এসে হাজির! আমাদের শহর কোলকাতায়, শরৎ কাল বেশ অনেকটাই কাল্পনিক। গল্পে শোনা বা পত্রিকায় পড়া। যত দিন না ঢাকে কাঠি পরছে, ততদিন গ্রীষ্ম, নইলে বর্ষা। এখানে একটু অন্যরকম। শীতের পরে বসন্ত আসে। বসন্তে পুরো শহর টা বেশ একটা বড় বাগানের মতন দেখায়। গ্রীষ্মে বেশ গরম। শরৎে গাছের সবুজ পাতা হলুদ হয়ে শুকিয়ে যায়। ঝড়-দমকা হাওয়ায় সেই পাতাগুলো গাছ থেকে মাটিতে ঝরে পড়ে। অনেকে বেশ মজা পায়, পাতা তুলে নিজের কাছে রেখে দেয়। তাদের মধ্যে আমি একজন। আমার বাংলাদেশের এক বন্ধুও দেখি সেইদিন বেশ আনন্দ পেয়েছিল পাতা ঝরে পড়তে দেখে। আমরা দুই জন খালি নই, অনেকে ইন্সটাগ্রামে, অনেক হ্যাশট্যাগ দিয়ে শরৎের ছবি আপলোড করে। এই গাছের রং বদল, পাতা ঝরে পড়া, ফাটা রদ্দুরের মধ্যে কনকনে ঠাণ্ডা হাওয়া। সবার মধ্যে কারো হাতে কফি, নইলে কোলা। আর কিছু না পেলে বিয়ার। সাথে বই নইলে ল্যাপটপ। দোকানে দোকানে এখন হ্যালোউইনের তোর-জোর চলছে। শুরু হয়ে গেছে ক্রিস্টমাসের যোগান। সকালে বা বিকেলে যখন নদীর ধার দিয়ে হাটি, অনেকেই বেশ নিজের থেকে কথা বলে, ওরা এখন আমার মুখ চিনে গেছে। কখনও কেউ নিজেদের মতন করে গান বাজনা করে, নতুন কাউকে দেখলে হাসে আর জার্মান ভাষায় কথা বলে। সব মিলিয়ে বেশ একটা আনন্দ উৎসবের আবহাওয়া। শরতের আগমন || www. anirbansaha. com ঝরে পড়া পাতা। শরতে রাস্তা আর চার মাথার মোর। শরৎ কালের বাগানের ছবি। শরতে হাটার রাস্তা । এই উৎসবে শামিল মধু, শাহরুখ খানের মতন হাত বারিয়ে। আর এ সবার মধ্যে, আমি বাঙালি। আমাদের শারদোৎসব বলতে কাশ ফুল, আকাশে ছড়ানো মেঘ, দুর্গা পূজা। তার সাথে অবশ্যই বন্ধু-বান্ধব-পরিবারের সাথে সময় কাটানো, আড্ডা, নতুন জামা কাপড় আর খাওয়া-দাওয়া। এখানে ভারতীয় বাঙালির সংখ্যা ১৫’র চেয়েও কম। আমার মতন একটা কি দুটো গাধা আছে, বাকি সবাই খুব মন দিয়ে পড়াশোনা করে, ক্লাস ছাড়া ওদের মুখ ঠিক দেখা যায় না। উৎসবে যোগ দেওয়া অনেক দূর। তো, হ্যা। সব থেকে কাছে যে পুজো হয়, সেটা আমার বাড়ি থেকে প্রায় দের ঘণ্টা দূরে। পাঁচ দিন না পারলেও, একটা দিন সময় করে চলে গেলাম। বার্লিনের দুর্গা পূজা চল্লিশ বছরের পুড়নো। ছাত্রদের আবাসনে বেশ ছোট করে এই পূজা হয়। মূর্তি টা আমার থেকেও ছোট সাইজে। কিন্তু আন্তরিকতায় কোন কমতি নেই। পৌছনোর পর থেকেই আমি একটু একটু কাজ করতে শুরু করি - ফল কাটা, নৈবেদ্য দেওয়া ইত্যাদি। কিছু সময়ের মধ্যে দেখি, আমি বেশ ভালো ভাবেই যুক্ত হয়ে পড়েছি। কাঁসর বাজানো থেকে শুরু করে, ধুনো দেওয়া। এসব আমি কোলকাতায়ে থাকাকালীন কোন দিন করিনি। এটাও একটা নতুন অভিজ্ঞতা। বার্লিনের দুর্গা পুজার প্রাঙ্গনে, আমি ধুতি পরে হাজির। আমি ৩ বন্ধু আনলাম। এক এক জন আরও ৩ জন। এরকম করে আমাদের আড্ডা সারা রাত চলল। আমার সাথে গেছিল মধু ও অপ্রতিম। বার্লিনে থাকে মনামি। বুদাপেস্ট থেকে চলে এসেছিল ইতিলেখা। এরা দুইজনেই আমার আগের কলেজের পরিচিত। অনুপলের বার্লিন আসার কথা ছিল এক দিন পরে। ও প্যারিস থেকে ঠিক সময় মতন চলে আসে। অনুপল আমার বন্ধু হয়েছিল ছবি তোলার সূত্রে, প্রায় ৮ বছর আগে। আমি ভাবিনি যে এরা, সবাই এত ভালো ভাবে মিশে যাবে। ওইখানেও কিছু বন্ধু পাতালাম। সবাই সবার বন্ধুদের ডেকে আনল। বেশ জমিয়ে আড্ডা হল। আমি ভাবিনি মধু এত কথা বলবে সবার সাথে। সেইদিন আর ফেরা হয়েনি। সারা রাত খাওয়া দাওয়া আর আড্ডা হয়েছে। এই অভিজ্ঞতাও আমার জীবনে নতুন। সব মিলিয়ে মিশিয়ে খুব নতুন আমার এই বারের শারদোৎসব। নবমীর আরতি। বার্লিনের দুর্গা ঠাকুর। --- - Published: 2018-10-21 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-newer-sharodotshob-autumn-festival/ - Categories: Autumn, Durga Puja, Festival, Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: autumn in magdeburg, durga puja in berlin, madhu kiran reddy thatikonda “Sharodotshob” in Bengali would translate to the festival during the Autumn, which also very intuitively refers to the Durga Puja (the religious festival worshipping Goddess Durga). Back in the city where I’ve lived almost my entire life so far, this is the time for the biggest and most exuberant celebrations. It’s more than a religious festival might ever become. There’s worshipping the Goddess, new clothes, a lot of food, friends and family gathering and “pandal-hopping”. Pandals are temporary temples built specifically during this time so that people (around 14 million of them) can be accommodated. But what’s “hopping” in it? Like most things Bengalis do, we made this an occasion to show off our artistic skills and have made this an opportunity to raise awareness about social issues etc. So a person hops from one pandal to the other. The Sharodotshob or Durga Puja is often referred to as the biggest open-air art festival in the world. But this is not what I want to discuss in this blog post*. I am away from Calcutta for more than one year now. Last year, I felt autumn in Portland, USA where I was pretty amused by the red leaves. But the program I was in, did not really allow me the liberty of being poetic about it. I properly felt it when I started breathing properly in Magdeburg. But I am not a poet, so this time even when there is the liberty, I am not. Like I mentioned in a couple of blog posts earlier, in Magdeburg or perhaps anywhere else, you will see and feel the seasons change. You can not escape or miss noticing the change. During the Spring, the entire city becomes an extended garden. The summers are hotter than I had ever expected them to be. The Germans agree with me and blame global warming. Slowly with the passage of time, the green of the leaves change to the lighter shades of yellow. They dry and wither but somehow remain on the branches till the wind hits them. They fall on the ground and that’s something one must not miss feeling. This feeling is festive enough. Autumn in Magdeburg || www. anirbansaha. comutumn So when I see Germans gearing up for the Halloween or the Christmas during late September, somewhere deep in my heart I know the Dhaak (drums) have started playing back in Calcutta. Be it Christmas or Durga Puja, it is a celebration time. Each time I walk from my home to the university campus, it feels festive. Each time I walk down the riverside or stop when a man plays the mouth organ or perhaps every time an old German lady smiles and talks to me when I offer her a seat in the tram or pass by them, it is festive. It’s just a happy festive time, be it Calcutta or Magdeburg. Be it the drum rolls in Durga Puja or the change of colors and the embracing of the winters. I wish I could photograph every bit of it and show it to you. But there are some things which I can - show you a couple of photographs of the autumn here in the campus and around. That's Madhu when I ask him to pose seriously... and that's Madhu just being himself. Please notice the background more. Random street lights near the Dom Inside the university near the Library. Random cobbled street. That's just another open space covered with the autumn colours. That's a random street crossing. A pathway near the Hasselbachplatz Autumn in Magdeburg || www. anirbansaha. com That's the University tram stop. Durga Puja in Berlin Also, Durga Puja even it’s for a day! Now that I was missing Durga Puja so much, how can I not visit one, especially when the nearest one is in Berlin! ? It’s homely. The moment I reached there I offered my help and even before I could realize, I felt I was one among the organizers, cutting fruits or doing some arrangement for the pujas. I’ve never done that ever in Calcutta! So yes, this a newer autumn festival for me, a newer Sharodotshob for me this year. Subho Bijoya. If you happen to read this, please accept my heartfelt greetings on of this festive season. For us Bengalis, festivities have just started and would continue till Christmas. Worshipping the Goddess I bring 3 friends, each brings 3 and the group just gets bigger! *But since I am Anirban Saha, how can I not boast about how great or creative Calcutta is? This year, there were “pandals” that spoke about Child labor (link), about the life of prostitutes (link) and other pandals which showcased the lost art of “shola” in Bengal. There were pandals like that of Sreebhumi which was just grand or perhaps like this one, which made the idol for the visually-impaired to touch and feel (link). That’s just a few, there are 3000+ of them. You can check around 40 of them here in The Puja App. That’s my Calcutta for you. Subho Sharodiya. --- - Published: 2018-09-08 - Modified: 2020-07-18 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/common-birds-magdeburg-germany/ - Categories: Birding, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: Common birds in Germany, Common birds in Magdeburg, common-birds-in-magdeburg For all the students who are into bird photography, hats off to you! This is my second year of trying to know birds and I am going to complete my first year in Germany next month. It took me sometime to figure some things out regarding birding in Magdeburg, Germany. While I still could not meet a bird photographer in Magdeburg, I found a few things interesting which I will tell in this blog post. Birding in Magdeburg (2) |Magdeburg, 2018 There’s a Facebook Group by the name “Ornithologie - Vogelbeobachtung und Vogelkunde. ” (link) where interested people actively discuss about birds. While most of them do speak in German, you’d find younger people often trying to help in English. So yea, this is one resource that all birding aspirants in Germany should have access to. Sunrise in Magdeburg, beside the river Elbe. Barn Swallows near Elbe during the sun rise. The birds are mainly active during the early hours of the day. This was one of the first things my choto bhai told me about birding. So yea, I made this an opportunity to walk in the morning, around nine to ten kilometers a day, carrying my camera and lens. Not that it helps me reduce my tummy and get back to shape but it is a good feeling. I see the sun rise like a red hot ball from within the clouds. The swallows or the swifts put up a show in the morning, every day. Often they go to the abandoned ship (it is also a bar with loud music during the day time) to rest, unless chased by a bigger bird which comes from across the river. I decided to find out what it is and I came across a fascinating fact. Magdeburg is right in the middle of a biosphere reserve: Biosphere Reserve Middle-Elbe, or Biosphärenreservat Mittelelbe (Wikipedia link), recognised by UNESCO in 1997. There’s a very small information center near the abandoned ship cum bar. The young boys who take care of the place do not know anything about birds but the exhibition there helped me understand that for one specific species of birds, there might be a German name very different from that of an English name. But the good part is, Magdeburg is in the middle of a biosphere reserve. That’s a lot of Eurasian Coot together | Barleber See, Magdeburg 2018 Great Crested Grebe | Barleber See, Magdeburg 2018 White Wagtail | Barleber See, Magdeburg 2018 I’ve often mentioned in my previous blog posts that the city Magdeburg is like one big garden. Now it makes a little more sense why this is like a garden with flowers and parks and everything Calcutta is not. There are big lakes (called “See”, denoting “sea” but pronounced as “zee”) inside/around Magdeburg. Barleber See, Neustädter See are two of them. There’s this river Elbe which flows through the city. While I managed to visit Barleber See once, I still couldn’t manage time for the other one. And then there are parks, the Nord Park being the nearest to the campus. The campus itself is a home to a number of birds! Common Black Bird (Juvenile) possibly affected by Usutu virus | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2018 Black Redstart | University Campus, Magdeburg 2018 Common starling | Nord Park, Magdeburg 2018 Grey Heron | River Elbe, Magdeburg 2018 Barn Swallow | Barleber See, Magdeburg 2018 Black-headed Gull | Barleber See, Magdeburg 2018 Mallard (Female) | Barleber See, Magdeburg 2018 Mallard (Juvenile) | Elbauen Park, Magdeburg 2018 White Wagtail (Juvenile) | Elbauen Park, Magdeburg 2018 European Goldfinch (Juvenile) | Elbauen Park, Magdeburg 2018 Common Redstart (Juvenile) | Elbauen Park, Magdeburg 2018 European Stonechat (Juvenile) | Elbauen Park, Magdeburg 2018 The Elbauen Park is an interesting place; you can go there and spend the entire day doing some activity or the other. There are ice cream shops, food stalls, fun games, a place for rock climbing (you need to register to a school). There are Reindeers as well. So, yea! Featuring in this blog post - Mr. Reindeer. Elbauen Park, Magdeburg 2018 Beside the Elbauen Park is the Kletter Park which I believe exists for adventure sports. I have not been there. There was some adventure gaming event scheduled in which I was very interested. Two days before the event, I had sprained my left ankle and had to give it a miss. While trying to understand which birds I have photographed, Alex told me aSometime. Naturschutzbund Deutschland eV or NABU (link) is the German Nature Conservation Union eV. Check their site out to know what they do. Of all the things they do, they organise birespeciallys everywhere on earth but not Magdeburg. While this makes me sad, it also gives me a hope. Some time after I am done with my thesis and have a lot of time and money, I could go on this trips! That’s all from my side right now. I do not know how many morning walks I can do now specially when my semester starts and it is autumn. Sooner than we would realise, it would be winters. I feel the birds have started migrating now. It’s fun! Last year we saw a lot of ducks walking down the campus at night, quack quacking! They were possibly migrating that time. But before I end this post, I will show some more photographs which aren’t great but is important to put here. Common Buzzard | Magdeburg 2018 Bye bye, Tschüss. Wrapping this post up - In this post, you got introduced to the Facebook group where people discuss about birds, you got introduced to NABU and the Biosphere Mittel-Elbe. You also know the places inside Magdeburg where I have photographed. May be next Spring, I travel to more places inside Magdeburg and photograph birds for you. Till then if you think I did a good job here, like the blog post and share it with your friends! And if you are new to Magdeburg and have an interest in birds, do get in touch with me and let’s go out together! --- - Published: 2018-09-05 - Modified: 2018-09-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/growing-up-magdeburg/ - Categories: Germany - Tags: Magdeburg The sun shines through the leaves | Magdeburg Nord Park 2018. It is when you are away from the people you have love, you understand the little flaws in them. You learn to love them with all their little flaws, cherish every little moment you’ve spent with them smiling together. You realise, not everything in life is meant to stay the way it had been; not everything that you cherish now would be with you tomorrow. You let go a little, you hold on to the fondest of moments. You live with it. You grow up a little. "Sometimes, it is the smallest things that take up the most space in our heart. " - Winnie the Pooh. You start valuing every little thing that gets you attached, love every moment you spend together with someone, support every idea that you believe would bring a smile. For all the new attachments, you try and make sure nothing goes wrong; the little apparent imperfections are loved and accepted. How would a person be without a flaw anyway? What's growing up without a little understanding, anyway? The Little Imperfections. Our little imperfections bind us together. How would our lives be if I call my mother regularly? Or if Bhai calls me every day without a fail? Would it not be unnatural if the little shoe-string does not hang out of the shoe-rack? How would life be, if Madhu does not try his numerous ways to wake me up so that I have my dinner? Or perhaps if bhai does not call me and ask, “Kiii hoyeche tomar? (what happened to you? )”, each time I am jittery? We share our lives with them; the highs, the lows, the good and the bad, the right things we do and the wrong we commit. We open ourselves to the diligent scrutiny and subsequent acceptance. All with a smile. These are the moments, life intrigues; life questions: how secure are we in the fold of our loved ones? We smile, we trust and we let go. There are moments when the world comes to a halt; you take a moment out of your life and look not around, but inside. And such moments while growing up are just abundant. An idle Saturday afternoon | Magdeburg 2018 When you share your life with a person, almost every moment of it, you can not not notice his expressions when you hurt him, obviously without intent. You realise, somewhere in the past you’ve been unintentionally rude to the people you love the most. Growing up is all about understanding that you've mistaken. All that you can do that moment, is to apologise and promise to not repeat it one more time. You do it, pray and smile. Flowers together | Magdeburg 2018 There are times, you’re left alone. Living alone for the last few weeks have taught me certain important lessons in life. The first being of course, to accept life and people the exact way they are. People who love me, are honest. Everyone does everything right, at their right pace taking their own time. Patience is important. I've always had this insecurity about people deceiving me. I've practised to not think about it anymore. Be nice and kind, think positive and leave the rest to the Almighty. Over a period of time, a few supported me; whether or not I was relevant in their lives. The second is to be content and to try to understand why we do whatever we do. To question, seek an answer of and understand the purpose of everything. That's because I have a lot of time when I am alone. Sun rays and lone walks. | Magdeburg 2018 The long walks in the morning, the sultry rays of the sun; the overwhelmingly magnanimous sun rise, the flock of the birds and the show that they put up every morning. Various thoughts visit me when I sit idly on the banks of the river Elbe. And then they fade into nothingness. Just like people. What remains is what matters. captiob The little things that life teaches you when you are away from the people you love, the littleness of being, the purpose of being, the acceptance of everything the way it is, to know where to start and to know where to stop. --- - Published: 2018-08-24 - Modified: 2018-08-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolsch-koln-cologne/ - Categories: Germany, Guest Posts - Tags: Kölsch Recently in Cologne, I met with one of my closest friends, Claire. We went to a local Brauhaus (English: Brewery, "Beer-House"), called "Em Kölsche Boor" and had a whale of a time. Loud raucous laughter which accompanies hearty food and ale rang through the 250 years old brewery and we enjoyed the ambiance as much as the food. The weather was balmy and sultry, perfect for a summer evening in Germany and the Brauhaus was filled with happy chattering people. We spent our whole evening there, enjoying local German dishes, glasses of cold Kölsch, and ribald conversation with the traditional Köbes. Needless, to say, we giggled, and behaved sillier as the evening progressed and my friend, who is usually a quiet person talked non-stop. Such is the effect of Kölsch and a Brauhaus and it reminded me of yet another friend, Anirban Saha. Kölsch stange: thin, tall glasses in which the beer is served. Recently, Anirban stayed with us in Köln (English: Cologne) for a few days and we showed off our fun city to him. He wanted to experience the highlights of Cologne and no trip to this cosmopolitan city is complete without enjoying some glasses of Kölsch. So, on the last evening, we went to a local bar where Anirban had some Kölsch, the brew of Cologne. As expected, Anirban talked a lot that evening and you can blame it on Kölsch or the cheerful vibe of this lively city. Kölsch is synonymous with Cologne and it is one of the few beers in the world, which has a regional appellation. There are around 24 brewers functional in the Cologne area and a couple of Kölsch in one of the city's Brauhauses is a must to do experience. There are, however, a couple of etiquettes, one must get acquainted with before going to a Brauhaus to get a Kölsh. First of all, the waiter in a Brauhaus is called a Köbe and they speak in a kind of rough local dialect, which is also known as Kölsch. A special beer tray, similar to the holders used in tea stalls in India, carries several glasses of Kölsch and this beer is served in skinny stanges. The thin, tall glasses ensure that the beer remains cold enough until consumed and the Köbessen are known for their witty dry humor. Once you are seated in a Brauhaus, a Köbe will instantly serve you with a stange of Kölsch and mention your choice quickly, if you prefer something else. The Köbessen are hard-working busy folks who do not have much time for idle tittle-tattle and on weekends, they are especially very busy serving throngs of boisterous, thirsty crowds. Fries. Because I needed something to balance the frame somehow. The ambiance inside a Brauhaus is usually always noisy and boisterous, with guests from different tables intermingling between themselves. Hoots of laughter, sometimes, drunken snippets of hearty German songs come forth with too many glasses of Kölsch and it is at times difficult to hear across the table. That is why you must remember to place the beer coaster on the top of the glass to indicate you don't want any more beer, otherwise, the Köbe will give you a full one immediately, upon seeing an empty glass. Also, keep in mind that the Köbe write a mark in your beer coaster each time you are served a beer and the total is added up on it. --- - Published: 2018-08-12 - Modified: 2018-08-15 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/cologne-street-wall-arts-koln-germany/ - Categories: Germany, Travel Europe - Tags: Cologne street art, Cologne Street Graffiti, cologne wall art Banana | Cologne Street Art. "Everything that I could write about is already written. And all the knowledge that I have is from what I read. In two days, what new would I discover which others have not possibly written about? " "Travel for yourself Anirban; not for blogging. Stop, breathe, look around and feel this city. There's so much to it in every nook and corner. Hey, wait! You see this banana graffiti on the wall? Look at it nicely, I will tell you about it during lunch. " "Didi, there's graffiti on this entire wall! ! . . and that's damn nice. " "Not just that, you'd see sticker art, wool art, little artwork made out of anything, everything. . stories being told, awareness been raised... . . " "This be it then. " I made a quick two-days trip to Cologne, because Svetlana invited me to her home. This city is fondly called the cultural capital of Germany; a seat of Greek culture during ancient times - this city is also famous for the biggest Cathedral in Germany and the love bridge right in front of it. But in this blog post, I would write mainly about the kind of art you would find in Cologne; art which is not restricted to the museum near the Cologne Cathedral but very visible on the walls of the buildings, the street corners, the alleys, lamp posts, tram stops, pavements, electricity distribution boards, fences and possibly everywhere in public spaces. It reminded me of Calcutta and this is no surprise, because I explored the wall arts in the city I’ve grown up in. I also realise, I would be in a position to write about the street / wall art in details once I have explored the art in many cities. I’m personally looking forward to that. In this blog post, I wanted to showcase more than 80 photographs of the street / wall arts and the way I chose to present is by making a collage of it. I hope you like it. While I show you the photographs below, I’ll add a few of my personal comments and experiences in between. If you like what I do and not miss an update, please click here and subscribe to my blog on your messenger. If you see, there is a variety of things portrayed on the walls of Cologne. It really motivated me to walk more and go to the next street or the next turn, despite the heat. Sigh. There was cartoons of Donald Trump, Ja! Da! , the sheep, the Cow, Mickey mouse and his muse, from pac man to the local superman; possibly everything that could have been thought of, is portrayed. I asked Tarek (Svetlana’s husband) why would anyone invest so much time into this, if they are not paid. He told me that it’s a passion. Even as a kid, he had, with this friends, stolen colouring cans from shops in the night, take stencils out and paint the city walls when the sun was down. I laughed at it! Do let me know which of these you've liked the most! Drop me a message here. There are two more sets like this but this time, I've spaced it up a little bit for you. I was just too lazy re-working on the first collage. Sorry. #lol. Köln: Street wall art | Subscribe to www. anirbansaha. com0 While in all our excitement we forgot to discuss what the banana is about, we made sure we explore as much as we can. A few of the most fascinating murals that has kept me fascinated are the following: The big eagle with webcam eyes, keeping a watch over a herd of white sheep, where the black one’s aren’t allowed. They were pulled out and possibly killed. The black and white checkered 3D art on one of the walls. Akash (the two-year toddler) found that fascinating! Haha. The two large pieces of artwork below, because of the sheer size and magnificence. Subscribe by clicking here and sending a "Hi"! It's harmless! Trust me. The next Wall Art is special. While the large eagle with webcam eyes not allowing black sheep in the herd struck some really unknown painful chords inside my head and heart, the next one amused and brought a smile back on my face. Completely Black and White - 3D wall art in Cologne. Below this was a checkered arrangement, which amused Akash. I'd probably introduce Akash in my next blog post. The black and white checkered wall art and Akash. . LIKE ** COMMENT ** SHARE That's majestic! Thank you Svetlana (di) for the invite, making me a part of the family and helping me explore! We explored the beer gardens, the parks, the Cathedral (obviously) and the museum attached with that. The two days in Cologne has been fascinating and got me engaged at a very personal level. Cologne has a lot of people, which is diverse, very helpful and they speak English. There’s street art, people are out of the streets; you could easily find people jamming together publicly, creating music. It had an uncanny resemblance to Calcutta. Also, while spending time with Svetlana’s two-year old son, I kept missing the time I spent with my niece, who is now five. Time flies and life is exactly the way it is. Let me know if you’ve liked this blog post. Do leave honest opinions, subscribe to my blog on your messenger. Stay in touch. --- - Published: 2018-07-30 - Modified: 2020-03-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/biswa-bangla-gate-kolkata-gate/ - Categories: Kolkata Exclusive! - Tags: biswa bangla gate inside, hanging restaurant in kolkata, hidco, kolkata gate newtown, kolkata gate photo, kolkata gate restaurant, kolkata gateway, kolkata's first hanging restaurant, narkelbagan, new town kolkata, rajarhat kolkata, the biswa bangla gate, the kolkata gate, the kolkata gate making If you are in Kolkata (Calcutta), in no way could you not be introduced to the Biswa Bangla Gate or the Kolkata Gate! There have been speculations about it, be it the design, the “Biswa Bangla Globe”, the gallery or Kolkata’s first hanging restaurant. Aikantik decided to photograph the magnificent structure on my behalf for www. anirbansaha. com; I believe it’s a part of the beautification and the process of creating a brand out of Bengal. The Biswa Bangla Gate or the Kolkata Gate | New Town, Kolkata. Update: The Restaurant is now open. You are required to make an advanced booking via BookMyShow . Also, check the instruction video by Mr. Debashis Sen here. The present West Bengal government has always been trying to create a unified brand out of Bengal and as a young Bengali who is enthusiastic about creating and maintaining brands, I’m very excited about it. From conceptualizing the brand “Biswa Bangla” and establishing the “Biswa Bangla stores” across in airports and major locations across cities, the “Biswa Bangla Globe” at the E. M. Bypass Science City crossing to now changing the name of “West Bengal” to “Bangla”. While a section of the voters would discuss and debate over the necessity of this creation of a brand, one thing that they have to see, especially when they go to New Town area is the brand new “Biswa Bangla Gate”.   During office hours, the Biswa Bangla Gate or the Kolkata Gate | Thank you Mr. Debashis Sen for helping us to photograph this. Love it or hate it, it exists and you can not ignore the magnanimous presence of the enormous structure. When I decided to make a blog post, a couple of my friends thought it to be proper to help me a bit about it. Mr. Debashis Sen, IAS, Managing Director of WBHIDCO not only gave the permissions to photograph the Biswa Bangla Gate from inside the HIDCO building but also allowed Aikantik Bag (student, Amity University Delhi) to get into the building while the construction was on, to take a quick look inside. Rishav Saha (Bhawanipur Education Society) joined Aikantik in this! Both are alumni of Calcutta Boys' School, Calcutta.  Tamron India had very kindly given us the lens to shoot with. We just zoomed in to the Kolkata Gate. Because, why not? “Biswa Bangla” - where the world meets Bengal; is the brand under which things are being consolidated. Before we proceed, here is some second hand information which you would anyway find on the Wikipedia - The Biswa Bangla Gate or the Kolkata Gate, is at Narkel-Bagan New Town, on the way to the new IT hub of the city, just beside the Rabindra-Tirtha and the HIDCO building; more like a gate welcoming everyone to the core of the new city. It looks great and is made of roughly 70 tonnes of steel (not verified); also costs around Rs. 25 Cr. It would also provide a viewpoint of major areas in Rajarhat and New Town. On the walls, there would be a gallery showcasing Bengal and there would also be the Kolkata’s first hanging restaurant. Whoaa. How would it look like? Aikantik decided to go there and photograph it for you.   "The walls of the gallery have been painted with murals with an entire wall dedicated to the schemes and achievements of the state government. " - The Telegraph . Bengal's Kanyashree - the pride of the world | Mural on the wall. . Well, people are excited about the new hanging restaurant and people like me, who are away from Calcutta and aren’t going back home anytime soon, are kinda sad.  It’s great to see how things are shaping up there - IT companies (including Infosys (link)) are coming in, housing complexes are being built and sold. As a part of beautification, there’s the Eco-Park which has made a name for itself on the global stage (link) and is pretty popular among the mass. Wide streets, proper green patches, great art installations at key locations make the New Town, something to look forward to. Do not forget to notice the innovative zebra crossing (link)! But-but-but, that should be another blog post, if you come forward to help me. Drop me an email, if you would like to photograph Kolkata for me. Filmmakers and those who shaped our childhood | Murals from the Hanging restaurant in Kolkata. According to The Telegraph article, it is 55 metres tall with the gallery and hanging restaurant at around 25 metres high. The gallery would be 10 metres wide and 60 metres long. The facade is made of toughened glass with laminated silicone sheets that can withstand gale-force winds, hail storms and extreme heat. The viewing gallery would have a snacks counter till evening 7; beyond that only diners would be allowed. They’ll have the access to the cityscape at night! The walls of the gallery have been painted with murals with an entire wall dedicated to the schemes and achievements of the state government. The gallery visitors are expected to pay Rs. 30. 00 to see the gallery, the fee is not applicable to the diners.   Like this EiSamay article mentions, there are four arcs and you can climb up the spiral stairs up to the restaurant from either side of the road. For unfit lazy-ass Bangalis with a paunch, like me, there’s a glass elevator as well. To get your spot in the multi-cuisine restaurant, you need to pre-book it. The writer of this article is very poetic and romantic I suppose. Haha, s/he goes on to write in Bangla (language) what would roughly translate to - “Be it heavy rains or a clear sky with the best sunset, soft rays of the winter sun or the moonlit cityscape of Calcutta, it would be a surreal experience to see it from the hanging restaurant of the Biswa Bangla Gate”. Only when it opens, could any of my friends go and photograph it, till then take a look at the Rabindra-Tirtha from the inside of the Biswa Bangla Gate. Rabindra-tirtha and the road that leads to Eco-space, Gitanjanli Park and the IT hub in Calcutta. . Quintessential Calcutta? | A mural on the wall. . Murals continued and I realise, I shouldn't show all the photographs right now! . There are the sportspersons, filmmakers, actors, culture, Maa Durga and even the Bengali Bor-Bou find a place on the wall. . Old world charm in the new town Kolkata? While we have to wait to rush ourselves into the hanging restaurant of the Kolkata’s Biswa Bangla Gate, do let me know what you think of the way Kolkata is being decked up and the different initiatives different civic bodies, government bodies and the government is coming up with. If you are excited about the Biswa Bangla Gate or the Kolkata Gate, as many people call it, do share this blog post on your social media and let more people know how awesome this is!   A shot in the evening || Photograph by Surajit Majhi (Founder, Graphixstory. com) --- - Published: 2018-07-15 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-birds-birding-germany/ - Categories: Birding, Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: Bird Photography in Germany, Bird Photography in Magdeburg, Birding in Germany, Birds in Magdeburg, Common birds in Germany, Common birds in Magdeburg, Common birds in Saxony Anhalt, Ornithology in Saxony Anhalt The title of the blog post should be - finding time to find birds in Magdeburg! Yea. Really. I came to Magdeburg last October and I was not so quick to realize that it is not going to be anything like studying in India. So whatever little time I had, I decided to invest in my cooking! That apart, if you like to be spoon fed, the Google results of “Birding in Germany” or with similar keywords would not satisfy you. I’ve always been spoon-fed by Souranil and Swarnava when it came to birding! So even before I start telling how I tried finding birds in Magdeburg - I should thank Souranil and Swarnava for always helping me figure which bird I’ve photographed! Click on their names and you’ll land on their awesome blogs!   So yea. In India - the lens for my birding experiments was given by Tamron India because they are awesome and I did not know that I will continue with this new found “passion” for more than one year. But in Magdeburg, I had no lens. European Robin | shot with a 50mm lens near Mensa (student canteen). The first photograph of the bird I shot in Magdeburg is shot by a 50mm lens; European Robin. The next set of attempts were by using my 18-105mm lens at 105mm focal length. If you’ve ever tried birding, you’d know it was frustrating. One evening I was frustrated and I bought the Tamron lens for myself. Tamron SP 160-600 G2 lens. What followed next was some time to understand where the birds are. Then finding time to find the birds. Given the cold weather and the lazy ass that I have made myself to become, all I photographed were birds in my backyard; albeit the birds you'll always see and can relate to. Common Blackbird (Amsel) | Shot near Wohnheim 3 (college campus). Or perhaps inside the college campus when no one was around, especially on the first day it snowed. Magpie Pica Pica | Shot inside the college campus when it snowed on December 3rd. Sooner than I had expected, I got an apartment (read: flat) for myself and I chose one which has trees in the backyard, the top of which I can view properly from my balcony. The expectation was - the birds would come and I would photograph them from the comfort of my bed. So far, I couldn’t spot any bird except for a couple of blue tits who come and they disappear within moments. Now during the peak of the summer, the birds chirp at four thirty in the morning. I get up, listen to them chirp and go back to sleep! But during the Spring, I tried photographing a couple of my friends in Holzweg (link) where I discovered a lake and ducks, Eurasian Coot and a Common Moorhen in it. I did not know anything about Moorhen; I thought someone had colored the beak of the Eurasian coot with German colors. #dumb #iKnow. Eurasian Coot | Photographed near Holzweg. . Common Moorhen | Photographed near Holzweg. . House Sparrow | I did not inquire what sparrow this is. Also in Spring, during one idle morning, while sipping my regular cup of tea, I noticed how leaves form. That feeling or perhaps the realization of it was special. With it came a small little blue tit which jumped over the branches while I photographed it. Blue Tit during the Spring | Shot from my window! #win. That's the jumping tit. The Nord Park should be an exciting destination to photograph birds. The day I was invited to a picnic by my friend to integrate into the German culture, I spotted woodpeckers in the park. I did not have my camera with me and had to let it go. After recovering from the shock the data mining exam gave me , I decided to drag myself out of my home and go to Nord Park. I wish I knew enough words to explain how beautiful the park feels during early mornings. Great Tit in a bush | Photographed in the Nord Park. I noticed that there were birds chirping in one of the areas (read: graveyards) in the park. I sat on the ground sun basking. A pigeon sat on a tombstone near me quietly keeping a watch on my activities. It stayed as long as I stayed. Black Redstart P. ochruros (Thank you, Alex, for the identification) | Nord Park.  . Common Blackbird Juvenile | Nord Park. Lesser Whitethroat | Nord Park That’s the time people take their dogs out for a walk in the park. A lot of people found a brown boy with a long lens sitting right on a grave, pretty amusing. One of the kindest old men tried helping me to the best of his knowledge but in German. But the repeated hand gestures and familiar words made me understand that I should go right and left and then right where there are “zweite Baum” (second tree) where I could possibly “fotographie vogel” (photograph birds). I used all my German skills to thank him. It is then he realized I understood no German that he spoke.   Spotted Flycatcher (1) (verify this) | Nord Park . Spotted Flycatcher | Nord Park. . Common Chaffinch | I'm not sure if it was screaming or singing; either way, it gave me a lot of time to photograph it! . Common Chaffinch | Then it was eating something. Well, I did not find the two trees but I am sure I’ll probably find some time this week to go and figure things out! Let me know what you think of this blog post. If you are interested in the birds, I’ve given links to the birds beside the photographs, please read about them and share this blog post! ... and now for absolutely no reason, I will share another photograph of a great tit! S. H. A. R. E. . this blog post, the God of the birds will bless you! 1 share = 1 blessing. Footnote: This world is beautiful. Given a new city, country, culture and the demanding study modules, it is hard exploring the place, photographing and making blog posts related to them. I thank you for keeping the faith and interacting with me on Instagram and on my Facebook Page. It means a lot. Thank you.   Update: I photographed this from my balcony, after writing the post-draft and before publishing it! They sit on the top of the roof, two buildings away from my Balcony. They sit high up and they fly even higher; both beyond the range of 600mm. Me: Which Kestrel is this? Souranil: Maybe Common Kestrel ... Swarnava: Little Kestrel I think ... eh, wait, I did not notice the eye patch!   --- - Published: 2018-05-01 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-spring-bangla/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Student life at Magdeburg!, বাংলা - Tags: বসন্ত, মাগডেবার্গ আমরা কলকাতায় / বাংলায় বসন্ত শুরু করি রবি ঠাকুরের "খোল দ্বার খোল, লাগলো যে দোল" দিয়ে। এই গান ছাড়া বাকি কিছুই বোঝা যায়না বসন্তের। ও না, যায়। প্রচণ্ড গরম পড়ে আর আমি বাড়ির থেকে বেরনো বন্ধ করে দিই। হা হা। সেটা কিন্তু এখানে হয় না। জার্মানিতে, প্রতি ঋতু খুব ভালো করে বোঝা যায়। শরৎ / হেমন্তে গাছের পাতার রং পালটে যায়, শীতে সেই পাতা ঝরে পড়ে যায়। বেশ বরফ পড়ে, তার সাথে হাড় কাঁপানো ঠাণ্ডা। মাগডেবর্গে -১০, -১২ অবধি যায়। ইংলিশে এই পাখির নাম "Blue Tit"। পাখি, নতুন পাতা আর বসন্ত। www. anirbansaha. com বসন্তে বেশ পাখিরা গান গায়। সেই গানেই আমার ঘুম ভাঙ্গে। ছবি তোলার পরে দেখি, বেশ নতুন পাতা গজিয়েছে। এই অনুভূতি টা আমার জীবনে নতুন। আগে দেখিনি তো, তাই প্রথম বার বেশ মজা পেলাম। বেরিয়ে পড়লাম ক্যামেরা হাতে, শহর টা কে নতুন করে দেখতে। এ দেশের সরকার বসন্তে, এই শহরগুলোকে বেশ বড়সড় একটা বাগান বানিয়ে দেয়। রাস্তার ধারে টুলিপের ফুলে ভরতি। এই ব্লগ পোস্ট লেখার সময় জানতে পারলাম টুলিপ কে বাংলায় "ঘণ্টাকর্ণ" বলা হয়। অন্তত গুগল তাই বলল। আমি টুলিপ-ই বলব। ঘণ্টাকর্ণ টা বেশি হয়ে যাবে। যাক গে। শুধু টুলিপ না, অনেক রকম ফুল দিয়ে রাস্তা ঘাট সাজানো হয়। সব জায়গায় ফুল - কলেজের মধ্যে, রাস্তার ধারে, বাগানে, বাজারে, পারকিং করতে গিয়েও ফুল দেখা যায়। বসন্তের প্রতি মুহূর্তে এখানে রঙের বিস্ফোরণ হয়। লাল, নীল, হলুদ, গোলাপী, সাদা, আরও অনেক রং। বাংলার পলাশ আর এখানে টুলিপ।  ফুল। সাদা, হলুদ। . দুই রাস্তার মাঝে টুলিপ! . ট্রাফিক সিগ্নালে হলুদ টুলিপ! . লাল-হলুদ টুলিপ ফুল ! . সাদা টুলিপ ফুল। ফেসবুকে এক বন্ধু, প্রতীতি নাথ জানায়, তুরস্ক থেকে নেদারল্যান্ডে টুুলিপ ফুলের গাছ আনা হয়েছিল। তার পরে বাকি ইউরোপে এটি খুবই জনপ্রিয় হয়ে ওঠে। . হলুদ টুলিপ, রাস্তা আর গাড়ি। . এটা আমার কলেজের ভেতরে। www. anirbansaha. com . সাদা - হলুদ টুলিপ। টুলিপ বেশি হয়ে যাচ্ছে! . চেরি ব্লসসম। . ফুলের শামিয়ানা। . অন্য নাম না জানা সাদা ফুল। . ছাত্র - ছাত্রী দের ক্যান্টিনের সামনে সাইকেল রাখার জায়গা। . নাম না জানা লাল ফুল ! আমি খুব কম ফুলের ব্যাপারে জানি, বোঝা যাচ্ছে। . ড্যাফোডিল ফুল হোলস্বেগ বলে একটা জায়গা আছে। রাস্তার দুই ধারে সারি সারি জাপানি চেরি ব্লসসম গাছে ভর্তি। জাপানি চেরি ব্লসসমকে "সাকুরা" বলা হয়। বলা হয়, এই গাছ মানুষের জীবনে মানসিক শান্তি আনে। যখন পূর্ব জার্মানি আর পশ্চিম জার্মানির পুনর্মিলন হয়, তখন সাধারন লোকেরা টাকা জমিয়ে এই গাছ কেনে। তার পর এই গাছ বাকি দেশে বেশ জনপ্রিয় হয়ে ওঠে। আমিও সুযোগ বুঝে চলে গেলাম আমার কিছু বন্ধুদের কে নিয়ে। প্রথম দিন, এ ছাড়া আর কেউ-ই সক্কাল বেলা আমার সাথে যায়নি। এ ছেলে খুব বিনয়ি। এর নাম বিনয়। বিনয় কুমার ইয়ামলাপল্লি। . মধু কিরণ রেড্ডী ঠাতিকন্ডা। দ্বিতীয় দিন সকাল বেলা উঠেছিল! . শ্রুতি। এর পদবির বাংলা বানান পারলাম না। . এই ছবি টা খুব ভালো লাগে আমার, খুব ই স্নিগ্ধ লাগছে। . ছবি তুলেছে মধু কিরণ ঠাতিকন্দা। . জাপানি চেরি ব্লসসম। . হোলস্বেগ . আর একটা জায়গা আছে, সেখানে এরকম সাদা গাছ ভর্তি! . যখন হাওয়া দেয়, ফুলের পাপড়িগুলো রাস্তায় কারপেট তৈরি করে! . যদি আমার তোলা ছবি পছন্দ হয়ে থাকে, তাহলে এই ব্লগ পোস্ট টা কে আপনার বাঙালি বন্ধু দের সাথে শেয়ার করুন! আমাকে মেসেজ করতে পারেন, এখানে ক্লিক করে। --- - Published: 2018-04-29 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/spring-magdeburg-telugu/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Random notes వసంత ఋతువు వచ్చింది వసుధకు అందం తెచ్చింది పచ్చ పచ్చని చిగుళ్ళతో పరవశాన్ని కలిగించింది వసంత ఋతువు వచ్చింది అని చిన్నపుడు 3 వ తరగతి లో ఋతువుల గురుంచి చదువుకున్నాం. ఆరు ఋతువులు ఉంటాయి అని తెలుసు కానీ ఎప్పుడు అన్ని ఋతువులు మారడం చూడలేదు. ఒక్కో సీజన్లో ఒక్కోలా ఉండే జర్మనీ లో ఆ మార్పు స్పష్టం గా చూడొచ్చు. మూడునెలలు చలితో, మంచుతో, ఆకులు రాలిపోయిన చెట్లతో ,నిరాశతో గడిపిన తర్వాత వచ్చే మొదటి సూర్యకిరణాలూ, పూసే మొదటి చిగురులు ఎంతో ఊరటని కొత్త ఆశని కలిగిస్తాయి. మొదటి చిగురులు | www. anirbansaha. com   జర్మనీలో స్ప్రింగ్ అంటే మొదటిగా మాట్లాడుకోవాల్సింది పువ్వుల గురుంచి. ఇక్కడి ప్రభుత్వం, నగరం లో చాలా చోట్ల ఎన్నోఅందమైన పూల చెట్లని నాటి మొత్తం నగరాన్ని ఎంతో అందం గ ముస్తాబు చేస్తారు. పూల చెట్లు అనగానే ఎంతో చరిత్ర కలిగిన జపనీస్ చెర్రీ బ్లోస్సోమ్స్ గురుంచి కచ్చితంగా మాట్లాడుకోవాలి. ఇక్కడి హోల్స్ వెగ్ అనే ప్రాంతంలోఈ చెట్లను రోడ్ లకి ఇరువైపులా ఎంతో అందంగా నాటారు. ఈ జపనీస్ చెర్రీ బ్లోస్సోమ్స్ ని సకురా అని అనేవారు. జపాన్ లో ఈ చెట్లని నాటడం ద్వారా ప్రజలకి మనశ్శాంతి ని తీసుకొస్తుంది అని నమ్మేవారు. జర్మన్ పునరేకికరణ తర్వాత డబ్బులు సేకరించి ఈ చెట్లని కొని బెర్లిన్ లో నాటించారు. ఆ తర్వాత జర్మనీ లోని అన్ని నగరాల్లో అమలు చేసారు. Bonn అనే నగరం ఈ చెట్లకి బాగా ప్రసిద్ధి. హోల్స్ వేగ్ లోని చెర్రీ బ్లోస్సోమ్స్ దగ్గర . . చెర్రీ బ్లోస్సోమ్స్! ! కేవలం ఈ చెట్లే కాదు ఇంకా ఎన్నో రకాల పువ్వులుని చూడొచ్చు. ముఖ్యంగా చామంతి, తులిప్స్ మరియు డాఫోడిల్స్ ఎక్కువగా కనిపిస్తాయి. తులిప్స్ ! . తులిప్స్! . తులిప్స్ . . తులిప్స్ . . వింటర్ లో ఎక్కువగా ఇంట్లోనే గడిపే ఇక్కడి ప్రజలు, స్ప్రింగ్ లో మాత్రం అందరు సూర్య రశ్మి ని ఆనందిస్తూ ఎక్కువ పార్క్స్ లో గార్డెన్స్ లో కూర్చొని రోజుని గడిపేస్తుంటారు.  స్టూడెంట్స్ . . మార్పు అనేది ఎక్కడైనా అవసరం అది మనుషులు అయినా ఋతువులు అయినా. భరించలేని చలి తో ప్రకృతినే కాదు మనుషులుని కూడా నిస్తేజంగా చేసే చలి కాలం నుంచి కొత్త ఉత్తేజాన్ని ఇస్తూ కొత్త జీవితాన్ని ప్రారంభించమని ప్రకృతి ఇచ్చే సందేశమే ఈ వసంత ఋతువు... రోడ్ పక్కన నాటిన పూల చెట్లు . తులిప్స్| www. anirbansaha. com . పూల చెట్లు . చెర్రీ బ్లోస్సోమ్స్ . డాఫోడిల్స్ . గార్డెన్స్ లో పూలు! . --- - Published: 2018-04-27 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/spring-magdeburg-holzweg/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: Magdeburg, Otto-von-Guericke Universitat, Spring When we were young children, we all read about the changes various seasons bring to the world around us. But never in Calcutta did I get to feel it so much! During the winter, the skeleton of the tree remains, which comes to life with the first leaves of Spring. The flower blooms, birds come back and their twitter wakes you up in the morning. A little Blue Tit on the young branches of the tree | www. anirbansaha. com In Magdeburg, or the entire of Germany I believe but I am not sure, the government transforms the city into an elaborate garden. There are different flowering plants on the street sides, parking lot, beside the lake, possibly everywhere. It's vibrant and I feel good; isn't that what Spring intends?   Tulips beside the parked car | www. anirbansaha. com There’re Japanese Cherry blossom trees planted at different places, one inside our campus and one outside; but an entire street lined with the cherry blossom trees is more than what I could have asked for! There’s a history to it, which you would get with a simple Google search. Early in the morning, a friend of mine accompanied me to Holzweg where the street is lined with the Japanese Cherry Blossom Trees. The Japanese Cherry Blossom Trees are called Sakura. These trees are said to bring inner peace to people in Japan. After the German reunification, money was collected to buy these plants and have them in Berlin. Later, I suppose, it caught up with the rest of the country; the most famous for the cherry blossom trees being Bonn. That's Madhu Kiran Thatikonda trying to pose for me! Apart from them are the Tulips, Chrysanthemum, and various other flowers the names of which I do not know. I recently saw rose plants being brought. The colors are varied - white, pink, red, purple, yellow and what not? You couldn’t find any place which does not have a flowering plant. People have decked their garden; the flowering plants come for as cheap as one Euro. That's the canopy! With the sun coming out and the temperature rising, the people come out as well! You can see people in Magdeburg! Most of them stay outdoor and I’m told, observing people is a celebrated hobby. Not creepy. Outside the campus buildings or hotels or the marketplace, you’d see people sitting lazily with friends and coffee. Life’s good. Students sitting on the bench. Yours Truly thought of photographing a bit around! Not the people, because I am not sure how legal that would be! The tree, the cycle in front of Menza (Student canteen), the flowers and the people! . Daffodils and the background blur! Cherry Blossoms! . Drop a message, subscribe to my blog here. . Outside the campus! . Cherry blossoms! . Tulips! . More Tulips! . There are gardens and it's lovely! . Lamp posts and Yellow Tulips! . White unnamed flowers. . White flowers on the tree! . Tulips by the street side! . This is exactly how it looks like! . Subscribe to my blog here. . That's Sruthi! She's just happy because it's spring in Magdeburg! . --- - Published: 2018-04-16 - Modified: 2019-05-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/monaco/ - Categories: Travel, Travel Europe - Tags: Monaco, Monaco photographs Let me be honest, my knowledge about Europe is decidedly limited to topics I had been introduced to in my childhood, preferably by the history books. In my imaginations, I had Greece, Renaissance’s Italy, the French revolution, Reformation across Europe, umm, the British, Hitler and the world wars. Clearly, Monaco did not exist. I came to know about Monaco’s existence when someone asked me to visit it from Nice on the social media. That was a public comment and I felt quite stupid to ask her publicly what it is. So, I Googled. Subscribe to my blog by sending me a message here. So here goes all the second-hand information - Monaco is a separate country; second smallest country, ruled by a king in a palace. It’s fondly called the playground of the rich, with 30% of the citizens who are millionaires. By area, it is less than one-hundredth of the size of Calcutta municipality. It simply means, if you do not get into the palace or the museum, you can finish touring the entire country in just a couple of hours. And we did that. The Flag on the top of the palace. Now, it’s time for the first-hand information! This place borders the Mediterranean; is an extension of the French Riviera; the coast is beautifully maintained and is spotted by the yachts and smaller boats. You can not get into the palace during March because it opens during April but the museums are open. One is the vintage car museum, where we did not go because we were busy finding Nemo with kids! This entire place is peaceful. Even with the shops and the people all around it, with kids playing around, this place is very peaceful. I do not think I have much to say about this place. So I’ll just paste a few photographs! It rained a bit in the morning and I did not want to carry a bag pack. I carried my camera and the 18-105 lens. I wish I carried the wide lens with me. . Old buildings and my desperate attempts to understand which bird that was. -_- . On the way to the palace, you would wish to stop by and photograph. But the best places to do so would be sealed! And this frame would always have this tree to the right. Argh. . Coastline and yachts. . The guard at the palace. . The sea-gulls pose for you. You can actually click their portraits :3 . Help me caption this? Drop me a message here! . Random statues, ISO 80, too much sunlight and a click. . The parents of these kids said a yes when I asked if I could photograph them. Photographing people outside Calcutta/India feels a bit weird. . I do not know why I like this frame specifically. I see lines and layers, the red boat right in the middle of the frame. The thing on the left technically makes the frame imbalanced but I somewhat like this. . When the friends decide to spend some time with themselves and you look up to wonder what life is. And you see nature created a Triangle for you to photograph. But you can not because you were lazy enough to not carry the wide lens. #life. . Umm like I mentioned earlier, we tried finding Nemo :D ... finding Nemo with kids --- - Published: 2018-04-04 - Modified: 2018-04-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/toulouse-france/ - Categories: France, Travel, Travel Europe “Tulus is the first place we are going”. “How do you pronounce it? ”, I asked. With one of the most incomprehensible expressions on her face, Lakshana repeated, “Tulus”. “I mean, how do you spell it? ”, “Toulouse”. Toulouse is a small destination in South-Western France; which I did not really photograph. There are many reasons: first, I compensated for all the lost sleep the previous week. I slept possibly everywhere, in the trams, bus, beside the river, inside the eatery. Of all that I have noticed are the varied expressions of disgust Lakshana and Yamini had on their faces. I dared not photograph that. The second reason is simple: I was in awe of the beauty of the place and the people. I spend almost every moment just looking aimlessly at them. “Whaaaaooww” was my constant expression during the time I remained awake. Subscribe to my blog by sending me a message here. “Why Toulouse, Lakshana? ”, I was inquisitive. “Because my best friend lives there and it has been ages since I’ve met her”, quipped Lakshana. “And how many days would we spend there? ” “A day and a half. ”; “What places would we visit? ” “My friend's home. ” “Good, we will all go out and booze. French nightlife! ”; “No, we do not booze. ” “Great. We will go dining! Exploring the French cuisine! ”; “No. She would be making dinner for us. And Tiramisu. ” - Toulouse is the first French city I’ve been to and till this date remains in complete awe of. I was pretty amazed since the moment we landed. From the trams to the pet dogs, everything and everybody was perfected to be present in a dream sequence. A simple Google search will tell you a list of places which include the following: A walk by the Canal Du Midi. Canal Du Midi: UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a part of the canal that joins the Atlantic ocean with the Mediterranean sea. This runs from Toulouse to the furthest end in the south. Built in 1666, this is the oldest operational canal in Europe. This shot is not taken at the Canal Di Midi tram stop; it is taken further down south. People take their evening walks along the sides of the canal. It is very peaceful and I wish I had more time to spend here. I'll, however, leave you with a couple of Magpies walking by the canal side. Magpie Pica couple walking around :D Basilica of Saint Sernin. This is a Basilica founded in the 4th century. If you know me well, you'd know how excited I was while entering. You can read all about the basilica here. Basilica of Saint Sernin, Toulouse I'd rather tell you why I was excited. First is the very interesting architecture. Or it might be interesting to me because it is my first time in this part of the world. Take a look at the photograph: Basilica of Saint Sernin, Toulouse Secondly, there's wall paintings inside, sculptures and (if you have read about it in the link I've asked you just before) a museum with relics from the past. Sculptures inside the Basilica of Saint Sernin. Thirdly, they are celebrating St. Teresa of Calcutta as she is now known or Mother Teresa as we all call her affectionately. There're photographs of her put up inside the Basilica, with St. Teresa printed candles. People pray in front of her photograph in French. I do not know what exactly I felt. If you are someone interested to know about Mother Teresa, there's always a Google. If you are going to Calcutta anytime soon and want to see places related to her, then check out this blog post. St. Teresa photograph put up inside the Basilica of Saint Sernin, Toulouse. . Mother Teresa printed candles. I'll put up the videos on Facebook and give you a link here. Please be informed, things I spoke in the video are not factually accurate. Surrounding the Basilica is a small market with interesting shops. Further down is a school and the church of Jacobins. Conversations | France' 2018 Capitole De Toulouse Capitole De Toulouse This is the municipality building and the town hall. The surrounding area would interest any foodie or a shopaholic. Lakshana ended up buying a handbag for herself here! Pont Neuf. Pont Neuf which literally translates to "New Bridge" was built in the 16th century. Not new. The other second-hand web-scraped information that I can give you is - it is 722 metres long, and this bridge is not symmetrical. I read somewhere that this is one of the oldest bridges to be used to this date. Since I couldn't find the source, I can not confirm it. Pont Neuf - the new bridge of the 16th century. . Pont Neuf right after the sunset during the blue hour. The Cathedral && the Garonne. Garonne is the river. Pont Neuf is a bridge over the river and the Cathedral is across the river. The bank we were on has a public space for people to just be themselves in. It looks like a blessed land. The Cathedral and the river. . Yamini and Lakshana in Toulouse. Church of Jacobins We did not know it existed. What appeared like a crown from where we were standing on the river bank. We walked towards the direction to find this - The Church of Jacobins! The others in the list are museums, which we had decided to not visit, given the limitation of time we had. You know why Toulouse would remain special for me? This is where I feel I’ve tasted freedom. People across age groups could come out and bask in the sun by the riverside, doing literally anything their heart wishes. A few created music, one was showing tricks. Parents find time to hand hold their children on fun rides. I noticed a girl sat there like a statue with either a book or a copy in her lap, scribbling something the entire time. People on the streets were free. They made sure they look great and were happy. What's freedom? . Public places and sunset. . The Art Museum. . Evening light in Toulouse If you plan to visit Toulouse, a. Check the prices at Ryanair airlines. It's very cheap but also has limitations on luggage; which is manageable if you are an experienced traveller. b. The first thing you do is to get a travel pass for the number of days you plan to stay. c. Look out for Airbnb. I'm told that's the cheapest accommodation. We put up at Hotel F1 at Ramonville. While everything was good, the bathroom wasn't. d. Be informed, this place is very expensive. Especially for those who are going there from Germany, specially Magdeburg. The cheapest alcohol during happy hour is equivalent to the costliest shit in Magdeburg. e. People are nice but do not appear like a creep. It's important. Overall, this is a very sweet little place with possibly everything great! If I ever come back to this city, I'd love to experience the nightlife here. Oh yes, we've missed the Cathedral here which is also a point of interest for me. Do drop me your questions! Drop me a message here. And if you like this post, do share it with your friends! Lakshana Devi Radhakrishnan! Ok, she planned the entire trip to Toulouse-Nice and Barcelona. A huge thank you :D --- - Published: 2018-03-30 - Modified: 2018-03-30 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nice-french-reviera-tuhin-saha/ - Categories: France, Travel Europe - Tags: I love Nice, Nice France, Tuhin Saha The "Mediterranean Sea" was just another English word with a complicated spelling, I had to revise just before the Geography exam, till I saw the sea with the myriad blue colours hitting the shore and going back. It was magical. PS: If you like my blog posts, please subscribe by sending me a message here. This trip has been special in many ways; Nice was made even more special by my cousin, Tuhin who studies there. All the years we grew up in Calcutta, we never bothered to meet up unless it was a family event which I couldn’t possibly refuse. But nine thousand kilometres away, the cousins met and had a very good day together. The bay of Angels Nice is a city in Southern France, which I am told is more Italian than French. Founded by the Greeks, this place became the retreat for very rich Europeans and to the otherwise, who could afford it. From the bay of Angels (the curve that would remind you of Marine Drive in Mumbai) to the wide streets, the art installation and the old town - a simple Google search will tell you the places you should visit in Nice. I could perhaps not add anything more to this list. But I could tell you how I felt in Nice. Trivia#1: Nice became a part of France in 1860. It's more Italian than French because it's everywhere, from the classrooms where the language is taught alongside English to the food you get! Trivia#2: Queen Victoria sometimes came to the English embarkment here to ride her Donkey. Trivia#3: The Nice Carnival, of which Tuhin is a fan of, started in 1294 and takes place during mid-February every year. (Yes, we missed it. ) The walk from Tuhin’s place, by the main road and then wetting our feet in the Mediterranean sea. While Lakshana and Yamini were busy wetting their feet, I noticed Tuhin was trying to balance pebbles one on the top of the others. I tried it and it was fun! I made four more; because why not? Because why not? The right-most is done by Tuhin! . The waterfall | Nice, 2018 . View from the top of the waterfall! Then we walked the way up to the waterfall, which I thought was natural. But it is not, so relax. But the city looks stunning from there so you can feel excited a bit though. On the way, we spent a considerable time in a graveyard, for reasons I don't really remember. There’s a small eatery on the top of the hill, the owners of which are extremely warm. BIG Bubbles? :D . In the Old Town | Nice, France 2018 . Statue of Jesus with a seagull flying over it. We walked down to the old town where the church, the narrow lanes, which were bursting with colours, pretty much amused me. The market there is full of life and good ice creams. Ok, I’ll not compare that with Calcutta. PS: My friends literally dragged me out of the ice cream parlours. :'( Me and my cousin, Tuhin. We put up at the hotel Evelia. It was the cheapest among the hotels who offered a room during the time we planned for Nice. We arrived hours before our check-in and left hours after the check-out; the people are very courteous and the room was big enough to accommodate us three. The bathroom was big enough and clean! I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The Fountain place; during the evening, the water has the colours of the French flag The nude male statue which speculatively has the best ass in Nice, the fountain park, the sea that roars at night, the people who party very late, the fantastic manager who dropped us at the airport just as a good gesture, would make me want to get back to Nice as soon as I could afford it. The earliest people to love Nice were cave dwellers who came here to hunt woolly mammoths some four hundred thousand years ago. Find more interesting facts here. --- - Published: 2018-03-10 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-gothic-cathedral-in-magdeburg/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: Cathedrals in Magdeburg, Dom Magdeburg, Gothic Cathedral in Germany, Gothic Cathedral in Magdeburg, Magdeburg Cathedral, Magdeburg Dom, Magdeburg Domplatz, Oldest Gothic Cathedral in Germany The Magdeburg Cathedral or the Magdeburg Dom; also called Magdeburger Dom, is the oldest existing Gothic Cathedral/structure in Germany. Initially built in the nine hundreds, this is the newest structure which was built for three hundred years starting from the early twelve hundreds. Yes, that old! ! The Magdeburg Cathedral . Another view of the Magdeburg Cathedral. . This is the first building that struck me and I was like, “Haila, Magdeburg’s St. Paul’s Cathedral”; only larger and slightly a bit older. I made a new German friend near the Magdeburg Dom and she wondered whether I have seen a Gothic structure in my city and I was like, “Duh! I come from Calcutta. There are Gothic structures like the entire High Court, and yes, we have a Gothic Cathedral as well! ” If Calcutta’s Gothic Cathedral is 75 meters tall, the Magdeburg Cathedral is 99. 25 meters tall; that’s around 8 storeys taller than Calcutta's. Why am I comparing? St. Paul's Cathedral in Calcutta; Calcutta's own Gothic Cathedral. . This structure is HUGE! Here's a 360 photograph of the Magdeburg Dom, created by Magdeburg 360. . Inside the Magdeburg Cathedral or the Magdeburg Dom . I was excited to go to the Cathedral during the Christmas Eve and had too lofty expectations. Umm, the mass was in German and there wasn’t any wall painting. But there were a lot of sculptures on the walls of the Dom. That interested me enough to go there another time, the next week Decked up for Christmas! . This is dedicated to Saints Catherine and Maurice. During the Protestant movement, (ISC board students, do you remember your history lessons? ), this city was important and this Cathedral too. Martin Luther preached in this Cathedral in 1524. The interiors of the Magdeburg Cathedral during the Christmas week. The Catholic forces raided the city in 1631, killing almost everyone. People inside the Cathedral survived. This Cathedral was given to Napolean in 1806 and the French occupied it till mid 1810’s. You know Germany took part in the World wars and it wasn’t a benevolent story for them. This church had to bear the brunt each time. It was heavily bombed during World War II. In 1949s, Magdeburg fell into the Soviet control. The Magdeburg Cathedral is finally under renovation since 1983. Sculptures I . Random new sculptures that are put up inside the Cathedral ! . Sculptures II . Very random sculpture of Jesus Christ, crucified. . At the end of the aisle. . Sculptures III . This installation IS scary when you look at it closely; this however is placed outside the north gate of the Cathedral. . Sculptures IV . The setup for the Christmas 2017. . On the outer walls! There’s a lot to see inside the Cathedral; from the graves of Otto and his wife to the stories of the Bible depicted on the walls. If you like sculptures and stories, this would be heaven for you. There’s a lot more, the details of which you can find on the Wikipedia page. There’s not one thing new that I could add, which is not already there on the internet or the books. . St. Catharine (Magdeburg Cathedral is named after Saints Catharine and Maurice ) . This is how the carved out statues look. . Otto - the Emperor and his Wife. . Tomb of Otto-the emperor. . Sculpture of St. Maurice. . The five Foolish Virgins. Do you know the story? . The five wise virgins! . Remains of the first Cathedral that was razed to the ground by the fire in 1207. . Pieces of the old works kept outside the main buildings. . The East side of the Magdeburg Dom . The southern face of the Magdeburg Dom . The face of the Dom that everyone sees from the tram stop! Close your eyes; picture yourself in the middle of the Cathedral with every war happening around you; you and the Cathedral standing strong. From the first fire in 1207 to the Soviets controlling it. This was the most important structure of the third most important medieval city in Europe after Rome and Constantinople; while possibly everything around changed or perished, this survives still. This Cathedral enthrals this Bengali chap on every one of his visits. --- - Published: 2018-02-26 - Modified: 2020-02-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magdeburg-about-indian-calcutta/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: Levis old logo, Magdeburg and Kolkata, Magdeburg experiment, Magdeburg for Indian Dummies, Magdeburg Indians, Where is Magdeburg? - Hey, I’m moving to Magdeburg for my studies. - That’s great. But, umm... where’s that? - Magdeburg is, umm... wait, I need to figure this out! Magdeburg Dom - the oldest Gothic Cathedral in Germany. Magdeburg is iconic; as iconic as the city I come from, if not more. But first, some basic knowledge - Magdeburg is a small city, with one-hundredth of Calcutta’s population. So if you are on Tinder, you’ve probably come across everyone who fits your criteria, in the first one hour of swiping. There aren’t as many cool places as there are in Calcutta; I still couldn’t figure out where people spend some time without getting drunk. It’s 90 minutes away from Berlin. But weekends in Berlin is not a student-pocket friendly idea. But this information is important because if you are a student, you would know that a big city isn’t far for your internships, if in case. This city is old but young, unlike Calcutta which is relatively younger but umm, old. Magdeburg was the first capital of Germany in the 10th century. Perhaps the only visible old structure is the Magdeburger Cathedral, which is standing still since the 1200’s. The main Cathedral in the same place was built in 900’s, caught fire and was rebuilt over 300 years. It’s the oldest Gothic church in Germany. The rest of the city had to bear the brunt of, every possible war including the World War II. So yes, everything you see around is a new structure. Calcutta, 2017 Calcutta was the British-India’s capital. That’s it. Most Bengalis did not, till the last decade, realise that the British had left and they have to take it forward, prosper progress. Calcutta however, is the third most revenue generating city in India after Mumbai and Delhi even now. The otherwise city of palaces is now in a dilapidated state. Calcutta is West Bengal’s capital; West Bengal is a state. Magdeburg is Saxony-Anhalt’s capital. Saxony-Anhalt is a state in Germany. So yes, technically, the same status. Magdeburg isn’t one-tenth as exciting as Calcutta is, but people are good and disciplined. People wait for the traffic light to go green. Yup. They do. Even when there’s no one around. There’s a lane for cyclists on the footpath. People generally do not walk on that. Magdeburg also has a tram network like Calcutta. That gives me serious Deja Vu moments. Trams here are on time and looks better. First shot in Magdeburg: The footpath, the cycling lane and the tram. . Sunset at the river; If there’s a river Ganga bordering Calcutta, there’s river Elbe flowing through the city. There’s no Ganga arati though. LOL. . That's the river Elbe during midnight. People are used to seeing brown-skinned people here and my generation knows English. For everything else, there’s a Google Translate which does a pretty decent job. One name you’ll find here is “Otto”; the original Otto is the first emperor of Germany. He was a religious conqueror of sorts. Militarily, he consolidated German tribes after his father and ruled till northern Italy. I study in Otto-von-Guericke Universitat. This guy Otto is a different person. This Otto is to Magdeburg what Rabindranath Tagore is to Shantiniketan. They just don’t sell Otto pakoras though. Magdeburg Experiment installation on the streets of Magdeburg. BTW, Otto-von-Guericke demonstrated that vacuum exists. So like one J C Bose who demonstrated something which we now know as basic, that the tree has life, we had Otto-von-Guericke, who did the Magdeburg experiment. I guess for some really unrelated reasons, Levis (the clothing brand) used the concept of the Magdeburg experiment in their earlier logo. I do not know what they were smoking up, really. Levis old logo | Trivia courtesy: Shurjo, because he is awesome! Also, the Fevicol logo; Apart from that, Magdeburg has given Europe the Magdeburg Rights and was the epicentre of Protestant movement. It used to be an important city in medieval Europe. Do Indians survive here? You have an Indian store here, overpriced, but it exists. You can buy your spices here. If you are an Indian reading this, you know we Bengalis love our potato and fish. Guess what? You’ll get a lot of that here. A lot. Read it one more time, a lot. I think all these one thousand years of German evolution, they’ve only invested in making cars. When it comes to food, there’s wurst and Potatoes. Wurst is meat. I eat it. Potato comes in various shapes, sizes, and forms. They keep coming back like the ghosts in the horror movies. Pommes is French fries; that’s lunch. If not anything else, they give you boiled potato to eat. Just, boiled potato. One big boiled potato. Getting back to the discussion. What were we discussing by the way? --- - Published: 2018-02-03 - Modified: 2018-02-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/scrapbook/ - Categories: Germany, Personal, Photography, Random notes, Travel - Tags: Cannon beach, delhi, kolkata, Madgeburg Raindrops and Quedlinburg | Germany, 2017. - If you write a personal note, who will want to read it? - Let them not read. The handful of those who will, will because they love me. What more can I wish for? - What do you wish for? - Companionship, camaraderie, love, trust, acceptance. - You just had a couple of shots. - I'm not drunk. Calcutta, 2017 - Do you miss Calcutta? - Not really. Places do not really matter, the people in the memories do; they've left the city. - There comes your next shot! Table, a rose, and sunshine. - What would you name this blog post? - Mood Swings. No. Scrapbook, where I'll paste the photographs and write a bit about my feelings about it. - Weren't you planning this to be, "Transit"? - My life has always been in transit. What's new in this? I've always been travelling from one place to another, from one phase to another; Rhythmic and often without logic. Delhi, 2017. When Manish was driving me to the international airport in Delhi, I do not know what exactly I was feeling. You know the kind of feeling you have when you go to the US being invited to something that's supposed to be very prestigious. You know you would come back for a couple of hours only to fly to Germany and stay there for perhaps, the rest of your life. There're parents back home in Kolkata and a business which is now in the hands of someone else. People questioned me, argued for and against my wish of pursuing my masters. Most of the discussions weren't really benevolent. The Almighty has blessed me with everything I've ever wished for. Even Manish and Akriti and the family there, has always been there with me, every time I was in Delhi even by accident. A lot of them were accidents. I have a family outside my blood relations and they make sure I never falter. Even I've asked myself, how necessary is moving out? Barleber See, Magdeburg 2017 But Germany is liberating, I must tell you. People are punctual, they love working, they concentrate on basics. The roads are clean and people follow traffic rules! I love the anonymity here. I love the freedom here. I love the way I can walk into a classroom without preparation and not be judged when I ask stupid questions. I love the way I find time for my own self and read things I love reading. And I love the way I am making this my home. You dream of a life where you're truly free. Would you not? Dark clouds, mountains, and a horizon far away; But each phase brings with itself, it's own share of challenges. As much as I am relishing the anonymity, I have this hunger to prove myself one more time, with the kind of challenges the Almighty is throwing at me. While I struggled to find a place to live and some internet to work on, I lost a couple of clients back in India; the sunshine was hidden behind a thick grey cloud. Also, I refuse to repeat my mistakes. There were little joys though, The first snowfall and I were as enthusiastic as a child. I'm getting used to this new life, slowly. Slower than one expects a student to be. I'm getting used to becoming an academic again. Slowly, slower than they would expect me to be. There was snow and then there was sunshine; much representing the myriad shades of life, the Almighty has to offer. Warm sunshine and the chairs. - Show me some of your old photographs. - And blabber more? Haha. The other kingdom of clouds The kingdom of clouds, for me, is not Meghalaya. It is Darjeeling. It has for you it's narrow streets by the side of the mountains, the much of which you can not see till the clouds clear the view. It's like life; you're there is the most beautiful phase but with a clouded vision. - You're drunk, Anirban! The freshness of the web Have you ever been with a person who created a web of lies and deceit? With every step forward, you fall a little more, a little down, a little more on your knees. But you seem to like the freshness of the low. Untangled later, coming back from the untimely death. Wuff. Life as it is, With each rise and fall, I learned one thing - A couple of the ones I love would keep loving me whether or not I stay in Kolkata, whether or not I am successful, whether or not I am relevant in their lives. Human relationships are about being relevant and continue being relevant to each other; Trapped. Big and beautiful, but somehow restricted and caged; should he not fly to a place unbound, where people would be amused by the colours and the happiness he has to share? The fog and the forest | Do you like this? . There's always a bright sun rising; - You love your life, isn't it? - And I am proud of it. I never talk about the struggles or limitations. No one is interested. I shouldn't brag about success either; makes people deep down jealous. If I could, I should help one person at a time go to the next level, share my knowledge. I think I have had enough shots. We're just making a big hole in our pockets. - Show me more photographs. My eyes were dazzled! I do not know why this moment in life is stuck with me. I want to hold this back and never let it go! Magdeburg during Autumn. - there are times like now when life seems to have come to a halt. Pause. Reflect. Add to life. Fertig --- - Published: 2018-01-01 - Modified: 2018-01-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tusu-festival-hindi/ - Categories: Explore Bengal, Festival, Tusu Parab, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Tusu deity, tusu festival in hindi, tusu gaan, Tusu goddess, tusu in purulia, Tusu parab This article on Tusu Festival is originally written by Averi Saha in English. टूशू त्योहार (टूशू परब या टूशू पोरब या टूशू पूजा भी कहाँ जाता हैं) ग्रामीण बंगाल का एक आदिवासी त्योहार हैं।इस एक महीने लम्बे जश्न के मुख्य अंक टूशू गान, खान और मेले हैं।मकर सक्रांति के दिन टूशू संरचनाओं के विसर्जन के साथ यह त्योहार ख़त्म होता हैं।मैंने इस त्योहार का आख़री दिन द्यूलिघाटा, पूरुलिआ में व्यतीत किया था। मैं अवेरी के साथ उसके लेख के लिए वहाँ था। ये मेरी ख़ुशक़िस्मती हैं कि वो मेरे ब्लोग के लिए लिख रही हैं। Photographs by Anirban Saha. पतिस्पता की परतों से निकलते हुए, २०१४ में मैंने अपनी ज़िंदगी की सबसे अपरंपरागत पौश सक्रांति मनाई।१४ जनवरी की ठंडी, घने बादलों वाली सुबह को अपने दो उत्साही फोटोग्राफर्स के साथ द्यूलिघाटा (जहाँ टूशू भाशन होता हैं) के लिए निकल गई।महीने लम्बी टूशू पूजा के रीत-रिवाजों को देखने के लिए मैं पूरूलिआ तक पहुँच गई।यह जानकर निराशा हुई कि टूशू छाऊँदाला के कौनसाबोती नदी में विसर्जन के साथ मकर सक्रांति के दिन त्योहार का अंत होता हैं।ज़्यादा बुरा इस बात का लगा कि टूशू की पौश के पूरी महीने पूजा करने की रीत अब पुरानी हो चुकी हैं।ना जाने वो कोन सा तरीका हैं जिससे हम आधुनिकरण और परंपराओं में संतुलन कर सकेंगे। दोनो में संतुलन होना बहुत महत्वपूर्ण हैं। लेकिन तब भी प्रतिफल देने के लिए वहाँ बहुत कुछ था। टूशू भाशन एक कमाल का दृश्य था। उसे याद करते हुए ख़्यालों में रंग आते हैं। चमकीले सजे हुए छौऊदाले, सजी-धजी महिलाए और रंगीन मिज़ाज के दर्शक - इन सब ने मिलकर मौसम के सबसे ठंडे, बादलों से ढके दिन को भी रंगीन कर दिया था। छौऊदालाए लक्कड़ और बाँस की आकृति होती हैं जिन्हें रंगीन कागज़, गुड़ियाओं और भिन्न चीज़ों से सजाया जाता हैं और इन्हें देवी के रूप में माना जाता हैं।ये औरतों का त्योहार हैं और छौऊदाला को घरों में पवित्र कुमारियों द्वारा बनाया जाता हैं या स्थानीय दुकानो में बेचा भी जाता हैं।सुबह के पुन्य स्नान के बाद औरतें और लड़कियाँ गुट बनाकर नदी की ओर टूशू गीत गाती हुई जाती हैं। दोपहर तक नदी का किनारा टूशुनियों(औरत या लड़की जो टूशू उठाती हैं), खाने के फेरीवालों, छोटी-मोटी दुकानों, टूशू गान बजाते माईक्रोफ़ोनो और शहरी फोटोग्राफेर्स से भर जाता हैं। जब लड़कियाँ नदी में जाती हैं तो लड़के वाहवाही कर प्रोतसाहित करते हैं मगर ये सब बुरी नज़र से किया या देखा नहीं जाता। मुझे बताया गया था की कभी कभी हालात ख़राब हो जाते हैं और मामला हाथ से निकल जाता हैं।एक बेटी, सखी आदी के रूप में पूजनिए, टूशू एक देवी से ज़्यादा एक घर का सदस्या हैं। कहाँ जाता हैं कि टूशू या टूशूमानी ने प्यार की ख़ातिर अपना जीवन त्याग दिया था, चाहे पति के लिए या अपने लोगों के प्यार के लिए। इसलिए औरतें टूशू को विसर्जित करते हुए एक अच्छें पति और निष्ठा के लिए प्रार्थना करती हैं। नौजवान पुरषों को इस बाहाने रिश्ता पेश करने का मौक़ा मिल जाता हैं और इस प्रकार त्योहार जोड़ियाँ बनानें की चूहल की ओर हो जाता हैं जहाँ लड़कों और लड़कियों के बीच छेड़ा-छाड़ी, लड़ाइयाँ और हाज़िर-जवाबी शुरू हो जाती हैं।टूशू एक किसानो का त्योहार भी हैं और इसलिए उपजाऊपन की विशेषताओ से भरपूर्ण हैं।यह छोटा नागपुर पठार के निचले हिस्से में रहने वाली जनजातियो का मुख्य त्योहार हैं और बंगाल के पूरूलिआ, बीरभूम और बाँकुरा जिलो, झारखंड में राँची और ओडिशा में मयूरभन्ज और केओंझर जिलो में ख़ूब मनाया जाता हैं। ढलते हुए दिन के साथ ३ बजे के आसपास विसर्जन कम होते गए, नौजवान लड़के और लड़कियाँ घूमते हुए, मौजमस्ती और भीड़ कम होते हुए और लोग अपने घर और गाँव वापिस जाने लगे और छुट्टी का आराम और शांति ज़िंदगी के काम और भागदौड़ में घुलता गया।साफ़ आसमान में चमकता, पूर्ण गोल होने से कुछ २ रात दूर चाँद को देखते हुए मैंने मन में टूशू की ज़मीन को एक बार फिर देखने का वादा किया, इस बार उसका स्वागत अग्राहन सक्रांति के वक़्त करने के लिए। Photographs shot in Purulia, West Bengal. . Photographs by Anirban Saha in 2014. Follow him on Instagram: @sahaanirban सौविक चट्टेरजी ने हमें एक लोक गीत से अवगत कराया: जा जा टूशू जा जा लो देखा गेछे टोर पिरीत लो टोर पिरीत मोन माने ना बोली टोर पिरीत अगुन जोले ना अनुवाद: जा टूशू जा हमने तेरा प्यार देख लिया हैं मेरा दिल तेरे प्यार पर विश्वास नहीं करता तेरे प्यार से कोई आग नहीं जली हैं Devotees praying early in the morning, all the way from the river. . That's "Tusu" the structure which represents the Deity. The original post is written by Averi Saha, translated to Hindi by Jigyasa Kakwani. --- - Published: 2017-12-23 - Modified: 2017-12-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/balihang-tongnam-limbu-festival/ - Categories: Culture, Guest Posts, Rajatabha Ray, Sikkim - Tags: Balihang Tongnam, Limbu culture, limbu culture in sikkim, Limbu tribe, Tribes in Balihang Tongnam is a festival celebrated by the Limbu (Limboo) community. Since childhood, I was fascinated by religious mythologies and stories. Hence, after a nice cup of evening tea, we sat with Mr. Suk Bir Limbu, a local teacher of the Limbu culture and he told us stories about the first Limbus and how Balihang Tongnam started! Women of the Limbu community came together to play Namlingek. Photographs by Rajatabha Ray. According to their mythology, Balihang was a powerful king who was loved by all his subjects. People believed that Balihang had the power to control all the elements of Earth. They asked for his blessing before all their ventures. One day, he had a vision that he would die on the night of the new moon (Amavasya) in the month of Mansir. When he told his people about this vision, they unanimously decided they will ensure there will be no darkness that night. They lighted oil lamps and candles and the darkness was engulfed by light. They prayed to the moon to set early (Laringek) and to the Sun to rise early (Namlingek). The God of Death (Yamraj), mistaking the night for a day, did not come to take Balihang’s soul. Since Balihang’s life was spared that night, the next day was celebrated as his rebirth. Ever since, Balihang Tongnam is celebrated in two parts - a play by sunset (Laringek) and a play by sunrise (Namlingek). A replica of the traditional Limbu house depicting their ancient practices. Photographs: Rajatabha Ray. We were then invited to be a part of their festivities the next day. A traditional Limbu house had been constructed. It housed all the things used by the early Limbus. We were told more stories about how the early Limbus started farming and how fire was introduced to them by their goddess, Tagera Ningwaphuma Mang. She taught them how to cook rice and yam before eating so that diseases could be prevented. Members of the community playing Hangmungla (traditional drums) Balihang Tongnam starts with a beautiful display of traditional dance forms like Kaylang and playing of traditional musical instruments like Kay and Hangmungla. I was fascinated by small kids performing traditional dance forms wonderfully and their knowledge about their culture was equally intriguing. Oil lamps are lit. Then the play of Laringek starts with the permission and participation of the women in the community. Kids performing Keylang (traditional Limbu dance form). Photographs by Rajatabha Ray. On the second day, after another display of several Limbu dance forms and musical instruments, Namlingek starts. This play is to celebrate the rebirth of Balihang and hence the entire Limbu community (men and women) sing the prayer sentences of Namlingek. Balihang Tongnam is also a social gathering of various communities from different parts of Sikkim. These communities showcase their own dance-forms and music. They talk about their own tradition and culture. All these communities differ from one another in their language, festivals, customs and practices. Despite all these differences, they have not failed to promote how to live together peacefully and in harmony. For me, a festival is all about good food and great stories revolving around the celebration and the culture it portrays. Thanks to the merry men of Yuksom, I also got to taste their local Thongba. Balihang Tongnam, for me, was two nights well spent talking to new people, learning about new cultures, and most importantly, having a good time. We thank Ejam Residency for having invited us to cover the event Balihang Tongnam on behalf of dada. We thank them for hosting us in the beautiful resort. We insist, if you are in Yuksom you should check them out here. Ejam Residency. Photograph by Abhisek Ghosh. --- - Published: 2017-12-19 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/limbu-culture-in-sikkim/ - Categories: Culture, Guest Posts, Rajatabha Ray, Sikkim - Tags: limbu clans and tribes, limbu culture in sikkim, limbu language in sikkim, limbu tribe of sikkim, sikkim limbu song Samya Subhro Roy and Rajatabha Ray, explore the Limbu community festival to cover it for anirbansaha. com | All photographs shot by Rajatabha Ray. The Limbu community in Sikkim is a community of the first inhabitant tribes in the state. Now they have a population of around sixty-five thousand people. The first Limbus came to Sikkim and settled in Yuksom (erstwhile “Limbuwan”). The Limbu culture in Sikkim is particularly interesting and in this post, I'll introduce you to them.   When I had first read about them, I was fascinated by their customs and traditional practices. Three weeks later, I was on my way to Yuksom with Rajatabha and Abhishek to attend Balihang Tongnam, a Limbu festival, first hand and to learn about this tribe. Fun Fact: The name "Sikkim" comes from the Limbu words "Su" meaning ‘new’ and "khyim" meaning ‘house’. "Sikkim" referred to the new house of the rulers that time, one of the wives of whom, was a Limbu.   This symbol is a representation of the Limbu community There is a common misconception that the Limbu community has descended from Nepal. According to the pundits, the Limbu have stayed in Sikkim even before the borders between the countries were established. Their language is derived from the Sirijunga script which was devised by King Sirijunga of 9th century Sikkim. Their community practice Yumaism where they worship Tagera Ningwaphuma as their Supreme Goddess. She also portrays the importance of women in their community. I was particularly intrigued by their love for animals; they were praying to them as they believe God lives in them. Jewellery traditional to the Limbu community The knowledge in their scriptures (Mundhums) are passed orally over generations by their priests, without properly written scripts They have a unique attire which is traditional to their community. These clothes are simple yet captivating and hold a certain charm (just like Bengal’s dhooti Panjabi). The men wear Hanglang Kamtet which a formal Limbu suit with a Thakwang (hat). Women wear Pothang, a Limbu gown and yes, jewelry. The elders of the community dressed in their traditional attire Since the roads to Yuksom are not properly maintained, these people have to face a lot of problems trying to bring food and other necessary goods uphill. Their major sources of income are the tourists and trekkers who stay there. Nonetheless, it does not dampen their jolly spirits and they continue to help make your stay better with a bright smile. --- - Published: 2017-12-03 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/first-photographs-snow-magdeburg/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: First Snow, Photographs of snow fall, Snow in Magdeburg A first this season and my first experience with snowfall; I have all the reasons to be super excited! I was sleepless the entire night, clueless about what to do next and how to pass the upcoming examination; when Google notified me it is -2°C outside and it should snow at around 8 AM. Now 8 AM is when the sun rises here and 7:30 AM is when I go out for a walk with my camera. It was around 7:30 AM when I felt a few white puffy cotton balls hitting the window; I got super excited and went out. I had my birding lens with me and no other lens. I trust this isn't the last snow fall and I'd get enough opportunities to photograph it. Nevertheless, the firsts are always special. This blog post too is special. I just hope the photographs turn out to be as good as the experience of the first snow was. My vocabulary isn't strong enough to express how beautiful it felt to walk, almost alone, in the snow and how excited I still am while I make this blog post! If you like the photographs, then please SHARE this blog post with your friends on social media. The tree with berries, where the birds come to eat. . If you like the photographs, please subscribe to the Messenger list by dropping me a message here. . That's one Eurasian Magpie flying away from my lens. :'( . Suggest a caption, please? | Instagram: @sahaanirban . What do you think I was feeling all alone there? . Eurasian Magpie | Follow me on Instagram for photographs of more birds! . A not-very-please Pigeon! . Isn't this what dreams are made of? ... just the feel of it. . At the Norden Park. . If you like the photographs, do SHARE this blog post! I trust you've liked the first photographs of the first snow this season. Do send me your feedback and ask me questions; leave a comment! IF you want to get regular updates, of my blog posts, please send me a message here. Also, if you've been to Magdeburg / Germany / Europe during this time, do recommend something I could photograph and should be easy on my pockets. IF you know anyone who is into bird photography in Germany, I beg, please get me connected. --- - Published: 2017-12-02 - Modified: 2017-12-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/getting-used-changes-new-life/ - Categories: Germany - Tags: Magdeburg, Otto Von Guericke Universitat Magdeburg While I scribble this down, I’m not sure when I’d be posting this. Perhaps unedited and half-made; who cares anyway? Soon I’ll be completing my two months in Magdeburg, still without a bank account and without an accommodation. I live with a friend and it’s somewhat comfortable. I sleep peacefully and wake up to try another time to not burn food or put more sugar in tea. Somewhere in the middle of attending lectures, making food, doing assignments, washing dishes and cleaning the room, I’m growing up at 28. And yes, I’ve managed a few hours to travel and click a couple of birds. PS: I’ve bought a new lens for birding. The thought of not earning a penny is daunting me. I’m advised to not work for the first couple of semesters and get used to the academic system in Germany. From basic Mathematics to Telugu, I have a lot to learn. This university to Telugu people is what Canada is perhaps for Punjabis. This is a light-hearted joke, please do not be offended. To those who are fond of alcohol, there’s a drink which is fondly called, “Sweet Whiskey” and I’m a complete fan of it! There’s Gluhwein, or warm wine, the quality and taste of which is strictly a function of the amount of money you could pay. The best Gluhwein I had in the last few weeks was in a restaurant in the Quedlinburg Castle. Possibly everything which is not a car is over-priced in Germany. Cars are cheaper than the photography equipment I am carrying with me. But let’s not get into this. A friend asked me, "Did you discover anything new about yourself? " Well yes, I'm great at washing dishes! Jokes apart, I realized something that people often discussed me - I'm driven by people. I abhor the idea of living alone or not having someone to talk to. And yes, I'm good at washing dishes and making fried rice. Check out a few photographs! Quedlinburg | traditionally Europe, they say. . Common Blackbird | Magdeburg 2017 . Tangermunde | Cobbled streets and a church! . Soft drinks and then Gluhwein (hot wine) | Christmas specialties. . Barleber See during the storm, was exciting! . Common Wood Pigeon - a very common bird that jumps around near my window. . Gebaude (Building) no. 22 | Inside the university. . Afternoon shine near the building where I attend classes. -_- . Tangermunde City Building --- - Published: 2017-12-02 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/quedlinburg-bengali/ - Categories: Germany, Guest Posts, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc, Monsoon, বাংলা আমার “IKUS” এক্সকারসন এ যাওয়ার একটাই কারন ছিল - “Quedlinburg” , এক সহস্রাব্দেরও পুরনো শহর যা কিনা Magdeburg থেকে মাত্র এক ঘণ্টার পথ। Quedlinburg এ নেমে প্রথম দৃশ্য। . Quedlinburg এর দুর্গ থেকে শহর | www. anirbansaha. com . Quedlinburg: ৪ শতাব্দীতে বানানো ৪ টে বাড়ি। সেদিন যেমন প্রচণ্ড বৃষ্টি , তেমন হাড় কাঁপানো ঠাণ্ডা। এই রকম এক দিনে আমরা সবাই মিলে বেরলাম ... গন্তব্য ষ্টেশন ( Hauptbahnhof বলে জার্মান ভাষায় )। সেখানে পৌঁছে দেখি আমাদের IKUS এর ছাত্রি অপেক্ষা করছেন। আমরা পৌঁছতেই তিনি সবার নাম মিলিয়ে নিলেন আর প্রত্যেকের হাতে একটা করে ম্যাপ আর শিডিউল ধরিয়ে দিলেন, যাতে এই বিদেশ বিভূঁইয়ে হারিয়ে না যাই। আমাদের অনেকের কাছেই জার্মানি তে আসার পর এটাই প্রথম একসাথে বেরোনো - অন্তত কিছু সময়ের জন্য পড়াশোনার চাপ ভুলে । খানিক ছুটকো ছাটকা আলাপ আর একগাদা সেলফি তোলার পর আমরা সবাই ট্রেনে উঠলাম। একজন সদা হাস্যময়ী ভদ্রমহিলা আমাদের Quedlinburg এ পৌঁছতেই অভ্যর্থনা জানালেন - তিনি আজকের পথ দেখাবেন । Quedlinburg শহর টা প্রায় ৮০ হেক্টর জায়গা নিয়ে যা কিনা পুরোটাই এখন UNESCO World Heritage City হিসেবে ঘোষিত। পুরো শহরের সমস্ত বাড়ী গুলো সেগুন কাঠের তৈরি, শতাব্দী প্রাচীন। পৃথিবীর বেশীরভাগ পুরনো শহর গুলো কোনও না কোনও সময়ে বিপর্যয়ের সম্মুখীন হয়েছে। কখনও বিদেশী শক্তির আক্রমন, কখনও প্রাকৃতিক বিপর্যয়- আবার কখনও বা ভয়াবহ অগ্নিকাণ্ডে ভস্মীভূত হয়েছে। কিন্তু এই শহর সেরকম কিছুর সম্মুখীন হয়নি, আর সেই জন্যই এখনও অবধি এই শহরের প্রত্যেক বাড়ী, প্রত্যেক অলি গলি তে লেগে আছে মধ্যযুগীয় ইউরোপিয় আবহ। এই শহর তৈরি হয়েছিল খ্রিষ্টীয় নবম শতাব্দী তে। যে সময়ে ভারতে পাটলিপুত্র তাঁর গৌরব গরিমা হারাচ্ছে - যে সময়ে বাংলায় পাল রাজারা , পশ্চিম ভারতে রাষ্ট্রকূট বংশ , আর মধ্য ভারতে গুজ্জর রা কনৌজের দখল নিয়ে যুদ্ধে নামছে। এই হল সেই সময় যখন ভারত থেকে বহুদূরে ইউরোপএ এই শহর গড়ে উঠছে। যা এত বছর পরেও সেই অতীতের গন্ধ মেখে দাঁড়িয়ে আছে। জেনে রাখুন - ভারতে গুর্জর রাজবংশের একটি মাত্র স্থাপত্য নিদর্শন আছে যা ইউনেস্কো ওয়ার্ল্ড হেরিটেজ সাইট হিসেবে স্বীকৃত- খাজুরাহ মন্দির এই শহরে আমার সব থেকে বেশি ভালো লাগলো এই দেখে যে - এখানকার সাধারন মানুষ আজও তাদের ঐতিহ্য পরম্পরা কে অবিকল ভাবে রক্ষা করছে- এমনকি সমস্ত নতুন বাড়িঘরও সেই পুরনো দিনের মত সেগুন কাঠের তৈরি। শরু রাস্তা এবং ঝুলন্ত বাগান । ঐতিহ্যগতভাবে ইউরোপ বাড়িঘরের কথা বলতে গেলে প্রথমেই যে জিনিসটা লক্ষণীয় সেটা হল গথিক স্টাইল। আকাশচুম্বী সূচলো চূড়া । আমাদের গাইড সাবিনা বলল এই শহরের স্থাপত্য প্রধানত রোমান আর রেনেসাঁ যুগের স্থাপত্যের মিশেলে তৈরি। অবশ্য প্রচণ্ড বৃষ্টির জন্য আমরা ভালো করে বুঝতে পারিনি। ঐতিহাসিক সময়কালের দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকে Quedlinburg নিয়ে অনেক কথাই বলা যায়, কারন জার্মানির ওটোমান রাজবংশের প্রতিষ্ঠাতা প্রথম হেইনরিখের জন্মস্থান এই শহর। যিনি সমগ্র জার্মানি কে পুনর্গঠিত করেন ও তাঁর পুত্র দ্বিতীয় ওটো কে শাসনভার দান করেন। এই শহর অনেক মহিলা শাসক পেয়েছে, যাদের কথা তেমন শোনা যায়না। যেমন- প্রথম হেনরির বিধবা স্ত্রী Mathilde , তিনি প্রায় ৩০ বছর জার্মানি শাসন করেছিলেন। তাঁর নাতনি ( নাম একই ) , তিনিও দীর্ঘ ৩৩ বছর শাসন করেছিলেন। রাজপরিবারের পুরুষরা যুদ্ধে যেতেন, আর নারী সমগ্র সাম্রাজ্যের শাসন করতেন। প্রায় ৯০০ বছর এই শাসন ব্যাবস্থা চলেছিল। ছোট রাস্তায় বড় গাড়ি! . Quedlinburg: বড় রাস্তা এবং বাজার । . গির্জার ভেতরে  | www. anirbansaha. com . উত্তর কলকাতার মতন পাথরের শরু রাস্তা। . বিকেলের সময়। . রাজকীয় প্রতীক . টাউন হল, বিকেলের ছবি। . "আমার ছবি তুলতে হলে আমাকে টাকা দিন! " . দুর্গ। আমার ক্যামেরার মধ্যে জল ঢুকে গেছিল। তাই আর ছবি নেই। . Quedlinburg এর দুর্গ। . সাবিনা, আমাদের গাইড আর মধু কিরণ ঠাতিকন্ডা, যিনি এই ব্লগ পোস্ট তেলুগু ভাষায় অনুবাদ করেছেন। আপনি যদি কোনদিনও জার্মানির এই ছোট্ট মধ্যযুগীয় শহর Quedlinburg এ যান, আপনি প্রেমে পড়বেনই - প্রেমে পড়বেন এই শহরের বাঁধানো রাস্তা গুলোর, প্রেমে পড়বেন শহরের মধ্যে দিয়ে বয়ে চলা ছোট্ট নদীর আর নদীর ধারের রুপকথার মত এক প্রাচীন দুর্গের। বৃষ্টি পড়ছে, আমরা হাঁটছি, ঠাণ্ডায় কাঁপতে কাঁপতে জার্মানির এক ছোট্ট রুপকথার শহরের রাস্তা দিয়ে, মধ্যযুগীয় ইউরোপের গন্ধ গায়ে মেখে... যেখানে আজও অতীত কথা বলে - আজও চার্চের সামনে হ্যামলিনের বাঁশিওয়ালার সুরে ভরে যায় চারপাশ। আমি তার সাহায্যের জন্য সাবিনা এবং ইংরেজিতে বাংলার অনুবাদের অনুবাদ করার জন্য আুরুগকে ধন্যবাদ জানাই। - অনির্বাণ সাহা। --- - Published: 2017-11-29 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/quedlinburg-tl/ - Categories: Germany, Guest Posts, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc Quedlinburg Read the post in English. ప్రతిరోజు వెళ్ళే అవే క్లాస్సేస్, ఎప్పుడు ఉండే assignments నుంచి ప్రశాంతత కోసం వీకెండ్ లో IKUS వారి Quedlinburg యాత్ర కి వెళ్ళాలి అనుకున్నాం. పొద్దున్నే వర్షం లో తడుస్తూ చలి లో వణుకుతూ లేట్ గా రైల్వే స్టేషన్ కి చేరుకొని Magdeburg కి గంట దూరం లో ఎంతో చరిత్ర కలిగిన Quedlinburg కి మా ప్రయాణం మొదలుపెట్టాం. UNESCO వారి ప్రపంచ వారసత్వ నగరం గా గుర్తింపు పొందిన Quedlinburg లో 2000 కి పైగా ఎన్నో శతాబ్దాల నుంచి నిర్మిస్తూ వస్తున్న టింబర్ ఫ్రేమ్ ఇళ్లులు మరియు cobbled స్ట్రీట్స్ కనిపిస్తాయి. ప్రస్తుతం క్రిస్మస్ ఫెయిర్ కి సిద్ధమవుతుంది. ఎన్నో వేల సంవత్సరాల నుంచి కొంచెం కూడా ధ్వంసం అవ్వకుండా తన చరిత్రని వారసత్వాన్ని కాపాడుకుంటూ వస్తుంది. ఆ వీధుల్లో నడుస్తూ ఉంటె ఒకప్పటి యూరోప్ లో ఉన్న భావన అందరికి కచ్చితంగా కలుగుతుంది. 9వ శతాబ్దం లో నిర్మించబడిన నగరం అయినా కానీ ఇప్పటికి తన గుర్తింపు అలానే ఉంచుకుంది. మన దేశం లో ఎన్నో పురాతన పట్టణాలు తమ గుర్తింపును కోల్పోతున్నాయి. ఇంకొక ఆసక్తికరమైన విషయం ఏంటి అంటే ఇప్పటికి కూడా తమ వారసత్వాన్ని వదలకుండా కొత్త ఇళ్లులు టింబర్ ఫ్రేమ్ తోటే నిర్మిస్తున్నారు. Quedlinburg: 4 వివిధ దశాబ్దాలో నిర్మించిన భవనాలు. . Quedlinburg వీధులు వాళ్ళ నిర్మాణ శైలి గురుంచి మాట్లాడాలి అంటే చాలా వరకు గోతిక్ శైలి లో నిర్మించినవే. మా టూర్ గైడ్ సబినే చెప్పిన ప్రకారం గోతిక్ శైలి కూడా romanasque మరియు renaissance నిర్మాణ శైలి కాలం నాటిదే. ఇవి కూడా Quedlinburg లో చాలా ప్రాముఖ్యత ఉన్నవి, వర్షం పడుతుండడంతో అవి చూడలేక పోయాం. Quedlinburg | www. anirbansaha. com చరిత్ర గురుంచి చెప్పాలంటే Quedlinburg గురుంచి చాలానే ఉంది జర్మనీ కి ఇది ఊయల లాంటిది అని చెప్పొచు. ఎందుకంటే Ottonian సామ్రాజ్య వ్యవస్తాపకులయిన Heinrich I కి ఎంతో ఇష్టమైన నగరం. Heinrich I జర్మనీ మొత్తాన్ని ఒకటి చేసి తన కొడుకైన Otto I ని రాజుని చేశాడు. Quedlinburg ఎంతో మంది గొప్ప మహిళా నాయకురాలని చూసింది. Heinrich I వితంతువు అయిన Mathilde 30 సంవత్సరాలు పరిపాలించగా. తన మనవరాలు Mathlide పేరు మీదే 33 సంవత్సరాలు పరిపాలించింది. ఇలా పురుషులు యుద్ధాలు చేస్తూ ఉండగా 900 ల సంవత్సరాలు మహిళలు పరిపాలన చూసుకున్నారు. ఈ సమయం లోనే మహిళల చదువు కోసం స్కూల్స్ నిర్మించారు, స్వతంత్రంగా బ్రతికేల చేసారు. ఎంతో మంది పురుషులు మహిళా పరిపాలనని దేబ్బతీయడానికి ప్రయత్నించారు. చుట్టూ చెరువు మధ్యలో కోట, cobbled స్ట్రీట్స్ తో,చర్చి లతో అందంగా ఉండే చిన్న నగరం Quedlinburg ని చూడగానే ప్రేమలో పడిపోతారు. జర్మనీకి వచ్చినవాళ్ళు కచ్చితంగా ఒక్కసారి అయినా చూడాల్సిన నగరం. మేము వెళ్ళిన రోజు వర్షంతో పాటు బాగా చలి ఉండడంతో ఎక్కువ తిరగలేకపోయం. ఈ వేసవి లో ఇంకోసారి వెళ్ళాలి అనుకుంటున్నాం. సన్నటి cobbled స్ట్రీట్స్ . cobbled స్ట్రీట్స్ . కోట లోపల . చర్చి లోపల . Quedlinburg కోట. . కోర్ట్ అఫ్ ఆర్మ్స్ వారి చిహ్నం . టౌన్ హాల్ ... ... టౌన్ హాల్ దగ్గర నేను మాకు ఎంతో ఓపికతో నగరం అంతా చూపించి దాని చరిత్ర గురుంచి వివరంగా చెప్పిన సబినే హౌసన్ కి మా ప్రత్యేక కృతజ్ఞతలు. IKUS అనగా ఇక్కడ విద్యార్థుల సౌజన్యంతో నడిచే ఒక సంస్థ. జర్మనీ కి వచ్చిన అంతర్జాతీయ విద్యార్థులకి ఇక్కడ సంస్కృతి తెలుసుకోవడంలో సహాయ పడుతుంటారు. --- - Published: 2017-11-28 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/quedlinburg-germany/ - Categories: Germany, Magdeburg: Places, travel & etc - Tags: Quedlinburg, Quedlinburg photographs, Quedlinburg skyline, Quedlinburg streets Read this post in Telugu | Bangla . Quedlinburg is about an hour away from Magdeburg and is over a thousand years old - reasons enough for me to say a yes when my friends asked me to join the “IKUS* excursion”!   We braved the rain and the chill of the wind; met others nearby and walked to the station (read: Hauptbahnhof) to find the IKUS coordinators very patiently waiting, to tick our names on the list and hand over a map and the schedule, in case we get lost. For many of us, this was our first break from studies; chit-chats and a series of selfies later, we boarded the train and reached Quedlinburg, where we were greeted by an extremely sweet lady who took us through the lanes. First sight - Quedlinburg. . From the Quedlinburg castle | www. anirbansaha. com Quedlinburg is a UNESCO World Heritage City; 80 hectares of world heritage, over 2000 timber-framed houses built over the centuries, cobbled streets and during this time, people are preparing for Christmas fair! This city is a continuously living history for over a thousand years, not invaded, did not catch fire, did not get destroyed by anything or anybody under any circumstances. Standing alone on one of the streets, I could feel how medieval Europe was like. Quedlinburg: 4 buildings made in four different centuries. This city was built during the 9th century. To give you a perspective: in India the city of Pataliputra was losing its significance, the Palas of Bengal, the Rashtrakutas of western India and the Gurjaras of central India were fighting over Kannauj, and no one cared about the Tomar clan ruled Dhillika (Dilli / Delhi). Umm, that’s the time-frame, Quedlinburg was built in Germany and it continues to remain today, probably, exactly the same. Trivia: Of the Gurjaras, what remains in India is another UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Khajuraho temples. Narrow lanes and hanging flowers | traditionally Europe, they say. What interested me in Quedlinburg is that the people are holding to their heritage and building newer homes which are larger mansions with Timber frames. That’s very very interesting. Narrow lanes and BIG cars! . Cobbled Streets and the wet streets. . Quedlinburg: Broad streets and market space. . Inside the church | Subscribe to my blog here. . Narrower cobbled streets that remind me of Calcutta. Talking about other buildings, they’re Gothic with their pointed arches trying to touch the heavens. Sabine, our guide, told me that Gothic dates between the Romanesque and the Renaissance architecture, both of which are prominent in Quedlinburg; we didn’t see because it was raining heavily. Emblem on the Coat of Arms . The Town hall gate after sunset. Talking about the times, a lot could be written about Quedlinburg being one of the most important palatinates and reverently referred to as the cradle of Germany. Wonder why? Because this was the favourite palatinate (place) of Heinrich I, who founded the Ottonian empire. He consolidated Germany and put his son Otto I to power. Quick history: Otto I or Otto the Great, is a Holy Roman emperor, consolidated Germany further, invaded Italy and all that is complex. He is buried in Magdeburg, the city I live in now. Quedlinburg also saw some strong women leaders at a time, it was unheard of. They ruled the country when they were required to. Heinrich I’s widow Mathilde ruled for 30 years; her grand-daughter by the same name ruled for 33 years. The men of the family either fought wars or pacified rebellions and the women ruled the empire. It pretty much went on like this for around 900 years. Young girls attended schools and were educated in boarding schools away from the “men's world” to prepare for their future lives. The other men did not like it and often wanted to overthrow the women’s rule. If you visit Quedlinburg, you’d fall in love with the small city with cobbled streets, bordered by the river, with a castle on it’s top from where you could oversee the entire city. There’s a Town hall and many small churches which you might want to explore. I plan to visit this place during the summer. "Pay if you want to photograph me. " . The castle in Quedlinburg. And you can see water on the lens. . Evenings and the streets. | Follow me on Instagram by clicking here. We walked the streets in the rain, getting drenched and shivering in cold. The castle has a few really good restaurants, which are expensive, but the Gluhwein (warm wine) is worth the price. We aimlessly strolled the lanes of the city during the second half of the day, came across a ]church where a group of musicians were rehearsing for an event. ---- Do ask me questions; and if you like this blog post, I request you to share this with your friends. To get more blog posts on Facebook, please subscribe to my Messenger list by click here.   Sabine who was guiding us and Madhu, my roommate, who has very kindly agreed to translate this post in the Telugu language. Thank you, Sabine Housen, for writing me a long email with all the related information. She loves this city and acts as a guide. She contributed to an essay book on Quedlinburg, published and distributed internationally. * What’s IKUS? That’s Interkulturelle Studenten. It’s the student body in the university which does a lot of events to help students settle down in Germany, explore the culture, help them prepare for employment and in any way possible. Read Madhu's post on Quedlinburg in Telugu. --- - Published: 2017-11-03 - Modified: 2020-02-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/becoming-zaha/ - Categories: Germany, Student life at Magdeburg! - Tags: Madhu Thatikonda, Magdeburg, Otto Von Guericke Universitat Magdeburg, Sai Srinivas, Sujitha Pushpanatham Ideally, I should be writing my assignments right now. But after hours of room-hunting, I feel like spending some me-time. Thus this personal blog post after a long time. If you aren't interested in my personal whereabouts, this is the moment to click on the back button. Library, OVG Universitat Magdeburg. I've moved to Magdeburg, Germany. This is new life for me; a non-English speaking nation, pure academics and everything that Anirban Saha never stood for. No one's complaining though: The sophisticated trams of Magdeburg remind me of the heritage trams in Calcutta, the walk by the river Elbe is similar to Ganga. Nothing much has changed; the city is small and the people are mostly young. Mainly because there are educational institutes and I haven't really explored the full of it. First shot in Magdeburg: The footpath and the tram. There's a Cathedral which is over 800 years old. That's more than twice the age of Calcutta. The "Green" Citadel is pink in colour and is bound to grab your attention. And yes, no one, including the banks, accepts Indian currency even for an exchange. So basically I am roomless and almost cashless in a non-English speaking nation. The shit-expensive room that is available has a good bathroom and a wonderful view from the window; not sure how I could afford it. It's not that bad. Sumit is foster fathering me and my city registration is done and hopefully, by tomorrow would create the bank account. The first weekend we went to Tangermunde and the weekend next we went to Barbeler See: Priorities set. Sometime this month, I would go to Frankfurt. The biggest attraction in Frankfurt, for me, is not the Cathedrals or the Churches... it is the SBI. I'm told that the State Bank of India in Frankfurt accepts Indian Currency and exchanges it to Euros. Sometime later, if the Almighty and the Machine Learning syllabus permits, I want to visit Norway. Autumn colours and random posing. My life for the last few years had been on the fifth gear, till I encountered Machine Learning theory. If the Almighty isn't very gracious enough, I'm prepared to fail the examinations. The rest of the subjects I have chosen for this semester are nice; Swarm Intelligence is exciting and there's no point talking about academics here. The teachers are good and they answer my queries. There have been a couple of times when the teacher understood that I did not understand and had volunteered to give me one more hour after the regular classes. Students here generally take more than 4 semesters to complete their Masters. Looking at the scope and the amount of studies I need to do, I know why they take the time. But I have money for only 22 months with me. Students here often take up jobs that I might not want to take up. That's another area I really need to work on. Cannon Beach, Portland, Oregon, USA. I came to Germany right after the USA trip and during Autumn. Everything that this land had to offer is new to me: The chill, a sudden storm, fall colors ec cetera. There are footpaths and a lane for cycles to pass; people drive on the streets without any noise. There are designated places where people are expected to cross the streets, and people do, unless drunk. A crate of beer comes for 4 euros. And near the Cathedral there's a wine shop which sells a variety of extremely sweet whiskey; very expensive. Tangermunde Fort. Umm, what else? People are nice. Germans who know English, talk. I am not the eldest person in the class. Most of the Indians of my age, who are not yet married, are running away from marriages. I'm not the only one who left his business for further studies, there's a Russian doing the same. Coffee comes out of the coffee vending machine and it is not bad. Coca-Cola Cherry comes for 1. 25 Euros but it is worth it. Why do we not get it in India? Sad. Oh yes. I will no more upload photographs on my Facebook profile. For blog posts, stick to my page. For photographs, you need to follow me on Instagram. On my personal profile, I'll just bull shit for the next 24 months. That would be it. Do ask me questions. PS: If you want to teach me Machine Learning, drop me a personal message on Facebook. I study with them: Sai Srinivas, Sujitha Pushpanatham, Madhu Thatikonda Why "Becoming Zaha"? Glad you asked. The Germans can neither pronounce "S" nor "Anirban" in the first or perhaps the second chance. When they ask me my name, I say, "Hi, I am Saha". They say, "OH! Zaha! ". Here again, no one is complaining. --- - Published: 2017-10-15 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengal-conflict-resolution/ - Categories: International Visitors Leadership Program - Tags: rabindranath tagore, Ramakrishna Paramhansa Dev We discussed religion-based conflicts in workplaces and the world at last. We’ve met people from the Interfaith Council of Greater Portland, Islamic Society of Greater Portland, professors who are trying to revive Madrassa education in Notre Dame; and professionals who found it tough breaking stereotypes and making her mark in the professional world. I write this post to outline my feelings about this issue. There would always be a conflict if you wear your beliefs on your sleeve. There might always be conflicts if you try and impose your thoughts on someone else. There would always be stereotypes and it is only by sustained work and thorough discipline that we can make a mark for ourselves. Bengal Renaissance still has a lot to give to this world; the explosion of newer ideas that globalized the existing Hindu practices and consolidated Bengali as a culture is of utter importance. Diversity, openness, and acceptance are trademarks of Bengali educated families. We've gone beyond the boundaries of gender, caste, creed, religion, and nation to embrace humanity. Intercaste/religious marriages are common; a transgender can become the Principal of a college, can become a judge at a civil court; “Muslims” forego Muharram celebrations to help a “practicing Hindu” for his cancer treatment. People from different faiths can come together and celebrate Durga Puja, Christmas among all other celebrations. Mother Mary and Jesus are worshipped in the Hindu way in Ramakrishna Mission on Christmas Eve while the Missionaries of Charity does not mind celebrating Diwali with us. We celebrate humanity. Tagore & Ramakrishna We are rooted to what we have been taught by our religious teachers like Ramakrishna. “Religions are like paths to the same God. If you want to serve God, serve your people around”, was the chief message of Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda, his student, went on to establish Ramakrishna Mission as the “Temple of Universal Religion”. The Brahmo movement preached that there’s one God and brought legislative changes abolishing many Hindu malpractices. One of the biggest exponents of the Brahmo culture is Tagore. To him, the Almighty is a friend, very personal for you to converse with, own your mistakes up, acknowledge and submit to. Let's celebrate life. If we follow these basics and not intrude into anyone’s individual personal space, things would just be fine. Ask yourself, would YOU not work in a team, if it has team members from a faith not of your choice? People need to love you as a person. If they do, they’d eventually acknowledge the culture and religion that has made you. --- - Published: 2017-10-12 - Modified: 2017-10-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/indiana-ivlp-youth-leaders-finding-common-grounds/ - Categories: International Visitors Leadership Program Guest post by Alishba Alish (Delegate, Pakistan). Indianapolis is a city of simplicity, serenity and is the capital of Hoosier. International Visitors from South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan) under International Visitor Leadership Program got an opportunity share lives of Hoosiers for a week. This city is desperate to meet the civil society organisations that work with the youth, to create changes and safer spaces for the younger people to steer the future of the city. Reach for Youth Institute. The experience begins with “Reach for Youth Institute”, mainly working at "Teen Court" “as its major theme. The Teen court aims to address the root causes of the issues the teen faces. It ranges from a verbal spat with the parents to shoplifting; offences within the jurisdiction of the school, referred by the school and the probation office of Indianapolis. Offences as grave as molestation are not considered under the teen court. The teen court is not a part of the judicial system and is more of a remedial solution to facilitate correctional behaviour in the teen. We should note that this is not the place for punishments. The teen understands accountability through this process. The advocates are teenage students, for or against another teen, being judged by a slightly elder person who is a practising young lawyer. Based on the arguments proposed and the law, community services are prescribed. This helps the offender to get into something better as perceived. Most of them have continued with the community service out of contentment, joy and the happiness they have; that makes them more willful to become a better citizen. This has taken down the repeat offenders by a considerable percentage compared to the normal judiciary and police proceeding. The Children's Museum The second day started with a visit to the “Children Museum”. This is a slightly unusual museum and this appeals to the children; with them comes the adults as well. It is an extraordinarily creative and innovative. It introduces the visitor to Children Leadership, Social Inclusion, Science, History, Culture, Literature, Astronomy, Astrology, Calligraphy, Chemistry, Zoology, Shopping and lot more. Anirban: I find this intriguing even as an adult. While the gate has the miniature replica of the seven wonders of the world and a dinosaur desperately trying to enter the museum, the inside gives an entirely different feel. There's a section of "The Power of Children: Making a difference", where three lives are showcased. One of the first African American student, Ruby Bridges, who was integrated to the main stream "white" education. Anne Frank's life shows the horrific holocaust. Ryan White was affected by HIV at an young age. This section of the museum is unique. People enter through the "wish granting tree", where a child promises some thing and after the three lives are exhibited, they are asked to take action of any kind, to spread the stories. The story telling is strong in this part of the museum. Inside the Childrens Museum, Indianapolis. John Harris Loflin. John Harris Loflin is an Educationist, a man of great experience, knowledge and wisdom. He shared powerful words about self-actualization, gender identity by linking it to fundamental rights calling them as basic needs: biological, social, safety, esteem and Self Actualization. He elaborated human need of recognition with the help of various pedagogies of recognition and expanded it further by building a co-relation of all these with power dynamics. Taking up the same note he explained the core values of democracy, referring to the historical peace and conflict events and concluded at the current arena, which again completed it cycle at basic human needs. At the Center for Leadership Development. The day next, we met people at the Centre for Leadership Development. CLD has a culture of college, career and community achievement. Established in 1977, it envisions to develop minority youth in central Indiana as future professionals, business and community leaders by providing encouragement and professional growth opportunities. CLD has its golden principles which are the core of each community building and Development. Those success principles are; Character Development, Educational Excellence, Leadership Effectiveness, Community Services and Career Achievements. It provides young people with opportunities to explore themselves, perform great in academics; by helping them in their regular study and courses. It provides parents and children to develop a healthy relationship by ensuring active communication and parent’s testimonials. It has a history of its own, which helps it to grow further. Particularly, in terms of funding its individual partners, foundations, and fundraising activities ensures its sustainability for next couple of year. It has designated officers who ensure the funding of next years by meeting with partners and encourage them to invest more. With two of the three deputy mayors of Indianapolis. We also met the deputy mayors of Indianapolis and discussed the issues the youth faces and how they plan to mitigate that. From migrating to greener pastures to homicides to rising fundamentalism and the lack of funds, every aspect was discussed. We drew parallels from the cities we come from. We went to South Bend, Indiana and met professors at the Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame. We discussed Islamic culture, the revival of the same, modernization of the Madrassa education and the need for it, millennials in Jewish-Palestinian solidarity activism. Mr. and Mrs. Weiker. We should mention the hospitality extended to us by the Weiker family. All of us were invited to their home where they had prepared food and we had a great evening. That would be all for the Indiana chapter! Do ask us questions if you have any. It would be our pleasure to answer them! --- - Published: 2017-10-02 - Modified: 2017-10-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/washington-dc-chapter-ivlp/ - Categories: International Visitors Leadership Program - Tags: International Visitors Leadership Program, IVLP, Youth Leaders: Finding Common Grounds I hope you’ve read the details of IVLP in this blog post. IVLP or the International Visitor Leadership Program starts in Washington DC before the participants move to other cities depending on the program they are in. Currently, I’m in Indianapolis, Indiana but this blog post is about the meetings in Washington DC. Be informed that intricate details of the meetings are expected to be confidential and I would only outline the meeting topics, people we’ve met and my takeaway from the meetings. The overall discussions followed a pattern – what the individual/organisation does, the kind of problems they faced, the solutions they provided and the impact if that’s a relevant problem still. Mr. Akram Elias (President and CEO, Capital Communications, Inc. ) On day one, we met Mr. Akram Elias, who explained to us the Federal structure of the US Government. You can find the details here. It was followed by a visit to the U. S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Ms. Lauren Gibon tried to outline the ways they are trying to connect people to policies and how they are trying to quantify the impact. They’ve formed outlets similar to Buzzfeed to reach out to the millennials. That’s cool! The next few days we met Ms. Elizabeth Hume who is the senior director of programs and strategy of “Alliance for PeaceBuilding”; she spoke about the various initiatives the company she represents, took, conflict and the way they operate. The delegates with Ms. Amber Khan We all loved Ambar Khan’s speech. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan and raised in USA and had spent a good amount of time making people aware of her culture. She discussed the interconnection of religion and peacebuilding. She is a 20-year veteran of social justice advocacy and a strategic communications advisor to public interest groups, private foundations and political campaigns. She managed campaigns and organised progressive coalitions to support civic engagement, religious freedom and gender equality at the local, state and national level. She asked for the questions we had in mind before she could address the group. I asked about the rise of religious fanatics, planted news articles and minority appeasement in politics. After everyone had placed their questions, she spoke about shared activity and how that should be the goal, if you want to share your culture with the people around you. She insisted, we cannot wear our identities on our sleeves and that people should slowly know about it from our actions and shared experiences. That would also give them time to appreciate you and the culture you belong to. When people think of a culture, they form stereotypes and rules which are often hard to break. When one does, s/he needs to explain that he or she is not an exception to the rule, thus expanding the horizon of the other person's mind. Over a period of time, we need to identify who are the influencers of the society we want to influence and who influences them. If we influence the ones who influence the influencers, it’s easy. Everyone today deep down is stressed, afraid and confused. We try to form rules at the subconscious level and do it to protect our own selves from being even slightly hurt. We all are. It takes slight effort in being ourselves, being true to our thoughts, our work, to our ideas and to our commitment. There would always be a mass who are informed by misinformation and there would always be exceptions to this rule. The other meetings were with Ms. Melissa Nozell (Senior Program Specialist, Religion and Inclusive Societies, US Institute of Peace), Ms. Aubrey Cox (Senior Program Specialist, Generation Change, US Institute of Peace). They spoke about how the U. S. Institute of Peace operates in different regions across the world, India not being a part of it. Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President. Photographed inside the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC While in DC, I loved going to the Newseum – the museum of free speech. The World War II memorial, the Korean war memorial, the Vietnam War memorial, Lincoln memorial and every structure there is full of symbolism and grandeur. This city is worth a visit even just for tourism. My next post should be about the Indianapolis chapter. Do leave your comments! Thank you. --- - Published: 2017-10-02 - Modified: 2017-10-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/overview-us-federal-structure-akram-elias/ - Categories: International Visitors Leadership Program - Tags: Akram Elias Mr. Akram Elias (President and CEO, Capital Communications, Inc. ) Akram is the President and CEO of Capital Communication, Inc. ; has more than 25 years’ experience as a consultant in the areas of public diplomacy, cross-cultural training and communication. He is an extremely spirited speaker and he gave us an outline of the US federalism. I loved his presentation and asked him stupid questions, to which he very calmly tried to present a diplomatic answer. In the United States of America, The Government is a tool to solve problems of the civic society and not an entity to solve problems. The focus is on the civic society and how they plan to take the country forward. They partner with the government, build coalitions with other similar or relevant civic society bodies to solve an issue. The government does not. The people do via the civic societies. There needs to be leadership over self; lead self as an example before leading others. He believes that leaders are not born. Leadership can be learnt, if the person wants to and if there is a conducive environment to enable that learning. He believes leadership is not only transactional or transformational but also “quiet”, where the leader invests more time in consensus building among groups. The United States of America has institutionalised lobbying. “Could you stop one person from inviting another for dinner? Could you restrict their exchange of thoughts? ”, was the idea behind it. Building consensus, advocacy and lobbying form essential parts of the government and daily life of an American. There’s a government at the top, that’s Federal Government (more like the Indian Union Government but with lesser powers); there’s one at the state level (similar to the Indian state government but with more powers); and there’s local level government (like the municipality, panchayats etc. ). Americans elect their House representatives, each serves a term of 2 years; and Senators, each serving a term of 6 years. This is essential to maintain continuity in discussions and policymaking. Each elected House is sovereign and independent of the other. The Federal Government takes care of the laws and budget of the Defence, Economy, Foreign affairs (not policy) and regulates trade and commerce between the states. If there’s a change to be made, it has to be raised by the local civic bodies and moved to the local administrations, then to the states and if required, to the federal government. 50 states in the USA behave and operate like 50 different countries with their own laws and even Supreme Courts. That’s pretty much like the Indian system, but slightly more robust and decentralised. While in the discussions, Akram told that the Congress (elected representatives) cannot create priorities, the President can. The Congress can, however, oppose the priorities made by the President. Example: President Trump might want to build Mexican wall as a priority. The Congress can oppose the priority. Trump then, has to go to the people, ask them to force the idea bottom up and persuade the Congress to make this a priority and act on it. The President is the commander-in-chief; he allocates special forces in different countries if need be, in existing bases. The President can call for special operations like the one Obama did in Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden; the Congress can call for war. For the war, the military needs to ask for it mentioning clear and present danger, consensus should be built in the Senate and the House before the war is declared. I was being the mischievous kid in the room. My questions ranged about electoral points to North Korea. I had a simple question – If President Trump instigates North Korean Kim Jong-un, Kim might bomb the USA to avoid the “fire and fury”. If it does, would the military be in a position to move to the President to show “clear and present danger”? OR would Trump use special operations to bomb North Korea? Akram laughed and pointed out, “Our President Trump is unpredictable. But strategically unpredictable! ” I loved Akram’s presentation and the overview of the US Federal structure. There’s always this space for debate between isolationism and engagement, between unilateralism and engaging different civic bodies and building coalitions. I have a few friends who are really into US politics! I’m sure many of those who read this would have questions. Do ask, leave a comment. {Unpaid Advertisement: If you want to know more about our Indian Constitution, this is one resource by NewsLaundry, you might find handy and helpful. Click on This Link. } --- - Published: 2017-09-26 - Modified: 2017-09-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ivlp-youth-leaders-finding-common-grounds/ - Categories: International Visitors Leadership Program - Tags: Fahmida Mazid, International Visitor Leadership Program, IVLP, Kolkata bloggers, Nargis Azaryun, RizwanJaffar, Sagar Gangurde, US Consulate Kolkata, Youth Leaders: Finding Common Grounds This is the first blog post about the IVLP experience in the United States of America and I intend to address the basics in this post. This post is about IVLP - Youth Leaders: Finding Common Grounds. I request you to ask me more questions after you read this, either privately here or publicly dropping a comment below the post. International Visitor Leadership Program 2017 - Youth Leaders: Finding Common Grounds. About IVLP: IVLP or the International Visitor Leadership Program, is one of the USA’s most prestigious exchange program funded by the Department of State. It is for leaders, working professionals who are in the middle of their career. Towards the end of the program, the visitor is expected to have a thorough understanding of the way the United States work, the problems the US faces /faced, solutions proposed and implemented and the kind of impact it had. More than that, it is more of the interpersonal connections that the visitors make among themselves and the Department of State that goes a long way, I’m told. This exists for around 70 years and around 10% of their visitors went on to become the chiefs in their respective country or field of work. In India, former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai and Atal B Vajpai were IVLP Alumni among the other notables. 330 former head of states / Heads of Governments and 19 current head of governments are IVLP alumni. Visitors are chosen by the US Consulates in partner countries and there are no applications for this program. I was, in all probability, nominated by Mr. Rupam Sen of the US Consulate Kolkata and my nomination was debated in Delhi by Mr. Pardo and Mr. Posner, finally approved by Janice Brummond who is the program officer, South and Central Asia branch. What are the International Visitors expected to do? The visitors visit the Washington DC and 4 diverse communities in the United States over three weeks. They travel alone or in a group depending on the project’s theme. They are expected to meet professional counterparts in both the private and public sectors; explore American society, history, and culture; engage in home hospitality with American families to understand the diversity better. About Youth Leaders – Building Common Grounds: This is a sub-regional project; with people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Youth Leadership is newly added to the list of IVLP themes. It’s a privilege to be a part of the IVLP 2017. The Department of State outlined the following specific objectives for the project: Examine the importance of pluralism, tolerance, and volunteerism as components of civic life in the United States. Discuss the power of social media and technology in mobilizing youth. Observe model programs that promote youth leadership in a variety of contexts such as schools, colleges, associations, youth clubs, sports programs, arts programs, inter-faith initiatives, and political advocacy; and Determine the strategies for coalition building and improved economic, scientific and educational ties. The places we are going to: Washington DC (September 23 – 28, 2017) Indianapolis and South Bend, Indiana (September 28 – October 4, 2017) Greensboro, North Carolina (October 4 – 8, 2017) Portland, Oregon (October 8 – 14, 2017) The participants of this present IVLP batch are: Ms. Nargis Azaryun from Afghanistan. She is the director of “Youth for an Independent Afghanistan”. Ms. Fahmida Mazid from Bangladesh. She is the National Student Affairs Secretary of Jatiotabadi Chatro Dol Central Committee, which is the Principal opposition party in Bangladesh. Mr. Sagar Gangurde, Mr. Anirban Saha, Mr. Mir Ali Hashmath, Mr. Ruben Mascarenhas from India. Sagar is the director of Seeds of Peace, India Program. Mir is the founder and General secretary of Tamil Nadu Shia Muslim Jamaath. Ruben is the joint secretary of demographics research of the Aam Admi Party, the ruling political party in Delhi, India. Yours truly runs his own blog and owns a company called “Kolkata Bloggers”. Ruben couldn’t make it to the program. Mr. Md. Adnan, Ms. Alishba, and Mr. Md. Rizwan Jaffar are representing Pakistan. Adnan is the editor of Balochistan Voices. Rizwan runs his NGOs and youth parliaments. He is also the news anchor of Aaj News, which I am told is popular in Pakistan. Alishba is the program manager of the United Global Organisation of Development. From Sri Lanka, we have Mr. Asela Kelum Jayaweera Kankanamage, who is from the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka. Delegates of Pakistan and India. . Nargis, Fahmida, Me and Kelum | Courtesy: Sagar . No one forgets a selfie! | Courtesy: Rizwan. That should be all for the first blog post! The series of next blog posts that are expected to be would be informal. Do ask me questions and SHARE this if this interests you! --- - Published: 2017-09-15 - Modified: 2017-09-15 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/angel-broking-financial-investment/ - Categories: Sponsored. - Tags: Robo advisory, Share market recommendations, Stock recommendations Warren Buffett: Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble. Life is short. The next moment might be your last. I might not be alive while you are reading this or worse still, aliens might have invaded our territory; Just kidding! In any case, as my grandfather used to say all the time, better be safe than sorry. For an amateur in investment like me, I came across an application which lives up to its name - Angel Broking. Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd. Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd. , “real value for money” to its clients. For a layperson like me, figuring my way through the maze of things like Demat and Rrobo advisory used to be a mammoth task but since my friend suggested me to use this app, getting share market recommendations and stock recommendations have become a cakewalk. The user interface is fast and easy to use. It’s as simple as just creating an account and logging into it after downloading the app. The company is today one of the leading Indian stock broking houses, with a focus on retail business. 42. 66% return on investment. The application is powered by the revolutionary ARQ automated investment engine. It is accessible to all Angel Broking Customers via Angel Eye or the Angel Broking App. This search engine really lets one maximize the performance of equities. It also efficiently eliminates emotional bias out of investment decisions. Quick and easy fund transfer with Savings Account, instant news updates, profiling based mutual funds advisory and detailed research reports are just a fingertip away with Angel Broking. It really served to be my angel in the world of investment. It also alerts me to rebalance my portfolio along with in-depth market analysis and advanced charting to help me beat the market. No wonder Angel Broking Group’s shareholders include International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank. I have never been skeptical about using any scientific innovation. But I always make sure that the technology is trustworthy! (You know why. ) So, I verified how trustworthy the ARQ technology is. Through successive searches, I found that the model has been tested using scientific back-testing and has also been validated based on its track record. The model has been calibrated to take advantage of the upticks in the stocks or mutual funds during an investment period. It takes immense effort and time to earn the money you do. Thus, you might as well spend it wisely. Do not rush. Do examine the performance test results of the said search engine. ARQ’s advisory is based on a model whose performance has been optimized to provide recommendations with high outperformance and strike rates. Angel Broking: Infographic. ARQ is one of the many reasons why I recommend Angel Broking to my friends. It really makes the application stand out from the rest in the market. Using Angel Broking is like having an investment advisor in my pocket all the time. It’s secure and reliable. Follow it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Visit its website to learn more. --- - Published: 2017-09-08 - Modified: 2017-09-11 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/birding-pangot-sattal-uttarakhand/ - Categories: Birding - Tags: pangot bird photography, pangot bird watching, pangot birding, pangot birding lodge, pangot birds, pangot sattal birding, sattal bird watching, sattal birding blog Birding is still very new and I am trying to soak in as much as I can; reaching out to people who could help me learn and explore. I came across Mohit Aggarwal (Asian Adventures, Noida) and he very kindly allowed us to explore a little bit of Uttarakhand. Tamron India (Kolkata) allowed me to use the Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens. With me, I had Souranil, who introduced me to birding. Thus, birding in Pangot, Sattal and the nearby locations in Uttarakhand. Asian Adventures is owned by Mohit Aggarwal; is a two decades old company which organises wild life and birding tours, cultural tours and also owns its own lodges. When I met Mohit ji, I was bowled over by his humility. He gifted us a book each! Discussions with him led me to believe more in my ideas of treating birding as an entirely different genre. He agrees; his resorts like Junglelore is a dedicated birding lodge. To speak briefly about the idea: To spread awareness of wild life, birds, their conservation and various initiatives, we need basic content in the form of visuals which many of us middle aged professionals produce as a hobby. They should have their own blog; showcase their work, build their own brand. Over the years, they would come handy in raising awareness. I offer to conduct Blogging workshops. - Let's get back to the trip. So, from Kolkata, we went to Delhi. Deepak, who works with Asian Adventures, drove us to Dhikuli, near Jim Corbett National Park and we put up in Tiger Camp. That's perhaps one of the best properties I've visited recently and it ends at river Koshi; the other bank of which is full of bush and "Kash phool", Tigers come here to drink water. The day next we went to Kumeri and Mohan before driving to Pangot. In Pangot, we had put up in Jungle Lore Birding Lodge. That's another fantastic resort, where to reach the cottage (room), you need to trek down from the gate. There's a hide out for photographers from where they can observe birds. The food is awesome and people are hospitable. The day next we went to Sattal and drove back to Delhi. This isn't the season for birding, but we tried our luck. In this blog post (not a trip report), I would showcase a few photographs shot during the trip. Kumeria - Mohan (near Dhikuli, Uttarakhand) Day 1: Kumeria and Mohan, Uttarakhand. The trip was sponsored by Asian Adventures. I've used Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens to photograph the birds. . Grey Breasted Prinia. . Grey Breasted Prinia (Juvenile) . White Browed Wagtail . Crested Kingfisher . Rufous Woodpecker. . Ashy Bulbul. . Chestnut Headed Bee Eater. . Chestnut headed bee eater tossing the insect. Pangot (Jungle Lore Birding Lodge and nearby) Pangot, " Birdwatcher's paradise", is 15 km from Nainital and has over 250 species of birds. The Cheena Peak, Timla Pani area, Kilbury, Woodpecker point are prime locations for birding. Streaked Laughingthrush taking a bath. . Streaked Laughingthrush with the kill. . Grey Bushchat . Oriental Turtle Dove driving away a Spotted Dove from food. This photograph is taken from the hideout. We had scattered grains on the floor expecting birds to come and eat; give us an opportunity to photograph. A pair of Oriental Turtle Dove came. They drove away whoever came next; later a monkey drove the Turtle doves away. I had always thought that the doves are the symbol of peace. Alas. . A pair of Oriental Turtle Dove sitting on a branch, having grains. . Chestnut Bellied Nuthatch . White Tailed Nuthatch. . Hoopoe . Grey Wagtail. These wagtails are funny! You drive the car and they would come right in front of you. Then they would fly a few metres infront of the car on the same road and wag their tails! . Ultramarine Flycatcher (Female) . Oriental Turtle Dove . Spotted Dove. Photographs of birds shot near Sattal, Uttarakhand. Sattal is a cluster of 7 freshwater lakes, making it a paradise for spotting migratory birds. Around 230 different species of birds are found in this region with places like the Studio and Sat Tal Bird camp providing good birding opportunities. Black-Eared Kite. . Black Eared Kite ( very evidently, a flight shot ) . Bronze Drongo . Greater Yellow Nape . Great Barbet . Long-tailed Minivet (female) . Greater Yellow Nape Woodpecker - Silhouette :D I enjoyed this trip; considering this to be my fourth birding trip after Sunderbans, Purbasthali, Sachen-Yuksom, I tried giving my best to this. A very special show of gratitude to Tamron India, for always allowing me the Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens to photograph the birds. I hope, as a viewer, you've liked the photographs as much as I enjoyed the quick trip. All photographs shot by Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens, sponsored by Tamron India. . Thank you, Asian Adventures. --- - Published: 2017-08-27 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-art-festival/ - Categories: Kolkata Street Photography, Sponsored. - Tags: Calcutta street art, Kolkata Street Art, Kolkata Street Art Festival, Street Art in Kolkata While this erstwhile city of Palaces is now a city of broken and abandoned walls; why not paint it and gift the passers by, a slice of an artist’s imagination? Berger Paints tried doing just that. Kolkata Street Art Festival is an attempt to fill the city walls with art, created by Barun Saha and his students, spearheaded by eminent artist and TMC MP Jogen Choudhury. During phase one of this Kolkata Street Art Festival, they aim to paint 10 walls, 3 metro stations, and 2 trams; both the metro and the tram being iconic. Slowly, they want to take it to the other cities. Of the 10, a selected few bloggers were shown 5 across the city; and they are inspiring! For the phase one of the Kolkata Street Art Festival, Berger Paints has teamed up with StraightlineIndia and Radio Mirchi. By default, they had to bring on board stakeholders like the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the local police stations, and the local clubs; all of them have pledged the preservation of the artwork once completed. Phase one should be completed by Durga Puja 2017; this is some quick work considering that it started one month back and the artists are braving this rough weather of extreme heat, humidity or rain. Kudos to them. Eminent artist Barun Saha and his students brainstormed and thought of artwork relevant to the locality. Like the previous blog post, I would document only the artwork in this blog post. Kolkata Street Art Festivals' artwork at the Park Circus seven points crossing One of the five locations is the Park Circus Tram Depot, vertically opposite Arsalaan hotel, towards the end of the Maa flyover. . Art work at the Park Circus crossing. Kolkata Street Art Festival. The Murals of the Kolkata Street Art Festival at the Exide Crossing is awe-inspiring. This also has the art work of Barun Saha, the mentor. Artwork at the Exide Crossing, Kolkata. #KSAF . Kolkata Street Art Festival's mural at the Exide Crossing, Kolkata. The nearest metro station to this place is Rabindra Sadan. . Kolkata Street Art Festival - Mural near Rabindra Sadan Metro Station; Exide crossing. . The master with his art: Barun Saha is coordinating with the artists in the city. This artwork is by him. Eden Gardens too is adorned with the Kolkata Street Art Festival. Artwork on the walls of the Eden Garden The next set of murals is near the Ballygaunge Tram Depot. The splash of art at the Ballygaunge Tram Depot. . Two separate art works at the Ballygaunge Tram Depot. Near Topsia, is a long stretch of railing. It is low, but below that is a series of art work, probably by the younger students of Mr. Saha. I'll show two of them. Abstract art at Topsia. . Kolkata Street Art Festival near Topsia. With this, let's hope that these art works remain maintained and no one spits on them; let's fill the passer by's life with a little joy of art, let's make the city look beautiful. Do ask me questions; not sure if I could answer that but I could definitely forward them to the right person. Stay in touch! --- - Published: 2017-08-23 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkatas-street-art-wall-art/ - Categories: Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography Events, State, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Jadavpur University Graffiti, Kolkata Graffiti, Kolkata Street Art, Kolkata Street Art Festival, Kolkata Wall Art, Presidency University Graffiti The Kolkata street art scene is intriguing, to say the least; as intriguing as the entire concept and evolution of the street art across the globe. I took an interest in this after I came across the Kolkata Street Art Festival and had set out to find different such pieces across the city. The street art across the globe has evolved from being the political or social commentary to being just a pretty background for one's selfies. In Kolkata, you might find various forms of street and wall art; from the narrow lanes to the broad roads, from college campuses to the garage interiors; art that's a revolt to Batman! From spray paints to water colour or even pencil sketches, Kolkata's street/wall art scene is exciting. This blog post is an attempt to only document the wall painting. I thank my friends who took part the discussion and helped me locate areas here. It is an ongoing project and I would keep adding newer images here. So, please keep coming back to this space? Previously photographer Pritam Dutta tried to document Kolkata's street art. His work can be seen on his Instagram account and his documentation can be found on ScoopWhoop. Jadavpur University Campus | Kolkata Street / Wall Art. A lot of Kolkata's attitude towards life is exhibited through this art; the language of this art is stronger and louder in the campuses and that speaks about a range of issues. It becomes surreal and all intriguing in the narrower lanes while at times, it just looks pretty to look at. Here are some photographs. Presidency University wall art | www. anirbansaha. com . Behind Calcutta University | Kolkata Street Art. . Behind Calcutta University | Kolkata Street Art / Grafitti. . Presidency University Kolkata | Kolkata wall art. . Jadavpur University Campus | Kolkata Wall Art . Inside the Jadavpur University Campus | Kolkata Wall Art. . I kept looking at this piece of arts for minutes. This is photographed inside the Jadavpur University. . Nirbhaya Wall Art | Beside La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata . Wall art on the walls of the German Consulate Kolkata . Beside Kyd Street, Kolkata . This is shot in the same lane near Kyd Street Kolkata. . Photograph: Pritam Dutta . Photograph: Pritam Dutta . On AJC Bose Road, near Rabindra Sadan Metro Station Kolkata. . Isn't this cute? . A. J. C. Bose Road Kolkata - Tribal art on Kolkata Streets . That's on the same wall | Kolkata Wall Paintings / Street Art. . STOP. . জয় জীবন, জয় প্রেম, জয় প্রতিরোধ। This is a welcome break from many things - the stereotypical monotonous walls of the streets or perhaps what we have grown up knowing as street art - political graffitis. Political Graffitis making way to something more creative - is a welcome change. . Happy that social messages are coming up in this form. Updated 2020 January:The following photographs are shot by Bodhisatta Singha Roy It is in the form of a slider, so please scroll to your right or left to navigate. Do follow Bodhisatta and his work by clicking on the link to his profile! New wall painting, Kolkata. Photograph: Bodhisatta Singha RoyNew wall painting, Kolkata. Photograph: Bodhisatta Singha RoyNew wall painting, Kolkata. Photograph: Bodhisatta Singha RoyNew wall painting, Kolkata. Photograph: Bodhisatta Singha RoyNew wall painting, Kolkata. Photograph: Bodhisatta Singha RoyNew wall painting, Kolkata. Photograph: Bodhisatta Singha Roy . And Government initiatives adorning the streets spreading awareness. Street Art also includes street installations and sculptures, both of which are not included in this blog post although Kolkata has plenty of it, especially in the newer Rajarhat and Salt Lake. Somewhere beyond definitions, THIS also forms street art. Eco Park - zebra crossing | Kolkata Street Art. Or perhaps when someone decides to colour the trees inside the Victoria Memorial Hall campus. Trees coloured by young artists at the Victoria Memorial Hall. Street Art has been used very skillfully by Kolkata based artist Leena Kejriwal in her project M. I. S. S. I. N. G. to raise awareness of the number of girls that go missing from the cities, on the issue of sex trafficking. If you are in Kolkata, I'm sure you've seen one of these: Photograph: DNA India. And this is just a bit of what I've discovered in this city. I'm sure there's more. Berger Paints is organising a beautification project "Kolkata Street Art Festival", spearheaded by ace artist and TMC MP Jogen Choudhury. This event plans to paint around 500 walls across the city; 10 walls minimum by August end. I'm sure this would encourage more households to let more artists treat their exterior walls as their canvas, create art, express. Towards an artistic future, dear Kolkata - all the best. A newer city with painted walls. --- - Published: 2017-07-22 - Modified: 2017-07-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/pushkar-brahma-gayatri-alimony-savitri-minor/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Explore India, Photography, Rajasthan, Root, State, travel, Travel - Tags: Brahma Savitri Court Case, Brahma Temple Pushkar, Pushkar ropeways, Savitri Mandir Pushkar, Savitri Temple Pushkar Shot in Pushkar near Savitri Mata Ropeway site Copyright: Damodar Ropeways and Infra Ltd. (Disclaimer: This post does not intend to hurt any religious sentiments of the practicing Hindus. This post is supported by statements made by the Priest in Brahma Temple, Pushkar and an actual court case. ) Who amongst us has not heard about God Brahma? According to legends, God Brahma married a cowherd’s daughter to complete religious rituals because, his erstwhile wife, Savitri was late. Savitri deserted Brahma, went to the next hill top (Ratnagiri hill) and sat there. That is where the Savitri temple is today and the site of Damodar Ropeways. But this discord has led to a funny episode in Indian religious ecosystem and the judiciary. What exactly happened? Let me break it down for you. Thank you authorities of the Brahma Temple in Pushkar for allowing me to photograph inside the temple complex | www. anirbansaha. com Once upon a time, the universe was created by the Hindu Trinity of Gods - The Brahma, The Vishnu and the Maheshwar (Shiva). Brahma was responsible for creating the universe, his sons include Manu, Daksha, and Narada. Manu was the first human, Daksha was the king who built societies and laid rules and discipline and Narada was ahem, let it be. Once Brahma was searching for a place to perform rites when the lotus(Pushp) fell from his hand(Kar) on earth, water appeared and that became an ideal place to conduct the religious ritual. The ritual needed Brahma and his wife to be participating together. Narada, was responsible for calling Savitri, Brahma’s wife, and technically Narada’s mother. But Narada being Narada wanted a fight to happen. Although he knew fully, he neither expressed the importance nor the urgency of Savitri’s presence in the rites. Instead, he asked her to take more time. View of Pushkar from the Ropeway site at Savitri Temple, Pushkar By the time Savitri reached the Yajna (religious ritual), Brahma had got himself another wife, Gayatri, a local cowherd’s daughter to complete the rites. Savitri cursed Brahma, restricting his worship to only Pushkar, deserted him and went off to the next hill. Brahma temple in Pushkar, still has Gayatri sitting beside him. If you take a peek outside the Brahma temple, you can very well see the Savitri Temple nearby. Ratnagiri Hill, on which Savitri sat when she was angry with Brahma. Thousands of years later, the guardian of Brahma Temple felt Savitri is the rightful wife of Brahma and that he should be allowed to perform religious rites at the Savitri Temple five days a year. Furthermore, a part of the money generated there should be given to Brahma Temple funds. It is Brahma’s right on the dwelling of his wife. While the former claim wasn’t very offensive to the guardian of the Savitri Temple, the latter was. The five days mentioned are the days of Pushkar Mela, the time that practically brings all the money and attention to the region. The Savitri Temple Guardian claimed that it was Brahma who should have waited for Savitri, he deserted and hurt Savitri. Brahma should instead pay alimony. And this became a court case. The court was in a fix, dismissed it numerous times on the ground that Hindu deities are idols, and according to Hindu law, are perpetual minors under the guardianship of the temple priest. Hence, no alimony. The court case could be tracked back to several decades, the last talk of which was heard in 2011; often putting the court judges into embarrassing situations. When I read about it the first time, I convinced myself that this isn’t true. However, when I went to Pushkar to photograph the Damodar Ropeway site, I met the now head priest of the Brahma Temple who went on record to tell me what he feels. This is the Savitri Temple BTW. However, I do not think that the Pushkar Temple is the only Brahma Temple in the world. A simple Google search query will return a couple of other Indian places where Brahma is worshiped. I so wish I could ask either Savitri or Brahma about what they felt. Tapasya, anyone? --- - Published: 2017-07-06 - Modified: 2017-07-11 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/birding-treated-separate-wild-life-heres/ - Categories: Birding, Birds in Central Park Kolkata, Explore Bengal, Explore India, Explore Kolkata, Monsoon, Photography, Root, Season, Sikkim, Spring, State, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Bird Photography, Birding, Birding-Blogging Trek, Birds in Central Park Kolkata, Birds in Purbasthali, Birds in Rabindra Sarobar Kolkata, Birds in Rajarhat Kolkata, Birds in West Bengal, GoingWild LLP, Purbasthali bird photographs, Souranil De, Swarnava Nandi Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher | Thank you Tamron for the lens. What are the first things that come to your mind when someone says “Wild Life”? Birding needs to be treated as a separate genre | Anirban Saha Tigers and other animals or perhaps the greenery, isn’t it? Around 25% of people who were asked this question, mentioned “Tigers” while 30% other mentioned names of other animals. 40% mentioned that the term brings to their mind, the feel of a thrill and adventure. 15% however mentioned anything even remotely related to birds and less than 1% could name a few birds. I’ll tell you why I pick this topic up today. I have seen my acquaintances in the field of birding crib about a lot of things - from the greenery in Rajarhat making way to the concrete jungle, the tree that housed the owlet in the Central Park Salt Lake being cut, to the lack of awareness in people on how they should behave in Purbasthali. This apart from poaching, the inconvenience of the migratory birds, widespread ignorance. We hardly know of younger people who’ve taken up birding as a full-time profession. Himalayan Cuckoo | Tamron SP 160 - 600 G2 lens | Shot during Birding-Blogging Trek | Edit: Souranil De The problem here is - There is no mass awareness of the variety of birds we see around even in our daily lives. There are enough attempts to create wildlife conservation awareness. But with the very term, the general mass forms different imageries, of which our feathered friends are not a part of. We often ignore their presence, thus. Birding in itself should become an industry; with birding specific bloggers, governments having a slight budget to promote birding in their state, separate business research to see if birding could sell. With money flowing into the system, more people would be made to speak about it, creating and spreading awareness. Barred Cuckoo-Dove | Dubdee Monastery, Sikkim | Tamron SP 160-600 G2 lens A birder could then earn from not only guided tours but also monetise his blog, earn from endorsements of a lens, camera equipment, take travel blogging assignments specific to birding. He could also just have his own merchandise and earn from it. Further beyond, specific fun workshops could be arranged where young school kids could be introduced to the world of birding. I’m sure there would be more ways of revenue generation than just this. A blog would be a head start to his personal brand. But all these efforts wouldn’t be fully recognised if birding is not made mainstream; birding is not treated as a separate genre. Do you know: There are 1235 species of birds that can be seen in India? Of which you can see 763 species only in West Bengal? Cinereous Tit | Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata Do you know: With people taking interest in birding, 631 species of birds were spotted in West Bengal in 2016 compared to 368 in 2012. That’s a rise. Red Crested Pochard flying away | Purbasthali, West Bengal Do you know: Ashwika Kapoor, world’s youngest Green Oscar winner is a Kolkata based girl who did her documentary on a bird named “Sirocco”, which is a Kakapo Parrot? Do you know: Purnima Barman, Assam-based conservationist, won the prestigious Green Oscar in 2017 for her sustained efforts to raise awareness about the Greater Adjutant Stork and it’s habitat. Crested Serpent Eagle | Sunderban, West Bengal | Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens . Taiga Flycatcher | Central Park Kolkata | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens | Handheld by Swarnava Nandi . Pied Kingfisher | Sunderban, West Bengal | Trip with GoingWild | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens . Two species of Kingfisher. The Common Kingfisher is out of focus. Towards the right is the White Throated Kingfisher | Shot in Purbasthali, West Bengal . Painted Stork with the kill! | Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata | Guess which lens I've used? Do you know: In Kolkata, you can take some time off and visit the following places to see the variety of birds who visit them: Central Park Salt Lake Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary Rajarhat wetlands Rabindra Sarobar You can go to the nearby Purbasthali for a day to just learn about birds. Or perhaps, Sunderban could be very inspiring. Black-Rumped Flameback | Rabindra Sarobar | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 Lens | Thank you Souranil and Swarnava . Coppersmith Barbet | Rabindra Sarobar . Pheasant Tailed Jacana. Look at the sexy golden nape! Shot at Rajarhat with Swarnava and Souranil. Even when it comes to bird photography, how would a newcomer be introduced to this? Do we have enough resources on the web which speaks about where a bird can be spotted? When spotted - how to approach the bird? When I saw and photographed a bird for the first time, I was very inspired. Osprey juvenile | Purbasthali | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens Kolkata Bloggers and GoingWild organised a wildlife-blogging tour to Sunderban and a birding-blogging trek near Sachen, Sikkim. There had been enough interest in people who paid for the trips. The intent of these trips was to see if birding specific trips could be organised. And it was a success and we look forward to organising the next trip. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher | Thank you Tamron for the lens. | Shot during the Birding-Blogging Trek in Sikkim . Green backed Tit | Edited by Souranil De | Shot during the Birding-Blogging Trek . Orange-bellied Leafbird | Shot during the birding-blogging Trek | Edited by Souranil De . Slaty-backed Forktail | Shot during the birding-blogging Trek | Edited by Souranil De . Rufous bellied Niltava | Shot during the birding-blogging Trek | Edited by Souranil De . Striated Bulbul | Shot during the birding-blogging Trek | Edited by Souranil De Advertisement: Know more about the Birding-Blogging Trek by clicking here. As individuals who take interest in birds, it is upon us to create the awareness around us. We should write more about it online and not just restrict ourselves to the social media; encourage others to take a note of it. We could make a change. We are the change. Do you know: West Bengal's State Bird is the White Throated Kingfisher? . Do you know: Oriental Magpie Robin is the national bird of Bangladesh? If you find this article interesting, stay connected to Souranil De: He is the reason why I got introduced to birding. He is 9 years younger to me and is the youngest friend I have. Read "Introduction to birding" to know how I got into birding. Souranil blogs at www. souranil. de. Here he has come up with blog posts like: a. Basics of Birding: Family and Activity. b. Basics of Birding: How to Start. c. Lists of Common Birds: Part 1,2,3,4. Swarnava Nandi: He is young and probably the best guide any newcomer can have, if s/he wants to start with birding. I am forcing him to blog at www. swarnavanandi. com He is now an intern working with GoingWild LLP. GoingWild LLP: GoingWild LLP is a Wild Life Tourism Startup. Kolkata Bloggers in association with GoingWild organised two trips which encouraged people to blog about their experiences to raise awareness. If you want to know more about the Birding Blogging Treks/Trips, do click on this link. Thank you. --- - Published: 2017-06-24 - Modified: 2017-07-11 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/whats-birding-blogging-trek/ - Categories: Birding, Colours, Explore India, Photography, Root, Season, Sikkim, Spring, State - Tags: Asian Barred Owlet, Asim Halder, Birding-Blogging Trek, Dibyendu Ash, GoingWild LLP, Kolkata bloggers, Souranil De GoingWild and Kolkata Bloggers, while brainstorming, just clubbing the concepts of a birding trek and a blogging workshop together to check if people would like it. And the result is amazing! Thus this blog post. Birding - Blogging Trek | GoingWild LLP | Kolkata Bloggers What’s a birding trek? A trek where people walk from point A to point B, pretty much like any other trek, feel the nature around, pretty much like any other trek. But in this case, a birding expert guides you, stop at places and shows you different birds. If you have even a slight interest in birds, this might interest you. What’s in a blogging workshop? A workshop where the guide tries to put forward to you, in a consolidated way - methods of blogging effectively and better. The workshop covers the basics of a blog, understanding the target group (audience), defining the aim of your personal blog and the success parameter, creating content (blog posts), understanding the basics of social media and search engine optimisation to generate an audience for your blog. Why should a birder blog? As a person who is just introduced to the world of birding, bird watching and bird photography, I feel the community needs more people who are dedicated and vocal about the issues related to conservation, problems related to poaching, illegal selling and other malpractices related to this field. And they should not restrict themselves to just Facebook, where organic reach is diminishing each passing day. Thankfully, even today blogging exists. People could still Google for free and access specific blogs which have relevant content. Social Media and blogs together form the best way to create awareness in the digital space. And blogging specifically helps the cause reach out to more people if it is relevant and relatable to the mass. Thus, blogging. Why would you need a blogging workshop? Because just creating good content and sharing it on the social media isn’t enough. You need to understand what you want to do with your blog and how quickly you can earn money using your blog content and the online popularity. If bettering yourself as a blogger is not your intent, this blogging workshop isn’t for you. Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush | Shot with Tamron SP 160 - 600 G2 lens. About the organisers: GoingWild LLP is perhaps the best tourism startup in Eastern India. Their founders - Soumyajit Nandy, Tamanud Mitra and Dibyendu Ash are distinguished personalities in their field of work. They’re operational for half a decade with very less negative reviews. On the other hand, they were shortlisted by the MSME Government of West Bengal for the finals of “Egiye Bangla”, the business reality show. They’ve also organised one “Only Sunderban Tigers” exhibition in ICCR Kolkata named “Dokkhinrayer Biswa Jatra” and now, preparing for more such extremely niched and distinguished efforts. Dibyendu is the birding expert and you got to travel with him to believe in his knowledge. He is also a collaborator to the Director of eco-tourism, Sikkim Government. Kolkata Bloggers take care of the blogging workshops. As a company, Kolkata Bloggers has worked with The Times of India, International Kolkata Book Fair, Kolkata Literature Festivals, NASSCOM Product Conclave, CII Travel East, Facebook to name a few. It has organised workshops in IIT Kharagpur, St. Xavier's and 18 other educational institutes of repute in collaboration with the US Consulate General, Kolkata. Anirban Saha, proprietor of the company, umm, Yours Truly, takes care of the blogging workshops. He refuses to restrict him to any genre. As per the Similarweb statistics, he engages over 20,000 users in a month. He blogs at www. anirbansaha. com. What did we see? We conducted our first birding blogging trek during 29 April - 3 May 2017, in Sikkim. We spotted around 117 species of birds during this span of 3 days, of which we photographed most of them. Even as a noob, I could photograph a lot of birds while I missed quite a few because of my inexperience. In this post, I’d share photographs shot by Dr. Asim Halder and me. Eurasian Cuckoo | Shot with Tamron SP 160-600 G2 lens . Crimson Sunbird | Photograph: Asim Halder . Grey-hooded Warbler | Photographed by Tamron SP 160-600 G2 lens | Edited by Souranil De. . White Tailed Nuthatch | Photograph: Asim Haldar . Himalayan Cutia | You already know what I shot this with! . Asian Barred Owlet | Photograph: Asim Haldar . Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher | Thank you, Tamron for the lens. If you would like to join us for the next birding-blogging trek, fill the form and stay connected. Click here. Click here to read about my personal experience of the birding trek! Click here. --- - Published: 2017-06-22 - Modified: 2017-12-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/moushuni-islands-plight-west-bengals-virgin-islands/ - Categories: Explore Bengal, Guest Posts, Rajatabha Ray, Spring, Travel, travel, West Bengal - Tags: mousuni island hotel, mousuni island solar project, mousuni islands, Rajatabha Ray Moushuni (mousuni) Islands, Bengal | Photograph: Rajatabha Ray' 2017 Nestled between the hazy silhouettes of Jambu Dwip, Sagar Dwip, Henry Island and Bakkhali lies the rustic and virgin island- Moushuni. Not many tourists are aware of this island or its plight in contemporary times. But an expedition conducted especially for the bloggers and photographers led me to discover this island. One of the epitomes of off-beat travel that I have experienced till date, Moushuni island can be seen as a destination for a day trip, offering you very little time to spend amongst nature; or as a destination for an overnight beach camping, allowing you to experience a little more . How to reach the island? Moushuni can be reached in several ways, but each one can take several hours. We chose to go via the 6:45 a. m Sealdah local train till Namkhana station, which took us around three hours to reach and from where we took a shared motor rickshaw (toto) to the bank of the river Hatania- Dotania. This is the safest place to break your journey and eat lest you want to go hungry for the whole day. Alternately, you can carry your own food. It takes around 15 minutes to cross the river by boat. Thereafter you take another toto to the van stand – a good fifteen minutes afar. The van would take you on another journey through the winding village roads for half- an- hour or so. You do need to take care of long leaf blades entering the van and hurting you if you sit too close to the window. The vans lead you to the river bank of Chinai river which takes another twenty minutes to cross by boat. From there you take another toto which would finally bring you to the other side of the island – your destination. Alternately, you can take a direct boat to Moushuni Island from Hatania- Dotania River which would take you around two- and- a- half hours to reach. Moushuni Islands | Photograph: Rajatabha Ray 2017 Facts to keep in mind: All along the way, apart from enjoying the rugged and rustic village sights, we were also told about the place and the landmarks by our guides. Interestingly, even though mobile internets do not work in such remote places, there are still certain connections which help you to make calls and keep in touch with your family back home. Further, bringing your Jio Net would not be ideal because Jio connections here cannot be trusted and also, you would probably want to enjoy the peacefulness of the place rather than indulging in the everyday digital life again. For hygiene purposes, it is advised to carry your own water, either from home or from Namkhana where you do get packed water. If you opt for an overnight camping, you need to make a decision a night before your departure or at Namkhana itself whether you would want to carry beers and cigarettes with you or not. There is no place to spend the night in Moushuni apart from beach camps or tents. The nearest place to halt in a hotel or a home- stay would be Namkhana , almost two and half hours away from the island itself. However, it is a completely separate matter if you are a frequent visitor to the island and the locals invite you to stay with them! Photograph: Rajatabha Ray 2017 Development on Paper: I asked my guides, after having seen the Namkhana Growth Development Board, Standard Chartered Bank and a primary and secondary school about the livelihood of the people. To this, I was taken aback to hear that though the facilities are present in theory, there is no practical implementation of it. Schools are present, but the children find it too far to go to and the teachers wait for a transfer no sooner than they join such a remote area. This made me realise the difference between growth and development inked on paper and implemented on ground level. Moreover, I noticed a huge overbridge under construction linking the banks of the Chinai river. I must implore that this is a great step, but I also wonder about the time taken to build the bridge and how useful would it be for the locals and the tourists. The Life in the colony: The main attractions of the island were its stories, the fishermen colonies and the innumerable crustaceans that lay scattered on the beach itself. In fact, the group divided itself into three smaller groups – one headed out to the mangroves, one towards the fishermen colony and I simply took a walk along the beach while listening to our guide. He spoke of how the village of the fishermen flourished on the island till a major jolt of the Aila disaster ruined everything for the locals. Many lost their near and dear ones and some fell so seriously ill that they have not recovered until today. A certain hut had a huge boat parked in front of it. The boat was in the memory of the fishermen’s daughter who died in search of her father one day. Another house toiled over their livelihood with no basic amenities and food products reaching them. The nearest medical aid was in Namkhana – a distance that was enough to even kill a severely injured or sick person. Electricity is a luxury which has not yet engulfed this island at all. On asking the locals about the government aids, their reply was the same – they (government officers) come at times but still nothing has improved. Life at the Mousuni | Photograph: Rajatabha Ray 2017 Me and Moushuni: Being a travel blogger, I often tend to visit known and unknown places in search of customs, rituals, ceremonies, festivals and culture- but Moushuni Island requires the basic amenities for the survival of its inhabitants. Moushuni was targeted as a place for an off-beat travel destination. But there are several inherent issues with the place which has unfortunately not allowed it to flourish and fortunately helped it maintain its virgin status. The primary fact is that it is hard to access. Most people would rather give up on the idea of visiting Moushuni rather than opting to travel almost twelve hours a day to and fro the destination. With no access to proper sanitation, food and water and shelter facilities; most people would overlook it. The second reason for it not to flourish is the fact that it is under –developed. The people need to be given a developed setting and the basic necessities of living their daily life before trying to develop the destination as a tourist spot altogether. My trip to Moushuni Island opened my eyes, to the overlooked concerns or rather lack of concern from the higher authorities towards the plight of the inhabitants of this island. With no proper medical facilities, market, hygiene, sanitation, education etc; Moushuni is far from being a developed colony which can sustain itself. From my experience, Moushuni cannot be compared to other beaches like Digha or Mandarmani. It should rather be looked as a virgin beach and primarily helped to evolve into a self sufficient unit; and maybe later a weekend travel destination. --- - Published: 2017-06-16 - Modified: 2017-06-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%82%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%a6%e0%a6%b6%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%be-%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%a3-%e0%a6%95%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%9f%e0%a6%be/ - Categories: Explore Bengal, Festival, Guest Posts, বাংলা - Tags: Bengal Dusshera, bengal folk, Experience Bengal, masks of bengal, masks of bishnupur, Rabon Kata, ravan kata, বাংলার মুখোশ, বিষ্ণু, রাবণ কাটা মল্লভুম বিষ্ণুপুরের বিখ্যাত " রাবন - কাটা নাচ " ও একটা লোকসংস্কৃতি।বিষ্ণুপুরের অস্থলে কাতান্ধারে রঘুনাথ জিউ - এর সামনে এই নাচটি শারদীয়া উৎসবের এক বিশেষ উপসংহার হিসেবে বরাবর অনুষ্ঠিত হয়।বিষ্ণুপুরের নিমতলায় অবস্থিত রঘুনাথ জিউ এর অস্থলে রাম, সিতা, লক্ষ্মণ বিগ্রহ প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়ে পুজিত হয়ে আসছেন সুদুর অতীত থেকে। এখানেই রাবন কাটা নাচ অনুষ্ঠিত হয়। নাচের বিষয়বস্তু হল - রাম রাবনের যুদ্ধ ও যুদ্ধ শেষে রাবন বধ। এই বহু প্রাচীন নাচ , বর্তমানে বিলুপ্তপ্রায় বলা চলে । গত বছর অনির্বাণ দা যখন আমায় দশমীর দিন ফোন করে যাবো কিনা জিজ্ঞেস করল , বিনা বাক্যব্যয়ে বেড়িয়ে পড়লাম বিষ্ণুপুরের পথে। হাওড়া থেকে পুরুলিয়া এক্সপ্রেস ধরে রাত ৯ টার সময় নামলাম বিষ্ণুপুর ষ্টেশনে। অক্টোবরের শেষ, কলকাতায় বিশ্রী গরম থাকলেও, এখানে নেমে বেশ ঠাণ্ডা ঠাণ্ডা লাগছিল। বেশি দেরি না করে দুজনেই উঠে পড়লাম একটা রিকশায়। তখনও জানিনা ঠিক কোন জায়গা তে নাচ হবে। এদিকে রাত হয়েছে, থাকার কোনও ঠিক নেই। মাঝপথে আমি অন্য রিকশা ধরে ছুটলাম হোটেল খুঁজতে। পুজোর মাস , সমস্ত হোটেল বুক করা আগে থেকে। অনেক খুঁজে পেতে একটা হোটেলে ঘর পেলাম। চাবি নিয়েই দৌড়লাম রঘুনাথ জিউ এর মন্দিরের দিকে। গিয়ে দেখি গোটা গ্রামের লোক ভেঙ্গে পড়েছে একফালি মাঠে । ওখানেই দেখা হল অমর্ত্য দার সাথে । রাবন কাটার ওপর ডকুমেন্টারি করছে । অনির্বাণ দা কে সেই যে এক ঝলক দেখলাম, তারপর ঐ ভিড়ের মধ্যে আর খুঁজে পেলাম না। অগত্যা গ্রামের লোকের সাথে কথা বলে এই নাচের প্রাচীনত্ব আর ঐতিহাসিক গুরুত্ব সম্পর্কে খোঁজ খবর নিলাম । রাত তখন এগারোটা । বেজে উঠল সানাই, আর ঢোল। শুরু হল বাংলার দশেরা - " রাবন কাটা " নাচ । মুখোশ - রাবণ কাটা। ইতিহাসের পাতায় - নাচের অনুষ্ঠানটি শুরু হয় দুর্গা পূজার শেষ অর্থাৎ বিজয়া দশমীর দিন থেকে। এই দিন অনুষ্ঠান শুরু হয় শ্রী শ্রী রঘুনাথ জিউ এর অভিষেক এর মধ্যে দিয়ে। পূজার পর শিল্পীরা আসেন অস্থলে। তারা অস্থলের সামনের রাস্তায় নাচ করেন এবং রাবনের ভাই কুম্ভকর্ণ কে বধ করে প্রথম দিনের অনুষ্ঠানটি শেষ করেন। কিন্তু আগে দশমীর দিন বধ করা হত ইন্দ্রজিৎ কে। দ্বিতীয় দিন অর্থাৎ একাদশীর দিন সকাল ৯ টার সময় দেবতার আশীর্বাদ নিয়ে দল বেরিয়ে পরে। উৎসবের শেষ দিন অর্থাৎ দ্বাদশীর দিন পুজো সেরে প্রথম প্রহরেই বেরিয়ে পরে নাচের দল। এই দিন রাবন কাটা অনুষ্ঠান হয়। রঘুনাথ জিউ এর মন্দির সংলগ্ন নিমতলায় আসর বসে সন্ধ্যে থেকে। রাস্তার দক্ষিণ দিকে উত্তরদিকে মুখ করে ট্রাক্টরের উপর "যুদ্ধং দেহি" রাবনের মূর্তি আর উত্তরদিকে মনোরম চৌদোলার উপর থাকে রণসাজে সজ্জিত রাম-সীতা আর লক্ষ্মণের মূর্তি। তিন-চার ঘণ্টা ধরে চলে নাচ গান। রাত গড়িয়ে দুই প্রহরের অর্থাৎ রাত ১১ টা নাগাদ আসে রাবন বধের শুভক্ষণ। রঘুনাথ জিউ এর কাছ থেকে রাবন পর্যন্ত হনুমান নাচতে নাচতে আসে ২১ বার। সঙ্গে নাচে সুগ্রীব আর জাম্বুবান। মুখে বলা হয় - " রাবন রাখব না রাবন কাটব, রাবন রাখব না রাবন কাটব " ২১ বার যাতায়াতের পর জাম্বুবানের নির্দেশে হনুমান রঘুনাথ জীউয়ের কাছে রাখা তরোয়াল নিয়ে প্রবল গতিতে ট্রাক্টরে উঠে রাবনের গলায় কোপ বসায়। রাবনের পিছনে দাঁড়িয়ে থাকা লোক মুহূর্তের মধ্যে খুলে নেয় রাবনের মুখোশ। কাটা মাথা আর রাবনের গলায় ধেলে দেয় লাল জল। শেষ হয় " রাবন - কাটা " । " রাবন রাখব না রাবন কাটব, রাবন রাখব না রাবন কাটব " Rabon Kata - Bishnupur | Anirban Saha & Anurag Banerjee নাচের মূল আকর্ষণ - মুখোশ - এই নাচের মুখোশের মাধ্যমে অভিনয় করেন চারজন। এই রাবন কাটার মুখোশ তৈরি করেছেন প্রায় ২০০ বছর আগে বিশ্নুপুরের কাটানধারের বাসিন্দা সুকুমার বারিকের পূর্বপুরুষেরা। মুখোশ গুলি গামার কাঠের তৈরি, মাথার দিকে ৫০টি ফুটো করে তার ভিতর দিয়ে শন পরিয়ে শক্ত করে বেঁধে মাথার চুল তৈরি হয়। দাঁতের ছিদ্র দিয়েই অভিনেতাদের দেখার কাজ সারতে হয়। তাদের মুখে থাকে মুখোশ , আর দেহে ফুলহাতা কোট আর পায়জামা। পোশাকের সাথে লাগানো থেকে মোটা পাটের দড়ির লোম। হনুমানের পোশাক "ঘি" রঙের, মুখোশ আর গায়ের লোম সাদা। জাম্বুবানের মুখোশটি ভালুকের মত।মুখ, চোখ, আর লোমের রঙ কালো। বিভীষণের আগাগোড়া লাল রঙ, মাথায় পাগড়ি, কপালে সাদা ত্রিশুল, ভ্রূ আর গোঁফ কোঁচকানো। সুগ্রীবের মুখোশ বানরের আদলে তৈরি। চুল শনের। The masks are unchanged for generations. | Anirban Saha & Anurag Banerjee প্রচলিত লোক বিশ্বাস -"যে যিনি তরোয়াল দিয়ে রাবন কাটেন, তাঁর বংশ লোপ পায় " রাবণ । নাচের ধরন - বিশেষ বৈশিষ্ট্য আছে এই নাচের। এই নাচের দুই ভাগ - ১- দেবচাল এবং ২- রাক্ষস চাল। প্রথমটি তে আছে লালিত্য, আর পরের টি তে আছে বলিষ্ঠতা। শিল্পীরা নিজেদের দক্ষতায় লাফ ঝাঁপ করেন। প্রচলিত লোক বিশ্বাস যে যিনি তরোয়াল দিয়ে রাবন কাটেন, তাঁর বংশ লোপ পায়। আগেও দেখা গেছে যিনি রাবন কেটেছেন তিনি গাড়ি থেকে পড়ে পা ভেঙ্গেছেন নয়ত পঙ্গু হয়ে গেছেন। এই কারনে অংশগ্রহণকারী শিল্পীর সংখ্যা আগের তুলনায় অনেক কমে গেছে। কথিত আছে- রাবন কাটার পর রাবনের দেহের মাটি বাড়িতে রাখলে গৃহস্থের মঙ্গল হয়। গ্রামবাসীদের অনেকে জানালেন আগে বিশ্নুপুর রাজবাড়ীর সাহায্যে খুব ধুমধাম করে এই উৎসব পালন করা হত। কিন্তু বর্তমানে সরকার থেকে কোনও রকম সাহায্য পাওয়া যায়না। এই দুর্লভ লোকনৃত্য আজ তাই তিলে তিলে অবলুপ্তির দিকে এগিয়ে চলেছে। শেষ হল রাবন কাটা। নিস্তব্ধ বিষ্ণুপুরের জনমানবশূন্য রাস্তা দিয়ে ফিরছি আমরা দুজন। জ্যোৎস্নায় ভেসে যাচ্ছে চারদিক। ফাঁকা মাঠের মাঝে "রাস মঞ্চের" অবয়ব। দূরে শিয়াল ডাকছে। কারো মুখে কোনও কথা নেই। অদ্ভুত এক মায়াবী পরিবেশ। মনে মনে দশমীর বিদায়বেলায় মাকে একটাই প্রার্থনা জানালাম - এই দুর্লভ নাচের যেন অবলুপ্তি না ঘটে । বেঁচে থাকুক বাংলার গৌরব - মোদের গরব, মোদের আশা । --- - Published: 2017-06-03 - Modified: 2017-06-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%95%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%95%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%a4%e0%a6%be%e0%a7%9f-%e0%a6%95%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%bf%e0%a6%b8%e0%a6%ae%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b8-ramakrishna-mission-christmas/ - Categories: Culture, Guest Posts, বাংলা - Tags: belur math christmas eve, Belur Math Ramakrishna Mission, christmas in kolkata, Kolkata Christmas, Kolkata Christmas carnival, kolkata christmas celebrations, Ramakrishna Mission christmas celebrations, বাংলা কলকাতার ক্রিসমাস পার্ক স্ট্রীট - সেকাল - একাল - সাবেক কলকাতার সাহেব পাড়া ছিল পার্ক স্ট্রীট । সে সময় ছোট বড় রায়বাহাদুর , বাবুরা নিমন্ত্রিত হতেন লালমুখো সাহেবদের বাড়ীতে । সাধারন লোকেরা দূর থেকে বিলাসিতার বহর দেখতেন আর কেক এর সুবাস নিতেন। ঘরে ঘরে চলত বলনাচ, মদ্যপানের আসর, পিয়ানো বাজিয়ে চলত রাতভর ফিরিঙ্গী সাহেব মেম দের নাচগান। এখন সে রাম ও নেই- নেই সেই অযোধ্যাও । আগেকার সেই সাহেবপাড়ার সাবেক ঠাটবাট আর না থাকলেও ক্রিসমাসের ২ দিন আগে থেকেই আলোর মালায় সেজে ওঠে পার্ক স্ট্রীট । ২৪ শের সন্ধ্যে থেকে শুরু হয় ভিড়, যা দেখে দুর্গা পুজোর অষ্টমীর সন্ধ্যের কথা মনে পরাতে বাধ্য।রাস্তার দুপাশ জুড়ে বিভিন্ন নামী দামি রেস্তরাঁ তে লম্বা লাইন - অসীম ধৈর্য নিয়ে দাঁড়িয়ে আছে মানুষ। রাস্তায় ইতিউতি হাত ধরাধরি করে যুগল , অথবা সপরিবারে হুজুগে বাঙালি কিম্বা মফঃস্বল থেকে কলকাতা ঘুরতে আসা অবাক চোখের মানুষজন - সবার দেখা মিলবেই। অ্যালেন পার্কে চলে রাত ভর গানের আসর আর তারসাথে ক্রিসমাস নিয়ে বাঙালীর উন্মাদনা - সব মিলিয়ে রাত বাড়ার সাথে সাথে পার্ক স্ট্রীট মোহময়ী রূপ নেয় । এখন কলকাতার লোক ক্রিসমাস বলতে ভিড়ে ঠাসা পার্ক স্ট্রীট এর রাস্তা ধরে মাথায় সান্তা টুপি পরে সেলফি তুলতে জানে। সেন্ট পলস এর ভিড় , নন্দন চত্বর , মোহর কুঞ্জে উপছে পড়া ভিড় দেখলে এখন কান্না পায় । কিন্তু কয়জন জানে এই চেনা কলকাতার মধ্যে লুকিয়ে আছে আরও একটা আস্ত অচেনা কলকাতা ? কয়জন দেখেছেন আজকের ধর্মের নামে মারামারির যুগে অন্য ধর্মের সাধু সন্ন্যাসী দের ক্রিসমাস উদযাপন করতে ? কিম্বা কয়জনই বা " যীশু পুজা" -র সম্পর্কে শুনেছেন ? mmmmm Kolkata Christmas Carnival 2015 | www. anirbansaha. com সেন্ট পলস ক্যাথিড্রাল চার্চ- কলকাতার সব থেকে পুরনো আর আইকনিক স্থাপত্য গুলোর মধ্যে প্রথম সারিতেই রয়েছে এই চার্চ । ব্রিটিশ শাসনের সময় সবার প্রথমেই এই চার্চ বানানো শুরু হয়েছিল ১৮৩৯ সালে। দীর্ঘ আট বছরে সম্পূর্ণ হয় এই চার্চ। কিন্তু ১৮৯৭ ও ১৯৩৪ এর ভুমিকম্পে এই চার্চের বড় ক্ষতি হয় ও আবার নির্মাণকাজ শুরু করা হয়। বর্তমানে কলকাতার সবচেয়ে বড় চার্চের তকমা পেয়েছে এই সেন্ট পলস । প্রতি বছর ২৪ শে ডিসেম্বর ক্রিসমাস ইভের সন্ধ্যে তে আলোর মালায় সেজে ওঠে পুরো চত্বর। আমি নিজে খাস কলকাতার ছেলে হয়ে গতবার ই প্রথম গেছিলাম সেন্ট পলস চার্চে । ভিড় ঠেলে প্রেয়ার হলে ঢুকতেই নিমেষে সব চুপ। সোনার জলে রঙ করা কাঠের বেদীর উপর যীশুর ক্রুশ বিদ্ধ মূর্তি- ফুল, মোমের উজ্জ্বল আলোয় এক অদ্ভুত প্রশান্তি। বাইরে বেরিয়ে আসার পরেও বেশ কিছুক্ষন সেই ভালোলাগার রেশ থেকে যায়। বো - ব্যারাকসে ক্রিসমাস | www. anirbansaha. com বো - ব্যারাকস - এছাড়াও কলকাতার আরও নানা ছোট বড় চার্চে সেদিন মানুষের ঢল নামে - ডাফ চার্চ , জোড়া গির্জা , সেন্ট জোসেফস চার্চ... । কলকাতার অ্যাংলো ইন্ডিয়ান সমাজের মানুষজন ও মেতে ওঠেন তাদের প্রভু যীশুর জন্মদিনে । বো-ব্যারাক এলাকার পুরনো রঙচটা বাড়ী , অলিগলি সেজে ওঠে আলোর মালায় । আর সেই গলি দিয়ে হেঁটে যাওয়া মানে পঞ্চেন্দ্রিয়ের পূর্ণ সদ- ব্যবহার। প্রথমত দু চোখ ভরে দেখা আলোর রোশনাই , দ্বিতীয়ত হাঁটতে হাঁটতে কানে ভেসে আসবে বাড়ী থেকে পিয়ানো অথবা কোরাস গানের বিলিতি সুর , তৃতীয়ত - গরম কেক , কুকিস এর সুবাস আপনার নাকে ঢুকে আপনার রসনা সিক্ত করবেই , চতুর্থত - আপনি অযাচিত ভাবে সেই স্বর্গীয় খাদ্যের আস্বাদন লাভ করতে পারেন , আর পঞ্চমত - ডিসেম্বরের কলকাতার ঠাণ্ডা আর মানুষের ভালোবাসার উষ্ণতা, সব মিলিয়ে কলকাতা আপনার কাছে মোহময়ী উঠবেই। এসব তো গেল খাস কলকাতার সাহেবি ব্যাপার , কিন্তু, ঐ যে বলেছিলাম - এই কলকাতার মধ্যে লুকিয়ে আছে আরও এক অচেনা কলকাতা - আমরা সবাই বেলুড় মঠের নাম শুনেছি , গেছিও অনেকে - কিন্তু কতজন জানেন এই হিন্দু সন্ন্যাসী সঙ্ঘে এক ভাব গম্ভীর পরিবেশে ক্রিসমাস পালিত হয়? হ্যাঁ , ২৪সে ডিসেম্বর , ক্রিসমাস ইভের সন্ধ্যে শ্রী রামকৃষ্ণ সঙ্ঘের ইতিহাসের সাথে ওতপ্রোত ভাবে জড়িয়ে আছে । বেলুড় মঠে ক্রিসমাস ইভের প্রার্থনা | www. anirbansaha. com বেলুড় মঠে ক্রিসমাস ইভের প্রার্থনা - গতবছর আমার আর অনির্বাণ দার যাওয়ার কথা ছিল বেলুড় মঠে ক্রিসমাস ইভ দেখতে। আমরা চেয়েছিলাম পুরো অনুষ্ঠানটার কিছু ছবি তুলতে , চিন্তা হচ্ছিল - কারন বেলুড় মঠে মূল মন্দিরের ভিতরে কোনোরকম ছবি তুলতে দেওয়া হয়না । মন্দির চত্বরে ঢুকেই অনির্বাণ দা দৌড়ল মঠ অফিসে - কারন একটাই - ছবি তোলার অনুমতি চাওয়া । পরে অনির্বাণ দা বলেছিল - " মঠে ঢোকা মাত্রই ছুটলাম মঠ অফিসের দিকে, কোনও ঠিক নেই কার থেকে অনুমতি নেব ছবি তোলার। হঠাৎ করে এক ভদ্রলোক এগিয়ে এসে জিজ্ঞেস করলেন - " আরে ! আপনাকে তো আমি চিনি, আপনি এখানে কি করছেন? ... আপনিই তো সেই দুর্গা পুজো তে এসেছিলেন না? তা, এবারেও কি ছবি তুলবেন আজকের অনুষ্ঠানের? "। আমি কয়েক মুহূর্ত কিছু বলতে পারিনি। ভদ্রলোক বলে চলেছেন- " সোজা গিয়ে বাঁদিকে যান, শেষের আগের ঘরটা। আমি লোককে বলে পাঠাচ্ছি।" কিছু কিছু মুহূর্ত আসে আমাদের জীবনে যেগুলো পরে মনে হয় এটাও কি সম্ভব! ! আমি নিজেকে তখনও বিশ্বাস করতে পারছিলাম না, ভদ্রলোক আমার হাতে প্রেস কার্ড টা দিয়ে দেওয়ার পরেও বেশ কিছুক্ষন একটা ঘোরের মধ্যে ছিলাম। পরে ভেবেছিলাম ভগবান কখন কার মধ্যে দিয়ে এসে সাহায্য করেন তা আমাদের মত সাধারন মানুষের ধারণার অতীত। সন্ধ্যে হয়েছে, ঠাকুরের মন্দিরে আরতি সবে শেষ হল, বিরাট হল ভর্তি ভক্তরা বসে আছেন। আমার সামনে শ্রী শ্রী ঠাকুরের মূর্তি আর বাঁ দিকে মা মেরি আর যীশুর ছবি সিংহাসনে বসিয়ে ফুল মালা দিয়ে অপূর্ব ভাবে সাজানো। দুপাশে মোমদানি, এক উষ্ণ অথচ মৃদু আলোয় ভরে আছে চারপাশ। পশ্চিমে বয়ে চলেছে গঙ্গা, নিস্তব্ধ নাটমন্দিরে একে একে সাধু সন্ন্যাসীরা এসে বসতে শুরু করলেন। দুজন মহারাজ নিয়ে এলেন ভোগ, যা আজ যীশু আর মা মেরী কে নিবেদন করা হবে। তিল ধারণের স্থান নেই আর গোটা নাটমন্দিরে। আমি এক থামের পাশে দাঁড়িয়ে আছি। মোমের নরম আলো, ধূপের হালকা মিষ্টি গন্ধে ভরে যাচ্ছে চারিদিক, মোমের শিখা কাঁপছে, পুরনো বিশাল কারুকার্য করা থামের ছায়া, আগেরকার দিনের পিতলের কাজ করা ঝাড়বাতি... সব মিলিয়ে এক অদ্ভুত পরিবেশ। পূজারী মহারাজ এলেন। সমবেত সাধু সন্ন্যাসী রা শুরু করলেন ক্রিসমাস ক্যারল। ছোটবেলায় যা আমি স্কুলে শুনেছিলাম, আজ এতদিন পর আবার সেই চেনা সুর , সেই চেনা অনুভূতি। মহারাজেরা যীশুর জীবনী থেকে কিছু অংশ পাঠ করলেন, আর তাঁর সাথে ঠাকুরের জীবনের কিছু ঘটনা যা হুবহু মিলে যায়। " আমি করেছি নিজের জীবনে"- ঠাকুর বলেছেন - " দীর্ঘ চোদ্দ বছর আমি হিন্দু, মুসলিম, খ্রিস্ট, বৌদ্ধ সব ভাবের সাধনা করেছি। আমি জেনেছি সব ধর্মের মূল সেই ঈশ্বর লাভ।" ঠাকুর অনেকসময় এক মজার গল্প বলতেন - " এক বড়লোকের বাড়িতে একটা ঘরে সিন্দুকে অনেক হিরে জহরত রাখা । সে বাড়ির অনেক দরজা, সে তুমি সদর দিয়ে যাও কি খিড়কীর দরজা দিয়ে, হিরে তুমি পাবেই।"( শ্রী রামকৃষ্ণ কথামৃত- শ্রী ম ) ঠাকুরের তখন ৩৮ বছর বয়েস, ঠাকুরের একবার খ্রিস্ট ধর্ম সম্পর্কে জানার প্রবল ইচ্ছে জাগে। একবার তিনি যদু মল্লিকের বাগানবাড়ি তে যীশুর এক ছবি দেখেন আর অনুভব করেন এক দিব্য জ্যোতি তাঁর দেহে প্রবেশ করছে। এই ঘটনার পর থেকে তাঁর আচার আচরণ সব বদলে যায়। এমনকি তিনি দক্ষিণেশ্বরে মায়ের মন্দিরে মা কে প্রনাম করতেও যেতেন না। এই ভাব তিন দিন ছিল। ঈশা মশি কে আলিঙ্গন তিনদিন এভাবে চলার পর একদিন তিনি পঞ্চবটী তে পায়চারি করছেন আপন মনে , হঠাৎ দেখলেন এক অপূর্ব দেব মানব- গৌরবর্ণ তাঁর চোখে চোখ রেখে তাঁরি দিকে এগিয়ে আসছেন। বাহ্য জ্ঞান হারানোর আগের মুহূর্তে তাঁর ভিতর থেকে কে যেন বলে উঠল -" ঈশা মসি ! পরম পুত্র ঈশা মহাযোগী, যিনি তাঁর জগতের মানুষের কল্যানের জন্য নিজের প্রান দিয়েছিলেন- সেই ঈশা মসি ! " এরপর সেই অদ্ভুত দেবমানব তাকে আলিঙ্গন করে তাঁরই দেহে মিলিয়ে যান।এই ঘটনার অনেক বছর পর ভক্তদের সাথে কথার সময় ঠাকুরের দিব্য দর্শন নিয়ে জানতে চাওয়া হলে ঠাকুর বলেন " তোমরা সব ইয়ং বেঙ্গল, বাইবেল পড়েছ, তা বল দেখি ঋষি কৃষ্ণ ( ঠাকুর যীশু তে এই নামে ডাকতেন) কেমন দেখতে ছিলেন? " তখন ভক্তরা বললেন - " যীশু কেমন দেখতে ছিলেন তাঁর উল্লেখ বাইবেল এ পাওয়া যায়না, তবে তিনি ইহুদী ছিলেন। তাঁর গাত্র বর্ণ গৌর ছিল এবং চোখ নাক টিকলো টানা টানা ছিল নিশ্চয়"। একথা শোনা মাত্র ঠাকুর বলেছিলেন - " আমি কিন্তু বাপু দেখলুম তাঁর নাকের অগ্রভাগ ঈষৎ চ্যাপ্টা" ঠাকুরের মহাসমাধির অনেক পরে তিনটি বিশ্বস্ত সুত্রে যীশু কে কেমন দেখতে ছিল তা জানা যায়, তাঁর মধ্যে একটি ছিল ঠাকুরের দেখা সেই ঈষৎ চ্যাপ্টা নাক। ক্রিসমাস ক্যারল ও যীশুর জীবনী পাঠ ক্রিসমাস ইভ ও বেলুড় মঠ - যোগসূত্র -- ঠাকুরের নয়জন পার্ষদ সন্তান হুগলী জেলার আঁটপুর গ্রামে বাবুরাম ঘোষের বাড়ি মিলিত হন। এই বাবুরাম ঘোষ পরে স্বামী প্রেমানন্দ নামে বিখ্যাত হন। বাবুরামের মা মাতঙ্গিনী দেবী সবাইকে নিজের ছেলের মত আপন করে নিলেন। ঠাকুরের ভালবাসা , উপদেশ, আদর্শ, জীবন ও তাঁর অর্পিত দায় তাদের সর্বক্ষণের আলোচনার বিষয় হল। এরই মধ্যে ২৪সে ডিসেম্বর( ১০ই পৌষ, শুক্রবার) এক অচিন্ত্যনীয় ঘটনার ফলে আঁটপুর শ্রীরামকৃষ্ণ সঙ্ঘের ইতিহাসে অবিস্মরণীয় হয়ে রইল। সেদিন সন্ধ্যের অনেক পরে বাইরে ধুনি জ্বেলে নক্ষত্রখচিত আকাশের নিচে ত্যাগী সন্তানবৃন্দ ধ্যানে ডুবে গেলেন।ধ্যান শেষে নরেন্দ্রনাথ ক্রমে যীশু খ্রিষ্টের ত্যাগ- তপস্যা পূত জীবনকথা প্রান স্পর্শী ভাষায় আদ্যোপান্ত অনর্গল বলে যেতে লাগলেন। তারপর সেন্ট পল থেকে আরম্ভ করে বিভিন্ন ত্যাগী সন্তানদের অক্লান্ত পরিশ্রম ও আত্মবিসর্জনের ফলে কি ভাবে খ্রিস্টধর্ম ও সম্প্রদায় প্রচারিত ও প্রসারিত হল তাঁর ইতিহাস বর্ণনা করে তিনি তাঁর গুরুভাইদের এক ত্যাগ ঐশ্বর্য মণ্ডিত প্রেরনাময় নতুন রাজ্যে নিয়ে গেলেন আর সকলের কাছে আবেদন জানালেন, তারাও যেন যীশুর ও তাঁর সন্তানদের মত পবিত্র জীবন তৈরি করে তা জগত-কল্যানে উৎসর্গ করেন। সেই প্রাণবন্ত কথায় অনুপ্রাণিত হয়ে গুরুভাইরা উঠে দাঁড়ালেন, আর সম্মুখে প্রজ্বলিত ধুনির অগ্নিশিখা কে সাক্ষী রেখে অটুট সঙ্কল্প জানালেন। পরে তাদের মন সাধারন ভুমি তে নেমে আসার পর তারা এই ভেবে অবাক হলেন যে সন্ধ্যাটি ছিল যীশুর আবির্ভাবের প্রাকক্ষন। পরবর্তী কালে সঙ্ঘ গঠনে আঁটপুরের অবদানের কথা স্মরণ করে স্বামী শিবানন্দ বলেছিলেন - "আঁটপুরেই আমাদের সঙ্ঘবদ্ধ হওয়ার সঙ্কল্প দৃঢ় হল। ঠাকুর তো আমাদের সন্ন্যাসী করে দিয়েছিলেনই- ঐ ভাব আরও পাকা হল আঁটপুরে"। কখন আরতি শেষ হয়েছে বুঝতে পারিনি , এক অদ্ভুত নিস্তব্ধ পরিবেশ। শান্ত - সমাহিত , ঠিক যীশুর মতই।আমি নিজেকে এখন খুব ভাগ্যবান বলে মনে করি সেদিন সেই অপূর্ব এক সন্ধ্যার সাক্ষী থাকতে পেরে। আমাদের বাংলার আনাচে কানাচে ছড়িয়ে আছে আত্মীয়তার ওম। সব ধর্মের রাস্তা বিভিন্ন রাস্তা থাকতে পারে , কিন্তু গন্তব্য সেই একই। বাংলার এক প্রত্যন্ত গ্রামের তথাকথিত অশিক্ষিত , পুঁথিগত বিদ্যাহীন ব্রাহ্মণ মিলিয়ে দিয়ে গেলেন এক কপর্দকহীন ইহুদী দেবমানবের সাথে। ধন্য এ মানব জীবন। --- - Published: 2017-05-30 - Modified: 2017-05-30 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b0%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b2%e0%a6%bf%e0%a7%9f%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%a4%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%b8%e0%a7%81-%e0%a6%aa%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%ac%e0%a5%a4/ - Categories: বাংলা - Tags: টুসু গান, টুসু পরব, টুসু পার্বণ, তুসু পরব, পুরুলিয়া, বাংলা (Read this post in English, by clicking here. ) লিখেছেনঃ আভেরি সাহা। অনুবাদ করেছেনঃ মৈনাক বিশ্বাস ও সুদীপ পাল। তুসু পার্বণ (টুসু পরব বা টুসু পুজো নামেও পরিচিত) গ্রাম বাংলার এক উপজাতিক পার্বণ। পুরুলিয়া, বাঁকুড়া ও মেদিনীপুর— এই জেলাগুলিতেই এই টুসু পরব উদযাপিত হয়। টানা একমাস ধরে চলা এই পার্বণের মূল বৈশিষ্ট্যগুলি হল টুসু গান—একধরনের লোকগান, টুসুর খাবার ও মেলা। এই টুসু পার্বণ শেষ হয় মকর সংক্রান্তিতে টুসুর বিসর্জন দিয়ে। এই টুসু পরবে পুরুলিয়ার দেউলিঘাটাতে আভেরি-দি কে, তাঁর পেপারের জন্য সঙ্গ দিচ্ছিলাম। "প্রতিবছরের সেই পাটিসাপ্টা স্বাদ ছেড়ে ২০১৪র পৌষ সংক্রান্তি আমার জীবনে এক নতুন ভাবে কাটালাম। ১৪ই জানুয়ারি আমি ও এক উত্সাহী চিত্রগ্রাহক/ ফোটোগ্রাফার অনির্বাণ চরম আশা ও উত্তেজনা নিয়ে দুইজনে বেড়িয়ে পড়লাম দেউলঘাটার দিকে টুসু ভাসান দেখতে। এটা স্বীকার করতেই হবে যে আমি একটু গা-ছাড়া ভাবেই পুরুলিয়া গেছিলাম একমাস ধরে চলা টুসুর কিছুর আচার-আচরণ দেখতে। আরও হতাস হলাম যখন জানলাম এই মকরসংক্রান্তিতেই টুসুর চৌডালা কংসাবতীর জলে বিসর্জন হবে। টুসুকে একমাস ধরে পুজো করার প্রথাটাও সেকেলে। বোধ হয় প্রথার সঙ্গে আধুনিকতার সামঞ্জস্যের কোন পথ নেই। তবুও কাউকে তো এর জন্য পথ তৈরি করতে হবে। যাই হোক, ওইটুকুতেই অনেক কিছু পাওয়ার ছিল। টুসু ভাসান এক নয়নাভিরাম দৃশ্য, সে শুধু রঙের ভাসান। উজ্জ্বল রঙিন চৌডালা, রঙ-বেরঙের পোশাকে মেয়েরা, সুপুরুষ দর্শক— সব মিলিয়ে এক উদ্যম আনন্দের অনুষ্ঠান যা ওই মেঘলা ঠাণ্ডা দিনকেও উজ্জল করে তুলেছিল। চৌডালা গুলো কাঠ, বাঁশের কাঠামোর, রঙিন কাগজ, পুতুল আরও অনেক কিছু দিয়ে সাজানো যা সেই টুসু দেবীকেই রূপ দেয়। এই পার্বণ শুধুমাত্র মেয়েদের, কুমারী মেয়েরা সেই চৌডালা তৈরি করে, নাহলে স্থানীয় বাজার থেকে সেগুলো কেনে। সকালের পুণ্য স্নানের পর মেয়েরা দলে দলে টুসুর গান গাইতে গাইতে টুসুকে নিয়ে নদীর দিকে যায়। দুপুরের মধ্যে নদীতীর টুসুনিতে ভরে যায়; সঙ্গে থাকে প্রচুর দর্শক, খাবারের দোকান বসে, এক কথায় ছোটো মেলা বসে। মাইকের জোর শব্দে টুসুর গান চলতে থাকে আর শহুরে ফটোগ্রাফারদের ভিড় জমে ‘পারফেক্ট ফ্রেম’-এর জন্য। মেয়েরা যখন নদীর বুকে হাঁটু-জলে ছল ছল শব্দে যেতে থাকে, তখন ছেলেদের মধ্যে উল্লাসধ্বনি ওঠে, মনে রাখা ভালো, এটা কোন খারাপ উদ্দেশে নয়, এটা শুধুমাত্র সেই প্রাণশক্তিরই বহিঃপ্রকাশ। যদিও আমাকে বলা হয়েছিল যে কখনও কখনও এটা বিশৃঙ্খল, হাতের বাইরে চলে যায়। অনেক রূপে টুসু পুজিতা হয়—কখনো মেয়ে, কখনো বন্ধু, কখনো সখি রূপে; একজন দেবীর চেয়ে এই টুসু যেন ঘরেরই কেউ একজন। কথিত আছে, টুসু বা টুসুমণি নিজের জীবন বিসর্জন দিয়েছিল নিজের ভালোবাসা, নিজের স্বামী, নিজের লোকেদের জন্য। তাই মেয়েরা টুসুকে বিসর্জন দেয় ও প্রার্থনা করে তাদের ভালবাসার স্বামীর জন্য ও নিজের সতীত্ব অটুট রাখার জন্য। এই সময় ছেলেরা নিজেদের পাণিপ্রার্থী হিসেবে প্রকাশ করার সুযোক পায়, আর এই ভাবেই এই পার্বণ প্রেমনিবেদনের অনুষ্ঠানে পরিণত হয়। এই সময় ছেলেরা মেয়েদের উত্ত্যক্ত করতে থাকে, কখনো কখনো তা মারামারি অথবা বুদ্ধিদীপ্ত উত্তরে শেষ হয়। এই টুসু পরবকে একধরনের কৃষি-উত্সবও বলা চলে যা উর্বরতাকেই সূচিত করে। উপজাতি-অধ্যুষিত ছোটোনাগপুরের মালভূমিতে; পশ্চিমবঙ্গের পুরুলিয়া, বীরভূম, বাঁকুড়া ও মেদেনীপুরে; ঝাড়খণ্ডের রাঁচিতে আর উড়িষ্যার ময়ুরভণ্ড ও কেওঁঝাড় জেলায় এই টুসু পরব পালিত হয়। বিকেল ৩টে নাগাদ বিসর্জন শেষ, আস্তে আস্তে দিনের আলোও কমে আসছে, তখনও দূরে কিছু ছেলে-মেয়েদের প্রেমালাপে ব্যস্ত দেখা যাচ্ছে, চড়ুইভাতির শেষে সব বাঁধাছাঁদা চলছে, লোকেরা গ্রামের ফিরছে; আনন্দমুখর দিনের প্রচ্ছায়া ধীরে ধীরে জীবন ও কাজের উপচ্ছায়ায় বিলীন হয়ে যাচ্ছে। দুদিন পরেই পূর্ণিমা, গোলাকার চাঁদ ততক্ষণে পরিষ্কার আকাশে জ্বলজ্বল করছে। আমি প্রতিজ্ঞা করলাম, এই টুসু পরব দেখতে আবার আসব, তবে এই বার অগ্রহায়ণ সংক্রান্তিতে টুসুর আগমনে।" সৌভিক চ্যাটার্জি আমাদের টুসুর এক লোকগান দিয়েছেন: “যা যা টুসু যা যা লো, দেখা গেছে তোর পিরিত লো, তোর পিরিতে মন মানে না, বলি তোর পিরিতে আগুন জ্বলে না... ” সঙ্গী হয়ে থাকুন, পেজ টি কে ফেসবুকে লাইক করুন " অনির্বাণ সাহা ব্লগ / ফটোগ্রাফি" । --- - Published: 2017-05-19 - Modified: 2017-05-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chennai-travellers-meet/ - Categories: Explore India, State, Tamil Nadu, Travel, travel - Tags: Chennai Travellers meet, Madras Photobloggers, Shrinidhi Hande, Srivatsan Sankaran, Travellers Meet Chennai I’ve always believed in the power of ideas and that it can transform lives, make business and take the society forward. One such idea was creating a very organic group of like-minded travelers in this nation who enjoy traveling, hosting travelers, photographing, blogging or are travel startup owners. In Kolkata, we had one such “Travellers Meet” on 4 May 2016. Srivatsan, who was an invited speaker in the Kolkata session took it up and organized another travelers meet in Chennai. Marina Beach | Chennai | Shot with Tamron 10-24 lens Madras Photobloggers in association with Kolkata Bloggers organized the Travellers Meet in Chennai. The event was hosted in Urban Desi House and was supported by Zeiss and Manfrotto. The speakers were Shrinidhi Hande, Yours Truly, Srivatsan Sankaran and Sai Priya. I loved Shrinidhi’s presentation on traveling on a budget. It was a detailed corporate presentation, one which refused to miss any detail to help the audience. You can find Shrinidhi’s post here. This was my first speech in Chennai and I did not know what exactly to present. Should I have presented an idea for the people to work with? Or should I speak about personal branding in blogging? Or do I become Bengal Tourism’s unpaid brand ambassador? Or do I speak about Srivatsan and how our friendship is now seven years old? Instead, I thought of bombarding them with questions. Travellers Meet in Chennai organized by Madras PhotoBloggers in association with Kolkata Bloggers supported by Manfrotto and Zeiss. Venue: Urban Desi House, Chennai It was incredible being there in Chennai for the travelers meet. Roughly more than thirty people could make it inside the Urban Desi House. There were a few friends who had come but could not enter the café. It was packed with people with mostly younger people. Almost touching 30, I find most active people young anyway! I tried presenting to them three points of view: As a community. As an individual in a community. As an individual strictly. As a community, we should be asking ourselves questions like Are we strengthening ourselves? If yes, how? Are we generating enough knowledge and documenting it for the entire community? As a community, are we making enough money out of it? If yes, what are the means? Whom can we benefit? How much and how soon? As an individual in a community, we should be asking questions like Am I getting enough knowledge from the community? Is my writing/presentation getting better? Am I getting technically more aware? Do I know the latest tools which will help me blog better? Am I engaging more users per month because of the community I am in? Can I convert this audience into customers or clients? How am I contributing to the community? As an individual, I ask myself questions like How different or unique is my content from the rest of the bloggers? Am I able to retain my individual identity? How different or unique is my presentation from the rest of the bloggers? How am I interacting with my audience offline? How exactly am I adding value and to whom? How am I able to generate revenue for myself? I went on to explain in my own ways how there could be alternate travel plans in the same destination at the same point in time, which would give a traveler a unique perspective of life in the destination. Since it was a fifteen-minute slot, I ended it with a few photographs that I have shot and inviting people to join me in a new venture. Go birding in Sikkim ! GoingWild-Kolkata Bloggers organises the Birding-Blogging trek in Sikkim. Sai Priya discussed the problems a solo woman traveler faces. It became men-bashing to an extent. She showed some excellent photographs that she had shot during her travel. Srivatsan spoke about why photo-blogging is required in the future and about the art of story-telling. The individual members of Madras PhotoBloggers showcased their photographs and related their experiences of being a part of the Madras PhotoBloggers. The feedback has been encouraging. Of the negatives pointed out in the consolidated feedback form, the venue was pointed out to be an issue. The next time we organize a travellers meet, we would take care of it. Let me know if this interest you. Kolkata Bloggers in association with Madras PhotoBloggers wish to take this forward and organize photography and blogging workshops in different cities across India, starting with Chennai and Kolkata for obvious reasons. If you are interested, please fill this form by clicking on this link. --- - Published: 2017-04-29 - Modified: 2017-05-06 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/careerplanning/ - Categories: Event promotions, Events - Tags: career planning event, event, iLead, kolkata, Kolkatabloggers, Pervin Malhotra “Career planning is important because you don’t want to go with the wind; you want to follow your dreams and ‘now’ is a better time than ‘later’. Twelfth standard is a crucial time of your life as most of the competitive exams are held after the plus two boards. ” – Suman Das, B. Com Hons As new job advertorials are popping up every day, it is quite difficult to choose what you want to do in your career. You could be a puppeteer, a tea -taster, an artist, a pet groomer, a food flavorist or a food chemist and the list goes on! You might ask how to know what to do after your plus two board exams. This is why you need the help of an expert for career planning. According to Livemint, about 10% of the population opts for jobs in fields which they study; the other 90% go for jobs they don’t even know about or startups. What is career planning? To quote the Business dictionary, career planning is defined as the, “Structured exercise was undertaken to identify one's objectives, marketable skills, strengths, and weaknesses, etc. , as a part of one's career management. ” Career planning is done through career counselling. This helps students after their plus two examinations to decide between the various career opportunities which are now available so that later on they don’t regret or are unhappy with their career decisions. Why is career planning so important? Having a career path is like having a professional insurance policy. With a career path you will probably: Have a broader skill base: You will have identified and learned the skills necessary to make you more attractive to a wider range of employers. Make logical job transitions: You will know what skills and responsibilities to look for in the next job. Have increasing responsibility: You will have identified and gained the skills and training you need to take on more responsibility. Have a broader prospective: You will be able to understand where a specific job or responsibility fits into your overall career path plans. Make decisions easier: You can look at a situation within a larger context and better evaluate your options. Earn more: You are less likely to be underpaid since your career research will tell you what you should be earning. Be more satisfied: You will be moving in a career direction that is designed to meet your lifestyle, interest and financial goals. How important are marks when it comes to career? This is quite a controversial topic. Some say that marks are quite important in a student’s life as they determine their studying capability or are a measuring rod for intellect in a student. Then, there are some who say that marks cannot define the student’s intellect. I would like to discuss the ways which states that marks don’t really matter in an individual’s life. Here are 2 reasons which states that the marks don’t matter in an individual’s life: 1. Marks are not a high score table Marks measure a number of things, but primarily they (should) measure whether you can demonstrate that you have learned key principles covered in the course. 2. Effort does not equal success You can spend twice as much time as somebody else on a project, and still get lower marks. Some people are naturally good at things, and for others it takes a long time. Read Also: How important is one's class 12th result? Career Planning Stages: Your career path needs to reflect your goals and needs. As your life unfolds, you will probably find that you need to rethink your career path and make whatever changes are necessary and arrange them accordingly Ages 16 to 21: During this time, your career choices are usually influenced by your parents, teachers or close friends. You may decide on a career that does not require a degree. If you seek higher education, your choices of interest at technical schools and colleges are also influenced by a group of people. You usually have minimal contact with people who can give you input on the full array of career opportunities available and show you the ground reality of the situation. Ages 22 to 34: These are the beginning years in the career that you chose in your late teens or while you were in technical school or college. You start to get exposed to the challenges, skills and realities of the career. This is also the point that your life may intersect with a person who will become your life partner. His or her opinion of your chosen career path may come into play. If you are a woman, you may make the choice to become a stay at home mom and continue some aspect of your career from home. All of this input may be the catalyst for you to reinforce, or rethink your chosen career path. Read Also: Importance of Planning Your Career Path Growth of off-beat jobs and entrepreneurship in India An entrepreneur is a person who develops a new idea and takes the risk of setting up an enterprise to produce a product or service which satisfies customer needs. All entrepreneurs are business persons, but not all business persons are entrepreneurs. Rapid economic has resulted since the removal of the license raj. For instance, the Indian economy has sustained an average growth rate of over 6% annually, with the gross domestic product or GDP being around 9. 2 % between 2006 and 2007. In the past decade, India's GDP has also arisen from 21 % to 33 %, and India's foreign exchange reserves have reached over $200 billion. Domestic markets have also grown substantially to support innovation. Worldwide, India's vast economic success is recognized by many national and international corporations who have not only taken advantage of its pool of high-quality scientific talent but have also established many research and development facilities (R&D) cited. “Like when you have all the skills but do not know which way to go, career planning is needed. Suppose you know how to play football but do not know whether you are a good forward player or a good defense player, the coach directs you in the way you are best at playing. Like that career planning helps you channelize your talents and skills into one proper direction. ” – Mani Mohan Chandra, advocate and parent. It is that time of the year when you are torn between choices and you have to decide your career and goals for future. So don’t be hesitant, be fearless and be there on the 30th of April at iLead Kolkata to witness an attractive session by one of the best counselors in the town Pervin Malhotra. Written By Sampurna Chandra and Progya Baul Edited and Compiled by Saimantick Bhadra and Subhadrika Sen Graphics provided by ILEAD Kolkata. --- - Published: 2017-04-28 - Modified: 2017-04-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/fear-love/ - Categories: Random notes "It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both. " - Niccolo Machiavelli This morning I asked my friends what Niccolo might have meant. They've come up with interesting answers. Advertisement: Would you like to subscribe to daily quotes on my page? IF "Yes" then click here and subscribe! Link: http://bit. ly/ASP_msg In this post, I publish 10 of the responses unedited. "With fear and love comes respect. I feel Niccolo meant that one should be respected. If love and fear both are possible together then it is well and fine. But it isn't, majorly. So, one should either do deeds in life where people love them or fear them. Because respect is a very Important part of human life" - Sharanya Bhattacharya. "That I won't EVER get hurt or being let down. " - Reema Ghosh Ray. "Because loved ones are taken for granted, whereas it's not the same with people we fear. " - Neha Srivatsava. "He says love is internally based. It's a feeling you largely choose to feel, that you can large turn on and off easily. Love is fickle. It comes, it goes. Fear is much more predictable and largely externally based. Lovers can fall out easily on a fast downward spiral whim; fear does not wear off if your base. And that's the truth. Even the "unconditional love" that's even not a permanent thing. But, fear is different. Even in human psychology, the feeling of love is a mixed one. But the fear is completely an independent feeling of a man. 'If you can't be both'... . the mixture of love and fear keeps a man away from the evil thoughts. And if one can't be so, he/she trust on fear than love. " - Shreyoshee Chatterjee. "I think Nicolo meant that people respect you more as they find you intimidating, don't mess with you, don't hurt you when they fear you but not the same when they love you. " - Sreeparna Maiti. "As a leader, if people do not respect your love towards them, then they should fear you, and obey you. For example, some people are God-loving and God-fearing, while some are just God-fearing. " - Siddhartha Das. "Fear is external to a person, while Love is highly internal. Fear is stimulated by external circumstances, whereas, Machiavelli's book was largely based on politics and administration. Keeping that background in mind, a person having followers out of love, will have support as long as he is in power, as long as his ideals continue to influence people. As soon as he loses his influence, his power, his followers would begin flocking away. History has been proof of this- Moses had followers only when he had convinced people of the presence of God and the prophecy. On the other hand, a person who is feared will be ensured of support because his followers/subjects (in this case) will support him in fear of the consequence of the lack of support. Fear is stimulated by external circumstances, whereas love is internally stimulated, i. e, one can provoke fear in another, but one can choose to love or not to love. In other words, love is a personal choice and is optional, whereas, fear isn't. " - Soham Basu "Love gives us a sense of comfort whereas fear, on the other hand, gives a chance to conquer it and discover our true selves and take us out of our so-called comfort zones. " - Yogesh Bhatt. "Chanakya said that the straight trees are axed first and that men should be like snakes which hiss as if they can kill irrespective of whether they are venomous or not however Machiavelli says it is best if a man can evoke both feelings of fear and love in others... . fear for betrayal and harm and love for all the good things they don't just do to us but also for spreading the warmth around them and reposing our faith in humanity. " - Manas Sarkar "Fear makes you do things which love can't. Helps you push yourself, when in fear you do things for yourself, in love you do things for another half. As, I put it, 'live to fight another day'. " - Sumantro Mukherjee. "Niccolo Machiavelli meant that it is better to be like Hitler if you cannot be Hercules. He tries to explain that extreme hard emotions are better to be kept because after all, this will make you strong enough to lead you through your life full of obstacles. Clearly, it is meant that to be feared means to be feared of the great qualities that make up your personality. So stay strong... never break down ... . even if you fall then get the power to stand up again ... . and this is how you will be feared coz you are the Strongest " - Mallika Sasmal. What do you think the quote meant? Share your thoughts in the comment section. Ask your friends if you feel like, do share this post! --- - Published: 2017-04-17 - Modified: 2017-04-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/troll-story-snapdeal/ - Categories: Small Talks - Tags: snapdeal troll If I was one of the heads of Snapdeal, I might have had a smile on my face but deep down I would be cursing my luck or perhaps my entire existence! They chose the best person that they could have, to represent their company, Aamir Khan. An Oscar-nominated moviemaker, the previous face of Samsung, Incredible India, Satyameya Jayate, an superstar respected and loved for his sense of perfection and someone who could connect to the mass. What possibly could have gone wrong? - One comment. Aamir Khan's wife felt not-very-safe in India and considered moving out with their children, Aamir said that such a thought should not even come to her mind. The media took it up and Indians got offended? "How could Aamir Khan's wife feel unsafe in India? Chalo Snapdeal uninstall karte hain! " In a matter of hours, Snapdeal got around a lakh negative reviews and uninstalls. Lolwut? Then there are definitely reasons to not-feel-good about, which are strictly business. Over the last few months, Snapdeal had to fire 500 people to cut costs and the founders of the company are not taking salaries. The company is also facing a slew of lawsuits from people who claim they get money from Snapdeal. Then there are reports of them being sold to their competitor, Flipkart. TVF Bisht, Please! sponsored by Snapdeal was launched amidst allegations of molestation against Arunabh Kumar, CEO of TVF. Thankfully, "How dare he molest a girl? Chalo Snapdeal uninstall karte hain! " did not happen. But something slightly more hilarious happened. Indians offended by Snapchat CEO's alleged comment of India being poor started uninstalling Snapchat. The Chinese whispers did it's magic and especially those who had no clue of what Snapchat is, started uninstalling Snapdeal. You've read it right. "Don't know what's Snapchat? But how dare they have similar names? Chalo Snapdeal uninstall karte hain! " And you know what must have happened next. --- - Published: 2017-04-16 - Modified: 2017-04-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/false-news-click-baits-india/ - Categories: Small Talks It does not require me to tell you what a click bait means. What worries me is the rise of false news, allegations and claims that are sold off as news, a mob culture in the online world. Disclaimer: In this post, in no way am I supporting sexual harassment or racial profiling. Let that not be construed from my blog post. In personal life and in business, there would always be circumstances which we can not control. What we can control is our reaction to it. We can show restraint. Scenario 1: An unnamed blogger accuses a CEO of one of the popular YouTube Channels of sexual harassment. A couple of girls joined in, a FIR is lodged and the CEO goes missing. The unnamed blogger remains unnamed. IF after a certain period of time, nothing concrete is found against Arunabh Kumar, would the media compensate for the reputation loss? It is very tough to build a brand. The person who makes a company has to go through a lot. It is easy for anyone to allege anything against a person who is inside the company or is a close associate of it. Who loses at the end of all these? Scenario 2: In a lawsuit, an ex-employee who was fired by a 26-year-old CEO claims that he did not want to expand to "poor countries like India and Spain". No sensible CEO, unless extremely racist would like to not spread his business in India; because of every logic that is backed by data. The media houses went overboard with sensationalised national pride without searching for any piece of evidence supporting the claim made by Pompliano. IF after a certain period of time this person loses his court case with Snap Inc. would the Indian media houses compensate for the company's reputation loss in India? This is a classic example of selling a news piggybacking on someone's claim. Scenario 3: Yogi Adityanath removed class based reservations in private medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh. Thankfully the respected media did not cover this news. Some sanity prevailed. But most only-online portals covered this news without putting in an iota of effort into this. Class based reservations never existed in private medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh. This is an example of selling a news piggybacking on someone's popularity. In the very recent past, we had news reports which investigated why Yogi Adityanath's hair's length is constant. His barber was interviewed and it was aired on ABP News Hindi. We also had news reports where reporters counted the number of cows Yogi has, how many he feeds with his own hands, what he feeds. Another report by a Hindi news channel flashed that previously Yogi had water from a water bottle and now has it from a steel glass. Talking about popularity, Narendra Modi sells. Any news with his name on the headline should get clicks. Previously women never had to change their maiden surnames on their passport. But when Narendra Modi told, "From now onwards, woman will not have to change their names on their passports after marriage", the media which includes but is not restricted to Times Now, NDTV went overboard and started publishing this as another achievement of the present government. Fact check, wut? They need clicks. The more the clicks, the more money the online portals make from their advertisers. Simple funda. This is not just restricted to these. In the past, we Indians thought that in India we have a "rape festival in Assam". INDIANS believed a news satire article and shared the articles condemning a rape festival in their own culture. A rape festival, seriously? But that was 2013. When the shares are as harmless as "UNESCO just announced Jana Gana Mana as the best national anthem of the world" or "UN just announced Narendra Modi as the best PM of the world", we can laugh it off. But when you play with someone's hard earned reputation over the years, it is just sad. Show restraint. Ask yourself simple questions like - is this a claim or is it backed by pieces of evidence? Is it proven? Is it a news piece or a gossip article? Similar news articles killed Jyoti Basu before his death and Farida Jalal is very much alive. So much that she had to give a public statement that she is alive. A completely Photoshopped news forward claimed the then US President Obama congratulated Indian Prime Minister and the Indian army for carrying out the surgical strikes against Pakistan. Arre! How dare I forget the new Rs. 2000 note that the Hindi news channels and Whatsapp forwards claimed, had microchips to track black money using satellites even if kept 120 metres below the ground. During Demonetisation, the Government kept on changing narratives and in order to sell the news to the mass (who is believed to support the government come what may) kept supporting it. There are people who know this is false, yet they share it to either get money or engagement on their sites or to just appear well informed and knowledgeable. Ahem, UCO Bank once published a Whatsapp forwarded news on a flex and displayed it. They did not even bother to check with RBI or the Government of India. Fact check, wut? Imagine the world where the political leaders, companies would misuse this hyperactivity of the netizens to spread wrong information about their opponents or competitors. We would live in a world where claims would be passed off as news. We already live in a world which has coined terms like "alternate truth", "post-truth"! The web managers and internet analytics enthusiasts would know that people do not like reading. An average reader reads only 23 - 25% of the text written. Without trying to explain how and why these articles are spread, I would like to appeal to the readers of my blog, whom I believe are a part of the responsible readers club in India to go beyond the Headlines you see in a news link. Take some time out, read and analyse. Ask questions, not to the world, but to yourself. Ask for citations and evidence. We should do better, as a society and be slightly more responsible. I should end this post with something I am not proud of doing and how a person wanted to grab the opportunity. The second person did not even bother to click on the link and read. People and what they think are opportunities. --- - Published: 2017-04-15 - Modified: 2017-05-06 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hindi-sahitya-utsav/ - Categories: Event promotions, Events, Reviews, Sponsored. - Tags: Ayushman Jamwal, Hindi Sahitya Utsav, Matreyi Pushpa, Piyush Mishra, Saurabh Dwivedi, Urvashi Bhutalia, Vidya Shah It was a pleasure knowing that Oxford Bookstore, Delhi hosted the Hindi Sahitya Utsav on the 19th of March. We celebrated the beauty of Hindi Literature, the entire day with very interesting sessions that ranged from discussing languages to the transforming nature of love in today’s world. Particularly “Apni Chuni Raahein – kya maksad kya haasil” (Our chosen paths- the objectives , the results) did catch my attention. Hindi Sahitya Utsav | 19 March, 2017The discussions that followed were strung with a common thread, Women Empowerment. “Women in the world of Literature” session dealt with the literature written about and by women that had lent a voice to the suppressed during various phases of life, throughout our history. Mrs Poonam Jamwal, Founder and Vice-Chairperson of the Kunwar Viyogi Memorial Trust, focused on the role of Hindi language and women in society. She also laid emphasis on the sad truth that Hindi, today is losing its identity and being engulfed by the dichotomy of Hinglish vocabulary which has become the ‘latest trend’ among the youth. The Kunwar Viyogi Memorial trust has been named after Late Group Captain Randhir Singh, who was a famous poet in the regional language of Dogri. Understanding the consequences of the Dogri language losing its touch in contemporary times, this Trust has been set up to promote arts and literature in the field of Dogri language and supports upcoming artists in several ways. These initiatives encourage reading and research in regional languages. Ayushman Jamwal, a journalist working with the CNN -News18 and the author of a popular book “Chameleon Lights” is inspired by his grandfather Group-Captain Randhir Singh (Kunwar Viyogi) . Randhir Singh’s views were much ahead of his times, claims Ayushman. “He was a man who lived in an orthodox Dogri village but dared to step out of the conventions. The idea of love and family was beyond all the rigid norms of the society for him. He was one of the few men who took pride in having three daughters even when the world around him believed that daughters were nothing more than a burden. ” ‘Ghar’ is Kunwar Viyogi's Sahitya Award winning long poem, written in the Dogri language. It was quite a unique composition that managed to weave all the nuances of our worldly existence and its context and axis being the Home (Ghar). It presented something new to literature not only in Dogri but in Indian literary horizon, a fresh deep thought was introduced and in such lyrical precision and balance. 'Ghar' is used as a symbol of the centre of life, our hopes and fears, anxieties, achievements and failures, dreams and also a symphony of love. Ayushman recited a verse from his grandfather’s collection which goes as follows: “Aurat jaat to qaid padi hai har ghar key andar, Yeh haalat ab nahi rahegi boht dair tak par. Jis ghar mein veh qaidi banti Hoti vahan parlay, Jis ghar rehti devi ban kar bas basta veh ghar” Which can be translated as, “Women have been caged for a long time within their homes, and this situation would not continue any longer. There can only be devastation where she remains shackled. Peace and harmony in a house can be attained only if she gets her due respect”. These lines clearly expressed how much faith he had in a better and empowered future for women. Urvashi Bhutalia, Matreyi Pushpa, Vidya Shah and Piyush Mishra were the panellists of the session that explored their career choices. Urvashi Bhutalia who owns her publication house “Kali for Woman”, vowed to bring out the women’s voices from the margin of the society to its very centre. Matreyi ji had given up her passion for writing after she got married. It took her a long time as the mother in her and the wife that she was, finally shook hands with the writer at the age of forty-five. Piyush Mishra expressed that his drive to be content was through music, singing, writing poetry and acting. Saurabh Dwivedi, author at the ‘Lallantop’ website shared about his personal life. Initiatives like the Hindi Sahitya Utsav, though rare, are the hope that the regional language would not die down soon. The enthusiastic speakers and the audiences deeply cared for the sustenance of this ancient language and hence got together to celebrate the richness of Hindi Literature. The topics discussed under the Hindi Sahitya Utsav were very relevant in contemporary times and hoped to provide food for thought to the amazing audience. Post by Akriti Rohiwal (Indira Gandhi National Open University, MA Department of English). Edited by Monideepa Majumdar --- - Published: 2017-04-10 - Modified: 2017-04-10 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-gives-philanthropy-festival-2017/ - Categories: Sponsored. - Tags: Kolkata Gives, Kolkata Gives Philanthropy Festival 2017 For most of us schooling, fancy clothes, good food, restaurants and other luxuries come naturally. We don’t think twice when we receive these as we have accepted it to be a regular part of our lives. We never have to imagine, let alone experience, having less than two square meals per day. However, there are plenty of people in the world who have no roofs over their heads, who have never even received primary education and have never known what a restaurant feels like. Their struggle is something we can never understand unless we make an effort, because we have never been in their shoes before. In this post, it's a privilege to speak about "Kolkata Gives (Philantrophic event)" Kolkata Gives seeks to bridge the gap between us and them. It seeks to be the platform where each of us, the privileged ones can learn about the hardships they face. It is the one stop solution if you want to lend a helping hand. It is a place where you can learn details of these people and their regular troubles and also find out exactly how you can help. It is a platform which each of us should visit as part of being in a privileged position involves helping others. Kolkata Gives is an exhibition which showcases the works of fifteen different NGOs who have been working to improve the conditions of these underprivileged people by providing boosts in sectors such as rural development, education and empowerment, health care and disability, among others. Their programmes are built to provide empowerment and logistical support at the grassroots level. Donors are invited to come over to the exhibition to experience these NGOs talk about their work, their mission and the sort of difference that they have been able to create. Every welfare project requires support in the form of funds. Thus, it falls within the realms of our responsibility to ensure that we give back a fraction of what we have so bountifully received in order to help those who have not quite been dealt a pair of aces in life. Kolkata Gives and the NGOs it highlights are doing fantastic work – all they need from us is active support, participation and monetary help. At the end of the day, we all know that money cannot buy us happiness. What can, however, give us happiness is spreading joy amongst others. Part of this is the art of giving to the ones less fortunate. It is not always possible for us, with really fast-paced hectic lives, to make a difference by getting involved at the grassroots level. Kolkata Gives aims to facilitate us in this quest of spreading joy somehow despite our busy schedules. The different NGOs that will be showcased at the April 16th event are Calcutta Social Project, OFFER, Tiljala Shed, Antara, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorder Society of India, Thakurpukur Cancer Hospital, Anwesha, Pace Universal, Disha Foundation, Kamdebpur Rural Development Society, Baikuntha Tarun Sangha, Sanjog, Samaritan Help Mission, Parivaar and Dhyan Foundation. All of them have done exemplary work over the last year and beyond, in helping the poorer sections of society. Some are concerned with kids and their developmental needs, while there are others helping adults as well. I would invite all of my friends, companions and associates to enthusiastically join the movement to help our brothers and sisters in need. To buy the donation card to enter the exhibition, please visit the link. Do check out the Kolkata Gives website to get an even better idea of the wonderful work they are doing to promote charity and help the ones in need. The Kolkata Gives Philanthropy Festival is to be held on the 16th of April, 2017. I hope to you see there! Kolkata Bloggers is proud to be associated with such a noble cause. We would enthusiastically request you to attend the event and help with time and your support. Let us work together in whatever way we can to bring a smile on a child’s face. Be a change agent. ;) Post written by Arjyak Bhattacharya. --- - Published: 2017-04-09 - Modified: 2017-04-09 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/fb-messenger-chat-bot-mean-us-bloggers/ - Categories: Opinion, Random notes, Social Media and Me - Tags: Facebook Messenger Bots, Facebook messenger bots for bloggers, Facebook Messenger Bots for Kolkata Bloggers The entire world is going gaga over Facebook Messenger Chatbots since April 2016. Everyone is trying to figure out how best they could use this to enhance their user experiences, increase more hits on their websites and minimise their expenses. I’ll be honest, I’d write most of this article based on hypothesis but you might want to read this. For blogger-entrepreneur like me, it is tough to respond to all messages across all social media platforms. But most people who contact for business, connect to me either via emails or Facebook Page or drop a personal message either on profile or on WhatsApp. Messenger bots give you an opportunity to respond to simple queries about your phone number or email addresses. The prospective client might understand that it is an automated response, but at least could connect to you in case something is a priority. Targeted engagements and increased Blog visitor count: I’m very sure you must wish to put up numerous things on Facebook. Inspirational Quotes during the morning, an update about your child, another one for your pet, one update about work, another one seeking suggestions about a problem you are currently facing. But not always does someone want to read all the updates and often the one who is interested in your pet does not get it. You could create different services and ask your users to choose which service they’d prefer to choose. This way they get what they want to read and are more likely to interact with you. I have 124 subscribers; 58 of them have subscribed to a daily morning quote and 15 of them has categorically opted out of the daily quote service. More than 50 are either undecided or uninterested. But you could keep the daily interaction on with 58 of them. Slowly over the next few weeks, I’d ask them if they would be interested in getting more updates about travel, birding, social media or blogging. Do connect to me here: http://bit. ly/ASP_msg There are times when I update about politics or share links which are good reads. Based on shared interests, you could send them updates and take the conversation forward. In cases that I’ve seen, people interact more in private chats than in public. The people you daily interact with and build a rapport, are more likely to click on your blog link and read what you have written. You should, however, send a new blog post link with everyone in the subscribers' list. I’ll tell you why. During the best of the times when I share my blog link on my page and my profile, although more than fourteen thousand people are connected to me, less than a dozen people check my blog post in the first couple of hours. This, however, was very different when I broadcasted my Holi blog post link to 100 subscribers on March 29th, more than half the subscribers interacted and went to my blog. While the above could be achieved by simple Messenger Chatbot tools like ManyChat, you could go further and do something slightly more interesting. If you think people ask you too many questions, whose answers could be found on your blog, you might want to consider creating a search module. Very similarly, you could hire a developer to create small applications to keep your users engaged using incentivised quick quizzes or games. The more the people interact, the more likely you would get more subscribers and thus more interactions on social media as well as on the blog. It’s a cycle. The replies to the users could be made intelligent using automation tools like the wit. ai and api. ai. I’m still fiddling with the nitty-gritty of the tools. I would require some time before I could comment. Social Media Marketers know how to target the audience and boost your posts, to get “likes” on your page. With some daily updates, you are sure to engage the audience. But using this messenger chat bots would ensure that there is some communication happening every day and the communications establish a personal connect with the users. This way you should get more visitors to your blog and increase sales by a considerable margin. Let me know what you think about the Facebook Messenger Chatbots. If we, from Kolkata Bloggers, come up with tools which might help you set up the Messenger chatbots, would you like to give it a try? Connect to me here to discuss it. --- - Published: 2017-04-05 - Modified: 2017-04-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-journalists-debut-in-the-world-of-literature/ - Categories: Event promotions, Guest Posts - Tags: Book launch, books, delhi, kolkata, Literature, Oxford Bookstore While most of us pursue higher education and then move to jobs, following the monotonous everyday routine, here is a journalist who in spite of having a compact schedule found time to pen down verses in his debut book, Chameleon Lights. He is Ayushman Jamwal, Senior News Editor at CNN-News18. Ayushman Jamwal with Mr Debasish Mandal Oxford Bookstore Kolkata, witnessed the launch of the book Chameleon Lights by Ayushman Jamwal, grandson of famous Dogri poet, Late Group Captain Randhir Singh also known as Kunwar Viyogi in the literary circles. The launch of the book was moderated by Mr. Debashish Mandal. The book is an anthology of Ayushman’s poems written over a period of ten years capturing vivid emotions from his school days to college life. It includes even his journey in the news industry which he refers to as ‘chaos’. Chameleon Lights has been published under the aegis of Kunwar Vijogi Memorial Trust. It is created by Kunwar Viyogi’s family to preserve the Dogri language which is at the threshold of extinction and to empower upcoming artists associated with literature and culture. Mr. Jamwal seems to have inherited some poetry skills from his grandfather who is a Sahitya Akademi awardee. The debut poet dedicated his book to his beloved grandfather who he affectionately called ‘Tiger Nanu’ . Ayushman signing a copy of 'Chameleon Lights' While studying at The Doon School, writing was the only way to vent out anger and frustration in his growing up years. Getting his short story published in the ‘The Doon School Weekly’ curated by the students, in the 10th standard emerged as his immense source of motivation. ”Seeing my name in print was a drug. So I kept writing and writing,” said the 27-year- old New Delhi based journalist. The great bard of literature, William Shakespeare also inspired the poet to begin writing. According to him,“Shakespeare was very right in saying that Brevity is the soul of wit. In our age, our attention strands are coming down. If I don’t like the first five seconds of a trailer, I just move out. Same thing with verse. If you don’t find the emotional punch in the first two verses, you tend to move out. I always felt that attention span is low in our generation. So, if you want to put across a message do it in less amount of words. Secondly, verse tends to compact a huge array of emotions as committed to prose. Prose is a long drawn process. ” Thus, he chose to write in verse and not in prose. He recited his favourite poem from the book Chameleon Light which happens to be ‘Prayer to the God of Rebellion’ to the enthusiastic audience. A few lines from the poem go like this:- “Let me not shudder at the force of blows, Let not fear overcome my resolve, Let not anger tempt me to take up arms, Let faith guide me to stand my ground. ” Some of his poems talk about the political turmoil in the country while some convey the turbulent passage of love; he even has one poem written on his pet dog, Leo. The Book Launch in progress During the lively interaction between Ayushman and the audience, a few interesting facts came up. He shared his outlook towards issues like freedom of speech and expression getting curbed in India, the impact of social media not only on the young generation but also when it comes to showcase his poetry etc. He also revealed the he would like to be remembered more as journalist. He is currently working on his novel based on war. Surjo Bhattacharjee with Ayushman Jamwal A usually lazy Sunday evening in Kolkata ended on a good note when Mr. Surjo Bhattacharjee adapted some of Ayushman’s poem into a musical recitation. The audience was awe struck after hearing a verse turn into a musical poetry. The book is available in your nearest bookstores or can be purchased online through Amazon. Text: Priyanka Barik Images: Source --- - Published: 2017-03-31 - Modified: 2017-03-31 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ixigo-glasses/ - Categories: Random notes For all travellers and technology enthusiasts, Ixigo Glasses come as a pleasant surprise. What is Ixigo? - It is a Gurgaon (India) based travel search application startup, compare prices and one platform where you can do it all. They have a userbase of over 20 million users. What are Ixigo Glasses? To get introduced to Ixigo Glasses, check this video out: What's so exciting about it? One of the first Indian companies to get into wearable technology and if successful, which would be pathbreaking. It is a simple glass and is one magnificent example of machine learning, augmented reality and predictive analysis. Ixigo glasses come with pre-installed custom built operating system; can be charged by USB Type-C cable and the battery should last for almost a week. Loaded with FRAME 4790p quad core processor and good storage, it has a front camera of 12-megapixel placed at the center of the glasses. If you try to look into any monument or place of historical significance through it, it displays relevant metadata on the glass screen. You could look at buildings and know which ones are hotels you can stay in and compare their rates; books or even vegetable. Seems like a sci-fi movie, right? While Google glasses could not make a mark in our minds, I pray that this Indian startup is recognised for it and it becomes commercially successful as well. Ixigo has always been a leading travel search marketplace and with this Ixigo Glass, they enter the $20Bn wearable industry. They had previously raised funds from SAIF Partners, MakemyTrip Ltd,Micromax and Sequoia capital during 2017. Introduction to Ixigo Glasses. The first few Ixigo glass prototypes are up for free. You can get it from here: https://www. ixigo. com/glass I've pre-ordered for mine. If I get one, I would review it for you on this blog post. --- - Published: 2017-03-29 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/holi-dol-vrindavan-ramakrishna-mission-kolkata/ - Categories: Basanta Utsav, Colours, Culture, Explore India, Festival, Personal, Photography, Root, Season, Sponsored., Spring, State, Travel, travel, Vrindavan Holi, West Bengal - Tags: Arghyadeep Roy, Basant Utsav kolkata, Basanta utsav in jorasanko thakurbari, Bonshonto Utshob Rabindra bharati university, Boshonto Utshob Kolkata, Holi in Vrindavan, Prakhar Tripathi, Saimantick Bhadra, Srivatsan Sankaran The word “Holi” creates vivid imagery in our minds. Especially if you are a Bengali who has grown up listening to either Ranga Hashi Rashi Rashi, Oshoke Polashe, Ranga nesha... or Khelbo Holi Rong Debo na, Tai kokhono hoye? And must have once definitely giggled while playing Holi with a select few friends or perhaps a cousin when they come home with Abir. I got introduced to “Holi Khele Raghuveera Awadh mein” or perhaps “Rang barse bheege chunarwali” or “Do me a favour, let’s play Holi! ” during my later teenage. You could blame it either on the lack of a cable connection or perhaps the strict regulations at home that did not allow me to watch TV much. Students of Rabindra Bharati while singing "Ranga hashi rashi rashi, oshoke polashe," The celebrations portrayed there were very different from the ones I thought exists. The soft, shy dance steps of the kids singing to "Rangiye diye jao, jao, jao go ebar jabar age" made way to the tempestuous dance moves of Ashkay Kumar; private family gatherings or the celebrations of school kids that I believed happened during Holi started getting replaced by Amitabh Bachchan's warm hugs with various colours flying in from different sides of the screen. That was followed by another set of virulent dance steps, the moment Hema Malini appeared onscreen. My imaginations got a different boost when I saw contemporary photographers exploring everything and showed more than what Bollywood portrayed; Holi be like: vibrant colours, celebrations, party and a fun time together. I’m sure that if you have a DSLR, for once you have definitely thought of going to Vrindavan during Holi. Holi in Nandgaon | Srivatsan Sankaran 2017 Vrindavan is perhaps all of that; good food, a lot of people and a lot of colours. As you walk through the narrow lanes of Vrindavan or Nandgaon, there would be sweet shops on both sides of the lane, infested with young adults ready with dry colours or perhaps the huge water guns pointed at you. You’d walk showing them your camera because anyway their excitement reaches the levels of deafness. Widows Holi in Vrindavan | Prakhar Tripathi 2017 Every person in Mathura celebrates Holi in the most elaborate manner possible with dry colours, water guns of various shapes and sizes. Holi in Vrindavan could be broken down to Lathmar Holi, Phoolon ki Holi and the final celebration that takes place at the Banke Bihari Temple. People fight over colours | Saimantick Bhadra 2017 The previous year, widows played Holi inside a temple complex breaking a tradition of social discrimination. Over a thousand kilos of colours were used in the celebration and yours truly had a tough time breathing. Arghyadeep, my friend, however, had his shot. Widows play Holi in Vrindavan | Arghyadeep Roy 2016 Everyone chants “Radhe Radhe” and if you are a girl there, they’d make sure you are wet from head to toe, drenched in colours. In my previous blog post about Vrindavan, I had expressed my concerns about a few things which include the way Holi becomes an opportunity to grope women, stage photographs asking widows to dance and repeat dance steps or perhaps how the crowd is mismanaged in the Banke Bihari Temple. Holi in Nandgaon | Anirban Saha 2017 Getting back to Bengal, the Bengali culture has evolved to become slightly less violent that what I believe I saw in Mathura. I haven’t been to Nadia during Dol Utsav but I firmly believe it wouldn’t be anywhere close to the rush in Banke Bihari. Honestly speaking, as a Bengali who has grown up in Calcutta, Banke Bihari during Holi attracts a lesser crowd than Deshopriya Park during Moha Oshtomi. In this land of the Maha-Kumbh, if the police and the temple authority wants some discipline, it wouldn’t be very tough. The rush and the indiscipline aside, I wanted to go back to Vrindavan the second time this year. Saimantick wanted to go and soon OYO rooms and Tamron agreed to collaborate. OYO Rooms was a partner to Kolkata Bloggers for this Vrindavan Trip 2017 Having OYO Rooms as partner ensured that we get a budget quality room. This was my first experience with OYO Rooms but my second in Mathura; so I just did not want to take any chance, especially because this was Saimantick’s first travel without his family. I’m sure, if you are reading this, you would also be sceptical about security and comfort if you go to a new place with your sibling. When I say comfort, I do not only mean the cleanliness. The hotel we were given, had rooms which are comfortably big and very clean and with a spacious bathroom. The behaviour of the attendees was up to the mark and to my relief, they understood English. I wanted to ensure that everything goes right with the accommodation, thus OYO. Tamron Kolkata is more than a partner; For the manager, Dipankar da, it is more of the relation that we’ve built over the years. They’ve always been cordial and helpful. OYO Hotel Room in Mathura | Shot with Tamron wide lens. Coming back to the Holi celebrations, Bengal has its own ways of celebrating it. One is the “Dol Jatra” and the other is “Boshonto Utshob”. Boshonto Utshob is Tagore’s way of welcoming the Spring. Originated in Shantiniketan, this is followed in Rabindrabharati University Kolkata and various smaller localities in the city. "Holi" celebrated the Tagore way with songs and dance at the Rabindra Bharati University | Anirban Saha 2014 Dol Jatra is celebrated as Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s birth anniversary which coincides on the same time. I’m told that the Dol Jatra celebrations in Mayapur, is pristine. In Ramakrishna Mission Belur Math, on this day they worship Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and then take a procession out singing Kirtans visiting different temples in the Math campus and playing with coloured powder. I’ll end this blog post with a couple of photographs taken there. Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission during procession | Anirban Saha 2017 That's what Holi had always been - music and devotion to the Almighty | Anirban Saha 2017 The Ultimate Devotion | Ramakrisna Mission Belur Math | Anirban Saha 2017 --- - Published: 2017-03-03 - Modified: 2017-03-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/himalayan-drive-5/ - Categories: Darjeeling, Explore Bengal, Explore India, J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5, Photography, Root, Season, Sponsored., Spring, travel, Travel - Tags: Himalayan Drive 2017, Himalayan Drive 5, Himalayan Drive 5 images, Himalayan Drive 5 photographs, Himalayan Drive 5 winners, Himalayan Drive in Bhutan, Indian TSD rally, Indo-Nepal motor rally, Just Sports motor rally, Siliguri Bhutan motor rally, Tri nation motor rally, Trination TSD rally Biswa Bangla presents J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 | Just Sports The sun refused to set as the dense fog enveloped the mountain. The driver drove past the road beside the tea gardens, miles along the twisted narrow lanes and hair pin turns. Tired but equally thrilled, I kept looking at the cars as they "navigated" their way through during the Himalayan Drive 5. Car #1 in Hile, Nepal | www. anirbansaha. com Picture this - the farthest edge of a forest has a rough patch, the ground laid with golden spring leaves. A car comes speeding by, stops at the check post, notes the time and zooms forward. Or perhaps the sharpest bend in Paro, Bhutan. Shot in Paro, Bhutan | Himalayan Drive 5 or through this! The mighty river beds make it even more gorgeous and the forest adds to the sensation. A car speeding past the river bed in Bhutan | Biswa Bangla J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 There are regular checks at intervals on the track. The cars stop there and the marshall notes the time. For general rules of the rally, check my previous blog post. Somewhere in North Bengal | Himalayan Drive 5 One of the rallyists, getting up on the main road after the time check. When the buffaloes say a "Hello" to you! The landscape | www. anirbansaha. com The landscape adds to the drama on the road. Bhutan is a beautiful land. The happiest country on earth is perhaps the cleanest as well with a negative carbon footprint. Everybody is disciplined and this is perhaps one of the handful countries where the minister can roam around on the streets without any security personnel by his side. When he had the slightest hint of the immigration issues we faced towards the start, he said “You should always tell me. It is my responsibility. ” I am not sure how many ministers would be so humble. The gate to the capital city. The minister with the delegation from Bhutan. River bed near Paro, Bhutan. The monastery at Paro after sun set. Nepal, on the other hand, isn’t as clean and there weren’t many immigration formalities. The cars were checked and given the permit to travel inside. The police on the streets were very efficient and helpful. Sunrise at Hile, Nepal. Hardly had we spent a few hours at Darjeeling. Darjeeling always brings back very fond memories. This is the place I first travelled to alone. Siliguri is a place where I have to travel because this is the only way to go to Sikkim and the North East. Sunrise at Hile, Nepal from the Hotel Lobby. The hotels we were put up were “Just Sports” standard, which officially means 5 stars in hospitality. Mr S Bose, the chairperson is an incredible person to strike a conversation with. He will scold you or clear your doubts or perhaps teach you things in the sweetest possible manner. Oops! Should have taken the left slightly earlier. There were times when the “Tulip” wasn’t read properly and a couple of the cars faced problems. Well, it gave us an opportunity to photograph! There were one minor accident and one not-so-minor accident where no one was seriously injured. “Motorsports can take lives. I had warned you”, exclaimed Joydip Sur (reporter, Autojunction). Handing over the "Tulip" What’s a Tulip BTW? A Tulip is a manual which was Greek to me. The overenthusiastic Mr Sur joyfully said, “What do you think the navigators do? They’ve spent years to master this. They form a team of 2 – one who is the navigator, he reads the Tulip. The other is the driver who drives. ” I caught hold of the Tulip and I saw rows and columns, with the customary serial number or Tulip number as the first column. The second column is cumulative of the distance covered across different landmark. The third column is the distance between two landmarks. The fourth column has indications of the landmarks. The fifth is for remarks. The drivers are given the Tulip at the days flag off. They read the manual and navigate their way through the terrain in a time bound manner. There are regular checks to see if speed and time are maintained. Do you know that there are no Car #13 in rallies of this sort? The car rally: Car #1, the defending national champion led day one with 50 penalty points with car #2 with 87 penalty points. Car #3 caught up on day 2 and Car #16 pushed car #2 behind at day 2 end. But Car #1 maintained the lead all through. Car #3, however, withdrew from the competition at the end of day 3. If we see the final result, the top 3 spots had a difference of only 70 penalty points. Deep Dutta and Prakash Muthuswamy who started as seed 16 finished spectacularly at rank 2. The Final Top 3 are: Car #01: Sk. Ajgar Ali and Md. Mustafa Car #16: Deep Dutta and Prakash Muthuswamy Car #02: Ashish Budhia and Arindam Ghosh. This Himalayan Drive 5 gave me an insight into the world of motorsports and the nitty-gritty of it. Being in the same car as Joydip Sur and Jaideep Mazumder, made sure that I get all the news as they happen. Joydip da analysed them and made it into instant news which was then consolidated by Jaideep da and made into the press release. Although I do not remember all details, Joydip da made sure we know the history of the top participants and how they performed in the last couple of years. There was no way I could skip a finer detail. Jaideep Mazumder & Joydip Sur UrsDigitally (the company I was the consultant to, till December 2016) was the digital partner of this event. It was fun working out photography angles with them as Abhishek Chamaria went live on Facebook every second moment. He is one crazy person who could wake up at 5 to photograph “Good morning with Car #1” (Car #1 during sunrise). Take the turn and rush! I'll end this post with a photograph of mine shot by Sachin. Sachin works with a digital agency which works for the J K Tyre and excels in mobile phone photography. That's something I need to learn from him once I am in Cochin. Do ask me questions | Like, Share on social media #JKTyreHD5 --- - Published: 2017-02-25 - Modified: 2017-02-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/j-k-tyre-himalayan-drive-5-flag-off-siliguri/ - Categories: J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 - Tags: #JKTyreHD5, Biswa Bangla MotorSports, Himalayan Drive TSD rally, Himalayan Eco Drive, Himalayan Moutain Drive, J K Tyres Himalayan Drive 5, Motor sports in Bengal The idea of 47 teams participating in a motor rally that runs nearly 1250 km across 3 nations which include Bhutan, was an idea exciting enough to say a yes to the organisers when asked me to cover the Biswa Bangla - J K Tyre - Himalayan Drive 5! What’s Biswa Bangla - J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5? That’s India’s only international TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) rally. Into its 5th edition, this would cover 1250 km in 5 days, traversing through Dooars, Darjeeling Hills in Bengal, Paro, Dochule Pass and Thimphu in Bhutan, Hile in Nepal. All set for the Flag off | Siliguri, Bengal. Held in association with Experience Bengal, this motor rally aims at promoting motorsports in the region, connect people and associate cultures; bridge the gap. This differs from other TSD rallies as it covers varied landscapes - hills, forests, plains, river beds; with a few very steep slopes up and it’s thoroughly thrilling. But what’s a TSD rally? TSD rallies are not races as I thought them to be. There are definite locations set and given to the participants. A specified time and specified average speed are also allotted to drive from Point A to Point B. If a team is late by 1 second, from the expected time, 1 mark is penalised. However, if the team reaches there before the expected time, 3 marks are penalised for every second. A team consists of a navigator and a driver. The navigator keeps a check on the time taken and the road travelled. Based on his navigation would the driver drive. If you are reading this, you would already have started doing calculations! I’ve seen the teams sit with a pen, paper and a calculator to do the maths! BTW, the prize money is a 6 digit sum. What’s the route? We have the ceremonial flag off at Siliguri. During the early hours of the next day, they’ll travel to Paro in Bhutan. From Paro the rally would go to Thimphu and would get back to Paro. Day 3 would see the longest drive of near 350 km from Paro in Bhutan to Darjeeling in Bengal. During Day 4, we drive to Hile in Nepal and the 5th day, we come back to Siliguri. After the ceremonial flag off, the cars started coming out. What are the highlights? Bhutanese New Year “Losar” is on the 27th, while we will be in Bhutan; I could possibly photograph the people. Then there’s the Tiger’s Nest “Paro Taktsang”, where I am so eager to trek to. I’m told it’s a 5-hour trek. There are a group of women drivers who have participated on being invitated. They’d drive for two days. City Center, Siliguri | Biswa Bangla presents J K Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 The ceremonial Flag-off! The ceremonial flag off was done by C. S. Lepcha, Commissioner of Siliguri Metropolitan Police, in presence of all the stakeholders of this event at Siliguri City Center. Every participant seemed excited and happy. That’s obvious, duh. I managed to sneak into Car #1’s back seat trying to strike a conversation and woah! I saw the amount of preparations they had. From water bottles to pillows to gloves and extra jackets (Paro was as cold as -2 degrees, the day before yesterday) and sheets of calculations and the calculator which they had forgotten to switch off. All set! There are 47 teams, 18 of them qualified for the national category. Car #1 was of Ajgar Ali and Mustafa who are the national champions. I’m amazed to see that these sports attract people from not only all across the country but also delegations from Nepal. 18 teams are contesting in the Open category while 11 teams are participating on being invited. Get - Set - Go! Car #1 at Flag off. - At a personal level, it’s a privilege to be working again with Jaideep Mazumder. He was in The Times of India Kolkata and he had covered Kolkata Bloggers and has a good contribution in my growth. Now he works with Swarajya Magazine. Joydip Sur who is with us is a pro in this! He writes about motorsports on AutoJunction portal. --- - Published: 2017-02-21 - Modified: 2017-02-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chhapakhana-trails-the-future-of-the-past/ - Categories: Culture, Events, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, North Kolkata, Reviews, Root, Social Media and Me, State, travel, West Bengal - Tags: Charuchandra Guha, Chhapakhana Trails, Paramita Saha, Priyanka Chatterjee, The Future of the Past Did you ever pick up an engraved wooden block up, dip it into the colour and print that on a sheet of cloth? If you haven’t, you’ve no clue how incredible it feels. The Future of the Past’s participant – The Chhapakhana Trails had given us this unique opportunity to experience this and many more. Guess which one is mine? Chhapakhana Trails - conceptualised by Priyanka Chatterjee, as an entry to The Future of the Past. The Future of the Past (TFOTP) is an initiative by Paramita Saha of Arts Forward. It aims to create a space for different art forms to collide, interact and give birth to a new language, revolving around the heritage of Kolkata. While the first edition of TFOTP focussed on the heritage buildings, the second worked closely with the heritage communities. Of the participants to this programme was “Chhapakhana trails” by Priyanka Chatterjee who worked on the community in Calcutta who were into printing. Shot inside a stall during International Kolkata Book Fair 2016 Kolkata, the city where I live and have grown up in is a city of paradoxes. Very fondly called the cultural capital and the city of literature, this city also registers the least sales of books in metropolitan cities and cannot boast of too many modern bookstores. However, the college street is abuzz with smaller shops, second-hand book stores where people come and read books. Discussions over umpteen cups of tea and coffee brainstorming over how a particular sentence should have been written and other intellectual discussions; this city also celebrates three major literature festivals and the world’s largest book fair. “But when it comes to reading books, people love to borrow books or go to library”, said Maina Bhagat in one of her interviews to The Times of India. Did you know: Kolkata & East India account to 7 – 10% of English book sales? A friend insists that the Bengali publishing houses must be making profits else they would not sustain, although there is no proper research done. The rise of online selling has given the rural Bengal an opportunity to order for books, the number of book fairs have increased outside Kolkata. The International Kolkata Book Fair registers a year-on-year revenue growth, however this year there was a slight dip and the reason cited in the press conference was the recent demonetisation move by the Government of India. However, Bengali and Calcutta has apparently lost the relevance in the broader picture. Again paradoxes, Calcutta is the third biggest revenue generating Indian city, third most populated in India, tenth in the world with a very rich tradition which is left to die. Young Bengalis uncomfortably speak in Hindi with their Bengali Ola Drivers who respond to them in broken Hindi. The city-bred Bengali prides on the fact that English is almost their mother tongue and that they are hardly equipped with Bengali knowledge. Yours Truly is no different but learning. I'll not even go to the extent that we have forgotten Bhoot Chaturdoshi but celebrate Diwali, forgotten Dol Jatra but celebrate Holi and have forgotten a lot of incredibly native Bengali traditions and have given in to the Hindi imposition. Bengali is the second most spoken language in India (mother tongue of 8% population), Bengalis established the two major political parties Congress and BJP, the 4th highest Lok Sabha member contributor TMC is primarily from Bengal. Except for the President, there’s no Bengali in the top slot in Indian politics. Bengali is 6th most spoken language in the world and Bengalis are the reason why we have the International Mother Language Day. However, the UNESCO video of 2017 comfortably forgets to mention Bangla (link). Further cribbing would not help because these are suggestions enough to establish that the Bengali language is losing its relevance in today’s national picture. With this as context, Priyanka Chatterjee planned “Chhapakhana Trail”, a walk to showcase to the participants the rich Bengali tradition in printing and publishing. After the walk, we then continued to the home of Vidyasagar, where various activities were planned. I’ll end this post with a few pointers from the walk and a video which would brief you through the history of Bengali publishing. Boi Chitra: Located on the third floor of the celebrated Indian Coffee House, this is one of the earliest studio built by Charuchandra Guha in the 1920’s. In 1924, they were the first ones to use electric light in India. The furniture there dates back to the colonial era and have exquisite designs. The building hosts a series of printing houses still. Example: Rupa and Co. (1920 - . . ) Just near to the Indian Coffee House are the legendary Presidency College, Hindu School and the Sanskrit College. Presidency College, which is celebrating 200 years, was formerly known as the Hindoo college. One of the founding members of Hindoo College, Ram Kamal Sen, who owned the place, Albert Hall, which is now the Indian Coffee House. His grandson made the Albert Institute which became the hub of political discussions. Stalwarts like Tagore and Bose also spoke there. Sanskrit College is the oldest structure in the region, established in 1817. People associated with this college include Henry Derozio (wrote sonnets, Brit who loved Bengal. For ICSE students, his poem "The Harp of India" is in class 10 syllabus and is one of the toughest to explain), Iswarchandra Vidyasagar. Vidyasagar, he was called because he was regarded the ocean of knowledge. He studied in this college, became the professor here and gradually went on to become the Principal. Bengalis know him as the person who wrote Barnoporichoy - the collection of Bengali alphabets as we know them today; is still the first face any student has to see when they try to learn the Bengali language. As a social reformist, he made education more secular and started widow remarriage in Indian society. Vidyasagar in 1857-58 during the first Indian war of Independence, the erstwhile Sepoy Mutiny, had allegedly given shelter to British soldiers in this building. The naxalites got offended by this and chopped his head off from his statue during 1970's as a mark of revenge and threw it to the college square lake. However, the head was brought back and one of the oldest statues that this is, is restored. Cygnet Press: They went out of business in 1990's and their bookstore is acquired by Ananda Publishers. They were thought leaders of their age and made book making the way we know it now. They pioneered in book cover designing and making it more artistic, font designs or typefaces. They also encouraged poetry books. Satyajit Ray worked in this press as a cover designer. Sanjibani Press: This is Keshav Kumar Mitra's home where Rishi Aurobindo lived here during 1909. Keshav Mitra was a Brahmo reformer and Aurobindo was his nephew. Keshav Mitra started Sanjibani and that became the nationalist mouthpiece. This press is one of the earliest and has Rishi Aurobindo's name associated with it. Baptist Mission Students Hall: Baptist Mission Church has a lion's share of books published in 19th Century Bengal. Galley typesetting in one of the oldest existing printing press in Kolkata Guess what that would print? Hemendro Mohan Bose - Okay, this is something very interesting. While we now fiddle with the concept of product placement in stories and films or even Influencer marketing, this person Hemendro Mohan Bose appears to have mastered it during late 1800's. He was an entrepreneur who made "Kuntalin hair oil". Later he established his own press, the Kuntalin Press. He later instituted an award, the Kuntalin award. According to the guides of this project and not verified by me - the award was given to a writer who had excelled in creating literature and in most innovative ways used Kuntalin hair oil in their stories. Do let me know if you've enjoyed reading this post and if this has added any value to your life. If you want to have a detailed description of the Chhapakhana Trail walk, do check my colleague Subhadrika's blog post by clicking here. This year's TFOTP - Chhapakhana Trails was fun! We encourage more people to join us while we create the third edition of The Future of the Past. Let's rediscover our heritage. --- - Published: 2017-02-13 - Modified: 2017-02-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tata-steel-kalam-kolkata-literary-meet-chidambaram-demonetisation/ - Categories: Literature Festivals, Slideshow, Sponsored., Winter, Wrap up - Tags: Kolkata Literary Meet, Tata Steel Kalam, Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet 2017 Literature festivals see an amalgamation of people across the cross section of the society, the young and the experienced, across all professions come and listen to eminent speakers whose topics range from Literature to Politics to everything that moves the society now. How could demonetisation not find a space in the Kolkata Literary Meet, patronised by Tata Steel in the city? Like every year, Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet had the attendance of the best of speakers, Paul Beatty, Anita Desai, Shashi Tharoor and Sunil Gavaskar being the highlights of the festival that happens with the backdrop of the mighty and elegant Victoria Memorial Hall. P. Chidambaram during Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet | Copyright shared: Anirban Saha, Blogmint and Tata Steel. Demonetisation was discussed on Saturday, January 28th. The former finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram was in conversation with Rajdeep Sardesai, a journalist of repute and personally speaking, one whom I take a note of, for his presentation skills. No prizes for guessing what P. Chidambaram had to say about the demonetisation move of the present Indian government. What took me by a surprise is the candour with which he spoke, the interaction and that almost the entire ensemble opined that things have not normalised yet. Mr. Chidambaram was certain about the fact that it would take a hit on the GDP growth, however if the cash reserves in the bank would lower the interest rates and later would benefit the nation, is something to be seen and appreciated if it does. When asked about the change in Congress’ face, the former finance minister said that AICC peoples elected representatives would vote for Mrs. Gandhi at any point in time and in her absence, it is the junior Gandhi. When a person asked why the opposition failed even when the people realise that demonetisation is probably a bad step forward, Sardesai said that the opposition lacked credibility. Somehow PM Modi is still accepted as credible in the world of national politics. Rajdeep Sardesai trying to play the devils advocate there at Tata Steel Kalam. Mr. Chidambaram concluded by inferring that the three most important personnel of the finance ministry were either not consulted or they had opposed it. They are the finance secretary, banking secretary and the chief economic advisor. Personally speaking, we are happy as long as we achieve transparency, our anxieties and problems are solved and not exploited for better election results in the next state. --- - Published: 2017-01-16 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-literature-festival-2017/ - Categories: Literature Festivals Kolkata, India’s first city of books and literature has not only a history of producing the best of litterateurs but also college street, which is a book lover’s paradise, the International Kolkata Book Fair, which is the worlds most attended celebration of books, and the three literature festivals – one which happens inside the International Kolkata Book Fair – The Kolkata Literature Festival. This city of books and literature festivals strike a balance between the new media and the old, the newer authors and the old, different genres which are popular and the ones which are niche, the works that can make it further to make more money and the ones which are better discussed in our drawing rooms on a winter evening. 10 countries, 1 Kolkata Literature Festival | www. kolkatabookfair. net This year the Kolkata Literature Festival is no different; engaging authors from over ten countries and running four international projects parallelly, the three days 2-3-4 February 2017 is going to be literature lovers’ cloud-9-kind-of-an-arrangement. Authors from Wales, Scotland, Australia, Egypt, USA, India, Bangladesh, Spain, France, Costa Rica would hold sessions. The last slots would witness Dona Ganguly, Dohar and Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty perform. During the last day, the speakers include Chetan Bhagat, Durjoy Datta. 3 days, 25 sessions and 4 international projects | Kolkata Literature Festival I’m particularly looking forward to “The valley, the city and the village” project where poet-writers from Wales Natalie Ann Holborow, Sion Tomos Owen and Sophie McKeand would tour Kolkata, Sunderbans and Shantiniketan. Later during this year, Bengali authors would visit Wales for a similar exercise. Later their experiences would be published in the book by the same name. Be there on the 2-3-4 February 2017 | Click here for the schedule. There’s a session of the Business Honchos who turned authors. Another session titled “What do I do with my sexuality? ” which would be graced by Laxmi Tripathi, Manabi Bandhopadhyay of the other speakers. The Bengali session would be moderated by Tridib Chatterjee and the Hindi session by Yatinder Mishra. Divya Dutta would be launching her book during the second day of the Kolkata Literature Festival. This year’s Jnanpith awardee Sankha Ghosh would be present during the inauguration. Do check out the complete schedule on their website by clicking here. Stay connected online as well, follow the hashtag #KLF17. - Kolkata Bloggers is one of the partners of the International Kolkata Book Fair and also the Kolkata Literature Festival, taking care of the website and the live social media updates during the Kolkata Literature Festival. Bloggers take note: There would be a Authors Lounge where a selected few could interact with the authors one-on-one, on behalf of Kolkata Bloggers. If you would like to join for the author interaction, please email with the subject line “Join Author Interaction Team Kolkata Bloggers”. If you would like to join the live social media team of Kolkata Bloggers, drop an email with the subject line “Join Live updates team Kolkata Bloggers. Drop an email to mailme@www. anirbansaha. com marking a cc to solutions@kolkatabloggers. com --- - Published: 2017-01-14 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/purbasthali-bird-sanctuary-photos/ - Categories: Birding, Burdhaman, Colours, Explore Bengal, Explore India, Photography, Root, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: purbasthali bird list, Purbasthali bird photographs, Purbasthali bird photography, purbasthali bird sanctuary nabadwip, purbasthali bird sanctuary photos, Purbasthali bird watching, Purbasthali birding, purbasthali birds, reach purbasthali bird sanctuary "Weekend Destinations" are perhaps the biggest bets in the Tourism industry now and with so many birders, bird watchers and bird photography enthusiasts in Eastern India, the Purbasthali Bird Sanctuary forms the best weekend destination. The lake, the boat and some leisurely time bird watching. My trip was coordinated by Swarnava Nandi (Young Bird Photographer) and a lot of interesting people joined in. Of them were Swaroop Singha Roy, Riddhi Mukherjee who are well-established names in the young wildlife photography circuit in the country. Youngest Younger birders - Richik, Swarnava Mukherjee and Bishak joined in. How to reach Purbasthali?  I'm not a fan of local trains. But I did not mind a local train at 5:38 AM from Howrah to Purbasthali (Katwa Local). Local train journeys are always chaotic with local sellers trying to sell possibly everything on earth. But if you are comfortably seated, surrounded by interesting people who crack lame jokes, no one's complaining. A quick drive to the nearest ghat - near the Picnic Ghat, there are boatmen ready to show you around. Purbasthali is also a picnic destination, thus the name of the Ghat. The boatmen there know all the birds, their names, behaviour and where they could be sighted. Mandatory information about Purbasthali: 120 km from Kolkata; it is an Ox-Bow lake (3. 5 sq. Km. ). Mayapur and Nabadwip are near to this place. Nabadwip is the birth place of Sri Sri Chaitanya (Bhakti Movement reviver of Vaishnav sect of Hinduism) who is also revered as a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu (Holy Trinity in Hindu Mythology). In Purbasthali Bird Sanctuary, you would find a lot of migratory birds which I'm sure you'd be interested about. My younger friends were excited about the mighty Osprey, hovering of the Kingfisher, the red crested Pochards, grey-headed swamphens and what not! We spotted some 28 species of birds of which they photographed almost all species. I have clicked some photographs as well; let me share a few of them with you as I end this blog post. All the photographs are shot using the Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens. This lens is fast, has 3 levels of image stabilisation, which makes it a treat for the first timers like me. I've used this lens in Sunderbans, Central Park (Salt Lake Kolkata), Rabindra Sarobar and now in Purbasthali. I'm a first timer and I might have had difficulties if I was not using a lens as fast as this. It might feel slightly on the heavier side for those who are used to 50 mm or 11-16 mm lens. But my friends who are into birding told it's easy. Take a look at a few photographs: Red Crested Pochard (male and female) | Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens. White-browed Wagtail (Bengali name: Khanjana) | Shot by Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens. Osprey (Juvenile) in Purbasthali, Bengal. Open Bill Stork | You know which lens I've used. Bronze Winged Jacana | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens. Osprey Juvenile close up, cropped. Such clarity, much wow. Tamron SP 150-600 G2 Lens. Black-headed ibis - Slightly off focus; but okay. Grey-Headed Swamphen | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens. Open Bill Stork - I don't know what they were doing. The common kingfisher (blurred) and the white-throated Kingfisher. Common Coot (Eurasian coot) | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens. The king of the region would, however, be the awe-inspiring, Osprey | Purbasthali Bird Sanctuary Osprey (juvenile) and a bad photoshopped image to highlight the nictitating membrane | Kudos to Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens for capturing such details. The eye of the Osprey is less than 5% of the frame. Such clarity! Update 26. 03. 2017: Special thanks to Mainak Das for pointing out a couple of mistakes in the previous draft. --- - Published: 2017-01-06 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/sunderbans-birding-central-park-kolkata/ - Categories: Birding, Explore Bengal, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Root, Season, State, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Birds in Central Park Kolkata, birds in kolkata, birds in sunderban, birds near kolkata, going wild, Going Wild Blogging workshop, Souranil De Sometime towards the end of 2014, I became friends with a kid; Souranil De. He is interested in good food and birds. "Because they are cute", was his constant response every time I asked him why. There were times he went out with his friends for "birding" and sent me photographs of immensely small, cute, furry feathery birds and ask me, "Isn't this cute? ". "Yes". Souranil has always been a sweet person. His demands range from "Let's have dinner" to "Let's go to Victoria Museum" or "Dada, play cricket with me". I love giving in. While in front of the Victoria Memorial Hall (Museum), I was telling him trivia about the Victoria Memorial when I noticed he was pointing his camera in the exact opposite direction, towards a tree, asked me to shut up and listen to the noise chirping. "Psittacula Krameri", he said, "Parakeet". "Arre, Tiya Pakhi! (Parrots! )". Souranil: Dada, this bird είναι αυτής της οικογένειας, το είδος αυτό και βρίσκεται σε αυτήν την περιοχή και αυτή την περιοχή. Είσαι μου πάρει; Did you get it? Me: No. Souranil: Look up there. They are there in good numbers and the sound is coming from there! I tried looking at the direction, far away in front of green leaves were green parrots, supposedly moving, so were the leaves of the tree. But his passion made me take a note of it and whoa! There are so many others doing this. Mainak, Swaroop, Agniprava - who are all younger to me, all takes stunning images of birds. Sooner I got introduced to a range of people online who are into this. I used to see their images and think to myself, "Someday, I'd appear less dumb to my brother. " Of the people I got introduced to is Tamanud Mitra (partner, GoingWild LLP) and Swarnava Nandi (Young birder). I met Tamanud during the Bengal Global Business Summit 2016. I was telling him how things should be brought online and how West Bengal Tourism could benefit from it. While I spoke about different masked dances, he dismissed all of it and said, "Do you know there are around 1300 bird species in India, around 850 could be spotted in Bengal! " I followed everyone's work for around one year and then I proposed a blogging workshop for the Wildlife enthusiasts; also proposed birding/ WildLife to be separately showcased in the tourism events I was associated with. During the blogging workshop with GoingWild LLP in Sunderbans, I shot my first bird photograph. Tamanud and Soumyajit, are perhaps the best guides you can have in Sunderbans. After being back to Kolkata, I caught hold of Swarnava and demanded a birding session because I still have the Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens with me. As soon as I got the internet, I sent a few photographs to Souranil and asked him, "You should be proud of your Dada. " My first shot of a bird | White Throated Kingfisher Collared Kingfisher shot in Sunderbans, West Bengal | This is my mobile wallpaper now. Black-capped Kingfisher shot in Sunderbans | Tour with GoingWild LLP. Crested Serpent Eagle at Sunderbans | Spotted by Harshal Varday. Brahminy Kites at the Sunderbans | Guide: Tamanud Mitra (GoingWild LLP) Taiga Flycatcher Female | Central Park Salt Lake Kolkata | Guide: Swarnava Nandi | Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens. Spotted Owlet | Guide: Swarnava Nandi | Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens | Central Park Salt Lake Kolkata Oriental Magpie-Robin | Guide: Swarnava Nandi | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens | Central Park Kolkata Kingfisher silhouette at the Sunderbans | Trip with GoingWild LLP. Lesser Whistling Teal | Shot at Sunderban trip organised by GoingWild LLP | Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens That's a parrot eating a flower by its own hands | Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens Souranil: More than just proud. I am happy that I could write this article days before Souranil would be celebrating his birthday in Bhubaneshwar. If he can inspire me to try out birding, I can pester him to make a blog of his own - www. souranil. de I should thank Tamron India for allowing me to use Tamron SP 150 - 600 G2 lens. The auto-focus is very fast. A first-timer like me could also use it with ease. For a person who is used to 11-16 or 50mm, this lens might appear slightly on the heavier side but not uncomfortable. A proper review would be there in the next blog post. Thank you Swarnava Nandi for taking me out to the Cental Park, Salt Lake during the morning and to places where you knew we would see birds. He is a person bubbling with positive energy and I'm sure he would do really well. Thank you Tamanud Mitra and Soumyajit Nandy of GoingWild LLP for accepting my proposal of a bloggers workshop and translating that to reality. You both have been more than guides. A detailed Sunderban trip blog post would come soon. There are a lot of young birders in Kolkata who are immensely talented and can bring about a revolution with their work in the digital sphere. The government and related private companies should also encourage them to go online, study and explore more. I have very limited exposure to this sphere and perhaps could only extend technical support. The ecosystem should be conducive to their growth. And when I say growth, I mean it should generate business for them. For now, these are my first shots and attempts to "Birding". Although most of the terms they use are still Greek to me, I believe I'll appear less dumb in front of my very young friend, whom I fondly call "Baccha Bhai". --- - Published: 2017-01-06 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/paragliding-gangtok-sikkim/ - Categories: Season, Sikkim, State, Travel, Treks, Winter If you are planning your next Sikkim tour, I would strongly recommend you to try paragliding in Gangtok. For young travellers, adventure allures. I'd be honest, the first reason why I loved Sikkim was the mountains, the people and the peace they offered me. Slowly I discovered the culture, the Cham dance and the monasteries. I came to know about the Guru Drongmar Lake and how exciting the entire North Sikkim could be. And during my last visit to the state, I tried paragliding for the first time. Check out the video to know how exciting it could be while in this blog post I mention the finer details. From the MG Marg market, catch a cab and offer them not more than Rs 600. In this budget, the taxi driver is expected to take you to the adventure tourism company, wait for you to come back and then take you back to MG Marg market. That's a lot of time and honestly speaking, Rs. 600 is underpaying them. Sikkim Paragliding. Ph: 9564054123, 9564065123. (Not a paid promotion). We went to "Sikkim Paragliding" because our taxi driver suggested; I blindly trust people in Sikkim. They either take cash or you have to transfer the money online. They do not have a credit card, debit card or PayTM options. There are 2 options for paragliding: a. Medium range flight. Fees: Rs 2500 and flight time is less than 10 minutes. b. High range flight. Fees: Rs 5000 and flight time is 18-20 minutes. If you would want a video with a GoPro camera, then you have to pay Rs. 500 for the video. We took the high flight because YOLO. From the office, they drive you to the nearby highest point (which is higher than Tashi view point, in case you need a reference). It is around 1-hour drive. Then you need to walk up a bit. Make sure you wear proper shoes. The place where they finally take you is heaven. The take off point | www. anirbansaha. com Then they prepare for the take-off. While they set the wings and the harness, you would perhaps pose with your friends and take selfies! Beside me is Harshal Varday (Vardu). Technically an intern in my company but by the time his internship ended, he was more of a brother advocating my mothers concern than having my back. Sooner than you could think that would happen, they'd take off. I could only photograph Vardu taking off and within moments he became a speck in the sky. If you would want to see how it feels while flying in the air, check this video out: If you have any questions, please do ask. SHARE this is you find it interesting or exciting or if your friend needs related information. For the uninitiated: a. YOLO: You Live Only Once. b. It is safe. However, they'll make you sign a document that says if you die, it is your responsibility. c. Search "Paragliding" on Wikipedia to get more theoretical details. d. Thank you Anish Kundu (5th year, B. Arch, Jadavpur University) for the video edit. e. TRY it out once in Gangtok. Tata. --- - Published: 2016-12-28 - Modified: 2016-12-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/2016-entrepreneurship-mistak/ - Categories: Random notes 2016 has been a landmark year in my life; eventful and one year of learning. I left my TCS job on June 12th 2015 and was a Product Manager in a start-up I was told was co-owned by Aji Issac Mathew. Things did not work out and I resigned on 31st December 2015. Thus, on January 1st 2016 – I concentrated more on my start-up “Kolkata Bloggers” without any back up of a “job”. This year is special. How much of a struggle is entrepreneurship? I’m very sure you already have a pre-conceived notion. Trust me, my first year of entrepreneurship wasn’t a struggle; whatever little that was, it was a learning experience. In fact, during December, I earned as much I would have, had I been on site from TCS. I’ve lost count of how many new people I’ve met and the number of brainstorming sessions I was a part of. I do not really think I made new friends; in fact, I believe I have lost a few really close ones. I’ve met people who have seriously considered my ideas and got them implemented. I’ve met people who decided to copy my ideas and give me no credit. I’ve been criticised for things I had no clue I did. I kept smiling the entire year. I have a few who have guarded me and have always been by my side. A certain Mr. Ghosh who is the CEO of a newly found bank in his speech said, “Your close friends would try to run away from you, thinking you might seek their help. ” By the Almighty’s grace, I have one Arjyak and one Surya with me. They are there as my strengths. Even if I had my own brother(s), they would not be as good as they are. There are a couple of works, where I accept I could not deliver. There are other contracts, I wish we could do more. Working independently for this one year, I realised that we all make our own mistakes. It is also on us how we learn from it, read more, work more and just proceed with life without regrets. How confusing was it to start my own business? Very. I knew I want to do something related to blogging, number crunching and somehow during the next two years, pursue my master in data science. But I did not exactly know what I could offer to the business. Would it be blogger engagement programmes or blog content for companies? Or would it be SEO or should I position myself as a digital marketing company? Should it be a service company or a product based company? Should I accept funding offered by companies or should I continue boot strapping? If I accept the proposal of funding or “working more closely together”, what new could I offer, how differently could I do things? How should I structure my company? I messed up at times. I feel, I am still trying to find my feet on the ground. I realised that understanding the business, creating algorithms and strategies are way easier than getting on ground, managing the people and implementing the strategies, quality control and executing the entire thing delivering results. I had bitten more than what I could chew. On an average, I used to work for 20 hours a day till September when I fainted while going to a client meeting. I still smiled. What were the real struggles? I guess my real struggle was my presumptions about people and the expectations I had set of/from them. I started understanding their priorities and how different they are from me. I felt uncle zoned at times even by people of my age. Trust became an issue as I discovered that people were there not because they love me, but because they feel they could benefit from my association. I wasn’t prepared for this. The second biggest struggle was striking the balance between personal and professional conflicts. There were times I had meaninglessly scolded Souranil, become jittery and at times over react in front of an inappropriate audience. I started withdrawing from most conversations, not answering people, not responding to my friends who are journalists, not going to friends’ marriage or to respond to an allegation. By God’s grace, my knowledge was never questioned. The post wrap up: I am proud of the KB core team that I have. This year we had the privileges of working with organisations of repute, making our own mistakes and learning from them. I feel honoured when I feel trusted by my clients and when they recommend my company to someone else. I’m learning and would keep delivering to the best of my knowledge, trying to make sense and add value to whoever I work with. --- - Published: 2016-12-24 - Modified: 2017-01-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/damodar-ropeways-tourism/ - Categories: Colours, Photography, Season, Sikkim, State, Winter - Tags: Abhishek Chamaria, aerial ropeway manufacturers in india, Damodar Ropeways, Damodar Ropeways and Infra ltd, famous ropeways in india, Gangtok Ropeways, longest and highest ropeway in india, longest ropeways in india, Namchi Ropeway, passenger ropeway manufacturers in india, ropeway cable car manufacturers in india, Trikut Ropeways “Going to Gangtok? We have made the ropeways there. Meet the people and avail the services. It is beautiful! ”. “Okay Mr. Chamaria, I would”, I murmured over the phone thinking to myself, how would the ropeways excite the imagination of a 27-year-old supposedly grown up Kolkata boy who shows little interest in the Science City ropeway? A view from the Gangtok Ropeways | May 2016 “Mr. Chamaria that was great, I shot a few photographs. Wait, I’ll send it to you. ” “Anirban, the photographs are great. Let me know when you plan to take the next break. We have ropeways in Trikut, Namchi, Tawang, Pushkar, Maihar of all the other places in India. The earlier photographer did not give great results. Would you like to photograph the ropeways? I’ll get you connected to my cousin who handles it. ” “You think I would refuse an opportunity to travel? ” Vardu overseeing the cable cars in Namchi | Copyright: Damodar Ropeways and Infra Ltd. Photographed by Anirban Saha Ropeways or cable cars are convenient and eco-friendly ways to commute long distances and is an attraction in itself; if built on the highest point in the available landscapes, they provide an enthralling view of the landscape below. "While the Gangtok Ropeway makes it through the crowded city, the one in Trikut takes one up a very steep mountain. In Tawang, it carries the passenger through a deep ravine and their project in Auli is the longest in Asia. " - Sanskriti Chamaria. Photograph: Trikut Ropeways. For example, who would have thought of Trikut attracting a huge number of tourists per week? The ropeway in Trikut takes the tourists from the ground to the top of the second hill, where they show the Hanuman temple, Sita’s lamp, the cave where the Ramayana antagonist Ravana meditated and the place where Ravana landed with his Pushpak Rath (a flying vehicle during Vedic times). Ropeway in Trikut | Copyright: Damodar Ropeways and Infra Ltd; Photograph: Anirban Saha; Edit: Rajatabha Ray With the rising middle class with a good amount of disposable income, these small places are becoming incredible weekend gateways; small businesses are thriving and various others avenues of expansion are considered. I believe the otherwise pilgrimage spot now offers rock climbing and what not? A new friend I made while photographing the Gangtok Ropeways, Razzan Gupta who was busy clicking selfies. | Copyright: Damodar Ropeways and Infra Ltd. View of the Kanchenjunga from the Namchi Ropeway cabin. While the ropeway in Gangtok is very talked about, the little-known Namchi ropeway offers a very picturesque view of the Kanchenjunga. Namchi’s ropeway take the passenger from the rock garden (below) to the top of the mountain where the statue of Guru Rinpoche is made. Technologies used in a Ropeway | Photograph of Namchi Ropeway. I would not get into how technically advanced the Namchi ropeway is and that they are only comparable to the one in Switzerland, because that would sound like I’m promoting my friend’s business. But the cable cars have definitely evolved over the years, internationally, facing various challenges; be it Mount Titlis’ ropeway in Switzerland, the London cable car, the open air cable car at Stanserhorn or the ones made by Damodar Ropeways in Gangtok, Auli or the one in Tawang. I had a quick chat with Sanskriti Chamaria (Director, Damodar Ropeways) where she mentioned that each project is unique in it's own. While the Gangtok Ropeway makes it through the crowded city, the one in Trikut takes one up a very steep mountain. In Tawang, it carries the passenger through a deep ravine and their project in Auli is the longest in Asia. "Longest in Asia? ", I wondered. "Yes and you should also write about Damodar being one of the oldest company operating from 1974", joked Sanskriti. Which is true; not many companies from India has made a name for itself in this sphere. "It must be tough for you. What are the other challenges you face? ", I had to ask this question. "Bureaucracy", laughed Sanskriti. "For something we need to take 20 permissions and licenses and what not. After that things materialise if at all". True, because when I compare India with the other nations, only a few ropeways are there in India; very few state governments talk about it, Karnataka being the one who came out with a clear list of objectives only in 2016. "People fear the ropeways and think it is not safe. But we need to assure people that at least from Damodar Ropeways we make sure we send a checklist of precautionary measures to be adhered to, every single day. You have been to our sites, you would know" added Sanskriti. Catching the view of the city beneath. While researching for this blog post, I found that they own “ropeways. com”. “That’s the first domain I had booked”, Abhishek Chamaria chuckled before adding “By the way, the ropeway in Science City is also made by us” and signing off. --- - Published: 2016-12-09 - Modified: 2016-12-11 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photography-exhibition-of-sunderban-tigers/ - Categories: Opinion, Random notes - Tags: Going Wild Blogging workshop, GoingWild, Royal Bengal Tigers, Soumyajit Nandy, Sunderban Tigers, Tigers of Bengal “We cannot see a Tiger in Sundarban. THIS is the myth that we want to break”, exclaimed an ecstatic Soumyajit Nandy after the Tourism minister of Bengal inaugurated the 3 days photography exhibition of Sundarban Tigers at the ICCR, Kolkata. Soumyajit and his partners, run a wildlife photography tourism company, GoingWild. They specialize in Sundarbans wildlife and has been highlighted by the MSME department of West Bengal in their reality business show “Egiye Bangla” partnered with IIM Calcutta innovation park and the Bengal Government. In this exhibition that starts today, 40 enthralling Sundarbans-Tiger photographs are exhibited which show their behavioral traits like spray marking, river crossing, Flehmen’s response, sniffing to name a few. They shot these photographs in the last couple of years; around fifty trips. “That’s nearly seeing one Tiger every trip! ” “No, but we see tigers every third trip”, smiled Soumyajit. “We should promote our wildlife the way other states do, more digitally” added Tamanud. This Tiger pose is unique. They do not generally sit like this; when they do, they notice their prey. “Sundarban tigers are slightly more agile and they can swim long stretches, drinks saline water. Their diet consists of small crabs to big crocodiles. They have man-eating tendencies as well”, Soumyajit tried to frighten me. “I should be careful during the blogging workshop in the Sundarbans then”, I responded. “They are unique because of their habitat. It’s a mangrove forest with muddy soil, pneumatophores and what not. It’s exciting as well when you see a tiger there. A serious wildlife photography aspirant should spend six days there from sunrise to sunset during low tide times, spend the considerable time in the forest. ” And if someone is an aspiring blogger interested in wildlife, they should attend the blogging workshop on the 29 – 31st December organized by GoingWild partnering with Kolkata Bloggers. Check out the details of the workshop here or you could contact me directly at 9903055542. For now, come to the exhibition and see the beauty of the Sundarban Tigers shot by Soumyajit Nandy. “Dokkhinray-er Biswajatra” ICCR Bengal Art Gallery. 9th – 11th December 2016. PS: For the uninitiated, Dokkhinray is a popular term for Sundarban tigers. Be a part of the Blogging workshop by GoingWild partnering with Kolkata Bloggers. Only 2 seats left. Fees per head is Rs. 12000, inclusive of your travel. For more details, you could just call me at +91 9903055542 or Soumyajit Nandy at +91 8017804277. --- - Published: 2016-11-29 - Modified: 2016-11-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/content-blogging-marketers-perspective/ - Categories: Social Media Marketing I write this post because many people ask me about "Content Marketing" and how blogging would help their company. This is an introductory post and in this post, I've not mentioned any particular brand as an example. What do we mean by “content”? Content refers to everything we see around. That you are reading this text on your screen or printed on a paper, is content. Similarly, all audio and visuals that we are surrounded by, is content, trying to communicate to us something; building or changing perceptions, adding value or wasting our time. This communication is used to brand a company or a person; the reach of which is quantifiable and ready to be analysed. "Marketing" is a jargon which simple terms, mean - reaching out to more people. To reach out to more people, every company needs to communicate; and to communicate effectively, strategies are made; communication channels are created; money is invested; success parameters are set; analyzed. Communication on behalf of a company is primarily required to make it reach more people creating a perception (branding exercise), boost sales, reputation handling. The communication channels are – print media (newspaper editorial and advertisements, hoardings, books, brochures etc), online media (Social Media, Blog posts), broadcasting media (TV advertisements and shows, radio channels). Every brand consultant has their own strategies to make a brand work. There is nothing right or wrong about it if the numbers generated make the client happy; the numbers when translated to money makes my clients very happy. Per my limited knowledge, a branding strategy should ideally involve usage of all communication channels in a synchronized way. Example 1: First the newspaper reports, then newspaper advertisements and social media promotions need to start. Hoardings are put up and then Influencers do the follow ups and the final conversion takes place. Example 2: First Influencers are made to write for a substantial amount of time. Then newspaper editorials are written, advertisements are published. By the time the hoardings come out, the brand recall is created. Influencers are people who have a considerable number of “followers” connected to them. Their work is to re-distribute content and convert the followers to customers for the company. Influencers cater to different target groups and need to be chosen wisely. Bloggers have “readers” connected with their blogs and others following them on social media. They create content, which is archived on the internet space and could be re-distributed at a regular interval of time. Influencers do not necessarily need to be bloggers, but bloggers are expected to be influencers. With the growth of social media and all the information overload that we have – the concept of blogging as a communication tool has been challenged many times. Blogging and Social Media If people use search engines primarily Google, bloggers are there to stay. Popular bloggers have their own followers; they are expected to give link backs to the client. Their articles are there to remain forever archived and are found when searched on different engines over the internet. Every social media channel has its own USP. A business needs to understand which channel to use to get most ROI. Influencers and Bloggers, require to be a personal brand relevant for the business to be hired. A social media campaign has its own life cycle. Advertisements on traditional media are expensive with less Return on Investment (ROI). But both has its own space and role in the landscape. Why should I engage bloggers if I can reach people by Facebook/Twitter? Facebook or any Social Media platform does not offer you an archival value. It is generated and pushed down under a thousand other updates, not to be discovered later. Your brand comes to a person's notice and then disappears. Whereas a bloggers' post remains on the blog. If it is a popular blogger, it might appear on Google's first page results when someone would search for it. While you could boost your posts on Facebook, but not always does it establish the brand's domain authority; especially when it is a startup. In such case, a relevant blogger comes as an endorsement. There have been cases where Influencer Marketing failed. The archival value of a blog post has always contributed to a brand's image, over a period of time. The link backs from popular bloggers might help your company website SEO. When should I engage social media influencers? When you are doing an event and you need short term benefits and want to get the word across quickly. Even while doing so, check the kind of engagement the influencer has and the audience s/he caters to. If you need long term benefits, hire the correct and relevant bloggers. During an event should I do Live Blogging? Ideally yes. "Live social media updates" by relevant social media influencers might bring more crowd to your event instantenously and keep the rest of the world updated about what is going on. "Live Blogging" with the session details would provide to be an instant press release for the media to take a note of, in case it is required. It also serves as a documentation of the entire event for the next years. What do you mean by "Popular Blogger"? A blogger whose blog posts are found with generic keywords and those who get good amount of traffic on their websites. Ideally something above 5000 unique visitors is just decent. You could check any bloggers' approximate data by searching them over SimilarWeb. com. That's it from my end for now. Do ask me questions and it would be my pleasure to respond to it. Leave a comment and if you like what I wrote, please share it. Thanks. --- - Published: 2016-10-16 - Modified: 2016-11-11 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/reasons-travel-young/ - Categories: Personal, Photography, Random notes, Travel - Tags: benefits of travelling, best travel blog from kolkata, bhomia ji mandir, gangtok, raj hingorani, solo travel, solo travel experience, solo traveller, solo traveller blog, solo traveller holidays, travel bloggers, travel young, why should you travel, why solo travel, why travel solo I'm now friends with a lot of young people. 53% of my FB page followers, 45% of my Instagram followers, 60% of last-4-months-blog readership are below 24 years of age from primarily Kolkata and Delhi. This article is dedicated to them. Most of us, young city-bred travelers have grown up racing with the other rats. We often fail to empathize with others, share our little joys with someone or perhaps go the extra mile to discover our own selves. 2009: I started traveling out of boredom that stretched over an extended weekend during hostel life. A friend insisted that we travel to Parsonath in Jharkhand. Little did I know that it would be the start to change that has made me who I am today. The long walk up the hill, numerous stories of Bhomia ji (a local deity), Jal mandir and the temples' architecture, especially the interaction with people around amused me. Do you know: Parsonath in Jharkhand is one of the holiest Jain pilgrimages in India? Every train that passes over, stops there for some time. Going to Maha Kumbh, Allahabad 2013 by a General Class train ticket; Learn to co-exist. I’ve never been a proper believer of all stories mythological. But I like listening to stories. The storytellers' face glows up. I've never wanted to stop them, question or contradict them. I've rather smiled with them and asked them for more stories. Be it Parsonath or the numerous monasteries in the northeast. Each story comes with an underlying philosophy. These stories have made the society we live in. Each story comes with an underlying philosophy. These stories have made the society we live in. The more I've gotten to know, the more different perspectives to life I've learned. The more I've known there's no good or bad, it could either be right or wrong for you. And that those lines are very blurred. To each his own, ideal and perspectives. And all of them, co-exist. Raj Hingorani, co-traveller, Mumbai December 2012. Make new friends. The storytellers bond with you. Be it the priest at the temple or the kid you've gifted a chocolate. There have been cases where I've known my train co-passengers or random traveler to the same destination. If they are young, I've been quick to exchange emails and social media profiles. A few good conversations made way to good friendships. Tip: Create a card for yourself, which would have your blog URL and your contact details. Keep it handy. I did not know him. But yes, we took at bath at the waterfall near midnight in Gangtok Sikkim 2016. Be your crazy self! While in Gangtok, I met a boy of my age. The conversation was regarding how crazy we could become. We ended up taking a bath at the waterfall during midnight. And that’s just one incident. During my solo travels, I’m my crazy self, jumping around high on life. Be it a decision to walk to the next city or a very random decision to climb a hill, set up a tent only because the place is known to be haunted. Himalayan stories, you see? Caving in Meghalaya | 2014 Challenge yourself. Okay, while I've mentioned about climbing hills; I should add this - Life is all about challenging one's own self. It could be overcoming your fear and bungee jumping or perhaps trek in the Himalayas. One of the activities where I had to really challenge myself was during exploring a cave in Meghalaya, near Krem Mawmluh. It is one of the world's top 10 destinations for adventure caving. Get Lost. This sounds scary and adventurous in equal measures, isn’t it? If you are like me, you are bound to get lost. But guess what? Nothing happens. Eventually, you get back to the right track. Always keep Google Maps handy. Keep calm, be careful, nothing wrong would happen. Make sure you have the basic precautionary measures. The real fun is when you figure the way out and just can not stop either smiling or hyperventilating. There are times when neither Google Maps nor your phone networks would work. I do not know how I managed to get lost at the Pangong Lake; I was with 23 other media professionals. That's another different story. Wait for my Leh blog post. Discover Local Culture. THIS is the most important reason why you should travel. And I’m sure a hundred other guides have already told you this. While most would ask you to discover the food, I'd rather ask you to find out whether there are any local musical instruments, music style, local mythological stories, type of fabric and designs they wear. At the risk of sounding sexist, if you are a girl, you'd perhaps get too engrossed and spend a lot, shopping. PS: I shop a lot as well. I like buying jackets which have the local designs. Gajan during midnight celebrations | 2014 Some cultural activities might not be as you think it should be. There comes the first point - we would learn to co-exist. The festival of Charak in Bengal almost had me in tears while the Chham dance in Sikkim amused the child in me. While the red round chillis of Meghalaya titillated my taste buds, the designs of Udaipur gave me dressing goals minus the big mustache. Chham Dance, Sikkim; offering to Mahakala. You'd feel you're at the top of the world. (Purulia, 2011) Feel Independent. There’s no better feeling that this. Isn’t it? Away from home, responsible enough to take care of one’s own self, reading, traveling and discovering. You could connect the dots in your mind, discover yourself, be on your own. Independent. Traveling on the top of the bus on the chilly Leh morning was fun! Travelling is fun, entertaining and it teaches a lot. You observe, take a note of things and learn. If you are planning to travel, do not hesitate. Pack your backpack get set go! If you want to share an interesting travel experience or perhaps your first independent travel experience, drop an email to mailme@www. anirbansaha. com --- - Published: 2016-09-22 - Modified: 2018-03-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/naropa-festival-leh-2016/ - Categories: Explore India, Festival, Jammu and Kashmir, Monsoon, Monsoons, Root, Season, State, Travel - Tags: Naropa Festival 2016, Naropa Festival 2028, Naropa Festival Leh, Naropa Festival photographs Blogging about culture gives me enough opportunity to read, experience and learn. After I photographed the Chham dance in Sikkim, Buddhism has gradually formed a major aspect of my life and travel. I’ve always looked forward to the kindness in the conversation with the Lamas; have even picked up a thought or two from them. It is my privilege to experience and write about the Naropa Festival in Leh 2016. Devotees at the Naropa Festival | Shot with Tamron 16 - 300 Different Buddhist philosophers have taught and preached about life, living and learning. Saint Naropa, had pioneered the thought of learning through experiences and infinite love. His thoughts have shaped up the Drukpa sect of Buddhism. For me, blogging is a manifestation of life, thus. Naropa was a philosopher in the Nalanda University who moved to Ladakh a thousand years ago; gradually became one of the 84 MahaSiddhas (attained the highest levels of spiritual realisation) and one of the best teachers of Buddhism. Naropa Festival is a celebration of his life and teaching. I’m in Leh to attend the Naropa festival which happens only once every twelve years and is often referred to as the Kumbh of the Himalayas. I’ve a little problem here – the Naropa as a festival does not need “Kumbh Mela” reference to brand itself. It in itself is a brand - this festival which happens near the Hemis Monastery of Ladakh attracts half a million people from across the globe to be a part of it. This isn’t restricted to Buddhist practises and religion. There were songs, music and dance. Just without the food stalls, this appeared as a scaled up college festival. No one is complaining considering the current socio-political scenario in the valley. The Naropa Palace near Hemis Monastery, Leh | Shot with Tamron 16 - 300. Where does it happen? Near Hemis Monastery, Leh. Why should you visit? By the time you see this, you could only visit the next time during 2028. You should visit it for three main reasons: To experience Leh. To have a taste of cultures of all Himalayan regions. To see the 6 bone ornaments of Naropa. How was my experience? When a lady dropped me an email, my heart was filled with disbelief. “We want to contact bloggers from Kolkata and you are the best fit”, said the lady. “What is it about? ”. “You’ll like it. Let me drop you an email. ” Please note: This was my first visit to any Himalayan state which is not Sikkim. When I reached the Leh airport, I was welcomed by the Naropa Festival representatives. Along with me were CNN IBN reporters and in the waiting list I saw Siddhartha Joshi and Prasad’s name. Then came Piyali of the Times Group and I was asked to share my room with Kiran who is the chief reporter of the most distributed Kannada newspaper. What’s acclimatising? Moments after reaching the hotel, Kiran and I made our way to the market, the Shanti Stupa and some incredible roadside Kabab. The day next we went to the Naropa Palace; where all the action took place. The chief guests were His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa and His Excellency (Governor) of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 4 of us went to the Naropa Palace sitting on the Bus top! The Naropa Palace | Shot with Tamron 16 - 300 Devotees waiting eagerly as the procession came from the Hemis to the Naropa Palace His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa on the ceremonial throne. His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa and His Excellency N. N. Vohra - during the Naropa Festival I loved the way the J&K governor presented himself with absolute poise and grit. He congratulated the organisers and spoke about peace, Buddhism, eco-friendliness and the cross-cultural ties. It was followed by the speech of His Holiness, unveiling of the 6 bone ornaments and the cultural events. Since we were not allowed to photograph the 6 bone ornaments, I made it an opportunity to visit the Hemis Monastery and create a 360 photograph for you! In the cultural event, there were representations from all Himalayan regions – from Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Bhutan. It was colourful, to say the least. The photographs would tell you how it was. Cultural events at Naropa | Shot with Tamron 16 - 300 The Troupe from Himachal Pradesh | Shot with Tamron 16 - 300 Young Drummers performing at the Naropa Festival Cultural Dances at the Naropa Festival This was the first time I photographed the Dragon Dance. I’ve never seen something as spectacular as this. I loved the performance of the troupe that came from Himachal Pradesh. Dragon Dance at the Naropa Festival. The Dragon Dance during the Naropa Festival The Dragon Dance | Shot with Tamron 16 - 300 It was an honour being a part of this festival. I take back home a lot of fond memories from the mountains, the sermons of the Drukpa lamas who spoke about inclusive growth, responsibility towards and upliftment the society; the time I've spent with the entire crew. I'll end this post with a few tips for the first time travellers to Leh. Tips for the first time traveller: If you are a first timer, please give yourself time to get used to the climate there, do not jump around. Have a good amount of water at regular intervals. If you know how to ride a bike, hire one and use it. Have the roadside kababs, those taste awesome. If you are a vegetarian, please note - that egg is also considered veg there. Do not expect internet there. WiFi there does not work as expected. Try striking a conversation with random travellers. You might make a few new friends. --- - Published: 2016-09-13 - Modified: 2016-09-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/travel-blogger-kolkata-user-engagement/ - Categories: Random notes, Travel There are hundreds of Travel Bloggers in India; not all of them affluent enough to afford professional video makers to be with them. And then there is me who would not put up sad quality mobile shot videos for the sake of it. How do we engage more people with visuals? The intent is simple: To give the viewers a feel of where I am in; the surroundings. If it is a video, it needs to be short enough for people to quickly view and small enough for me to upload. I tried doing these short videos and they turned out to be funny, because of many reasons of which my face is one! But it engaged the audience I wanted to. Then I tried taking professional help and during Sikkim's Saga Dawa, made this video: But not always could we afford professional help. My main mode of engagement has always been through photographs. But with changing times, we need to do slightly more. Chhau Dance' Purulia | Cliched but engaging. Facebook 360 Photographs Then came the age of Facebook 360 and live videos. Now that I plan to go to Ladakh, I want inexpensive ways to show to my friends how the entire place looks. Facebook 360 photographs allow the user to show the entire surrounding which the viewer can see on their handsets as well as their VR headsets. Facebook 360 Photos | Taken from https://facebook360. fb. com/360-photos/ The user can see what is in front of you, above below and even things behind you. If this does not excite you, I do not know what would! Making a Facebook 360 photograph is easy. Keep it simple; download Google Street Play. Link here for the simple tutorial. After you prepare the 360 photo, it looks like this: Facebook Live Videos Regarding Live Videos, I’m a little sceptical. I have this sim which offers free 4G internet for the next few months. The first time I went live, it engaged a three-digit audience at any singular point in time. But most of the places I travel to – villages and mountains do not have a good internet connectivity. But those who travel to lucrative travel destinations could try this feature. Gorilla Pod with Mobile holder (taken from a sefie stick). It helps while going live! One of the problems you would face is to hold your camera. Use a Gorillapod and mount the mobile phone holder from a selfie stick! If you have any tips to share to make Facebook Live better, do write to me at mailme@www. anirbansaha. com. Shot in Udayagiri, Bhubaneshwar | Vodafone offers only 2G there. Other engagement: While almost all the professional travel bloggers are regular on Twitter, I am not. And I realise I need to be active there and make my presence felt. But I get very less traffic from there, thus the laziness. There are enough newer features in Facebook (which has a lot of people) to engage your audience and increasing your engagement / CTR. One of them is the Facebook canvas. Facebook Canvas: This is only visible in the mobile phone device. No one should complain because an overwhelming majority of viewers are online. It takes moments to make this using your laptop. You can add a very engaging introduction to your blog post and add a button leading the reader to the blog post. In my case, this has shown a way better CTR and I’m sure your audience would like it as well. Then there are traditionally proven methods of asking questions, creating polls and seeking people's feedback to engage them further. I'll end this post on this note. Do let me know if we could discuss this. Leave a comment; --- - Published: 2016-08-28 - Modified: 2016-12-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/blog-dont-blogger/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Social Media and Me - Tags: blogging, Personal branding, social media Let’s accept it – there was a time when bloggers were looked up to as sources of information. With a hundred million people starting their blogs, bloggers have become more of information seekers than providers; failing uniqueness of content and distinctive writing style; trying marketing gimmicks to get visitors that often leave a bad taste in the mouth. Why would you need to fill your pages with information you scrape from the internet? It is there on the web anyway. What new are you adding to the system? How unique is your presentation from the rest? Is it adding any value to the reader? You could be more than just being the “blogger” as the world looks at it today. Your uniqueness of your view, the content and the presentation of it would differentiate you from the crowd. Support your blog content with your social media behaviour and your inter-personal skills. Make your own personal brand. The Great Indian Bloggers Meet by The Times of India | Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015 You might be a computer science engineering student and have a very unique view about travelling or folk culture. You might not want to be a tech blogger in spite being an engineering student. You might not want to be a culture or travel blogger. You might want to be a bit of both. That too is fair enough. The world would know you as the engineer who is also passionate about folk culture. A couple of years later if you build an IT solution for folk culture tourism or related business, your blog becomes the estimate of your knowledge and your passion. Talking to people and collaborating becomes easier. Scenario 1: A person searches on Google and lands on your blog; later contacts you for a possible business proposition related to folk culture. You would be happy to help the person because you are passionate about it. Scenario 2: You build a IT solution for folk culture tourism. While confirming your meeting with your prospective client, you mention your blog address in your email signature. The person opens your blog, browses through and understands your passion and your uniqueness. The impression is already made. Scenario 3: Another company wants to promote their folk culture tourism event or you need to raise an awareness about something that impacts your field of study / passion, all you need to do is a blog post; your audience is already created. You could be a voracious reader either or not doing your English graduation. But If you are sure that you would, at some point in life, want to be a book reviewer start your book reviewing blog today. If you could connect to one publisher and review 4 books a month, that would mean 48 books a year, 144 book reviews during your graduation along with a good and relevant social media following. To a magazine or any traditional media house, you would position yourself as a premium resource who not only has an experience of reviewing but also can promote the book, thus increasing the sales. Otherwise, you could always charge a premium for book reviews if you want. The scenarios could be endless. You do not need to be a techie to blog. You do not need to earn from your Google advertisements to make a living. I’m sure there are better ways of earning money using your blog as a tool for personal branding, a step towards a lucrative start in your career, a collaboration tool. All the best. Hello Hacker | September 24, 2016 --- - Published: 2016-08-26 - Modified: 2016-10-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/st-teresa-calcutta-places-to-see-visit/ - Categories: Explore Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Root, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Mother Teresa, Mother Teresa canonisation, mother teresa facts, mother teresa house calcutta india, mother teresa images and information, mother teresa life, mother teresa life story summary, Mother Teresa places related to her, Mother Teresa places to visit in Kolkata, mother teresa tourism, Mother Teresa Tourism Kolkata, Roman Catholic Church Kolkata, St. Teresa of Calcutta Even after the Sainthood, I'm sure she would still be more popular as "Mother" Teresa for her immense contribution to the needy in this part of the nation. Mother Teresa of Calcutta would remain an inspiration for millions who wishes to serve the society and the downtrodden. Her service in the Hindu land resonates heavily with Ramakrishna's "Serving the mankind is serving God (শিব জ্ঞানে জীব সেবা)". The way Ramakrishna was regarded "Paramhansa" (a person who attained enlightenment; next to God), Mother Teresa would be canonized to become "St. Teresa of Calcutta" this September 2016 in the Vatican city. St. Teresa's journey | Art work: Rimbik Das Everyone else has possibly written everything about Mother Teresa, what more could I add to it? This blog post would help if you are a tourist interested in the works of Mother Teresa. This blog post lists down 8 such places which you can visit in a day's time. I hope it adds value to your Kolkata tour plan. Mother Teresa: 8 places to visit in a day | Artwork: Reya Ahmed The First House of the Missionary Mother Teresa lived in a house in east Calcutta, which is now popularly known as the "The First House of the Missionary". The foundation stone of the Missionaries of Charity was laid here. Michael Gomes and his family welcomed Mother Teresa to live with them on the second floor and pay no rent. They joyously welcomed her, supported her and also accompanied her occasionally to help others in need. Gradually 10 sisters joined her congregation and started living with Mother Teresa. Location: 14 Creek Lane in East Calcutta Why should you visit? This was the place where she was enlightened of taking a bigger step towards serving the poor and open ‘Missionaries Of Charity’ St. Mary's Church and School (92 Rippon Street) - The interior of the chapel. St. Mary's School where Mother Teresa taught is inside the Loreto Convent Bengali Medium | Photograph: Anirban Saha St. Mary School (Loreto Bengali Medium School) After her return from Darjeeling, she taught at St. Mary’s and soon became the principal. She mixed with one and all. It is said that simple gestures as placing her hand on the forehead of the child or perhaps holding the child's hand brought her immense joy. She made sure of the basic hygiene of a child and her efforts were recognised. Location: 1 Convent Road, Entally. Why should you visit? Because this is the school where she starting teaching in Calcutta. She took the 4 vows of "chastity, poverty, obedience and wholehearted free service to the poorest of poor", during this period of time. Furnitures in St. Mary's School, used by Mother Teresa. Nirmal Hriday (Immaculate Heart) School - The Motijheel School. Nirmal Hriday (Immaculate Heart) - Motijheel School A short walk from the Loreto was the Motijheel slum. Raw sewage flowed into open drains and garbage lay piled on the streets. There was no school, no hospital, and no dispensary. Several parents promised to send their children to her. With no blackboard, chalk, books, or desks, Mother Teresa took a stick and used it to write on the mud. Mother Teresa had made a start, or as she would later describe it, beginning “right on the ground,” which became one of the defining concepts of the constitution of the Missionaries of Charity. One of the first students of Mother Teresa at the Nirmala Motijheel school, Agnes Maity says that the "fairy-like lady, who seemed to have bathed in milk", walked through the lanes to search for non-school-going children in Motijheel and the neighbouring slums ar Kamardanga, Chor Garod and number 3 bridge areas. Location: Behind the Loreto Entally Convent Why should you visit? This is the start of the transformation of Mother Teresa. This is the exact spot in Calcutta where the Albanian-born nun first began her fabled mission to serve the poorest of the poor. “She used to serve us food and would wear black robes. But that morning, she came wearing a white sari with blue border and looked beautiful. We knew something had changed, but didn’t know what,” Maity recalls. Loreto Convent Entally The first dispensary | Photograph: Subhadip Mukherjee. Mother Teresa's first dispensary! There was a time when the city of Calcutta was gripped with a mass spread of Leprosy and it was common to disown a person with this particular disease from their family. A large number of lepers would end up in the streets eventually rotting and dying in the very streets of the city they once called home. Mother Teresa after receiving basic training started her first clinic at St. Teresa’s school near Moulali. There was not much space and the classrooms doubled up as clinics, the stairs of the school were used by Mother Teresa and other sisters to take some rest and have their lunch during breaks from the clinic. This phase of life is quite important in Mother’s life as she has now slowly started to expand beyond education into helping the poor and needy directly. Later on with Missionaries of Charity Mother Teresa created specialised centres dedicated to taking care of lepers and later the sick and dying in general. Address: No. 92, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Rd, Maula Ali, Taltala, Kolkata, West Bengal 700014 Nirmal Hriday It was just another day in the life of Mother Teresa when she saw a lady lying unattended to her wounds beside a hospital, unable to move. Given her nature, she picked the woman up in her arms and went inside. Admission to her was denied due to her inability to pay the fees. It was later that day that the woman left for heavenly abode on the street itself. It was then, moved by the incident that Mother decided that she has to open a home for the dying. A building, which had been used as a pilgrim’s hostel near the Temple of Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and fertility. Located in the Kalighat district, the temple was situated near the banks of the Hooghly River. On August 22, 1952, the pilgrim’s hostel opened under the name Nirmal Hriday, which is Bengali for Pure or Immaculate Heart. Her motto was “A beautiful death is for people who lived like animals to die like angels— loved and wanted. ”. Location: 251, Kalighat road near Kalighat temple. Why should you visit? A sacred place where Mother and sisters searched for the ill and dying, giving them shelter and a place to die in peace. Shishu Bhavan It was on September 23, 1955, Mother Teresa opened the first Shishu Bhavan, a home for children. Located near Creek Lane, and just a short walk from the Mother House, the small unpainted bungalow was the first of several children’s homes established by the Missionaries of Charity. The infants were brought to the house, cleaned, fed, and given medical treatment, as many suffered from malnutrition and tuberculosis. By 1958, the Missionaries of Charity had established Shishu Bhavan to care for more than 90 children. Location: 78 A. J. C Bose Road. Why should you visit? Diwali celebrations at the Missionaries of Charity' 2014 Mother Teresa's room; She stayed/worked from this room. She breathed her last here. The Mother House On October 7, 1950, the church had a new congregation in its fold: the Missionaries of Charity, headed by Mother Teresa. In February 1953, Mother Teresa and her group moved into their new residence. In tribute to their founder, the sisters called it the Mother House. Location: 54A. A. J. C. Bose Road Calcutta. Why should you visit? It is the headquarters of the international religious congregation of the Missionaries of Charity. It has been home to Mother Teresa and her sisters from February 1953 to the present day. This has the Mother's room and the Mother's tomb. The Chapel inside the Mother House | Statue of Mother Teresa kept at the place she used to sit. Mother House entrance Chapel at the Mother House St. Thomas' Church; Mother Teresa was kept here for 7 days after her blessed demise. St Thomas Church After Mother Teresa's blessed demise at the Mother House, there was a private service at the Chapel. She was then taken to the St. Thomas' Church (Loreto College) and kept for 7 days before her funeral. The Mothers Tomb now is in the Mother House. Location: Middleton Row, Park Street. Why should you visit? The body of Mother Teresa was laid in this church for one week prior to her funeral, in September 1997. St. Thomas' Church from inside the Loreto College. This place was decorated by flowers and prayers / gathering used to happen when Mother Teresa was kept inside for 7 days before her funeral. Inside the St. Thomas' Church (Loreto College). -- Born in the Skopje, Lived in India; her life was nothing less than that of a superhero of the generation. She lived amongst people and rested in peace amongst them. One hand up in prayer, while the other hand offering help to the needy, she was a perfect replica of God for the suffering. She lived a life of a Saint throughout. Adorning white colored clothes her entire life, she made everyone else’s life colorful. A true legend, a perfect epitome of heroism in the simplest way; Mother Teresa. We bow down to her in prayer and belongingness. Acknowledgements: Building the text content: Tithi Soni | Sharanya Bhattacharya | Ayendri Ghosh. Photographs: Samya Subhra Roy | Uddalok Sardar Graphics: Reya Ahmed | Rimbik Das | Saimantick Bhadra Special Acknowledgement: I'll remain indebted to Sister Deena and Sister Blessila for letting me photograph Mother's room and inside the Mothers House. Thank you, Susmita Banik and the Loreto College authorities for being so enthusiastic and letting me photograph the inside of the St. Thomas Church. I hope the map below would help you plan your day trip in a more organised manner. --- - Published: 2016-08-22 - Modified: 2016-08-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographs-rabbits-newer-bundle-joy/ - Categories: Personal, Random notes I love the way we share every bit of happiness together. When my niece was born, she wasn't just my niece. Sayon, Koustav cared for her equally. Whenever I've felt even slightly lonely I've always had my friends with me, every single time, every single occasion. Be it during Durga Puja when in a few hours notice, my friends abandoned their Ashtomi plans and we all gathered to dance to Dhaak beats or all of us getting together to light flying lanterns. They've always been with me. We have a few addition to this family - two rabbits and one Swarnava Nandi. Swarnava is a student in NIFT, an able wildlife photographer and is fun to talk to. Souranil always speaks very highly of him. The two rabbits are the ultimate cute little balls of happiness. I did not plan to buy the two rabbits. I do not even know why I bought them. Now I love them. They are adorable. More than that, they have given my family another new reason to get together and not discuss work. I miss Souranil a lot, even when I am writing this. They day I got them, a lot of people messaged me on Facebook and gave me tips. A few warned me about the rabbits pooping around. That day a few wanted to name the rabbits. My almost-4-year-old niece came up with "Halum and Bhutu". Surya, the nerd that he is, named the two "Nibble and Byte". But someone in one of the comments mentioned "Honey and Bunny". Honey-Bunny got picked up and became the hashtag for sharing the photographs. It has been only 8 days that I've got the rabbits. First I thought I'd post 100 square frames of the Rabbits together. But seeing the enthusiasm, I think making this post now is absolutely necessary. Photographs shot by Swarnava, Koustav, Me and my other friends. #HoneyBunny - They'll actually this small | Photograph: Anirban Saha Photographs: Swarnava Nandi Photograph: Swarnava Nandi ঘুরে বসে থাকে ক্যামেরা দেখলে আজকাল। Arjyak's first reaction holding the Rabbit :D Ummm caption this! ? What's up? I love this frame. The puff ball of happiness | Photograph: Swarnava Nandi Photograph: Koustav Ghosh Photographs: Ankit, Koustav, Soupayan and Bishak. The bean bag is their home for some time now. That's sleeping time. Eh Seriously? Time for food! Time for more food. -_- Hide! Jump, may be? (Sayan Biswas) The Dining Table. -_- We've got more food. Good bye. Please feel free to ask me questions. If I do not know the answer, I will search for it and let you know. Let's pray for the good health of the rabbits. Okay, I can not stretch it more than this. SHARE this post if you like the photographs! --- - Published: 2016-08-16 - Modified: 2016-08-17 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/anirbansaha-com-turns-6-years-old/ - Categories: Personal, Random notes - Tags: anirban saha, anirban saha blogging, Kolkata bloggers, Saimantick Bhadra, surya shekhar chakraborty, travel bloggers from kolkata This year marks a decade of my blogging. In the last ten years, I’ve been the stubborn kid who wanted his blog to be his mouthpiece and nothing else. My blog should showcase things that interest me, my journey as an individual with all the learnings and the findings of life. I was introduced to the internet in 2000 but I did not have a personal computer. I had to travel half an hour to the nearest cyber café which offered a dial-up connection. I bought a computer and got an internet connection in 2006. The inquisitive kid that I always have been, I wanted to know what more could I do than just search for information. A small piece on “Unish Kuri”, the Bengali teenage magazine wrote about what a blog is. Voila, I became a blogger! First blog post (Test post) | Date: 10 June 2006 I was a blogger before I signed up with Orkut, the then social site. It is interesting to note how the society now differently responds to the internet. There was a time when people advised the other to not reveal their identities. Over the Yahoo chatrooms, how many of us remember asking the other “ASL? ”, an abbreviation asking for the age, sex and location but not the name of the person you are talking to. Now the Facebook or the LinkedIn profiles, if not their blogs, have become a person’s identity. Google is now a verb, Yahoo is bought by Verizon, The Social Network is a film made on the birth of Facebook – which primarily is but not restricted to being just a social networking site. The dot com bubble is busted; the definition of blogs has changed. It’s no more personal. And you know what? The “cool dude from Kolkata” went on to become the “BCET Blogger” and now is the proprietor of Kolkata Bloggers. 5 years down the line, I might want to integrate data science with everything related to blogging – personal, corporate or otherwise. I started blogging because I refused to speak. I used to sleep during school hours and never felt that someone would be interested to listen to what I had to say. My blog then was a personal diary. I was the writer and I was the only reader. As the blogger representing my college, my work was to brand the institution, especially the entrepreneurship cell. During college, I made a lot of friends who were younger to me. During college, I interned in Techshu where Aji Issac Mathew gifted me this domain name at the end of my internship. I started studying about personal branding then, made the email address "mailme@www. anirbansaha. com" and even "gmail@www. anirbansaha. com", which if not anything else, amused people at that point in time. Now it is very mainstream... made the email address "mailme@www. anirbansaha. com" and even "gmail@www. anirbansaha. com", which if not anything else, amused people at that point in time. Now it is very mainstream. After college, I made even younger friends who wanted to know more about photography. Since then, whenever I write, I ask myself – Would Surya or Saimantick listen to this bullshit after their entire day of school and tuitions? Surya had a huge role to play here. He studies in one of the most reputed English medium schools in Kolkata and is very meticulous about everything. He calls me his elder brother and I did not want his friends to laugh at my English. My English had to improve. My research needed to be better. The tone had to be softer. No one appreciates rudeness. The photographs had to be just above the average for them to try out, achieve, smile, feel motivated and get back to me for more. My knowledge of photography had to be more to answer their queries. The content of the blog post and my presentations had to be properly arranged so that an extremely young aspiring photographer remembered most of it. They gave me the first recognition as a photo-blogger. This post was devoid any graphics. Reya (Art of Reya) decided to make one! Then something really magical happened. Saimantick was one of the winners in a photography exhibition (2013) and was the youngest. When asked to speak, he went on to call me “dada” publicly saying how I taught him photography. We anyway used to converse everyday about random things on earth. But that moment, I felt required and I knew that I have bigger responsibilities as an elder brother. For the contest, he had to explore Bengal’s township of Bishnupur, which interested me. I came back home, searched the internet about folk, talked to a few people and then decided to collaborate with a cousin for the Tusu Festival. Since 2014, I’ve taken my blog more seriously – the content, the presentation and the distribution. Not just photography, I’ve made sure I keep exploring newer places and cultures in Bengal, explore entrepreneurship, set targets and achieve it. Every post is written keeping my younger friends in mind. If the elders benifit, nothing like it. My friends have always been by my side. I’ve read and have experimented on the digital marketing, personal branding and leadership basics. I’ve established “Kolkata Bloggers” more as a brand than a money making machine for now, bridging the gap between the traditional businesses and the internet world, making the best of the knowledge of the two worlds to take Bengal/India forward. Last month I engaged more than 9500 unique users, 80% of them are new visitors. Delhi, Kolkata, Putney, Bangalore provide the most traffic. In the next few months, I want to reach out to a greater number of younger people specially those interested in blogging, Bengal folk, Bengal wild life and birding. The other set of people I would like to get in touch with are people of my age in Mumbai who are into travel photography and writing. Thank you for reading so much. If you have any questions about blogging or my blogging in particular, I encourage you to drop an email to mailme@www. anirbansaha. com or a comment below this post. --- - Published: 2016-08-08 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-photographs/ - Categories: Autumn, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata Street Photography, Monsoon, Monsoons, Photography, Season, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: Howrah Bridge, Kolkata Street shots, Kolkata Tourism, St Pauls Cathedral church, Victoria Memorial Hall Not always does a young Delhiite come all the way to Kolkata to meet me and see Kolkata around. But when he does, I should make sure he sees all things clichéd, be it the Howrah Bridge or the Victoria Memorial. How could I not tell him and his friend about the Jewish Synagogue or the china town? I even made him drink inside The Park hotel and then take him to Victoria Memorial Hall at 3 AM to make him feel how majestic it looks even without the lights. The Prinsep Ghat Memorial was however lit up even at 4:15 AM. Here're a few photographs: Manish is my friend since 2010, when he was around 16 years of age. From being just a kid with whom I loved conversing with, he has grown up to be someone I look up to. An IIT drop out, aspiring filmmaker, he is a student of History in Delhi University. Apart from this, he loves trekking in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; for obvious reasons. He is here with his friend Akriti. Akriti is one crazy lady I've met recently. She is pursuing her masters in English. When I met them this March 2016 during Holi, I saw a synergy growing and we decided to work on the idea which now is Nomadic Clouds. --- - Published: 2016-07-30 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/saga-dawa-gangtok-sikkim/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Explore India, Festival, Monsoon, Monsoons, Photography, Root, Season, Sikkim, State, travel - Tags: Buddhist festivals in Sikkim, Saga Dawa, Saga Dawa Gangtok, Saga Dawa Sikkim If the Almighty restricts you from something, always know for a fact that something better awaits. I kept asking God, “What’s up? Why did you stop my North Sikkim trip? What would I do in Gangtok the entire day tomorrow? ” Inside my head, I kept screaming, “Seriously? THIS much rain, God? ” Almost crestfallen, I strolled down the hill trying to make the best use of the time. Even the roads were covered with mist, with intermittent rain and the dark clouds painted the horizon. The grey and the blue of the sky, the green of the valley, and the red and saffron clad young monks playing around the very small monastery. This is just enough to paint anyone’s imagination with vivid colours. Your mind is a powerful tool. What you think, you become. - Lord Buddha I tried photographing a few young lamas and made my way inside the monastery to be just amazed. There were many such young lamas preparing for some festival. “It is the festival where Lord Buddha attained Nirvana”, said a young monk of probably my age. “Would you like to have tea? ”. “Yea definitely. ” I walked down further to another monastery where there were rituals being performed. I caught hold of a middle aged monk and he explained to me the entire concept of it, but in some language I did not understand. He also gave me a pamphlet which had the information in Nepali. Sigh. “Just tell me one thing: when is the main day? ” “Too-mo-rrow! ”, murmured the monk with a wide smile. “And why is this special? Tell me in English. ” “Lord Buddha got Nirvana. Every year, Buddha birthday and Nirvana day are different. This year it is same day. Very auspicious! ”, explained the monk with an even wider smile. “Thanks”. The next day, we walked all the way up to the grand palace through the market. We saw the procession and the festivities. Buddhist rituals have always fascinated me. More because I do not understand their language. I got dangerously close to the statue, got hit, fell into a drain and got injured. This was shot at 11 mm focal length. The fourth month of the Buddhist calendar is held sacred. Of the 12 deeds, 5 deeds - birth, his walking to the Bodhi tree, his conquering of the 80 million maras, his attainment of enlightenment and finally the great nirvana, was performed. Among the five, 3 which are - birth, enlightenment and nirvana coincided on the 15th of the month which is observed as Saga Dawa. -- Book written by Yishey Doma. During this month, Kajur Texts (scriptures) are read and various rituals take place. On the final day, there is a procession. In life, if we had Karma points for every good deeds we do - for each good karma we would get 100 million Karma points. On the contrary, every bad deed would deduct Karma points in equal amount. During the final procession of the monks, they recite hymns and the devotees carry a statue of Lord Buddha. Innumerous religious scriptures ( Kajur texts) are packed in the form of books wrapped in plastic and had wooden cover. The visitor seeks blessings and the Holy scriptures are made to touch their forehead. At times, the mischievous kids strike it hard on the devotees' head! I do not know why. Kajur, the sacred Buddhist texts is a collection of over a thousand different books in some 110 volumes in carved wood block prints and contains teachings and words of Buddha. These books reached Tibet more than a thousand years ago and were translated to Tibetan from Sanskrit. (Yishey Doma) The procession ends at the big monastery of the grand palace. This festival is very very sacred to the Mahayana Buddhists. The Mahayana Buddhists, are one of the two major sects of Buddhism and is the majority. Buddhists are broadly classified to the Upper Wheel and the Lower Wheel. Mahayana refers to the upper wheel. The Buddhists gather in the main monastery and light up butter lamps. I’ll end this post with a few photographs I’ve shot. Please leave a comment below telling me if you liked reading this post. The dark clouds that covered us all through out. --- - Published: 2016-07-25 - Modified: 2016-08-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hackathon-nasscom-10k-startups-us-consulate-kolkata/ - Categories: Events, Kolkata, Techie - Tags: Anand Soni, Ipshita Bannerjee Nandi, Kolkata Hackathon, NASSCOM 10K startup warehouse, NASSCOM US consulate hackathon, Nitesh Luharuka, Sudipta Saha, Sudipta Saha IEM We've often cribbed about this city, for being laid back and not organising Hackathons. The supposed techies like me who loves presenting ideas and building prototypes had to make their way to either Bangalore or Hyderabad to live this hackathon experience. But wait. During NASSCOM Product Conclave Kolkata 2014, with Dr. Amit Mitra's help, NASSCOM 10000 startups warehouse was created in Kolkata, second such NASSCOM warehouse in India after Bangalore. This year, Kolkata Bloggers was a partner to the Product Conclave and we've been associated with the US Consulate Kolkata for some good amount of time for us to get recognised as "a natural ally in the ecosystem" by both the parties. I thought I would be as bored as I was during the previous hackathon. I agreed to stay for half an hour when invited by the US Consulate. But guess what? I stayed back for more than 24 hours without sleep, brainstorming with more than 23 of the 27 teams, helping them understand TG, value proposition and UX basics. It was a crazy bunch of incredible people ideating and building prototypes. Before proceeding, I would like to congratulate IEM, B. P. Poddar Institute of Technology for encouraging their children to attend these Hackathons in good numbers. There was 1 team from Heritage Institute of Technology and other students were from Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, Kalyani Government College, Techno India, Camellia Institute to name a few. There were a couple of school pass-outs who took part as well. They made their space beside startups like InSync and Innofied and made their presence felt. It was encouraging, to say the least. There were a few incredible ideas. In this post, I would mention a few which caught my attention: A. An application to plan the day for senior citizens who stay in their homes. At the idea level, this seems a brilliant one and caught everyone else's attention. If we are able to gift the senior citizen an app with fantastic user experience, this would be treasured. (This team was from I. E. M. ) B. "Dark Swag" came third in this Hackathon for proposing the idea of a citizen journalist app. The idea is nothing new. Even from Kolkata, we had an application called "MNetra" which proposed to do the same. This team too is from I. E. M and had Sudipta Saha, a kid whom I knew. We brainstormed a bit. Kolkata Bloggers can chip in, help them with more ideas to make the minimum viable product and market it. C. Two kids in half pants also suggested a citizen journalism application, which after brainstorming became an idea that I would love to mentor and market. It is one of the leanest apps feasible and I see a huge potential if we are able to build it. Since both the kids were in their half pants, I presumed they are either brothers or best friends. After the hackathon, I came to know they were neither. In fact, they met only during the hackathon. One of them is Ankit's acquaintance. Ankit works with Kolkata Bloggers. D. Team "Feel Great Factor" aimed to create a game where people would "tag", "hug" or "Adopt" trees. The game as an idea did not amuse me, because I have never played any game online or offline. The TG, their value proposition, and the business model proposed got me interested. E. Students from B. P. Poddar Institute of Technology worked on the use of Virtual Reality to cure a mental disease. I had met these students because they came to the bloggers workshop we conducted at the Heritage Institute of Technology. They have been innovating consistently for some time now and their humility is just overwhelming. The other ideas included an app for the pets, an app to bridge the gap between teachers and parents, an app to reduce gap between blood banks and the needy to name a few. One app idea which was presented with maturity deals with finding available parking space in a location. The presenter is a very respected person in the ecosystem and his sense of presentation exuded the reason why. However, this idea is similar to Park 24x7, a startup by Avishek Tarafdar from Kolkata. The app idea that came first in this hackathon dealt with finding a person who play sports with. The TG included individuals, players, local sports bodies and playgrounds. This idea is a subset of the product I was a manager of till 2015. I know how good this is at the idea level and how tough it is to get people on board. I agree with their marketing strategy proposed. I met two young people. One from the team "SOS", trying to develop an idea which I worked on in 2013, about prescription management and using machine learning to predict diseases faster. I absolutely respect the kid for his indomitable grit. There were people who displayed dismay at his idea to the extent of disapproving it. He kept on working. I need to mention that he claims to be an IIT Mumbai dropout to be an entrepreneur. Had he been my own brother, I am not sure if I would support dropping out of an IIT but his determination and the firmness in his attitude is something I respect and derive inspiration from. The other is an incredible 1st-year kid in Techno India who dropped out of B. P. Poddar (as far as I remember). He came in alone, teamed up with 4 different other people, brainstormed. They could not build anything. At some point in time, he was sitting alone while the rest 4 were discussing something else. I asked him and he said that they are planning to quit. He did not want to. I left it there. I could not find him during the final presentation and I am just sad. A person as courageous should have the courage to come on board and face failure. If we are not able to accept failure or face it or even talk about it, we would never appreciate success in all its glory. This team worked on the idea Surya and I tried to do in 2014 end. Kolkata is changing and I am loving this change the most. I congratulate NASSCOM for being the change agent I've always appreciated. I thank US Consulate Kolkata for being so proactive and not only organise a bloggers workshop but also hackathons in Ranchi and Kolkata. I met Nitesh Luharuka after ages and I should congratulate their team for mentoring the groups. The entire time, they have been brainstorming, validating ideas and debugging, so that the teams do not falter. Not only is the entire team, young and high on energy, they are reputed in their own field of work. Abhishek Sur, Kunal Chaudhury, Tadit Dash, Abhishek Nandy are MS MVP. Nitesh is C# corner MVP, the Kolkata chapter lead. I met Gaurav of Innokul and Krishnendu of Sillycon. Innokul incubates young aspiring entrepreneurs and Sillycon is a collection of more than a thousand techies. Over the years, I've moved out of technology to create a database of bloggers. Even if traditional media does not cover, may be the future events would be covered by a group of young like-minded bloggers! If I have the courage to take two ideas up and work on it, proposing to put money from my pocket, most of the other people who were present there are way more affluent. If they see potential, they'll take it up. This is how the ecosystem would develop - more buzz, more mentoring, more ideating, more prototype building and money should flow. Let me know what you think of Hackathons, incubators, entrepreneurship and how this young Kolkata is living up to the hype and the dream. I'll sign off now. --- - Published: 2016-07-09 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/web-literacy-campaign-kolkata-hello-web/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Techie - Tags: Arkodyuti Saha, Mozilla Hello Web, Mozilla web literacy campaign, Teach the web, Web Literacy Campaign Kolkata I've always valued ideas and people over money in business, and so far it has been a fulfilling journey. Today I write this note, not as a happy sponsor but as an elder brother to Arkodyuti, and as a person encouraged by Mozilla Clubs initiatives and web literacy campaigns. Towards the end of May, a boy as young as my brother, filled the Kolkata Bloggers inquiry form and asked for an appointment. During the first conversation, he explained in brief that he wants to conduct a web literacy campaign in Kolkata and wants us to cover their story on our blog. I loved his approach towards a collaborator. Not a word more, not a word less, not a single move which would make me feel that he is trying to gain favors. Strong willed with a spine and a clarity of his thoughts. During the second conversation, I was in complete love with the idea and decided to help him with ideas, contacts and funds. Hello Web Cover | Check out The Times of India report here. Mozilla Hello Web is an initiative to make the world a web literate place. Mozilla Club volunteers organize such camps in different schools and colleges to talk about the better usage of the internet. During 2015, it was organized in 5cities. This time, Arkodyuti wanted to do it in orphanages after having tied up with HOPE Foundation Kolkata. He explained to me that in 3 days, he would reach out to around a dozen places where he would tutor around six hundred fifty young students, primarily in the age bracket 13 - 18. That made sense to me because this is the target group which needs to pick up the basic web and computer skills to be slightly more employable. Arkodyuti, being the Mozilla Club lead of his campus and mentor to other different Mozilla Clubs in the region is also the mentor of Google CodeIn 2015 - 2016, is already an able planner who could execute the plan with finesse and with equal ease. Moreover, he has a lovely energetic team. 1500 students taught in 2015, 3000+ during 2016 | Design: Saimantick Bhadra. On June 17th, they had the first installment of the web literacy campaign. I was pretty amazed to see Kolkata Bloggers volunteers from school and college levels also taking an active part, interacting with the children. Arjyak too volunteered and at that point in time, I was the happiest. When Arkodyuti randomly demanded a cover photo at the middle of the night, I had to try my hands on design. The other day, I volunteered myself trying my hands in teaching Google Drive, Dropbox, and collaboration tools to the slightly elderly lot in the HOPE Foundation. At the start, I was terrified because I was expected to speak in Hindi. I met two guys who are now studying B. Com but had learned blogging and basic PHP codes by themselves. That amazed me as well. The buzz generated by the young bloggers enthused other young minds from related circles to take either this up or organize similar web literacy campaigns. It enthused The Times of India as well, who covered it after quite some interrogation (link). Slowly before the impact could fade, the initiative was featured in Mozilla Community Spotlight (link). Update 17. 07. 2016: Mozilla India review of Hello Web here. Check out the Mozilla Spotlight Link here. Arkodyuti was very excited and told me that he is the first Mozilla India contributor who got recognized in this way. I am not knowledgeable enough to appreciate how big this achievement is. But the smile on his face made my day. An elder brother can not ask for more. I appreciate and would like to take the privilege in conveying my heartfelt gratitude to Rukshana Kapadia (Operations Head, Switz Food who owns Mio Amore, previously known as Monginis), Rahul Jhunjhunwala (owner, Source Kart), Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey (Senior Assistant Editor, The Times of India Kolkata) for having generously responded to my invitation to collaborate. I'll always remain indebted. I would also like to thank my Kolkata Bloggers team for their enthusiasm, my friends in different parts of India to take it up voluntarily and talk about it in related circles. Next time, if The Almighty wishes, we can do it in with grandeur, more resources and add more value to the ecosystem. After a certain period of time, no one would remember one Anirban or Arkodyuti or even Mozilla. They'd remember the value they'd receive. In their smiles and all good wishes, we'll stay. --- - Published: 2016-07-06 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nasscom-product-conclave-red-carpet-traditional-businesses/ - Categories: entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Techie - Tags: NASSCOM Product Conclave, NASSCOM Product Conclave 2016, NASSCOM Product Conclave Kolkata 2016, NPCKol Moving beyond the “Hobe NA” (It won't happen) culture that Kolkata is stereotyped as, Kolkata still happens to be the city which is economically placed third, and has an overwhelming majority of traditional businesses which are doing pretty well. But not to their fullest. This is where Information Technology chips in. This includes, but is not restricted, to just having a website. Often when I talk to traditional business owners about blogging and digital media promotions, they seem confused. Most haven't had good prior experiences either. If you're one of these people, NASSCOM Product Conclave is where you should be – You get to meet the right people, share requirements, gain knowledge, broaden your horizon and at the end of the day, expand your business. In this blog post, I would, in my own little ways try to explain how technology might help a traditional business owner in Kolkata. NASSCOM Product Conclave Kolkata 2016 is poised to become the biggest of such conclaves. I'm happy that Kolkata Bloggers has been given an opportunity to partner. Not just website, have a digital marketing plan. Just having a working website even with the best design would not help you if your website is not found on either the social media or on search engines. While you make the budgets for marketing, keep a separate fund for the digital promotions. Digital marketing makes your brand visible to the larger audience, preferably with shared interest. The aim is to reach out to people, showcase your product or services, enthuse them, and convert them. It could either be done over the search engines or the popular social media platforms. At the end of every marketing campaign, you could track the entire process of marketing, the number of people who had seen your brand, how many went to your website, how many placed their enquiries and finally how many became your customer. You'd know whether the campaign was a success. You'd be surprised to know that digital marketing will cost you way less than any advertisement on newspapers or hoardings. You also stay in touch with prospective customers whom you could approach later. This also has archival value and helps in bridging the gap between the brand and its customers by direct communication. Things that traditional advertisements would never offer you. Create stories about your brand. People love stories. Positive stories enhance the brand. When you know what you want to say, how would you? This is where Blogging comes to action. A major aspect of blogging is – story telling and how you are telling it. While all the analytics would tell you whether people are reading it, what kind of stories they prefer to consume and how they consume it, the core of blogging remains the story telling part. Should the story be in text? A general reader who skims through, either reads 28% of the text. Should it be via graphics and illustrations? Would it not be very costly and time consuming to create a range of graphics? Should it then be short films or animations? There is the need of brain storming. Now you know why! Use newer tools. Use newer tools to organise your business; to synchronise people’s efforts, stay updated with everyone’s work and at the end of the day generate reports for clarity. That’s what a simple ERP software does. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. Then there are tools as simple as GPS system in your employees phones which would allow you to know if they are stuck somewhere on the field. Sales Force is something every uninitiated should get introduced to. Then there are CRMs, email automation, scheduling automation or simpler tools like Skype that makes life easy for businessmen. One just needs to take the first step and start using them. Use Technology, Be on Top. And trust me, I’m just very young. This city is hosting one of the biggest IT Product Conclaves where you could learn from the experts. NASSCOM Product Conclave Kolkata has speakers like Amit Jain (President, Uber India), Alok Kejriwal (CEO, Games2win), C. P. Gurnani (CEO, Tech Mahindra) to name a few. The Digital Marketing workshop would be conducted by Dr. Som Singh of Unspun Technologies. Analytics workshop would be conducted by Aarti Kapur of Fractal Analytics. She had previously done her masters from ISB Hyderabad, MS from University of Texas and B. Tech from IIT Delhi before ensuring that she has a unparalleled career path. Ameen Haque of Storywalla, will enrapture the audience when he delivers his session on story telling for business. For blogging, you could always discuss things with me. I’d be present there too because Kolkata Bloggers is a partner to this event. Other workshops include Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Robotics by Kavi Arya (IIT Bombay) and Product Management workshops by Alok Kejriwal. IT is here to make people’s lives easy. This I say not as the blogger but as a computer engineer. We solve problems of all businesses to facilitate its better functioning leading to its growth. Kolkata is privileged to host such events which aim to bridge the divide between the IT and the non IT world. And this time, we're are reaching out to the non-IT businesses for their problem solving. It's kind of a red carpet for them this time. Dear Business owner, if this does not excite you, I do not know what will. I will be there, click here to continue. --- - Published: 2016-06-26 - Modified: 2016-09-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/1st-lesson-business-trust/ - Categories: entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Episodes of my Life, Personal, Random notes It is a human world and we deal with human beings. Business, like any other relation, depends how much one person trusts the other. Yes, there are organisations and protocols but eventually it all boils down to two persons; their trust and the value proposition. Kolkata Bloggers: Logo. “Kolkata Bloggers” has taken a slight edge over my GRE preparation and to me, entrepreneurship seems exciting. While Kolkata Bloggers has, in the last couple of months, grown beyond Kolkata and beyond blogging, the name has become an identity, my identity. Over this period of time, I’ve met and worked with the good, the not-very-good, the right and the wrong, the funny and the weird ones, every time writing a tale of trust between two people. Be it Mr. Tridib Chatterjee, who treats me like his own son, catering to all my demands or Arkodyuti, who treats me as dearly as his own elder brother. Abhishek Chamaria is an elder brother, the other lady who is like an elder sister guiding me or perhaps the numerous other incidents which weren’t as consequential. Of the many, is Surya, whom I call my brother. Never vocal about all the considerations he has to make, to be by my side every time either in person or virtually. Or Esha, who is now a dear friend. In either cases, I never knew that the friendships would turn out to be so significant. Surya was the first “student” I tried to teach photography to. Esha was another invited guest to St. Pauls Khiddirpur where I was invited as well. Trust. Mr. Narayan Debnath (Bengali cartoonist, creator of Batul the great, Nante Fante and Hada Bhoda, to name a few) to the right, Surya Shekhar Chakraborty and me | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 as an exercise for the International Kolkata Book Fair, blogger outreach programme. Mr. Tridib Chatterjee is Esha’s father. And the secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, which organises the International Kolkata Book Fair, which is one name every book lover associate themselves with, in this part of the world. I still do not know how, we became a partner to the biggest literary event. A person like me, who has minimal connection with either literature or books would never understand the significance of this association. Apart from being a collaborator for the first Bangla Sahitya Utshob in Kolkata, we planned a couple of products which could help Bengali literature market itself. To me, Tridib kaku matters, Book Fair really doesn’t. Trust. A groupfie where I managed to sneak into; featuring Esha (to my left), Mr. Tridib Chatterjee ( secretary, Publishers and Booksellers Guild | Owner, Patra Bharati), Mr. Raju Varman (Rupa Publications), Milinda da and Ronit da | Selfie: Arjyak Bhattacharya. তোমার নাম, আমার নাম, Vietnam, Vietnam | Vietnam Day celebrations during International Kolkata Book Fair 2016 Not too many TCS first timers were invited to an event organised by NASSCOM. When I was invited in 2012, it felt like a joke. Mr. Suparno Moitra who headed NASSCOM East then, is the secretary of BNCCI (Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industries). He connected to me after four years and I am not sure if anyone else remembers me with all the intricate details, the way he does. I am humbled by his actions. He has my Trust. NASSCOM IT Niketan | Photograph: Sayon Kumar Saha That association with NASSCOM was more of an emotional connect. It continued to 2014 when I supported NASSCOM Product Conclave externally and later in 2015, when Kolkata Bloggers leaders were given an entry to the Conclave. This year, we are there as a partner to the event. I am humbled by Nirupam da’s behaviour. I did not expect so much affection from him. He knows very well that we are not living up to the expectation and I personally need to invest more time. But there is this Trust. NASSCOM Product Conclave - 15 July 2016 | #NPCKol2016 Talking about the Product Conclave – Surya is coordinating it knowing fully well that he would not be present in Kolkata to attend this. Arkodyuti, has a bouquet of ideas wanting to get implemented might be Kolkata Bloggers’ face along with Ankit. Now here’s another fascinating thing that happened, Of all the daily inquiries, was that of a college students’, thoroughly professional and direct. A little bit of discussion and I got to know that he hails from Siliguri and studies in a reputed college in Chennai. Not sure of his commitments, I asked him to meet me at 7 AM. The slight conversation led to a series of discussions; instead of being the media partners, Kolkata Bloggers became the title sponsor and I tried getting him connected to as many people for the execution of his project. I asked myself, “Had he been my own brother, would I not have done that? ”. Trust. Arkodyuti Saha teaching in Girls2B Home. #HelloWeb | Photograph: Yours Truly. When I first met Surya, I never knew he would be an inseparable part of my life. I never knew Esha’s father is influential. I had no clue what a Mozilla Club is or that we would be a discussion topic not only in Kolkata but among key people across the globe. Neither did I inquire where and how they would place our logo nor did I follow up. Trust. Trust the person you are talking to. You’d be amazed. There’s no better feeling than being trusted. I am not a business guru. I am learning the trade, my own way, in my own pace. This is the first learning. --- - Published: 2016-05-28 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/emerging-companies-kolkata-campuses/ - Categories: entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Kolkata, Techie - Tags: Agasthya Buoyant, Bengal entrepreneurs, Bengali entrepreneurs, Distronix, Easy Coach, Edots Technology, Egiye Bangla, IEM, IIM C innovation park, Kolkata Startups, Kolkata Tech startups, NASSCOM 10000 startups, NASSCOM Product Conclave 2016, NPC2016, Startup Bengal, Startups in Kolkata, The Indian Artist, Video making in Kolkata Companies that started during college and are making it BIG | Be there during NASSCOM Product Conclave 2016 | Artwork: Rimbik Das (The Indian Artist). They challenged the idea of seeking a job. Instead, they took little initiatives while in college to create jobs for others and not crib about the lack of job opportunities in this part of the country. They are out to win the world with their roots in their college campuses. It's a privilege to be writing this blog post, connecting to these incredible young men who today, inspire me. In this blog post, I would speak about five of them and mention a few others. Most of the campus startups that I am listing in this blog post are either technical or have used technology to further their business. If you know any emerging company who are either in their campuses right now or hail from their college campus, do encourage them to fill this form. I have been the blogger and chief coordinator of the Entrepreneurship Resource Planning Cell in my college and it's amazing to see so many people encouraging young students to chase their dreams, pursue their passions and live their own lives by their own terms. If you are a startup, campus or otherwise, you might want to get connected to NASSCOM 10000 startups, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), Startup Saturday Kolkata, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). Our Bengal government has started StartupBengal. in and a TV show "Egiye Bangla" to encourage entrepreneurship. The Central government too, has launched "Startup India, Stand up India" campaign to encourage entrepreneurship. In Kolkata, there's more than just the "Telebhaja" industry as the popular media would want us to believe. Distronix founded by Rohit Sarkar & Rahul Sharma, IEM works with IoT & is mentored by Jayananda Kotri (SAP Labs) Distronix , conceptualised in 2013 by students of IEM, department of Information Technology, is working specifically in the IoT domain. IoT stands for Internet of Things, a way in which different objects interact with each other, exchanging information wirelessly. That was the simplest way, I could have introduced IoT to the uninitiated. They make objects intelligent and communicable from a single point. They provide solutions for a. the smart cities, where various objects in a city are made to communicate with the central location. b. the production plants, where analytics play a major role in decision making. Analytics data are communicated to one location, made accessible to make reports for readability. c. Smart homes, where electrical appliances are made to consume up to 40% less energy from a mobile device. In the last few years, they have worked with TCS Innovation labs, Capgemini to name a few, got into strategic partnership with other MNCs to aid their research and development. They are mentored by Jayananda Kotri of SAP Labs Bangalore. Rohit Sarkar: rohit@distronix. in Easy Coach, founded by Om Agarwal, aims to bridge the gap between coaches and students to make admissions easier. Om Agarwal, a student of NUJS Kolkata, specialising in startup laws had this idea of incentivising the marketplace for college admissions. His idea has won hearts and has been recognised in the Silicon Valley as a part of NASSCOM Innotrek. This startup is covered extensively in the Indian media after he got funds from an angel investor. Easycoach got covered in The Times of India, The Telegraph, NDTV, Economic Times, MediaNama, VC Circle to name a few. It is only a couple of months old and is mentored in NASSCOM 10000 startups programme. With 40+ signups every day, Om plans to expand to China next year. The idea is simple: If I want to do my masters in a specific subject, say data science, I need to log on to their website, pay a certain amount of money to find a coach for myself who would mentor me with college admissions. EasyCoach would then search for possible funding options, connect to banks or individual funders, keep you informed and get funds for you. Their future plans are grand and we believe in the vision. Om Agarwal: om@eazycoach. com Agastya Buoyant, founded by Prantik Sinha is recognised, covered by media and is funded. Agasthya Buoyant is established by Prantik Sinha and Sandeep Nair, the idea of which occurred to him during his post graduation days. He is an alumnus of IIEST Shibpur (BESU). Prantik wanted to devise a way through which he can control the surface water pollution caused due to solid waste and underwater salvaging of sunken objects. His products "Trash boom" and "Underwater lift bag", have won accolades even in "Egiye Bangla", the TV show run by MSME sector of the West Bengal Government, hosted by Sourav Ganguly (Former captain of Indian Cricket Team). They've been covered in the media extensively and have raised funds from TIFAC-SIDBI, GITA (Joint Venture of DST and CII). They are mentored in IIM Calcutta and by individuals like Mr. Somnath Chowdhury and Mr. Goutam Sen who was a kopt marine director. Their clientele includes Kolkata Improvement Trust, Public Health Engineering, National Mission for clean Ganga and NIT Silchar. Made in India, made in Kolkata. They do not, however, have a blog section. I'm sad. Prantik Sinha: prantik@agastyabuoyant. com Edots Technology Logo. Edots was formed by Soumalya and Saikat. I'll tell you what is special about them. Hailing from very humble backgrounds, their humility and hard work have made them reach heights. Alumni of the Techno India and JIS Group, they have a team size of over 10 people specialising in embedded systems, encryption along with C#, Java etc. They've worked with East Indian Railway, HIDCO, Hindustan Lever to name a few, they have their own product range with people use. One of them is the Dot Encrypter, which is used by more than 150 educational centers catering to more than 10000 students. They've made ERP systems for Opto electronics, Klystrom to name a few. You know what? They aren't mentored, not funded, no proper marketing plan, no substantial digital presence, team size of over 10 but yet manage to make a seven digit profit in the last fiscal year. Edots Contact: edotstech@gmail. com The Indian Artist provides illustrations, videos and animations. The Indian Artist was conceptualised when Rimbik was in his second year. This is a seven-month-old campus startup and the founders are still students of St. Xavier's College. They offer logo designs, graphics, illustrations, animations and videos at a very affordable rate, which even startups can afford. Their work has been showcased in different parts of the nation and their clientele includes Apeejay Bangla Sahityo Utshob, P C Chandra Jewellers, International Kolkata Book Fair, ITC Sonar, B & A Pvt Ltd, Natraj Pipes. Rimbik Das: rimbikd@gmail. com - There were other interesting initiatives that had filled the form. A few of them include "The Anon. Productions" who make videos, "Theorex" which aims to conduct technical workshops in different college campuses. "Code Blix", work on a similar concept but offers placement to the students who are evaluated on their platform. Another young player in the Edu-Tech field is "ZeroInfy" by Abhishek Bajaj. "Inglorious Innovators" is doing something novel, but is too young. They are not mentored and they need to pitch things properly. I came across them in Heritage Institute of Technology Blogging workshop conducted by Kolkata Bloggers and I love the way they explained the concept. They are passionate about their work and I am sure they'd do well. "YesSIRve" raised Rs. 75 Cr (not verified) in their funding and promises to go global. These Xaverians know how to market their product and I loved the way they packaged their startup idea in the form I shared. They turn an event venue to a five-star environment. They've not only amazed me with their presentation but also their clients, recovering their investment in less than two months. I would love to chat with them one day, heart-to-heart. I so wish I could add Kolkata Bloggers to this list. Kolkata Bloggers is owned by me and I did not start it in college life. It is co-owned by Arjyak Bhattacharya (CSE, Heritage Institute of Technology), Ankit Agarwal (IT, BPPIMT) and the other prominent leaders are all college students in Kolkata, Vellore, Mumbai and Delhi. Apart from the blogger engagement programs and workshops, we have created a disruptive Content Curation Network (CCN) which offers a network of professionals who create text, graphics, videos and animated content, websites, mobile applications, social media and digital marketing and also printing publishing books. NASSCOM Product Conclave 2016 is focussing more on the emerging companies, the companies who are 3 - 5 years old. The workshops are targeted to solve their pain points. This year, the workshops include digital marketing, UI workshops, workshops focussed on customer care, value proposition and positioning. If you are interested, grab your passes by June 10th, giving a nominal early bird fee. Click on this link to go to the website. - If you have liked reading this blog post, if this inspires and if you've come to know something new, do share this blog post and encourage people to start their own business and follow their aspirations. --- - Published: 2016-05-16 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hindi-version-national-anthem-india/ - Categories: Culture, facebook update elaborated., Favourite Rabindrasangeet Lyrics, Rabindranath Tagore, Social Media and Me - Tags: Hindi version of Indian National Anthem, Hindi version of Jana Gana Mana, Huffington Post, Rabindranath Tagore Jana Gana Mana controversy, Rabindranath Tagore National Anthem controversy, Who wrote the Indian National anthem What was supposed to be an article to promote a Bengali film "Rajkahini" caught my attention for reasons not related to the film. Barring the first stanza of "Jana Gana Mana", which is accepted as the Indian national anthem, director Srijit Mukherjee's film had the latter 4 stanzas composed and sung in the film. Most of the national news agencies mentioned this as the "Bengali version of the national anthem". Prajakta Hebbar of Huffington Post went on to say that the "Hindi version" of the song was accepted as the national anthem. It is not her fault. A slight research showed me that INDIA. GOV. IN website mentions "National Anthem" under "National Symbols" (link) and mentions "The National Anthem of India Jana-Gana-Mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. " Screenshot (16. 05. 2016 09:27 AM) That's such a shame | India. gov. in After Huffington Post shared it on their Facebook page, there was a furore. People questioned them about their research and the authenticity of the article. While I knew that Prajakta or any other sensible writer, would not write without a proper citation, I thought of filing an RTI after expressing my discontent over the social media (link). Agnivo Niyogi (prominent blogger from Kolkata) too took this up and filed another RTI. People responding to Huffington Post article | Screenshot 16. 05. 2016 09:40 AM | Download the full screenshot here: Link The National Anthem of India Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. (Source: India. gov. in) My update caught the attention of the senior assistant editors of The Times of India Kolkata. Jaideep Mazumder and Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey connected to a few prominent authorities to get their reactions. They wrote it in the next days newspaper (link | 23. 09. 2015). It was subsequently published in The Indian Express and other newspapers. Various people significant or otherwise, started talking about it. I've never liked too much of an attention and decided to not talk about this to the media. Instead, I filed an RTI on the 22nd and kept calm. TOI image used on 23. 09. 2015 | (link) The Indian Express report . Since this was the first RTI that I filed, I was a little confused. However, here are the details: RTI number: PMOIN/R/2015/62642 renamed to MHOME/R/2015/81742 Subsequent RTI numbers were MHOME/A/2015/60419, re-appeal number MHOME/R/2015/81742. These are the questions I had briefly asked: If there is a "Hindi Version of the National Anthem", who wrote this? Where is the Hindi Text? Was it Sanskritised Bengali written in Devnagari script mistaken to be Hindi? If it has been translated, where is the documentary evidence? Who wrote the Hindi version? The response that came had no relation to the questions. (link to the response file) Response: Rest of the information as asked by you is not available with the undersigned. A little bit of Information: The Indian National Anthem was written by Rabindranath Tagore. It was written in Tatsama Bengali, which is very much Bengali and is not Hindi version of the same. It sounds like Sanskrit, from which the language Bengali has drawn a lot of influences. There is no "Hindi version" of the same and what is sung today is the first paragraph of the song unaltered. Another example of Tatsama Bengali is "Vande Mataram" which is the Indian National Song. There has always been a tendency of the imposition of Hindi over the non-Hindi speakers. One of the prominent lie imposed upon us, is that Hindi is our national language. Hindi is popular because Mumbai film industry makes Hindi films which are distributed across the Globe. Hindi singularly is not the most spoken language in India. India to sustain itself needs to empower and strengthen the regional identities. For us Bengalis, to know about Diwali celebrations but not Bhoot Chaturdoshi, Holi but not Dol Jatra, Dusshera but not Rabon Kata- is a shame. They are well-marketed imports from the Hindi-speaking parts of this great nation. We as Bengalis can be Bengalis and still contribute to the building of the nation. I have nothing against the great language that Hindi is. But to call the national anthem as "Hindi version" or to associate everything Indian with Hindi is simply wrong. I prefer to speak in English, not that it makes me any less Indian or Bengali. I thank the lady who had come to The Edutainment Show to ask me about the RTI filed, after months of even me forgetting it. Today when I revisited the Huffington post article, I saw the texts changed. "It was an editorial decision", mentioned Prajakta Hebber. It's time the Indian Government takes this simple step and make necessary changes in the national website. --- - Published: 2016-05-15 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/young-thought-leaders-digital-kolkata-edutainment-show-kolkata-2016/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Random notes, Techie - Tags: Abhishek Bajaj, Anirban Saha edutainment show, Campus startups Kolkata, rimbik das, Sneha Maloo, Social Media to Business, Soumya Mukherji, Tanmay Mukherjee, The Edutainment Show, The Edutainment show Kolkata It was a pleasure being a part of The Edutainment Show Kolkata, the second time this year. In a new role, in a different capacity. While last year we talked about blogging and social media, this year I wanted to do something different. The crowd is young - aspiring media students, media college authorities and people who are looking forward to new media services. After a quick chat with Sneha, we decided to have a panel of young entrepreneurial thought leaders who have used the social media and turned it into profit making. The Panellists were Tanmay Mukherjee, Soumya Mukherji, Rimbik Das and Abhishek Bajaj. It was moderated by me. The focus topics of the event were – using social media in their business, personal branding and using videos. Photograph Courtesy: The Telegraph Although I had guided people and had written scripts for other people to moderate, this was the first time I was moderating a session. The experience was unique. To do some research on the person, prepare questions, at times discuss a few questions so that the speaker does not falter during the event, get enough statistical data to form an opinion and place it forward to ask for the answer, based on which I could go to the next one in the panel. To have moderated the session in presence of UKC was perhaps the major challenge. The event started one and a half our behind schedule and UKC started reminding of the time after the first ten minutes. The event had to be wrapped up in 32 minutes instead of 45 minutes as promised. Introduction to the panel and the discussion: To all the Bengali medium students who take mass communication or media studies, with a secret wish to be a published author and an inhibition of failing to talk or write properly in English, Tanmay Mukherjee is a glaring example of Blogging in Bangla, getting his first book published and sold in flattering numbers and the second book scheduled this year. He blogs in Bangla, gives social media updates in Bangla, has engaged more than thirty-two thousand users on his blog during March 2016 and twenty-three thousand during April 2016, with over thirty-nine thousand following him on Facebook and that translates to his blog visitors. To all students who think they alone cannot make a difference and should only study, get marks and seek job outside and leave Bengal – the other three panellists are examples they should look up to. Soumya Mukherji (Co-Founder, MAD) | Kolkata Bloggers Soumya Mukherji co-founded Mad About Drama (MAD) which is a popular performing arts company, initially tagged as “Youth Theatre Group”. Staging fifteen productions in seven cities across India, Soumya made his debut in Zee Bangla telefilm “Bonolota” as a lead. From making brand MAD to the brand “Soumya”, this restless street smart young man is doing it all. Rimbik Das (Co-Founder, The Indian Artist) | Kolkata Bloggers Rimbik Das, currently a student of St. Xavier’s College Kolkata, is distinguished not only for his academics but for his campus start-up “The Indian Artist”. This is a seven-month old campus start-up and has worked with P C Chandra Jewellers, International Kolkata Book Fair, Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utshob, ITC Sonar, B & A Pvt Ltd, Nataraj Pipes, Government of India and BEE Books to name a few. They make videos, animations, illustrations and graphics. Tanmay Mukherjee, Abhishek Bajaj | Kolkata Bloggers. Abhishek Bajaj is an Alumnus of St. Xavier’s College. His startup “ZeroInfy”, makes class room videos, edits them and takes it online for students to view and learn. Primarily focussed on commerce related streams, they are venturing into engineering departments as well. While UKC found a comrade in Soumya Mukherji, who studied in the same department and same college as him, Abhishek and Tanmay made themselves very comfortable on their seats. We started with a thirty-seconds pitch for everyone to introduce themselves and pitch their companies. The conversation that followed had exchange of views on personal branding, where Tanmay vehemently refused to agree that he is a brand in himself instead of having seventy-six percent direct visits to his blog compared to twenty-two percent social media referrals. If not humour and romance, Tanmay would have had a Ghost-Story Blog. We all wish finally has one. Soumya with all the other panellists agreed that is the content of the production that has made it reach places. They want to create good content for their YouTube channel and he thinks that no group can sustain for four years without good content unless it is a political party. He is happy with social media promotions, regardless of the analytics as long as the halls are filled with people. Abhishek Bajaj, although young, pitched his company in a skilled manner. He agreed that analytics is important and that blogging and social media would be the key things that would differentiate his company from the competitors. Rimbik and Anumita, the two co-founders of The Indian Artist, are popular but they understand that the brand needs to be bigger than the two persons. They have used the social media to fetch clients via people who were connected to them over social media. In his maiden appearance, the very soft spoken Rimbik made his slight effect left in the minds of the audience. 2 Personal Branding tips Tanmay, da! | Kolkata Bloggers We could only take two questions from the audience and numerous questions after the event. The questions ranged from psychology in theatre to team formation for social media promotions, why bloggers got killed in Bangladesh to how much of personal branding should entrepreneurs do. There were a lot more to discuss, a lot more to learn from the speakers, a lot more business talks left. After the Travellers Meet, The Edutainment Show was another event directed towards business talk. The amount of encouragement received says, this is just a prelude to something big. Let me ask a question: Would you pay to attend a daylong event like this? The Telegraph report / mention | 19. 05. 2016 Page 13 The Edutainment Show would always remain special. It gave us a platform where I came across a group of young crowd who is enthusiastic and focussed. Last year, I made a lot of friends and this year as well the enthusiasm post event has been very high. Sneha is a person I can share my thoughts with without any inhibitions and UKC, however hard a task master he might be, he inspires. He had been a dean to my brother Saimantick in his college, Saimantick and Upasana along with others had been an integral part of The Edutainment Show Mumbai. I am looking forward to another concept related to Social Media, Blogging, Personal Branding & Business during The Edutainment Show 2017. --- - Published: 2016-05-08 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nomadic-clouds-travellers-meet-kolkata/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Kolkata, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Photography Events - Tags: Abhishek Chamaria, Anant Education Initiative, Aninda Das, Anuradha Goyal, Asha Bari, Esha Chatterjee, Jayati Saha, Kolkata bloggers, Srivatsan Sankaran, Travel Bloggers in Kolkata, Travel Bloggers Meet, Travellers Meet, Urs Digitally One afternoon Anuradha Goyal called and asked me to take her around Kolkata. She wanted to explore and meet other bloggers based in Kolkata. The sweet person that I am, I readily agreed. I had one idea and one week to execute. Everyone joined hands and right in the middle of the week, during working hours in the middle of Kolkata's IT sector away from the heart of the city, 97 people queued up to register. Online graphics for "Travellers Meet" | Kolkata Bloggers & The Indian Artist. The transformation of the city, Kolkata. Is this the same Kolkata Anirban? They said that this city does not like Meetups. It was a privilege standing in the heart of Salt Lake Sector 5, Infinity Benchmark just beside CCD Lounge which hosted the first Kolkata Bloggers Meet 2009, organised by Webreps. In 2014, the city organised an event where people had to buy tickets for an entry. The seats were 200 of which 198 tickets were sold. "Social Media in Photography", hosted in iLead. In 2015, during Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, the new Kolkata Bloggers declared it's organised existence. A room overflowing with people, critics questioned the quality of audience. September 6, 2015 - A book "Tales to Tell" ( A joint venture of Kolkata Bloggers and BEE books) was launched in Oxford Bookstore. More than a hundred and forty tried to fit in a room which could accommodate 60. 900 copies of the book were sold in 4 months. After it was covered in the media, critics said - Kolkata Bloggers is childish. January 2016, in a day's notice more than a hundred and forty, turned up on a Friday evening to discuss blogging and book publishing. The discussion that followed is cherished. The critic said, "This crowd was nice. But can you pull such quality audience and crowd during a weekday? " I smiled. My Kolkata is a changed city. This city loves Kolkata Bloggers. This city loves newer ideas and experimenting. This city is no more a laid back city. This city is young energetic, wants to live, learn and transform. Kolkata Bloggers - A database of a near two thousand bloggers cutting across this society's cross section, is happily a platform. It organises Digital workshops, Blogger engagement programmes and more than that, connects people. Our network of collaborators, offers this city, more help. The happy collaborations Aninda Das (Corporate Communications, Infinity Group) readily agreed to provide the space in exchange of logo presence. "The idea is interesting, I would like to write about it before the event. " said Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey (senior assistant editor, The Times of India). I interrupted, "No no, Jhimli di, I want you to come. " Travellers Meet pre-event coverage by The Times of India | Page 2, May 4, 2016. Keeping aside all his priorities, Rimbik (owner, TIA) made the graphics. Esha (owner, BEE Books) printed all that were required after Anumita (co-owner, TIA) designed them. Dipankar ( Manager, Tamron Kolkata) took it up and shared it multiple times from the Tamron page. With the little knowledge of Digital Marketing that I have, I tried my tricks. A couple of days before the event, my young friends took charge of spreading it in college circuits and Asmita volunteered to anchor. Travellers Meet. The idea was to make the different worlds collide. With us, we had Anuradha Goyal, Srivatsan Sankaran, Jayati Saha, Esha Chatterjee, Abhishek Chamaria and Yours Truly. Anuradha Goyal (www. inditales. com) and Srivatsan Sankaran (srivatsaaphotography. net) | Photographs: Aikantik Bag Anuradha Goyal is a veteran blogger based in Goa, who blogs at inditales. com. She started blogging in 2004, has recently published the book "The Mouse Charmers", which has sold in overwhelming numbers. Through her new blog "inditales. com", she wants to improve the tourism sector and generate employability. She shared with us different tips about writing a post and how impactful a blog post might be. It was through her blog, a lost child could be found. It's all a small world and the Almighty's wish. Srivatsan Sankaran is a travel photographer of repute who has taken to blogging very recently. His startup "Madra Photo Bloggers", aims to popularise the Tamil culture and take it digital, spread digital education. Like Anuradha, he too has left a lucrative IT jobrole to follow his passion of travelling and photography. Kolkata Bloggers is happy to mentor bloggers from Madras Photo-Bloggers. He showed us three photo series of Theyyam (Folk festival, Kerala) and other folk festivals in Tamil Nadu. Joseph being felicitated by Jayati Saha and Rangan Datta | Photograph: Souranil De Jayati Saha is an established travel photographer based in Kolkata. Her work has been recognised/ published/ awarded in different countries which include France, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Romanis to name a few. My vocabulary isn't just enough. She created magic with her photographs. I could see the people spellbound, often standing up to not miss the farthest end of the screen. She showed her travel photographs, her compilation of Widows' Holi and lifestyle of Widows and her photo series of "Asha Bari". Joseph, who runs "Ashabari" was also with us this day. Esha Chatterjee (Owner, BEE books) explaining business | Photoggraph: Souranil De. Esha Chatterjee is the youngest Indian Publisher if Jaipur Lit Fest is to be believed. She is also the content curator of Kolkata Literature Festival organised inside the International Kolkata Book Fair. She spoke about how Coffee Table books do not sell as such but this is a super business idea and a money making machine if we know how to distribute and sell them. She had previously made coffee table books and made profits. She spoke about why social media is important, a complete analysis of the following and predicting the number of sales before she takes a decision of publishing it. Abhishek Chamaria (co-founder, UrsDigitally) speaking about how social media can help Travel photo-bloggers. | Photograph: Aikantik Bag Abhishek Chamaria is one of the handful few Indian contributors to Social Media Examiner. His expertise is Social Media marketing and converting leads to sales, especially for the real estate business. His new venture is "Urs Digitally", where he is teaming up with MaxMobility, which is one of India's oldest Mobile App development company. (PS: I am a consultant there). Abhishek spoke about how the travel blogger can benefit from social media marketing, get published and make it a profitable venture. I wanted to speak about Nomadic Clouds and how Kolkata Bloggers is transforming the ecosystem in this city. But I was so happy and high on energy that I hardly spoke on the topic. According to the feedback, this was my worst ever public speaking in the last three years. I would take this opportunity to write about Nomadic Clouds. The Audience. Half of the crowd | Photograph: Aikantik Bag 97 people registered during the event, an overwhelming percentage of which are travel bloggers. There were around 15 photography enthusiasts of varied age groups. Of the database, around 8 are identified as travel startups. We had Uttara Gangopadhyay who is a veteran travel writer, Rangan Datta who is a recognised heritage blogger, Amrita Das whose posts are well read across the nation. The team of Kolkata Colloquy, Tale of 2 backpackers, Calcutta Photo Tours were there as well. Nomadic Clouds Visit Nomadic clouds: www. nomadicclouds. com Nomadic Clouds is a venture of Kolkata Bloggers, teaming up with Travel Bloggers based in Delhi and Chennai. We are expanding the team. The idea is to bring all Travel bloggers and Travel photographers on one platform. Imagine a huge map of India. When you mouse over a region, they would show you curated travel stories with spectacular photographs and videos. This could transform the Indian Tourism, the way the world looks at it and generate employability on the ground level. To start with, we need your support. If you want to contribute to Nomadic Clouds, click here and fill the form. We would want you to publish your travel stories on Nomadic clouds. In the first set of offerings, we would mention your name, details with a link back to your blog, Facebook and Twitter profile. We would also put up your page's "Like" button or a "Follow" button to your profile, to convert Nomadic Clouds traffic to your own visitors. In the near future, if the quality of photographs and stories are good, we can sell the photographs, publish calendars or could use our collaborations to publish a coffee table book or get one specific story published in mainstream media. The possibilities are endless if we join hands. Do ask me questions before joining Nomadic Clouds. If you are convinced, join it here. About Anant Education Initiative. Aninda Das (Chief, Corporate Communications, Infinity Group) speaking about Anant Education Initiative. | Photograph: Aikantik Bag Anant Education Initiative was launched in 2011. In the last 5 years, there are more than 5000 students belonging to the economically backward section of the society whose education is funded. Anant's mission is to offer bright students, financial scholarships to pursue higher education and skill based training to be employable. The vision is to empower education, eliminate poverty, promote culture and all round development of the society. Not just scholarships and mentoring, this initiative wants to build an alumni association who could brainstorm and give something back to the society when it is their turn. You can check out their details here. Quick Feedback. I had hopped in with a casual interest but ended up a more informed person. It was a very nice gathering. -- Siddharth Ganguli (Former Officer, Indian Army) It was an absolute pleasure meeting fellow bloggers, photo bloggers, some brilliant photographers and entrepreneurs. Sharing experiences and looking at a road map ahead was heady! -- Sudarshana Ghosh (Blogger, Kolkata Colloquy) I admit my ignorance of not knowing anyone of the guests of the evening save one, Srivatsan Sankaran. I am lucky to be in his friend’s list in FB and have been a big admirer of his exotic landscape photography. But the panel of speakers and presenters so well handpicked by the organisers turned out to be an enlightening one. there was bit of everything for everyone of us. It was upto us to pick up and choose as per our predilections and priorities. In a word it was motivating even to a grey beard like me and except yours truly at the farthest corner, there were bubbling youths showing promises and exuberance of tomorrows. -- Ashis Ghatak. If you have been there in the event, I would request you to leave a comment with your feedback. If you have loved the initiative, please share this blog post and come to our next event scheduled on May 14, 2016 at The Park Hotel. --- - Published: 2016-04-26 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tata-steel-factory-tata-tiscon/ - Categories: Kolkata, Sponsored. - Tags: Tata Steel Plant visit, Tata Tiscon Waking up to the spring air of February, with shades of Valentine’s week adding colours of love to our lives, I left home around 5am to catch our train to Jamsedpur, the Steel City of India. I was accompanied by a bunch of fellow bloggers and together we boarded the train Steel Express at 6am. When the world around us was busy in Valentine’s Day celebration, we looked forward to our journey; the excitement of visiting the Tata Steel Plant and witnessing the process behind the manufacturing of Tata Tiscon rebars kept us occupied. We knew it was going to be a different experience altogether. It’s the love of Tata Steel which has been helping all of us to survive in this progressive world; it is this care and concern for the customers which has helped them earn the trust of millions of users and it is this same customer satisfaction which led us to our journey of visiting the plant, to see how things work. Our love was reciprocated. A selfie with other bloggers while entering the Tata Steel plant. We reached around 10 am and were taken to Hotel Centre Point by car. We freshened up soon and headed straight towards the plant. Soon we found ourselves standing in front of the largest plant of Tata Steel in the world. It is more than a 100 years old. Unbelievable! ! From authorities to workers, everyone behaved well with us and their amiable vibes made us comfortable in this unknown plant whose machines were completely unknown to us. We were given protective helmets, jackets and gloves to wear. We looked no different from the workers there. As our guide pointed out, these were the safety gears which protect workers from sustaining burns. Wearing them, we realized the care and concern embedded within these garments. Inside the Tata Steel plant. Towards the right hand side you can see the Blast furnace. || #BuildingBlogsofJoy We went inside the Tata Steel Plant and the diligence of the workers welcomed us. Everyone worked in a rhythm without complaining. Their satisfaction reflected in the love for their work. First, we saw the Blast Furnace. The basic job of a blast furnace is to convert iron oxides into liquid iron. Now imagine! ! How hot can it be! ! We were lucky enough to watch it from the air-conditioned control room but its gigantic structure and the temperature recorded there gave us a strong idea of the heat produced there. A glimpse of the Blast Furnace. Studying about it in text books are way different than seeing it infront of ones own eyes. Our next stop was the New Bar Mill. It is a place where rebars are made from billets. Now before you wonder what I am talking about, let me explain the meaning of rebar. A rebar is a long rod that you can see at construction sites. It is also called ‘reinforcement bar’. Okay, I will not go into too much of technical details. Simply speaking, a rebar is a steed rod located inside the concrete of your building which gives strength to the building preventing it from breaking down. Billets are small cuboid pieces of iron that are heated and then, under pressure, slimmed down to cylindrical shaped bars. Gradually, they are divided into two smaller streams of hot steel. After all this, the grooves are made, and ‘Tata Tiscon’ is embossed on them (Tata Tiscon, of course being the Tata Steel brand which manufactures and markets steel rods, rebars and the like). After this, they are cut, cooled, collected, and packed. From Billets to Rebars | Inside the plant was an experience. Now this whole process is extremely dangerous. These rebars are the ones we use in our homes for safety and they are bound together by stirrups at 135 degrees. We were amazed at the way Tata Tiscon took care of the workers working there. Tata Tiscon offers safety both to the ones who make the products and the ones who buy them. The best part is they officially collaborate with masons so that you don’t need to rely on hearsay, and can actually hire legitimate masons without worrying! This concern for both workers and buyers made us feel that it’s more than just a company but an extended family where the authorities focus on safety for each and every person, irrespective of the role a person plays. This eye opening experience helped us feel this mutual bond of love and care. Our final stop was the Russi Mody Centre for Excellence. It chronicles the tales of one of the most revered families of India: the Tata family. Jamsetji Tata built Jamshedpur from scratch when he decided to start a steel plant in India. The love, care and concern of Tata is woven in the roots of its foundation. Jamsetji, a man with a heart of gold envisioned a city with all kinds of comforts, a city where workers would enjoy living in. ‘Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens; reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks; earmark areas for Hindu temples, Muslim mosques and Christian churches,’ he had insisted. This very vision of Jamsetji is still reflected in the Tata Steel Plant, in Tata Tiscon, in Jamshedpur and everywhere, even in their ways of production and customer service. It was late evening when we returned, enriched with knowledge. The love, care, concern, the arrangement of workers’ and customers’ safety filled us with a feeling of being loved and cared by one of the biggest industrial giants of India. It is this familial bond which unites all of us together. I'll leave you with something spectacular. A worker had drawn on a piece of paper, the reflection of which when cast on a cylindrical surface - shows JRD Tata's portrait. --- - Published: 2016-04-07 - Modified: 2017-05-31 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/%e0%a6%97%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%9c%e0%a6%a8-%e0%a6%89%e0%a7%8e%e0%a6%b8%e0%a6%ac-%e0%a6%9a%e0%a7%9c%e0%a6%95-%e0%a6%95%e0%a7%83%e0%a6%b7%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%a3%e0%a6%a6%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81/ - Categories: Burdhaman, Culture, Gajan in West Bengal, Spring, West Bengal, বাংলা - Tags: Gajan festival, গাজন উৎসব বিশ্বাসে মেলায় বস্তু || গাজন উৎসব ও চড়ক ' কৃষ্ণদেবপুর, পশ্চিম বাংলা ২০১৪ অনুবাদঃ তমোঘ্ন সরস্বতী (ছাত্র, নীল রতন সরকার মেডিক্যাল কলেজ ) ছবিঃ অনির্বাণ সাহা To read the blog post in English click here. “আপনারা কাল সন্ধ্যে অবধি থাকবেন তো? ”, আমার উত্তরের অপেক্ষায় একদৃষ্টে বড় বড় চোখে সহাস্যবদনে শিশুটি তাকিয়ে ছিল আমার দিকে। আমার সামনে এক মন্দির চাতাল ভর্তি ভগবান-রূপধারী লোক। অভিনেতাদের মধ্যে একদল প্রচণ্ড বিশ্বাসী, তাদের সারা শরীর লোহার শিকে বিদ্ধ, এমতাবস্থায় তারা আগুন নিয়ে খেলা দেখাতে ব্যস্ত। কে জানে, আশুতোষ হয়তো তাদের কাছে অল্পে সন্তুষ্ট হননা! বাবা মদ্যপ অবস্থায় ধেয়ে আসাতে বাচ্চা ছেলেটি আমাদের পেছনে লুকিয়ে পার পেল । ওর শেষ দশ টাকাটাও হয়তো আমাদের জন্য ঠাণ্ডা পানীয় আর প্রসাদ রাখতে চলে গেছে। আজ আমার কলমে এক বিশ্বাসের কাহিনী, একটি সম্পর্কের কাহিনী। গাজন গ্রামবাংলার এক প্রাচীন ও জনপ্রিয় লোক উৎসব। প্রত্যেক বছর চৈত্র মাসের শেষ দুই সপ্তাহে পালিত হয় এই উৎসব। বিভিন্ন কাহিনী প্রচলিত আছে এই উৎসবের উৎস নিয়ে, তাদের মধ্যে সর্বাধিক প্রচলিত বোধহয় বৌদ্ধ সন্ন্যাসীদের হিন্দু ধর্ম গ্রহণ করা নিয়ে। সময়ের সাথে সাথে এটি দেবাদিদেব মহাদেবের প্রতি উৎসর্গীকৃত এক উৎসবে পরিণত হয়েছে। আজ গ্রাম বাংলার বিশেষ কিছু জায়গা গাজন উৎসব পালনের জন্য বিখ্যাত। তাদের মধ্যে দুটি উল্লেখযোগ্য জায়গা হল বর্ধমান জেলার কুরমুন, এবং কৃষ্ণদেবপুর। আমাদের এবারের গন্তব্য কৃষ্ণদেবপুর। কৃষ্ণদেবপুর পৌঁছানোর পর সেখানকার স্থানীয় বাসিন্দারা আমাদের ‘মন্দিরতলা’র দিকে এগিয়ে যাওয়ার নির্দেশ দিল। সেখানে পথনাটিকার প্রস্তুতি চলছিল। অভিনেতারা নিজেদের মুখ রঙ করছিল বিভিন্ন দেব-দেবীদের প্রচলিত রূপ অনুকরণ করার চেষ্টায়। নাটকগুলি প্রত্যেকটিই লোকমুখে প্রচলিত পৌরাণিক কাহিনী অবলম্বন করে সৃষ্ট। চিত্র ২ – প্রস্তুতিআমি যখন এহেন মেকআপ শিল্পীদের নিখুঁত শৈলী চিত্রগ্রহণে ব্যস্ত, তখনই একটি ছোট্ট শিশু এসে আমাকে পার্শ্ববর্তী বাঁশবাগানে গিয়ে কালীর সৃষ্টি চাক্ষুষ করার আহ্বান জানিয়ে গেল। গিয়ে বুঝলাম যে সেও আসলে একজন পুরুষ মানুষ, শ্মশাঙ্কালীর বীভৎস সজ্জায় সজ্জিত। চিত্র ৩ – কালীর জন্ম ক্ষণিকের পরিচয়েই আমাদের সাথে শিশুটির সখ্য হয়ে গেল। বড় বড় জ্বলজ্বলে দুটি গাঢ় কৃষ্ণবর্ণ চোখ নিয়ে শিশুটিও ওর সমবয়সী বাকিদের থেকে আলাদা। আমরা মুগ্ধ হয়ে ওর গল্প শুনতে লাগলাম। সে গল্প শুধুমাত্র গাজন উৎসবে সীমিত নয়, তার মধ্যে ছিল তার নৃত্য পরিবেশনের গল্প, তার পরীক্ষায় প্রথম আসার গল্প, আরও কত কিছু। ওর বাড়িতে খানিক বিশ্রাম নিয়ে আমরা আবার মন্দিরতলায় এসে উপস্থিত হলাম। অভিনীত পালাগুলি সবই শিব-পার্বতী, দুর্গা, ভগবান শ্রীকৃষ্ণকে কেন্দ্র করে নির্মিত পৌরাণিক কাহিনী। ঘটনাচক্রে, গাজনের গল্প অনুযায়ী শিবের সঙ্গে হরকালীর বিবাহ সম্পন্ন হয়। এই কাহিনী অবলম্বনে সৃষ্ট একটি পালাও দেখার সৌভাগ্য হল আমাদের। পালাটিতে মহাদেব শ্রীকৃষ্ণ ও তাঁর গোপিনীরা ছাড়াও অন্যান্য দেব-দেবীর সঙ্গে নৃত্য পরিবেশনের শেষে কালীর সাথে তাঁর বিবাহ হল। পালাটি শেষ হল কালীপুজোর জনপ্রিয় মূর্তির আদলে, মা কালী মহাদেবের ওপর দাঁড়িয়ে। চিত্র ৪ – পুজোর সময় কালীর মুখের অভিব্যক্তি চিত্র ৫ – পথনাটিকায় যুবক কৃষ্ণ রণিত, আমাদের সেই ছোট্ট বন্ধুটি, আমাদের সারা জায়গা ঘুরিয়ে ঘুরিয়ে দেখাল, এমন অনেক জায়গা দেখার সুযোগ হল যেগুলি হয়তো আমরা নিজেরা ঘুরলে যাওয়ার কল্পনাও করতাম না। ভ্রমণ শেষে সে আমাদের রাতটুকু তাঁর বাড়িতে কাটিয়ে যাওয়ার আমন্ত্রণ জানাল, সঙ্গে নৈশপ্রহরে গাজন প্রত্যক্ষ করার প্রলোভন। আমরাও এ সুবর্ণ সুযোগ হাতছাড়া করলাম না। রাতের অনুষ্ঠানে দিনের বেলার পথনাটিকা ছাড়াও ছিল বিভিন্ন বীভৎস উৎসর্গ ও নিজেদের শরীরে আঘাত করার খেলা, যা দেখে যে কোনও বীরপুরুষের হৃদয়েও কম্পন হতে বাধ্য। রণিত আমাদের সরবক্ষণের সঙ্গী। মানবদেহকে আহত করার দৃশ্য দেখে যখন তাঁর শিশু-শরীর ভয়ে কেঁপে উঠছিল, তখন সে আমার কোলে এসে আশ্রয় নিচ্ছিল। চিত্র ৬ – দুর্গা চিত্র ৭ – আগুন নিয়ে খেলা চিত্র ৮ – অভিনয়ের ফাঁকে শিব-পার্বতীর বিশ্রাম চিত্র ৯, ১০, ১১– অগ্নিদেব সহায় আমার মতন একজন আপাদমস্তক শহুরে ছেলের কাছে একজন মানুষ তাঁর পেট লোহার শিকে বিদ্ধ করে সেই অবস্থায় আগুন লাগাচ্ছে সেই শিকে এই ছবিটি কল্পনা করাই এক অসম্ভব ব্যাপার, সেই অবস্থায় নৃত্য পরিবেশনা তো দূর অস্ত। সত্যি, মানুষ যে ভগবানের নামে কী না করতে পারে, তা ভাবা দুষ্কর। একজন মুখ্য পুরোহিত নিরলস মন্ত্রোচারণ করে যাচ্ছিলেন, এবং বাকিদের তাঁর মন্ত্রে বিশ্বাস করার আহ্বান জানাচ্ছিলেন। এমন বহু সম্পাদনা ছিল যাতে শিল্পীরা নিজেদের শরীর কে ধারালো ছুরি, কাটারী দিয়ে ছিন্নভিন্ন করছিল। তবে এদের মধ্যে সবথেকে বেশী উল্লেখযোগ্য হল বাঁধা কালী। আর একটু বিষদে বলতে গেলে, একজন পুরুষ মানুষ কালী সেজে তারা শরীর শিক দিয়ে এফোঁড় ওফোঁড় ও কাটারী দিয়ে ছিন্নভিন্ন করে ছুটে আসছে, এবং দুজন শক্তিশালী পুরুষ তাঁর সেই রাগ দড়ি দিয়ে বেঁধে দমন করার চেষ্টা করছে। আমাদের বাঁধাকালী নির্ঘাত মন্ত্রের জোরে,বা কারণবারির কৃপায় ইহলোকে বসবাস করছিলেন না তখন, কোনও সুস্থ মানুষের পক্ষে এ জিনিস করা সম্ভব না। আমার দুর্ভাগ্য যে লোকের হুড়োহুড়ি তে বাঁধাকালীর চিত্রগ্রহণ করে ওঠা সম্ভব হয়নি। পরের দিন আমরা চড়ক দেখতে গেলাম। তার রীতিনীতি আরও আজব। ছবি তোলার জন্য ক্যামেরার ভিউফাইন্ডারে চোখ রাখতেও বুকের পাটা লাগে। একবার প্রত্যক্ষ করে অবশ্য সে ভয় কেটে গেছে। চড়কে ভক্তরা মূলত দুই শ্রেণীর। এক শ্রেণী, যারা ঠোঁটে ও কানে লোহার রড দিয়ে বিঁধে সারা মাঠ জুড়ে বিজয় দৌড় দৌড়োয়। আর এক শ্রেণী, যাদের পিঠে আংটা বিঁধে চড়ক গাছ থেকে ঝুলিয়ে দুলিয়ে ছেড়ে দেওয়া হয়। এ দৃশ্য আর যাই হোক, কোনও দুরবলহৃদয় ব্যক্তির জন্য নয়। চিত্র ১২ – চড়কপুজোর ঠিক আগে চিত্র ১৩ – দ্বিতীয় লোহার শিকটি ঠোঁটে ঢোকানোর প্রস্তুতি নিচ্ছেন পুরোহিত মহাশয় চিত্র ১৪ – আর এক ভক্তের আত্মত্যাগ চিত্র ১৫ – পৃষ্ঠে বিঁধার সময় কৃষ্ণদেবপুরের গোটা অভিজ্ঞতাটাই এক আলাদা রোমাঞ্চ। সেখানকার লোকেদের আতিথেয়তাও অনির্বচনীয়, ঠিক তেমনি অসাধারণ হল সেখানকার রীতিনীতি। সরল হৃদয়ের লোকগুলো সেখানে অল্পেতে খুশি হয়, এইজন্যই হয়তো আশুতোষ তাদের এত কাছের লোক। অন্যদিকে সম্পাদনাগুলি ঠিক ততটাই রোমহর্ষকর। আমার কাছে এমন একটা জায়গায় এমন একটা সময়ে উপস্থিত থাকা যখন সমস্ত লোক একটা মন্দির চাতালে একত্রিত হয়, যেখানে চিত্রগ্রহণকারীদেরও লোকেদের নিজেদের লোক বলে গণ্য করে, এ এক অনন্য অভিজ্ঞতা। কৃষ্ণদেবপুর আমার হৃদয়ে এক আলাদা স্থান করে নিয়েছে। রণিত কিন্তু আমাদের তার বাড়িতে ঠিক নিয়ে গেছিল, আমাকে আর সৌরভকে। সেখানে তার মায়ের হাতের রান্না খেয়ে আমরা প্রশস্তির ঘুম দিলাম। অচেনা একটি ছেলেকে এমনভাবে বিশ্বাস করা, এ তো আমাদের কঙ্ক্রিটের জঙ্গলে মনে আনাও পাপ। আমার নিজেরও এই ব্যাপারটা ঠিক যেন বিশ্বাস হচ্ছিল না। আমরা বেরিয়ে যাওয়ার পর রণিতের মা তার হাত দিয়ে চারটে সেদ্ধ ডিম পাঠিয়ে দিয়েছিলেন আমাদের জন্য। রণিত ও তার বন্ধু ছোটু আমাদের সাথে স্টেশন অবধি এল এবং ট্রেন ছেড়ে যাওয়া অবধি আমাদের সাথেই ছিল। ছেড়ে যাওয়ার সময় আমি রণিতের চোখের কোণে জল লক্ষ্য করলাম। এই দৃশ্য আমার বুকটাকে ভারী করে দিল। আবার অন্যদিকে খুব হালকা লাগছিল। এক অদ্ভুত অনুভূতি। আমাদের সমাজে ভাল আর খারাপ একইসঙ্গে বর্তমান। এসবই আমাদের অবচেতন ও সচেতন মনের সৃষ্টি। আমরাই শুধু ভালটাকে দেখতে চাই, খারাপের থেকে মুখ ফিরিয়ে নিই। --- - Published: 2016-03-27 - Modified: 2017-03-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/widows-holi-vrindavan-mathura/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Explore India, Festival, Photography, Season, Spring, Street Photography, Vrindavan Holi - Tags: Banke Bihari Temple, Barsana Holi, Holi in India, Holi in Uttar Pradesh, Holi photographs in India, Mathura Holi, Nandgaon Holi, Radha Raman Temple, Vrinda Kunj, Vrindavan Holi, Widows Holi in Vrindavan, Yamuna Kunj Holi in Vrindavan & Mathura | Arghyadeep Roy and Anirban Saha | 27. 03. 2016 Radhe Radhe. The Holi in Vrindavan and Mathura is already spoken much about on all travel and news portal. We could hardly add anything new to it. We could perhaps share our experience and we must say it was great! For those who still believe that Holi in Vrindavan and Mathura, the birthplace of the tradition must be a peaceful affair like the ones in Shantiniketan or ISKCON, hold on. Take a break. We'll tell you it is not. A. You could perhaps protect your camera wrapping it in a plastic cover, making sure not a single dust of colour enters it. When you are all sure and you start walking with your head held high with perhaps the biggest and the most confident smile on your face, a monkey might just appear out of nowhere and snatch your spectacles away. Don't worry, even before you'd realise what had happened, a group of people would be surrounding you apparently trying to help you get your specs back, but in reality, would scare the monkey away. Tip: Carry a packet of "Frooti" with you. Monkeys love Frooti more than bananas. B. Boys make this an opportunity to touch women all over with colours with either a sly smile on their face or "Radhe Radhe" on their lips. Or they could perhaps point their water gun at the women and spray colours on them. All in the name of God. Tip: It's a place, where molestation in the name of the festival is possible, so be careful? Lath Maar Holi | Photograph: Arghyadeep Roy C. Is that why there is a "Lath Mar Holi"? That's a tradition where the men from Nandgaon would try to colour the women in Barsana and the role of the women is to beat the men up with sticks. Umm, they take this up really seriously. Tip: If you are a photographer, use a zoom lens and stay far. The lanes are narrower than the bylanes of North Calcutta and there are just too many people. The ladies there aren't considerate enough, your lens might get shattered into pieces. D. Okay, don't laugh at this: The following day, the women of Barsana go to Nandgaon to play Holi and as per tradition and natural instincts, the men tease them anyway. As per tradition, the men again get beaten up. Tip: If you are lady photographer, not only should you carry your lens, you should also carry a rod or something equivalent Information #1: Lathmar is celebrated in the entire of "Rangeela Gali", so do not just stick to one place. Information #2: Not only do they not know what traffic rules or traffic lights are, you would not even find a public toilet. You could perhaps knock on a door, smile and ask for permissions. You'd be a happy man if you get a smile in return. Else, try another door. E. Try out the local food: If you are from Kolkata, you'd not really be surprised. Except for Aloo Paratha, you'd find everything in Kolkata and that tastes better than that in Vrindavan. The Aloo Paratha there costs a bomb but it is worth it. You'd find a variety of sweets which tastes very good and is full of Ghee. PS: Everything is vegetarian there. F. If you are scared of cows, Vrindavan is not the place for you. In any one of the bylanes, a cow might just appear from nowhere, right in front of you demanding food. You are expected to smile, pat (or cuddle) (if possible worship) and offer the cow some food. If you do not find cows in the bylanes (which would not happen), you'll not miss them. The smell of the dung would keep you anticipating. PS: Cows are anytime better than monkeys who take your spectacles aways. So be thankful and worship. Inside Banke Bihari Temple | Copyright: Your Exotic World. "Banke Bihari Lal ki. . Jai! " G. Banke Bihari Temple: If your idea of a Vaishnav is that of a soft spoken, kind hearted, demure man who does not get angry, move over ISKCON and welcome to Banke Bihari Temple. 50 metres from the temple you'd find young devotees dancing to Yo Yo Honey Singh and throwing Gulal in the air. Gulal is powdered colours by the way. You do not need an extra effort to get into the temple. All you need to do is to manage to stand somewhere near the gate (20 metres radius is enough) and visualise God and pray to him. Pray to Him to keep you alive till you are pushed out of the temple. Once and if you are out alive, thank Him for his Supreme graciousness. Arghyadeep calls this "the human grinder". If the rush of the Mumbai local train discomforts you, this is slightly more than double the rush. BUT if you ignore the crowd, the experience inside is divine. The moment you enter the gates, you are pushed by the crowd towards your right. You'd oversee a huge courtyard full of heads, the voices screaming "Banke Bihari Lal ki... " and "Radha Rani ki... ", while the enthusiastic rest would thunder "JAI! ". Flower petals are thrown from the balcony above. Information: A general Holi celebration in Banke Bihari or any small temple can be broken into three parts. The first is the "Phoolon ki Holi" or the Holi by showering flower petals. Second would be the play with Gulal or powdered colours. The third involves water, colour mixed in warm water with everyone spraying it using water guns. Tip: Camera protection is a must. Ask any experienced photographer or just Google. There's just enough resources that would help you. PS: People there understand Bengali. If you are a Bengali, just speak to them in your mother tongue. All instructions were written in Hindi which I had very willfully ignored. Later was taken to the guards where I tried to put my case forward in Hindi. I spoke a lot of Hindi which they could not make the head or tail out of. Then I spoke in Bangla. Surprisingly they understood. Not only did they understand, they also let me get to the first floor and photograph. H. Just beside all the rush, flows the almost empty Yamuna river. The little bit of the water that is believed to still exist is being used to wash buffaloes and cows. Move your attention from the cows, buffaloes and pigs. You'd find the only one place which is peaceful. It is not a temple. It is a library. Yamuna Kunj. We entered that place and were quite amused. Just after entering the ashram, I saw idols of Jagannath kept. I wondered why would Vaishnavs of Uttar Pradesh do that? A little into the place I discovered calendars, pamphlets and instructions written in Bengali. This is a place of World Vaishnav Association who are followers of Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is present in more than a hundred countries, primarily in Southern America, devotees of which resided inside the ashram. A kind hearted young monk took us around, to places either discovered or impacted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. "Govind bolo Hari Gopal bolo. Radha Raman Hari Gopal bolo. " I. Radha Raman Temple: This temple was established towards the end of sixteenth century by one of the direct disciples of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Bengal. Chaitanya of Bengal spearheaded the Bhakti movement and the revival of Hinduism in India. From Bengal he went to Vrindavan to bring the remains of Krishna back to life. History aside, this place would offer to you what Banke Bihari would not. Peaceful Holi celebrations and strict yet smiling administrators. If you are a photographer who is even the slightest threat to the serenity and the decorum, you'd be instantly asked to leave the temple complex with a stern look and a sweet smile. With not too many people, the Holi celebrations take place after regular evening worship. Tips: a. Please be properly clothed. b. Do not show your back to the Deity. c. Do not disrupt the proceedings. Do not disturb any devotee. d. Even when you are sitting, do not show your feet towards the Deity. This is an act of disrespect and you could be asked to leave the temple. Holi in Radha Raman Temple. | Photograph: Arghyadeep Roy Widows play Holi in Vrindavan | Photograph: Arghyadeep Roy J. Widows Holi: I'm not sure how your perception of a widow is. The first image of a widow that comes to my mind is that of my grandmother. My grandfather had passed away six years before my birth and I had always seen my grandmother as a widow. Not in any of my imaginations could I associate my grandmother with "Balam Pichkari jo tu-ne mujhe maari, toh seedhi saadhi chori sharabi ho gayi" and picture her dancing to it. Possibly the widows there did not even know what is being played. More than the widows, I was amused to the limits of being offended by the way the photographers were behaving. A note to the photographers! To start with, photographers are not supposed to disrupt proceedings or ask their "subjects" to go out of their way to make their photograph. If a person is dancing, you can ask her to repeat a step once more and that should be the maximum a photographer should go. A photographer is not supposed to ask a disinterested widow to dance for them because she looks dramatic. A photographer is not supposed to ask a widow to lay down on a bed of flowers so that they could photograph her like that. According to Arka Dutta dada, a few years ago when the celebrations happened in some other place, a widow could not manage to find space for herself to rest. That is why she had to lay down near a heap of flower to take rest. Now when the venue is changed, there is a lot of space. Moreover when I saw someone falling down and a lot of people gathering around her, I thought a widow had fainted. I cursed the photographers for being insensitive and not calling for medical help. Then I discovered that the lady was posing for photographs. That was a total facepalm moment for me. Previously even I had asked a few people to try something out for me. Example: The kid during Durga Puja. He was bathing in the river and I had asked him to take one more dip. The monk in Sikkim was already standing there in front of the candle. It looked disbalanced and I had asked him to light the candle. That was my limit of manipulating my subject. I am proud that friends like Koustav Ghosh regularly brainstorm with me and keeps me in check. To me photography is more about representing the truth than creating it. To me, observing is primary and photography comes second. I'm sorry I might never be able to become a photographer. Tips: This is the wildest of the Holis in Vrindavan. People can be as near as half a meter from you and yet throw at you heaps of colours and resume dancing. Towards the end, it wasn't really only widows. There were married women, girls, men and very young boys. By the time I managed to escape, my lungs had more colours than you would have required to play Holi in Kolkata. Celebration of the widows before the start of Holi. They made circles and went round and round dancing. Suggest a caption may be? || Photograph: Anirban Saha As the celebrations continued || Copyright: Your Exotic World. Photograph: www. anirbansaha. com Most of the widows there are very grandmotherly. If you behave well with them, they'll take you to their discussions or perhaps crack a joke or two with you. That would be all from our end for now. But before I end this post, I need to acknowledge a few people. Srivatsan Sankaran and Rajatabha Ray: Srivatsan almost coerced me into this. Finally, when Rajatabha wanted me to go with him, I decided to go. Svetlana di & her parents: I thank you for arranging everything for this trip. "Your Exotic World" is an upcoming travel portal by travel bloggers and photographers. They were my sponsors. It is a pleasure working with them. Arghyadeep Roy: He is a 17-year-old student in Delhi now, an alumnus of Calcutta Boys School. I know him from 2013. Even as a kid of class 8, he inspired me and helped me. I made him a co-presenter when I was invited to The Frank Anthony Public School to conduct photography workshop. Considering his age, he is way sorted out, mature and I know he would continue inspiring me. It is an honour when he treats me like his own elder brother. He blogs at www. arghyaroy. com Esha Chatterjee: Thank you for proof reading and finding for me colours! Upasana Dasgupta for re-phrasing a few sentences in this article. --- - Published: 2016-03-07 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tata-tiscon-the-joy-of-building/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Kolkata, Random notes Ever since my apartment went one and a half feet lower after the recent earthquake, I’ve taken a special interest in how the buildings are constructed. A lot of effort, imagination and aspiration goes into creating a house and a lot of love, to make it a home. For the “Home” to remain strong for a couple of generations at least, one needs to make sure it is built properly. This post is a part of Tata Tiscon's #BuildingBlogsOfJoy blogger engagement programme conducted by Blogadda. com, which gave me a unique opportunity to know more about this and ask questions. Before we proceed, I need to introduce the terms “Tata Tiscon” and “Rebar” to my readers. Tata Tiscon is a Tata Steel brand which manufactures and markets steel rods, rebars and various derivatives of rebars which are used in a construction of a building. Rebars are “reinforcement bars”, in simple terms, are the steel rods inside the concrete of your building that provide it strength and does not allow it to break down. “There are simple tips”, the speaker said. A proper foundation, structured work, using proper rebars and making sure they are bound together by stirrups, not at 90 degrees but at 135 degrees. While the speaker spoke about many things, I started concentrating on three aspects of Tata Tiscon. The three that are my areas of interest: Branding: How they’ve been branding themselves. How they’ve been reaching out to people. How they’ve helped to organise this sector. Tata Tiscon has always thought ahead of its time. Be it embossing its brand name on the rebar or deepening the gap between two ridges so that the cement could bind well with the bars, not compromising with the quality of the steel given. It’s as pure as it could get, ductile and strong. “We’ve tried newer ways to build the trust”, said Animesh Roy, the Head of Marketing and continued, “who else would think of steel rebars being ordered after midnight? We cater to that as well! ” Well, yes. An interested customer could not only look up on their website but also order for Tata Tiscon rebars. It would then be delivered to the address provided. “How would you ensure that it reaches to the person fast enough? ” I inquired. “We’re there in more than 95% of the districts in India. ”, answered Animesh as I was left amazed. And not only that, you could locate your nearest dealer from their portal. There are Tata Tiscon experience zones and dealerships. The Tata Tiscon experience zones are outlets where the aspiring home builder could see the range of the Tata Tiscon rebars, and take an immersive tour of an ongoing construction using a Google Cardboard like virtual reality headset, directly find prices and ask an expert by using an interactive panel. Do you know: More than 95% of the people who come to Tata Tiscon experience zone want to build their own homes. Being(brought up in Central kolkata) and later being shifted to the jungle of high rises, I’ve hardly seen people who want to build their own homes. They work all their life, save up the money, try and find out what’s best to keep their homes strong, choosing the rebars, the cement, the architect, the mason because he’d be investing his life’s savings into this and in all probability, plans to spend the rest of his life there. What more could the Tatas from their part do to ensure this Aspiration to Reality a joyful experience to cherish, the joy of building not only a home but hope for everyone around? The owner at the dealership store was overtly enthusiastic. I laughed at the way we were offered cashew nuts, chips to eat and tea to drink. I kept on biting sugar cubes and the conversation that followed was interesting. He is into the business for around 4 decades if I remember properly and he adds, “These days, it is so much transparent. The customers do not question much. Previously they used to weigh and measure the length. There was distrust. ” and I realised that the uniform code, the quality stamp and the name of the Tatas on them builds the trust. Not only that, the dealers nominate masons, who get recognised by Tata Tiscon. This in a way tells the customer that the mason has had a good reputation with the builders and should be trusted. // From aspiration to reality, build the #home your grandchildren would cherish. Choose what bonds best! #BuildingBlogsOfJoy - Thanks to our #Bloggers Shoma and Anirban for this #GuestPost Posted by Tata Tiscon World on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 While I chuckled all the way home after interacting with my fellow bloggers, the entire night I kept wondering. I’ll turn all my hair grey while saving up for my masters and then would probably turn bald, saving up to build my own home. Umm, somewhere in the interior of Sikkim, up on the mountains near a monastery, in front of a field. How’d I ensure my peace of mind and ensure that my children spend more time designing their universe inside? Tata Tiscon, I smiled would ensure the joy of building. --- - Published: 2016-03-06 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/parsi-fire-temple-kolkata-india/ - Categories: Bow Barracks, Culture, Exclusive, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Root, Slideshow, West Bengal - Tags: Calcutta Walks, featured, Gray Town Kolkata, Iftekhar Ahsan, Parsi community in Kolkata, Parsi Fire Temple, The Future of the Past The Parsi Fire Temple in Kolkata is a place forbidden for any non-Parsi. But the forbidden things seem most tempting, isn't it? When the temple was under renovation last February, I decided to give the place a visit. The gate of the Parsi Fire Temple in Kolkata (Calcutta) established in 1839. (more... ) --- - Published: 2016-02-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengal-write-ahead-whats-positive/ - Categories: Culture, Events, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, State, West Bengal - Tags: bengal write ahead, essays, opinion, positivity I hope this post finds you in good health. Even if you are not well at the moment, I'd always wish you get well soon. On that positive note, let's introduce "Bengal Write Ahead", an online writing contest conducted by Facebook partnering with Kolkata Bloggers, Rupa Publications and Red FM. All Indians, specially Bengalis are known for wearing their opinions on their sleeves, discussing and chit chatting over an earthen cup of tea or a mug of coffee in the nearest coffee shop. Their discussions range from the blood red communist rule to the current chief ministers hilarious slip of tongue, from why Donald Trump gets media attention to why their para'r boudi gets the chaiwala Poltu's attention. But how often do we discuss newer ideas and positive news that happen in Bengal? Let's try finding them. Convert your positive opinions about anything Bengali to 500 word essays/posts and submit them to www. BengalWriteAhead. com and tell your friends about it, using the hashtag #BengalWriteAhead. The top 50 such positive posts gets compiled into a book and the top 10 posts would get Rs. 10,000. 00 cash prizes. You can either write in English or in Bengali and your topics can range from sports, music, films, theatre, culture, education, health, industry and the list is endless. What's POSITIVE? A section of the media questioned the intent of this contest and mentioned that this is a way the ruling party of Bengal wants to use soft power to condition people's minds. A few of my friends laughed, a few raised alarm. A few decided to not talk about this. After my phone number was shared in the emails sent to all bloggers and book lovers (data collected from the Book Fair) I started getting phone calls, a few questioning my knowledge of Bengal, a few asking what's positive and a few never bothering to know what's up. They resorted to Bengali abuses. In one of the emails, a person asked... most IMPORTANTLY, I noticed About the Contest under Bengal Write Ahead website in which it is written that - Entrants are to submit positive individual opinion posts on West Bengal. What do you mean by the term POSITIVE? If I have different opinion or frankly, negative opinion on the going ons in West Bengal, am I not eligible to write it here? Please CLARIFY it. Shantanu Chatterjee. Here is my clarification, dear friends. My Bengal is more than TMC, CPIM or any political party could ever become. If we do not speak well of our own state, who would? If we do not promote our own culture, who would? No Messiah would come to change things. This is our land and we are responsible for it's growth. When NASSCOM established the 10000 Startups program in Kolkata, second in India, that's positive news. Today it is thriving with young minds. When Kanyashree gets funds and recognition from UNESCO, that's positive news. Oh wait, you can colour it politically. When a certain group of people say that Mother Teresa's main aim was to convert people from other religions to Christianity, I find sisters from the Missionaries of Charity celebrating Diwali to help their children enjoy the festival of lights and give them reasons to be delighted. To me, that's positive. When I see Christmas eve celebrations and prayers happening inside the Ramakrishna Mission Belur Math global headquarters, it's a happy thing for me. To me, this is positive. When most of my friends find Kathakali attractive and plan to visit Kerala, I tell them that it isn't a masked dance. Bengal is the only state that boasts of Chhau, Bagho Nacho, Gomira, Gombhira, Chandi Dance, Cham and all are masked dances. Not only culturally, Bengal is the only state to have the hills as well as the sea beaches with the variety of culture, changing landscapes, flora and fauna. Do you know that more than 60% of birds available in India can be spotted in Bengal? If you see today's The Times of India, page 1 - "Kamduni girl bags NASA scholarship". To me that's positive. You don't need to search much, it's right there on page 1! Aren't you proud? Not only Sourav Ganguly, when Saurav Ghosal makes news globally for his expertise in playing Squash, I feel good. When I see Arundhati Bhattacharya becoming the Chief of SBI, it is positive. When I see Manabi Bandhopadhyay become the first transgender principal of a college in Bengal, it is definitely a first and a positive step towards a better state. And you know what? It is not bound within political lines. When I see people asking me about blogging, when I see young students starting a blog and flooding my inbox with their queries, I feel positive. When Kolkata Bloggers worked with the Bengal Government, NASSCOM, US Consulate Kolkata, International Kolkata Book Fair, when I see The Times of India taking interest in Kolkata Bloggers and promoting it, I feel positive. When I see all the major photography groups having their blog, more than 5 first time big blogs from Kolkata doing very good work, it is positivity for me. When I see young students starting up, be it graphics, videos or be it making youth theatre groups, I feel proud and very happy. When I see the elders in TiE, NASSCOM or the Publishers and the Booksellers Guild encouraging this, I have the broadest smile on my face. I'll mention a few more positives that I can recall from the top of my head: a. Purulia's tribal women learn effective water management techniques and multi crop approach, getting helped by NGOs and SHGs, I feel good. Do you know that they achieved food sufficiency in the region which was always in the drought list, inspite of heavy rains. b. Sampriti Bhattacharya, a 28 year old hailing from Kolkata who is doing her PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has designed a drone that can map ocean floors at places where GPS don't work. She made it to Forbes 30 under 30. c. Ayesha Noor, who hailed from the Kolkata slums, is now a national and international gold medallist in Karate. US film makers are making a documentary on her life. Daughter of an auto driver, she fought epilepsy and poverty to reach this height. d. Scholars from Kolkata discovered a 6th century Ramayana which gives us an entirely different perspective of the Hindu epic. e. This one is popular - A Kolkata cab driver made a roof top garden on his taxi. A simple search over the internet would give his details. f. For me the Jadavpur Protests #HokKolorob is very positive. Colour it politically if you might want to, I have never seen all colleges unite for one cause, brave the rains and walk down the streets complimenting the thunders with their roars. There were mistakes from the students as well, but they are children. CM Mamata Banerjee chipped in and the Vice Chancellor was removed. Where else in India could you even dream of seeing that? The CM's intervention left a good impact on the young minds. g. You know what's positive? This time let's make it political. The chief minister of the state made a hurried conclusion about a certain rape case, which was insensitive towards the victim. But the police was free to investigate in their own methods and the real culprit was caught and penalised. h. IIT Kharagpur in a joint research with university of Illinois and Texas, found a way to make the internet safer and by not using traditional userid and password approach. It is lauded by MIT. (For people like me who spend more than 20 hours a day on the internet, they'd know how important this is. ) i. Kolkata is the most progressive city in its outlook towards women and does not discriminate against them on the basis of their looks or the clothes they wear. (TOI Survey report) j. Who does not know about Shila Ghosh, the old lady that sells fries on the pavement near Rabindra Sadan metro station? There's another lady who toiled for years as a manual labourer, a house maid and a vegetable seller to save enough money to build a hospital. At 70, she built a two storey hospital where her son Ajoy is a doctor. The hospital has 12 doctors and 25 beds. If this isn't positive enough my friend, nothing is... and it is just ten more of them. I'm sure that I do not know everything about Bengal. I am sure there would be enough positive news. If you want to know about the economy and feel good about it, I might not write it in this blog post because you might want to colour me politically. I'd rather give you the link to the India Brand Equity Foundation. // Bengal Write AheadHelp share Bengal's story with the world! Facebook, in partnership with Rupa Publications , Kolkata Bloggers and Red FM , invites you to 'Bengal Write Ahead' - a writing contest that aims to showcase the positive energy, cultural diversity and boundless creativity of Bengal. Your entry could be one of the top 50 posts curated by Rupa Publications to be published in a book or you could be one of the top 10 winners to receive a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Submit your story now at www. bengalwriteahead. com #BengalWriteAhead Posted by Facebook on Saturday, February 27, 2016 Friends, this is our land, this is our culture. We are free to oppose a government, we have the right to dissent, we can be anti-establishment and feel very proud of ourselves. But in this process are we killing the brand Bengal, that if rebuilt would only help us and our future generations? Bengal is more than Rabindranath Tagore and Raja Rammohan Roys of the past. The present too offers us new and more positivity. Let's assemble them, let Bengal Write Ahead. --- - Published: 2015-12-25 - Modified: 2025-12-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/christmas-eve-at-ramakrishna-mission-belur-math/ - Categories: Christmas, Colours, Culture, Exclusive, Explore Bengal, Explore Kolkata, Photography, Root, Slideshow, State, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: belur math christmas eve, Belur Math Ramakrishna Mission, christmas in ramakrishna math, christmas in rkm, featured, Ramakrishna Mission christmas celebrations, Ramakrishna with Jesus Christ "Blessed are the ones who know how to forgive". This echoes inside my mind when deep down I feel hurt. Hurt by people, I've often referred to as family and I simply wanted to escape. I have been rude and I have had my share of mistakes in the past. "Do not say - I am a sinner. Say - I've chanted the Holy name. How can there be any sin in me? " Given my weak health and my elder sister wishing to join in the last moment, we were late. I could not see properly and my head was bursting with pain.  The two friends who were supposed to manage the permissions from the Vice President of the Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters could not turn up.  Photographers are generally not allowed inside the main shrine of the temple. I kept praying to God, "Do something, do anything. I want to photograph this. " "Pray to God in a closed room, in private. Your conversation with the God. He already knows what you want. " The moment I entered Belur Math, I rushed to the main office, clueless whom to seek permission from. A person came forward and asked, "What are you doing here? I know you. " I froze for a moment. "You came during the Durga Puja right? Would you like to photograph this as well? " I just could not react. "Go straight, take a left turn, second last room. I'll send instructions. You'll write about it right? " Time stood still for me. "Go! It'll start within the next few minutes. Take the Press card. " I could not even manage a smile. I wanted to thank him from the bottom of my heart. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-12-21 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kindred-nations-the-united-states-and-india-1783-1947/ - Categories: Events, Kolkata - Tags: bilateral relations, heritage, Indian Museum, US consulate general The trade relation between the British occupied India and the newly independent United States of America dates back to early seventeen eighties. Do you know what was one the first things imported from the United States to Calcutta? It’s ice. So was it only ice and the various other things that got exchanged between the United States and the only second US Consulate in the world, the then Calcutta? Or was it the beginning of the confluence of the cultures? The history is intriguing. The Chatu babu – Lattu Babu’s home in north Kolkata stands testimony to this history. Ramdulal De is one of the first Bengali millionaires and a pioneer of the Indo – US trade relations. There was an American trading ship named after him and a “Ramdulal De society” still exists in America. When Ifte (Calcutta Walks) was telling me all these, I was bubbling with questions. The Bengalis that time were heavily influenced by the western school of thought. How major an influence was the American free society on the Indian minds? Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore, to name a few, were free thinkers who brought changes to the religion and society in India (Calcutta). Raja Rammohan Roy, 1833. Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, 137982. Via: Kindred Nations. (Link). “You’ve asked a good question. Even Crusades was not all about wars. At the end of the day, we deal with people and there must have been a major exchange of ideas and culture during this time”, remarked Ifte. “Our (Americans) founders eager to place our country on the world map, learned much from the ancient cultures and traditions of India. They infused American dishes with Indian spices, wove Indian cotton into our textile and incorporated India’s ancient religions into our philosophy and literature”, writes John. F. Kerry (Secretary of State, U. S. Department of State). A brief insight on how the cultural exchange happened: 1850s: Joguth Chunder Gangooly, who converted to Unitarianism travelled from Calcutta to Boston. Dismayed by the American misconception about India, he wrote “Life and Religion of the Hindoos” to provide a deeper insight into his homeland. 1879: Francis Marion Crawford arrived in Bombay to study Sanskrit. After returning back to the US, he became a pioneering American Sanskritist translating hymns from the Rig Veda to English. 1893: Swami Vivekananda spoke in the World’s first parliament of Religion. Swami Vivekananda and guests at Green Acre School, 1894 Eliot, Maine. Collections of Eliot Bahá’í Archives, courtesy of www. VintageMaineImages. com, 6208 It was silent inside the Ashutosh Birth Centenary Hall. One of the top officials of the Indian Museum was talking to the US Consulate General when Mr. Sen took me to him. We exchanged smiles and shook hands. Mr. Hall as warm as the previous meeting enthusiastically exclaimed, “I know you, how have you been? ” “I’m doing good. Thank you. I’m trying to make a story on this exhibition. ” Inside the Ashutosh Birth Centenary Hall with Mr. Craig Hall. Courtesy: US Consulate General Kolkata FB page. Kolkata Bloggers was invited to the event “Kindred Nations” – an exhibition organised by the US Consulate General and the Indian Museum, curated by Meridian International Center, Washington DC with support from the US Department of State. I took this opportunity and had a quick exchange of views with Mr. Craig Hall. I looked at the exhibits with sheer amazement. I never knew it could be so much. Being a follower of Sri Sri Ramkrishna Deb, the only bit of early Indo-US history I knew of, is Swami Vivekananda’s journey to the United States and the World Parliament of Religions. Let me try and reconstruct the entire thing for you! So here is this nation, still under the fading glory of the Mughals. Towards the east, there is this Bengal province whose last Muslim ruler got defeated by the British East India Company. The Bengali society had by then been heavily influenced by not only Persians and Mughals, but also the Dutch, the French and the British. The British were consolidating their territory and strengthening their base in Calcutta. In some parallel world, a huge nation got her freedom from the British rulers and expanding their horizons, establishing business globally and advocating a free society. Did they really come to India for the Indians or was it the British that brought them? “They wanted to eliminate the British and interact more with the Indians” said Mr. Hall. Over the years, the trades strengthened relationships between the two countries with regular exchange of commodities, ideas, people and their culture and umm elephant. “The Elephant” broadside, 1797 Courtesy of the Collection of the New-York Historical Society, SY1797 no. 26 Jacob Crowninshield brought the first live elephant to the United States in 1796. The two-year-old pachyderm – which the American merchant had purchased for $450 in Bengal – was exhibited in cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Salem. Visitors could see the exotic animal firsthand for only twenty-five cents, setting a precedent for later circuses. Lockwood de Forest’s showroom at 9 East 17th Street, c. 1885 New York, New York Photograph by Lockwood de Forest Courtesy of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, NA1501. D31I3 Rabindranath Tagore with Helen Kellar, 1921 New York. Courtesy: Perkins School for the Blind Archives, AG62-3-001 Via: Kindred Nations. (Link). I wondered, Calcutta had always been iconic and instrumental in modernising India. While Raja Rammohan Roy being influenced by the western school of beliefs, searched for Unitarianism in the Upanishads, established “Brahmo Samaj” and made a few brutal societal practises illegal. There were religious leaders, social reformers and poets, who spoke of unity of religions. It was the hub of science, modern education and politics. I asked Mr. Hall how important Kolkata is today and how the US looks at this city. “It has always been an important city, full of liberal free thinkers. It is a really important city and it is strategic. Its improvement would uplift the entire region around and not only in India. We call it regional connectivity; PM Modi calls it Look East. It’s all similar thoughts. ” Me, Surya, Rrivu meeting Mr. Craig Hall, US Consulate General Kolkata. If you have an interest in Calcutta and its history, I would strongly recommend this exhibition and would ask you to be there. Do let me know if you require any help. Thank you Mr. Craig Hall for finding some time out and speaking to us, Mr. Iftekhar Ahsan (Founder, Calcutta Walks) for telling me interesting stories about the earliest Indo-US trade. If you have any interesting fact to share, please do it. Like, comment and share this blog post. Make sure you visit the exhibition before it ends on the 31st of this month. The exhibition is open from 11 AM till 4:30 PM, at Ashutosh Birth Centenary Hall, Indian Museum. Before we part: A life sized oil painting of George Washington, the first president of the United States of America, was gifted to Ramdulal De which was showcased in his north Calcutta home as a reminder that anyone can achieve their freedom. Almost a century later, Henry David Thoreau’s writings on civil disobedience were a huge motivation for Mahatma Gandhi and was a powerful tool in the struggle of Indian independence. Check out Kindred Nations link here. --- - Published: 2015-12-21 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-reluctant-photographers-mumbai-visit/ - Categories: Colours, Episodes of my Life, Explore India, Guest Posts, Photography, Season, State, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Anoushka Shankar Home, Anoushka Shankar Mumbai Concert, Anoushka Shankar Photographs Anoushka Shankar performing in Mumbai| December 12, 2015 My perception of Mumbai has always been of a city which is fast paced with warm but crazy people. This was my third quick visit to this city, second one in this year and the views are just confirmed. This visit started as a joke that Rrivu cracked. My close friends know that I am a huge admirer of Anoushka Shankar and Bickram Ghosh. Anoushka Shankar is here in India to promote her latest album “Home”, which is a tribute to her father Pandit Ravi Shankar who is often regarded as the father of World Music. He made sitar and the Indian classical music truly international, collaborating with The Beatles, performing and winning hearts across the globe. He had won five Grammy awards in his lifetime, including the Life time achievement award. Two of them being in the year 2012 where he was nominated along with his daughter Anoushka in the same category. This was the first time in history, some thing of this sort happened. He breathed his last on December 12, 2012 and was not able to receive the awards. His daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones had received the awards. I got introduced to Indian music at quite a younger age. My college friend – Supratik Chatterjee, taught me the basics of the Indian classical music. It is from then that I started listening to the classics. He is a tabla player and that has been the most of my exposure. While photographing him, I learnt the various nuances the musicians share and signal while performing. I could easily connect to the fusion created by Bickram Ghosh, Anoushka Shankar. Soumik Datta is not as popular but I like this compositions as well. Of the elderly lot, I like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan sab. After having completed my college, I learnt Rabindrasangeet for a year and a half. Later I learnt Indian classical music for around a year under Sounak Chattopadhyay. After that my schedules and my health did not really allow me to pursue this. Let me introduce a few characters here. Rrivu is a friend for the last few months. I met him a year ago during #HokKolorob student protests at the Jadavpur University. He works with me in Kolkata Bloggers. Arundhati is a friend for the last three years. I got introduced to her by Surya. She works in the Hindusthan Times Mumbai. Somehow Rrivu, although younger to her, is her uncle by blood relation. I was in the office, biting my nails, tense about something when I took the joke a bit too seriously and within moments booked the tickets to Mumbai. Arundhati had a quick chat with her boss and arranged for my passes to photograph Anoushka Shankar and perhaps interview her. One quick chat with Pavel and I knew I could put up at his place. Pavel da is primarily an online friend for the last ten years. He was a journalism enthusiast who is now a doctor. We met a few times earlier because his maternal home is near to my place and his sister happened to join my college to pursue her masters. We share good memories of really poor jokes which he never gets tired of, sharing. Rohan Hingorani, Traveller | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 During any solo travel, I meet at least one interesting traveller. I very young athletic boy came up to my berth and asked me whether my phone is working. That marked the beginning of a very interesting conversation. He is an Indian Sindhi who is raised in Australia, did his bachelors there, worked for a few years and later served the army. Now at 23, he is travelling the world for around a year. Like any other traveller, he is also very interesting. Argumentative, cordial, friendly yet stern. The moment we reached Mumbai, I met an old acquaintance Sabarish. The three of us went to the Gateway of India to watch the sunrise! Sunrise, Gateway of India | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 Seagulls | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 Early mornings at the Gateway of India | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 Seagulls | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 It is where I found out that I can do this: #Sunrise | #Mumbai | Gateway of #India | Hotel #Taj Mahal. Moments after I left the CST, a boy exclaimed, "Anirban? " "Sabarish? " And yes we meet after around five years! @itssabarish A video posted by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) on Dec 11, 2015 at 5:32pm PST . . and I went to make many such videos. Not sure if I look stupid there. We walked the entire length till CST seeing, googling, asking about various buildings we came across. Specially the Parsi ones. I bid them adieu and boarded the train to Bhandup. Couple at the Asiatic Society, Mumbai | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 Nothing much interesting happened in between till the point in time Arundhati took me to Prithvi Theatre. This place is colourful, full of young people, energetic and interesting! The very acclaimed youth theatre festival "Thespo" is happening there right now. It is possibly pulling all the interested and interesting young people across the nation there. I really loved the ambience there. At Prithvi Theatre | Shot by Lava Pixel V2. It was for the second time I watched Anoushka Shankar perform and the first time, I photographed her. It was ecstatic. She brings with her a certain kind of magic which is inexplicable. She came in and greeted in her trademark way, exactly the way her father did. It was the third year completion of Pandit ji's death and this concert was dedicated to him. Anoushka played three ragas composed by him. The first being "Raga Jogeshwari", which is an integral part of her newest album "Home" and the third being "Pancham se gara". Her album "Home" is nominated for the Grammy this time. This is her fifth Grammy nomination. This reluctant photographer was active after a long time, jumping across places soon realising that he isn't as fit as a fawn. Thigh muscle cramps, wrist cramps killed it. Shooting a concert at 105mm focal length when you are used to 11-16 feels very annoyingly different. However one photograph got printed in HTCafe, the following day. Some weird expression and Pavel da | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 Next was Arundhati's birthday party after midnight where I was slightly ragged by her friends. Later I believe we struck the right chord together. I tried different cocktails there and then more cocktails the following day. The weirder the name, the better were the chances of being selected. "Kala Kauwa" has green chillis in it. If I ever get into lifestyle blogging, I know what I might want to specialise in. Pavel da took me to different places around Bhandup and Powai. I don't know why I felt like a Dejavu. I think I saw the exact place in my dreams. However in my dreams I had met an accident. Here I managed to get back safe. Juhi joined us when we were at the R City Mall. Let me introduce Juhi. This is for the first time I met her. Last year when I had sued the advertisement company for having used my photograph illegally in a Government advertisement, she volunteered to fight the case pro bono. We talked a lot. Call it over enthusiasm or effect of alcohol, you should never engage yourself in a debate with lawyers. When she was screaming at the top of the voice, "What the fuck was Mamata Banerjee doing when ... ? " "Whatt he fuck was Modi doing when... ? " "Rahul Gandhi is Pappu! ". Pavel da is a closeted left front supporter. Abhishek da is a self declared Modi Bhakt. Juhi, if I have understood her properly, is anti-every-politician-on-earth. Urban Tadhka of R City Mall saw a slice of Oly Pub with drunk people. I got verbally bashed left right and center for being anti-RSS. A quick verdict on Lava Pixel V2: If your budget is rupees ten thousand and camera is a priority, then this is the camera you should buy. Be informed that although the phone comes with in built application that asks you to minimise battery usage when the battery falls below 20% and further below 15%, the battery life is shorter than that is promised. That's just fine because my previous phones did not offer anything better. The phone heats up but that has happened only twice in the last two months. The photographs are clean and crisp. I've photographed using this phone and in my blog posts and the social media updates, have mentioned this. So far, my friends have given positive reviews about the quality of the photographs. The wide angle, the front flash are boons. This has relatively fast auto-focus and makes life easy. The body is light and fits very comfortably in my hands. There are features which might not be of much use. Example: The bokeh effect looks very artificial and can not replace the effect f/1. 4 creates. The "Wide Selfie" mode is not required. We could just rotate the phone and click photographs. Having said all of these, if we need to compare this phone with any other phone in this price range, I might actually prefer to buy a Lava Pixel V2. Please be informed, this phone was given to me for reviewing by Lava. Lava Pixel V2 was launched in Mumbai on September 7th 2015. ---- If you like the photographs and the really short Mumbai experience, so share this with your friends. If you have any questions, please drop it in the comment box. I would love to answer them or edit my blog post accordingly. God bless. --- - Published: 2015-12-11 - Modified: 2024-01-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/year-2015-necessary-choices-welcome-consequences/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Personal, Wrap up - Tags: 2015, new year, reflections Like any other year, I write this note in an introspection of the year 2015 that’s going to end, the various hits and the various misses, the people who have helped me and the way forward. I’m on my way to Mumbai. If things go just fine, I’d be photographing Anoushka Shankar and might interview her as well, on behalf of The Hindustan Times, Mumbai. This would be my second mention in HT Mumbai this year. This year has been quite an eventful one.   This is perhaps the first year which was driven entirely by circumstances, one leading to another. I had to make choices, I did. The consequences are just welcome. I’d decided to leave the TCS project I was in, because a person promised that he’d get me into the analytics team in TCS. After a quick two rounds of interviews and one quick training session, I found myself in the digital wing of TCS only to find sometime later, that the only work at hand was HTML coding. “It is not a bad job, you see! ” said the HR. “But I did not leave SAP to do HTML coding, you see? ”, I retaliated. Cutting across protocols I got connected to a few people and into around four projects where I worked for a few weeks before being shown the protocol. “Do not forget that you are only three years experienced in TCS. I have completed over seventeen. ”, said the delivery head who had got me in. “Toh? ”, I wondered. It was a subtle hint of something I knew nothing of. (Related blog post: Link) Kolkata Bloggers had by then made its mark in the newspapers, after it was approached by The Times of India. Like always, I had no paperwork and all promises were verbal. The fantastic person that Jit is, he offered us more than what we had discussed. “How does Kolkata respond? ”, Jit asked. “20 blog posts? ”, I fumbled. “Could your team make it over 50? ”. I kept quiet. By the time the entire campaign ended, we had over a ninety blog posts of which seventy-six were valid. TOI (Jit) gave us our logo space, gave us more responsibilities, opening slot and it was a celebration. These weren’t discussed before. I could not have imagined something as grand specially since Kolkata Bloggers were just formed. All that we had was the database and a handful of well-wishers. Jit became a good friend and I was comfortable enough discussing which university, on a personal front, I want to apply to. The Great Indian Bloggers Meet | Opening the session. The “Great Indian Bloggers Meet” had eminent people seated in front of me while I spoke. It was a nice feeling. Weeks later, a person called Jaideep Mazumder from TOI connected to me. He wanted to write an article on bloggers in Kolkata. I had one lovely open hearted discussion with him. Never in my interactions did I ask him his designation and I believed it would be some small article. But when the article came out in March, I realised that he is the assistant editor of The Times of India and it was a one full page article. It was more of an unpaid advertorial. I did not know how to react, but everyone else were very happy. Saimantick, Arjyak, Sourav da and all were definitely excited. That made me happy.   After the event with TOI and before this article came out, Kolkata Bloggers had already worked for the government of West Bengal, Kolkata Literature Festival and I connected to a few more people. One of them referred me to another person, who wanted me to set his company up in Bangkok. It was the first time I met this person and I promised him that I’ll be there in Bangkok setting his company. Days after having promised him, I was slightly scared. I neither knew him nor his partners and definitely not Bangkok. The evening before I was supposed to leave for Bangkok, I met Jaideep da and Rrivu. “You should be really excited. You are going to Bangkok! Any travel should excite you”, said Rrivu. Hardly I could have told him my apprehensions. While on my way home Jaideep da told, “Go you’ll like it! ” The language is strikingly different from anything even remotely related to English or Bengali. The another director of the company was a warm person. The discussions with Arjyak and Asmita, especially when it rained calmed me down. I was not of much help. It was too premature for me to have gone there and I had not by then, resigned from TCS. I was apprehensive but the entire thing was very smooth. Bangkok | Bangkok Walking Tours. The Bangkok Trip: It added another major perspective to my life. I enjoyed the anonymity there, the different places, negotiations and the people I was working with. There were times when I had exhausted all my money, so I took up other photo-blogging assignments. Soon a couple of tours were made free for me. I also came to know how big blogging has become outside India. I was in the TBEx (Travel Bloggers Exchange) meeting in Bangkok. There were areas where I could learn from the bloggers and the expats there. I chipped in with my stories of Bengal and Sikkim. That enthused them.  (Related blog post: Link. ) Staying away from home made Calcutta even more special. The little bit of discussions with Arjyak, Saimantick, Souranil were lovely where I would enthusiastically share my day’s experience. Darjeeling | Shot with Tamron 17-50 f/2. 8 I came back to Calcutta and three significant things happened. Arjyak and I were invited to have tea with the then US Consulate General. Kolkata Bloggers were asked to hold a session in the Edutainment show 2015. Aji Issac Mathew expressed his wish to hire me into his new team as a product manager. Last year, Nat Geo Insta walk called me where I met Iftekhar Ehsaan. He is one good person I draw inspiration from. Slightly after the bloggers session with the TOI, there was Ifte’s walk, of which I was a part. I met Subba Chen (di) who is Ifte’s friend. When we were at the launch of the Park Street WiFi, we came across Subba di and her friend Ipshita di, who works for the US Consul. Phew, long connection you see! She was impressed with our work and soon after we found ourselves conducting the bloggers workshop with the best schools and colleges, collaborating with the US Consulate. The leads of the Edutainment show came from Abhishek Chamaria and Paromita di. Abhishek Chamaria is one very honest and humble person you would find in the business circles of Calcutta. Maybe because he is relatively younger. He always gives credit where it is due, volunteers and collaborates. It is always a pleasure meeting and working with Mr. Chamaria. Paromita di owns Candid communication. I came across her last year for an event and she’s always been a support since then. We later worked together for the Bangla Sahitya Utshob and now for the Kolkata Book Fair.   The Edutainment show opened a range of opportunities for us and saw the first money coming into the Kolkata Bloggers’ pockets. I am very bad when it comes to keeping in touch with people. Sneha Maloo, the coordinator there, is one lady who is bubbling with ideas and very eager to learn. She has her own set of apprehensions and differences in expectation setting. That is perfectly all right because we are two different people coming from two different backgrounds all together. It was very good working with her for the Edutainment show. Anyone who knows me know Aji. He is the first person I interned with and he gifted me www. anirbansaha. com, yes which later became my identity. I regard him a teacher and when he gave me a call, there was no second thoughts for me. The day after having discussed my role in his new company, I resigned from TCS. Circumstances led us to work with NASSCOM and a few other clients. I saw Saimantick moving to Mumbai and at a personal level, it was slightly painful. Arjyak on the other hand was grooming himself to become a proper lead of Kolkata Bloggers. This is one of the happiest feelings. Another newspaper appearance | Caving in Meghalaya | Thanks Asmita, Harshit and Surrbhi. July – October: I was always unwell, had joined a new office, struggling to understand my new role and the newer kinds of people I had to interact with. From Kolkata Bloggers, we just kept performing not sure how the results were. Personally speaking, it was tough. Had Arjyak not been there, it would have been impossible for Kolkata Bloggers to pull it off. Tales to Tell: “Tales to Tell” (or T2T) is a book compiled and published by BEE Books, the entries of which were scouted by Kolkata Bloggers. It was fun interacting with so many young people together. Working for T2T was like revisiting my college life. It had its fun moments, fights, anger, ego clashes and when things worked out just fine, we smiled and partied. After being sold out two times before launch over Flipkart, sold out completely during the launch, we touched the breakeven within two months of the launch. Last evening, Esha informed that a hundred more books are ordered in Delhi. We still have the various Literature Festivals across India and yes, the book fair. Let’s not get into how I met Esha. It’s complicated. All that my readers need to know is – our professional partnership rocks. We complement each other’s thoughts properly. She is a control freak. I am moderately a control freak as well. But I am sure of the quality she would come up with, so I am very happy passing the responsibility to her. Especially when the other people in the team are Arjyak, Rrivu and Surya! Rohan Hingorani | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 While on this train to Mumbai, I met a co-traveller Rohan Hingorani. He grew up and graduated in Australia, worked in the army and is now travelling the world at 23. Germany’s David whom I met in Bangkok too is travelling right now. The traveller in me is facing its slow death. Not that I would want it to. Circumstances and choices. I’ve become a reluctant blogger these days. This year 2015, I’d wanted to put up organised, well written and long articles. I am not sure how successful I’ve been in engaging the audience. In the month of September, Similarweb shows that the blog engaged around ten thousand users. For an extremely ordinary employee like me, this is not a bad amount of engagement. I plan to work for the next couple of years and pursue my masters. I feel I’d be running out of fuel very soon. Or is it the quarter life crisis? I don’t know. I’ve been trying to analyse myself since February. So it’s like eleven months of analysis and I think what I want to do in my life. Or at least for the next five years. I’ve never been much of a planner and to be speaking like this certainly feels weird but fresh. I’ve changed over this period of a year. I’ve faced newer challenges, failed in a few, learnt newer things specially life skills. I am a calmer person now. May be because the only people I interact with are the ones I love a lot. Else I just do not respond or respond very reluctantly. Call it the work pressure or my weak health, I’ve become slightly less social online and the offline conversations have regained its charm. That’s a wrap for this year. I hope you enjoyed it. Allow me to engage you in some discussion or the other. Pray for me so that I am able to write posts that add some value to you. Stay connected to www. anirbansaha. com. -------- Update: Anoushka Shankar performing in Mumbai| December 12, 2015 December 12, 2015: I actually photographed Anoushka Shankar. One of the photographs came out in HTCafe (Hindustan Times) the next day. Christmas eve at Ramakrishna Mission | Belur Math December 24, 2015: Photographed Belur Math's Christmas eve celebrations. It was divine. I do not know why it is not very popular and only a very very few know about it. Celebrations like this should be really popular across the world. December 31, 2015: Resigned from EsportsIDTech, the startup where I was working as the Product Manager. Might join Techshu as a Product Manager during March 2016. Aji Issac Mathew is one of the directors of EsportsIDTech and also co-owns Techshu. -------- Post edit: Esha Chatterjee (CEO, Bee Books Publishing house. ) --- - Published: 2015-12-03 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/cold-pressed-juices-and-inspirit/ - Categories: entrepreneurship, Kolkata, Sponsored. - Tags: Cold press juice in Kolkata, Inspirit, Inspirit cleanse, Kolkata bloggers Cold Pressed Juices in Kolkata | Inspirit Cleanse. What are "Cold Pressed Juices"? The packaged juices are pasteurised, thus giving it a longer shelf life but compromising with the nutrient quantity. Even when the juice is made in our homes, the flavour of the fruit is not restored and the nutrient value decreased. It is there, where cold pressed juice needs its introduction. It is a way of extracting the maximum amount of juice from a fruit or a vegetable, where it is not squeezed or cut into pieces. When we cut the fruit into multiple pieces and put it to the mixer, it generates heat. Heat changes the flavour and lowers the nutrient content of the juice. Cold pressed juices, as the name suggests is extracted in a different manner. The fruits are peeled off and washed by clean water. It is then put into the machine that puts pressure of the fruit/vegetable from two sides and maintains the temperature. Thus the original flavour of the fruit/vegetable is protected. The juice while being formed and during packaging is exposed least to the air. The enzymes are preserved in the juice and the nutrient value is maximised. The cold pressed juices are good ways to detox and de-stress as well. Quick information: a. 14 tonnes of pressure is applied by the machine to get the juice out of the fruit/vegetable! b. Inspirit Cleanse claim that cold pressed juices have seven times the nutrient value than the alternate options. Who would be most benefited? Sports persons, house wives, IT employees, children and the old people - anyone who cares about their health would find benefit in this. If I speak from the twenty six year old's perspective - I see many initiatives like Healthy Billion, who promotes Yoga and healthy forms of living. I have friends who regularly gym to stay fit. Most of them could afford this and lead a healthier life. I know this because Harshit gyms, takes protein shakes and once referred to me a popular health drinks franchise. They aren't even cold pressed. This is. Inspirit Cleanse- Cold Pressed Juices in Kolkata. Inspirit Cleanse in Kolkata, is the third service in India that offers cold pressed juice. The other two are located in Mumbai and Delhi. A Kolkata Bloggers delegation met Mr. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, CEO of Inspirit Cleanse and discussed how people in Kolkata could order and get the cold pressed juices. Inspirit cleanse's product range: Inspirit Cleanse: Range of products. Inspirit currently has eight commercial combinations of cold pressed juices and two nut mylk labels. Ravishing - Lowers blood pressure, increases hair growth, high protein energizer Uplift - Aids in digestion prevents heart disease and also helps in reducing fatigue and nausea. Robust - Nourishing and dense nutrients for super alkalizing and anti inflammatory benefits. Sparkle - Supports healthy and beautiful skin and makes you feel rejuvenated. Agile - Sprightly juice for your heart, gut and bone health Alzheimer’s protects against Parkinson’s and curb all sorts of cancer. Restore - Replete with anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties, it improves vision, lowers blood pressure, reduces risk of liver cancer. Booster - Energy booster with anti-inflammatory properties. Helps in fighting cancer, increases your muscle efficiency. Immunity - A sweet and tangy juice for enhancing your digestive health with antiseptic properties. It reduces chances of stroke. Bloggers meet with Inspirit Cleanse CEO | Shot by Lava Pixel V2 How to order cold pressed juices in Kolkata? You could visit their website of Inspirit Cleanse and order for the bottle of cold pressed juice you want. It would be delivered to your home, correctly packaged. Use the code "INSPIRITANI10" to get a 10% discount. DISCLAIMER: This post is written based on my experience with Inspirit Cleanse cold pressed juice and the information shared by the brand officials. If you develop health issues, please consult a doctor at the earliest. --- - Published: 2015-11-13 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/100fireflies-friends-sky-lanterns-diwali/ - Categories: Autumn, Colours, Culture, Diwali, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography, Season, West Bengal - Tags: Arjyak Bhattacharya, Asmita Nandy, Debayan Laha, diwali, Esha Chatterjee, kolkata, Sky lantern kolkata photographs, Sky Lanterns Diwali, Sky Lanterns in Kolkata, Sky Lanterns Kolkata #100FireFlies: Sky lanterns, close friends and one Diwali. "Let’s use one hash-tag to share all our experiences over social media. What should it be? " “#100FireFlies”, said the very enthusiastic Madhura. The creative soul that she is, I couldn’t object. The sky lanterns had by then dotted the sky like the little fireflies. And somewhere below, thirteen smiling faces looked up in excitement. An evening well spent. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might be knowing that most of my newer friends are way younger to me by age. I’ve seen them grow from the kids that they were to now “mature” college students. To call them my family might not be an exaggeration. We’ve grown up together, maturing by bits, sharing our happy moments and moments that we learnt from. Debayan, Esha, Koustav, Harshit and Surrbhi are friends of my age. They aren’t kids but were equally excited about the sky lanterns. I wonder how beautifully we try newer things, brain storm, fail, learn, try again and succeed. Smile, hug and just be together. And it is not always work. It could be someone preparing for a romantic date, someone feeling low, fight over Coca Cola, spending some crazy time at Mani Square, bowling or playing air hockey! Or trying out Dhunuchi dancing at my friend’s home. What could we have done this time? Something that all would be a part of, relatively new and they’d all be working together? Last year, Debarshi Duttagupta got me introduced to the sky lanterns or “Phanush” as we call it in Bangla. Every year they light sky lanterns from their government housing complex. Over the years, this has become the close friends and photographers reunion of sorts! (Link) Having been a part of it last year, I knew what I could offer to my friends. *Bulb lights up inside the head* Debarshi Duttagupta (da) and Rana (da) at Debarshi da's housing complex this year. A couple of days of planning, people coming to my home, arranging for the sky lanterns at the lowest possible cost and we were there trying to figure out how to light one. The first one tore. The second one burnt. When the third one took off, a few screamed, a few hooted and a few sighed. It was a moment of happiness. They did not do something of this sort before and given the kind of memory the Almighty has given me, regard this as my first attempt as well! I wanted to be a part of it actively working and lighting. With Koustav around, who would even question the quality of photographs that would be made? It was so cool! Photographs: Anirban Saha, Koustav Ghosh. A lot in my close friend circle came. Asmita couldn’t, she had work. Rimbik had to stay back to take care of his mother. Surya, Arya are in Vellore and Pune. Arjyak, who missed the Dhunuchi made sure he did not miss this one. Debayan, Harshit, Surrbhi, Koustav came. Esha cancelled her meetings to see how a sky lantern is lighted. Rrivu, Madhura, Sayan Biswas, Sayan Bhattacharya, Souranil, Upasya cancelled their work ( and tuition classes) and jumped in. Madhura tried her best to light one! Sayan and Esha found it so interesting that they called more of their friends to their homes and tried to light more of them during Kali Puja and Diwali. Rrivu and Debayan joined Sayan and his friends. You know what the time with close friends is like. You know what these college kids become right after they leave school. If you know me personally and know my informal self, you know how not-very-diplomatic I am and how I eat most of the words and murmur half sentences which could be interpreted in a few more ways than just one. The second ones are always dirty. But then again, they’re close. This Diwali we spent some time with the children of the Missionaries of Charity, bursting crackers and amusing them. Asmita is a volunteer there and this was the third year she planned it. This was the second year I was a part of this. Rajatabha joined in. The kids were smiling and laughing. There was this moment when all the kids laughed with amazement. I froze for a moment. That moment is priceless. "Mother" | Photograph: Koustav Ghosh. Asmita is slightly different. This young girl whom I met in Loreto College during a photography talk, is an able leader. She works with Kolkata Bloggers, MAD, The Telegraph T2 and also manages time for other activities like volunteering for The Missionaries of Charity. Like her, each one in my close friend circle are leading lives slightly differently. While the elder Sayan’s film is selected in a film festival, Rimbik’s film got accepted in the Kolkata International Film Festival. The younger Sayan is a distinguished MUNer, Rrivu apart from being the regular JU student works with the Goethe Institute as a German teacher. Arjyak is the co-owner of Kolkata Bloggers. Harshit, Surrbhi, Debayan are invaluable team members in their offices. Koustav’s candid shots have always captured imaginations. Esha owns BEE Books and is taking this publishing house to newer heights using her creativity and sheer determination. If I have to draw references from Tagore, they aren’t the brightest of stars in their fields, but nothing could stop their indomitable spirits. Lighting their surroundings, making people smile, their own way, in their own little capacities. Listening to their inner strength. Embracing their wins, learning from their own failures. Fireflies. Yes. Each one of us. A hundred in our close friend circle. #100FireFlies. --- - Published: 2015-11-08 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bhoot-chaturdoshi/ - Categories: Autumn, Culture, Diwali, Exclusive, Guest Posts, Season, State, West Bengal - Tags: bengali culture, bengali festival, Bhoot Chaturdashi, Bhoot Chaturdashi Bengal, Bhoot Chaturdashi story, Bhoot Chaturdoshi, Bhoot choturdoshi, ghosts, horror A few days back almost all of our social media feeds were full with pictures of pumpkins. And they were meant to be scary! Being from the land of “Kumropotash” (Translation: Not found. ), I can imagine pumpkins to be the vegetable symbolizing the lethargic spirit, but not really scary. I looked around the internet a bit and came to know that those pictures of pumpkins were actually put since many people in America and other western nations were celebrating Halloween. Halloween followed by “All souls day” celebrates everything spooky and uncanny in the Occidental school of thought. Closer home, the spirits and the call of the unknown gets scarier as the call of the “Amavasya” (the new moon night) approaches. “Bhoot Choturdoshi” is actually our answer for the lame and innocent pumpkin which tastes much better in a well baked pie. Kali Puja marks the end of the Krishna Paksha | Shot with mobile camera, Lava Pixel V2. We have always heard of Pitri Paksha (Pitru Paksha) and Devi Paksha. After the end of Pitri Paksha, the Devi Paksha starts with Mahalaya where we pay homage to our forefathers. It continues till Lakshmi Puja (worship of the Hindu Goddess of wealth, during a full moon night). Then begins Krishna Paksha (the phase where the moon diminishes) which ends with Kali Puja. We complete the cycle by paying homage to the departed souls (ancestors) during Bhoot Chaturdoshi, which generally falls on the day before Kali Puja. There are different perspectives about Bhoot Chaturdoshi. One says that the custom of lighting fourteen lamps marks respect to the fourteen generations of our ancestors. While another tells the story of Maa Chamunda (another form of Maa Kali) and fourteen other horrific spirits. Ugly ghosts as decoration for Kali Puja | Photographs shot by Lava Pixel V2 According to this school of belief, Maa Chamunda along with fourteen other ghostly forms scared everyone around. The Dakini and Jogini, that we were so scared of during our childhood could be two of them! So fourteen lights placed at fourteen of the darkest corners of our homes to ward off evil spirits. Mythologies apart, Bengali customs are more about the food. This too is no exception. Bengalis all across the globe, frantically look for their grandmother’s “Choddo Shaak (fourteen green leaves)” recipes. This custom believes no evil spirit could reside in your body if you eat them (with rice). A Bengali home is often characterized by it’s love for “Jhorna Ghee” and “Benimadhob Seal’er Ponjika”. While there are several theories about which leafy vegetables you should eat to ward evil spirits off, Benimadhob babu comes to our rescue, every single year. If you want to know the list, please leave a comment asking for it. Quite contrary to the previous Sujola Sufola Bongodesh, most of the green vegetables aren’t available today. People look for replacements, definitely when they live outside India. The water which is used to wash the vegetables, is sprinkled inside the home in different corners to ward off evil spirits. Children are often asked to not venture out of their homes, after sunset during this time. Some more spooky ghosts. | Photographs taken by Lava Pixel V2 Was there a belief that evil spirits roam free during the darkest of nights (new moon night) that follows the night next? May be. Many from different parts of India who indulge in the study of spirits perform various rites and rituals, often called “Naraka Chaturdashi” and “Yama Chaturdashi”. These events too are done to ward off evil spirits from the household. Interestingly “Dhanteras” is celebrated a day before “Bhoot Chaturdoshi”, on the thirteenth day of Krishna Paksha. Now a business opportunity for gold retailers across India, this is an occasion where Kuber (deity related to wealth) is worshipped. From Dhanteras to Diwali, people in the north celebrate wealth, Goddess Lakshmi and God Ganesha. A certain section of Bengalis (umm, Ghoti to be particular), Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped during Kali Puja after a quick cleansing of anything unholy, evil and unlucky, “Olokkhi Bidaye! ”. Whether there is a relation between this cleansing and safeguarding your home against evil spirits, is somewhere lost in transition. The interesting connect between the fear of evil spirits and the worshipping of the Divine for wealth and prosperity during the same period of time, in different parts of the country, by people with similar religious believes, is something worth pondering upon. Evidently Bhoot Chaturdoshi is a living example of how living customs and traditions change locally and how local customs fuse to make something unique every time. What more amusing is how Bengalis introduce delicious recipes to every single celebration! The innocent looking pumpkins do not stand a chance in front of our deliciously cooked “Choddo Shaak” and the fear of the unknown. So what if you could not manage to get all the fourteen readily available? Customization always saves the day and it is the spirit that always matters. On that note, have a spooky and scary “Bhoot Choturdoshi” guys! Spooky Bhoot Chaturdoshi! Photographs taken by Lava Pixel V2. Guest post by Paushali De Roy with inputs from Sharmistha Bag. Paushali De Roy is a lawyer by profession. Calcutta, food, travel and 'every thing Bengali' are things which interests her immensely. Paushali loves to voice her thoughts on her blog and intends to publish her book someday, soon. --- - Published: 2015-10-28 - Modified: 2020-02-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/belur-math-durga-puja-rabon-kata-2/ - Categories: Autumn, Baghbazar, Black and White, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Explore Bengal, Festival, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Photography, Random notes, Season, West Bengal - Tags: Arjyak Bhattacharya, Belur Math Dhunuchi Dance, Belur Math Durga Puja, Belur Math Visarjan, Bholanath Dhaam, Bholanath Dhaam Durga Puja, Bishnupur Raban kata, Dhunuchi dance, Durga Bhavan, Kola Bou snan, mahalaya, Rabon Kata, tarpan, Vivel Pujo Love Durga Puja spells trouble in my life. A lot of people asks just too many questions about my work, hair fall or for the lack of any other topic – when I plan to get married! Outside my home, it is chaotic with a hundred thousand people vocally exhibiting their enthusiasm, abusively bargaining or busy scolding people around. I still do not understand why everyone around gets happy! Is it buying new clothes or seeing ten more pandals? New clothes do not make me happy. Going out with a close friend to buy one, does. The smile on the face of the loved ones whom I gift clothes, is one of the happiest feelings. The real happiness is with a close group of friends. Even if we run out of topics of discussion, sharing silence together seems blissful. Even if they scold and not let you work, you smile and give in. One such moment was when I was discussing the number of photographs I’d require for a blog post when the disappointed Arjyak remarked, “Why do you have to take up everything as assignments? Why can't you just spend some time relaxing and enjoying? ” Arjyak is amusing. This school pass out who could not manage to write an email subject line last year is now the co-owner of Kolkata Bloggers and manages it's communications. He is one of the very few who know what makes me happy or when I am tense. The curious Arjyak was disappointed because he did not much find the aunties doing sindur khela interesting. The numerous photographers ganging around any pretty married lady amused him. What amused him even more, are the three red vermilion dots on his face. The smile on his selfie made me laugh a lot. Talking about friends, Arjyak isn’t the only one. I am blessed with a crazy set of friends. While Rrivu, Esha and Amartya accompanied me for Kola Bou snan, Asmita, Rishav, Rimbik and the other lot abandoned their Ashtami plans to do Dhunuchi Dance. Upasana, Parth, Anish randomly meeting up! Anurag kept asking me to go to Belur Math and the Puja ended with walking under the moonlit sky of Bishnupur at near midnight. I never knew this puja would turn out to be so special. I would not make this post an entirely personal one. I’ll be the dedicated photo-blogger and try to mix personal experiences with information. Vivel Pujo Love & meeting Dev. Vivel is a premium luxury brand of ITC. This Durga Puja, they had taken the less privileged children out on Pandal hopping with Bengali film actor Dev. We had organised a small bloggers meet with the brand ambassador and the marketing head of Vivel. It was a pleasure meeting Dev in person. Vivel and Dev plan to take this initiative forward to organise even bigger events the next year. Bholanath Dhaam Bonedi bari Pujo. This is one of the few most respected traditional families who performs Durga Puja. Having started in 1905, this is unique in more ways than one. They are descendants of the legendary Chand Sadagar and are followers of God Shiv. Even during Durga Puja, the larger idol is of Shiv and Durga is worshipped as a eight year old girl child. The entire worship is done following Vaishnav non-violent tradition and no sacrifices are made. Even Mahishashur is not shown as being killed. Due to my weak health, I could not photograph most of their events. Mr. Ajoy Datta with his grandson, while the idols were being decked with ornaments | Bholanath Dhaam' 2015 Bholanath Dhaam is equally famous for its Diwali celebrations where they light huge sky lanterns. Thank you Rangan Datta da for getting me in touch with the owners of this house. You can read more about Bholanath Dhaam's Fanush celebrations here. Mahalaya: Tarpan and Karna's story. Mahalaya marks the end of Pitru Paksha and the start of Devi Paksha. We all know that by now. But what exactly is Pitru Paksha? When Karna (one of Mahabharata's heroes) died and went to heaven, he was offered gold and jewels as his meals. He asked Indra (the king of heaven) why he was not offered proper food. Indra told him that he never offered food to his ancestors. Later Indra allowed Karna to come back to earth for fifteen days to offer food for his ancestors. These fifteen days are known as Pitru Paksha. It is considered to be very auspicious for paying homage to the departed souls. Tarpan | Mahalaya. An interesting piece of mythology: After Karna died, he couldn't get much food in the heaven. So he prayed to Lord Yama (God who records death) to let him go back and donate food to get real food in heaven instead of gold and silver. So these 15 days (Mahalaya + 14 days) are considered to be very auspicious for paying homage to the departed souls. The most important day being Mahalaya Amavasya ( also known as the all fathers new moon day) That's about Tarpan - offering homage to your ancestors. Details courtesy: @esha392 ----- Tags: #OnlyInBengal #Indiapictures #Storiesofindia #indianstories #calcuttauncut #kolkata_igers #Kolkata #Durga #AirtelPandalRun #DurgaPuja #photoofday #photooftheday #photography A photo posted by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) on Oct 12, 2015 at 5:59am PDT The morning of Mahalaya starts with offerings to the forefather for the attainment of peace of their souls. In return they bless their descendants who performed the rituals for prosperity and welfare of their lineage. I should thank Souranil for coercing me to go and photograph this time. Thank you Koustav, Aikantik, Swarnava for being there! Kola Bou Snan. (কলা বউ স্নান।) This is one ritual which does not have a proper documentation at all. But this happens. Every Saptami during the sun rise. Kola Bou is popular as God Ganesh's wife. This thread of the story has it's own myths. The other story says, the banana tree is intended to serve as a symbolic summary of the nine types ("Nava Patrika") of leaves that signify Goddess Durga's various forms. They also represent fertility in the land of Bengal. This happens in almost all Ghats of Ganga. The young banana tree is cut and brought to the river, washed, draped in a white saree with red border, worshipped and taken to the Durga Puja and placed to the right hand side of Ganesh. Thank you Rrivu, Esha, Amartya for joining in. Thank you Srivatsan for coming to Kolkata and being a part of the celebrations. Dhunuchi Dance at Durga Bhavan. Never before did I shoot Dhunuchi dance. Not that anyone could give me concrete information as to where I could have shot. Irritated by everything around, I decided to host a Dhunuchi dancing session myself at Nivedita's place. Nivedita's home (Durga Bhavan) is slightly more than one hundred and fifty years of age. Their celebrations there are legendary and more than anything else, the interiors of the courtyard looks good and I wanted to shoot there. Dhunuchi naach by my friends, at Durga Bhavan (Saha bari). Within 5 hours of having thought of organising it - we saw Asmita, Rrivu, Rimo, Swarnava, Srijoy, Gammy, Rimbik, Anumita, Kunal, Sohini, Rubai and his four friends, Amartya, Nivedita, Aritra and their cousins - all join in! We managed to bring all ingredients. This was the first time I even saw a proper Dhunuchi dance and towards the end I feel like a pro! All the dancers there were first timers! Such is the magic of Durga Puja! PS: Arjyak missed it. Visarjan at Belur Math, Ramkrishna Mission headquarters. Belur Math is the global headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission. This is a pilgrimage which is known for its discipline and dedication to humanity. Built on the principles of Sri Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa Deb, Sarada Maa and Swami Vivekananda, this place is called the "Temple of Universal religion". The Durga Puja is very special here and even the media has restrictions. Not everyone is allowed to photograph inside the temple complex or the rituals of Durga Puja. I feel blessed and privileged to be allowed to photograph Saptami afternoon and the visarjan (Idol immersion) in Belur Math. I should thank Anurag Banerjee for forcing me to go there. I never expected to be greeted with so much warmth and regards. On the Saptami day, the Maharaj scolded me for not having food (bhog) since morning. We had Bhog there and it was special. Rabon kata celebrations at Bishnupur. This happens during Dashami of every Durga Puja. Quite aligning to the traditions of the north Indian Dussehra, in this six hundred years old tradition - the demon Ravana (Bengali: Rabon) is cut. I was informed by Amartya, who is also a teacher of Rabindrabharati University, Department of Mass communication. The idol of the demon king is made. Four masked dancers representing different characters in Ramayana come dancing all along, with the sacred sword (which otherwise is kept in the nearby temple), gets up and cuts the throat of Ravana. The headless idol of Ravana is then scavenged by human beings. The clay of the idol is regarded sacred. There are six masks and they are believed to be as old as the rituals. It is only this time of the year that they are put to use. I realise this post was really long but I hope you've enjoyed it. I thank Esha Chatterjee for the edit. Do not forget to leave a comment, ask any question and follow me on Twitter and Instagram to stay connected. শুভ বিজয়ার আন্তরিক শুভেচ্ছা ও অভিনন্দন জানাই আমার সকল বন্ধুদের। বড়দের কে প্রনাম জানাই। --- - Published: 2015-10-08 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/dslrs-are-passe-mobile-photography-is-the-new-cool/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Photography, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: Lava Pixel V2, mobile phone photography Taking photographs using your mobile phone is no more just uploading photographs amateurishly and being happy about it. People now want professional quality photographs using their mobile phones. There is a growing demand of better cameras in the phones and the mobile handset makers are simply obliging. There are groups of people who prefer “mobile phone photography” and they come up with related tips. They are supported by organisations who give away annual mobile phone photography awards. Instagram and their city based communities are just another addition to the mobile phone photographers’ fancy. I took a special interest in this after I had crossed more than a thousand followers over Instagram. While most of the people around me are so excited, what am I missing? Camera is just a tool! Says one of this nation’s best documentary photographer, “What has camera to do with photography? It’s just a tool. ”, while a friend of mine added, “Don’t you think these machines are very handy and affordable? ” I went out of my way to ask people why they would prefer to use their mobile phones and not DSLRs. “It’s convenient. ”, said a friend while the other spoke about how easy it is, to take the phone out from the pocket, use gestures to start the mobile phone camera and shoot! He asked me, “Could you be that fast with your DSLR? ”. “That is the entire point, you gotta be ready all the time. ”. Shot with my mobile during the protest of Jadavpur University students against the Government of West Bengal. It was raining and I could not take my DSLR out. Tanayesh, who is a dedicated mobile phone photographer prefers using mobile phone because it is challenging! He adds, “The challenge is to capture the moment, make sure you frame it properly, with various constraints like the lack of manual controls, no zoom / option to go wide angle on the streets. ” I was sceptical, if somewhere we are compromising with the quality of the photographs. I asked Abhishek Chamaria, who uses his smartphone, professionally for product shoots. He said, that the photographs could also be printed and used in catalogue. During WiFi launch in Kolkata: Derek O'Brien with Kolkata Bloggers. Photograph taken, edited and uploaded by Abhishek Chamaria's camera. Uploading #Live, instantly and on-the-go! I asked, “Is it somewhere the growing impatience of people, that they want to upload the photographs/videos to the social media as soon as they shoot a photograph? ”. Tanayesh, who works in the marketing team of Reliance Jio, was quick to respond. “It is definitely the lack of time. The photographs that I’ve shot using my DSLR is yet to be post processed. I hardly get time after office. Whatever little I have, my family requires it. The photographs I shot on my phone are processed and shared. ” “Anirban, you tell me. . would you not want to shoot and live update on the social media - photographs of the events you are organising, to create the buzz? ”, added Mr. Chamaria who owns his own digital marketing start-up. - I tried photographing my local Durga Puja's bhasan using my Samsung SIII. - Popular photo-editing apps to use: Okay, he caught me there. But how does one post process the photographs before uploading? I would definitely want to crop the image to frame the subject properly. Then do certain manipulation with the brightness, contrast. “Why not add texts? "Pixlr" has some fantastic set of fonts”, Soham added. “You can do double exposure with "Diana". Try that. ” A quick discussion with them and I understood that the most popular post processing apps they use are "Snapseed" and "VSCO" are their favourites to post process photographs. I wondered how many people would be able to afford Apple iPhones. Why only iPhones? There are many newer handsets of Samsung, Oneplus Two that has excellent camera quality. A few photo-bloggers across India were invited to Lava Pixel V2 launch. Yours truly was one of them. The event happened in Mumbai, September 7th 2015 at ITC Grand. It felt good being a part of the event and testing their phone, albeit for a short period of time. Interacted with the Mumbai media and other bloggers who were present there. Recently Lava launched their handset “Pixel V2” which claims to revolutionise mobile phone photography in India . Priced at slightly over Rs. 10000, it offers 8 MP front camera with front flash and wider selfie range. 13 MP rear camera with pixel size 1. 4 micron, f stop value as low as 2. It also has exciting inbuilt apps for fast edit which adds depth of field, enhances colours and makes the photograph look great within moments. With 64 bit Quad core processor, 16 GB ROM, 2 GB RAM and 2500 mAh battery that would last for a day, this definitely adds competition to mobile handset makers in the Indian market. With Honor 4x, Meizu M2 Note, Xiaomi Mi 4i, Samsung Galaxy J5 offering not as much for this price, Lava stands a chance to woo their buyers. There are different problems while you photograph using your mobile phone. The first is when the battery runs out. Make sure you have a power bank with you. Shooting in low light seems to be the most pertinent problem a mobile phone photographer faces. 10 Mobile Photography Tips. Mobile phone photographers should be slightly careful and not get run over by a bus or a car. Once not dead, you might want to get 10 Mobile Photography Tips! a. Do not be tempted to over edit the photographs. It might never turn a bad photograph into a good one, however the vice versa might be true. b. Do not be very voyeuristic. Respect other’s privacy. Ask permission before shooting. c. Not just HDR all the time! It is a mode and it often gives you bright and punchy photographs. But, just do not keep using it. HDR is a great choice when your subject is lit from behind and you want to see the foreground. However, it is not a good choice when it is dark or you are shooting moving objects. d. Please use a stand / Bluetooth shutter control where relevant for interesting shots. e. Do not drop your phone and be careful of water damage. f. If you are shooting videos, make sure no one calls during the shoot! g. Use the burst mode. It gives you clarity and choices to choose your final image from! h. If you could, then try to not use flash and adjust white balance according to the available light. i. Avoid digital zoom and since the phone is not as heavy as the DSLR, make sure it stays steady while you shoot. j. Clean your lens before you shoot. It’s important! You have a tip? Comment it below this blog post! -- If you are one person interested about photography, mobile photography or instagram - fill this form and stay connected. Stay connected to Kolkata Bloggers' Instagram profile: The elegant Victoria Memorial of #Calcutta during dusk. Photograph by @illumnium_souvik Use the hashtag: #kolkata_igers to get featured. Tag: #Kolkata #Photooftheday #Kolkata #kolkatadiaries #travel #feature #indiapictures #onlyinbengal #indianstories #photography. A photo posted by Kolkata Instagrammers (@kolkata_igers) on Oct 5, 2015 at 5:49am PDT I'll end this post by saying this - not just photography, the younger lot is taking the entire revolution forward. While Yashvardhan Jain, a class 10 student of Don Bosco Park Circus makes YouTube videos using his iPhone and explains circuits to his 4. 5K strong audience, Mahima a class 12 student of Loreto made a short video of Kolkata by assembling more than 3000 clips taken by her iPhone. The music is composed by the tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh and the video is expected to be up on Sa Re Ga Ma's YouTube channel. The video was screened at ITC Sonar, a few days back. That's it for this blog post. Thank you Agnivo Niyogi, Saptarshi Chakrabarti, Tanayesh Talukdar, Ayan Sadhu, Arijit Halder, Abhishek Chamaria, Arundhati Dey, Amba Roy, Shalini Dasgupta, Soham Ghosh, Pujarini Acharya, Abhisek Kundu and Shurjo for taking your time out and giving me your inputs. --- - Published: 2015-10-02 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkatas-youth-theatre-today/ - Categories: Event promotions, Events, Explore Kolkata, Guest Posts, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Random notes - Tags: Abhinaya, Amity Mumbai, Astaana, Drama sutra, Kolkata romroma, Kolkata Youth Theatre, Kolkata Youth theatre festival, Mad About Drama, The 4th bell theare, The Hypokrites, The shriek of silence, The Third Mask, Upsana Dasgupta Gone are the days when theatre meant spending leisure time with families and restricted to a chosen few theatre halls. The Kolkata youth has taken it upon themselves to break the stereotypical mindset and take theatre beyond the established convention! Upasana Dasgupta (student, Amity Mumbai) tells you more about Kolkatas youth theatre today: The term "theatre" has changed it’s colour over the years in the city of joy, Kolkata. Killing the stereotypes and the barriers the art has shown it’s reformation and restoration in the past few years. Kolkata being the richest cultural hub of the country, has seen the passion for theatre running down from the youth blood introducing the concept of Youth theatre. The journey from the beginner urge from campus life to seeing it as a profession is an absolute tale of inspiration. The trend being brought down from the year spaces of 2008 till the present years the revolution has been massive and diverse. The change for shifting their passion for being an artist on stage leaving the priority of glamour in mainstream was an illusion for people. Similar cluster of youth starting their hub naming it "The Hypokrites" were among the first youth theatre groups starting in the city. Their purpose of the title being ironic is originally named after the Greek phrase of actors. From participation in the college festivals in and outside the city, their first foot to professionalism was after being the declared winner of the National theatre festival "Abhinaya" in Bengaluru. In the progressing years their productions like "Happily Unmarried" and "Conditions Apply" have left an indelible mark on the audience of the city. Theatre in the broader concept has also fit in several changes than it’s sticking definition. The major shift in the Language barriers have marginalized . These organizations have reached their ideas to multilingual and colloquial productions. A still from MAD's production, shot by Agniprava Nath. Four friends being pass out students of Don Bosco Park Circus dedicatedly wanted to pursue their innate passion for theatre as their only profession in their college days . Their strong urge, dedication and quality led them to be the most profound and heard name amongst the youth in Kolkata. "Mad About Drama" being one of the finest youth theatre organizations had started their journey in the year 2011 with innumerable struggles and challenges ahead, they step onto their first step of exposure standing as the runner up of Channel V India fest. With every production they had handled bold and new topics aiming at keeping theatre as a sustainable art form in the country. "With Love Calcutta" became the most stirring play among the audience that revived each one’s sentiments for the city. The appreciation reached to the extent where these young Thespians reached Prithvi theatre Mumbai in presence of the greater theatre personalities to perform the same. By exceeding boundaries and the initiative to shift from any restricted definition of on-stage drama, the team of Mad about Drama experimented in the merge of Bollywood and drama with their phenomenal production "CODENAME: SRK" which changed and inspired several audience in and around the city. These production when carried out in the prestigious stage spaces in the capital were given appropriate appreciation and recognition. Shifting back to the culture of theatre in the city, the beautification of street plays and their rich ambience has always been the prior concept theatre in one’s mind. This group of college friends who pursued theatre as their Alma matter named it "The Shriek of Silence" and began their venture in the year of 2012 . Starting with their plays in several colleges they became a remarkable spot on for Street plays. Their recognition placed after the "Vagina Monologues" that challenged social insecurities inspiring the young minds to step in for a change. Also their unique venture of organizing the Kolkata Youth Theatre Festival every year promotes the value of art and theatre in a form of grand celebration amongst the people sharing the culture. Theatre was never a trend, neither does it have restrictions to only actors. A successful production keeps the value to it’s adjective only when it completes the beauty in all. And excluding actors directors and writers, the set and the lights of the production can switch it ton it’s best. This group of young Thespians are quantitatively fewer in number who started their organization naming it "The 4th bell theatre". They showcase their art in form of workshops, plays and events also keeping a unique angle of the purpose of education. They excel in the little details of graphics, sets and lights to the corner of perfectionism . Their well known production Fan craved their existence in the crowd for long. The extreme shift of the culture has brought in a beautiful spree of enthusiasm amongst the youth inspiring them to give their talent a recognition. Struggles and hardships are never less in it. From taking the risk of following your passion, leaving the stack of notes behind and having the ability to stick around to it in the even crueller world is worth commencement. Criticism and obstacles from the society have been a boon in disguise for all these passionate youth who struggled to prove themselves resulting in self enrichment and quality. It is an absolute treat to watch the segregated word theatre breaking all boundaries and having an impactful medium for change and enrichment in the each passing day. Gone are the days ,when the shabby kurta and and the extended cotton bag would be the uniform for an art. Today from intellectuals till the Gigolo and from Shahrukh khan to the struggling actor. Theatre incorporated all in it . Not just them, Kolkata is buzzing with the younger theatre groups coming up from various colleges like "Talk of the Town", "Kolkata Romroma", "Bodnam", "Be-akkel" to name a few. Young school students also contribute to this thriving theatre ecosystem. Two of the newly formed school student run groups are "Drama Sutra" and "The Third Mask". "The Third Mask" is a theatre group formed by school students of Don Bosco Park Circus, Modern High School, South City International School and many others. Their first production "C. H. U. P. " was well received by this city. Their second show of their first production is coming up this 15 October, at Gyan Manch. 6 PM. Support them by being there and helping them with your ideas. Post written by Upasana Dasgupta. She worked with Mad about Drama (MAD) since it's inception till the point in time she had to move to Amity, Mumbai to pursue her Bachelors. She is one of the extreme hard working individuals that I have met. Sincere to her words, she knows how to balance work, personal life and academics with ease. --- - Published: 2015-09-24 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/20-kolkata-based-photographers-you-should-follow-over-instagram/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Guest Posts, Kolkata, Kolkata Street Photography, Long exposures, Model Shoot, Photography, Portraits, Selfies, Street Photography - Tags: Instagram follow, Kolkata based photographers, Kolkata instagrammers, Kolkata photographers in Instagram, Photographers in Instagram Even after my blog post on Mobile phone photography last year, I used to be a reluctant Instagram user, until I saw I have 998 followers. Since then, I have taken a special interest in this social media platform. Very naturally, I did come up with numerous questions, the prime question being - Who are the Kolkata based photographers one should follow over Instagram? Why is this question very important? - I would like to get connected to the right people over Instagram, get inspired by their work and perhaps learn from them. There is a lot of buzz and to connect with real people who appear like islands on the sea of mediocrity is a major challenge. A lot of young people like me are still enthused by photography and Instagram is their newest media. They should get connected to a few, whom the others look up to. Kolkata is home to numerous award winning photographers who are humble and help younger people around. I started to learn about camera in a photowalking group called "Kolkata Weekend Shoots". There are groups like "Kolkata Photographers Club", where the individual quality of work of every member is almost unparalleled. In recent times, there is a group "Cam2O Photowalkers" and they produce incredible photographs. Other groups like "Click Start from Kalighat" and "Streets of Calcutta" are also doing good. A lot of young and experienced photographers hail from Bengal/Calcutta. I thought of connecting to a few young contemporary thought leaders who have in their good faith and criticism helped other younger people learn. "Instagram has been picked up as a tool by several photographers as a handy tool to take pictures on the go, to work on candid frames, to put forward a running diatribe of the world around them and more importantly to showcase their talents. Until recently the “square” format posed a unique challenge that stimulated photographers to think out of the box and produce images that are if not extraordinary but unique in their presentation and style wise. ", said Anish Chakraborty who works as a writer with one of the leading financial dailies. He added, "One of the brilliant contemporary photographers of India starts using Instagram, what follows is sheer opulence of storytelling and truly stands what this medium is capable in the right hands. His images are rich in their visual narrative and also act as a visual diary in the daily life of a photojournalist. Ronny Sen. " Ronny Sen. Akiko Kitamura, Calcutta. September, 2015. A photo posted by Ronny Sen (@ronnysen) on Sep 17, 2015 at 1:06am PDT I believe we all look up to Mr. Saikia. "Kaustav Saikia is one of the leading fashion and art photographers from Kolkata. He has shot major campaigns for famous fashion designers and brands, and his photographs make their way quite often in newspapers, magazines and online publications. His instgaram account stands almost a testimonial for his work. Vibrant colours and beautiful ladies are almost a staple in his work add to that a little dash of quirky frames and you have an account that is a visual delight. ", added Anish. Kaustav Saikia. #monsoons A photo posted by Kaustav Saikia (@kaustavsaikia) on Jun 22, 2015 at 11:42pm PDT Swarup Dutta His Instagram bio reads “Love, Sex and Scenography” and I think that quite sums of what this Instagram handle is all about. Welcome to the world of masks, avant garde spread and the inside mind of a maverick. He along with the usual photography also splashes in glimpses of exquisite sets he has been working on. Be ready for a lot of retro styled photographs and impressive titbits of life from this account. Covered Story! :p #KolkataFashion #mannequin #covered A photo posted by Swarup Dutta (@swarupdutta) on Sep 17, 2015 at 7:04am PDT Srimallya Maitra. If one of the few people who have taken up Instagram with full gusto and has exploited its full potential to portray Kolkata, it would be him. He uses a range of subjects and street shots that show his diverse nature and well as the potential to make use of his surroundings to work in his favour. His instagram account is refreshing as well as helps to look at the world with the trained eyes of a photographer. #kolkata #portrait #iphone A photo posted by Srimallya Maitra (@srimallya) on Sep 4, 2015 at 2:43am PDT Arka Patra. Anish remarks, "Arka is one of my favourite people to look up for inspiration among people of my age. He shows maturity and a very refined sense of aesthetics which is rare in most people. Portraits are his forte and if one browses through his work, one would have to agree that this kid may or may not know what risks he is taking with his photographic journey but till now he is doing a fine job out of it. " Shine your light. #instahub #instagood #light #night #supernatural A photo posted by Arka Patra (@arkapatra) on Jun 19, 2015 at 10:05am PDT Priyanka Roy. Going under the name of lee la, this lady produces some of the most interesting works of Kolkata. Most of her photographs are a mix of intense curiosity and a creative bend. She is more inclined to monochrome and that helps to give her pictures a sense of intrigue and almost a painterly feel in some of the frames. Much gratitude for the repost #Repost @missingirls with @repostapp. ・・・ #Repost @leela_avatar with @repostapp. ・・・ Noticed these painted images on random walls all over Kolkata. No idea who or which group is looking for the #missinggirls A photo posted by leela (@leela_avatar) on Jul 15, 2015 at 3:39am PDT Cheryl Mukherji. "I have been following this woman recently and it is quite a nice balance of urban and small town narrative. What she does photographically may not be very out of the ordinary but it is nice the way she brings her own sense of personal attitude to the photographs. To have a voice is more important than just clicking and I think this lady puts it across quite nicely. " After a month of procrastination and indecisiveness, I finally gathered enough will to give writing a travelogue a "first attempt". And, here it is. For starters, 1. No, it is not a mechanical day to day summary of what I did and what I saw but, has other intimate details of lessons learnt and observations I made throughout. 2. This trip was made solo and under a very tight budget and I succeeded. 3. Why I chose to call my first post probashi is because it became my daak naam. 3. Naming the travelogues bottom shelf brandy has a story behind it. Ask away. Feedback please. Okay. Link in bio. A photo posted by Cheryl (@cherylmukherji) on Aug 16, 2015 at 10:49am PDT Soham Dutta. Anish is extremely enthusiastic about this young photographer. He says, "One of the few youngsters that I am really looking forward, to making quite an impression in the recent future with his work. His mobile live series is an ever moving, ever travelling journal that is a pleasure to look at and be a part of. He is still learning the ropes and he keeps on sharpening his skills. He will make a mark. " #freestyle_live #mobile A photo posted by Soham Dutta (@soham. dutta. 18) on Sep 8, 2015 at 1:10am PDT Abir Ghosh. Anish is confident about this young lad. He says, "He has taken to instagram quite well and also to the Kolkata kaleidoscope of images and storytelling. Mainly working on standalone pictures and rich tones, he has got oodles to learn and work on. This point of time working on structural as well as bringing the texture laden rich old Kolkata heritage. He is a good person to go along with on a nostalgia trip. " Well, I discovered that Abir is my school junior. Anish too, for that matter, hails from the school I studied in. Over enthusiastically presenting: #vsco #vscoindia #vscokolkata #vagradiaries #myfeetstories #mextures #everywherevsco #simplicityeverywhere #oyemyclick #talktomyphotos #momentcapturerz #myimmensedreams #thefilmdiaries #shutterlive #ofhumans #thatperfectshot_ #thatperfectshot #overthesurface #clearthehorizon #thisismymuse #convexrevolution #vagrantdiaries #dopeforsquare A photo posted by Making Memories (@abir. ghosh3) on Aug 15, 2015 at 7:09am PDT Jit Rakshit. "One of the few people who know Kolkata and instagram can be when mixed in the right doses. Playing heavily with minimalist and silhouettes in his photographs, he uses Instagram with the advantage of getting up and close with his subjects. " #hipacontest #hipacontest_june A photo posted by Jit Rakshit (@jitrakshit) on Jun 17, 2015 at 5:57am PDT Next up is a person whose name was suggested by Avinandan Sthanpati. He holds a very significant place in my heart. When I was fiddling with the compact camera, not knowing the basics, he introduced me to the world of photography and got me into Kolkata Weekend Shoots. A person younger to me, who has never failed to inspire me. Swastik Pal. Born in 1991, Swastik Pal is a graduate from Calcutta University, India. After completing his post graduate diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University, he received full scholarship to pursue Diploma in Photojournalism, at the Asian Center for Journalism, a World Press Photo partner organization at Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. Presently he is an independent photographer/writer based in Calcutta, working on long term projects. His series "The Hungry Tide" has grabbed many eye balls previously and would be schowcased in Chian Mai, Thailand from October 2. His next would be a solo exhibition in Korea. His is a private account. His username is @SwastikPal. "Not only is his private account, many photographers like Rahul Dhankani (@rahuldhankani) do not upload their photographic work much to Instagram" added Avinandan. I wondered how not many street photographers were being talked about. I chipped in and asked. Anish is of the view that street insta-photography is coming of age. However we have a few enthusiasts like Soumyodeep, Rajatabha and Ritam who spearhead the young street photographers in Calcutta. They have this group called Cam2O Photowalkers. Almost every alternate weekend they go out on photo walks and every year they organise their annual exhibition. And every time it is something new and people - layman and stalwarts alike, look at the photographs with sheer amazement. This year their exhibition is scheduled on the 27th of September 2015. It is called "Alor Rong Tuli 3", their third edition of their annual exhibition. Soumyodeep Mukherjee. A common Kolkata Street. #India #streetphotography #love #Kolkata #onlyinbengal #instagoodmyphoto #India #follow #photooftheday #Calcuttacacophony #repostindia #Kolkatadiaries #tv_streelife #documentary #indiadiaries #NGTDailyShot #_soi #soiwalks #ig_india #WEBSTAPICK #webstagram #instamood #igdaily #bestoftheday #instadaily #ig_photo_club #_ccal #ig_calcutta #calphotos #WHPfilltheframes A photo posted by Soumyodeep Mukherjee (@13_no_soumyoh) on Sep 23, 2015 at 8:31pm PDT Ritam Paul Chaudhury Tram yer #kolkata 3 #kolkatajukebox #streetphotography #blackandwhite A photo posted by Ritam Paul Chowdhury (@kolkatajukebox) on Sep 9, 2015 at 9:02am PDT Souradeep who works with Asian Photography Magazine as a photo-journalist, is enthused by the entire development of sorts. He is amused more by Subhasis Saha. While the others are fantastic photo-journalist, they are hardly active on Instagram. After Souradeep talking about Subhasis, even I found him interesting. We have exact 99 mutual friends and most of them are good friends of mine! Subhasis Saha Bangalore, 2015. #bangalore #color #pattern #india A photo posted by Subhasis Saha (@sabby_s) on Jan 14, 2015 at 8:40am PST Talking about interesting people, I came across a person yesterday. His Instagram username is "Chobigrapher". Now that is a term, most of us perceive very negatively. He does not know about the negativity because he is not on Facebook! He is photographying for the last seven years and started photo-blogging only last year after coming across Amitabh Bacchan's blog. This final year computer science student of Techno India wants to pursue his masters in fine arts. Neal Bhaumik. Paper boats. W I N D S. Through puddles they sail. Puddle, the connection between their house. Paper boats of colorful sheets were letters. He promised her a forever till the last rain drop of their span. She promised back, that she won't let their boat sink. In the former monsoon, they drenched together. The two were wet & dirty amidst the brownish golden mud. She asked him, what if these rains made their boats sink? He asked her, to gather all the love she had for him, and the buoyancy of their love will let them sail... ... ... Caption - The beautiful @himanshiieeee ... ... #makeportraits #inspiroindia #oyemystory #myshoeboxofphotographs #myfeetstories #planhatke #ftwotw #bleachmyfilm #featuremeofh #featuremeval #DelightfullyOrdinary #simplicityeverywhere #VscoIndia #vscogrid #vscovisuals #vscomextures #jj_mextures #jj_humanedge #jj_forum #jj_allportraits #rsa #thecreativeaffair #getgalvanised #thisismymuse #visual_diaries #vagrantdiaries #justgoshoot #mextures A photo posted by Neal Bhaumik ( Onir ) (@chobigrapher) on Jul 21, 2015 at 3:29am PDT Of the younger Instagram using photographers, we have Swaroop Singha Roy. I've known him for the last four years. He has slowly taken up the wild life genre. I am proud that he regards me his elder brother and I am worried in equal measure. I do not know why. His set of achievements in his very short work life so far, includes multiple times mentions and awards by magazines with include Sanctuary Asia. Swaroop Singha Roy. 2014 was a great year for me and I am sure that 2015 would be great as well! Wish you all a very happy new year. Love nature and stay blessed. #newyear #2014 #2015 #rewind #happy #joy #photography #nature #wildlife #passion A photo posted by Swaroop Singha Roy (@swaroopsingharoy) on Dec 31, 2014 at 12:49pm PST Number 17 - 20 would be the people who talked this much so that you know the previous 16! Anish Chakraborty. He calls himself the reluctant writer, curious photographer and corrects other people's mistake for a living. A couple of years younger to me, first I had known him for his extreme levels of sarcasm. However after having met him, I know he isn't a bad person. He helped me when I required to be stern. His series "Hints of a woman", is what got me really interested. Later, he series of "Photo man" and a couple of others got viral. Now he is a columnist in one of the leading financial newspapers. This article would not have been possible without his contribution. A photo posted by Anish Chakraborty (@anishchakraborty18) on Sep 23, 2015 at 2:13pm PDT Anirban Saha. Umm, that would be me. I'll be shameless and say - do follow me if you haven't yet. I am hurt, crestfallen that no one nominated me. However, since I am the blogger and I'll be publishing it, I'll very secretly chip my name in! I am a photo-blogger based in Calcutta, better known for his stolen photographs and the cases that followed. #Kolkata #kolkatabloggers #photoofday #photooftheday #Travel #ctpassionstrail #ctpassionsclub #rickshaw #taxi #yellow #street #streetlife #traveling A photo posted by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) on Sep 11, 2015 at 6:06am PDT Avinandan Sthanpati. He... --- - Published: 2015-09-20 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tales-to-tell-book-launch-at-oxford-bookstore-kolkata/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography Events - Tags: Arjyak Bhattacharya, Esha Chatterjee, Tales to Tell, Tales to tell book launch, Tales to tell romance Tales to Tell - the book. What is "Tales to tell"? It is a anthology published, featuring twenty new authors and twenty new artists by Kolkata Bloggers and BEE Books. A competition was conducted from January 2015 till May where aspiring authors were asked to send us a short story written by them which is less than five hundred words. The best twenty of them got compiled into a book - Tales to tell, launched in Oxford Bookstore last September 6, 2015. How did the idea come up? How unique is it? I have a friend, Esha who has her own publishing startup. We were discussing how she continues to live in the stone age while I'm modern and completely online. We discussed how in a city like that of Calcutta, people are still comfortable offline, writing, painting and performing theaters. Not that the city lacks resources to be very visible online. It's just a mindset of people. Why not bridge the gap? Thus, Tales to Tell. Arjyak, Asmita, Esha and me. I love flaunting this tie of mine! It finally became a collaboration between "Kolkata Bloggers" and "BEE Books". From BEE Books' side, Esha used to coordinate and from Kolkata Bloggers', Asmita did initially. Towards the end, Arjyak and I took active part in it. It was so thrilling! Was it Calcutta specific? Although an initiative of "Kolkata Bloggers", which has the name "Kolkata" in it, the initiative has spread to a nationwide audience and has been very appreciated as well. Of the twenty selected, we have Sagher Manchanda from Pune, Simran Kaur from Gorakhpur. They do not have any connection with this city of joy. Others include Ishan, Purba who had migrated to Mumbai, Devpriya from Ahmedabad, Anish from Tamil Nadu, Debolina Coomar who is now Bangalore based. What exactly did we do? We declared open a competition during Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015, at Oxford Bookstore "The Great Indian Bloggers meet", organized by The Times of India. The writers could have been of any age group but should they write, they should write in English language and within 500 words. We looked forward to thought processes, impact, uniqueness and correct grammar. The competition ended in May. During June and July, the entries were sorted and shortlisted. Finally, twenty stories were selected. However I felt, it looked very dull. So even without asking the publisher, I thought of connecting to the incredibly young talented artists in the city. For 20 illustrations, we connected to almost 40 young artists from Calcutta. Within a couple of weeks, the illustrations were ready, book layout and cover design done and it was ready to be proofread. How was the experience? It was as exciting as my college magazine till the point in time, it was launched. Well, yes. I've always been wearing the manager's hat, connecting, collaborating and working with people. During college life, I was in the editorial board of the college's magazine as the "Chief Coordinator". "Tales to tell" was not much different. We had to reach out to people, ask them to write, collect them, edit them, get the book/page layout made and then proofread. During college days, I had to spend a good amount of time inside the printing press checking every single detail. This time, we had Esha and her team to do it! But the Tales to tell launch was exciting, something we really could not anticipate. During the entire process, we had our share of fun. Asmita and Esha used to discuss the short stories, share smiles and giggles. I have never been much of an offline reader. Their jokes went over my head. A lot of people helped us during this phase. Roudra Mitra designed our logo. Not only has he designed the "Tales to tell" logo, he made the "Kolkata Bloggers" logo as well. He was instrumental in spreading the word across to the artist community in this city. Then we had Tanumay Naskar and Rimbik Das, who helped a lot. After the results, it was more fun for me! Although a huge cross section of the society took part in this, all the authors selected to be printed are young (considering me young). Then we discovered that most of the illustrators were from St. Xavier's College, which includes a twin and a triplet. There was this specific lady, who had very mysteriously disappeared. After a lot of man-hunting, we found out that she studies in Presidency now. She does not have any online presence so far! About the launch! First of all, it felt incredible holding the book. Whenever something new is created, it is a inexplicable good feeling. The book is very nicely designed and packed. Kudos to BEE Books and Esha. Venue: "Kolkata Bloggers" generally hosts meetings inside the Oxford Bookstore. Esha and her father too is close to the Oxford Bookstore. "Tales to tell" was first officially talked about in the Oxford Bookstore. Where else could we have launched it? Arjyak, Esha, Me, Mr. Arijit Bhattacharyya, Ms. Maina Bhagat, Mr. Barun Chanda, Mr. Aninda Das and Mr. Nirbed Roy Guests: The guests included veteran actor Mr. Barun Chanda, director of publishing in the Asiatic Society and author Nirbed Roy, Ms Maina Bhagat - Director of Oxford Bookstore, Mr. Arijit Bhattacharyya - CEO, Virtual Infocomm and Mr. Aninda Das, Communication chief of the Infinity Group. Discussion: Apart from being a brilliant actor, Mr. Barun Chanda is an author who writes fiction with his younger self as the protagonist. Nirbed Roy, being the member of legislative assembly representing the ruling party governing Bengal today spoke about his experience with writing, illustrations, cartoons and invoked the incredible history of cartoons in Bengal. Ms. Bhagat has seen the world transform from the book-loving audience to the e-book loving newer generation. Mr. Bhattacharyya's game making startup has made it's presence felt in more than 10 countries. He gave us an insight how short stories, character-building, sketching, illustrations are relevant today beyond books, in the exciting world of comics and gaming. Aninda Das mentors many youngsters and startups in Calcutta. Former coordinator of NASSCOM, he considers himself a social enabler. He spoke about how books are important and relevant today in the corporate world, various statistics explaining how big the publishing world is. The published authors and illustrators were given their copy of the book by the guests. Thrill: It was thrilling to see so many people smiling and happy. It was more than a Durga Puja of sorts. 32 young people together with their friends, family, teachers. . parents of those authors who could not make it. Other guests, media and well-wishers who turned up. Near 160 people were made to fit into the first floor of Oxford Bookstore. A total of 220 turned up, the latter ones were refused entries. Pre-launch booking and the craze! Prior to the launch, the book was made available on Flipkart. The very first day, it was sold out. After stocks were refilled again, it exhausted within minutes. During the launch, all the books were sold out. How was the feedback? The feedback has been encouraging so far. People I've interacted with have given a very positive feedback of the same. A few proofreading errors were pointed out. A few categorically mentioned that the illustrations were excellent! Mr. Bhattacharyya was excited enough to tell me that he loved Sagher Manchhanda's story the most. Once you finish reading the book; you'd be left wondering about each of the short stories and look again into each of the illustrations... because suddenly you can see the details you'd missed out before reading the story. ~ Aniesha Brahma (Blogger turned author) I was never so impressed like I was yesterday at Tales-To-Tell launch at Oxford Book Store. When people talk bad about the youth of Bengal because of some of the recent incidents, I saw yesterday a section of youth who are positive, energetic and they are the real torch bearers of #Brand Bengal. ~ Arijit Bhattacharyya (CEO, Virtual Infocom) The stories are chosen wisely, and each short story has a different quality to it. The makers of the book have successfully captured different styles of writing while shortlisting the stories. There are even some stories which I had to read twice to understand the context and the depth to which it had been written. ~ Upamanyu Das (Reader, Book reviewer) নতুন প্রজন্ম গল্প শুনতেও চায়, লিখতেও চায়। কোলকাতা ব্লজ্ঞারসের এই উদ্যোগে নতুন লেখকেরা যে ছোট গল্প লেখার ক্ষেত্রে বাড়তি উৎসাহ পাবেন, তা বলাই বাহুল্য। ~ এই সময় ( সংবাদ পত্রিকা ) The book is available in all leading stores and Flipkart. Where would one get the book? If you still have not got a copy of the book, check the book out on Flipkart! Click on this link to go to Flipkart. You would also find the book in Oxford Bookstore, Crosswords, Story and Starmark. What next? While this edition had no theme, the next edition of this book will have the theme "Romance" and we are looking for varied versions and perceptions of Romance. Unlike the previous time, this time the short stories would have a word limit of 1200 words. We are looking forward to creativity, impact, and different varied perceptions. If you have a story to share, please drop an email to submit@talestotell. in, with your name and contact details. - A very special thank you to Souranil for having photographed the event so beautifully. I still have no clue how you managed to pull this off, managing the crowd and in all the rush of the event. Kudos! A few happy faces to end this post. A part of the St. Xavier's College gang! Adrija. Agnibha, Saswata / Susruto, Namrata. --- - Published: 2015-09-11 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/calcutta-times-passions-club-photography-trail-review/ - Categories: Colours, Dalhousie, Esplanade, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Street Photography, Maidan, Monsoon, Monsoons, Photography, Reviews, Season - Tags: Calcutta Photo Tours, Calcutta Times Passions Club, Calcutta Times Passions Photo trail, ctpassionsclub, Manjit Singh Hoonjan, rimbik das - It is always fun working with any initiative of The Times of India, here in Calcutta. We had previously collaborated for the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015, Happy Streets and for Calcutta Boys' Schools fest - Concord 2015. They promise more fun and even more interaction this time with their newest initiative in this city - Calcutta Times Passions Club. They have very rightly pointed out three major passions, this city has - FOOD, Heritage and clicking photographs. When Jit asked me to be a part of this, I would definitely not have said an "NO". I was very secretly wishing to be invited, anyway. I picked up my camera after a long time and had hit the streets of Calcutta. The walk was directed by Manjit Singh Hoonjan. Being the founder of Calcutta Photo tours, he is an authoritative and popular figure in the photo walking circuits in this city. We are friends over Facebook for over a couple of years, but it is only this time that we could manage to meet and talk to each other. With me in this Photowalk, representing Kolkata Bloggers, was Rimbik. An alumnus of St. Paul's Mission School, this guy is a very humble and popular student in St. Xaviers College Kolkata. The theme was "Transport of Calcutta". When we speak about "Transport of Calcutta", a thousand images come to our minds. Rickshaws - the hand pulled, the cycled ones and the ones with motors, auto rickshaws, the famous iconic yellow ambassador taxis, their newer versions of the blue-white coloured "no refusal" taxis and their AC variant. The "public" buses, the "mini-bus" and the latest huge AC buses that rule the roads. When we are mentioning this, we should not forget - the three parallel lines of mass rapid transit in Calcutta. While the west has the circular rail lines, the center of Calcutta has one underground metro running from the north to south. The quintessential and iconic, tram that dominate the north and central Calcutta. Having said that, the water boats and the horse pulled chariot like carriages too, dot the city. Needless to say - cars, bikes, cycles. . Did I miss anything? Last Sunday, all the enthusiasts met at 8 AM approximately at Dalhousie BBDBag bus stop. Then after a quick round of introduction, we headed towards Raj Bhawan and then Esplanade, a tram ride to Hastings and then a long walk to Princep Ghat. And no, I could not cover all of the transport. I was there for a brief amount of time because I had to rush for the "Tales to Tell" book launch. You should look forward to Rimbik's blog post. What you need to do is to click on this link, join the group and stay connected: Calcutta Times Passion Trail - Photography. They are also running this contest where you are required to upload your best shots to the group and elsewhere on the social media, with the hashtag "#ILoveKolkata". Be a part of the photo walk next time, it is always fun being with Manjit. Ask him questions about Kolkata and his answers would amaze you. I'll post some photographs, I've shot during this walk. If you like this, please comment and share the blogpost on your social media platforms using the hashtag "#ctpassionsclub". Thank you and stay connected. --- - Published: 2015-09-05 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/10-thoughts-to-share-today-personal/ - Categories: Data Science Summit, Events, Kolkata, Random notes - Tags: banga sahitya utsab, Bangla Blogging, Bongo Sahityo Utshob, City of Analytics, City of analytics Kalyani, City of analytics Kolkata, Data Science Summit Kolkata, IIT Kharagpur blogging workshop, NASSCOM Product Conclave 2015, nasscom warehouse, QnA with Bongpen One of the most exciting month end ever, was of this Augusts'. "Kolkata Bloggers" had three different events on the 28th, 29th and the 30th. This 31st August also marks the one year anniversary of "Social Media in Photography", our first self organised "BIG" event. The three events were: a. Data science summit, Kolkata on the 28th August 2015. b. QnA with Bongpen (Tanmay Mukherjee) on the 29th of August 2015. c. Bloggers workshop in IIT Kharagpur on the 30th of August 2015. This blog post is very close to my heart for more reasons than just one. I present to you 9 thoughts from the events, we were a part of and 1 thought, from my personal experience with Senco Gold and Diamonds. I hope you enjoy reading this. This is long, I understand. You can choose topics and read as well. Whatever you read, please leave a comment for me. Thank you. Slowly I would be adding photographs to the blog post. Thought #1: City of Analytics, Kalyani. In his speech, Ambarish Dasgupta (Head, KPMG) spoke about the technologies of the future that Calcutta should equip itself with. I had previously heard of the city of analytics, Kalyani from the newspaper and from Dr. Amit Mitra during NASSCOM Product Conclave 2015. I am optimistic as Mr. Dasgupta went on to say how proactively the present Bengal government granted 55 acres of land to start with and how overwhelmingly the world is responding to this idea of a township dedicated to analytics. Previously Dr. Amit Mitra had promised space to NASSCOM for the 1000 startups warehouse. Within months, it materialised and now it hosts a few really exciting startups. Thought #2: Analytics to seek branding opportunities. Arindam Som (Global brand director, Unilever) was one of the earlier speakers during the Datascience Summit. His point was very simple – go beyond quantifying results and use the data analytics to better your organisation’s branding. It was an engaging talk and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Branding is primarily how people perceive the person/organisation. It is developed by how the organisation wants to portray itself as, in addition to the user/customer experiences accumulated. To take Kolkata Bloggers’ example – What does the mass think we do? The past seven months we had several clients, are they happy? Do they keep getting back to Kolkata Bloggers to work? So far, mostly – yes. Hopefully the user experience that goes out is a good message, contributing to a good branding. But we need to concentrate on how the mass perceives us. In the last seven months, as the leader, I do not think we could give out the correct message in the crispiest possible manner. Thought #3: Relevance of Bangla blogging in today’s world. There was a point in time when people laid their lives not to protect their piece of land or protect their kin. They laid their lives to protect their language which is their identity. Each celebration of the International Mother Language Day, relives that day. From gifting to this nation, its brave hearts, its national song and national anthem to contributing to this world, various scientists whose theories still contribute extensively to the global research. And yes, world cinema. I am proud to be born a Bengali. Not everyone is as blessed. The second most populated country, one of the youngest countries of the world with the average age being slightly above 28, a country that speaks 1700 languages, an overwhelming majority of whom lack confidence because they do not know English. Apparently only 15% of the Indians know English. This leaves for the Indians, an opportunity to blog in their native language and reach out to more people. Around 65% of the internet usage in India today is by mobile devices and the number is not going to get down any time in the future. The number of mobile devices would only increase with the increase in Indian mobile handset manufacturers like Lava, Micromax. The internet service providers too are decreasing the cost, making it more affordable. But the number of English medium schools is not catching up the pace. Not that there is no will, there is no skill. We require skilled English teachers, which I doubt we have in large numbers. And nothing could possibly ever replace the mother tongue. I take pride in being a Bengali. I am ashamed in equal measures for not being able to speak Bangla without mixing English words in between. However, I am trying to improve upon this and anytime soon you might see me writing in Bangla. Thought #4: Bangla Sahityo Utshob. (READ this) Ok, so there is a big news. Oxford Bookstore (Apeejay Group) and Patra Bharati is organising a Bangla Sahitya Utsav (Bengali Literary Festival) on October 10, 2015. Kolkata Bloggers too is a part of the core organising team. They promise to bring to you the best of Bengali authors, poets, film makers and musicians from both sides of the unfortunate border and discuss their fields of interest. Kolkata Bloggers and at a very personal level, I am heavily enthused and am endorsing it. If you are interested in the Bangla Sahityo Utsav, please click on this and fill the form: CLICK HERE. We would be sending you important updates via emails. Do ask us if you have any questions as well. Thought #5: Getting back to Vikramshila, IIT Kgp. It is no secret that I used to stammer. After my grandmother’s death I hardly spoke. I started speaking publicly in my second year of college life. IIT Kharagpur Spring Fest 2009 was when I took part in an extempore. I was apprehensive but I had nothing to lose, no one there knew me. It was a packed hall and I spoke my heart out. Not that I made sense, not that I know of, but yes, I discovered that I did not really stammer. Soon after I mastered the courage to speak publicly as a blogger-spokesperson of the entrepreneurship cell. Kolkata Bloggers was approached by IIT Kharagpur Spring Fest 2016 committee for a collaboration and promotion of their events. We agreed to it and proposed the idea of a bloggers workshop. They agreed. It was not a much publicised affair. Around 40 people turned up and 25 continued to remain attentively after 3. 5 hours of workshop. It was a good brainstorming session as well. I liked being there. More because I figured out it was the same V2 of Vikramshila where I spoke during the extempore. This feeling to having got back there, the same stage and speaking again is an inexplicable feeling. Thought #6: Indian Copyright Act videos & Senco Gold. Not everything that we do is successful. The videos that we made to promote the Indian Copyright Act 1957 fell flat. However my blogpost which is primarily a long text has more than 720 likes so far and getting me emails from Gurgaon, Kolkata and Mumbai. Happy that people are connecting to me. Sad that there are several malpractices and that people are not very aware of their rights. There is something to learn about brand behaviour here. Whenever we speak about a better brand behaviour, we speak about replying to customer complaints with grace and dignity, looking into the matter and giving a sense that their grievances are taken care of in a proper way. Mr. Suvankar Sen (Executive Director, Senco Gold and Diamonds) went a step ahead. I would like to tell this story. Senco Gold organised “Swarna Samman”. Very naturally, the creatives and designs were outsourced. The advertisement maker searched for Soumitro Chatterjee’s photographs over Google and found my blog post. S/he did what s/he thought would go unnoticed – Lift it from my site and use it. I saw the photograph on the streets, somehow got in touch with Mr. Sen. Now he is not responsible for what had happened. He could have easily washed his hands off it. I expected him to do so. Instead, he was extremely polite and humble. After knowing the entire thing, we wished to meet me. He had been extremely humble and good mannered. I did not take money from him as a compensation. Instead he gave me a five digit sum, a part of which was spent to make the videos to promote awareness of the copyright act. He also gave me the contact details of his lawyer for us to interview him. The videos were made and Senco shared it from their social media page. I was humbled. It did not stop there. Later when I dropped him a personal message, he replied and humbly as well. There is something to learn from this person and this entire episode. Humility. The more the education, the better the person is placed in the society, the person needs to be humble, keeping his feet on the ground. Mr. Sen is a perfect example. In the future, if there is an opportunity, I would definitely like to work with him. I’ve never really cared about the money. I might never. I’ve always cared about the people I work with and the quality of work, we deliver. Thought #7: The perceptions of “Success”. Well, ok THIS. A lot of people do a lot of things in this city of Calcutta. From 2009, we had these regular social media meetups, photowalks and what not. What are all these contributing to? No, I am not mocking or criticising anyone. I am not eligible to even have an opinion about them perhaps. But a slight introspection might just be required. a. How are the leaders behaving to the outside world? What is the message that is construed? How is it being perceived? Is that what is desired? Is the leader able to attract younger minds? And more importantly – sustain them? b. Are everyone just chasing numbers or is anyone focusing on the education aspect of all these affairs. If we are chasing numbers and are hyper-enthused about it, which category of the society is our target and who are actually participating? What is our end goal and is the path we are choosing for ourselves, good enough for it? c. We all have ideas. A hundred crore people with a hundred thousand crore ideas. In today’s world, if you are one in a lakh, be informed – there is more than a hundred crore people only in India. How many are like you in India alone? Do the mathematics. What matters in reality is the implementation of the ideas, process of execution and the way things are perceived (for the longer run). d. I see people very boastful about numbers without ensuring quality of the content. At a certain point in time, even I boasted of numbers. But I also ensured education and user/customer experience. That needed to be enhanced to the optimum level. My work was to give in my bests of effort. a. If it is the photo-walk, the organisers should review the photographs and talk about framing. This is what we did in Kolkata Weekend Shoots. I believe this is what is done in CSFK (Click Start from Kalighat). This needs to be done after the photowalk. Else we cannot help the new comers to learn. b. If it is a Bloggers meet, we need to see how many are happy about it and speaking about it. In a place like Kolkata where people generally do not spill their hearts out publicly online, we need to see how many faces are regular in the meets and bringing new people into the folds of the system. A high dropout rate might not be a good indication for the organisers. c. In a workshop, my lookout generally is – how good are the discussions? How many new bloggers did that one particular session generate? How many are getting in touch with me after the event? And in the 6 months span, how many blog consistently. My next step would be to tell them / send them links on how to generate more traffic, better their content etc. d. As a blogger it feels great as more number of readers come to your blog. Along with the huge quantity, we also need to ensure that the conversion rate is moderately high and relatively higher than the peer group. Else the investors or the corporates might not be interested, unless they aim only branding. Similarweb ranking matters. Winning multiple blogging awards do not matter. e. There needs to be awareness during any mass gathering, something to take back home, some learning, some education. This is a sustainable model for the longer run. Thought #8: “Tales to Tell” launch. This is something big and extremely closer to my heart. From Kolkata Bloggers behalf we conducted a short story writing competition. The best 20 are compiled by BEE Books and then we started hunting for illustrators. The first edition of the book “Tales to tell” would be launched on September 6, 2015. Oxford Bookstore, Park Street. 5:00 PM. 20 new authors. 20 new illustrators. 1 book. The panellists include Barun Chanda who is a very revered veteran actor, author Nirbed Roy, Oxford Bookstore director Maina Bhagat, Aninda Das who is the communications chief of Infinity Group and Arijit Bhattacharya who owns Virtual infocom. Every time before, after and during any event I generally tone down my enthusiasm and not create a hype about events, especially if they are organised by Kolkata Bloggers. But this time I might. This is exciting and I would want everyone who is reading this, if at all, to come and be a part of it. Thought #9: Arjyak, me and IIT Kharagpur. My first two supposed workshops where I helped younger people around with photography, I did not know how exactly to put across the points. I ended up bull dozing them with everything I could have told them. From the talk at Pratt Memorial, I started understanding the pulse. During my workshop in The Frank Anthony Public School, I gained enough confidence. There I took Arghyadeep Roy, a class 9 student from Calcutta Boys’ School and set him as an example, showcased his works. A lot of young kids were motivated. I wanted Arjyak to speak in IIT Kharagpur. There are many reasons. The first is – he loves speaking and I love him speaking. He is a brilliant speaker and an able debater. He makes sure he makes sense when he speaks. Else he keeps shut. The second reason is – I want him to conduct the workshop in the American Centre on the 17th of this month. The third is – if students in IIT Kgp sees someone of their age bracket speaking to them showing them, his own blog, they might be motivated. Arjyak spoke effortlessly. But he did the same thing that I did. And that is perfectly natural. He bulldozed everyone around. He had to say what he... --- - Published: 2015-09-03 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/esha-chatterjee-tridib/ - Categories: entrepreneurship, Guest Posts, Kolkata - Tags: Abani Bhushan Chattopadhyay, BEE Books, Dinesh Chandra Chattopadhyay, Esha Chatterjee, Patra Bharati, Publishers and Booksellers Guild, Tales to Tell, Tridib Chatterjee Esha Chatterjee (CEO, BEE Books) - I wake up to the smell of paper and sound of our big offset printing machine. I have been waking up to this sound for the last 26 years of my life. You remember places with their sights sounds and smell. I get reminded of home when I hear machines running. So much so that the humming of birds... the smell of flowers... the mountains and the sea don’t fascinate me for more than 10 days. I start missing the repetitive sound of papers being printed into books. I call it the “Melody of Monotony”. In the year 1939, before independence, my great grandfather (Late Shri Abani Bhushan Chattopadhyay) shifted from Dhaka to the then Calcutta. A mathematician by profession, his love for books made him start Hemaprabha Printing Press. He made a name and fame with his business of academic books. My Grand Father, Late Shri Dinesh Chandra Chattopadhyay, wanted to become an Author. But then who can escape the power of those printed words in the form of a book. He along with his brother started the Bidyodoye Library Press. It went on to become an empire in the late 60’s and 70’s. The Chattopadhyay family was considered one of the most powerful families of Calcutta. My dad, Mr. Tridib Kumar Chatterjee, while growing up saw the joint family break into pieces. Gave up his dream of working and undeterred to shift to a new line business, started his own Publishing house. I wondered while I was growing up what made them all leave everything for the love of books. I went ahead with an MBA and then a job. One year into a corporate life, with a decent bank balance and a high flanking lifestyle, the parties and the places made me miss the sound back home. The smell back home. I left my job to follow a dream. - I love books. They are just not books for me... to read and keep it away. It is the art of making books that fascinated me. The cover, the design, the artwork, how well the book binds together and how easily it opens. Are the fonts comfortable and do they relate to the genre of the books? I have been fascinated with superlative work and the hard work behind them. The dream was difficult to explain. Even to my Dad. “There is a little opportunity of making such books in the regional language and the expertise needed, was missing in Kolkata”, he said. So my challenges were: I was dreaming of something which could not be explained in words. I had to make it, to express it. I was not planning to start a business which was in trend. Most people didn’t understand my motive behind starting a "Publishing House". I was in Kolkata which has been considered a doomed city by most (especially by people living in Kolkata). I had to stay without any money for 6 months because all my savings would go into my start up. And I was a woman who was 24 years old and I chose to start a business rather than looking for a guy to get married to. My friends showed confidence, my father was sceptical. My mother had given up hope on me long back (since I started travelling alone) and my relatives were just heartbroken because marriage was not on the cards soon. I had a dream so strong that these problems never came in the way. I started BEE Books. The tradition of starting new continued. I, unaware, followed my legacy. I am the fourth generation into publishing trade in my family which is a rarity in India. No publishing house has survived post the third generation. Entrepreneurship is too strong a word and the impression it gives isn’t quite pleasant for me. I want to be an artist, a dreamer. A dreamer who shares her dreams who work with her. Passion backed by a strong motive should be the key to anything one does. A few points which I have gathered from my experience and things less told: It is the toughest to start. You don’t or can’t have a plan or the knowledge of everything you need. You learn it the hard way. There is never a right time to start. Whenever you do is the right time It is just a way of saying that “I left my job to follow my dreams”. The dreams will take a lifetime to be fulfilled. Between leaving your job and fulfilling your dreams, you need patience, good company and confidence that you are there where you are meant to be. If the business is your only source of income, then a commercial aspect is required. You can’t have just creativity and no way of selling it. Profit is not important but breaking even is. You have to work very hard to earn money so that you don’t keep spending from your own pocket. Dedication and persistence have already been spoken off. But honestly books on Entrepreneurship will not help unless you have decided to become one. Success stories inspire you, but never follow the same path. Only then will you make your own. Make friends who will help with your work. People who will believe in your dreams and help you. If you are building a team, build it from scratch with people who will learn along with you. That develops trust and loyalty for your company. They would see you and the company grow and would be able to identify themselves as part of the Organization. I hope the pointers help and the story interests. For any help and query my contact details are below. Do feel free to get in touch with me. (Remember, every house has its own story. Every individual has their own. It is all about how you want the World to know it. ) - About Esha Chatterjee: There is nothing more to say. It is a privilege to have her post up on my blog. I had asked her to write about her journey as an entrepreneur. I met Esha in a small authors workshop conducted in St. Pauls School Khiddirpur, where we both were invited. The first meeting made way to a couple of extremely weird meetings and gradually - business talks. While my personal projects did not even take off, BEE Books and Kolkata Bloggers collaborated for "Tales to tell". It is a very small sized book that features 20 new authors and 20 new illustrators. 20 new perspective to life is how I see it. It would be launched in Oxford Bookstore, Park Street. September 6th, 2015 at 5:00 PM. If you happen to read this and find this entire association interesting, drop by. Thank you, Anirban. --- - Published: 2015-08-19 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/your-photograph-your-rights-indian-copyright-act-for-photographers/ - Categories: Photography, Random notes, Social Media and Me - Tags: Indian Copyright aact 1957, Photo theft, plagiarism, Steps to follow if photograph is stolen If your photograph gets used unauthorisedly (read: stolen), what should you do? Greetings. I've often come across different cases where a photographer's photograph has been stolen, leaving the photographer clueless of what to do next. We all require awareness and thus, I blog post about this. When I come across these cases and ask them about their possible next steps, their response is often marked with either apprehension or aggression. We require neither. Myth #1: You need to register your photograph before putting it up on your blog / social media. Indian Copyright Act, 1957 says: If you have shot the photograph and you either have the film negative / raw file of the photograph, you own the copyright of it unless you are under contract by any company. You do not require to register your photograph before making it public. Example #1: I go to Murshidabad and photograph the folk singers. If I have the raw images with me (in all probability, yes) then I own the copyright of the photograph. If someone uses the photograph for commercial purpose, then it is a clear case of "Photo-Theft i. e. plagiarism, the infringement of copyright. Example #2: I am under a contract of an event management group and I am asked to photograph an event. Assuming the contract is signed and agreed upon by me on a piece of paper or via email, the copyright of all the images of the particular event would be with the event management group or the organiser, depending on the terms set between the event management group and the organisers. The copyright is NOT with the photographer. Example #3: I am under a contract of an organiser and I photograph their event. If the terms are not frozen over email, or mutually agreed upon duly signed and documented, although unethical but I can claim my copyright. Myth #2: If you get in touch with them, they will not respond. Most of the plagiarism is not done by the main organiser. Neither do they have the time to invest into all these. Most of it are done by the advertisement makers, who are not aware of the Indian Copyright Act. As the chief of Kolkata Bloggers, I outsource my design works to third party agents. Now what they do, I can not moderate. If I had the time to invest, I would have done the designs myself. What I can do on my behalf is to mention in the agreement between Kolkata Bloggers and the third party agent - if the agent indulges in copyright infringement of any kind, Kolkata Bloggers should not be held responsible and if required, the agent needs to compensate the copyright owner of the original work. So if tomorrow there is a case lodged against me, I can wash my hands off it. Assumption: All the terms of the agreement are documented and agreed upon by both parties duly signed. Now imagine this situation - If someone alleges copyright infringement, would that help or hurt the image of Kolkata Bloggers' brand? Hurt, definitely. If I am made aware of this, would I not take corrective measures to repair the situation? I would, definitely. Most of the time, the organisers do respond if the correct person is contacted. PS: If government steals your photograph, like in my previous case, they really did not seem to care about their branding. In such cases, we need the next step. Myth #3: Everything on the internet is for free and not governed by copyright. Not everything that is up on the internet is for free. When it comes to photography, there is a poor soul who invests times to learn the art of photography, works hard, saves money, buys better equipment and produces better quality photographs. The internet is a place where he exhibits his photographs, attracts more customers and make money. Wikimedia is a social service. Most of the services are not. There are specific sites from which you could download photographs for free. They are Wikimedia and different other free stock photography sites. Myth #4: Ignorance is bliss. Let them steal photographs. A friend said, "If someone steals my photographs, I'd be flattered. " But if all photographs of a particular photographer get used without authorisation, he'd die of starvation. Moreover, it is a question of good ethics and morality. By 2020, India would be world's youngest nation, the average age being 28, while in China and USA, it would be over 40. Are we looking forward to an immoral or uneducated youngest nation of more than 120 crores? Myth #5: One can get away with stealing photographs. If someone uses my photograph in a remote corner of Africa and I have no friends there who could possibly inform me, then yes, they can get away with it. But in the age of social media, where promotions happen in a big way through social media platforms, it is very likely that the correct person would come across it. When my photograph was used in Nandan, my friends informed me. When it was used by the West Bengal government, it came out in The Times of India. When Deepanjan Ghosh's photo was used unauthorisedly, it came out in The Economic Times. These are popular places and popular newspapers. It is most likely that they'll be caught. What to do if a photograph is stolen? Like I had previously mentioned, get in touch with the concerned person. If you do not know who the concerned person is, Google about the organization and find it out. Even if that does not show, ask people over the social media, whom to get connected to. Drop the person an email. You should mention that it is your work, where you came across it and that you hold the copyright of the same. Allow them a day to respond. If they do not respond, follow it up with a phone call or drop them a reminder. If you are a blogger and you have adequate reach, then blog post about the same if the concerned person does not respond. Give it one more day. If they still do not respond, get in touch with a mitigation lawyer. Mitigation lawyers are very peace loving. They try to settle the case outside the court. Ask them to send a legal notice with a copy being sent to you. If they do not respond within 15 days, I do not know what to do. This is the limit to which I had to go in my cases. The possible steps would be to get in touch with a litigation lawyer and fight the case in the court of law. There are a few things which you should know: a. Mitigation lawyers should work on percentages. If you get a compensation of Rs. 100,000. 00 and you had previously agreed upon a 30% share with the lawyer, the lawyer would take Rs. 30,000. 00. b. Make sure, during the settlement, you do not sell your photograph. The law says they owe reparations, a quantification of which is the amount of money given to you as "fine". After the entire process, the copyright and the right to reproduce the image should continue to remain with you. c. I'm not sure if a ligitation lawyer works on percentages and I am told that the process is lengthy and time consuming. It might take a decade to get solved. I did not have to contact a litigation lawyer, but if I have to, I would love to fight the case in the court. d. Do not settle for Rs. 2,500. 00 or any amount less than Rs 20,000. 00. It is a complex issue. You might want to check Getty images to know how much you should take. The law says the amount of the fine varies by usages. If it comes out in a newspaper or public hoarding, the charges should be hefty. If you settle for a meagre amount, they'll steal someone else's photo and force them to take a little amount. e. For tax purposes, they might want to pay you in cheque and cash mix. I am not knowledgeable if that is correct, because the cash transaction goes unaccounted (read: Black money). But I had previously accepted both cash, cheque and a mix of both. I was young then, now I might not agree to it. Your Photographs, your Rights. Do ask me questions if you have any. This World Photography Day, let's pledge to not support plagiarism. Please share this to spread awareness. --- - Published: 2015-08-04 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mba-analytics-data-science-summit-kolkata/ - Categories: Data Science Summit, Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Techie - Tags: Analytics MBA, Analytics specialisation, Data science summit, Intuito, kolkata, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Suman Samanta Have you ever wondered? How the world would have been if we could predict any natural disaster like Nepal’s earthquake or for that matter even the after-shocks. How good it would have been if we could predict the box office collection of Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Could we have prevented the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 How about an intelligent, auto-balancing and self-monitoring power grid / water supply system How about knowing would Ronaldo’s (CR-7) stats dictate a high success rate with free kicks or successful crosses And yes all these can be achieved, off course we are not talking of conventional superheroes but ANALYTICS, the new super Hero. Analytics is the “new oil” that will power the business. It helps to draw valuable insights and equips any organisation to take better informed and timely decisions. Analytics is not a one-dimensional approach. It involves the amalgamation of data, techniques and statistical tools and management context. It demands very strong management fundamentals and application of information in the decision-making to improve business performance. It’s not all about getting the numbers, but solving the business problem by providing viable and appropriate solutions. In achieving this, there are various challenges like mapping business problems to the analytics approach. It requires thorough understanding of the business (domain) to which it is applied and the impact this solution creates. MBA graduates or particularly people with business knowledge play a major role at this stage. They have an edge in dealing with higher management and linking analytics with business strategy. They are able to connect the dots to align with the organization’s long-term goals. Even while analytics could be for functional areas like finance, operations, human resources, and marketing, it immensely helps to link these in finding the big picture for the future business. Analysis of the data at each functional level in an organization has always been there. But now a days, the major challenge is the quantity and variety of data that is being generated at each level. Hence, analytics initiatives can no longer be restricted to a function, and needs to be analysed at an organizational level. This led to the need of analytics at a macro level. We have been seeing different top positions like chief analytics officer, chief data officer, chief information officer et al being included in the top management in recognition of the value they bring to the organization. MBA’s with knowledge of Analytics are the best fit in bringing both worlds of management and technicality that industry can ask for. Whether it is in deciding your pension plan, predicting your investments in stocks, analysing your insurance plan, customer analytics has seen a tremendous growth in generating valuable decision-making inputs. Be it an online or offline retailer, the importance of analytics cannot be ignored. From the point of knowing your customers, improving your process to aligning your suppliers and partners, it has gone beyond graphs and dashboards to generate near real-time dynamic solutions. Numerous areas in logistics and supply chain are being explored in the recent past with the massive growth in the technology and internet penetration to solve their problems at each level using analytics. One such emerging field is integrating Internet of Things in Supply Chain Management. Moreover, forecasting has been the top priority across all these functions. Isn’t it amazing knowing the future of the business! In Human Resources as well, analytics has seen an immense growth in the past decade in response to problems faced by the companies related to attrition, recruitment and performance management. It helps the organization to utilize the detailed performance and operational data collected at various levels to provide effective solutions. It even evaluate behavioural traits of employees by mapping qualitative and quantitative techniques. Now Analytics experts are an integral part of HR team in all large professional organizations. Reading between the data and attention to details have gone a step further in visualizing the data in ways which we haven’t seen ever before. Presenting the data visually and adding contextual information to complement the analysis process will help the Decision makers to interact with their data to explore trends and highlight opportunities. Hence, data visualization helps in understanding analytics solution in layman terms. Visual Analytics has become the competitive edge in differentiating the organization from its competitors. It has become an integral part of their strategy. Top management plays an important role in long term sustainability of this differentiation across all the levels of the organization. Having seen these improvements and demand from various industries, educational institutions have come up with a different approach to analytics around the globe including India. Master’s in business with analytics major has seen enormous potential in the Indian market from the corporates, which can be seen in the growth of employment in this domain. Below picture captures the essence and skills of an analytics management graduate. Analytics MBA fits best for students interested in transforming large amounts of data into better-informed business decisions which should be aligned with the goals of an organisation. Being at the intersection of business and technology, this offers a rich possible career in data-rich environments, operational management, financial services and insurance, human resource planning and analytical marketing landscapes. Analytics alone accounts for one-fifth of India's total knowledge process outsourcing, valuing $1. 15 billion. India today requires 3L data scientists and USA requires 1. 5 million data managers. All numbers are true. That is the potential. After all what gets measured gets managed! ! ! Data Science Summit, 28 August 2015. The Park, Kolkata. For more details and RSVP, check the site. This was an attempt to make Big data appear slightly small, for you to take an interest in. If you are a student interested in big data or a business man reading this, and willing to know how your business could hold hands of the newest technologies and increase revenue, there is something BIG for you. Data Science Foundation in association with NASSCOM is organising "Data Science Summit, Kolkata 2015" on 28th August 2015 at The Park, Kolkata. Something of this sort and magnitude is happening for the first time in Kolkata and we are happy that Kolkata Bloggers is a happy part of this event. We have the best of the speakers in this region coming together to raise awareness of Big Data. Do check out their website and book your calendar as soon as possible. --- Author details: Intuito, a Latin word for Insight, is the Analytics club of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Bangalore. NMIMS, Bangalore is the only college in India which offers full time MBA with Analytics specialization. The club aims to create a collaborative environment for knowledge sharing among the students in the field of business analytics. It also emphasizes on bridging the gap between students and the industry, in order to meet the latest requirements of the business. Intuito as a club provides a strong industry academia platform for the MBA students to showcase their talent and skills by proposing solutions for the real business scenarios (Social as well as corporate). --- - Published: 2015-07-31 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/data-science-summit-kolkata-1/ - Categories: Data Science Summit, Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Guest Posts, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Techie - Tags: Data Science Foundation, Data Science Summit Kolkata, How to leverage technology, Kolkata bloggers, NASSCOM East, Web crawling, Web data extraction Post written: Dipayan Dev Do you aspire to become an entrepreneur? Does it look challenging to start up? It might, but a well-structured plan put in place would make your task easier. Often our Plan A does not work, plan B gets executed to reach targets without failing time. Performing beyond our capacity to cope with the ever rising competition is in the DNA of successful entrepreneurs. Using the best of technologies, like Web Data Extraction, to beat competition, is a part of the game plan. Web Data extraction or Web Crawling: It is a process of fetching information from any web page. Web crawling basically refers to Big Data, where a crawler or a bot (set up) extracts data from the deepest core of a web page. The crawler should have the ability to crawl the fields, which at times, does not reside in the page source. You can create your crawler, automated extraction engine, i. e. wrapper generator or you can manually run your extraction process using the traditional wrapper induction algorithms to serve this purpose. One of basic element of extracting the data from web is called XPath. Here is a link, which has explanation for a traditional method uses to crawl any HTML or XML file. Are we getting too technical here? Let's continue. Never in the history of mankind, did we have so much data recorded and stored in an accessible manner. I’ll be the geek for some time now. Do you know: 2. 4 million Facebook posts are made per minute (2014 stats)? That's just Facebook, 4 million Google searches are made, 204 million emails are sent, 2. 8 Lakh tweets are posted per minute! The size of the World Wide Web (www) has reached to the exa-byte scale in the last couple of years. But most of the data are incoherent and thus, tough to access. A bulk of the data is spread across individual blog sites, news portals, ecommerce sites and other portals. Each of these sites have their own structure and their own unique HTML tag trees. This makes building an automated extraction system, slightly tough. Not impossible though. We have “wrappers” to perform such automatic extraction of data. It is defined as a procedure that translates content from specific information source into a relational model, converts the unstructured data to a structured format. Am I being too geeky? But like we said, we could possibly create one for a website. But since every website has their own structure, it is inconvenient and we need tool which would create “wrappers”. They are called “Wrapper generator”. The first thing we do with the data is to contextualise them. Then it becomes ready for usage. Usage ranges from – using the information given in the data to sentiment analysis. Most young start-ups do not have such tools. But there are different web crawling companies to make their life easy. Why would a start-up need it? a. Understand your target group: Know your target market’s online behaviour, search patterns, buying behaviour, sentiment while interaction, contact details and segmenting it on the basis of age, gender, demographics, income groups, taste, preference etc b. Lower marketing cost, higher conversion rate: Using this technology, you can filter your audience. This might also reduce your marketing efforts and the cost involved, increases conversion rate and offers you better return on investment. c. Understand your competitors: Know what product pricing they are coming up with, compare that with other portals globally. Check the quality they offer the price and their user feedback. d. Better branding: Reaching out to a niche relevant audience to start your promotion, getting feedback, building rapport becoming the market leader in the niche, before diversifying would only enhance one’s brand. Web Data Extraction definitely has turned into an irreplaceable hand for a start-up. Your small steps could make your small business big. Data Science Summit, 28 August 2015. The Park, Kolkata. For more details and RSVP, check the site. This was an attempt to make Big data appear slightly small, for you to take an interest in. If you are a student interested in big data or a business man reading this, and willing to know how your business could hold hands of the newest technologies and increase revenue, there is something BIG for you. Data Science Foundation in association with NASSCOM is organising "Data Science Summit, Kolkata 2015" on 28th August 2015 at The Park, Kolkata. Something of this sort and magnitude is happening for the first time in Kolkata and we are happy that Kolkata Bloggers is a happy part of this event. We have the best of the speakers in this region coming together to raise awareness of Big Data. Do check out their website and book your calendar as soon as possible. --- Author details: Dipayan Dev works in Prompt Cloud Technologies as a software engineer. He did his masters from National Institute of Technology, Silchar in computer science engineering. His research interests include Developing new algorithms in large-scale data, key -value store, data management etc. Dipayan has authored various research papers which are published by IEEE and Springer. He was my college junior and we shared the apartment together during my last year of college. --- - Published: 2015-07-30 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/calcutta-boys-school-concord-blogging-coding-java/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Events, Kolkata, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Wrap up - Tags: Calcutta Boys' School, Concord, Concord: Legacy Never Dies, Jit Sengupta, Legacy Never Dies, Sayan Bhattacharya Calcutta Boys' School is an integral part of my life today. So much so, that a few still think that I am an alumnus of Calcutta Boys' School. I wish I was that privileged when I was a child. However, I have been very close to this school from 2011 and today, I treat it as dearly as my own Alma Mater. I was a part of their on line planning coordinating group. The way they planned and executed the entire event, is commendable. There were shortcomings, but to have pulled it off so well at the age of 15-17 deserves all the praise. Kolkata Bloggers was invited to conduct a school level bloggers contest. And after the inclusion of The Times of India, the school decided to conduct an informal bloggers' meet as well. I was invited to judge their photography contest and later asked to judge their coding event because their designated judge met an accident on his way. I loved being a part of Concord and for many reasons. It is always a pleasure working with Jit Sengupta (TOI) and I know Sayan Bhattacharya (Concord representative) for the last 6 years. There was a lot of anticipation and excitement since Concord could not happen for the last few years. This time their war-cry was "Legacy never dies". Death is far off, this would not even fade from one's memory. Such is the legacy. Interacting with students. Blogging contest: We got around 23 entries. It was relatively easier choosing the top 5. But to have chosen the 1st, 2nd and 3rd was tough. The difference in scores of the person who came 3rd and the person who came 4th is zero. There was a tie. The blogger who came 5th scored 0. 14 less. The most enthusiastic school who actively took part is DPS Megacity! La Martiniere for Girls stood first, followed by Delhi Public School Megacity and Calcutta Girls High School. During September second week (tentative) we would conduct a Bloggers workshop in the American Center. 10 schools and 10 colleges would be invited. We are planning for a bloggers contest after the workshop. The best entries would get iPad mini. I never miss an opportunity to wear a tie. This is the new red one. Photography contest: 2 hours of discussion and brainstorming with a very experienced Dr. Murthy. I loved every bit of the discussion with him. He is very experienced and very humble. I gave written feedback to each participant, writing about each photograph. Then called the top 4 schools inside the conference room to interview. Later called all schools in, give them the feedback sheet, respond to their questions and speaking about what went wrong with their photographs. Everyone, hopefully, was satisfied with the judgement. Calcutta Girls High School came first, followed by Calcutta Boys' School and Calcutta International School. This was the 3rd photography event I had judged after Rotaract Club of Behala and Presidency University's fest. I miss conducting meetups in schools/colleges. After November last year, I stopped accepting invitations. If you want me to conduct a meetup in your school/college, do let me know. Coding contest: This is a bit too interesting. I met Mrs. Reena Dey. I've always known her as a very strict teacher. She is a very good person as well. Being strict with students is a part of the game and now I know why. I went through each code line by line. I had fun giving "0 (zero)" when exception handling was not done. And "-1 (minus one) when comment lines were not properly written or the instructions on screen had spelling errors. I was amazed by the amount of creativity there. The best of engineering students of WBUT needs to meet them and interact! Calcutta Bys' School came first, followed by St. Xaviers Collegiete School. Interaction during the Bloggers meet. Photograph: Soupayan Dutta. Informal bloggers meet: There was a series of miscommunication towards the start and the organisers had to reschedule it to the next day first slot. Things should have happened the way it was scheduled and I was at fault as well. But the rescheduled event was way better than what it might have been if conducted properly. 25+ students, terrific energy levels and an incredible interaction. I was joined by Mrs. Reena Dey (Computer Teacher) and Mr. Subhashish Chatterjee (Calcutta based Entrepreneur) in the discussion. We talked about big data (yes, off the topic), Web 2. 0 and how we are defining web 3. 0, how to share on social media (the 8 seconds challenge), social media graphics and their aspect ratio, analytics (Alexa, similarweb, Facebook page) and a few other things. It was mentioned in today's TOI Calcutta Times article. The slide we used to aid the discussion: School Bloggers Meet (Informal) from Anirban Saha I had a great time. I'm personally looking forward to more interactions with all the schools. --- - Published: 2015-07-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/remembering-grandmother-thamma/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Personal, Random notes - Tags: Anirban Saha childhood, Indy Saha, Support Elders, Swaraj Rani Saha Me, my eldest female cousin and my grandmother. - My grandmother, Thamma as I used to call her, was perhaps my first friend. When my mother used to be away with my sister for her music/dance class or perhaps her tuition classes, I sneaked into Thamma’s room and either did my school homework or play chess or listen to stories of Krishna and Chaitanya. She taught me how to play chess. I loved the way she once explained the role of the queen - to defend the King, the cause and the pride. Had it not been my grandmom, I might not have been introduced to Tagore. She was knowledgeable enough to recite or sing a relevant song in any occasion. A Vaishnav that she was, she was an avid reader of Tagore and Sri Chaitanya. She even named me - Shyam, my didi - Radha and my second-eldest cousin - GourHari. A lady who got married at 11, lost her first child, fought against the acute poverty, built enough confidence in her children to pursue higher education, allow them to go abroad and live their lives. She allegedly never gifted her children any luxury, instead gifted them books. She had her almirah of books and used to read a couple of hours every day even during her last days. She was a stern believer in personal development and freedom of choice. When I could not get admission to a supposedly elite school and my relatives were busy mocking me, Thamma very calmly said - The student studies, school doesn’t. When my ‘mejo jethima’ wanted a divorce after more than 20 years of marriage, she had my grandmother's support. She had been a very strong character herself, proud of her children, her weak moments include the time in late 1970s, when she asked my father to stay back in Calcutta. Everyone else had relocated. I had hardly seen her express weakness or love. Year 2002, we decided to leave our Gouribari residence and move to Dum dum park. She was left alone with her aid. The first time I went to my new “home” from school, how I wished the bus took left from Ultadanga and took me back to my grandmother. At times, without informing my mother, I used to go to Thamma. The last working day before our school closed for summer vacation was May 16th, 2003. I went to my Gouribari residence. The aid was not there. I climbed up the window, managed to push it open and screamed “Thamma open the door! ” She woke up hurriedly from her sleep and murmured “Gourhari, have you come? ”. I realised that she was expecting my elder cousin. She loved him the most. That day we talked about my upcoming summer vacation and how she used to spend her summers back in her home, now in Bangladesh. She had many trees. She said she missed that here in Calcutta. I left her promising to come back the day the school re-opened on 16th June. Well, I did go to my Gouribari residence on 16th of June but to only see Thamma for the last time. And perhaps be with her on her last ride. As the only grandson available, I had to be with her till the time my father had to push her into the crematory oven, infront of my eyes. While going to the nursing home, she recited some Tagore poem and her last wish was to meet ‘GourHari’. GourHari, my mejo dada, definitely did not know of this. Else he would have come. He is now the Director of Strategy, Google. Thamma must be so proud somewhere up there blessing all her grandchildren. I had lost a friend and not till 2008 did I talk properly with anyone. Supporting elders does not necessarily mean giving money for them to survive. One needs to make them feel special by being there with them, live their ideals. They are the ones who helped them become who they are. Think about it. ---------- This is an entry to the blogging contest by Support Elders conducted by Kolkata Bloggers. "Support Elders" initiative is doing some incredible work and to be associated with something like this is our pleasure. 'Mejo Jethima' -> means wife of the second eldest brother of my father. 'Gourhari' -> is another name for Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Bhakti movement reformist. --- - Published: 2015-07-12 - Modified: 2024-01-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bangkok-solo-travelling/ - Categories: Bangkok, Black and White, Colours, Long exposures, Model Shoot, Photography, Portraits, Street Photography, Thailand, Travel - Tags: Asiatique Bangkok, Bangkok, Bangkok night life, Bangkok places to see, Bangkok tourism, Bangkok Walking Tours, Bangkok waterways, Nana Plaza Bangkok, Wat Pho Kolkata and Bangkok: It has been slightly more than a couple of months I've come back from Bangkok and I'll be honest, I miss Bangkok. Kolkata and Bangkok, each has its own charm. The easiest way to state this fact: The oldest university in that region is younger to Kolkata. Both have metro trains and waterways, Bangkok has better machines. The city is apparently cleaner, there are way too many malls in Bangkok and people are disciplined and punctual. Back to Kolkata, mixing with all the people around, I miss the solitude I enjoyed there in Bangkok. I was trying to help an acquaintance (Konrad Legal) with blogging during the day while during evenings I explored the city. Problems I faced in Bangkok: 1. The Language barrier: Most of the Thai population do not understand English. They understand and respect the difference. When I used Google translator to explain things, they were patient. There are many expats, those who have settled in Bangkok. They speak English. I have met Dwight (food blogger) and Ian (travel blogger). And yes, I learnt two words in Thai - Hello and Thank you. 2. The Food: Thai food in Thailand tastes dramatically different from the kind of Thai food we have in India. I am a person who never took any interest in culinary pleasures. I eat anything to have my stomach full. I literally had to survive the food there and in my next blog post, I'll tell you why! Temples & Monks: Of the very few things I desperately miss, is the peacefulness of the temples there. I've never been much of a religious person, but yes a monotheist spiritual one with an interest in stories that revolve around religions. If you are like me, there are chances, you would love Bangkok as well. They are peaceful, organized and the monks are never busy! Call it good fortune, I found 3 monks who understood English and 2 Bangladeshi monks who were students there. The two Bangladeshi monks later posed for me (and Rishika). Inside Wat Pho Riverside, boat rides and Asiatique: There is this river, Bangkok's answer to Calcutta's Ganga or London's river Thames... offers you very colourful sunsets. The metro station nearby is Sa Pan Tak Shin (I hope I remember the names well). There is a sprawling market place, a twin tower one of which is supposedly haunted. The haunted place gives a good view for photographers. You might try the public river boats. We have similar steamer services here in Calcutta, but somehow noisier. From one of the points there, there is a free ride to Asiatique market. Asiatique market is very expensive! But yes, that has this giant wheel. The hotel with the best view of this place does not allow photography. The evening boat rides, after the sultry hot afternoon, with the cool wind brushing across your face, seems blissful. You get to see tall well-lit buildings with a few temples here and there, intercepting your imaginations! It feels good. Through the riverways | Bangkok Tourists click photographs in Bangkok Bangkok skyline at night. Bangkok skyline from one of the building rooftops in Sukhumvit. Bangkok night life: Bangkok has a thriving night-life. Something which Kolkata desperately requires. By that, I do not mean night bars and discos only. I had a haircut in a unisex parlour way past midnight. The major eateries are open, musicians play music.  Taxis are available and they do not ask for extra money! Bangkok is (in)famous for being one of the sex trade capitals in the world. Be informed, prostitution although practised, is illegal there.  Blame it upon my upbringing, the idea of being inside the go-go bar for a long time seemed an unsettling idea. But the inquisitive brat that I am, I have however peeped into almost all the bars that were accessible regardless of the kind of audience it catered to. The place where I used to stay during the daytime happened to be closest to the world's supposedly largest adult playground. Don't spur your imaginations much.  By the time this part of the city came to life, I had to go back home. I stayed near MRT Suthisan. But nevertheless I have shot a photograph of the gate, during the sunset. Shopping tips!   Near the Silom area, there is a huge market. There are markets every where though. The cheapest being near the Hotel Prince. Do not ask me where it is, I booked a cab to go there. If you plan to shop at Silom area there are two things you should consider: 1. If they quote 600THB, you need to start the bargaining from 100THB 2. Do not be surprised, disturbed or uncomfortable if you find umm, penis shaped ashtrays, or candles or key rings. 3. The cheapest beer is perhaps near Soi 2. But careful. KFC there does not really taste like KFC here in Calcutta. Subway outlets are good. Markets are mostly crowded by the tourists. It's weird. They associate the word "Indian" with "High Bargain". Tourists click selfies, Damnoen Saduak Floating market Damoen Saduak Floating market: Talking about tourists, there is this Damoen Saduak floating market which opens at sun rise and wraps up by 11 AM. If you are solo travelling, I would recommend cheap travel agents. The cheapest ones are around 650THB. But keep some more money with you. They do not include small boat charges. There, at the floating market, you would see people who would click your photograph, print and frame it and then try to sell it to you. If you refuse politely, they would go extremely soft and will make you all sentimental. The floating market people charge 100THB and give good quality print and frame. If you are with friends, hire a car. The cost would remain the same. I could not afford it and missed the sunrise shots there. When I reached, it was already crowded. Most probably, you'd be taken to the place where they'd charge you 650THB for one elephant ride. The people there too would photograph you, paper frame you and they'd charge you 250THB. There is a crocodile park, where I could not go because I had exhausted my cash! Umm, there is this place with a very complicated name. It is the meeting point of all travellers and the artisans there carve out teak wood to make designs, depiction, statues and furnitures. They can make minute details of the design. I'll attach a photograph. This was hardly 2 feet of a 35 feet design made for more than 2 years of regular work. Bangkok Walking Tours! One of the best people I've met was while touring with Bangkok Walking Tours (link). It is owned by two people slightly elder to me. One of them is Spanish, Pol Comaposada (I hope I spelled it correctly). That evening he had 2 of his friends from Spain. The husband's name is Raul and he is a software developer, into security. All of them were extremely warm and I had a lovely time exploring a part of Bangkok with them. If you go there, you should also get in touch with them. Not many discuss B-Plans with random strangers, the way Pol did. And since we all were of similar age, we gelled really well. While I was the youngest there, the rest were within 32 - 35 years of age and very experienced travellers. We discussed Spain, Football (I was a listener then), Bengal (How can you skip this when I am around? ) and what not! Raul and his wife are so warm that they later got in touch with me, sharing photographs that they took of me. I'll end this post with two photographs shot at Baiyoke Tower 2, the highest tower in Bangkok with a revolving observatory. IT WAS THRILLING ! ! ! ! Do ask me if you have any question! A shot from Baiyoke Tower II --- - Published: 2015-07-05 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/darjeeling-monsoons-and-6-years-in-between/ - Categories: Colours, Darjeeling, Monsoon, Monsoons, Photography, Portraits, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal The sheer joy of walking down the road when the drizzle drops descend, floating down often carried away by the strong winds, is still the same. Darjeeling is a place of my many firsts - my first understanding of love, of life and the first puff of a cigarette. When I was discovering a newer me in college, Darjeeling was my first travel destination after having saved every little bit of my pocket money for over months. The roads, the people and the feel refuse to be any different. The Queen of the hills is as mighty, warm and welcoming as ever. When I went back this time, I had put up in the same hotel and I made sure, I live the two days to the fullest. I am no more the person who I used to be. I am more objective and result driven these days, often not finding time to do anything personal. To blog post regularly is a challenge now and I had picked up my camera after ages. Darjeeling is definitely special. I've always been a lover of the rains. The hills make it even more special. Somewhere deep down -the hill and valley, the mist and the thick grey cloud behind, the slight drizzle, the people and their smile, the whistle of the steam engined toy train, is heavenly peaceful. This is some experience, I can keep going back to Darjeeling for. Enough of words, here are some of the photographs I've shot this time. Most of the photographs are shot by Tamron 17-50 f/2. 8 lens. They'd been extremely kind in approaching me to review their lens, and I write this with all my heart: I am not really a photographer. For travel photography, I would prefer a lens that is light, gives me sharp images, focusses fast and helps me create the memory. I might want to replace my 18-55 with a Tamron 17-50 because not only does it satisfy my primary requirements, the low f stop allures me much. The kids, the riot of colours, mist and Darjeeling. What happens when a 20-year-old 6 feet 2 inches tall person stands right in front of a 4 feet something 14-year-olds and say, "Bhaiya cigarette dijiye na! "? I made Arjyak take one cigarette from the kids, so that I could pose for this photograph! This is shot by Arjyak. PS: Cigarette smoking in injurious to health. This place is beside the Governor's house in Darjeeling. Road from Mall to St. Joseph's Church Darjeeling. Hello. From the Toy train. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, "Joy Ride". The Darjeeling toy trains are iconic. How many of you remember "Kasto maza he relaima" from the film "Parineeta"? (If you don't, watch it here. ). It is one of the best memories you might have in Darjeeling. It is now called the "Joy Ride" under Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. There are two kinds of engines - the diesel and the steam engine. The round trip (Darjeeling - Ghum - Darjeeling, via Batashia loop) is slightly more than Rs 1000 per person for the steam engine. Tickets are generally available from the Darjeeling station. It is a 2-hour journey where the toy train would pass through the streets, along with the cars on the road all the way to the highest station in India, Ghoom. There is a Railways museum, which you might want to visit. While coming back, you travel through the Batasia loop. Darjeeling Himalayan Railways - Steam Engine Toy Train This kid is of Kapu's age and is equally restless! Fiesta and the food! There are a few food preparations you should not miss if you are in Darjeeling! Firstly, the momo at the Fiesta near the Mall. And then there is the iconic Keventer's, try out their cheese omelette, ham and hot chocolate. Diagonally right up is a Tibetan food outlet, the Kunga. In their menu, they have not listed "Cheese Chicken Momo" which might be the best thing you'd ever have! Then there are chocolates from Glenarys, the mint and the liquor ones! If you could suggest more, just drop a comment! Thank you Poorna di (food blogger) for all the guidance! Arjyak Bhattacharya. A lot has changed in the last 6 years. Six years back, I had just the hope. Today, I have conviction. Over the years, I've learnt that feelings, soft corners, love, emotions and related insecurities are not weaknesses. They are strengths. When I say, love, I've learnt to be angry, to scold and neither governed by ego. I've grown weaker and have learnt to forgive the person understands what went wrong. In more tangible terms, from being the BCET Blogger and going out with Souvick, to developing "Kolkata Bloggers" and taking Arjyak along, the journey hasn't been sudden. There was a person in me, who often feared being misjudged and today, I'm totally content with myself striving to do better. From brainstorming other startups, being the chief of our college's entrepreneurship cell to now starting a new life as a product manager in a startup, life is slightly more complex and one needs to think even more. I've always been blessed with good people to mix with and derive inspiration from. I've learnt to accept life the way God offers to me, something new every day. There are complexities in one hand and then in the other, the Almighty has given me friends, a few who are younger to me. . who light my life up, every single time. Over the months, the wall between my work and personal life has graduated to become one thin line. The finest example of this has been Arjyak. He is responsible and pro-active, and now manages Kolkata Bloggers along with me. But never before did we talk anything except for work. It was exciting to see Arjyak enjoy, laugh his heart out, become the child again, restless ignorant yet brave. I'll be ending the post here, with a few random photographs I've shot of Arjyak and the attempt to light trailing, we tried at near midnight in the heart of Darjeeling. Do ask me questions and leave for me an honest comment. What could you have done at Mall, near midnight? --- - Published: 2015-06-26 - Modified: 2016-06-18 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/international-yoga-day-at-kolkata/ - Categories: Colours, Events, Kolkata Street Photography, Monsoon, Monsoons, Photography, Photography Events, Photographying a Friend, Random notes, Reviews, Season, Social Media and Me, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: Gunjan Poddar, Healthy Billions, International Day of Yoga, International Yoga day, kolkata, Victoria Memorial Hall, World Yoga Day Morning walkers club practise Yoga on International Yoga Day. Did you know? Yoga is one form of exercise which constitutes of full body workout and helps you master your breathing. It also improves flexibility, calms your mind and helps develop immunity. And these are just a few of the many benefits of doing Yoga regularly. Having originated in India, Yoga incorporates philosophy, religion and practices. In the light of all of this, June 21st was declared as the “International Yoga Day” in December 2014, by the United Nations General Assembly. The first International Yoga Day was celebrated all around the globe with much pomp and show, including in India. People have often noticed me being vocal against the political party, which our Indian PM Narendra Modi is from. But staying in the centre, he must be doing something right. Numerous speeches targeting the Indian diaspora outside India, albeit maligned with controversy and not without proper reasons. But the crux of the matter is - he wanted to unite all and set the buzzword "India" across the globe. In simple terms, he's desperately trying to re-brand "India". One might argue that the nation as incredible as India requires no branding. But it is required and at multiple levels. You might have seen your friends celebrate Mothers Day, Fathers day, Valentines day and I am not opposed to it. When was the last time you saw young people come out on the streets and ask their elders about Yoga? when did you last see people discuss how India has given to this world what that is now seen as a preventive measure to almost all major lifestyle diseases? International Yoga Day helped me come across a few. Members of Rashi's Yoga Studio practise yoga in the morning. When I got down of the Taxi at quarter to six in the morning, it was still raining hard. I hurriedly made my way inside the Victoria Memorial Hall garden and was surprised to see a few elderly people preparing for the International Yoga Day, braving the shower. I could not help but smile. While I might have been there to just click photographs of the Yoga day celebration in Kolkata, it was them who were extremely enthusiastic about the International Yoga Day, Yoga and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the world celebrated the International Yoga Day, Calcutta / Kolkata was not very far behind. While many photographers were a part of the celebrations at Maidan where a BJP spokesperson came to motivate the people, there were many similar celebrations, equally grand being held in Kankurgachi and Rabindra Sarobar. One such was in Victoria Memorial Hall. It was a collaboration between four walking groups, all mid-aged and elderly citizens of this city. Another such workout, if not celebrations, was conducted by Rashi's Yoga Studio. Morning Walkers perform Yoga You might have seen the youth of this country dancing and perhaps head-banging to the rock music, which is from the USA. Apart from one street named after Swami Vivekananda, Times Square's name being changed to "Tagore's square" (to commemorate Tagore's 100th birthday) and the western audience being mesmerised by Pandit Ravi Shankar's music (PS: #BengaliSwag) when did the youth of the USA, celebrate something natively Indian? Not only in Times Square, International Day of Yoga was celebrated in more than 190 countries. When was the last time an extremely old lady smile and say, "Now the world will respect us. They will learn our values. "? This International Yoga Day was a huge day of learning for me. I see people around me happy and proud. That makes me happy. You might be an MNC employee where the HR's ask you to stretch your arms, exercise while being seated. The exercises are as simple as eyeball rotation. But when did you see industrialists and socialites coming together and discussing healthy living, balanced diet and yoga? "Healthy Billions" headed by Mr. Gunjan Poddar, organised an event in the Taj Bengal where industrialists gathered. Young children performed yoga and later trainers from the Healthy Billions demonstrated simple Yoga exercises for working professionals. Mr. Gunjan Poddar speaking at the event organised by the "Healthy Millions" . Performers at Taj Bengal, an event by Healthy Billions One International Yoga Day might not make the entire nation turn into Yoga experts. Neither is it going to remove corruption or feed the people under poverty line. One Mangalyaan too would not help either. But in the long term, both would. As a short term effect, it makes people of the nation proud and happy. It adds to the brand that we Indians want to create of India. The very recent article of the Wall Street Journal, which mentions that India attracts enough foreign investments to join Global top 10 destinations, (link) proves the same. International Yoga Day is a perfect initiative to engage and make the masses aware, but on a long-term basis, yoga should be practised as a daily routine to be helpful. The youth needs to learn more about its benefits and practice it as an everyday routine. Even if it means waking up early and giving up precious hours of sleep, yoga should encourage more people to lead a healthier lifestyle. Only then, will the essence of a Yoga day be a fruitful one. Do let me know what you think about the International Day of Yoga. Leave me a comment. --- - Published: 2015-06-24 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nasscom-product-conclave-2015/ - Categories: entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Event promotions, Events, Kolkata Exclusive!, Non Techie, State, West Bengal - Tags: ecell, entrepreneurship, NASSCOM Product Conclave 2015, NPC2015, Priyanjit Ghosh What is NASSCOM Product Conclave? NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) is a (non profit) trade association of IT (includes BPO) companies. The Product Conclave is the annual gathering of almost all product companies in the region, brought together by NASSCOM. It would also be attended by angel investors, CIOs, academicians and business analysts. NASSCOM has more than 1500 member companies with it, a considerable chunk of which is Kolkata based. NASSCOM Chief with Dr. Amit Mitra (Honourable minister of IT, Finance and Industries, Government of West Bengal) during NASSCOM Product Conclave 2014 During last years' NASSCOM Product Conclave (NPC), Dr. Amit Mitra (Honourable Minister of IT, Finance and Industries, Government of West Bengal) had announced his help to establish NASSCOM 10000 startup warehouse in Kolkata, only second to Bangalore. Within a couple of months, it was established in Webel Building in Salt Lake Sector 5, mentoring a few of the most interesting startups in the region. And this year, it is going to be bigger. Not just IT startups, but there would be separate sections where manufacturing, financial services, retail, healthcare companies could come and interact with IT leaders of the region. This does thrill me. If you are a startup, why should you join? To network with people. You can always join NPC and showcase your product, know people, interact and grow your circle. If you require further clarification to this, neither entrepreneurship nor NPC might be for you. Students in NPC2015. If you are a student, why should you come over? This is the most interesting part and I'll explain why students should come over. And when I say this, please be informed, my ideas and knowledge is extremely limited to Computer Science students. Whatever we have had in our syllabus, is obsolete. You need to know what's in and if that interests you, know who are working with the technologies. Connect to them, learn the specific technology or perhaps intern with them. Not only would it add to your resume, but also to your knowledge base. And if you are a value addition, then the company also develops. It is a win-win situation for both of you. You should make it a point to listen to the speakers there. Last year, the sessions were extremely good and I learnt a lot from them. There would be many points you might not understand. You can write it down, get back home and search for it over Google. I've seen many students who have their own product ideas. Last year in NPC, I met an incredible bunch of students from MSIT (Priyanjit being one of them) who had show cased their product idea. Very recently I came across a TOI article, which mentions that they have bagged the runners up prize at the prestigious Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge 2015. They have shown an extraordinary grit in their character and to me, they are successful. If you have a product idea, this is the best place for you to showcase, meet people, discuss, generate ideas and perhaps get funded. Team from Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, Kolkata previously acknowledged by NASSCOM East (NPC 2014), becomes runners up prize at the prestigious Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge 2015 More importantly, YOU are the future of Kolkata/India. You need to gain knowledge and enough exposure, facilitate networking, be successful, set an example for your younger friends to follow and yes, develop the ecosystem. Why should students study about Entrepreneurship? It trains our mind to think beyond just the syllabus and make it more relevant. We know Java, true. But how can we use our knowledge to make a slight change in our surroundings? Entrepreneurship is all about identifying and analysing a problem, generating ideas to over come it, build a team to build the solution and make a change happen. Priyanjit adds, "It involves the finer aspects of market research, product scalability, product differentiation and a lot other avenues which helps us to be a value addition to the organisation we work for. " It gets you connected to reality. "Reality is simple. If we do not follow our dreams, some one will hire us to follow their dreams. Entrepreneurship is a way of expressing one's thoughts to the society. Entrepreneurship is the way forward. " I'd been the chief coordinator of the entrepreneurship cell and I used to read as much as possible. That has shaped much of my psychology today. Yes, theory is different from practical knowledge and a few of my ideas never saw the light of the day. Those ideas are now good businesses. However, Kolkata Bloggers is making quite a buzz and with people's support, we believe we can make it reach the heights it has a potential of. PS: I join Techshu as their Product Manager this week. Who are the speakers this NASSCOM Product Conclave 2015? From V V Rajasekhar, senior vice president and chief information officer of ITC group, Pallav Nadhani co-founder of Fusion Charts, Sanjay Mehta who is an angel investor to Kunal Shah who is the founder of FreeCharge. This year I am personally looking forward to the ensemble of speakers. So are you coming? Regard it as a personal request, if you are a start up, a professor, a student, this is something you should not miss. You'd get all your queries answered in NASSCOM Product Conclave's website. I shall be there on 3rd July, at Hyatt Regency. Shall meet you there. God bless. --- - Published: 2015-06-06 - Modified: 2015-06-10 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/resign-from-tcs/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Non Techie, Random notes, Social Media and Me, Wrap up - Tags: Inspell meets, Joining Techshu, Kolkata bloggers, Resignation from TCS, Tales to Tell Not always do we have the best of time, do we? I had a rough phase and I believe it has gradually come to an end and this phase has taught me a few lessons in life! First, the big update- I’m planning to leave TCS. Anyone who knows me, knows Aji Issac Mathew and Techshu. I’ve been offered a role in their product management team and to be honest, I am overwhelmed. . I’m not leaving TCS on a high note. However, the reasons for my decided resignation is more than Techshu’s offer and is strictly TCS internal. During the last four months. These four months, I concentrated on a few constructive aspects as well: Introspection: I have spent the better part of the four months to understand what exactly I want! Yes. No, I might not want to become a Travel-Writer right now. Abhay had sent me all Business Analytics e-books. Instead I chose to search and read more about Digital Marketing strategies and Product management. A regular desk job is not for me. An MBA degree might take me to the same corporate set-up I'm trying to run away from. And I do not want to take another loan. Loans scare me now, however small the amount is. I fear failure and precisely why I am bad in approaching people asking for help. I am pathetic in expressing emotions and when ever I do it, I simply over do it. My life would have been very different had I not met Rimbik, Surya, Rakshit in 2012. I owe a lot to them and my newer set of friends - Soupayan, Saimantick, Souranil, Arya, Asmita, Agniprava, Arjyak, Nabhoneel, Susmita and many. While Susmita and Soupayan has this extremely respectful and larger-than-required feeling for "Dada", the rest treat me like a friend. We have fierce disagreements, debates and we often fight. We hug. (Not Arjyak, he is too tall). Then hangout . Over the last 3 years, this is how we've bonded. If the rest of the world asks me to choose a path and Surya thinks otherwise, I would give a lot of consideration to Surya's ideas. I'm overtly emotional and the feeling of attachment is way more than necessary. May be that is why, all the people I've worked with since 2009 are still connected with me with some work or the other. In fact, the company I am going to, is the first company I'd interned in. Almost all the friends I previously had are still there. While many laugh at my wallet which is torn, I just can not let it go because it is gifted by Harshit and Sayon. It was for the first time someone thought of organising a birthday treat for me. The watch I wear is gifted by all the kids I've mentioned in the previous paragraph. The card holder I use was gifted to me by Pratt Memorial School and the headphone I use was chosen by Saimantick. Phew, that's too much of information. Kolkata Bloggers: From February till May, Kolkata Bloggers worked with Kolkata Literature Festival, Publishers and Book Sellers Guild, The Government of West Bengal, The Times of India, Magnum and had a few other engagements. We had launched an initiative "Tales to Tell", where we asked people to submit short stories written by them. The best 20 would get compiled to a book, to be published by BEE Books this August. We're planning to formally register "Kolkata Bloggers" as an organisation. The aim for the next year would be to organise small meetups, workshops to raise digital awareness. The month of August is going to be a big one for us. We have 5 big events lined up, the execution of which would be a good test for my team. There is this group of school kids trying to organise meetups where they'd discuss poetry and literature. If they can organise the first two, Kolkata Bloggers can get into it offering full support after August. Very recently we were also invited by the US Consul General and if the initial round of talks materialise, we might be working with the American Center some time soon, organising Blogger workshops with a few schools. It is too early to even mention it. Kolkata Bloggers was invited to The Edutainment Show 2015. The panel that we decided upon was Poorna Banerjee, Abhishek Chamaria and me. The discussion was moderated by Aninda Das. It was exciting to see Kolkata Bloggers' logo although very small, but yes it was there. Not the first time that it got on the newspapers, but every time it feels special. Arjyak and Asmita weren't a part of this. They were taking examinations. However for the first time in my life, a cousin showed interest and came over! You can check the review post here. PS: We have changed the look and feel of the entire website of "Kolkata Bloggers". All thanks to Nitesh Luharuka, Nabhoneel. A very special note of gratitude for Rajatabha for having shared his photograph for our use. Went out with Bangkok Walking Tours. Bangkok: I visited Bangkok two times, spanning a one and a half month visit in the four month span and no, I will not tell you why I went there. Keep guessing. But yes, the next 2 or 3 weeks, you'd see all the remaining Bangkok photographs. Travel in West Bengal: And here is something I am really thrilled to speak about. West Bengal is perhaps the only state which has mountains as tall as the Himalayas and long sea beaches. Couple that with the culture and architecture, Bengal tourism can be very very exciting. We, from Kolkata Bloggers, are planning this site - www. travelinwestbengal. com. And we are looking for some travelling experiences and photographs. If you want to join in, let us know. Planning next posts from Personal Blog: This July I'm planning to publish 4 posts from 4 different guest bloggers. I'm looking forward to some articles about Kolkata/Bengal/Social Issues/Blogging targeted for the age bracket 18-25. If you want to be a guest writer on this website, just drop me a message. All contact details are given to the right hand side of this site. This August is special for my personal blog as well. If everything goes well, I'll publish 4 stories of 4 different persons from Kolkata and trust me, their lives would inspire many. I've connected to young movie makers for help. I'm trying to raise funds for this. If you could help, let me know! --- A few remarks before I end this post: Right after college, we all would get some job to make our ends meet. We might be happy with the job role we get or we might not. With the set of existing “processes” put in place, how easy is it to switch between technologies if you aspiration demands? How easy is it to approach a better opportunity? Answer: Not easy. To make it easy you need to network and grow your own little personal brand. Nothing else might help. Leadership is not only about achieving targeted objectives making the best use of the human resources we have. Leadership is about enriching the experiences of people who are working with you. Not always is it possible to take everyone along. If you are the leader, make sure that the person who leaves, leaves without complaint. Leadership is about creating future leaders who can run the initiative in the absence of the present leader. My life has always been a smooth ride and touch wood, I’ve always been loved by almost everyone I’ve worked with or have met. Apparently I’ve been trusting quite a few not-very-right people very recently. Not that I’m complaining. It is a learning curve. But yes, would be trusting people slightly less now. Money is not everything in life. My thought process is slightly complex. I might not want a singular person or organisation define for me, my own self. For me, my dignity and the quality of work I do, is slightly more than the pay cheque. One’s inclusion is someone’s life might not only not add value, but create problems in it. One should understand and learn to draw the line. --- Perhaps the new phase in life will bring with itself, newer challenges, newer opportunities, newer learnings to share with my friends. A big thank you to people I've met during this phase, for being such a patient listener to my rants. Do leave me an honest feedback of the blog post. God bess. --- - Published: 2015-05-30 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/social-media-tips-personal-branding/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Non Techie, Social Media and Me - Tags: Personal branding, Personal branding for students, Personal branding tips, personal branding tips using social media, social behaviour, social media etiquettes, Social media tips We, my friends, are brands. What people perceive of you, how much they trust you with work, is what makes you a better brand. A good personal brand is characterised by clean public image, popularity, trust worthiness with work and public conduct. Your social media profile plays a very important role in determining the first step to it. Why do we need to build a good reputation / personal brand? It is required for building and maintaining good relations with people. A little bit of good behaviour will never harm anyone. If people trust you now, they might trust you with work / collaboration tomorrow. If you’re intelligent enough, I guess you might have figured out what it might have in store for you. Well, if you haven’t, this article is not for you. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-05-23 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/media-studies-in-kolkata-an-overview/ - Categories: College life, Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography, Social Media and Me - Tags: Best colleges for mass communication in Kolkata, Kolkata bloggers, Media colleges in Kolkata, Media studies in Kolkata, The Edutainment Show 2015, Why Media science as career “The towers of reverie are meant to be followed” That’s what Souradeep thought when he got his first camera back in his class 9. Since then his first love has been this piece of novelty and innovation. Revolting his way out from traditional studies, he is now a photojournalist in one of Asia’s leading photography magazines. Not only him, this generation today is exposed to the media and the internet boom where the glamour of the entertainment world drives them to pursue their career in creative fields. Media is no longer restricted to journalism and news reading. Today, it not only deals with Print Journalism but also with all forms of visual and audio media. Thus, communicating with the masses form an integral part of Media Studies. Visual media has somehow taken over the world with live telecasts, illustrations, videos, chat shows, street plays and of course films, whereas audio media is also in the race with a huge number of youngsters applying to radio stations. Media studies today is one of the most sought after educational paths. Talking about creativity, Bengal never falls short of creative talent. When we say this, we do not only mean Rabindranath Tagore, Pandit Ravi Shankar or Satyajit Ray. When the engineer turned musician Anupam Roy creates music for Piku, he inspires a million others to find courage and think beyond engineering or chartered accountancy. When Bedabrata Pain releases “Chittagong” and makes the entire world stand up to the NASA scientist’s filmmaking abilities - he inspires a lot of the youth back home. The easy availability of the internet, lowered costs of camera and other electronic gadgets have only let younger people explore these, during their school life. While Arnab (student, NSHM) was introduced to different kinds of films at quite an early age, Rimbik who was more into sketching, started watching movies during the last years of his school life, courtesy - torrents. He is a second year student of multimedia in St Xaviers College, very recently he has won his professor’s heart by the stop motion video, he had to make for his assignment. His senior in Xaviers, Madhurai who shares the same passion for sketching with him, wanted to do something different from English honours. However, Tiasha (student, Lady Brabourne College) was not very sure of the prospects of multimedia and chose to study English honours. She later did a photography course and aims to get into FTII, Pune for her further studies. College assignment poster by Rimbik. “The students from Calcutta are actually more creative than the rest of India. ” exclaims Akhil Paul (CEO, Mayabious Art). Mayabious Art is one of the fastest growing animation companies working for corporates in India and abroad. But soon he adds, “But they are slightly not focussed. Yes, they often sit for banking exams while trying to pursue a career in these fields. ” I wondered that might be the case because Kolkata might not be offering good work opportunities here. “It is not very tough to get a job in Calcutta”, says Roddur who works as an illustrator for the leading Bengali newspaper. After graduating from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, he joined an advertising agency only to discover that creating concepts under pressure and within time limits is not his cup of tea. “The transition was easy”, he said. “It’s easy to get placed in any city and Kolkata has big companies”, adds Rudrarka who is now working in a Bangalore based startup. He had previously joined Sree Venkatesh Films after his graduation from NSHM school of media and communication. Upamanyu who did his course of product design from JJ School of Arts, Mumbai and later in IIT Mumbai is an entrepreneur. Most of his clients are from outside India. “Kolkata clients pay slightly less and it offers me an opportunity to travel as well”. Madhurai who is currently working for Femina feels getting placed is easy if one is very good. “I interned with The Times of India and later got a call from Femina. I work as a photographer. ” Rudrarka adds, “One should also keep a healthy presence on social media platforms. For young film makers, YouTube can be a very useful tool to promote oneself. I got my current job after my profile got shortlisted over Linkedin. It helps. ” “If one gets promoted to a very senior position in the organisation, one might not wish to come back to Kolkata. Kolkata might not pay as much. ” adds Akhil Paul. A student from MAAC who did not want to be named, informed me that not many people get placement from the institute, while another student said only 3 out of 25 students from the current iLead’s batch got jobs till now. Ruchi who has completed her animation courses last year says “One should become an entrepreneur. There is a lot of demand. ” I asked each one of them about the colleges in Kolkata, a young person should aspire to get into. “Since it is more of a portfolio based job role anywhere in media, the college should have a very good infrastructure, good intern ship opportunities, flexible authorities and yes, good teachers. ” says Deeptish (Student, NICC Bangalore). Shilpa who is a student of iLead is pretty satisfied with the infrastructure and the professor's guidance when a student wanted to take up a live project outside college. Very recently she was a part of two major projects - CHC Ahmedabad Heritage Projects and Mahavir Seva Sadan Documentary projects. Here is a small list of colleges that are very popular in Kolkata - St. Xaviers College (Multimedia and Mass Communication) Ashutosh College (Journalism) NSHM School of Media and Communication. iLead - Institute of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Development. Techno India. Government college of Arts and Crafts (Fine arts) Shri Shikshayatan College (Journalism) Do let me know if I have missed out of any college that should be added. Leave a comment! - - Just getting into a college would not help. Sreeman Pal (Freelance VFX artist) told me how he has seen a few of his friends take up graphics as their subject of specialisation, although their passion was in storyboarding. When I personally took it up and asked different class 12 passouts aspiring to get into media related studies, they did seem slightly confused. They are all talented and very creative. But they require counselling that would show them the career path they should choose. “I wanted a creative field. So I took up film making. ” “But as a child did you like movies much? Why not animation, photography or mass communication? ” They laughed it off. A professor finds only 10 - 12 % of the students know exactly why they took up the subject and are extremely dedicated to it. Well yes, we require more awareness camps, workshops and industry-academia interactions here in Kolkata, specially for the young minds where they could come and meet different colleges and interact with established personalities in the field of media. One such event is coming up in Kolkata. That's "The Edutainment Show 2015". It thrills me to tell my friends about it, specially after their class 12 results when they are entering their college life. It is one-of-its-kind concept in the world of Media, Communication and Design. Since its launch in 2013 in Mumbai, 'The Edutainment Show' is a two day long seminar where aspirants can meet and interact with industry experts and explore the wide career options in Media. ", said Sneha Maloo who is collaborating with Event Capital to conduct Edutainment show in Kolkata. The Edutainment Show 2015 is scheduled on 30th and the 31st of May, at Park Hotel (Park Street, Kolkata). The different participant colleges include Amity University, iLead, NSHM, CMI, Whistling Woods International, Symbiosis and all major colleges. Kolkata Bloggers is one of the partners in organising this event. The speakers list include - Harsh Neotia, Suhel Seth, Raghu Ram, Prahlad Kakkar, Goutam Ghosh, Boria Majumdar, Utsav Parekh, Jimmy Tangri, umm yours truly and many others. The Edutainment Show, Kolkata. I would personally like to invite every young aspirant to be a part of it. One can register themselves at www. mediadesignedu. com or call them on 7718876482. -- Media studies lure many who had previously taken up Science and then did their engineering as a part of tradition. The blogger speaking to you is one of them. If you are one of them, drop in. “There will be phases where one are bound by circumstances. But one should always listen to his heart” said Kenneth Cyrus while signing off. He was an employee of Infosys before qualifying for SRFTI, Kolkata. Please drop a very honest comment about this blog post along with your views on media studies in Kolkata. Signing off. --- - Published: 2015-05-17 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/how-important-is-ones-class-12-result/ - Categories: College life, Episodes of my Life, facebook update elaborated., Personal, Random notes, Social Media and Me - Tags: class 12 results, ISC results 2015 Saimantick exclaimed, "It's the 18th that I dread. Not anything else. ISC results are going to be out. " I laughed at it explaining to him how scared I was during this phase, back in 2007. He told me he might get a seventy something percentage. He had a grim face with perhaps the palest eyes, staring at me. Not many months ago did I ask him to study hard and study economics in either Presidency or in Delhi University. Now I know that he is not interested in Economics, but in photography/designing. I asked myself, "What would change if he does not get a 90%? " It is wonderful to see how most of our parents and the society around, have created a make belief world for us, where we as children are made to believe, the world might just end if we score badly. For a few, not getting "science" in class 11 is family's shame. For a few, not cracking IIT JEE is worse than ending their lives. I was one of them who craved for IIT and failed to qualify. My life did not stop and by the grace of God, I earn enough to make ends meet. There were times when I scolded Avishek Rakshit (CBS, Batch 2014) very heartlessly asking him to study and live up to the 95% he got in his class 10 boards. At times, I even asked Rimbik (SPMS, Batch 2013) to balance his passion with studies, and pursue engineering like his parents wished. Now why did I ask them to? May be I thought they would not get admission to good colleges or perhaps in the future, not earn much. That is what most of us in middle class society think of. As a friend who is elder to them, there was a sense of apprehension. I can only imagine how tense the parents would be. But somewhere beyond the apprehension is a belief, a belief in their aspirations. You know what? Rakshit who scored lower than 80% in his ISC, took the admission test and qualified for economics honours for Ramkrishna Mission Residential college which is now ranked third nationally in the NAAC list. Rimbik, who was adamant to follow his passion is now is student of St. Xaviers, Kolkata. Today, I see them happy and smiling. That is satisfying enough. So how important is one's class 12 result? We do not tattoo our class 12 marks on our foreheads. Do we? The first thing a stranger notices in a person is one’s behaviour. The stranger could be your future manager, future client or future wife as well. That is perhaps why during the engineering placements, different multinational companies want a mere 60% in class 10 and class 12 board results. The student has to pass a separate aptitude examination and then clear the interview. Not only companies, many colleges like St Xaviers, Symbiosis, BIT and their likes, have their different entrance examinations. If tomorrow I lead a team, what are the qualities would I be looking for while searching a team mate? Good behavioural and presentation skills, common sense, sincerity, ability to work in a team, sense of empathy towards other members and slightly more importantly, his interest in the work. According to me, what does class 12 result signify? To discuss whether we should judge a dolphin by its tree climbing skills is beyond the scope of this blog post. But yes, class 12 scores signify a very simple thing - It quantifies the level of sincerity and responsibility of a student, to achieve what he is supposed to, even if he does not like it. They acquire skills easily, which contributes to the organisation that recruit them. I am not sure what percentage of top engineering graduates become entrepreneurs or are happy with their job profiles. Let's stop generalising In this current Indian education system, what it fails to gauge is the implementation skills of the student, neither does it say anything about innovation and team management skills. I've personally known students who got over 85% in their ISC (year 2007) but does not know how to switch a computer on. I've known students who got over 90% in their class 12 boards who were arrogant and looked down upon people. I've also personally known a MBA student from one of the leading colleges in the region who prioritises going on dates over very important team meetings. When I say all these, I do not mean the good scorers are bad people. 3 of the very few people who are extremely close to me - Surya, Arjyak got over 94% in their ISC. Souranil got over 95% in his ICSE results. To generalise and to form an impression of a person based on the marks he gets in his class 12 examinations should be stopped. I appeal to my readers to think about it once. Today I speak as a failed marks scorer, but a happy elder brother. This is a new beginning whatever you score! If you are pursuing a creative field, UI/UX, Computer science - every day is a new beginning for us. Each single day there is something to learn, something to innovate and some problem to solve. Whichever college you go to, if you do not continually learn and keep innovating, even the best of scores or the bests of colleges could help you. The internet is the biggest resource. I do not have much idea about B. Com/BBA. But I believe a student should aim colleges which have good professors, because they are the ones who would share their experiences with you for you to learn and would refer you for intern ships. For CA examinations, you can appear for CPT even if you get a 60% in class 12 examinations. The elders should NOT force young minds. A student cracked Computer Science Engineering in NIT Dgp (not verified), but his parents insisted he takes up Computer Science honours in Scottish Church College, Kolkata. A kid who had always dreamt of making and programming robots studied Electronics and Communication in one of the leading private college in Kolkata. He was made to appear for AIEEE, again the next year. Now he studies Biotechnology in NIT Durgapur. Another kid who could have got into some college in Kolkata, purposefully chose a college in Durgapur, a college he had no clue about till the day of counselling. He did not simply want to face his father back at home. Well, ahem. After you join an MNC, if you see differences in the world you thought that would be and the world that is, trust me, you'd think twice. Most of our "career choices", specially of the science students, that are supposedly taken by students are imposed by their parents. A huge number of engineers pursue MBA slightly after their graduation. While a few others change their profession to something their heart wishes. You never know what you'll end up doing to earn your bread. Now you can only contemplate. Let me share something that hurt me. This is sent to me by a student who could not get Science in class 11. So how does the others feel about class 12 results? Diptoman Mukherjee (Entrepreneur, BESU passout): I could not apply to JU science because of those marks, which probably would be bad news for people intending to go in there. On the other hand none of that had any effect on my future whatsoever because my stream is completely different and mostly portfolio based... . Honestly, if I could go back in time, would I advise my younger self to study (a little bit) more to maintain decent marks/CGPA? Yes. Absolutely. Because frankly speaking - at that point of time I did not know what I wanted to be in life, and having good grades as backup would have boosted my confidence and kept my arrogance (the arrogance of despising people "in the system") in check back then, if nothing else. Suprit Patra (Entrepreneur): Very important if you want to get the new iPhone or Xbox (from your parents) Shreya Gupta (HR, Tata Steel): We put a lot of emphasis on the academic record of a person, ... and we often come across people with mediocre grades, coming from mediocre colleges doing great professionally. Still... To be on the safer side. . it is always better to have a good academic record. It helps! Kushal Das (Entrepreneur, Python expert): (It does not matter) unless you want to study more! Preeti Roychoudhury (Teacher, Loreto House): The marks are important because they determine the direction your life will take- not just academically but also the college you will go to, the friends you will meet, the experiences you will have. Otherwise it's just printed paper , incapable of reflecting the person you are smile emoticon It never reveals you! Arjun Singha (MNC Manager): It depends upon the time frame you are considering / thinking of. For me till the age of 25-26 it mattered. But now it doesn't. Ratnaboli Bose (Founder, Daricha Foundation, Mother of two successful photographers) If the system is important to you and you want to stay within it - then your kids are in for a hard time. but the system never was, to me. i encouraged my kids to do their best, did not wring out their backsides at tuitions... no, I don't think top marks assure you a great life ahead. and isn't our education system here all bull anyway... and its gotten even worse when I last checked. Chandril Chakraborty (HR, Capgemini): It's all about market competitiveness. India, so to say, has a great talent pool. To apply method of elimination, you need to have benchmarks. Usually high scores at exams helps an organisation to set the bar high to evaluate candidates and filter them through. in this respect, good scores yield better outcome. Other than this, from work & performance perspective, it hardly makes impact. Abhishek Rungta (CEO, Indusnet Technologies): For the next step and getting admission in college. Nothing beyond it... I do not care (about the college name). But yes good college attracts first. Mohua Roy (Career counsellor) : But the truth is people who are mediocre, obedient and can take a lot of pressure are the ones who prove to be valuable for the companies. Academically brilliant often suffer from career frustration after the initial honeymoon is over. You can find more responses in this link and you should join the conversation as well here. Parting thoughts: Nothing matters except for your good behaviour, willingness to continually learn, sincerity. I say this with the basic assumption that you would get minimum 60% in your class 12 boards. That's a bare minimum for a healthy living. If you are in the creative field, there is enough opportunities. However much you might score, remember - everyday is a new day and perhaps, a new start. --- - Published: 2015-05-11 - Modified: 2015-05-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bloggers-meet-us-consul/ - Categories: awards and mentions, Entrepreneurship, Episodes of my Life, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Non Techie, Social Media and Me, Wrap up - Tags: Kolkata bloggers, kolkata bloggers meet, Ms Helen LaFave, US Consul General digital media talk If last Sunday saw 37 bloggers from varied genres and age groups come meet to exchange views, the Monday next saw 10 professional digital content creators being invited to the Consul General of the United States of America's residence to discuss about digital media and the social media trends in Kolkata! Both discussions were riveting to say the least and I thoroughly enjoyed both, equally. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-03-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/india-bangkok-connection-temple-ganesh/ - Categories: Bangkok, Black and White, Colours, Culture, Photography, Portraits, Street Photography, Thailand, Travel - Tags: Bangkok, Bangkok Ocean world, bangkok ocean world ticket, bangkok photography places, bangkok siam ocean world ticket price, bangkok sightseeing photos, Bangkok skyline, Bangkok street food, bangkok wat pho massage, Ganesha temple in Bangkok, ocean world bangkok cost, Penguins in ocean world bangkok, siam ocean world bangkok entrance fee, siam ocean world bangkok ticket prices, siam ocean world ticket price 2015, Wat Pho at night, Wat Pho Bangkok, Wat Pho Reclining Buddha Buildings, sky train and the intersection | Bangkok ' www. anirbansaha. com Bangkok, a city slightly more than high-rises, busy corporate life, go-go bars and active night life has been my home for the last one week. It would be unfair to the city and it's people if I don't acknowledge the beautiful skyline, the culture , the food and of course the super fast life that mesmerised me in the few days that I've been here. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-03-17 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/explore-the-elements-earth-water-fire-and-air/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Photography, Portraits, Social Media and Me, Street Photography - Tags: Boshonto Utshob, Caving in Meghalaya, Gajan, Gajan festival, mahalaya, meghalaya caving expedition, Sikkim Trip, smoke photography Different cultures, folk tales and their festivals intrigue me. Travelling is no more just a passion, it has become a habit. Exploring is a necessary to keep me alive and breathing. This Photo-Blogging contest by Thomas Cook, really interested me and thus, I make this blog post. In this blog post, I shall explore the four vital elements - Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Earth Closer to the core | Caving in Meghalaya, 2014 September The earth seems strong, ruthless and the mighty, when you are exploring the depths of the largest caves in north eastern India. Within it's folds. . at times, it is scary. This photograph was taken in Krem Mumluh, a 7 km long cave in Meghalaya. Find more Meghalaya caving photographs here. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-03-15 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-do-i-use-social-media-and-how-hootsuite-helps/ - Categories: Random notes, Social Media and Me - Tags: Hootsuite, Hootsuite mobile, Social media for beginners, The Telegraph, The Times of India, Using social media Social Media ("M" in capital letter, bold) is the way we communicate today. And that is perhaps the easiest way to have put it. What and how we communicate, is entirely our prerogative. Effective communication is the key to a healthy existence of life ! During various phases of my life, I've connected to people based on my requirements. During school days, my English was not very presentable. I used social media to learn English, Blog post and send them to different people for their feedback and thus improve. Later I used the social media to promote my college events and discuss ideas. Standing today, I use the social media for various purposes. While my blog posts discuss ideas, travelling experiences or promote my work, I use Facebook to converse and stay connected to people. Anirban Saha | Social Media numbers When I share ideas with people over Facebook, they often get trashed. At times, people are convinced and that leads to some good work. But these conversations over the social media shape views and opinions and help me ideate further. That is precisely why I use the social media. 1. Ideating & Promoting: I started promoting "Kolkata Bloggers" on my blog, gathering opinions and spreading the word. When we had to conduct "Social Media in Photography", the entire coordination and promotion was done using social media. We sold 191 out of 195 seats. 2. Conversing: Be it discussing good ideas or Mohan Bhagawat's comments. At times, conversations go personal with younger friends asking personal questions and solving various coming-of-age problems. When extremely jobless, conversation starters can be "First 3 likes get a TBH... ". Extremely stupid but serves the purpose! 3. Showcasing: My blog has been the only platform where I've been posting my photographs. I generally do not take part in competition, exhibition and I've never submitted photographs for any Salon or news agency. All my publications and invites to academic institutions has been my Blog's exposure and people's love. Click here to know my journey so far. Example: Publication and mention in Sunday Metro | The Telegraph. How did "The Telegraph" get to know me? After my workshop in Loreto College, a student is in touch with me and follows my blog. She is now in The Telegraph and got me connected to the writer of the story. The writer went through the blog post and contacted me later. Featured as a Blogger | The Times of India About this mention in The Times of India: After Kolkata Bloggers' work with "The Times of India", one very senior writer wanted to know more about blogging and make a story on it. He asked me to get him connected to a few bloggers in Kolkata and a week later, we had a one page story on bloggers based in Kolkata, I am featured by default. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-03-05 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-daring-and-the-happy-streets/ - Categories: Culture, Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Park Street, Portraits, Random notes, Season, State, Street Photography, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Amitabha Gupta, Anamitra Ghosh, bicycle stunts tricks, cycle stunts in kolkata, cycle stunts india, cycle wheeling tricks, Happy Streets Kolkata, happy streets times of india, Indrajit Lahiri, Infinity Riders, Infinity riderzz, Soumo Laha, Wazid Horn not ok, please | Happy streets. Photograph: Anamitra Ghosh, Anirban Saha (Kolkata Bloggers) Wazid had the most content and satisfied smile on his face, when the rest of us broke into a thunderous applause. He looked at me and I noticed him pant as the sweat dripped down by the side of his eye brows. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-02-26 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magnum-ice-creams-launch-kolkata/ - Categories: Colours, Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography, Social Media and Me - Tags: Chef Kunal Kapoor, IIHM, International Young Chef Olympiad, Magnum launch in Kolkata, Soha Ali Khan, Taj Bengal Soha Ali Khan and Chef Kunal Kapoor, during Magnum's launch in Kolkata Last week, the room in Taj Bengal was packed, all eagerly waiting for Chef Kunal Kapur and Soha Ali Khan to launch the Magnum ice creams in Kolkata. While waiting with bated breaths, I sipped water from the glass. Magnum is yet another addition to the sweetness of the city’s culinary delights. Bengalis have forever been in a love affair with sweets. The very mention of the word “Mishti” (sweet) invokes a hundred million positive sensations in the Bengali heart. Bengal, after all, is the birthplace of the Rosogolla, Mishti doi, Shondesh amongst others. And the love for food here does not just stop with a sweet tooth. Bengal boasts of a delectable variant in any food category. Famously known as the land of fish, our cuisine consists of dishes made from almost every ingredient available in the country, with a generous dash of those unparalleled spices that have changed international relations in times past. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-02-21 - Modified: 2016-08-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ravangla-geyzing-monastery-chham-photographs/ - Categories: Cham dance, Colours, Culture, Non Techie, Photography, Season, Sikkim, State, travel, Winter - Tags: Geyzing, Hills, north east india, Pelling, Pemayangtse monastery, Rabdantse, Ralang monastery, Ravangla, Sikkim, Sikkim tourism, Simptham, Travel destinations, Travel to Sikkim from Kolkata Kanchenjunga | during the sun rise. The view from Ravangla. When the first rays of the sun hit the tip of the world's third highest peak | Shot with Tamron 70 - 300 lens Sikkim - the land of exotic festivals I've never been the beach guy ever ! During the sultry Kolkata summers, I prefer staying indoors testing my AC's ability to keep the temperatures as low as 16 degrees, if not lower. So naturally, mountains have always been my choice when it comes to travel. Be it my first solo travel to Darjeeling and north Bengal, the Meghalaya trip with Harshit and Surrbhi or the very recent trips to Ravangla and Pelling, both located in Sikkim. While Pelling was a solo travel last week, I went with a few friends to Ravangla during December 17th, 2014. It was the harvest festival and our intent was to photograph Chham. You can read the blog post here. In this blog post, I'll share a few photographs I have shot. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-02-12 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-curious-case-of-kolkatas-literary-circles/ - Categories: Culture, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Kolkata Exclusive!, Literature Festivals, Photography, Portraits, Social Media and Me - Tags: AKLF, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, International Kolkata Book Fair, KLM, Kolkata Literary Meet, Kolkata Literature Festival, Publishers and Booksellers Guild Anirban Saha | Edited by: Srabasti Bhattacharya. February 12, 2015. "There is a craze in Kolkata about books" exclaimed Shobhaa De who went on to add that year after year families save to buy books at the Kolkata Book Fair, a book lovers' paradise! Shobhaa De had recently come to Calcutta for the Kolkata Literature Festival, the last of the literary gatherings the city recently witnessed. The city that is known to be the birthplace of the first Non-European nobel laureate for literature is also known as the cultural capital of India, and not without reason. Nowhere else in the world have books been so celebrated as it is here! It boils with tremendous energy that is almost infectious and there is no escape! A city so engrossed in books and literature naturally was a host to not just one but, three literature festivals this year, one after another. The Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, the Kolkata Literary Meet and then the Kolkata Literature Festival. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-02-06 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/wi-fi-and-kolkata-the-city-of-the-future/ - Categories: Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Kolkata Exclusive!, Non Techie, Random notes, Social Media and Me, Techie - Tags: kolkata, Microsoft Centre of Excellence, NASSCOM startup warehouse, WiFi launch in Kolkata Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, Mayor and Dr. Amit Mitra, honourable minister of finance launching the Wi-Fi service in Kolkata. The Chief Minister of West Bengal – Mamata Banerjee today launched the Wi-Fi in the Park Street area. She had earlier announced, in the course of the next two months, the entire city under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the area of Salt Lake shall get access to “free” Wi-Fi, provided by Reliance Jio and aided by the Government of West Bengal. While waiting for the official launch near the oldest building in Park Street – The Asiatic Society, I wondered how Kolkata wanted a rapid image makeover from the sluggish laid back city to be as progressive as Calcutta used to be, till mid 70’s. After years of degraded economy, Kolkata now comes up with a variety of visible changes to the city - beautified river banks, newer set of trident street lights, AC bus stops to name a few and now the Wi-Fi. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-01-23 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/who-is-more-popular-you-or-your-blog/ - Categories: Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Social Media and Me - Tags: Bloggers Meet at Kolkata Literary Festival, How to promote blogs on social media, kolkata bloggers meet, Personal blogging experience, social media promotion In the very recently concluded Bloggers Meet, conducted by The Times of India in association with Kolkata Bloggers for Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015 ( Read TOI report here. ), there were a series of discussions online and off it, that has taken my circle of contacts, here in Kolkata by a storm, the latest contribution being Alok Vats's blogpost that goes by the same title. Why this topic? Because the speech by Shilpa Srivastava (social media manager, Compare Infobase) created a buzz. And during the event, I had placed my point of view untimely. She spoke about promoting Blog posts over the social media. There were two lines of the many that created buzz: Your blog should be more popular than you and not the other way around. Come out of the "I" factor! Blogging is the tool to share your thoughts in an organised manner to connect to similar minds. If you ask me – in today’s world, from a personal blogger’s perspective – The blog requires a face as much as the face requires a blog. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-01-06 - Modified: 2019-02-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kayged-festival-ralang-monastery-cham-dance-in-ralang-monastery-sikkim/ - Categories: Cham dance, Culture, Exclusive, Festival, Sikkim, State, Travel - Tags: Black hat dance, Buddhist custom, Cham, Cham dance costumes, Cham dance mask, Cham dance photographs, cham mask, chham dance, chham dance sikkim, chham festival, chham festival sikkim, Folk culture, Folk dance, Kaged festival, Kagyat festival, Karma Lama, Karmapa Mahakala Dance, Mahakala Dance, Masked Dances, Tibetan dance Kayged festival. This masked dance practised in Eastern India has its origin in Tibet. Shooting most of this festival with Tamron 70 - 300 was such a smooth experience. The Tibetan dance “Cham” is quite familiar with people fascinated by the ever varying Indian culture. However, very few resources in English exist on the internet. Having got the slightest hint of the supposed magnificence of this dance form, I wanted to photograph it. (more... ) --- - Published: 2015-01-01 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/magen-david-synagogue-and-5-things-about-calcuttas-jews/ - Categories: Burrabazar, Colours, Culture, Exclusive, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Social Media and Me - Tags: Aishaani Saha annaprashan, Arati Devi, Brabourne Road crossing, Esther Victoria Abraham, Ezra street, featured, First Miss India, Jael Siliman, Jewish church in kolkata, Jewish synagogue, Jews in Calcutta, Jews in Kolkata, Last Jews in Calcutta, Magen David Synagogue, Nahoums, Pramila, Rachael Sofaer I had no proper plans made for this year’s Christmas. Tired of resting, I boarded a taxi and asked the driver to take me around, perhaps to a less crowded church. I was busy searching for some church over the internet when the taxi driver stopped the car, in front of a well decorated small Catholic church. Strikingly, to its opposite side, a mammoth church like structure stood there desolate, without decoration. The clock on its wall, wasn't even working. Oh wait. This is not a Christian church, I read about it in Rangan Da’s blog post! I hurriedly paid the taxi and started walking towards the building. At the gate, I found no one. I asked people around, who called the care taker and the care taker opened the door for me. “Is everyone allowed to get in? Isn’t permission required from Nahoum’s? ” I asked him in Hindi. He said how Nahoum died a couple of years back. It is now open to the people with an admission fee of a hundred rupees. Let me not describe the interiors in words. Check out the photographs: Magen David Synagogue, interiors. Shot taken from the first floor of the Synagogue. (more... ) --- - Published: 2014-12-26 - Modified: 2015-01-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-blogger-anirban-saha-photographer/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Photography, Random notes, Social Media and Me, Testimonials and Best wishes, Wrap up - Tags: Kolkata bloggers, Lok Prasar Prakalpa, Photography workshops in Kolkata If 2013 was all about taming my mind, 2014 so far has been all about unleashing the blogger in me. I had always wanted to make a mark as a blogger and this year it was. I thank all of you who are reading this for making this year so beautiful for me. My online help to the young seemed to have done something right. I was invited to conduct photography MeetUp (workshop) in Frank Anthony Public School. After the good response there, Loreto College, Techshu and NIT Durgapur invited me for the same. Receiving the small gift from the Vice Principal, The Frank Anthony Public School. (more... ) --- - Published: 2014-12-17 - Modified: 2014-12-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/murari-bapu-ram-katha-dutch-greek-church-bengali-heritage/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Black and White, Burrabazar, Colours, Culture, Dalhousie, Kalighat, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, Portraits, Season, Selfies, State, Street Photography, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Arijit Saha, Armenian church, Armenian church in Chinsurah, Bengal temples, Chetla Mondal Temple, Chetla Mondol temple, Delhi Gang rape, First Armenian church in India, Greek Church in Kolkata, Jit Saha, Kolkata Tourism, Maidan morning photos, Murari Bapu in Kolkata, Nirbhaya, OIdest church in India, Old buildings in Kolkata, Oldest Armenian church, Protsahan, Radhanath Temple Kolkata, Ram Katha by Murari Bapu, Ram Katha in Kolkata, Susanna Annamaria, Susanna’s seven husbands, Temples in Kolkata, Vaishali Saha, Vaishali Thakkar Hi friends, This week, my blog post will feature 10 things I came across in the last few days but could not manage to talk much about it. I've spent time with family, friends, shooting people, searching for European remains in Bengal and old heritage buildings. Photograph 1: Ram Katha by Murari Bapu The effort of a hundred good works and the goodwill made goes to waste, if you have one bad friend motivating you. – Murari Bapu. Murari Bapu is a religious guru and attracts a very consistent audience. While photographing him, I listened to him very carefully. This is one of the few things that keeps me thinking even now. I thought of sharing this "Food for thought" with you. (The Copyright of this image is with the Infinity Group, who was one of the organizers. I was the photographer on their behalf. ) Photograph 2: Siblings in Protsahan, Kolkata. The joy of sharing. While this photograph did not attract me at the start, it definitely brought a smile on my face after I looked at it for some time. So, when was the last time you whispered into your sisters ears and smiled? I shot this in an event called “Protsahan”. It is a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility schemes and the organisers did not want to be named. I came to know, near 10 schools are funded by this organization. This event is like an inter-school festival, where more than 40 schools that educate underprivileged children participate. The day before, I was invited by the Rotary Club of Behala to judge their inter school competition “NXT 2014” event of photography. A good amount of schools participated there as well. Children are children, as long as they are not heavily socially conditioned, they come up with unique concepts and ideas. I took some time out and had a talk with a few vegetable sellers in Koley market. One of their sons go to a school which caters to under privileged children. While I was excited to see the quality of education provided to the child, I hated the way the father suffers from negativity. Photograph 3: Maidan early morning. Mist at 7:30 AM Maidan, Kolkata Shot at Maidan, December 7, 2014. I set out of my home at 4 AM and strolled across the streets. Trust me, nothing is as peaceful. With warm clothes on, earphones plugged in and Anoushka Shankar dominating my mind, I walked almost 5 kilometers starting at 4 AM. Sometime later, Rangan and Aditya joined in. This photograph was shot at 7:30 and that was the amount of fog. We reached there before the sun rise and we could not even see what was 3 feet ahead of us. I am definitely sure Aditya and Rangan thoroughly enjoyed it. Photograph 4: The Dutch remains in Chinsurah, Bengal. A photo posted by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) on Dec 12, 2014 at 11:47am PST Do you know Bengal’s culture is modified by as many as 8 European nations? A few notable of them are the Dutch, the French, the Armenians and the Greek. I went with a few acquaintances of mine, to Chinsurah. That is a place where we have sizable remains of the Dutch in Bengal. This is the grave of Susanna Annamaria. If local stories are to be believed, she was married to 4 men and has inspired Ruskin Bond's "Susanna's seven husbands", which later was made to the Indian film "7 khoon maaf". A section of the researchers, however reject the claim. This temple styled tomb has not much information scribbled on it, but definitely had lovers' name written in the interior walls. This octagonal structure is a fantastic example of Indo-Dutch architecture. The Almighty gifted me the cloud that time. I feel blessed. Photograph(s) 5: The Armenian Church of Chinsurah. This photograph is of the Armenian church of Chinsurah, Bengal. This is one of the oldest churches and the oldest Armenian Church in India. Do you know what the Armenians did business of? Google and let me know. But for now, look at the clouds. Just look at the clouds ! ! Photograph 6: The Greek Church in Kolkata. This is the interiors of the Greek Church in Calcutta. You can know more of it, in Rangan Datta’s blog post. Do you know that the Armenians and the Greek celebrate Christmas on the first week of January every year? Photograph 7: Radhanath Temple, by the Mondals of Bawali Raj bari, in Kolkata. The Radhanath Temple, Kolkata Calcutta also hosts some incredible temples built by the Hindu businessmen here. This temple is called the Radhanath Temple, built by Raja Ram Mondal. Located in Chetla, this extraordinarily big and well decorated temple will be easy to spot however less popular it might be. You can read more of it in Deepanjan Ghosh’s blog post. Advertisement: If you know any blogger from Kolkata, please ask them to join Kolkata Bloggers. Kolkata Bloggers is a forum where they share blog posts of bloggers with a Kolkata connection. The bloggers get slightly more viewership. The followers get more incredible information that they might cherish and read. Photograph 8: Selfie with my next generation. A photo posted by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) on Dec 12, 2014 at 11:56pm PST My eldest cousin brother from the paternal side, has come to India. Meeting his children, i. e. my nephew, niece and playing with them was some incredible time. It is also for the first time I had a proper talk at length with my eldest brother. Weird, but true! A special mention of my Boudi (sister-in-law) also needs to be there. She finds Kolkata greener than before and has noticed people following Traffic rules! My niece, Aishani (Kapu) is growing up so fast. She can now construct sentences of her own and communicate what she wants. She isn’t a cry baby at all. If some random kid in the mall does not respond to her talks, she isn’t shy enough to walk up to him and give him one tight slap. Photograph 9: 2 years of Nirbhaya Gangrape case in Delhi. A photo posted by Anirban Saha (@sahaanirban) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:58pm PST This is not a new photograph. This was shot when Kolkata led out a peace protest against the heinous Delhi Nirbhaya gangrape case. A lot had happened since then, not that the rape incidents came down. Delhi today is trying to recuperate from the Uber rape case. Kolkata seemed to be so different. It stands 15th in crime against women in India. However Bengal ranks 3 in reported crime against women. The state has the highest action per report ratio. But all these statistical jargons failed to motivate me when a friend of mine was chased by suited gentlemen in Park Street as recently as last week. She was saree clad and not in short clothes. Photograph 10: Thank you. While explaining to a friend how social media help me in the plagiarism case, I realised that my Facebook page has crossed 5500 Likes, by only blog posting. I hardly share photographs in any forum, I do not tag people unnecessarily. Less than 20% of people who have Liked the page are in my friend list, most of them added me after liking my page. My Google+ profile shows 4000 people, most of them are not Indians and photography enthusiasts. To my utter surprise, I saw I am added by 670+ people over instagram. I still do not know how exactly to use it as a platform and I am pathetic with hashtags. There is an increase of mobile traffic recently, more than 30% of my blog viewers access my site through their mobile phones. If you are one of them, please let me know if you find this site mobile friendly and if you have problems navigating through it. I'll leave you with 2 photographs I have taken recently. Saurish is one of the very few friends who has been silently consistent in my life in the last 3 years, helping me and supporting me. Souranil is a kid! Both their faces are big time challenges for an amateur photographer like me, to shoot. Stay connected. --- - Published: 2014-12-12 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/lok-prasar-prakalpa-photography-theft-settlement/ - Categories: Kolkata, Photography, Social Media and Me, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: indian copyright act, Infringement of Intellectual Property rights, Lok Prasar Prakalpa, Photo theft Let me share good news: The photo theft issue mentioned in this post is now settled. The West Bengal Government’s Department of Information and Cultural Affairs had come out with an advertisement of their scheme “Lok Prasar Prakalpa” which had used my Baul photograph in an unauthorized way. The advertising company has compensated me with a five digit sum and an acknowledgement letter. And I retain my copyright over the photograph. How did this happen? I should thank you for being so active in spreading the word and helping me however possible. I’ll explain how active social media helped me: On the day the advertisement got published and I came to know about this, I shared it over Facebook. A few friends , who are lawyers, suggested that I take a stern legal action against them. One of them spotted this to be a golden opportunity for me to get nationally recognized. However, I had peaceful plans. I tried my bit on the first week and blog posted about the same, that weekend. After my blog post, the Principal Secretory of the Dept. of I & CA gave me a call and promised action. Insiders told that a couple of Rajya Sabha MPs had a personal talk with the Principal Secretory himself showing concern. I discussed it with people I came across, including photographer Nemai Ghosh, who too suggested legal action. Photographer Subir Basak, who is friends with me over Facebook, got me connected to photographer – Jayati Saha, who owns a law firm. By that time a few friends voluntarily contacted the media. Surprisingly, I know none of them personally. I thank them for their love. I contacted the lawyer suggested by Jayati and had sent the legal notice. One of the friends showed support and dropped a message to the page. It felt very good. God bless. No sooner did another incident occur than I felt, things were slowing down on this front. I came across the BJP hoardings that conveyed festive greetings. And yes, that had one of my photographs stolen as well. I was skeptical about one singular case. I could not even think of taking on the next! I ended up doing another blog post showcasing 6 instances of my photographs being stolen and why it is shameful. That blog post got shared and translated to a few languages by Global voices online. At this point in time, the entire media attention shifted to Bimal Nepal’s photograph being altered and used without credit by Narendra Modi’s account. SpiceyIP covered Nepal’s and my story clubbed together. That Diwali evening, someone from Editorial, ABP gave me a call and wanted to publish my story. Previously I had refused media houses (including ABP) to mention this. Incidentally, Dipanjan too is a friend over Facebook and I had gladly agreed. The ABP-Ebela news report that Dipanjan covered. With the spread of my blog post, a lawyer based in Mumbai, Juhi Roy wanted to fight the case for free and have been an incredible support since. I was preparing to move to court with her help. But by then, my lawyer informed me, that with another reminder - the advertising agency is ready for talks. With constant talks and negotiation from my defendant’s side, the case is finally settled on December 12, 2014. There are adequate laws in this country. Keep faith and do not let go of your rights. Thank you again for all the support. --- - Published: 2014-11-29 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/maa-manasa-the-controller-of-snakes/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Exclusive, Photography, Random notes, Season, State, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Behula, Chand Sadagar, god maa manasa, god manasa devi hd images, god manasa devi images, Goddess of snakes, Lakkhindar, ma manasa picture, Maa Manasa, maa manasa image download, maa manasa picture, manasa devi god, manasa god photo, Manasa Mangal Kabya, Manasa Mangal Kavya, manasa mangal story, Manasa Puja, Monosa, Monosha, Snakes Don't freak out when I say this: I dream of snakes at the start of every bad phase in my life. I did not tell anyone about it. Not just that, I had no clue that one of my relatives are ardent worshippers of Maa Manasa and that my mother often visits the puja (worship). Once during my second year days, I saw a silver snake cross my road and I told my mother about it. Way later, she said - She planned to not go to the Puja. Every time, she plans to not go, I see horrible snakes and patterns in my dreams. Neither she tells me of it nor am I follower/believer enough to remember her date of worship. What's creepier? Every time I decide upon something and I see snakes in my dream, they turn out to be very very sad decisions. And there have been a few occasions where I changed my decision after dreaming of snakes, things went just smooth. Might be a psychological disorder, but I am telling you what apparently it had been. When I told this to my mother (she is a strong believer), she laughed and said, "Good enough, you'll know if your decisions are good enough to pursue. ". This year, I went to the worship along with my mother for the first time. So, who is Maa Manasa? Just another deity in the Hindu mythology? Perhaps a deity who demanded the status of a Goddess but was declined. Averi Saha tells you more: Maa Manasa, the goddess of snakes, is the most revered and powerful of the host of non-Aryan deities in the Hindu pantheon. Bengal, a land swept by many rivers and abounding in bogs and marshes, is the natural habitat of a variety of species of snakes. Quite understandably, therefore, Manasa is one of the most popularly worshipped folk goddesses who promises to deliver her devotees from the perils of snakebite. Thus, Manasa is also known as Bishohari or the Deliverer from Venom. She is generally worshipped on the Sankranti (the last day) of the months of Jaisthha, Asadh, Shravan and Bhadro of the Bengali calender ( mid May, June, July and August). However, there is no fixed date for the worship and she may be served on any other day of the calender. The rituals are similar to that of other pujas but are marked by the presence of the plant 'fani-manasa' and huge tumblers of milk with loads of whole bananas in them. Manasa owes much of her glory to the absorbing tale of Manasamangal that narrates how the deity forcibly converted a Shaivite, Chand Sadagar, to her worship and established her place among the already over-populated pantheon of Hindu gods and goddess. The tale recounts how the rich merchant Chandradhar or Chand Sadagar, an ardent devotee of Shiva, refuses to recognise Manasa's godhead. Manasa takes revenge by drowning Chand's seven ships at sea and killing his seven sons. Chand is determined to save his youngest son Lakhhindar while Manasa has also vowed to wreck vengeance on the young boy. Lakhai (Lakhhindar) is stung by Kalnagini (a poisonous snake) on his wedding night and his newly-wed wife Behula, travels with her husband's corpse, hoping for the restoration of Lakhai's life. She succeeds by dint of her limitless courage, deep devotion and unwavering faith. She also rescues the seven drowned ships, brings back to life the seven dead sons and finally convinces Chand to offer worship to Manasa. Chand reluctantly complies and thus Manasa Puja is established in Bengal. Lakhinder and Behula are still worshipped at the same altar alongside Manasa. The Puja is sometimes characterised by Manasagaan or the recitation from parts of the Manasamangal. The compelling tale of Manasamangal presents Manasa or Padmavati as a very real, human character -- wrathful, vindictive and jealous. She is not restrained, rational, mindful and sophisticated like the Aryan gods and goddesses. Contrarily, she is impulsive and capricious. Thus, the Brahminical and the non-Brahminical dichotomy reveals the great gulf in society between the rich and the poor, the learned and the illiterate, the sophisticated and the rustic which is unfortunately still very relevant and real. How did you feel reading the entire story? Let me know. Leave an honest comment. --- - Published: 2014-11-22 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/meghalaya-david-scott-nongriat-trek/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Culture, Explore India, Meghalaya, Monsoon, Photography, Season, State, Travel, Treks - Tags: David Scott Trek, double decker root bridge, Meghalaya tourism, Nongriat trek ( continued from " Meghalaya: Color-ob" ) Which places did you visit? Did you go to the seven sister falls? We trekked. Yes. We walked all the way from Shillong to Cherrapunjee. Oh wait! . . with this health? It was fun. Trust me. Like Harshit says, there the clouds meet the caves. Tell me about it ! The first was the David Scott trek. We started walking from Mawphlang, a place very near to Shillong. From Mawphlang to Lad Mawphlang, a walk through the roads, lanes, by lanes, crossing brookes and bridges. . having wild berries when hungry. The guide's name is Kharaw. He was amazed to know Harshit is a Gujarati, Surrbhi is from Jammu, I am a Bengali and we were close friends. He himself is an engineer cum tourist guide. . I knew I went with two kids. But I did not know that they'll go all mad when they touch water. There was this one place, where we had to open our shoes and cross a brook. They both started behaving like kids, dancing and jumping around. Well, even I jumped a bit... The camera hanging from my neck was such a scaring thought! The entire place was spotted with small waterfalls, brooks and it was such a lovely walk. It was scary at times, specially when the river which we had to cross was more than knee deep. On the other thoughts, that's normal in Dum Dum Park during monsoons. Isn't it? How else do you think I behaved like a champ? At the end of the trek, we were greeted by the clouds. . then we came a few kilometers to Sohra, hotel Sai-e-mika. That's Cherrapunji. This looks interesting. . The next was the Nongriat trek. There you have to climb down 3000+ steps and climb up the equal number of steps. You pass through a few villages, where the people won't talk to you. They are busy collecting and packing wood for their livelihood. I met a guy of my age, who does not know what internet is. That explains how the place is, isn't it? The guide's name was Paradise. . The kind of excellent memory I have, I thought his name was Panorama only to be given a stern look of disgust by him ! All I saw was the green and how the sunlight played with it. Trust me, climbing down 3000+ steps is not an easy task. . specially when they are not really all staircases. At times they were boulders, rocks often smeared with moss which made it extremely slippery. I'll be honest. I was tired after going down 2/3rd the distance. Then came the "Nongriat" sign. . a few steps up was a food stall. While going there, we came across a family of 4. 2 are kids, the eldest being 6 year old. The young boy is too young and I presumed it was cruel for the parents to make them walk so much! Harshit soon discovered that the man is Gujarati (He spoke of Thepla! ) and then we discovered the lady owns a company which approached me for freelance web writing in 2010. They passed their class 12 slightly before I was born and have been travelling across India since then. Both are based in Mumbai, while the lady hails from Kolkata. I was so amazed. . Even I would want my wife to share similar interests specially travelling and photography ! The moment we parted ways, Surrbhi exclaimed (in quite a high volume) "Mujhe bhi aise husband aur aise hi Bachhe chahiye. ". This trek took us through many kind of bridges: The normal ones, the wooden one, the steel string hanging one and ... the naturally formed single and double decker root bridge ! As I told, it was all green ! Double Decker root bridge? What's that? Long back the original inhabitants of this area, tied the roots of the trees and directed it's growth. Over the years that has formed a bridge. Now whatever little space was left on the now 'root bridge' is filled with stones. With age, it is now a proper safe and strong bridge. Double Decker is because it has one above another ! See I shot Surrbhi and Harshit from the 1st floor of the bridge. . We played like mad, jumped, bathed in the water fall. . Harshit could also swim ! The water was cold, but I had anyway not taken a bath in the morning cold :P What about Mawlynnong? Tell me about that ! That's the cleanest Asian village and I had finished shooting 32 GB of photographs. I indulged in shopping and buying wooden articles for my friends and my family. But I can show you a few other photographs of people that I have shot. . It was a sunday and all people were dressed so beautifully and were going to the church. I wish I could photograph them. They are all so camera shy. :( Hahahaha. And tell me about the caving? Oh you should check this blogpost out - Caving in Meghalaya. --- --- - Published: 2014-11-12 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/purulia-trip-square-frames/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Culture, Explore Bengal, Monsoons, Photography, Purulia, Season, State, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Ajodhya hill, Ayodhya Hills, Bagmundi, Chhau mask, Folk culture, Landscape, Mask making in Purulia, Rajatabha Ray, rural Bengal, Santhals, Square frames, Wall design Purulia trip: After the Meghalaya trip full of trek and caving, my next trip was lazying around Ajodhya hills of the Purulia district of Bengal. While Meghalaya was a crazy place, the friends, I went with, to Purulia were crazy! Such craze, enthusiasm and energy is something this IT employee misses while sitting in front of the monitor working all day. Needless to say, they are incredible photographers themselves. Square frames: Square frames are interesting me a bit too much. In the social media, the square frame comes in handy to communicate information and fast message. This is some desperate attempt to square framing. Purulia - the weekend destination. I thought of adding this bit of information as I believe people might be interested to give this place a visit. There can be multiple reasons why you would like to visit Purulia. First this is the place of the traditional (and popular masked dance) called Chhau. Purulia and Chhau has been synonymous since long. If you are a photographer and you happen to come across Mahadev Lal Barai or Santosh Rajgarhia, you know how beautiful this district is through their photographs. If you love nature, love culture, love folk art ... Purulia is the easiest weekend destination for you. The name Purulia also brings with it threats of Maoists, most of which does not exist. Since you know I've come back and blog posting about it, you know I am safe and alive! There are MANY trains from Kolkata to Purulia. Prefer a one where you can sleep the entire night. You'll reach Purulia at around 6 AM. The car you'll take will drive you through the roads crossing fields, brooks where buffaloes are bathed, trees, curious people looking at you. Just the kind of bucolic village scene you must have drawn in your childhood copy. And yes, it has small hills as well. The Ayodhya hills! En-route, you shall find some really incredible landscape, and example of which is given above. With the chill of the wind, the cloud and the serenity there, it was nothing less than a calming heaven. We were blessed with such incredible fog. Although I had this bunch of young people sitting with/behind me, fully enthusiastic about it and their trip, I managed to fall asleep. (My entire idea of this Purulia trip was to sleep. Sleep as much as I could have slept. ) I woke up to see a herd of cows blocking the road. When we (Rajatabha and me) tried to photograph it, we almost became the target of an angry ox ! A frame with the lovers (really not) the fog, made this seem to be the best lover's spot! What followed next is a series of photo shoot, stopping the car at almost every possible place. Rajatabha, Shilpa and their team is extremely enthusiastic and creative. They were trying different things out, when I dozed off again. The area is dominated by the Santhals. The Santhals are the tribal people there. They are known for their customs and valour. Talking of customs, they have occasions for everything. This year I covered one of the events called Tusu Parab ( Parob ) Another of such Parab (festival / occasion) is to paint their home exteriors with mud and then create designs on it using chalk and organic colour. Their homes are small huts, with thatched roof, often accompanying a piece of agricultural land. We reached Purulia during the last week of October. November 6th was the full moon day and was the time for the design to happen. The designs range from huge wall paintings to simple hand prints, as you can see in the photograph above. In this photograph, the lady is applying a layer of mud on her hut. 7 days after this ritual, during the next full moon, designs are drawn on the hut walls. Following are a few photographs shot on the top of Ajodhya hills. It was raining that time and I had hardly photographed anything. Below Ajodhya hills, there are small villages that make the masks for the Chhau dance. There are two waterfalls and other places which you would love to visit and spend time with your friends. Have a look at the photographs. Word of caution: If you are planning to take someone who is old or has knee joint or spine pain, please do not. A painter paints the face of a mask in Bagmundi, Purulia. Preparation of a Chhau mask in Purulia. A fountain near Ayodhya Hill. The smiling lady. Untitled. The welcoming and not so welcoming goats! Who are you? Bamni Falls. Barir korta! Keeping all the square frames seemed so weird. So here are some of the photographs keeping conventional aspect ratios. The herd of cows that blocked our way! The women carrying logs on their heads down the hill. I'm very sure, not many friends in Kolkata know about this place. This is the secret place where I might do my next photo shoot. Details কেন বলবো? :P Hahaha. One of the water falls. Small, powerful and majestic. An workshop of the Chhau mask makers. I wish to visit this place again to shoot them, with time. And the cows to end this post! Do let me know if you like the photographs. And if you love the photographs do not forget to *SHARE* this blog post with your friends. Thank you. --- - Published: 2014-11-05 - Modified: 2016-04-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/basic-photography-and-social-media-workshop-nit-durgapur/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Events, Students Connect - Tags: Basic Photography workshop in NIT Durgapur, Centre of Cognitive Activities, NIT Durgapur photography workshop, Social media workshop in Kolkata To be invited by the students of the esteemed NIT Durgapur to conduct a basic photography workshop was more than just an honour. More because NIT Durgapur is very close to my heart & I'll tell you why. This college was the first one to award me something (for short filmmaking). That in 2008, gave me motivation enough to take part in IIT Kgp and be active in college activities. Like a foreign degree helps you to be recognised in your Indian society, the win in NIT Dgp made people in Bengal College of Engineering and Technology (my alma mater) believe I am slightly capable of something. What followed next made me what I am today. The club I got an invitation from is "Centre of Cognitive Activities (CCA)". I had humbly accepted the request. Now that you know why NIT Dgp is special to me, you know seeing myself on the posters felt very good. After Loreto College, I was invited to Maya Art Space where I showcased my photographs as a slideshow to an august audience there. Next was a basic photography workshop in an IT company - Techshu. So this was my second college visit. The presentation that I had shown was made at the beginning of 2014 when I was invited by The Frank Anthony Public School. Most of the audience there, and in Loreto and NIT Durgapur are extreme beginners who primarily use their compact cameras and not DSLRs. Well I loved the anticipation more than the day perhaps. I'm not sure about the actual figures but the turnout was more than 40 at the beginning. Post lunch, it was 25+ . The first year students has to leave at 4:30 PM, after which I showed the Basic Bloggers workshop slides. That made me somewhat sad. If the presenter needs to keep this audience awake and active (mind it : 4 - 5 hours and specially if there is a lunch break in between, is a real test for the presenter. ) there needs to be stupid jokes, motivation and constant interaction. The interaction with the students were good and honest. While a guy admitted that he was feeling sleepy, another guy did not like the frame of Tarpan (I loved interacting with the guy the entire time. And I believe by the end of the workshop we became friends. ) The expressions of the students when they saw the Charak photographs, priceless! The interaction in the first half and during the hands on photo-shooting felt incredible. As one of the students personally messaged me, "It started a little slow , ( primarily because audiences were not so enthusiastic about opening up , and interacting ) , but half an hour later ,,, people were totally into it. " The organisers gave me a piece of my college life in their hostel. Damn, I missed my college. I've a few places where I can improve. I keep on speaking till the point in time, the person in front of me seems convinced. This time, while the girl I tried to convince seemed convinced towards the end, the person near to her seemed tired. I should restrict myself and learn to take a few things offline! // Post by Anirban Saha Photography. -- I'll end the post here. Oh wait, the mandatory advertisement : If you have liked me, stay connected to my blog www. anirbansaha. com and over all social media platforms (Links given below my signature) . :) --- - Published: 2014-11-01 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/caving-in-meghalaya-northeast-tourism/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Guest Posts, Meghalaya, Monsoon, Photography, Season, State, Travel, Treks - Tags: Darren Drum, Gregory Diengdoh, Krem Mawmluh, Mawmluh Cement Factory, Meghalaya Adventure Tourism, Meghalaya Adventurous, Meghalaya caving, Trekking Meghalaya Do you know: Meghalaya has the subcontinent's longest and deepest of caves and is in World's top 10 caving destinations? Every year expert cavers across the globe visit this place to explore, research and find newer caves.  Although not experts, we thought of exploring one of the caves near to Cherrapunji. Harshit tells you more: Harshit and Surrbhi inside the cave | Photograph: Anirban Saha "We reached Krem Mawmluh at around 10. 30 AM on 29 September, 2014. It has been more than a month since we left that place but the place hasn't left us yet. We are still thrilled and satisfied. This post is about our caving experience. 'Closer to the core' because at some point while going in I felt I was actually walking towards the core of the earth. We started out at 9. 30 AM from lower Sohra, a little later than was planned. Gregory had reached exactly at 9. 00 AM to pick us up. He heads Meghalaya Adventure Tours and is an expert caver. We were lucky that we went with him. About Krem Mawmluh - It is a seven kilometers long cave in Cherrapunji, Meghalaya. It's not a show cave or a tourist cave. People do not go there for sightseeing. Entering the cave requires proper gear and supervision. Adventure seekers will go to any height (or depth) for that thrill and experience. On reaching Mawmluh Cement Factory, we got off the car, and were given our gear. I got excited by just looking at the gear. . It was a jumpsuit, more like what miners wear along with superb rubber boots. I realized its importance once I got into it. We got suited and felt great in dirty, ragged clothes for the first time. We took a customary selfie before the start. And the next moment we were walking towards the cave. The start of the walk | Caving in Meghalaya The first part of the walk | Caving in Meghalaya The view from the hill | Caving in Meghalaya "second half is like going into the Amazon forest. " | Caving in Meghalaya Preparation before entering the cave | Caving in Meghalaya It's a long walk to the entrance of the cave. First half is just walking along a hill through thick grass, second half is like going into the Amazon forest. It was challenging but fun! The rocks were huge. Throughout that time I felt like Bear Grylls from Man vs Wild. It was a hot day and the walk was a little tiring. But I forgot everything about it the moment I saw the entrance to the cave. We decided to take a little rest and some more preparations before entering the cave. We put on the lights on our helmets cause that's the only way you can see anything inside the cave. Took water, some food and put our valuables inside the Darren Drum (An air tight container, which can float in water logged areas in the cave). The cave has a narrow tricky entrance. Seeing it made me think how tricky will the ways inside be. A narrow way through which one can only enter if they turn to the right and bend forward. The entrance | Caving in Meghalaya The entrance to the Cave | Caving in Meghalaya It can be difficult for people who are fat. Right after that narrow space between rocks, there is suddenly no ground. Flexibility, fitness and energy are very important. Rocks and walls have to be used for support at places and move forward. After one or two climbs and falls, we started getting a hang of it. Strategically placing legs to shift body weight and using hands to grip the rocks were what it was all about. If I think too hard I might also be able to explain how we crossed every drop and climb from the beginning but I'm not writing a DIY Caving blog post. "Right after that narrow space between rocks, there is suddenly no ground. " | www. anirbansaha. com The ground down below | www. anirbansaha. com Some portions of the cave were very small and narrow. We had to bend down and walk or else our head would hit the ceiling. Without the helmet you'd come out with a part of your skull in your hands. Cavers are extremely careful not to break or spoil any sandstone or limestone formations in the cave when they enter. Those formations take hundreds of years to form. I made it a point not to hit my head anywhere and not break anything. You can only see in one direction at a time. As far as your light range allows. Everything else remains pitch black. For some this could be an uncomfortable situation. Surrbhi at first thought she was claustrophobic. After a few minutes she felt like she was a cave dweller in her previous birth. There are many phobias we think we have, most of those are because it is something we have never really tried before. Along with adrenaline I think some other brain fluids too start flowing when you're doing something adventurous for the first time. While calculating and analyzing every step I was taking to move forward, I started realizing something. I get weird ideas all the time. I realized we are all very used to living in a controlled environment and we try to make it more controlled every single day. It was when I was out there in an environment so different and I had nothing under my control, I realized that the life I'm living is narrower than the cave. Everything is huge and vast but still it is all controlled and restricted. In the cave anything can go wrong any moment. If you love the controlled environment you live in, cave is a hostile place for you . If you love freedom, and if you like being vulnerable then the cave is action packed. As we walked in we came across many interesting formations. Just water, limestone and sandstone work in mysterious ways to create exquisite formations. We saw cave pearls being formed. Water droplets fall into a bowl and somehow create small white pearls. We saw white shiny marble inside brown sharp rocks. Due to some minerals, some of the rocks were sparkling and shining. We saw a huge Swiss Cheesecake. It is a rock formation that is white and brown, looks like a cheesecake due to the texture and color. Cave Pearls | Caving in Meghalaya As we kept moving forward we saw more interesting formations. It's hard to believe how things like that are formed over the years. But a human in his entire lifetime will hardly see any changes in the cave. The changes are slow and difficult to find. That is why it's all so precious. We soon reached the Gold Fish Pond. There is no fish inside the cave, but cavers give names to different sections of the cave, just for the sake of reference I suppose. The gold fish pond was dangerous. The darkness didn't allow us to see how big the pond really was. But we were supposed to walk into it. In the wonderland | Photograph: Anirban Saha Water dripping down the walls | Caving in Meghalaya Surrbhi stepping down | Closer to the core. The climb ahead | Surrbhi Koul Interiors of the cave (1) | Long exposures www. anirbansaha. com Golden fish pond | www. anirbansaha. com We had to walk from extreme left because on the right the pond had much more depth. A sharp drop. We had to walk on the extreme left, holding the wall, in waist deep water. That was scary. The real challenge was to get out of that pond. We were half inside water and had to climb around 6 or 7 feet using the rocks to move to the other section. Our boots were full of water and if we would fall back, we would have to swim with those non-existent gold fishes. Definitely none of us were in the mood to swim, we climbed up like champs! Surrbhi and I didn't have anything to take care of except for ourselves. Anirban had his hundred thousand rupees camera hanging from his neck. Before entering the cave he calculated that if anything goes wrong he would save the camera before himself. His medical expenses would still be less than the cost of his gear. He took good care of his camera throughout. He himself also came out in one piece at the end of it. I wanted to see a bat and I thought we'll see them hanging out somewhere. But they were all busy flying from here to there. Didn't get a chance to see one properly. The water flowing by the side | www. anirbansaha. com Some sections of the cave were huge. There is no evidence of any human inhabitation inside these caves. We were the first ones to enter the cave this year. That added to the excitement. There was water at many places in the cave. At some places the water was flowing like a stream. There was a big section in the cave where we walked on false floor. It is called false floor because that is not actually the ground. Under that floor there was a stream of water. The floor had numerous holes and gorges. The way forward | Closer to the core We could see the ground a few feet below. I had only heard about stalactites and stalagmites before and didn't know what they were. Gregory showed us all the different kinds of formations and also told us how they are formed. Stalactites grow from the ceiling and stalagmites grow from the ground. A rare structure is formed when a stalactite meets a stalagmite to form a pillar. We saw that when we reached our destination, our picnic spot. The Hanging Gardens. Almost two kilometres inside the cave, was our final stop. This place had many more formations everywhere. We were asked to be extra careful and not walk anywhere without watching. There were cave curtains, that formed from the ceiling. And there was a structure that looked exactly like a 'Shiv-ling' - sacred stone. Coincidence or miracle of Lord Shiva is upon you to decide. There were many stalactites and stalagmites at this place. Gregory went in a little deeper to take some readings. We could also go in deeper but usually only those who have special interests go further. We took a closer look at the formations, drank water and ate some biscuits to regain energy. And of course clicked some pictures. The cave wasn't being very kind to Anirban's camera. There were sand inside his lens and water vapor condensed on the lens. The buttons didn't work properly also. But he managed to shoot somehow. Gregory and Anirban found that spot, two kilometers inside the cave, a perfect place to discuss cave photography and try a few things out. We tried light painting but it was a failure. The picnic spot | Caving in Meghalaya The formation inside | Caving in Meghalaya The gorgeous interiors of the cave | www. anirbansaha. com We spent some time at the picnic spot and decided to head back. We were taking the same way back. All the way in and back out Surrbhi walked ahead of us. She is someone who would trip on completely smooth and flat surfaces but surprisingly the cave dweller was doing a good job that day. Anirban seemed exhausted and walked slower. I walked with him. All the drops were now climbs. There was awesomeness flowing everywhere in our bodies and we crossed everything just as easily as before. Crossing the same places we had crossed before, when I looked back there was complete darkness. If your lights stop working two kilometres inside the cave, you're as good as dead. If you're deep inside the cave and it starts raining very heavily outside. The water starts flooding the cave and again you're as good as dead. It was around 4 or 4. 30 PM when we finally saw daylight again. We got out. "I screamed my lungs out. I had never felt like that in my entire life so far. It was easily the best experience of my life. " I screamed my lungs out. I had never felt like that in my entire life so far. It was easily the best experience of my life. We talked, stretched, relaxed and drank water. It was a trek back up to reach where the car was. It was hot again. From the top of that hill when we looked down, we only saw the jungle. Not a hint of the cave. You can never guess there is a huge cave in there. We stopped for a while. No one said anything. We all had something going on in our heads. If you've watched Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, the Bollywood movie, you'll understand what feeling I'm talking about. We were so lost that we didn't even care what way we were taking to get back to the car. Just kept walking. Anirban dropped his lens cover but luckily found it. It was right behind behind him. Surrbhi dropped her spectacles, didn't bother to try finding it. We got into the car and headed back to our cottage. I only told people it was a great experience. I had no words to explain that feeling. Anirban asked me to write this and I think it's a little too long but I had to include everything I could. When that feeling and memory will fade away, this post will help me re-live that day all over again. Though I plan on going again whenever I can. If you read this till the end, I think you'll enjoy caving. More than anything else, the experience brings you closer to your own core. Your Life. " --- - Published: 2014-10-25 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/diwali-missionaries-of-charity-flying-lantern/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Diwali, Explore Kolkata, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography, Portraits - Tags: Diwali at Missionaries of Charity, Diwali with Flying Lanterns, Fanush Kolkata, Flying lantern in Kolkata, Mahavir Nirvan Diwas, Missionaries of Charity I wish you all a very happy festive season. Warm greetings on this auspicious occasion of Mahavir Nirvan Diwas, Kali Pujo, Naraka Chaturdashi and what is popularly known as "Diwali". While most of us are celebrating "Diwali" across religions, regions, age groups and while most of my friends are shooting candles and Diyas or else partying, a few friends of mine were doing some real good job. While Aroop organised gifts and clothes for the Salt Lake slum dwellers, Asmita and her friends go to the Missionaries of Charity bursting crackers with the children and nuns there. Photographer Debarshi Dutta Gupta and his friends light flying lanterns in memory of those who have passed away in the last year. Valmiki's Ramayana reportedly has no Diwali in it. While the Jain texts mention this time to be the festival of lights after the Supreme light ( Lord Mahavir ) attained Nirvaan (Enlightenment/ Death) . The rulers of the land said that the Supreme light might have gone, but the event shall be marked by the earthen lights. "Diwali" is popularly known as the festival of lighting lamps across streets to mark the celebrations of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after having defeated the demon king Ravana. In Tamil culture, it is Naraka Chaturdashi where God Karthik and Goddess Kali killed a demon. In Bengal, this is the time for Bhoot Chaturdashi, where the spirits (read: Ghosts) roam around freely on the streets without restrictions and is followed by Kali Puja or worshipping Goddess Kali, the war Goddess and the Goddess often associated with excess power, ghostsand supernatural acts. The flying lantern event was like a mini Kolkata Photography Club gathering, many of whose photographs I follow and have learnt from. I saw photographs last year and this year, I asked for an invitation for myself :D . . and took Saimantick with me. I wish I could spend some more time with them. I took a friend Rajatabha with me. He seemed fascinated and he appreciates the initiative to spend time with the children and nuns of Missionaries of Charity. He said he has personally conveyed his regards to Asmita. Another very small incident happened that touched both Rajatabha and me. Koustav bought a chocolate for a girl on the footpath. The girl did not run away taking the chocolate. She actually smiled and said a "Thank you". Well, we all had smiles on our faces. I am happy as long as my friends are happy and smiling. Both Saimantick and Rajatabha seemed very happy, (Koustav কে দেখে কিছুই বোঝা যায়ে না। আমার মনে হয়ে ওরও ভালোই লেগেছে।) . . and I seem to be the happiest person. I'll add a few photographs to this blog post sometime later today. Bhai Phonta time, you see. How was your Diwali? --- - Published: 2014-10-16 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/meghalaya-travel-trek-caving-tourism/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Meghalaya, Monsoons, Photography, Season, State, Travel - Tags: adventure tourism, adventure tourism india, caving, Cherrapunji, David Scott Trek, exploring north east, Mawlynnong, Meghalaya photographs, Meghalaya tourism, Meghalaya travel, north east india, north east tourism, Sai-mika, Sohra What did it feel like? It felt like a cacophony of colours, colours everywhere. . the lush green fields, the darker green of the forest. . the wild red berries, the kids and their enthusiasm. The sky was a complete blue with shades of grey smudged. I wish I could photograph the yellow birds. Can you give me a better term for "cacophony of colours"? How about "Color-ob"? It definitely had been a color-ob, the riot of colours outside and inside me, conflicting emotions up in arms against each other. The concrete junglees that we have become, do we not miss the blue sky we all romanticised about in our teens or perhaps the darker clouds which used to carry messages to our loved ones? The white patches of the Kaash flower dominated my senses. It was the Durga Puja. Tired of frequently checking my WhatsApp, I decided to move slightly away from all the hustle of the live English music to this place, above which was a clear sky studded with small scintillating diamonds. The chill of the wind and the cold rock I laid on, mellowed my senses. No, I can not risk my dignity. The dark of the night made way to a sun light in the clear sky. Harshit woke me up and went out to see the sun rising. By the time I arranged for the camera, the light of the sun put a smile on my face. Meghalaya is a fresh start to my life. The calm blue of the sky smeared with the light grey and the white somewhere far there embraces the gigantic hills. The kids were the flavour. Restless and camera shy, mostly they flock together and blow kisses to people who pass by. I spared a few moments with the group of young boys. We walked through forests and small inhabited villages. It felt incredible. The green of the forest playing with the golden sun rays created magic in my mind. The green and the blue acted like an intoxicant, it made me rediscover myself. The brooks and water falls, the narrow roads carved out of the rocks and the incessant but peaceful sound of the insects create a setting unmatched. Meghalaya, ‘the abode of clouds’. An experience for the senses, an unexplored heaven. Which places did you visit? Did you go to the seven sister falls? Well, that's another blog post. ---- "Color-ob" (Pronunciation: Caw-Loh-Rob / Kolorob): Korolob, in Bengali, means riotous noise. The name is suggested by Parama Dasgupta, journalist working with the leading Bengali daily newspaper. The blogpost has been edited by Surya Shekhar Chakraborty, Arkadyuti Palit, Arjyak Bhattacharya, Rupsha Bhadra and reviewed by Preeti Roychowdhury and Sanveer Mehwal. ---- --- - Published: 2014-10-11 - Modified: 2014-12-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/plagiarism-photo-churi-tmc-bjp/ - Categories: Non Techie, snapshots, Wrap up - Tags: indian copyright act, photo churi, plagiarism From forwarding SMS’s to sharing content over the social media, we seem to be in a habit of copying content from one and publishing it from our profiles. This is scarily taken to the next level when the advertisement makers, “copy” photographs from the internet and use them while making advertisements. Why is this scary? The advertisement maker, who designs the advertisement, is heavily paid for it. All s/he does, is to search, download, Photoshop and use. Not consulting the photographer or seeking permission. This is as good as stealing. In legal terms this is the theft of Intellectual property*. Not only is the advertiser depriving the photographer of the money, which the photographer requires for a decent living and pursuing better photography, he is also promoting the idea of stealing and in my very honest opinion – killing the work culture and the enthusiasm an experienced photographer should have. My primary source of income is not photography. Even then I feel terrible when I see my photograph stolen and made into government advertisements, book / magazine cover or a political party’s mass greetings card. Picture this: You invest quite a good amount of time to understand, learn and master a technique and someone simply steals it without mentioning your name. How would you feel? For example, the Tagore light painting: It took me around 3 hours of constant practice in the Dark room, painting in the air with the torch. One fine evening, a friend of mine informed me – it is printed in a big hoarding near Nandan. When I rushed there to see it, I saw my watermark was removed and it had become the face of an entire festival organized by a reputed theatre group. The festival was inaugurated by the then West Bengal Education minister. Another day, another young friend informed me that the Tagore light painting had become the cover of a collection of Tagore short stories book, published by a reputed publisher based in Delhi. Considering all online and print publications, the Tagore light painting has been stolen more than 25 times. Now picture this: You go to an unknown place just to discover the purest form of Baul music. You spend money seeking required permissions, paying performers, taking all related risks and doing the running around. One afternoon a friend tells me over WhatsApp, that it has been stolen and used in the State Government’s advertisement. My photographs have been stolen otherwise as well by state BJP, a magazine in Sri Lanka, a website in Dhaka. (I am not listing all) BJP unit's photo stealing: Magazine in Sri Lanka: Let me share a stray incident, which I forgot to mention while drafting this blogpost. According to me, this is slightly more shameful and scary. This is the official website of one of the most reputed boys school in Kolkata, listed in India's Top 10 Boys schools this year. They searched over the internet, took my photograph, used it. After having informed, they showed neither any sense of apology nor regret. Not even a personal message whatsoever. It is designed by school kids of class 10 - 12 and I took it lightly considering them kids. Today I ask, if this is not the age to build ethics, when shall it be appropriate? I do not expect students of reputed schools to steal and I'll be honest about it. --- We artists, invest our time to learn and execute the art form. If someone steals our work, we feel more deprived. Not always do we require money in exchange of the work but our pleasure lies in the mention of our name along with the piece of art. Each time someone downloads music illegally, e. g. – an Indian classical music CD (since I know a few musicians closely), you are depriving him of money. He needs money to survive and pursue his music to create further music. We photographers need money to buy better gears & better photographs. And if not gears, we require money for basic survival. So each time you are illegally downloading and using something, remember – you are pushing someone to death, very slowly and mercilessly. Coming to the legal aspect of it: This is covered under the Indian Copyright Act. And I am told by my lawyer, every time I press the shutter, I hold the right to publish and distribute the photograph. If you are shooting it on behalf of a company, the company holds the right to publish the photograph. Can legal action be taken? The answer is yes, if proven. If it is online, it can be taken down after a police report. But if it is offline, the case becomes more credible and easy to prove. Check a few graphics I made for the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. There are a few people who contest the thought. In a way, they support plagiarism. A friend of mine once told: in this age of social media, there should not be strict copyright laws as the content is up on public display. Another much respected elder said that she and her company often do that. She does not see any harm in it, as it is open to be accessed. To me, this logic is as credible as this: “She is raped because she wore short clothes; she is raped because she was alone on the streets. ” I am not sure about other photographers. But as I keep blogging, my reach will only increase making my photographs easily discoverable over the search engine and open to stealing. I put my email address and phone number along with the blog post where I publish the photograph. If someone wants it, might just give me a call seeking permission. I ask money only if I have invested money for the shot. Even if I have invested money, at times I do not charge money if I am approached properly with dignity. Example: Daricha foundation used my photographs of Tusu; Bengali Association of Greater Atlanta (BAGA) used my Tagore light painting. They were kind enough to seek permission. Not only did I allow them to use my photographs for free, we are in good terms now and share a bond of mutual respect. Do I stop blogging? Perhaps, no, it is only because of blogging, a few brands like Harley Davidson, Rolling stone magazine had earlier approached me and now I am shooting for the social media promotion of another globally recognised clothing brand. I’m happy that there are people who are not as ignorant. There is a some silver lining: Udaan Bengali travel magazine was in need of a photograph of Boshonto Utshob. They searched the internet and found a photograph from my blog shot by Pratyay Mukhopadhyay. They asked for permission from both me and Pratyay and the next month, the photograph became the cover photograph of the magazine. The number of rapes however is not coming down in any parameter of statistics. Not that my blog post would change the photography thieves any drastically. But we can spread the awareness of intellectual property rights, share contact details of lawyers who have already fought similar cases. We should be more aware of safeguarding our creations and spreading the awareness to create a better world. Read about Indian Copyright Act 1957. More than the artists who still now are a minority, it is you readers who can make a difference. You need to be aware and spread the awareness. --- - Published: 2014-10-06 - Modified: 2014-10-06 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-newer-world-of-mobile-photography-and-instagram/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, facebook update elaborated., Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Selfies, snapshots, Street Photography - Tags: anirban saha instagram, indian men selfies, men selfies, mobile photography, White kurta selfie Mobile phone photography is not really new. A lot of people have been doing it since long back. I remember, back in 2007, when DSLRs were not much of a craze, my friends used mobile phone cameras to freeze hostel memories. The first expensive mobile phone I bought was Samsung D900i (April 2008), only because it had a very good quality 3mp camera. That in fact, was the start to my "photography", per say. After I got my first proper camera in 2009 January, I neglected my phone and almost forgot that it can click photographs as well. With Samsung Corby (since April 2010), I hardly photographed using my phone. My compact camera used to accompany me anywhere I went. I find my now camera Nikon D7000 heavy and cumbersome and the company I work for, does not allow me to carry it to my office. I need something lighter to fit my pocket and sharp while photographing. Voila! I discovered that my phone Samsung SIII has a camera in it and that works! Call me callous, please do. Now of late, after my screen has multiple cracks and my phone is more than 2 years 3 months old, I am taking a new to mobile photography. Possibly because of square frames and instagram! Now let me say what almost all camera and social media pundits might have already said - Mobile phone cameras are a very useful tool in this world of social media. You shoot and directly share with the world. Your loved ones can see what you are up to. If the photograph has journalistic value, nothing like it. You will be doing live reporting from ground zero! If you want to be a citizen journalist, all you need is a mobile phone with a good camera and there are plenty of them. From Samsung to Motorola to Xiaomi, they all make good phones with good cameras. Talking about citizen journalism, my friend Vikram is coming up with his new product - MNetra. If you are interested, you might just wish to click on the hyperlink and check out the Facebook page. It is a mobile application, the first and the only citizen reporting platform in India. One of the primary geographic areas Vikram wants to make this app reach is West Bengal. (How do I know Vikram? He was a co-speaker with me in NASSCOM IT Niketan 2012, an IIT Kharagpur passout and a superb human being. ) Talking about live posting, check this photograph I shot amidst rains during the Jadavpur University protests. Shot at #HokKolorob protests on September 20, 2014 amidst rains. (Camera: Samsung SIII) Daring the stormy weather and the rain, a huge number of protesters were walking on the streets roaring "Hok Kolorob" (Let there be noise_). Being there, I got engaged in managing people actively. Under such conditions, I could not dare to take the DSLR out. My mobile phone camera was to the rescue. And this is a cropped version of the entire frame. Let me share a few other photographs shot by my mobile lately. Durga Puja in Jail Road, Shillong: Local Pujo in Dum dum park, Bhasan: A few other photographs, which might not have been possible with the big DSLR. The photograph of me holding my shoes on the waterlogged Dum Dum Park street or people rushing to the office after lunch during a rainy afternoon. Or photographs of Kapu, when playful. Taking quick panorama is easier with mobile phones and specially when you want to share with your friends very fast! Double Decker Root Bridge, Meghalaya. Panorama by Samsung SIII Wider Panorama. Kalna, Shiva temple complex. Not just these, you can take random selfies and share with your friends (over personal messages) and on the mainstream social media! Personally speaking, I am liking the selfie thing. It felt slightly weird at first. Now it seems fun ! It can be my "The white Kurta Selfie" in some unknown city of Shillong or the "How am I looking? " selfie! Or perhaps the group selfie before you leave for a vacation or with school friends reunion! Err, or or this : Before and after a slight makeover. If you think that selfies only interest me in my friend circles, please do have a look at this Facebook conversation here. Generally a blog post should add some value to the reader. This blog post does nothing of it. So here, although I am not the bests of persons to do this, I will try to give some tips - Try to implement the normal rule of thirds in your framing and not just central framing. Use instagram as this makes you share your photographs over Facebook and Twitter in the easiest possible manner once you connect your accounts. Try not to spend too much time post processing your photographs in your mobile. For me, it is a big turn off. Keep it fun. And follow me on instagram! I'll end this post here. Suggest me a mobile phone with a good camera ! Do comment your honest reviews on this post. And do not forget to stay subscribed to my blog if you love it. --- - Published: 2014-09-25 - Modified: 2014-09-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mahalaya-bengal-tarpan-kolkata-durgapuja/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Mullick Ghat, Photography, Street Photography - Tags: durga puja, mahalaya, tarpan I avoid crowded places, given my weak health now. But I had to give in to the demands of Saimantick. Sayan too joined in and we left for the ghats at 3:30 AM on Mahalaya. I never thought the day would turn out to be so good. I thank them from the core of my heart. I would not be here in Kolkata for the Durga Puja. I am in desperate need of a break and I'm going to Meghalaya with Harshit and Surrbhi. Harshit should not be a new name to any friend of mine. Surrbhi is one mad girl, we met in TCS. While most of the girls we meet generally are "nyaka" (do not ask me to translate this), she is a sport! Hailing from Jammu, she was almost in tears when she realised she has to stay in Calcutta for some time now. Now we believe, she likes being in Calcutta. Before we proceed any further, please be informed, this blog post is going to be a hotchpotch of unrelated stuff. Let's start with Mahalaya. The Mahalaya marks the beginning of the Durga Puja in Bengal and its equivalent in the rest of India - the Navratras. This Durga Puja in Bengal is the autumn festival and is often called "Okal Bodhon" or the untimely invoking of the Goddess. This untimely invocation was done by Lord Ram (The Hero of Ramayana) seeking power from Goddess Durga. The end of Durga Puja also marks the death of the demon king Ravana and is celebrated as Dussehra primarily in northern parts of this great nation. Diwali that follows Durga Puja is celebrated as the return of Rama to Ayodhya. Diwali, however is more popular as "Kali Puja" or the worship of Goddess Kali (the war Goddess) in Bengal. If you know why Bengali's celebrate Kali Puja during this time, do let me know. The Mahalaya is characterised by the worship of the ancestors. In this patriarchal society, the son of the house goes all the way to the river Ganges (which is regarded holy in Hinduism) and prays for the peace of his previous 14 generations. It also marks the end of the rule of the harsh men power and marks the beginning of the female power that is caring and scaring at times ! Standing today, it is more of the photographer's festival than anything else. Square frames interest me these days. Blame instagram! I tried some square frame, a majority of which is top shots. Do have a look: About Narayan Pal: Kumartuli is a place of a million stories. One such story is of Narayan Pal. He is an idol maker by heredity. He started making idols at the age of 7 and now he is near 80 years of age. While talking to him, I could see his eyes getting wet when I wanted to know how he feels each time people buy the idols and takes it away from him. I did not know how to react. I ended the conversation there. I regret not being able to shoot Kaash phool this year as well, might not get an opportunity to shoot Dhaak and Dhunuchi Dance. Well that saddens me but Meghalaya fills me with a newer happiness. If my health is okay, Meghalaya will be a fantastic trip. I hope you liked this week's blog post about Mahalaya and Narayan Pal. Do leave for me, your honest reviews (comments) about the photographs used or the information shared. Have a fantastic Durga Puja / Navratras ahead. --- - Published: 2014-09-18 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hokkolorob-jadavpur-agitation-tmcp-vc/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes - Tags: Hokkolorob, Jadavpur University, Molestation, Police beats students, student politics, West Bengal Rape cases I was dragged out of Aurobindo Bhavan, while being kicked at my lower abdomen constantly. Then, I was dragged till in front of Aurobindo Bhavan, I tried to snatch two of my friends from those hooligans, but I was kicked on my RIB CAGE with heavy boots and then while I was down, they squashed my left foot. - Tanumay Naskar. Tanumay is one of the young students protesting in Jadavpur University demanding a panel for an impartial probe into a recent girl molestation during their cultural fest. The VC of the university asked for police intervention. The police had come uniformed and armed with a few unidentified local boys, switched the lights off, lathi charged the students. 37 got arrested. More than 40 got admitted to the nursing home. The students allege the unidentified people are TMCP (Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad) members. They further allege ruthless beating up and molestation of a few girls who were protesting. A few first hand descriptions from the students reduced me to tears. And that is precisely why I blog post this today, shivering in sheer disgust and extending my solidarity. Female students are being attacked by the police (male and female police), their dresses being torn off, being dragged by the hair. - Godhuli Bose (Link) My morning started with a very young friend asking for help. It was around 4 AM. I sat up on my bed horrified. Not much of what he said had registered in my mind. Ritam messaged me next and explained how the students have been man handled. Soon an entire range of experiences started to unfold and all I could manage was to give Facebook updates. I felt so helpless. Many of those beaten up were in school as recently as last February. They are incredibly young and it only takes the hardest of hearts to call for such action. Turning off the lights, seriously? Beating up students ruthlessly. So less women police when they should have been well informed that a good percentage of protesters were girls? Why involving local goons? Why breaking the camera of a reputed media house and beating the reporter? Does it not hurt the dignity of the institution? There will be arguments and counter arguments. And arguments countering the counter arguments. There will always be a complaint of changing standards of teachers and students alike. According to a friend of mine, the students are protesting because a person from their friend circle / union is accused of the rape. I do not see any harm in that. If they require two more people to voice their opinion to the rest of the panel, I personally would not see harm in that. A girl had reportedly been molested by 10 boys. The VC only responded after a couple of days after the incident when the girl's father was planning to lodge a police complaint. The VC has not yet issued a formal statement about fair investigation. The committee probing the incident is accused of having harassed the victim. One of the agitators, Sammya Mukhopadhyay tells me The Vice-Chancellor had previously said that speaking to the students would result in a lowering of his dignity and that it wasn’t his job. When the authorities maintained their position, students began singing and shouting slogans in front of Aurobindo Bhavan. I asked another student , "Why did you gherao the VC in the evening? " Around 7-30 PM, TMCP goons entered the campus. Half an hour later, they started harassing the students physically, injuring two. It was then that the protesters gheraoed the officials. Sammya further told, We, the students made a human barricade to stop the police from entering. I was in front of the barricade. One of the policemen punched me in the stomach, kicked me and when I fell down they dragged me by my hair outside the premises of our movement. I have been an eye-witness and victim to this horrifying unleashing of State power on non-violent students. Deep Sarkar, who was not there during the protest writes to me: I do not understand where humanity has lost its way in the twisted alleys of politics. The teachers have joined the students in the protest and went to Lalbazaar to free them. Talking about teachers, Sayantani Adhikary writes সত্যি বলতে কি, আমরা কেউই ভাবতে পারিনি ১৬ই সেপ্টেম্বর রাতটা কী ভয়াবহ হতে চলেছে। তখন রাত সাড়ে ৯টা হবে, হঠাত এক বন্ধুর ফোন, এখনি যেতে হবে যাদবপুর ইউনিভার্সিটি, সেখানে স্টুডেন্টরা হয়ত আক্রান্ত হতে পারে আজ রাতে, কিছু পার্টির গুন্ডার হাতে । চেনা মুখগুলো মনে পড়ে গেল, আমার প্রাক্তন ছাত্র, আমার তুত ভাই, বন্ধুর বোন, মুখ চেনা ডিপার্টমেন্ট এর সেই মেয়েটি।... ওদেরই ফোন করলাম, কিছু ভেবে না পেয়ে। ওপার থেকে অপার কনফিডেন্স এর সাথে উত্তর এলো, "জানি তো, এখানে ওই পার্টির গুন্ডারা অনেকক্ষণ থেকে ঘুরছে, মিডিয়া আছে বলে কিছু করতে পারছেনা। চিন্তা কোর না, আমরা ঠিক আছি! পুলিশ ও আছে! এখানে ঘেরাও চলছে, আমরা কথা বলতে চাই authority র সঙ্গে "... শোনা গেল আজ রাতে হয়ত ঝামেলা হবে না, যা হবার কাল. একটু আস্বস্ত হলাম, তবুও কেন জানি ঠিক বিশ্বাস হলো না. রাত তখন ২. ১৫. আমাদের সবার আশংকা কে সত্যি প্রমান করে একের পর এক আপডেট আসতে থাকলো facebook এ... . করুণ আবেদন, কেউ কিছু করুন, ওরা V . C কে বের করে নিয়ে গেল, এবার আক্রমণ করবে। বলতে বলতেই আলো বন্ধ করে ঝাপিয়ে পড়ল দুর্বৃত্তর দল l বার বার আবেদন আসতে লাগলো, হেল্প , মেয়েদের মারছে ছেলেরা, মলেস্ট করছে! এরই মধ্যে এক ছাত্রের মেসেজ " জোর করে ধরে নিয়ে যাচ্ছে পুলিশ "! দেশ বিদেশ থেকে বন্ধু, ছাত্র দের মেসেজ কী খবর, কী হলো? নতুন কিছু জানলে? তুমি কোথায়? ঠিক আছো তো? ? বিশ্বাস করুন এরকম হেল্পলেস কখনও মনে হয়নি নিজেকে, চারদিকে আর্তনাদ আর আমরা কেউ কিছু করতে পারছি না, অপেক্ষা করছি কখন সকাল হবে... . . আর এর মধ্যে আহত, এবং অপসৃত দের আর্তনাদ গুমরে মরছে facebook এর দেয়াল এ দেয়ালে। সকাল হলো, গেলাম ইউনিভার্সিটি চত্বরে , দেখলাম যেন রণক্ষেত্র J . U চত্বর। কাল কী ঝড় বযে গেছে বোঝা যাচ্ছে, কিছু ছেলে মেয়ে আছে, কেউ কেঁদে ফেলছে বলতে গিয়ে, কেউ চোয়াল শক্ত করে বলছে, কাল ওরা আমার জামার মধ্যে হাত ঢুকিয়ে দিয়েছিল l আমার চোয়াল শক্ত হয়ে আসে, ভাবি, এদের মত মনের জোর আর শিরদাড়া কি পাব আমরা? কখনো? ? ? ... প্রশ্নগুলো সহজ, আর উত্তরও তো জানা। I do not think I need to write more after Sayantani Ma'am. I know Tanumay for around 3 years now. He is an excellent photographer, given his age and constraints. I know Ritam for some time over Facebook. 2 of the few girls who got molested, call me "Dada", one relation I treasure more than anything else on earth. A few in the hospital too calls me "Dada", I know them as young and happy people. A few agitators I know, are able photographers, a few writers. For those who know me well, to them I say - I could not hold my tears. No sensible reasoning can justify beating up younger children. No reasons might justify involving goons of an affiliated political party. To me, my teachers were the guides who had with all their care, guided me in academics and personal life. If today my own brother or my son is angry with me, I might not call a 3rd person to even make him understand, forget about beating him. If I am the VC : My ability to communicate or care as a VC ends the very moment I decide to call the police. If I am not an able VC, I should have no right to govern an university as prestigious as Jadavpur University. I should step down. I too would demand the resignation of the VC. For the sake of education if not anything else. Like Sayantani Ma'am was approached for help and to spread the word, I too have been asked. Many like me were asked. It spread through the social media like a fire. Within hours, a rally was conceptualised. More than 7000 people turned up in the protest walk from JU campus till Golpark. Photograph: Pratyay Mukhopadhyay I do not know how someone can be so heartless. Are the educational institutions in the hands of the illiterate and the goons? Not long ago was my Alma Mater Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Durgapur at the verge of closing down. The authorities had wished the lecturers to distribute promotional pamphlets in different parts of the town, including the railway stations, completely disregarding the dignity of teacher-hood. The teachers who refused this, were peacefully terminated. The list includes the diamonds that once decked the crown of the institute. The teachers are on protest to get their voices heard. The college continues to run with newer teachers. I hang my head in shame. I decided to be a part of the movement, in spirit and in physical presence. Be there. In my limited opinion, it is time we voice ourselves fearlessly and honestly. Today, JU @ 2 PM ----- Update: 21 September 2014 I went to the rally on the 17th, the 18th and the 20th. I never thought young people would join in, in such huge numbers. Pasting a few photographs of the same, shot by me and a few of my friends. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photograph: Anirban Saha Photograph: Sayan Biswas Photograph: Anirban Saha On the 20th September rally, the organising committee was expecting a turnout of 15,000 because it was raining heavily. If we have to believe media reports, more than 120,000 people turned up cutting across various age groups and professions. Similar protests were made in Delhi and Mumbai. I was thrilled to be a part of it, volunteered to coordinate and manage. I was not the photographer there. Picture this: One broad way. Heavy rains. 1 lakh strong young people walking down the road. They are independent students, not politically coloured. One roared "Hok Kolorob", a hundred thousand behind him roared "Hok Hok Hok Kolorob". No other sound. No other word. Hok Kolorob. And you are right in the middle of it. Right in the middle. Photograph: Ronny Sen Photograph: Ronny Sen Photograph: Ronny Sen Photograph: Avinandan Ani Photograph: Anirban Saha --- - Published: 2014-09-13 - Modified: 2014-09-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mahalaya-durga-puja-creative/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli - Tags: Agomoni, Agomoni gaan, durga puja, kumartuli, maa durga Undeniably an indelible proof of Man’s interminable connection with the cycle of seasons, it is that time in the journey of the earth around the sun, when true-blue skies and annoying spells of unpredictable showers, bring on that familiar feel to every Calcuttan worth his identity. Back in the countryside, the kaash flowers with their signature white head dresses and fields of sunripe harvest-ready grain have already sent out invitations to the mighty Lady well on her way here. The Goddess will once more descend onto this city, with her multi-talented offsprings in tow, transforming an indolent, laid back sleepy megapolis into a mass of energy. But for now, She is waiting for her moment, allowing humble mortal hands in incandescent lit hovels in the narrow alleys Kumartuli to mould Her into existence. She is an amazing woman- the Goddess “Mrinmoyee”- one composed of mud. Created for practical purposes, to aid the Gods, the Goddess shares similarities with the city she calls home for five hectic days. Calcutta too, was born out of need and necessity. Her prominence grew out of her requirement to replicate the power and might of a masculine empire that controlled most part of the discovered world. The Goddess was born when the Gods needed her and furnished her with the power and grandeur they themselves possessed. So when each God gave her his weapon of choice, he gave a part of himself to her. Calcutta was bestowed her grandeur brick by brick by her rulers- indigenous and colonial. Her monuments and landmarks, (as she rose to become the capital of the formidable empire in the sub-continent), are evidence of the splendour her rulers invested in her to reflect their glory. Courtesy: Soumya Shankar Ghosal Much like the Mother herself, Calcutta is mother to the lesser and the least. Her highrises cohabit with her slums- her gods with her mortals, her good with her evil. She is the silent witness to the sea of humanity that flock to her shores day after day. She is benevolent and malevolent at the same time. In her we exist. Today, as the harmony of the agomonee or the welcome song for the Goddess is played out in every heartbeat, I can’t help but loving my Calcutta more. She is mother, lover and protector to us all- She is truth and beauty and she is the unassuming Goddess- who doesn’t wait for an invitation, a season or a reason to arrive. She enters your heart and fills you up with all of herself, and smiles when you feel distraught at the thought of going away from her. This is the “taan” or “attachment” you feel and that melody in your spirit? Well, it is Calcutta’s agomonee playing out in you Come home to Calcutta- welcome the Goddesses home! Courtesy: www. artofbengal. com Post written by : Preeti Roychoudhury. Professionally a teacher in Loreto House, she is one of the most dynamic and honest persons I've come across in recent past. An able blogger, motivator that she is, she describes herself as Educator, writer, thinker, dreamer, mind traveller, a moderate feminist, a staunch humanist, eternal learner. --- - Published: 2014-09-06 - Modified: 2015-10-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/paralympic-walk-gariahat-chess-players-maya-rani-pal-kumartuli-photograph-backlight/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Black and White, Bow Barracks, Burrabazar, College Street, Colours, Jadavpur, Kalighat, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Photography - Tags: Gariahat Chess players, Maya Rani Pal, Paralympic awareness, Paralympic sports, Paralympic walk, Paralympic walk Kolkata A fistful of short incidents and interactions, I had in the last couple of weeks. I hope you like them. প্রথম It is quite common to see young and mid aged chess players play chess at the Gariahat crossing, just below the bridge. I came across them, shot their photograph. Their dedication towards the game, inspire me. PS: I do not know how they concentrate with all the commotion around. দ্বিতীয় Paralympic walk in Kolkata: I was invited by Malavika Kanoria, a CWF volunteer to photograph the event. I never thought that this event will inspire me so much. This walk was organised to raise public awareness about the paralympic sports and India's contribution to it. In spite of different accolades nationally and internationally, the paralympic sports person in Bengal, does not get any recognition. The ask for sponsorship and more training is a distant dream. Pasting two more photographs from the Paralympic walk in Kolkata. তৃতীয় Kumartuli is a place of amazing people. While many other photographers were busy shooting the clay idols and their making, I was lazying around. The lady is Maya Rani Pal. One of the smallest idol making workshops in Kumartuli, the branding is done by the name of Mala Rani Pal, her daughter. She is more 70 years of age, mother of 8. All 8 are well established. She makes idols out of passion and to feel independent. The small idols are exported to Bengali communities in London and Germany. She inspires me. আরও কিছু ছবি। I'll end this blogpost with a few photographs I have managed to shoot in Kumartuli this year. PS: I have a new gear: the speedlight. :D Please do leave an honest comment. Thank you. If you want to use any photograph, please do give me a call at +91 9903055542 and ask for permission. Thank you again. --- - Published: 2014-08-23 - Modified: 2014-11-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/of-everything-little/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: happiness, positivity Hi friends, this week I did not have anything great worth sharing. So to write a blog post today, I tried looking into everything, the little aspects of my everyday life and whoa! I feel blessed. All these little bits of joys and disappointments are the building bricks that make our life. Isn't it ? What are the bits of Joys I would like to share with you today? May be the time when Soupayan cracked the stupidest of jokes and laughed at it himself. Or perhaps, tell me "It was funny, wasn't it? " or "You too should laugh! ". Joy is when, after an entire day of work in office, you come home to read different blogs from Kolkata Bloggers and you discover that a younger boy, described you as a "dada" (Elder brother in Bengali). Happiness is when, I try hard to motivate myself and I close my eyes to visualise the happy moments. The only thing that comes to my mind is when Saimantick, in a hall full of people, suddenly acknowledges my contribution to his photography learning. To me, it was one of the proudest moments, prouder than the time I solved the old problem in ISI. Sadness is, when I need to scold them. Last time I scolded Soupayan & Saimantick, I could not hold my own tears. Not that I had any other choice. They have grown up with very little or no practical sensibilities. I might scold them a hundred times in the future. Well a hundred apologies and hugs shall follow. They're kids. Talking about kids, how can I not talk about the little bit of happiness when I shouted, "Kapu pose kor! (Kapu, pose for me! ) and Kapu stuck her head out from behind the curtains to smile and pose for me. It is heart warming to see how Kapu is slowly getting socially conditioned. If she needs to pee, she now can point towards the bathroom. After the meals, she rubs her lips with the wet towel. She screams out "Hatiii" when she sees a photograph of an elephant. Oh yes, when she comes across another kid or a photograph of a kid, she screams "Babyyy". Happiness is when Debarshi da said, "We all are going to the event, because of you. You are a nice person with a good reputation. " Perhaps, that is why Hari Menon also has agreed to come to Kolkata. Happiness was when last year Hari Menon came to Kolkata and messaged me. We went out for a photowalk. Happiness was to see my friends super excited when they met Hari. Priceless smiles. This event might be making a hole in my pocket. But trust me, it is an incredible feeling. Sadness is to see a few people calling me "dada" to use me like a commodity. Surya says, that this world is full of these people and I can not help. I should only think about my work and be done and dusted with them. Somewhat, my heart does not agree. Sadness is when an IT employee does not know, neither does he encourage blogging. For that specific senior, the only reason of rejection was my blogging. The tone of mockery is what I had hated. Sadness again. But happiness is when in the same office, Priti and Surojit talks to me personally after having read my blog post and suggesting me betterment. Talking about suggesting betterment, how can I forget those who get in touch with me? Happiness is receiving a comment on my blogpost. If you happen to read this, make sure you leave some comment. When I am already talking about comments, please make me happier, share the blog posts as well. Hahahaha. Recently, I tried medium. com. . tried writing in Bengali as well. Happiness is writing in my own mother tongue. Well, sadness is to inform Bengalis that Hindi is not the "National Language" as per Indian constitution. We are so surrounded by ignorance all around, isn't it ? People defending the Government's inaction toward the advertisement maker, saying "Even we do these, we all download photographs from the internet. Isn't it? " Yes Sir, and that is wrong. Please realise! But his daughter was perhaps more sensible, "We do not know much about Intellectual Property Rights. We should get some easy resources. ". I smiled. Somewhere my heart wishes to let loose and let go. Even I would want to spread my wings and simply fly. Across continents, opinions and intentions. Happiness is this dream. Sadness is my inability to take off. Ending this blog post with a few more photographs. Happiness is the Pujo feeling :) While writing this blog post, I discovered 500 people follow me on Instagram. That's another little bit of happiness added. You can follow me here. PS: Please do not steal photographs. If you want to use my photographs, please drop me an email: gmail@www. anirbansaha. com or give me a call : 9903055542. I'll be happy to help you :) When was the last time you were happy? Leave a comment below. --- - Published: 2014-08-16 - Modified: 2014-08-16 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/lok-prasar-prakalpa-bengal-governments-unauthorised-photograph-use/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: Baul photograph stolen, Bengal government steals photograph, Intellectual Property rights, Lok Prasar Prakalpa About Bengal Government's advertisement, Government officials, unauthorised use of my photograph, Intellectual Property rights and one week of inaction. It is no secret that I hold the present West Bengal government in high regard. To help it in anyway and to promote Brand Bengal on any platform is my honour. But with all dignity, lawfulness and correct ethics. Last Sunday August 10 2014, I got a call from Baban Das Baul. He was surprised and very happy that his photograph was printed in Bengali newspaper "Protidin" in Murshidabad. That day he was performing in Rabindra Tirtha. Towards the end of the conversation he asked me why I had to "sell the photograph" which was otherwise shot for educational purpose. That afternoon my friend Amartya, congratulated me and informed me that my photograph was "selected" by the Government. So, what exactly happened? Photograph stolen by Government of West Bengal. I was quick to realise that the Government advertisement used my photograph in an unauthorised manner. Obvious because, I did not give anyone the original photograph, no one asked for it, no one informed me. To put it in a slightly less dignified manner - they stole my photograph. I rushed to the newspaper store and found this. The Times of India, page 3. This photograph of the Bauls was shot in Murshidabad, during the last week of June 2014. This photograph was posted on my blog on July 5, 2014. You can check the blog post here. They had downloaded the photograph, removed watermark and have used it. My action: Connecting to different Government officials. I tried contacting different people I know from the government but to no help. My own Mama (Mr. Uttam Kumar Saha) was busy in his preparations to host the Chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Gangarampur. I forwarded letters to my friends who are close to TMC and the letter was pushed to the Chief Ministers office. The CMO informed that this was a matter of Department of Information and Cultural Affairs. I was given the contact details of the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs. Mr Atri Bhattacharya, was always out of office during that time. His personal secretary was a nice person to talk to. He informed me that it is a matter of the Department of Information and that I should contact Mr. Riten Roy Chowdhury. Mr. Riten Roychowdhury, Director, Department of Information gave me a patient hearing. And that was all that I had got from him. No assurance, no actions. Slight rudeness towards the end of the conversation though. A day after the conversation, I had dropped him an email, keeping Genesis Advertising in cc, Principal Secretary of Dept. I&CA in cc from my TCS office email, pasting every possible evidence (except for the RAW image file) to him. You can check my email to the Director, Department of Information here. The receptionist of Genesis advertising (who prepared the advertisement) was the most amusing, indecent and disgusting person I came across during this phase. He refused to transfer the call to the manager. He refused to listen to me. He shouted at me calling me a liar and that he has come across many "namuna" like me. He said they were all busy and I was trying tricks to disrupt their work, I should keep shut else he shall make sure he gets the better of me. Was it a threat? That coming from the receptionist is amusing. What I wanted: An Acknowledgement letter. I did not even want money for the photograph. I want an acknowledgement letter stating that this photograph was shot by me and that it has been used without my consent. If the same photograph is published later, as I believe it would be, putting up "Photograph: Anirban Saha" in the smallest possible manner won't really harm. I am thoroughly amused. Yes, I am. See - I am smiling now. Ironic, the Government - custodian of rights, steals photographs themselves. The Government is supposed to be the custodian of basic rights. Ironic, that the Government itself is not taking action against the advertisement maker who is stealing photographs, removing watermarks and publishing it in their advertisements for the government. For any artist, the fundamental right should be his rights over his creations. That is - Intellectual Property Rights. For a poet, a painter, a photographer in India, copyrighting each photograph is not the rule. I am told by my lawyer friends, every time I press the shutter and produce a photograph, I hold the rights of reproduction. A group of IP activists and experienced photographers, confirms the information that I have. What I might do next: I am thoroughly disheartened and discouraged to say the least, praying that they respond to my email. To hire a lawyer and to produce evidences in court is something my schedules might not permit. Not that I even have the financial backup to fight the case against the Government of West Bengal. I did not know what to do. So I am blog posting about it now. Let's see how it proceeds. If any lawyer volunteers, it shall be great. I write this today with a paining heart against the government we all voted to bring it to power. --- - Published: 2014-08-10 - Modified: 2014-08-10 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/good-photographs-better-photographs/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Black and White, Events, Photography, Social Media and Me - Tags: How to be a good speaker?, How to motivate my audience?, Social Media in Photography One day I was quite low in the office as I could not solve a problem. It was late in the evening when I gave up. I called Harish Mittal (a senior colleague), who stays in UK, seeking help. During the conversation, I referred to myself as a “bad developer”. The able manager and motivator that he is, he was quick to point out the different hurdles I overcame in the same program earlier. He said, “You are not bad. You are good. You are young. With time, you will be better. Hain na dada? ” Although I could not crack the logic that night, these words rang in my ears. I went home with a positive spirit. By the next time we had another meeting, the problem was solved. --- It was the same point in time, when different individuals of my age group started Facebook pages which criticized and made fun of young amateur photographers. We anyway, have way too many critics than we have motivators and helpers. This is the scenario in almost all the Facebook photography groups which has sprouted like mushrooms in the recent past. It was demoralizing many young school level photographers who were trying hard to learn. The Frank Anthony Public School had invited me to conduct “Basic Photography and social media MeetUp” in their school during that time (Read more). I wanted to stress on the point that there is nothing called “Bad photograph”. If I can photograph, anyone else can. My elders in Kolkata Weekend Shoots guided me. If I am of any help to the younger lot, it shall be my pleasure... . I made a slide: “Good photographs. Better Photographs. ” As you can see in the slide, I have a photograph on the left and another photograph to its right. While the left one shot by a 16 year old on his first visit to Gangasagar Mela, the other is shot by a person over 30 years of age who has been to the place multiple times and has thus gathered experience. When I said this, I could see the students surprised, a few smiled. A few sat up with sparkling eyes. They looked motivated and I was an happy elder brother ! This formula worked in The Frank Anthony Public School. I repeated it in Loreto College (Read more). I keep repeating it so that every new comer feels good. It also helps me to stress on the fact – that if s/he wants to better his photographs, s/he should visit the place more number of times and gather experience. And that only practise shall make her/him better. As a speaker, I try few more ways to encourage, involve & engage my audience whenever I speak. This is one of them. I believe, if I was invited to an institute, they have already accepted me as some authority. When students come, they come to learn and get motivated. So they require two takeaways from my session : 2-3 new learning points and motivation. If they leave the room with a smiling round and a happy face, I am the happiest person. ================================== MeetUp Group & Social Media in Photography : All these sessions I was invited to conduct, I connected to the children and their friends from other schools. We have a small group called the "MeetUp" group where we discuss primarily photography. We are organising an event "Social Media in Photography" this 30th and 31st August 2014. The event will have - sessions where the young and the experienced can interact, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Personal branding sessions and exhibition of photographs shot by the young members of the MeetUp Group. Know more about the event and book your tickets here. Leaving you with a collage of a few square frames shot by the group members. Do let me know what you feel about this blog post. Leave a comment. --- - Published: 2014-08-03 - Modified: 2014-08-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/what-does-happiness-mean-to-you/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Eid, Kolkata Street Photography, Monsoon, North Kolkata, Photography, Season - Tags: Eid, Gate number 3, Kolkata beggars, Kolkata Metro station, mahatma gandhi road, Mahatma Gandhi Road metro station A proper definition of happiness remains as ever, elusive. There has been scholars and thinkers who have spent ages wondering what it could mean. I asked the same question to my friends yesterday on Facebook and I got interesting answers. To few of my younger lot of friends, happiness is Biryani or playing football. While a friend said happiness for her is a choice and that she is happy because she chooses to be, another friend who is an entrepreneur says happiness is his decision. The social worker friend said, happiness to him is when he makes a different in someone else's life in the littlest way he can. To a few of my friends, happiness is being themselves, satisfied life and perhaps, the tightest hug from their younger sibling. Perhaps all of them put together or nothing at all. Happiness can be in spending some time with your infant child, begging the rest of the day to feed him two square meals, for him to survive somehow. Happiness is accepting the fact that your husband has left you after you met an accident recently. The accident left you handicapped and you can not walk properly. This Eid has been slightly different for me. As I waited for a friend near Mahatma Gandhi Metro Station gate 3, I noticed a woman hugging her son. She noticed me noticing them and what followed was a small Eid celebration together. The rooflessness was no deterrent to her happiness, specially when she was celebrating Eid with her son. I asked her, "What is happiness to you? " She said - "To give my everything to my son and to see him grow. " She took me to the place where they stay with their other roofless neighbours. For me, it was slightly weird and uncomfortable because if you follow my blog, I do not really photograph the homeless destitute. But this was special. Although homeless, these people were happy. Sharing with you, few photographs of the time we spent together. Before parting, I handed her some currency notes, which she was shy to accept initially. Words fail me when I try to express myself, the feeling is unparalleled to any other experiences I have had. I wish I could do more to help her. --- - Published: 2014-07-27 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/im-the-creative-blogger-err-not-the-photographer/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Black and White, Colours, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Photography, Social Media and Me - Tags: photoblogger, photoblogger calcutta, photoblogger kolkata, photographer blogger based in kolkata, photographs to improve blogging., social media blogging "Hi, this is Anirban Saha, a photoblogger based in Calcutta. . " "Photo. . what? Blo. ? " "Umm, blogger. " "But you photograph right ? And you have an expensive camera. " - Duh! Not every one with a camera needs to be a photographer per say. I am a photographer - Blogger. I blog and share my ideas, stories and experiences. To enhance the experience of my readers, I use my photographs. "So you are not a photographer, can you please shoot my products for free? " - I did what I do best, keep quiet. No sir, I am not sure if I am the right person you are talking to. " "That's great. The way the number of supposed photographers have cropped up in the city, it is doing more harm to the photography. If anyone wants to be a photographer, let him not promote. Ask him to devote time to the craft of it. " said Mr. Ronny Sen. A very surprised Mrs. Sen ( Director, Maya Art Space) exclaimed, "You did not take part in any photography Salon? " But all these interactions, got me thinking. Am I weird? No. I simply am in love with the concept of blogging and social media. There were question which perplexed me all these last few months : When I was offered job by a reputed publishing house, why did I not leave TCS and join? Why do I feel uncomfortable each single time, people refer to me as a photographer or instructs me what to photograph? And and, when I started photoblogging, it wasn't even a popular concept in the USA. How did I even start it ? The answer is Social Media, Blogging being a part of it. I had commercial application as the 6th subject in class 9,10. I had biology as an additional subject in class 11, 12. I took up computer science because I liked blogging and was interested in this. Blogging kept me going and brought me the main popularity in my college. If you happen to read this, you know I continue to keep blogging. This entire social media amazes me. The core concept is - to be heard. It gives every one of us freedom to speak, however immaterial or irrelevant our logic might be. That's freedom. Now, you can add technicalities to it, a bit of computer science programming, a bit of designing, a bit of SEO knowledge to it, make it attractive with photographs - and voila ! You are now reaching to more people. The audience on the receiving end of your bullshit, needs credible and simple information which they enjoy reading and some sense of logic or emotions in what you say. It's our responsibility as a blogger to deliver it. ( Read: Why should you blog? ) I am a hobbyist photographer, who has invested heavily on his equipments and studio set up. But I feel uncomfortable with the idea of shooting in exchange of money during events, specially marriages. I did shoots for product promotions and left it in 2013. I am not really a photographer. This world has too many of them. I know the basics of photography, yes. I can click for you, yes. Only if you or the idea interests me. "What is Photography to you now? ", a smiling Ms. Chatterjee asked me. Memories and tools to relate my stories. Photographs are now more of memories for me. I have grown overtly emotional after I am blessed with a niece. I love few friends of mine, more than I love any other priorities. I fondly call them, my brothers. I'll leave you with an incident and few photographs that make me emotional each time I see them. PS: They are not master pieces, but they feature my loved ones. Suman is married to one of my closest friends - Supratik. Supratik's maternal uncle had downloaded a photograph of them and had printed them on A4 sheet paper, framed it properly and had shipped it to them, the day they "officially" got married. I still remember the surprised and happy wide eyes of Suman. I had never felt that a very casual click, low resolution bad blotted print can make two people that happy. Supratik unpacked it and placed it in the middle of the uppermost row of his showcase. Yes, they both were together in the photograph and that was the day of their marriage. Special day and a very special gift, a very special moment however bad the quality of the print may be. I was amazed. We "Photographers" gift people memories and with that, in everyone's subconscious, very silently, become an integral part of their happiness. As a "Photographer"-Dada, I was happy when I could teach Surya, basics of photography and he was delighted after the first shot that came good. I was excited with the excitement of Sayan after he could shoot the Bokeh properly in one of our meetups. The contentment, when Saimantick understands a concept and subtly smiles. I remember how excited I was when a boy from Ratnagiri had sent a "Thank you" note, saying that my suggestions helped him develop this technicalities. As a "photographer"-Mama, I remember how I shot Kapu and how she posed, even though she might not exactly know what she did. And these are instruments I use to operate on my mind when my blood pressure exceeds permissible limits of sanity :D I would like you to see few of my Photo-Blog posts, which might explain what I want to do. If you like what you see and what you read, please share. :) Boshonto Utshob @ Rabindra Bharati University 2014 In Revelry and in Dissent, my Calcutta (2012 - 2013) Tusu Parob @ Purulia 2014 Gajan & Charok @ Krishnadebpur 2014 InstaWalk with National Geographic Channel --- - Published: 2014-07-19 - Modified: 2016-08-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/murshidabad-hazaarduwari-and-around/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Episodes of my Life, Explore Bengal, Monsoon, Non Techie, Photography, Season, State, Street Photography, Travel, travel, West Bengal - Tags: Hazaar duwari, Hazarduwari, Kathgola palace, Murshidabad, murshidabad hazarduari image, murshidabad tourism photos, murshidabad tourism west bengal One of the chief attractions in Murshidabad is the Hazarduari complex. I would not write about the history of the Hazarduari palace as my knowledge is particularly limited to the Wikipedia page. The Hazarduari palace was built by Mir Jafar's family while Shiraj Ou'Dullas palace was on the other side of the river, now raised to the ground. The Hazar Duwari complex has - Nizamat Imambara, Clock, Madina mosque. Loosely speaking, Imambara's are places of worship for the Shia muslims. Nizamat Imambara is the biggest Imambara in the country, the foundation stone laid by the last Nawab of Bengal. That's Shiraj Ou'Dullah. The Madina mosque has the soil of the Haz - Extremely sacred to the Muslims, brought by Siraj Ou'Dulla's mother after he became the nawab of Bengal. Phew, enough of history for now. The clouds brought life to the landscape and with the sun playing hide-n-seek, I had some lovely time. I did not photograph all of it, I was there seated on the ground relax watching the cloud move. Ohkay, I am no more going to romanticism and literature. Ladies and Gentlemen, Nizamat Imambara for you, freshly served with the clouds. To the right you see the clock and to the left - the Madina mosque. The HazaarDuwari building, finished in 1837 has 100 real doors and 900 false doors. The false doors had a purpose. The lowest floor of the palace was a court. Anyone failing to pay taxes was tortured there. If he could manage to escape, he found it tough finding the right door through which he could escape. Inhumanly intelligent, isn't it? I am sure, most of my audience hated the subject of history in their childhood. Revision time ! The British East India company was formed in 1600, came to India as traders and settled in three principal areas ( Presidencies) that were named - Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai) and the most important - Calcutta (Kolkata). Ports were bettered for a better trade. Calcutta - USA business flourished even before the British started officially ruling India. They were building a fort, Fort William. This was not appreciated by the then Nawab of Bengal, who made this one of the few reasons to attack Calcutta fort. 1756 - The Nawab with all his might, won the battle. But the British were smarter people then. They made Mir Jafar (Nawab's trusted) betray the Nawab of Bengal. 1757, June 23rd - The second battle of Plassey, the British and the Nawab locked horns and by treachery - the British won. Thus begun the British Raj in India and Calcutta became the capital of British India and the seat of proper English. Slightly more than 230 years, this very day - I was born. ( Else how do you think I remember? ) But did you know - The Grand Post Office (GPO) of Calcutta is one of the building which stands today on the place which was the old Fort Williams? Let's get back. There are other structures, the graveyard and different other mosques, Jagat Seth's home and the museum which you can look forward to. The Kathgola palace and the Jain temple : The Katha Gola opalace was actually called - Jaath Golap (A variety of Rose). However with the decaying rose plants, people tucked the "P" of it and it's now Kaath Gola Palace. Magnificent structure with lions everywhere. Very very impressive I must say. The present owners of the entire place is in Bhawanipur, Kolkata. The reasons why I went to Murshidabad are two - One, there were clouds and I wanted to photograph these structures with a dramatic sky. The second is to search for Bauls. The search for the Bauls shall continue and any time soon, I might be there to find more about the Sufi-Bauls. This blog post is extremely light hearted. I believe not many will even read through the entire article if it feels like a history book! Till then, let me know what you want me to write about. Give me an honest comment. Thank you. --- - Published: 2014-07-12 - Modified: 2016-08-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/murshidabad-in-search-of-bauls-part-2/ - Categories: Baul Music, Colours, Culture, Monsoon, Photography, Portraits, Random notes, Season, State, Street Photography, travel, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Bangaldeshi baul, baul, Baul gaan, Baul music, Baul song, Bengali Baul, bengali culture Part 2: A day with Baban Das Baul. “Who was the first man on earth? ", asked Baban Das Baul. After a moment of silence, I said, “Manu? ”. Ramasish rubbished the idea and said, “It is Adam and Eve. ”. Baban Das Baul was left wondering who Adam is. He however, asked “Who before Manu? ”. “Brahma? ” . “No, he is the father, the creator and the God. ”. *** I knew no Baul when I reached Murshidabad. Hours ago before I boarded the train, I gave Mrs. Ratnaboli Bose a phone call seeking information. Her website Daricha, that once used my photographs of Tusu, was the only website to give me information about Jalangi, a village Shreya had informed me - is the hub of Bauls in the region. It was only a matter of moments, after having left home, I saw a man dark skinned, thin, with not much wrinkles on his face. His hair was long enough to cover his nape, curly, oiled and properly combed. “That kind of hair is perfect for a Baul”, I said to myself. Without any further thought, I approached him and inquired about the place and where I can get Bauls. He looked surprised. On further discussion, he introduced himself as Baban Das Baul, one of the most renowned Bauls in the state. During the very short interaction on the first day, he thought of putting the records straight - There is no God, there are humans. Being a Baul is being real and not living in anticipation or creating imagery. Humanity is the top priority for the Bauls. *** On the second day, we met near the cemetery ground and sat near the river, it was serene. The children were playing by the ghat, a few of them trying to row a boat. The Temple right beside us, had frequent visitors. The lush green background and the rhythmic alliterating sound of the river was soothing music. A perfect set for our discussion. "We sing of human feelings and not about God. " "Tell me, how did the Bauls come to existence? ”, he asked. I did what I do best. I kept quiet. “It was popularised by Sri Chaitanya Deb. ” was all that I managed to say. “But someone introduced him to it. Do you know who it was? ”. Later in the discussion he said, Chaitanya had four Gurus, of which one introduced him to Baul culture. The discussion continued to the 14 other gurus after Sri Chaitanya who preached the philosophy for more than 530 years. "The knowledge is the Guru, the mind is the disciple. If the disciple decides to do, then it is good. Else of what good is all the knowledge? ". I nodded my head in affirmative. Check this video out before we proceed any further. (Please ignore the glitches, it is for the first time I tried to shoot videos. I promise to learn this and present to you better videos next time. ) He sang for us few songs and took us around the town, to his home and finally to the burial ground where his Guru was buried. Beside the burial ground is a Kali temple. We sat there and talked more. He emphasised on the role of a Guru and how his Guru changed his life and showed him direction. As a Baul, he has seen his world change. Now he performs in different occasions, events as prestigious as the CommonWealth games and in numerous countries like Russia for an example. It was the same him, who had to sing to beg on the streets to make ends meet. Life for him has come a full circle. He is now the president of his association and his music wins heart. This time, the topic of discussion had shifted from Baul philosophy to region, events and regional politics. He is a survivor and a witness to the cruelty of the religious puritans in the late nineties. The Bauls and the Fakirs were targeted, humiliated and often beaten for not believing in either Hinduism or in Islam. The talks inadvertently shifted to the left rule and the present state government. Baban Das Baul is very optimistic with this present government. He now has his identity card and his medical bills are taken care of by the government. The government is being proactive in showcasing the rural and the folk culture of Bengal. Young people are taking interest in Baul music, one being definitely me, and he hopes the career of the Baul is no more as threatened as was in the last regime. "You can have the Islam fascism, Christian rulers or the Hindu dictatorship. But above all religions, is the religion of Humanity. The Baul philosophy will continue for centuries to come, in different forms, ideas, shapes and in different packaging. " I'll end this post with a song composed by Baban Das Baul. Do let me know if you have liked this post. This is for the first time, I have embedded a video and a sound clip to my blog post. Your feedback is very necessary for me to do the part 3 of this series. Thank you, thank you so much for having read this. --- - Published: 2014-07-05 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/murshidabad-in-search-of-bauls-part-1/ - Categories: Baul Music, Colours, Culture, Explore Bengal, Monsoon, Photography, Portraits, Season, State, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Bangaldeshi baul, Bangla Baul, baul folk bengal photographs, Baul gaan, Baul mp3, Baul music, Baul musicians, baul musicians of Bengal, Baul song, Bengali Baul, Bengali kolk songs Part 1: Bauls: Spirituality over religion. I set myself out to Murshidabad, after the tiresome Friday in office, in search of the Bauls and the Fakirs. Before I write about my experience there, I want to brief my reader about my Bengal and the Baul culture. Bengal never fails to amaze me. Its culture has been influenced by the Jains and the Buddhists in the early ages and the Hindus, the Muslims later in history. We have had the Europeans settling here, mainly the British and the French. This was the region that saw the birth of the British Raj in mid-1700. With slight age, religion never found much of a place in people’s heart and one of the main reasons for this attitude of Bengalis is the folk music and art. One of the most popular folk culture is the tradition of the Bauls. The seeds of the Baul school of thought are traced back hundreds of years before Sri Chaitanya popularized it. Sri Chaitanya, primarily a Bhakti movement stalwart, spoke about Krishna and the Bauls. To the rest of Hinduism, Krishna is the God of Gods and one of the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. To the Bauls, Krishna is not God; He is a consciousness and another sense. Denouncing God in the first place and putting the focus on Human sensibilities, the Bauls believe Human is God. There is God (Krishna, as they put it) in every one of us. They write songs, tune them and sing their compositions on the streets of Bengal to spread their message. Their messages never restricted itself to the narrowness of a particular religion; they sing of humanity. “Baul Bortoman, Baul onumaan noye”. Baban Das Baul wanted to put the records straight in the very first conversation. Being Baul is being in real existence and not in mere imagination, perception or anticipation. “God is imaginary, have you seen God? ” I kept quiet. “But I can see you, talk to you, believe in you, and care for you. To serve God, serve everyone around. ” I kept quiet again. Such philosophy resonated in Sri Sri RamKrishna ParamHansa Dev, where He told, “Shiv gnaane, Jib sheva”. That would loosely translate to “Serve the people, assuming you are serving the Almighty”. The social reformation movement led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy established Brahmo Samaj in Bengal, denouncing traditional Hindu religion and talked about unity of Religions. Rabindranath Tagore embraced this new religion and was a Brahmo by choice. I feel somewhere all of these are connected and is rooted to the age old Baul folk music. The Fakirs or the Sufi-Bauls are the Muslims who believe in the concept of the Bauls that Humanity is of greater importance than religion. The confluence of cultures, resulted in an accepting society, united by the wandering minstrels, mystic, singing songs of love and of humanity. It is this strong sense of spirituality and humanity over religion that has united Bengalis by sentiment. I went in search of these Bauls, whose folk songs have survived and witnessed the good and the numerous bad of the ages and still continue to spread words of love. I'll end this post with a audio clip. Do let me know your feedback about this blog post. I am trying something new with this, your feedback is the most important. Leave for me a comment. If you like this, please share this as well. --- - Published: 2014-06-28 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/football-mania-in-kolkata/ - Categories: Burrabazar, College Street, Kolkata, Kolkata Street Photography, Lake Garden, Random notes - Tags: arunodaya biswas, football in kolkata, Football Kolkata, Football mania in Kolkata, Football world cup mania, maradona in kolkata, messi football, messi in kolkata, satyadip basu, soumya shankar ghoshal foot ball photographs, suarez bites, zishan asad “Do you lack the adrenaline rush or something? Why don’t you watch football? ” asked Arjyak at the end of the bloggers meet. I came back home and asked my dad, “You do not play football, why do you stay awake and scream all night? ” My father said, “Which Bengali did not play football when they were young, tell me. He is not a Bengali at all. Shob khelar shera bangalir tumi football! ” The last line might loosely translate to “the best of best of all the games for a Bengali is football. ” I murmured to myself, "Dad, me! ". Photograph: Anirban Saha Next morning i set to discover this city’s cultural ethos, of which football is a very important part. Here the kids grow up watching their elders discuss about Maradona, Ronaldo and Messi. Messy affair it seems, more so – they know very well, India is not a part in the world cup. “So would you want, your son to become a football player? ” The answer was not encouraging. “Amra goal ta kemon dilam bol? ” A wide smile, an earthen cup of tea and a wide chest did not help me understand which “Amra” he referred to. I kept scratching the camera grip. An old man in the adda told me, that it is more about the sentiments of the people around. Yes sir, definitely. Because the home team of Mohun bagan was the first Indian team to win against a European team in 1911. Or is it because Mohun Bagan is slightly a decade older than FIFA itself? “How can you forget the East Bengal Mohun Bagan football matches? ” Yes, are you speaking of the high on energy match where people watch football less and hurl more abuses they had innovated and stocked, since the last match? Oh, are you proud because the salt lake stadium is the second largest football stadium as per capacity? The response was grim and i thought it best to bid farewell to the adda. Photographs: Anirban Saha I really do not understand the frenzy. I really do not understand the sentiments. The love for the game is understandable; it increases the adrenaline rush even if you are watching it through the view finder. But to color the interiors of your home with yellow and maroon, your building with blue and white even before the Bengal government waivered the taxes, to cover all the lanes in the locality with Brazil national flags, to paint the walls and the barricades with emblems, symbols and yes, scream all night right outside my room not letting me work. I do not understand. Photograph: Anirban Saha. Photographs: Akash Bhattacharya & Zishan Asad Add to it, the social media. With one goal Messi scores, my news feed is flooded with updates. Messier when someone bites the other on field – updates, memes, expletives, jokes and what not? Courtesy: www. footballwood. com “Don’t you find the football players cute? ” Well, i did not find it necessary to answer that question. But is that why you watch football? Which team do you support? The ones which your boyfriends do, right? Photograph: Anirban Saha. TCS Football Tournament and captains fighting over a foul. "It is about the excitement of the game when you play it. You will not understand. " Perhaps I will not. But who cares? The rest of Kolkata are mad about football. An old couple from Kolkata was all over the news for making it to the 9th consecutive football world cup. The husband is 81 and the wife in her 70’s, they save all the money they can, in 4 years, only to spend it in the football world cup. Almost every friend I have, plays football, discusses football and fights over their football teams. Perhaps, it is time I give in and appreciate their sentiments and be a part of the frenzy, even without proper reason. Photographs: Soumya Shankar Ghoshal. I dare not say that it is without a proper reason. It is “love for Phootball”. It is this love for football that makes them write poems and even songs. Wait, i will paste for you one from Satyadip Basu’s wall post. “Teen minute’e goal kheye chaar minute’e shodh. . Prothom-ardher shesh logne bhanglo protirodh. Dwitiyardher shuru tei somota phiriye, rokhhoner doshe abar porlo pichiye, Bhagyo ektu shohaye hole jitto nigeria, herey giyeo bhalo khele jitlo amar hiya. Football to amra jani egaro joner khela, mesi chara dosh jon sudhui bhir korche mela. Eka messi’r kadhe chore bishwo cup joy, Emon asha kora bodh hoye ghoro toro onnyay. ” Are you one of them who remains awake all night to watch the football match? What is football to you? --- - Published: 2014-06-21 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-a-love-story/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Explore Kolkata, Guest Posts, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Nakhoda Mosque, North Kolkata, Photography, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: calcutta, kolkata, Love story You flow effortlessly into the remainder of my nostalgia; a life of stamps on postcards, of sophisticated salons and bittersweet before-dinner drinks; of operas and foreign languages and relics from faraway lands. Yes, it is a certain kind of world, one that few see, but indeed, it was mine. Or it could have been my world, if only I was able to see beyond my own pain to the shining parts. But I was not, so I had to come to you instead to give me what I already had. You are a city steeped in time. Memories lay stored, not in dusty boxes, but in homes in narrow lanes. Millions of conversations inhabit concrete walls. Millions of words shouted in vigorous debate echo off tiled ceilings. Millions of chance meetings and electrifying moments when hand touches hand kept secret in creaky stair wells. It is a harsh and cruel world we live in. At least you let us have our memories. I only have fifteen days' worth of my own memories to draw from. Fifteen days of the leaves of my courtyard brilliant against the blue of the sky, of indecipherable yet beautiful letters and numbers on signs and trams that now have lost their mystery and convey their meaning, of nondescript moments and mundane errands and inconvenient modes of transport, and yes, even of love. And yet my memories are not enough; for some unknown reason I share in your collective nostalgia. I see with new eyes the images burned into the memories of those who love you but are far away; I hear with new ears the stories, the words they woke up at 4:00 once a year to hear; I see the longing in their eyes and I share in their wish to be swept back up into the current. Although of a different presentation, this nostalgia feels similar to my own, so I entreat you to allow it to be. The day everything changed, I stood at the window in my darkened room, looking out at the house next door. A lamp was on in a large sitting room on the first floor. Somewhere, strains of a piano. Perhaps there was tea, served in delicate cups on a lacquer tray; perhaps it was coffee in a sturdy mug accompanied by a few pages of a novel. In that moment, looking through the leaves to the life fully lived just out of my view, I imagined that one day, I would come back to you. This would be my home, and from that sitting room I would look out as the last rays of the sun fell upon the surrounding buildings and amidst the cacophony all around me, I would be at peace. And perhaps I will. Post written by : Andrea Mandal. She is a copywriter in Pullman, Washington. Married to a Bengali, she has found a new love in Kolkata and Rabindrasangeet. Song writer by passion, she is one friend who amazes me with her poetry :) An extremely light hearted lady, anyone would love to work with, I wish her grand professional success in the near future. Look out for more of her posts in this blog ! --- - Published: 2014-06-14 - Modified: 2014-11-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/getting-offline/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Events, Photography Events, Social Media and Me - Tags: Anirban Saha speeches, Blog promotion offline, kolkata bloggers meet, Kolkata Bloggers workshop, Photography workshops in Kolkata, School photography workshops, Social Media in Photography Getting offline, speaking about your blog is not only an awesome idea to promote it, but makes you feel genuinely happy from inside. How to get offline? Well, shutting the computer down is not the only thing you should do. Shut the computer down and go out. Go out and meet the friends you have made on Facebook. Attend Bloggers' Meets organised in your city. Attend, or even organise, a photowalk of your own. All these activities establish interpersonal relationships. Being online is simply not enough. We've got to agree on one point - with the diverse political opinions and the weirdest hashtags overflowing in all social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook and even personal blogs have lost the personal touch. To gain more visitors we start crunching words into articles however irrelevant it might be. Let’s use the social media platforms to showcase our works and let the networking bit be both online and offline. In this world, when everyone else is getting online, I refuse to be just another online entity. I refuse to be just another number in someone's friend list. I refuse to be just another blogger. I refuse to be just another amateur photographer. Sharing my experience: I never tried restricting myself to the online world. Any way to make a new friend is always great. Whenever I have had a good conversation with someone online, we often end up meeting. I've made most of the friends this way even when I did not have a blog. When they started to know me, they started following my works and giving me valuable advice. They were the ones who gave me good tips about photography, blogging, marketing and solving personal problems. The friendship just grew stronger. Be it the regular meetups organised by Shilpa Srivastava, the Kolkata Bloggers' Meet, the Twestival in Kolkata or simply the TiE summits and the various entrepreneurship summits, my offline presence helped me learn more. Over the years, online has been the way to showcase my work and attract people but offline has been the only way to strengthen friendships. It is not just because of wearing my blog or strengthening friendships that I enjoy being offline. Why? Glad you asked. A lot of the organisers who invited me recently have been only following my blog. I just had to go offline to build a stronger friendship. In January 2014, I conducted the basic photography and social media workshop in The Frank Anthony Public School. March end, I conducted the same workshop in Loreto College. April and May, we had two major Bloggers meets, one with a Bengali film and another with Derek O’Brien (West Bengal MP). This June, so far, I was invited to speak in Maya Art Space on “Social Media in Photography” where I shared my photographs primarily and spoke about the influence of social media in learning, collaborating and personal branding. Being the Kolkata Blogger: To be introduced as a “Blogger” to an audience in Kolkata and to get the word of “Social Media”, “ethics of social media” buzzing among the audience are perhaps my biggest takeaways. Here I need to mention, while in 2009 Kiruba Shankar openly spoke to the masses about being a blogger, people in Kolkata who knew about blogging were extremely numbered. Even today, the masses find blogging unconventional and not required. To speak about that, to showcase my photographs and to gather praise - give me immense pleasure. Then comes sharing my ideas with the rest of the audience. The last few interactions in The Frank Anthony Public School and in Loreto College rejuvenated the way I interact with younger crowd. I showcased my photographs as a slideshow to an extremely experienced audience in Maya Art Space. The rest of the audience there were musicians, artists, theatre performers. But even then, the kind of response I got there and afterwards is highly encouraging. I am looking forward to more such events. Get offline, have some more fun ! Do leave a comment either in support of going offline or simply against it. Stay connected to this blog, subscribe to the email subscription as well. Not to forget, stay connected to this blog via Facebook, Twitter and Google+ --- - Published: 2014-06-08 - Modified: 2016-08-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/in-revelry-and-dissent-my-calcutta/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Basanta Utsav, Black and White, Bow Barracks, Burrabazar, Christmas, College Street, Colours, Culture, Dalhousie, Esplanade, Explore Kolkata, Kalighat, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Long exposures, Mullick Ghat, Nakhoda Mosque, North Kolkata, Park Street, Photography, Season, Spring, Street Photography, Winter - Tags: kolkata, Kolkata Photographs This city of Calcutta, the city of an ever changing skyline. . the city that never stops, radiating from every corner - the exuberance of its colours, its enthusiasm, its spirit. "Tilottoma" Kolkata, the ever beautiful city as it is referred to, refers to its spirit and the sense of grace. For cynics, Calcutta offers satire and sarcasm in its lanes. For an optimist, hope overflows in the city's every move. On this note, ladies and Gentlemen, I present few photographs I shot in the city from 2012 - 2013. --- - Published: 2014-05-25 - Modified: 2014-05-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/adda-with-derek-obrien/ - Categories: Colours, Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Photography, Photography Events, Random notes, Social Media and Me - Tags: blogger engagement programmes in Kolkata, Bloggers from Kolkata, Brand Bengal, Derek O'Brien, Derek O'Brien blogger event, Derek O'Brien Brand Bengal, Derek O'Brien photo shoot, improve brand bengal, Kolkata bloggers Kolkata – the city of changing skyline, the city of changing perceptions. Kolkata is the city, I have consciously chosen to live in and this is not a blog post that will speak about how big the heart of Kolkata is. It definitely is big and that is why I chose, not to shift to any other city in India although it might have offered to me, better job profile and more money. It's about a slightly newer and different movement to promote Kolkata on the ground level, by engaging active people on social media, particularly bloggers. Derek O’Brien, now Member of Parliament from West Bengal had invited bloggers and people active on social media. Agnivo, who works for him had outsourced a part of the work to me. It was a sheer pleasure to have accepted it on Kolkata Bloggers’ behalf. Other guests included Aninda Das (former NASSCOM associate), RJ Arvind (Radio One), Sumana di. They were the ones who first formulated “Brand Bengal” in digital sphere when I was possibly graduating from college. The kind of Bengali chauvinist that I am, I am just a promoter of the cause. And today was the day, we met Derek O’Brien. People of my age, worships him not as the West Bengal MP, but as the person who kept us hooked to the TV sets, conducting enthralling quizzes. For us, it is an entirely different connection with him. As a student of St. Paul’s Mission School, I often day dreamt of working with him. Given this opportunity, I wanted to give the best we could offer. Of the 10 seats we had, 8 are Bloggers. One is a teacher, a few students of different engineering and management fields, 2 are entrepreneurs. Rangan da and I are simply photo-bloggers. I believe Derek liked the idea and somewhere seated right in front of him – I was one happy person smiling! Four issues were taken up from the discussions we had while introducing ourselves. It ranged from safety to primary education in municipal schools. When asked to add few more to the list, I added the lack of communication in promotion of Bengal. Each issue formed a vertical and the group of 22 ardent Kolkata lovers formed groups and ideas of addressing each of them were nurtured. And this shall be a 2 month exercise for now. Each vertical is headed by the person who brought it up, so I will be coordinating the communications part of the entire initiative. There is a reason why I pointed out the communication or the lack of it, to the larger audience. I meet a lot of people of different age groups and professions, interact to know them. In the last 3 years of my life, I have seen such wonderful inspirational stories being created that never got shared. Such stories can form the Brand Bengal we all aim to make. How often have you heard a sitting Member of Parliament conducting Blogger engagement programme and engaging them in a brain storming session? It is not about the ruling party. It is not even about the present state government. There is something special about this person. Somewhere iconic because he was one of the firsts to use Twitter to communicate and is such a passionate blogger himself. Ironically, this MP is from the state whose iconic former chief minister opposed the use of computers and the spread of the language of English. Today this is the story I offer to my readers - a politician finding time to interact, brain storm and accept ideas from bloggers and people active on the social media. But never did he talk about politics or promote the party he belongs to. Had he not stressed on few issues, we would have never known the kind of issues faced in implementing ideas. Such interactions are necessary and Kolkata Bloggers is happy to have helped even in the smallest possible way. Leaving you with few photographs of the event shot by Soupayan Dutta and me. Do give your honest opinion about this blogpost as a comment. While in the interaction Rangan Datta speaks. Derek O'Brien interacting with the bloggers. --- - Published: 2014-05-10 - Modified: 2016-08-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-should-you-blog/ - Categories: Kolkata, Random notes, Social Media and Me - Tags: importance of blogging, Kolkata bloggers, what is a blog, what to blog, Why should we blog If you are reading this, be informed: you already know what a blog is! Websites which are regularly updated and can interact with the readers are basically - blogs. While interacting with people, the first questions that come up: What is a blog? Why should we blog? What do we write about? Stop thinking that much! Yea! Now you already know what a blog is, if you do not have a blog yet, have one and start expressing yourself. I will tell you why you should! Expressions form a decisive aspect in a person’s character. You might never know how right or wrong you are in your opinions unless it is subjected to people’s scrutiny, discussion or debate. Blog & become wiser. You develop a sense of accountability and sincerity while putting up your writings on the public domain. This leads to conviction and confidence in you. Gain confidence. Connect to more people: People who are your friends, friends of friends who relate to your views, people who connect to you over various social media platforms, people who read and work on the subject you blog about and people who discover your blog via search engines. People know you by your views and opinions. In turn, you shape few more views. Your views can actually influence other people in their life. An able and successful blogger has enhanced presentation skills – you stay in a good habit of organizing your thoughts and writing it, in proper grammatical format of whichever language you write in. In all the interactions with your viewers, you improve your inter-personal skills which lead you to better managerial skills, especially if you are working for a multi-national company. When people start liking your work, it is an incredible feeling. It feels great to see visitors turn friends, especially younger people looking up to you. Slowly their appreciation will drive you do more; will make you read more, understand and blog more. More friends make you feel more socially responsible. Slowly all the sense of responsibility, enhanced managerial skills, presentation skills, interactions and the power to influence people even in the smallest manner, makes you feel good. Maintain a blog to feel good about yourself! It’s an incredible feeling, I tell you. Have a blog of your own. You can blog about possibly everything under the sun. The range of topics can include: Personal scribbling, your thoughts about society, and the problems you face and how you solve them, how your daughter is growing up, Bikes and bike reviews in your town, some incredible recipe of your mother-in-law. It can be anything! Whatever you write, always remember – there must be someone requiring that piece of information in some place on the globe, possibly searching for it over the internet. Stay humble, connect to people. It’s magic. . If you are a blogger, take a small survey. Click here. Let me know why you should blog! Leave for me your honest opinion about this article, questions and ask for clarifications if required. Thank you. --- - Published: 2014-05-07 - Modified: 2014-06-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-should-you-photo-walk/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Black and White, Bow Barracks, Colours, Kolkata Street Photography, Nakhoda Mosque, North Kolkata, Photography, Season, Spring, Street Photography - Tags: B.K.Paul avenue, Calcutta photwalking, Calcutta Walks, kolkata photowalking, kolkata photowalks, kolkata street photography, Parasnath Temple, photowalking Photo walking can be an exciting way to know and to make newer friends in your city. Grab your camera, stroll across the lanes of your city. Search for places beyond pubs/bars and voila! You feel so wonderful from the inside! You never know what you discover, whom you meet and what stories you come across. I'm still clueless about the enormity or spontaneity of Kolkata. I am still discovering the lanes and the people. I never knew how beautiful the Vidyasagar Setu looks after the first showers of the norwesters or perhaps how peaceful the flutter of feathers seem, when the pigeons set their flight from the top of a building’s crest. Very recently I came across a building of B. K. Paul. I was struck by the architecture of the building. I could not resist myself and I went in, met the person who was selling medicines and asked him about the place. The mammoth structure was built in 1855, 2 years before the first war of Indian Independence. Ganga Arati in Baghbazar Ghaat, Kolkata. Photograph: Arya Chakraborty. It doesn’t really matter which camera you use, I urge - start strolling and discover the city! Who knows, you might develop a taste for street photography? Or perhaps contribute good stories to “Humans of Calcutta” page. Shoot and store photographs and print your own coffee table book or a customized calendar. Or simply be a proud Kolkata blogger, sharing your experiences with the world. If not anything else, discover the fabulous street food, the city has to offer& the history associated with it. Whatever much you might not do, photo walks will surely burn some good amount of your calories. Street food is an integral part of any photo walk, Photo-walk in China Town. Photograph: Zishan Asad. Things required in a photo-walk: Sunscreen lotion: Yes, that’s my top priority these days. Shoes: Proper comfortable shoes. If you are a photographer, make sure your foot doesn’t slip while you press the shutter. Hankerchief: You would not appreciate sweat / moisture / dirt on your Facebook profile picture, if your friends shoot one for you. A bottle of water: A thing, which I do not carry with me at all. Comfortable clothing: In my case, shorts. Money and antacid: It is highly probable that you will sneak into Royal’s and have Mutton chaap and Rumali Roti or some place similar to it... and if nothing else, will pamper your taste buds with the variety of street food in Kolkata! Regarding lens – it differs from person to person, situation to situation. In fact my own photography skills bettered with Kolkata Weekend Shoots, a group of photographers who photo walked every Sunday. It does not exist today, but there are possibly more than a hundred groups which conduct photo walks. If you are a starter, prefer professional services like The Calcutta Walks or a rather friendly and committed group of amateur photographers – Cam2O. During weekends, I plan photo-walks (on behalf of "The Meetup Group : Photography Discussions;") and I give public updates about it. If you can find time you can join us as well. Till then, join the Facebook discussion: // Post by Anirban Saha. --- - Published: 2014-05-01 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-tribute-to-manna-dey-arunita-barui/ - Categories: Culture, Random notes - Tags: arunita barui, arunita charcoal, charcoal artist kolkata, charcoal painter, happy birthday manna dey, manna dey, raz dee, soul vibes records, top charcoal painters kolkata, tribute to manna dey Does this man require any introduction? He was the first superstar singer in Bollywood. He sang over 4000 songs from 1942 till 2013. Like most of the Bengali children of last 1980's, the first songs I have heard of him are "Shey amar choto bone, boro aadorer choto bon", "Coffee house er shei adda ta aaj aar nei, aaj aar nei. ". His songs, often take us back in time. "Aami je jolshaghore" or the Bollywood classics - "Laaga chunri mein daag", "Cham cham baaje re paleyiya", "Aaja sanam madhur chaandni mein hum" or songs as enjoyable as "Ek chatur naar" from the film Padosan. His death, last year, marked the end of an era. Such mastery over the musical notes, such control over the voice and the rhythm might never be found again. Bollywood misses you. We Bengalis miss you. Our friend Arunita Barui (the charcoal artist) , sketched a a portrait of Manna Dey. Sharing the video of her making of the portrait. India, cutting across different age barriers salute you sir. Where ever you are, you are a guiding star to all of us musicians. Do check out the video. The Charcoal Story : Arunita Barui Know more about Manna Dey in Wikipedia. Arunita Barui is a self taught Charcoal artist. She has signed up with Soul Vibes records, the production Sayon is associated with. If you like Arunita Barui's sketches, make sure you like her page "The Charcoal story". I can only convey my deepest regards and best wishes for my brother, his friends and his production house. Do let us know which is your favourite Manna Dey song, join the discussion below. // Post by Anirban Saha. Drop a tribute to Manna Dey - the first super star Bollywood singer. Comment on this blog post. --- - Published: 2014-04-30 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/modi-mamata-indian-general-elections/ - Categories: Opinion, Random notes - Tags: Indian General elections, Mamata Bannerjee, Modi, Modi Sarkar, Narendra Modi Expect me to write bullshit about Narendra Modi. I want the brainless retarded "Bhakts" to abuse me on my blog and increase the number of hits on my website. This way my blog will gain popularity and it will get a better Google rank. And trust me, neither am I going to spare Mr Arvind Kejriwal of AAP fame nor Mamata Bannerjee - the now chief minister of West Bengal. We have a special task force of AAPtards who are always ready to spam. If that has taken you by a surprise or has amused you, you must have realized what most of the personal bloggers and small scale news channel already do in their websites – speak bad or excessively good about Narendra Modi to excite a group of people and increase visibility of their website. Let me start by saying, this general election is highly derogatory, corrosive, below dignity, low and dirty. There used to be a time when voting was supposed to be a secret affair. These days, people wear their choices on their sleeves! Many people want Modi to become the prime minister and have no clue why! They seek an alternative to the 10 years of Congress rule primarily, while the rest just tries to flow with the tide. Err, I mean - the supposed wave. Many flood their Facebook wall with brainless reading material. Not many of who spreads that, are even eligible to vote. If the craze of the “Bhakts” and the “-tards” were not enough, the recent speeches by Narendra Modi was in extreme bad taste. Wasn't TMC’s metaphorical reference to hand dripping in blood, equally bad? I wonder where the sense of grace disappeared. If you have tolerated my writing so far, let me tell you - Voting and elections are not that complicated an affair. It is very simple. However much the Indian National Media might make it look like the US General elections, the Indian Lok Sabha or the Legislative assembly elections are neither that complicated nor that risky an affair. And I’ll tell you why. First of all, it is not a choice between two individuals. It is a choice between two or more than two national parties. And their families, and their friends and yes, the other smaller parties who take shelter under their names, and other opportunity seekers who hone their mathematical skills after election results and become coalition partners, and those who give outside support. (And then there are people who give a shit. ) So we need to simplify it. “Think locally, act nationally”, well at least that was the thought of the makers of the Indian constitution. We need to know who all are contesting the election from our area. Vote for the person you trust, you can relate to. Vote for the person you think can help your locality grow. Forget the rest. The person can belong to Trinamool Congress. The person can represent CPIM or Congress or the Bharatiya Janta Party or even AAP (which practically does not exist in Bengal). The candidate with maximum votes represents the area. They go to the lower house of the constitution or the Lok Sabha and elect their Prime Minister. Now, the more the candidates belong to a particular party, the more the chances that party’s elected candidate becomes the Prime Minister. So keep it simple. But think, A stronger local leader is what is required: Yes. If the local representative is not responsible or not trust worthy, all the money that the center allocates for your region will not be properly utilized. Vote for the person you trust. Vote for the person who is easily approachable. Vote for the person who has shown work. Vote for the person who has shown credentials and is perhaps educated. I would not personally prefer voting for a party whose goons terrorize my locality. Check that as well. How peaceful or safe is your locality? What about a strong central leader? Running a government cannot be a one (wo)man show. Damn, even for a single project we require multiple managers to run it. The government is possibly the most complex of all teams formed. A strong leadership can send directives. The local leader needs to execute them. They require trust and ability. So for me a recognized local face is important whom I can trust with responsibilities – irrespective of the political ideology he belongs to, the political flag he represents. That shall be an informed choice. Vote and be done with it! We cannot afford to take it any more. Every single day there is negativity, every single day there is an exchange of words. Every single day there is growing hatred around. It is no more a source of amusement. Even if I try my best, I can not smirk at it. Why do we need to speak about Bangladeshis or Biharis or Odiyas and not concentrate only on development and development indices? Every single day some friend says something about Modi and some other random person comments (read: bashes brainlessly) on it. There are some new bloggers or blog posts coming up slamming Modi or Mamata, because both the names sell! And if both come in the same news article, it sells more than Poonam Pandey shedding clothes at a Bachelor’s party! If you are a misinformed voter, you need to realize that you are misinformed in the first place. Then you need to realize that personal websites and blog posts spreading claims should not be your source of information. There is so much paid news that popular news channels might not be your source of information as well. The best way is to use your own brain. Yes, that is always the best practice. By the grace of God, almost all major political leaders are in social media. Check what they update, check what they claim. Are they rational? If they speak of development, is the development visible in your locality? If they are being derogatory about someone else, how much can you trust the claim? Take the arguments, judge them, debate with your friends with an open mind and open heart regarding them. Be informed. Spend some time contemplating, read more. Be knowledgeable. Believe in debates, listen to the arguments. Are the arguments appealing to you? I am appalled to see there is so much hatred either deep down inside or have recently cropped up. In our discussions, one of our Muslim colleagues very subtly said, that he is a Bengali with a Persian name. He fears being labeled as a Bangladeshi and be discriminated against, if Modi comes to power. My viewer needs to realize, he is an educated colleague, an able photographer and a very good person. Mr. Modi needs to realize, this is Bengal which hosts the districts like Murshidabad which is the only district in India which has 65% Muslim population. About half of our population have extremely Islamic names but are very Bengali and their forefathers were born in modern day India and that, they are not illegal immigrants! In every district in Bengal, you might find such good amount of Bengali Muslims. The RSS-BJP and Modi Bhakts have steered a storm. The very thought of BJP-RSS coming to power unsettles me. I’ll be honest. Like me, many true heart Bengalis will be dismissive of BJP. The Gorkha – Bengalis gave BJP one seat in Lok Sabha last time, hoping that they will get a separate state – the Gorkhaland. Did the BJP keep their promise? And now that the peace has been restored, no one would even wish for the state division. BJP again promised a state division. Shameful. Narendra Modi says not "Vote for BJP". He says "Vote for me! ". That's not how the Indian system should work. He projects himself bigger than his party today. The day next, if elected to power, he shall project himself bigger than the nation. We can not allow a fascist. His hands might not be dripping blood, but statements like "bring Hindu-Bangladeshis back" really takes me back thinking. The election should be policy based, ideology based, performance based and party based. Equality, stability, security and education are my priorities. My friends and acquaintances often accuse me of being an AAP agent or a TMC cadre. I am neither. I want AAP in Bengal and in good presence. They will form an incredible opposition if not a better government than that of Mamata Banerjee’s. CPIM has to hibernate, rejuvenate and get back. Not only did it fail in the last few years of 34 years of governance, its sly nature failed the people – the hope of a better and strong opposition. TMC is marred with the Saradha scam and that shall take some time to fade away. But so far, Mamata Bannerjee government has been able to restore peace in the terrorist hit areas and in Northern Bengal. It has been able to bring down shutdown and bandhs that often symbolized Bengal. We might not have an over publicized big ticket investment, but the general investments have improved. The medium and small scale industries have a credit flow of over 100%. Revenue collection has improved. Thankfully we did not have schemes for Muslims or Jains. Instead, we had a “Kanyashree” scheme which the Bengal state government will execute with UNICEF. The GSDP has been about 158% of the national GDP. The present government with all its Banga Bibhusan and different kind of “Utsavs” has made a small, but a significant Brand Bengal. I should not praise the present state government more, lest people should think this is a paid blog post. On the second thoughts, how informed and able is the candidate who is representing my locality? Mamata Bannerjee too fell short of dignity. The jibe at the election commission, the Anna Hazare incident and the latest exchange of words with Narendra Modi leaves a bad impression. I am attaching a light painting of the Trinamool Congress symbol. Do not think I am a TMC cadre, I request. I know a lot of people might not read this long article. To bring them to my blog, I need an interesting and impressive graphic. So this be it. If you are a first time voter – spend some time reading different articles, discuss, listen to your leaders, form an opinion of your own. Like I said, vote for the person you believe will be by the side of your locality and that you lay your trust on the candidate. And yes, do not get into ugly fights regarding this. One of my friends updated, “So by the end of these elections, whether NaMo, RaGa and AK lose or not, a lot of my good friends are definitely going to lose a lot of their good friends. ” Let that not be true. --- - Published: 2014-04-26 - Modified: 2014-04-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/yet-another-scribbling/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Colours, Episodes of my Life, Kolkata Street Photography, Non Techie, Photography, Random notes - Tags: college life, frustration, pace of life, personal, rush Some idle time by the side of the river watching the children play, the ducks walk around, the daily labourers smoking marijuana and ranting about their daily life. It was still warm after the sun set. It was windy by the river Ganga. Slowly the darkness enveloped the region. I had lost my mental calm after ages. I stared at the children, earphones plugged in, I tried to make some meaning out of the life. Truth, something beneath truth - truer than the apparent truth in itself. The unperceived, intangible, the one that can not be held on to. The truth like this present moment, that passes away as I press another key on the keyboard - inconsistent, was very much here and now is gone. Gone is a part of my life that has left for me, in me - memories, smile and chaotic voices. I hate the stillness when the music in my earphone comes to a stop. The world stops for me. A thousand chaotic voices higher their tones inside my head. Unclear thoughts, gibberish arguments. A thousand emotions, up in arms against each other. All in denial of the truth. While my inside was torn apart by conflicting emotions, a boat passed by. I noticed this child in front of me, holding his kite high up waiting for a stronger wind. I realised, a considerable amount of time was already spent. Life, perceptions, people and the purpose of friendship confuse me. I live today bewildered by the very thought of love, of life and of living. Life has always been on a move, it has never halted for anyone. In this rush, I wonder where I have left my childhood, my dreams and my aspirations. I wonder where I have left the craze of my college life. I wonder how I fell in love, numerous times with numerous people, I wonder how I never expressed them. I wonder how, in this pace, I was existing in only my life and no one else's. The truth stands truer, mightier in all its glory. Life, has never been stagnant, I have never properly existed. A hundred people touched my life, I shall touch a hundred million more... never existing, never stopping. But at times, in introspection. The times, when the heart rebels against my theory of life, the cry gets louder than the applause in the auditorium, when the stillness gives birth to void. The void that engulfs me inside out. This chaos needs louder music. --- - Published: 2014-04-15 - Modified: 2017-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/gajan-festival-in-west-bengal/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Exclusive, Explore Bengal, Festival, Gajan in West Bengal, Photography, Portraits, Root, Season, Slideshow, Spring, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Charak festival, Charak Puja, Charak Puja Bangladesh, Charak Puja in Bardhaman, Charak Puja West Bengal, Chrak Puja West Bengal, featured, Gajan, Gajan festival, Gajan festival Bengal, Gajan in Bardhaman, Gajan in Burdhaman, Gajan in Kolkata, Gajan in Krishnadebpur, Gajan in Krishnadevpur, Gajan in West Bengal, kolkata photographers in gajan Photograph #1: The street skit showing the dance of Lord Shiva. (Gajan | www. anirbansaha. com) A tale of belief: Gajan and Charak. - Anirban Saha & Sourav Halder, Krishnadebpur’ 2014. Read the Bengali translation by Tomoghno Saraswati here. A temple courtyard full of people watching performers depicting Gods. I had this wide eyed young boy beside me, who would smile at me and say, “You will stay till tomorrow evening, right? ” A sect of the performers included the super believers, who would pierce their bodies, play and dance around with fire to please their God. The boy hid behind me, when his father came to thrash him, drunken... The boy perhaps had spent his only ten rupees note to buy us a bottle of Limca, and save the “Prasad” for me and Sourav, while we photographed the festival. Today I share a story of belief, of trust and of relationship. Gajan festival or Gajan is a folk festival. Observed during the end of the Bengali calendar, this festival is celebrated mainly in the rural parts of Bengal (West Bengal). The most accepted story of Gajan relates to the conversion of the Buddhist monks to Hinduism. It gradually transformed into a festival of Lord Shiva – the God of Gods (as they said, “Deb’er deb – MohaDeb”). In rural Bengal, there are few places known for its Gajan celebrations. One of them is Kurmun in Bardhaman district, while the other is Krishnadebpur. We visited Krishnadebpur from Kalna. When we reached Krishnadebpur, the local people directed us to “Mondir Tola” (also known as “Kali tola”), which is the Temple courtyard. They were preparing for the street plays. The preparation includes painting their faces to imitate different Gods and Goddess to enact short street skits. The skits depict mythological stories moulded to suit the folk lore. Photograph #2: Preparation and face painting. Other enactments during the day time include mimicry acts. While I was taking photographs of the make-up artists painting the performers face, a very young child told me to go to the bamboo forest where the “Kali” was being made. He meant – a man was being dressed as Goddess Kali – or the Hindu war Goddess. He was painted in black and decorated with yellow, red and white. That’s the variety of Goddess Kali you will find worshipped in cremation grounds. Photograph #3 : Preparation of Kali - the Goddess. I continued interacting with the child and soon we became friends. He was quite gregarious and his dark wide eyes stood out from the rest of the kids in the area. We were engrossed in his several interesting stories that ranged from Gajan festival to his dance performance or the way he comes first in this academics. After a brief break at his home, we continued with the skits. The skits include folk lore patches of stories of Shiva and Parvati, Goddess Durga and of Lord Krishna. Incidentally, Gajan folk lore has Lord Shiva getting married to Hara Kali this time. So we had the Shiva dancing with different other Gods and Goddesses of which there were Lord Krishna and Fairies. It ended with Maa Kali standing up on Lord Shiva. Other skits also include the story of Goddess Durga. Photograph #4: Expression of Kali when worshipped. Photograph #5 : Young Krishna during the street play. Ronit, the child, took us around the place and to places where we would not have thought of going. He asked us to stay back in his home and experience Gajan at night. The event at the night included all of these and acts / sacrifices that would invoke fear in one’s mind and heart. Ronit stayed with us all the while, guiding us, helping us and at times when he got frightened, he sat on my lap. Photograph #6: Depiction of Goddess Durga in the street skit. Photograph #7 : The play with fire - the eternal life giver and destroyer. Photograph #8 : Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati rests with the rest of the world while the performers perform. Photographs #9, #10, #11: The play of fire. There were these fire games and games that invoked fear. For a city bred lad like me, it is impossible for me to think of piercing my abdomen with iron rods and lighting it on fire. Forget about dancing with it! All in the name of God, simply trusting in Him. The chief priest recited mantras and asked them to believe in them. We had performances where the performers inserted rods, played with edged knives and weapons cutting and slicing themselves. The weirdest of them is – Bandha Kali, or the burnt Kali (War Godess). It was a man dressed in Kali’s attire, with piercing across his body, painted red and black. I believe he had sliced himself at places as well. I’m not sure. He was high on either Mantra or liquor, whichever you might find convenient to assume or believe. He (She) was tied to ropes controlled by a couple of strong men, apparently trying their best to control her vigour and anger. With the Bandha Kali approaching, the crowd broke into randomness and ran for cover. In the rush, I could not photograph him. The next day we photographed Charak. You can easily Google and know what Charak is. What struck me are the customs there. Not that I was not well acquainted with, but to see it right in front of me, was slightly tough. I had gathered enough strength to see it with open eyes and shoot. Now the weird feeling is gone. Pasting 5 photographs of Charak festival. There are two kinds of devotees primarily. One who pierce their lips and ears with iron rods and does a victory lap across the field. The other section, pierce their back with hooks. They are hung by the hooks to the Charak Tree (Where the Lord Shiva is instilled) and swung. If you are a faint hearted person, it is not recommended for you. Photograph #12 : One of the priests look up at a photographer, just before the Charak Puja. Photograph #13 : The priest gets ready with the second iron rod to pierce into the lips of the boys, while I photograph him. Photograph #14 : Another devotee gets pierced while the crowd behind cheer. Apologies, after this photograph, I did not photograph. I'm sorry. Photograph #15 : Another devotee gets ready to have his back pierced. The entire experience has been overwhelming. The hospitality of the people at Krishnadebpur had been heart wrenching, the rituals unbelievably superb, the simple people there cheered at the lamest of jokes and mimicry, while the performances gave me goosebumps! My experience in Krishnadebpur has been incredibly enriching! The very idea of being in a place where people flock together to enjoy in a small temple complex, a place where photographers from the city are not treated as an outsider, fills me with joy. This is undoubtably an experience I would cherish all through. The young boy – Ronit, took us to his home, fed us with whatever little his mother could manage for us. We slept there, content at dawn. Trusting unknown boys with so much confidence and innocence, I was there awe struck. After we had left, his mother sent 4 boiled eggs through Ronit so that we dont starve for lunch. Later Ronit and Chottu, his other friend accompanied us to the station and were with us till we boarded the train. Such love, such innocence. It felt incredibly special and I will take this a long way in my life. I surely did see tears welling up in Ronit's eyes while we were leaving. My heart seemed heavier after that. But light at the same time, it was a mix of feelings that I was experiencing. A feeling worth cherishing, something that would stay with me, perhaps for the rest of my life. All the good and the bad co-exist in the society. All the good and all the bad co-exist in side us, in our hearts and mind. We prefer to see the good, feel the good, feel blessed and cherish whatever little we have got acknowledging the presence of the Supreme Almighty. All in good faith, all in good belief. --- - Published: 2014-03-30 - Modified: 2016-04-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/basic-photography-workshop-at-loreto-college-kolkata/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Events, Students Connect - Tags: basic photography workshop, Basic photography workshop at Loreto College, Basic photography workshop in Kolkata, kolkata, Social media workshop in Kolkata I was invited to conduct a "Two days Basic Photography and Social Media workshop" in Loreto College, Kolkata. On the first day (22nd March 2014) I spoke about basic framing of a photograph, importance of framing giving relevant examples. In the social media side - I spoke about my own story and how my blog helped me transform myself and meet more people. On the second day (29th March 2014) we proceeded with the basic variables in photography and the rest of the schedule was filled with activities. Personally speaking, this experience was very fulfilling and I loved interacting with the students there. The students were enthusiastic and creative. I will paste some of the student's feedback I got in the previous blog post: Ashmita Nandy wrote, It was an amazing experience. Since i personally love photography, some of the things like placing of the subject and the play of light and shade was really fruitful to me. The best part was that you kept up the interest of the girls till the very end. Sneha Ganguly commented, With a feeble idea of it being an amazing thing,we stepped in and truly so,I loved it! It might sound flattery but this was my first such 'Interactive' session in which I could actually interact and have so much fun! From your candid tips to a panorama of your mesmerizing pictures that kept me jaw-dropped,our funny oral answers to your encouraging us to participate more,it was an amazing time having you with us. Shemanti Ghosh: I loved all of your works, specially the light painting. That was something new and amazing! :) And the most interesting part was that it was an interactive session where we got to ask questions and clarify certain things! Subhadrika : The presentation was really good. and yes you could connect and capture the attention of 36 students even after their college hours. On a more serious note, the basics which you shared with us will remain with us forever. The take on social media was very good. we had actually not thought in these lines before. so it was enriching for us. Mohini Gurung: Both the sessions were really interesting, specially today's - when we were given to do activities and accidentally I captured some pictures that I loved and thank you for explaining the reasons why I got them that way. Let the monsoon come and I'm surely going to shoot the lightning! All the best with that ! I remember I forgot to speak about the precautionary measures! During the activity: I gave them 3 flower vases and 1 sand clock for them to photograph. All I had to do was to explain to them the concepts. After a couple of minutes, the students started with their own arrangements, working out with the light, thermocol and black chart papers. Many of them used compact cameras without the manual mode, few started with their DSLR's yesterday. They were very prompt in taking the concepts up. As a teacher / instructor, nothing can be as fulfilling. It is good to see academic institutions having photography clubs, media society and organising workshops, where they not only focus on photography but also social media behaviour. A big Kudos to them ! Previously when I went to Pratt Memorial School, the teacher asked me to tell them about taking up photography as a full time career. I could hardly speak on it. I spoke about maintaining dignity in approach and passion in work and that everything else will fall in place. In Frank Anthony Public School, the Vice Principal was so supportive. In Loreto College, the teacher and the students were very warm, I got introduced to "New Media in Journalism". I learn a lot doing these. I learn a lot helping people around. I love it when they smile. As I mentioned in my page "Journey so far", this is the most fulfilling part of my life so far. Looking forward to few more Institute visits this year. I'll end this post with a photograph. It was shot during the workshop. The arrangement was done by a student. Do leave for me your honest feedback :) Thank you. --- - Published: 2014-03-24 - Modified: 2014-04-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/arunita-barui-charcoal-painting-social-media-me/ - Categories: Social Media and Me - Tags: anurita barui, anurita barui charcoal sketch, anurita barui painting, creative men selfies, indian men selfies, men selfies, social media and me, wet men selfies I've always thought of sharing my social media stories with my friends. But never did I share, for various reasons. Social media helped me with basic English language, speaking and presentation abilities, different speeches and workshops in Kolkata, Modelling in Sananda magazine, etc. Social media has gifted me feelings and memories to cherish ... but what I am sharing right now, is an incredible feeling. Caption: Water. Medium: Charcoal. Artist: Arunita Barui. Inspiration: Selfies by Anirban Saha. It feels incredible to present to you, a charcoal sketch by Arunita Barui. She is an incredible artist and she is a signed artist of Soul Vibes Records. I have come across her through Sayon and Debatma who are integral part of SVR. She is a friend of friend and I haven't met her yet. When I was trying out selfies (self shot portraits), she dropped me a message and asked for one of the photographs. I did not know how to react, but it felt good and I had sent her the three photographs which I collaged into the profile picture. She is an incredible and choosy artist. I was surprised when she said, she does not generally sketch men because she finds them boring. I knew if she would actually do it, it would turn out to be something cherish-able. But this is beyond words and expressions. Incredible, outstanding, I don't know what to say. Sharing with you - the original: What I am feeling right now is an inexplicable feeling. I will carry this with me for a long time and might speak about such extraordinary person, artist and the sketch to my grand children ! More of Arunita Barui's work: This shows the city of Kolkata, with all its British era buildings, the ambassador Taxis's. . the Tram and the hand pulled rickshaw. And this is what she drew in protest of the rising rapes in the country: If you find this incredible, share this on every social media platform you are in. --- - Published: 2014-03-22 - Modified: 2016-04-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/seminar-at-loreto-college-kolkata/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Events, Random notes, Students Connect - Tags: basic photography workshop, kolkata, Loreto College, Photography meetup in Kolkata, Photography workshop in Kolkata, social media meetup in Kolkata, Social media workshop in Kolkata I was invited to Loreto College to have 2 sessions on basic photography and social media. That came to me as a surprise, specially because I knew no one from the college. The chief coordinator (President of the club) knew me from my blog. Kolkata is supposed to be very reluctant about social media awareness and we do not see too many women photographers during regular photowalks. For definitive reasons, yes. So, this invitation happened to be really special and important for me. Call it a coincidence but a senior student of the same institute, who had no clue about my invitation, messaged me over Facebook inquiring me about my experiences with Calcutta Walks. She landed on my blog after having searched the internet. I talked at length with her and invited her to the seminar. So today, there I was, half prepared to take a seminar/workshop on basic photography and social media. This was my first college visit, 4th institute visit and 5th MeetUp (basic photography workshop). It is for the second time I spoke about social media at a considerable length. I should own up, I was a little apprehensive at the start. I know about the engineering ecosystem and the school's environment. This is a reputed and strict girls' college that has subjects of English honours (so my English was subjected to direct scrutiny) and Media (so my sense of presentation too, should be under scrutiny). I should also acknowledge the fact that the teacher coordinator and the student coordinator were being extremely warm in their reception and slowly, my apprehension faded and gave way to confidence as numerous students pouring into the auditorium. Slowly they started speaking, introducing themselves, raising hands, answering questions, putting forward views, contradicting, so a natural tendency to support views slowly came to the front. With everyone of the 36 students actively interacting it was an incredible experience being in Loreto College. I am not sure, how much they enjoyed. I shall wait for their feedback. It will be interesting to see if all the 36 get back the next Saturday. While speaking, I surprised myself. Yes, for the first time I spoke about my stammering problem in my school days and that I hardly interacted with people. My idea of "Good photographs and Better photographs" was accepted. This is the biggest take away of the day. I wish everyone to chant this, like a mantra. Surprising enough was that I completed the entire thing in stipulated time. That is definitely unlike me. I wish for an honest feedback from them. That will help me do better next time. Like I told them, this was my fifth, I wish for five thousand more. So you know where I stand now. I will update this space with a photograph, with student's feedback and more of my experiences next week. I enjoy interacting with younger people. I feel fresh and I have always mentioned, this is the most fulfilling work I have ever done. I smile with their smiles. --- - Published: 2014-03-21 - Modified: 2014-03-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/some-other-photographs/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Black and White, Colours, Esplanade, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Lake Garden, Photography, Portraits, Season, Selfies, Spring, Street Photography, Winter - Tags: chaa er dokan, chai pe charcha, creative men selfies, earthen cup tea, football in kolkata, Football is life, Ganga ghaat kolkata, Hare Krishna, indian male selfies, Kolkata ghaats, kolkata tea stalls, local tea stall, Lord Krishna, men selfies, old buildings, Radhe Krishna, Victoria memorial, winter morning Well, I am down with weak health. I did best of what I could have done, go through my old photographs and I discovered, I did not upload few photographs to my blog. I'll do so right now and perhaps write a bit of the day's experiences as well. This was shot when Apurba Panigrahi wanted to meet me. He is a junior from my college. One day when he wished me good morning, as was the tradition of the college, I noticed he had a good voice. Then I looked at him. He had an impressive bodily presence with a very good voice. I made him the anchor for the next college event. B| Well, shot near the ghaat of the river ganges, this struck me. The Gods are often left alone, thrown away and neglected as soon as the worship is done and the festival over. The one's who can not value their own Gods, how will they value their own peers and the world around? I wonder. Shot this on the Christmas morning. This person can not walk properly, but always makes it a point to attend the free hand exercise and yoga classes. He hi5's the instructor towards the end of the session. The morning sip of tea: Shot near the Dhakuria lake, these kids were playing football even when it was almost impossible to see through! Hats off. Shot near 6 AM. Shot with the MeetUp group, the last day of Koustav in Kolkata. Koustav is my college junior and a person who has been with me for a long time, listening to me bullshit, taking care of me when I was ill. . taking me around and always being with me. A silent support, now that he is gone, I miss him. :3 Two random shots that day: And two self shot photographs of myself. Well, I could not continue with the selfie thing. But will get with it as soon as I find some time for myself apart from my office and the event I am trying to organise in Kolkata. Let me know how the photographs are :) Honest opinions please. If you find them good, please do share the link on your Facebook / Google+ profiles. --- - Published: 2014-03-14 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/boshonto-utshob-kolkata-jorasanko-thakur-bari-2014/ - Categories: Basanta Utsav, Colours, Culture, Exclusive, Explore Kolkata, Festival, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Portraits, Rabindranath Tagore, Season, Spring, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: basant utsav, Basant Utsav kolkata, basanta utsav, basanta utsav in jorasanko, basanta utsav in Kolkata, basanta utsav in thakur bari, Basantosav in shantiniketan, Bashanto utsav, boshonto utsav, Dol in Kolkata, featured, holi in bengal, holi in kolkata, holi photographs Information: Boshonto Utshob 2018 celebration in Jorasanko Thakur Bari is scheduled on ____. ----- Like most other Bengali children, I got introduced to Rabindranath Tagore at quite an early age. As a child, I never did really understand him, but loved humming the tunes, at times accompanied by my mother or my grandmother. Gradually with time, the enthusiasm faded until I came across the first low in my life. Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore’s composed music) helped me survive. Since then, I have been listening to recorded Rabindra Sangeet and improving my Bengali skills to read Tagore in Bengali. After I got recruited to Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, I got myself admitted to Dakshinee music school. I loved the entire time with Saikat da and Shekhar Kaku. Later I seeked tutorage under Sounak Chattopadhyay.   Holi is celebrated as “Boshonto Utshob” in Shantiniketan. In Kolkata, Boshonto Utshob is celebrated in Rabindra Bharati University and a place in Golf Green (South Kolkata). Students of the university, perform Tagore’s songs and dance (Rabindra sangeet and Rabindra nritya) and it is a spectacle every year for all Tagore lovers. In Shantiniketan, traditionally it starts early in the morning with “Ore Grihobashi, khol dwar khol ... laglo je Dol. ” And continues with the other songs he composed for the season of spring. It ends with “Rangiye diye jaao, jaao go ebar jaabar aage... ”. The students and the visitors gang up in groups and the party continues with more music not restricted to Tagore any more. Groups, singing and dancing mixing with the wonderful background and the serenity Shantiniketan provides, it’s a treat for Tagore lovers, music lovers and yes, photographers.   This year for the first time, I made my way to Jorasanko Thakur bari for Boshonto Utshob. For me, it was heaven. It is the ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore. The house in itself is a phenomenon, Tagore’s statue, Rabindra Sangeet and the performances and the entire Boshonto Utshob was like a dream combination for me. We also had non Rabindrasangeet performances by the students, based on Indian classical Raagas and pure instrumentals. Saimantick and Siddharth went along with me. While Siddharth disappeared, Saimantick stood there statue like awe struck by the instrumental music performance. I believe he had a great time, and I am looking forward to his blog post. It started at near 3:45 PM, and as is the tradition, they started with “Orre Grihabasi”, with the student dancers forming the queue and dancing all the way around the field to the middle of the field where the singers were already seated and singing. One after the other music and dance performances followed. “Nil Digante, oi phooler aagun laaglo”, “Orre bhai, phaagun legeche bon’e bon’e”, “Aaji Dokhin duwar khola”, “Jhoro jhoro jhoro jhoro jhore ronger jhorna”, “Ora okaron’e e chonchol. . ” with some Indian classical music, Nazrul geeti, pure instrumental performances and one Shruti natok. It ended with “Aaj Khela bhaangar khela” and the euphoric crowd burst into celebrations greeting each other with colourful aabir. Some mad dance followed but was not stretched for long. Happiness is singing the songs while the performances are on... happiness is to photograph the girl who broke into laughter seeing me laugh at another photographer. Happiness is the sly smile the girl had when my kurta tore, and I embarrassingly asked her for a safety pin. Happiness is when Asha Hossain scolded me and made me travel by metro, all coloured in green and pink. Happiness is to see Saimantick shiver in sheer joy of having witnessed the Indian classical instrumental performance – Dotara, khol, matka, Tabla with Sarod. Happiness is when he messaged me at the night, “I am listening to your Guruji’s Aaji dokkhino duwar khola”. Happiness was to see the man dance having lost himself to the music, while playing his khol and at times, frantically running across the field singing by himself. Happiness is when the girl sprinkled a bit of colour on me from an arms distance just before the last song performance. Happiness is Boshonto Utshob. I had loved the experience and I am looking forward to more Holi experiences in Bengal. Did you like the photographs? Let me know if I have gone wrong somewhere, do suggest betterment in my photography. Or simply, share your holi story with me, leave a comment below :) --- - Published: 2014-03-02 - Modified: 2014-03-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/instawalk-with-national-geographic-channel-and-calcutta-walks/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, Street Photography - Tags: #NGMA2014, Calcutta Walks, history of north kolkata, Iftekhar Ahsan, Insta walk kolkata, instagram anirban saha, National Geographic Channel, north calcutta This blog post is about the National Geographic Channel Insta-Walk Kolkata, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy 2. I was short listed in the 20 selected by NatGeo, and I felt privileged. The best ever Saturday continued to have its effect on the Sunday morning and I loved the entire photo walk. More inspiring that anything / anyone else that I could have imagined to inspire me, was the guy from Calcutta walks. He has a complicated name, shortened to “Ifte”. He helps visitors tour and takes them through the heritage of the city and has been doing it for the last 7. 5 years. A former student of St. Xaviers, he is an avid reader and his passion exudes through his body language. When I approached him for a guest blog post on this site, I found out he does not like writing and has been refusing prominent English newspapers in Kolkata. Towards the end of this blog post, I will paste the contact details of Calcutta Walks, so that you guys, if interested, can get in touch with him. So, the photo walk: It started at 8 AM, Girish Park Metro station Gate #1. I met few people whom I have been friends with for a long time over Facebook. Met Shimul da after ages. I’ll try to remember every little detail that I can, while processing the photographs and I’ll share it with you. And as Ifte said, I should not write about the history or the facts but about my experience. Calcutta: The Black Town - The White town. The Central Avenue separates the City of Joy, Kolkata, into two parts. The southern part – areas adjoining the Maidan – St Paul’s Cathedral, the Raj Bhawan, the now GPO (previously Fort William), the present Dalhousie area were inhabited by the British or the Whites. While the original inhabitants were pushed towards the northern half. The locality became densely populated with narrower roads and buildings closely built to each other, often sharing the walls. That part of Kolkata used to be Sutanuti – one of the three villages that were developed to become the modern city of then Calcutta, now Kolkata. The modern roads were laid in 1930’s and often would we find structures in the middle of the streets. For example – The red temple near Sobhabazaar Sutanuti Metro station or the house of Girish Ghosh in North Kolkata. Calcutta was the second city to trade with the Americans. The first import from America being ice, in the late 1700’s. The Chatu Babu Lattu babu’s home that we often see near Manicktala was built by Rajdulal Deb. He is referred to first Bengali millionaire. He used to be the servant of the local landlord, not so far away. He had a keen interest in shipping and often conversed with the locals near the river Ganges, which too wasn’t far away. Once his landlord gave him about fifteen thousand rupees. He kept it with him and went near the river. That time there was a ship wreck and as was the custom those days, I am told, the articles recovered were being auctioned. Rajdulal Deb knew from his sources that those were non-perishable items. While the rest of the bidders were bidding for a thousand or two bucks, he bid all the money he had. Later when the Americans came to get the goods, he sold them back to the traders for a hundred and fifteen thousand rupees. The hundred thousand rupees was not accepted by the landlord who asked Rajdulal to keep it with him, as he was too smart to remain a servant to him. Rajdulal thus became a millionaire and then a business man. He set up his business and was one of the most influential men in Indo-American trade. Bottle neck as you might refer him as, he had a ship named after him. While he was known to be a very enterprising man and for making money, his sons – Chatu babu and Lattu babu were well known to waste money. Later Ananda deb, re united the entire family and formed a trust. PS: Rajdulal's accountant has a street named after him now. Now you know how influential they were. I had never visited the lanes of Sutanuti and now that I have seen it once, I’ll again make my way to it. There is this lane which houses different houses of different architecture – few native Bengali architecture while the opposite house has double arched Italian architecture. Fascinating. Ifte, the guide showed us different remains of the old sewage pipes which has “Glasgow” engraved on it. While a lot of raw materials were shipped outside India to support the Industrial revolution, they did not have much to give us back. They made finished articles and sold them back to us. The pipes were however used in the ship to balance the weight of the ship. Another new thing that I learnt was the use of the Lions symbol. I had often wondered why exactly Lions were used as the British Empires’ symbol. It was a concept from India and they were used to invoke fear among the Indians and establish their dominion. The British put big lion’s statues on the British Government buildings, the first being the modern day Governor’s house. All families loyal to the British had put lions up on their door. However at first the British soldiers did not like the idea and used to knock the lion statues down. The Indian families used to put up a new one. The British did break that again and it was like a game till the point in time when the British soldiers were made to believe that the Indian families were putting up smaller lions, less fierce compared to that of the British. Ifte spoke about the Sobhabazaar Rajbari but most of it was already known to me. What I did not know was there was this Mayor's court behind the Rajbaari. Any case involving the people of the black town was settled in the court presided by the Sobhabazaar Raja. If it in any way involved the British, they were taken to the court of the White Town. Sobhabazaar Raajbari - the one we know as the seat of the Company Pujo, was the centre of Fun and Frolic... I’ll write no more. I’ll paste for you few snapshots taken during the Insta-Walk and for the first time, I’ll go public with my Instagram URL. Click on the instagram icon I pasted just above. Well, do follow me at Instagram, knowing fully well, I am not at all good with the mobile camera and Instagram for me meant only my niece or my closest of friends. It is for the first time I will be mass uploading photographs on my Instagram. I square framed all, as we were supposed to upload to Instagram and share it via Facebook and Twitter. Do one thing, go to Instagram and show some love, Oh yes, Contact details of Ifte: Walking Tours Pvt Ltd, Phone number: 9830184030 Email ID: explore@calcuttawalks. com Do leave for me, your honest reviews of the photographs and yes, if you find any flaw in my write up please let me know. If you like this article, forget not to Like or share this in all social media platforms available. Loads of good wishes, Anirban. --- - Published: 2014-02-27 - Modified: 2014-03-09 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/3-things-about-sachin-that-inspire-me/ - Categories: Events, Uncategorized - Tags: anirban saha, Aviva Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Bloggers from Kolkata, Kolkata bloggers, Sourav Ghosh I am not really a cricket fanatic. My knowledge of Sachin is limited to the links people posted when he retired or the television interviews that he gave. Come on! It is impossible not to know Sachin, especially if you are an Indian. He is there on the field, off the field, on television, posters, banners ... heads and hearts. Sachin is like a pulse that keeps a person living and breathing. At the Aviva Bloggers Meet, Kolkata, I was going through the videos of Sachin and his association with Aviva and the promotionals. Incredible! I said to myself. Never saw him speaking about his children and plans of making Arjun - a cricketer or his daughter to become a doctor. That is what his children wants. Right now I am the mama of a beautiful 1. 5 year old niece, soon I'll be a father myself. How do we plan to support our children's dreams? That was the discussion at the blogger's meet. I think of Sachin, what a personality. There are few things to learn from him. That inspires me to become someone remotely as close as Sachin and no, I don't play cricket. . First is his sustained commitment to hard work and his passion. His sense of perfection in cricket, one might say. But look at the character he has made of himself! When the entire world was criticising him and debating whether the God of cricket should continue playing in the Indian 11, he stayed calm and more than that - focussed. He never spoke a word which might hurt the team spirit or something against a team member or any person. He led a dignified career, with even his bestest of opponents respecting him. Such is the dignity. And today I watched him speak, so humbly. The other side of the cricketer's life. I watched him speaking at his farewell. Such humility. Something we should all learn from. Three things that inspire me about Sachin - sustained commitment to hard work, sense of dignity and humility. Way to go. You can check the latest promotional of Aviva here. This video has struck me and I am left contemplating. ================================================================== Update: 09. 03. 2014 This was a blog post as an entry to the speed blogging contest at The #Aviva Kolkata Bloggers Meet. We had 15 minutes to conceptualise, write and publish our article about 3 things of Sachin that inspires us. The grand winner got a life size cricket bat autographed by Sachin Tendulkar. 3 writers gor honorary mention, me being one. Pasting two of my photographs there. Photographs courtesy: Aviva India. --- - Published: 2014-02-25 - Modified: 2014-02-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bloggers-of-kolkata/ - Categories: Events, Kolkata Bloggers Meet, Uncategorized - Tags: Bengali Bloggers, Bloggers from Kolkata, Blogging workshop, Kolkata blogger workshop, Kolkata bloggers, kolkata bloggers meet, Kolkata blogging, search bloggers from Kolkata, Search bloggers in Kolkata So, another new Facebook page for Bloggers? That is definitely not the intent. The wish is to do something substantial and spread awareness. It might get reduced to just another page if the bloggers from Kolkata refuse to be a part of it. This page has a slightly better purpose. Kolkata blogging so far has not been a lovely story. While cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore have marched ahead in alternative ways of brand promotion - Blogger engagement programmes, Kolkata has hardly any visibility. And no, I am not the first one to say this. We had people saying this. We had people organising small meetups and workshops for the same. Kolkata Bloggers Meet in 2009 and 2011 was organised by Webreps, to bring Kolkata on the map. A Bloggers workshop - BCET Bloggers workshop was organised in Bengal College of Engineering and Technology in 2009. Even then, not enough heat was produced. Does Kolkata lack good writers ? Definitely no. Kolkata / Bengalis even today produces the finest of writers. Are they not tech savvy? The statistics does not show it. Do they not wish to express themselves? Oh wait ! Go to the nearest paarar chaa-er dokan, they'll tell you how less interest Kolkatans have in expressing themselves. Then why not? While interacting with many people in the last one week, I found young people fanning various misconceptions regarding blogging, and perhaps one big question they have in mind - How do we do it? A certain section asks - Why do we do it? I ask Why not? I won't ask you to blog to earn money. I wont say - be popular being a blogger. I would say - Just for the sake of expressing, Blog ! Keeping the fame and the money aside, Blogging injects into you a certain sense of accountability, sincerity and more than any thing else - humility, it helps you grow as a person, developing your presentation skills and understanding how your viewer reacts to you and your opinions. Blog to reflect yourself as a person, blog to create a brand of yourself, blog to create an on line version of yourself. Broaden the horizon, reach to a bigger audience. Blog ! What is the aim of this page? - The primary aim of this page is to connect to the bloggers from Kolkata and stay connected. - If the response is good, we proceed further. - We aim to use this page as a tool to enhance the individual blogger's audience base. --> How? If you connect to us, we automate your blog posts to our page. Each time you post a blog, it appears on our page's timeline and reaches to our audience. Considering your audience to be different from ours, you reach to a bigger audience. - A single database of Kolkata bloggers is required. Regular tips sharing, showcasing of blogs, offline Bloggers meet or simple events like Blogging workshops will only help bloggers learn and better themselves. - We require to blog about Bengal. We require to blog about Kolkata. We require to blog about our society, our perspectives. We require to showcase Bengal with all its glory, all its might. This will only make the Brand Bengal. We, the people of this beautiful place. . we the people of this beautiful state . . We are the ones who can speak good, make good, build Brand Bengal and a better Bengal. - We are not aiming to be as big as Indiblogger or Blogadda any time soon. Our aim is to meet in person, discuss, exchange ideas and work together. You blog about what you want to blog about and we share it by our page. To me, it does not sound a bad step to take. How to sign up? Message your blog link and your contact details to our page. Simple. And one of our coordinators will connect to you. ~ A note to the student who is reading this ~ If you are a student reading this : A blog can groom your essay writing skills, your debating skills, your speaking skills and yes - your presentation! Trust me. If you want I am willing to go to your school or college to speak about blogging, what blogging might do to you and my experiences. Graphics design: Roudra Mitra. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts. Help Kolkata Bloggers spread. . wear the Badge#1 Copy the code: --- - Published: 2014-02-22 - Modified: 2016-08-08 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-sri-lankan-buddhist-monk-in-kolkata/ - Categories: College Street, Colours, Culture, Guest Posts, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography - Tags: Buddhist Monastery, Buddhist monk, Buddhist temple, Buddhists in Kolkata, Lord Buddha, Mahabodhi society of India, residence of Buddhists in Kolkata, Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk While strolling on the streets of College street today, we stopped at the "Maha Bodhi Society of India" Buddhist temple and wished to photograph it. Any one who knows me, knows it very well - I love visiting religious places and catching hold of any relifious guru there and converse, be it Parasnath temple or Jama Masjid. At times when I am agitated, I found solace in the Cathedral church or at times on the top floor of the Nakhoda mosque. But this was a new experience. Came across a Buddhist monk. We talked. My agitation made way to a subtle smile and I returned home peaceful. He wished to meet us again before he left Kolkata for Delhi and invited us to Sri Lanka, his home place. Achira Dasgupta has more for you. He said, “I love India. I want to die here. ” We were standing outside a heavy mahogany door. The nameplate beside it had caught my eye. The name of the society brought back faint memories of me entering a Buddhist monastery in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh holding my brother’s hand. But then, this was College Street in Kolkata on an almost-busy Saturday morning and that had been 13 years ago. The reality check brought a smile on my face. I took a step forward. I pushed the door open and entered. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the banana-yellow building in the heart of Kolkata to be housing this! The long, wood-panelled hall was illuminated on one side by dipped lights reflecting off life-size golden statue of Lord Buddha and his disciples. At the other end, streamed in the diffused early morning light through a glass panel overlooking College Street. The two sources of light, merged with seamless ease, the warmth and mellowness reflecting on our faces, providing a near-perfect setting for what awaited us. Moths flew around Lord Buddha’s head in the murals telling us his story, the disturbed early life, his renunciation of it all and of course, the Nirvana. The oxblood-red velvet carpet underneath our feet felt comfortable. I stood there right in the middle of the room, enthralled, until my friends started complaining. I sank back into the carpet looking forward to moments of self-thought. But, what as was intriguing me the most? I wondered. Buddhist monastery is not new to me. I realised, it was not the grandeur of a Buddhist monastery... I had toured enough to expect this. It was the silence that pervaded the room like a living entity, the silence that engulfed us with every step we took - the silence that spoke. I could not catch neither our muffled footsteps, the familiar whispers of friends nor the slow stirrings of life on a winter morning in Kolkata – the silence was proving too strong for me. At first sight, the hall seemed empty. But on a second look, I could discern a hint of saffron amidst the red and the gold. On inching closer found the monk of the temple reading his prayer book to himself. Anirban approached him and asked him to tell us a bit about the monastery in Kolkata. He smiled. We realised, he did not understand the Bengali we spoke while approaching him. While Anirban struck the conversation, we went near him and sat down at his feet. His eyes seemed exceptionally bright for a mortal but the warm smile that greeted us started the conversation! The prayer book on his hand had a cover that could explain nothing to us. On asking him, he said that the prayer book is in Sinhala (Sri Lanka’s national language), his mother tongue. With each passing moment, we were only getting familiar. The language neither hindered the communication nor his enthusiasm to interact. He was 52, had his base at a little Buddhist ashram in Sri Lanka. He has travelled extensively in India, almost 16 states. This temple came to existence in 1920, one of the later ones by the society and he is here for the last 15 days, another stop in his grand tour across India. He was interested to know about us, his shy friendliness making us interact more inquisitively. Few questions had no answers from him except for a smile. He narrated the story of his Guru and how his mother language is similar to that of Sanskrit. He spoke about Lumbini and how exquisite its monasteries are. He spoke extensively about the different monasteries in Nepal and Himachal Pradesh. He said he loves India and would like to breath his last here. “Did the youth of India state in India approach you for talks? ” – Yes they did. A Delhi youth, Jain by birth, with ‘lots of riches’ had approached him with his problem. We did not ask him about the solution he had offered him but got to know that the boy was on the verge of being converted to Buddhism! On being asked whether he interacts with the locals in the states he visits he laughed with us! He actually tours Hindu temples in each state and speaks with the people he comes across. I found myself smiling as I imagined him speaking to the people in the Indian streets, recording their experiences, embodying in him their brush with the divine. What mattered most was his reticence on speaking about his preferred religion or the need to get us enrolled in the world consensus of Buddhist population. He listened to understand. For us it was therapy in the mildest of possible ways and I could have sworn that the air-conditioned clinics in the city grills could not have offered us more or better. As we rose to leave, he sprang to his feet and said “Let me bless you all, my children. ” The energy in the little man was infectious; we could not help following him blindly. As we sat down at his feet again, this time facing the golden statues we felt the silence ensconcing us once more... and then he began to chant. The slow rhythmical strings of words swirled around us like vapour, making us dizzy, we were bowing our heads in unison to divine power, terrible and beautiful, the power which we know not... the power which radiated from his offering to his Lord. By the time he had finished chanting what he called “the good luck sutra” we were almost numb, wallowing in our own senses. When we had entered this quaint little room we had imagined ourselves to be mortals blessed with souls whole and unimpaired. But the last lap made us realise that as he had given, this god man has taken more. He has taken away the blemishes, replenished the souls that had come to him expecting nothing but were taking away a lesson for their lives. Post written by : Achira Dasgupta She is a second year English honours graduate student in Basanti Devi College, Kolkata. I was overwhelmed by her knowledge and her expressions, the first time I interacted with her. An extremely light hearted girl, anyone would love to work with, I wish her grand professional success in the near future. Look out for more of her posts in this blog ! --- - Published: 2014-02-17 - Modified: 2014-02-18 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/men-selfies/ - Categories: Colours, Photography, Portraits, Selfies - Tags: editing selfies, how to shoot men selfies, indian male selfies, indian men selfies, koustav ghosh, koustav gohsh, male selfies, men selfies, Saikat Chakraborty, Saimantick Bhadra, Selfies, shooting selfies, Tanu Nejagal selfie: Pronunciation:/ˈsɛlfi a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. Well, deprived of Facebook Profile pictures for myself, I decided to try selfies. Like. A. Boss! But then again, I thought how can I add value to the entire ecosystem of people taking selfies? Well, while I am still yet to fiddle with that, I Googled about "Men selfies" and "Themes for male selfies". Let us not discuss the first few Google results on this blog. :P The world today requires a set of good, err - socially viewable and publishable set of men's selfies on a sort of popular website. I do not know how much of my time I shall be able to devote to this. But I will definitely try. I tried shooting myself in 2011, when the word "selfie" did not appear in the Oxford dictionary. And those were weirdly amateurish. This time, I want to make it good, better than previous ones (that goes beyond saying) and at times, intentionally stupid. Many of my friends tried selfie's. Of them, the most recognised is Tanu Nejagal of Delhi. She is real good at this. My close friend - Koustav also tried it. I'll share with you, few photographs. If you have shot selfies and want to share your work, do leave a comment with the link to your selfie. My First trials to selfies: Saikat's selfies: Koustav Ghosh's selfies: Well, the most enthisiastic group of selfie lovers are the young brigade. Not many kids whom I am close to are fascinated by selfies. Of the few, I'll paste few of their selfies. Saimantick Bhadra, Prayas Nag, Arghya Roy: If you have liked these, Share with us, the selfie you have shot ! Leave a comment here. --- - Published: 2014-02-16 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chandannagar-trip-2/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Photography, Portraits, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Chandannagar This trip followed one week after the first. This time it was my college's classmate - Prashasti's marriage. I am better friends with Prayas (her brother) and his friends. They all are fascinated by photography. It was great being there. Got warm welcome being "Model of Sananda". Embarrassing, well it was. I found people of my age and few of my taste. I wish Prashasti all the happy married life. God bless. Here are some photographs of the streets of Chandannagar plus one from the wedding. Special thanks to Avik, who drove me around the place. I shot in whatever little time I got. He also made me meet his friends and we had a good time. I wish to be there again some time soon photographying the streets. A lot left to discover. --- - Published: 2014-02-12 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tabbed-comments-for-wordpress-sites/ - Categories: Random notes, Uncategorized - Tags: alternate comments, browsing through tabs, facebook comments for wordpress blogs, facebook comments on wordpress, google+ comments for wordpress, Tabbed comment box for wordpress, tabbed comments Few weeks back, I have changed the way you can comment on my blog and have been sharing the idea. It got appreciated and now I am sharing the code. Based on the feedback, I might release a WordPress plugin for the same. Please go through, share your honest opinions, brain storm. This will only make it better. I could have used Disqus or some other popular commenting system. But I made a custom one because: 1. Most of my viewers are redirected from Facebook or Google+. There is a high probability that even when someone is directed by Google search, the viewer might be signed in to Google. 2. We do not require to use a third party application. Not many people like using them. To an extremely new internet user, this might seem confusing as well. I need to mention - not many are well versed and comfortable with the internet. Most (more than 96%) of my viewers are from India. 3. Based on their choice of commenting, I would like them to stay connected to me. If they are comfortable with Facebook, just before the space where they can type their comment, I require to place the Facebook like button. Same with Google+. If it is the default system, they have option for the RSS feed. 4. Even if the user is not signed in to any service, they have an option to sign in to Yahoo or AOL or Hotmail to comment. 5. I was not able to place it as desired. I am not attaching screenshots to explain the same. You can check the comment box below this post. How can you use the code? For a non technical blogger, this might be slightly confusing. But let me try my best. Step #1: Open a notepad. Copy the code and paste it to the notepad. Check the code and replace few text with links. You can use Ctrl+F as a shortcut. Step #2: Replace "YOUR_BRAND_NAME" with the name you use for your promotion. It can be the name of your blog or the name of the product or service you are promoting. You might as well put in your name. You need to replace it at two places. Step #3: Replace "YOUR_PAGE_LINK_HERE" with your Facebook page link. Step #4: Replace "YOUR_GOOGLE+_LINK_HERE" with your Google+ profile link. Step #5: Log in to your site. Go to Dashboard > Appearance > Editor. Be careful while you are editing the code. On the right hand side towards the end of the list, you will see "Single Post (single. php)". Click on that. Ctrl+F and check where you find "" . . Copy the code from your notepad and paste it right above the Step #6: Scroll down, click on "Update File" button. Return to Dashboard. - I guess that shall be it. If you like the idea / the tabbed comment box, please do leave for me a comment. If you use this and face difficulties, please let me know. --- - Published: 2014-02-07 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chandannagar-with-country-roots/ - Categories: Colours, Events, Explore Bengal, Model Shoot, Photography, Photography Events, Portraits, State, Street Photography, travel, West Bengal - Tags: Agnimirh Basu, Aishwarya Das, Basu Dev Aich, sayon kumar saha For the last few weeks, apart from my office, I am either resting at home or scribbling on my diary pages. I did not like any of the scribbles and tore the pages. I required a break. Break came to me in the form of a picnic, organised by someone I look up to - Agnimirh Basu, Delhi based fashion photographer. I had always wanted to meet him. I missed his workshop in 2012 (December 2). His humility motivates me. Sayon told me of this picnic. Basu Dev Aich uncle is also associated with him. Any one who knows me closely knows how Basudev uncle's criticism helped me grow as a person and photographer. So ... this picnic ! And Whoa ! It was some experience. Agnimirh Basu rightly said, we all start with the streets. They give us the concepts of light and of action. Our aptitude is built in this phase. There can be a fusion of fashion photography and of the streets. This was one attempt to execute one of his experiments. He promoted the event as "Street photography, People photography, Model photography". Showcasing to you few of the day's photographs. Came across many new people. Met Prayas and his friend Avik. Notable among the new people I met was Neline Mondal. She is a scientist by profession and historian by passion. French by birth, but she has lived half her life in the French remains of Chandannagar. She took us around, showing places and relating stories, how John of Arc used to face the church gate before independence to how the museum was renovated in front of her eyes. How job securities of a handful few let Chandannagar not become an union territory but was made an integral part of West Bengal. They seemed incredible. I am looking forward to more such picnics organised by Agnimirh da. Please leave for me honest reviews. This is for the first time, I tried heavy editing on (model) photographs. Well, these are the first published shots of my wide lens as well. I will frequent the town more often now. --- - Published: 2014-01-26 - Modified: 2016-04-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/workshop-the-frank-anthony-public-school/ - Categories: Basic photography workshop Kolkata, Events, Random notes, Students Connect, Testimonials and Best wishes - Tags: basic photography workshop, basics of photography, beginner photography workshop, photography workshop in schools, photography workshops in schools, school photography workshop, school photography workshop kolkata, school photography workshops in Kolkata, the frank, the frank anthony public school, workshop This was my third school visit after St. Pauls’ Mission School and Pratt Memorial School. People who know me, knows I have many young friends and how they light my life. I enjoy being with them. It was the fourth “Meetup” I conducted. I shall write about this in my blog. This episode of my life is special. I was invited to conduct a workshop in The Frank Anthony Public School in the capacity of a“Photographer – blogger”. Earlier I spoke to young people as either a photographer or as a blogger. The photography club of the school which is yet not established, the workshop was its first event and was attended by 73 people from class 5 to class 11. Now that I know how classes 9 to 12 behave, I was worried how to present myself in front of extreme young people. But trust me, 8-9 students of class 5 – 8 were so good and responded/interacted so well. For the first time, I made a power point presentation to explain the points. I kept a separate module for social media behaviour. I stressed on few points of community learning, sharing whatever little we learn. I asked them to connect to photographers from Kolkata or people whom they can approach to take help from. Special thanks to Arghya. He is a class 9 student of Calcutta Boys’ School. Of the “approachable” people I mentioned in the presentation, I mentioned Soumya Shankar Ghoshal, Subinoy Das and Lopamudra Talukdar. I thank them for allowing me to use 2 photographs from their collection. I am not sharing the presentation here as I believe the time is not ripe for this. May be sometime later. I feel blessed. Looking forward to more school visits, (if they invite me. ). Sharing Arghya Roy’s experience. I have attended many workshops. But never became a kind of a mentor of a workshop. I didn’t even know what it was to be a mentor. When I went to Frank Anthony Public School today in the morning, I still thought myself to be a student who was attending a workshop. To be honest, I was a bit shy at first, but I started to open up as soon as Anirban da introduced me to the students. This was actually the first time that I was interacting with so many people and it felt good. I mean it felt REALLY good. It made me feel happy when I helped them with their problems. And something that I honestly learned was that, I should start making better ppt’s, and the more I help someone the more knowledge I’ll gain. I will obviously try to stay connected with them and help them whenever in the future with whatever little knowledge I have in photography... . I also got some good response about my helping styles... . and I am really happy about it... I thank Anirban Da for making me comfortable in interacting with people, making me and my work a bit famous and again for the experience. Tejas Chandak (Class 10) was one of the first to update his status. Sharing it with you: Attended my first MEETUP/Workshop with Anirban Da. A great guy, down to earth, brings the element of fun in learning and above all a very approachable person. Helped me learn a lot about the science behind the lens. Skills were developed. New concepts were built. All in all, an enlightening experience! Looking forward to more of these learning sessions. But after my ICSE examinations. Indeed, the motto of this workshop is very apt. Enjoyed. Learnt. Shot. Siddhartha Ghosh (the president of the newly formed club) writes for this blog, 70 odd students, despite all barriers, which includes the junior sports and the tension of the upcoming examinations made it to the school for the first photography workshop to have ever been held in school. Nothing stopped these enthusiastic students. And this enthusiasm was there till the very end of this MEETUP. The difference between a teacher and a scholar is that a teacher is approachable, which is apparently the virtue people look for. Interacting with the audience the very moment he got onto to the stage, Anirban Saha had cleared the air the very first time someone called him "sir". He said "Please don’t call me sir. Call me Dada / Bhaiya / Da (elder brother)”. With him he had Arghya Roy, a student of Calcutta Boy’s School. He started off with the very basic question "Why do you click photos? ”. The unique thing about this workshop was that the students who turned up for it were from the classes’ five to ten. I personally cannot imagine taking up photography at the age of 10 (class five) and there in front of me were kids who not only turned up for it, but were actively interacting with Dada. The workshop was probably the best thing we (the founders of the club) could have possibly organised for the club. The feedback was humongous. A number of students contacted me on Facebook and whatsapp asking about future workshops and telling me how they had enjoyed themselves. A number of new people wanted to join. That is the charisma Anirban Saha has. As the president of this club I look forward to many such workshops with Dada. We are also looking forward to a photo walk somewhere in the month April. This club looks forward to a lot of interaction with him and the kind of person that he is, we know he will always make time for such future endeavours. --- - Published: 2014-01-17 - Modified: 2020-02-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tusu-parab-festival-purulia/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Exclusive, Festival, Guest Posts, Photography, Purulia, Season, State, Travel, Tusu Parab, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: Averi Saha, makar sankranti, makar sankranti in purulia, purulia, tribal culture, Tribal festivals, Tusu deity, tusu gaan, Tusu goddess, Tusu parab, Tusu parob, টুসু গান, টুসু পরব, টুসু পার্বণ, তুসু উৎসব, তুসু গান, তুসু পরব (বাংলায় পড়ার জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করে।) (इसे हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहां क्लिक करें) The Tusu festival ( also known as Tusu Parab or Tusu Parob or Tusu Puja ) is a tribal festival in rural Bengal. It is celebrated in districts of Purulia, Bankura and Midnapur. The key features of the entire one month of celebrations are the Tusu songs which are folk music, the food and the fair. It ends on Makar Sankranti, with the immersion of Tusu structures. I witnessed the last day in Deulighata, Purulia. I was accompanying Averi for her paper. It is a pleasure having her write for my blog. Getting out of the folds of ‘patisapta’, 2014 had ushered in the most unconventional Poush Sankranti I had ever spent in my life. In the company of two young, enthusiastic photographers, I was all excitement and anticipation as we headed for Deulghata, the site of Tusu bhasan, on the cold, cloudy, wintry morning of January 14th. I must confess that I had ignorantly travelled to Purulia with the intention of witnessing some of the rituals of the month-long Tusu puja. It was disappointing to know that Makar Sankranti marks the culmination of the festivities with the immersion of the Tusu choudala in the river Konsaboti. Even more frustrating was the knowledge that the tradition of worshipping Tusu through out the month of Poush has become obsolete! Perhaps there is no way how we can balance modernization with tradition. One has to make way for the other. However, there was adequate recompense. The Tusu bhasan was a spectacle to behold. All that one can think of while remembering the bhasan is colours. The brightly decorated choudalas, the gorgeously dressed ladies, the dandy spectators—all added that dash of colour to the festivities which brightened up even the coldest and the cloudiest day of the season. The choudalas are wooden and bamboo frames decorated with colour papers, dolls and other artifices and considered an embodiment of the deity. It is a women’s festival and the choudalas are made at homes by chaste virgins (need to know how that is ascertained) or alternately sold at the local hats or markets. After the ‘punya snan’ or the holy bath in the morning, women and girls proceed in groups towards the river with the Tusu and singing Tusu songs. By noon, the riverbank is thronged with Tusunis (the girl/ woman who carries the Tusu), the gazers, the food peddlars, the stalls selling various wares, microphones blaring Tusu gaan and the urban photographers jostling for that perfect frame. As the girls splash through calf-deep waters, the boys, cheer, jeer and leer too, but mind you, its devoid of any malign intention, merely responding to the primary forces of life. I was told, however, that situations sometimes tend to get chaotic and out of hand. Variously worshipped as daughter, friend, confidante (sokhi), Tusu is more a member of the household, a domestic figure than a deity. Legend has it that Tusu or Tusumani sacrificed her life for love, be it for her husband or love for her people. Hence, as ladies immerse the Tusu, they pray for loving husbands and lasting fidelity. This provide the young men with occassion to present themselves as prospective eligible suitors and thus the festival turns to one of match-making and mirth, the boys spotting and teasing girls that may end in a fight or a witty repartee. Tusu is also a harvest festival marked with all the usual associations of fertility. It is a major festival among the tribes inhabiting the lower regions of the Chhota Nagpur Plateau and widely celebrated in Purulia , Birbhum and Bankura districts in West Bengal; in Ranchi in Jharkhand and in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts in Odisha. As the day drew to an end with fewer and fewer immersions around 3pm in the afternoon, young boys and girls could still be seen lingering on, picnic parties winding up, folk returning to their villages and the umbra of holiday fading into the penumbra of life and business. With two more days to go for the full moon, the ‘orbed maiden’ was already shining bright in a by-now-clear sky and I breathed a silent promise to revisit the land of Tusu , this time to welcome her on Agrahayan Sankranti. Souvik Chatterjee shared with us one of the folksong, "Ja Ja Tusu Ja Ja Lo Dekha Gechhe Tor Pirit Lo Tor Pirite Mon Maane Na Boli Tor Pirite Agun Jole Na... " Translated : "Go Tusu go, We have seen your love, my heart is not convinced by your love, no fire is ignited by your love". Post written by :  Averi Saha Professor, Department of English, Sushil Kar College, Calcutta University. Has an interest in the Folk culture of Bengal. It is my privilege to have helped her visit Tusu Parab and provide her with assistance and photographs. Looking forward to more work with her. --- - Published: 2013-12-28 - Modified: 2014-06-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/stood-there/ - Categories: Black and White, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, Random notes, Street Photography It came, because it had to. It left, because it wished to. I am, because I want to. Simple, statued calm and helpless. Life,. --- - Published: 2013-12-26 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-christmas-2013-photographs/ - Categories: Bow Barracks, Christmas, Colours, Culture, Dalhousie, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Street Photography, Park Street, Photography, Portraits, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: Christmas photographs kolkata, Kolkata Christmas, Kolkata Christmas carnival Pasting few photographs in this blog post. Shot at Bow Barracks, this is the kid Kaif whom I mentioned in my last blog post. Park street. Shot at Park street. Shot at Victoria Memorial. The father greets the visitor at St. Andrews' Church, Kolkata. --- - Published: 2013-12-26 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-christmas-carnival-and-my-experience-2013/ - Categories: Bow Barracks, Christmas, Culture, Dalhousie, Episodes of my Life, Esplanade, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Park Street, Random notes, Season, State, West Bengal, Winter, Wrap up - Tags: christmas, kolkata, Kolkata christmas photographs, merry christmas I've a lot to say. Let me try organising my thoughts. 24th evening till 25th December midnight - was some crazy time. Not as crazy as my Maha-Kumbh experience, but just next to it. And now, what was so crazy? I was in my office, worked the entire time from 11:30 AM till 4:30 PM, without break. . My eyes were paining, and the team was celebrating Christmas. A little bit of work after that and I left the office at 6:20 PM. Caught hold of a cab and made my way to Bow Barracks. Met Soumya Shankar Ghoshal and his friends. There, Santa Claus came at near 7:15 PM. The Santa Claus came on a Hand Pulled Rickshaw, distributed gifts to children. I couldn't get a "Photograph" and am content with just a snapshot. The "photographer"s there pushed the children back (for whom this was all arranged) to take photographs. I had a long talk with Soumya da after a long time. Tried getting back home, but somewhere deep down - did not feel like coming back home. Went back to Bow Barracks, when the "photographers" were not around, played with few kids. Followed one kid, whose name is Kaif. He wanted to go for a ride and I was so okay with it, then he wanted a toy. . and I became a Santa Claus (Without costume), gifted few balloons to children around. It felt SO GOOD! But somewhere I felt, spending the night alone is not a good idea. There I met a photographer Shanu Ghosh (and he photographs good) who thought me to be a local boy. Had exchange of words and views. . and we both decided to photograph the entire night. We started walking from Bow Barracks to Esplanade to Park Street. Went to CCD. Then rushed to the St Paul's Cathedral (again walking), Shanu da had press card. I did not. (Although he did not show to the security), and I walked in with my attitude, like a BOSS and no one stopped me. (Thank Almighty for it. The queue to enter the church was a kilometre long I believe. ). While Shanu da got happily lost photographying around, I knew I can not manage anything more than just Cliches. I spend the time seeing the church service. But somewhere there, I fell sleep. Woke up after an hour and discovered that the church was shutting itself. Went in, talked to the father. Came out. Knew that I am alone. Was telling God, "Get me someone who will keep walking and talking. ". Well, I saw someone like Venugopal Menon. He came right in front of me... and I was like "Ve-nu--Gopal? ". Well. . Had tea with him and the 6 other children whom he was talking to. Started walking from the church, kept on listening to Venu ji. He asked me to run away from home, state to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. Then possibly one year tour in European cities. I was like - YES. Was on one of the footpaths of Park Street near the Tea Junction, sitting and listening to Venu ji. I told God, "I want some one to listen to him as well. More people please. Good things should not be taken alone, we should share it... send someone. ". And Damn! ! moments after, Shanu da came from the left, spotted me. I was more than happy to welcome him and make him sit beside me. Near Park street Fly over. Near 4:30 am. I don't know what struck us, we started walking towards Maidan again. We listened to Venu ji. We sang. Had tea. We listened to Venu ji. We sang. We photographed. We had tea again. And woah! we reach Victoria at 5:15 am. All these while we were listening to Venu ji and sang and photographed, time flew. Tried to take photographs of the misty maidan at 5:30 am. . Took our time out to visit Victoria after the sun rise. Was lecturing a brother and sister, when I realised Koustav, Achira and Aishwarya were supposed to meet me at 7:30 am. Went out. We visited St. James's Church, Mother House, St. Andrews' Church and then St. John's Church. I need to speak about the St. Andrews Church. For the first time I attended one Christmas sermon. It felt so divine. I sang the hymns, remembered my school, Mr Rodricks. I had goosebumps. I was all emotional at the Lord's prayer. I have no words to explain that. I miss my school and the morning prayers. I miss the assembly. I miss the celebrations. :'( Maidan, Shot at 5:40 am. I loved these kids. There were awesome and very friendly. I got back home at 1:30 PM. Went out again with Sayan, then met Shilpa di, Sumantro, Asmita and Pradipta da. Had fun! Shanu da met me for the first time and I promise must be abusing me inside his mind. I did not let him go back home and my arguments were like - "Bari phire ke kon din boro hoyeche? " "Biye toh koroni, baari giye ki hobe? " "Snan kore ke kon din boro hoyeche? " . . Unconditional and public apologies to him. I was extremely childish and stupid. I'll leave you with few photographs. PS: It was interesting to see how the Santa Claus in Bow Barracks came on a hand pulled Rickshaw. It was ironic how people wore the BIG spects and had selfies. Hardly did they notice, the beggar who was freezing to its death came in the frame. The kids with the BMW car - were so innocent, I want my childhood back. Sayan is so innocent as well. The needy in front of the mother house, yes Christmas it is. Shot at St. John's Church, Kolkata. Shot at St. James' Church, Kolkata. Shot at St. Paul's Cathedral Church, Kolkata. Shot at St John's Church and at Mother's house. At Mother's house, Kolkata. Auto awesomeness by Google+ :D Shot at St. Andrews' Church.   --- - Published: 2013-12-24 - Modified: 2013-12-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-photography-photowalks/ - Categories: Black and White, Burrabazar, Colours, Esplanade, Kalighat, Kolkata Street Photography, Long exposures, Mullick Ghat, Nakhoda Mosque, Photography, Photographying a Friend, Portraits, Street Photography - Tags: Aishwarya Das, amartya saha, anirban chatterjee, arya chakraborty, horse, ishan singh, kalighat, kolkata street photography, kolkata weekend shoots, koustav gohsh, maidan, morning photowalks, profile picture business, rimbik das, Rishav Saha, sourav halder, sun rise, winter morning, zishan asad Well, gone are the days when I found time to write THIS big blog posts. . these days, I do not even get much time neither to photograph nor to edit, forget about writing blog posts. However, I did go out . . 2 days, with Ishan Singh, Rishav Saha, Arya, Koustav, Zishan, Aishwarya, Sourav Halder, Anirban Chatterjee, Rimbik and few other friends from "The Meetup Group - Photography Discussions (Amateur)". This group is 1 year old now and the dynamics are so fast changing. Newer ideas are brought on the table. If not innovative, they are a bunch of free spirited and hard working individuals. What makes it special - let me speak a bit about them. . Ishan is a fashion technology student. If I am allowed to use the Hindi term, I would use - Mastikhor for him. Rishav is KIIT CSE 2nd year student, with a fantastic ability to remember. Personally speaking, he needs to improve upon his framing but when it comes to craziness, he can beat me black and blue. Arya is a class 11 student of Calcutta Boys' School. I love his photographs. Koustav needs no introduction in my blog. He now works as a web developer in Kolkata. Zishan is a Bio-chemistry student doing his masters/PhD. Aishwarya is 4th year student of Computer Science Engineering and a "no-nonsense" girl. Hard working? Hell yeah. Sourav Halder is a quiet boy, class 12 La Martiniere for Boys, Anirban (Chatterjee) is a Chartered Accountant. Rimbik is a multimedia student at Xaviers' Kolkata. Riti moton Chyablami arr phajlami beshi hoye, khawa dawa hoye. . photography takes a back seat. Let me not get into the other members. The photographs published here are obviously not of the groups, but of my own. What are the places travelled? Nakhoda Masjid, Trams :P places near Mallick Ghat, Kalighat. The colours are still attracting me, I tried few "Frame within a frame" but terribly failed. Did not shoot many people's profile pictures :P , had lots of Mutton chaap and Rumali roti at Royals' Hotel. Some kids are a must in my photographs. Without them finding a reason to smile gets tough. And some cliche, yet heart wrenching moments. And some moments that sends a chill down your spine... . or perhaps when you see people finding some time and conversing with their peers, you stop sipping your tea and get a bite from there... or perhaps when life becomes slightly mundane... while the old buildings and the remains of the colossal past might just leave your contemplative, the new dawn is always there... I will leave you with one of the Howrah bridge photographs I took from one of the terraces. Not the best of its kind, but the feel of having seen it from the top - I can not express in words... . oh yes, I shot few Facebook profile pictures as well. . sharing them here. Did I just forget to show you the pigeon photograph shot at Amartya Saha's terrace? Check this, if you like these stuff, "Like" the Facebook page and stay updated! --- - Published: 2013-11-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-street-photography/ - Categories: Black and White, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, Portraits, Street Photography - Tags: black and white, kolkata, kolkata street photography, street photography You can view more of Kolkata Street Photography. The website is not yet fully updated. The indexing is still on. --- - Published: 2013-11-29 - Modified: 2013-11-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mallick-ghat-flower-market/ - Categories: Colours, Kolkata Street Photography, Mullick Ghat, Photography, Street Photography - Tags: flower market, kolkata, kolkata street photography, mallick ghat, mullick ghat Spent some time at the Mullick ghat flower market, near Burrabazaar Kolkata. This is a whole sale flower market. I am not sure, this might be the biggest flower market in Asia. It is found on the long stretch of the road. The main chunk of it lies in front of the Armenian Ghat and the Howrah Bridge. --- - Published: 2013-11-26 - Modified: 2013-11-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nakhoda-masjid/ - Categories: Burrabazar, Colours, Kolkata Street Photography, Nakhoda Mosque, Photography, Random notes, Street Photography - Tags: Bara masjid, burrabazar, islam, kolkata, kolkata mosque, largest mosque, Masjid, moque, muslim, Nakhoda, nakhoda masjid, Nakoda, nakoda masjid, nakoda mosque Few more moments from Nakhoda mosque. --- - Published: 2013-11-25 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/children-by-the-streets/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Esplanade, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Mullick Ghat, Photography, Portraits, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: B B D Bag, black and white, children, Dalhousie, football in kolkata, in kolkata, kolkata, kolkata mornings, mullick ghat, poor people in kolkata, smoke, street photography, under privileged people Not this. If not all the comfort of the world, give them their learning time, their time to love and this . Shot: 24. 11. 2013 I generally refrain from photographying destitute street side children. People accuse me of finding glamour in street photograpy. To be true, I have made a separate world for myself, where I make myself believe all is fine with this entire world at large, no bad can ever happen. But for a moment, let me come out of that world to face reality. I see a 6 year old boy fanning the coal oven, emerging out of the smoke the burning coal made. He smiles and is happy, for he does that for his father who makes him sit in the peanut shop. He recieves no schooling, and he believes all is fine with the world he lives in, no bad can ever happen. I saw the infant, naked on streets. The other siblings skinny and barely dressed. The auto drivers beside in their own world thinking everything is fine in their world, happy. Then I see few children finding one alley near the Armenian ghaat, and managing to play football there. They smile. They are happy in their own world. No bad can ever happen to them. So thinks the coconut seller, while deep down worrying about the next day's daily earning. The girl who smiles, with her sibling on her lap makes sure she smiles. Some one was just smiling at her and shot for her a photograph. They are not labours, not trafficked. They work for their parents, who in their role is happily ignorant. For a moment, I feel it is not just Kolkata, perhaps the rest of India. . then I feel, why at all in Kolkata? Is it not the place for the know-all intellectuals? That makes me sad. I get back to the world I have created for myself, where I make myself believe all is fine with this entire world at large, no bad can ever happen. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last year pointed at the growing rates of child labour in West Bengal, and asked for families to be put under the ambit of labour laws. You can check TOI's 2013 report. Shot: 17 March 2012 Shot: 13 April 2012 Date: 26 August 2011 --- - Published: 2013-11-22 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/hiraeth/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Black and White, Guest Posts, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Personal, Photography, Random notes, Street Photography - Tags: anirban, anirban bobo dasgupta, anirban dasgupta, hiraeth, J.R.R. Tolkien, kolkata, street photography “Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate And though I oft have passed them by A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun. ” ― J. R. R. Tolkien The outstretched arms of the guardian angels. The fleeting moments that linger in the memories. The crash courses in intimate conversations. The songs that we loved and lived by. The casualties of priorities and decisions. The games of rhyme and reason that played us. What would you take with you if you had to walk away from all that was familiar? All that was yours? All that you have ever known? It is hard to say, I guess. Sometimes, it’s just you and the quiet little voices inside your head. The voices that inspire and conspire in equal measure. The confusion that ensue, amalgamated with the fear associated with the lullabies of the lonesome road to be taken ahead. A yellowish page from the age old Wallace Stevens book reads “I do not know which to prefer, the beauty of inflections, or the beauty of innuendos. The blackbird whistling or just after. ” You agree. Not particularly because you want to, but because you don’t know any better. As for me, I would prefer the silence. The silence that follows the reverberation of cacophony, the sillage of a faded place in faraway times, the demise of a dear one. The journey must go on, with the tired sunsets and tired people just passing you by. A stanza of lyrics from the ever-wise Gautam Chattopadhayay peeps in. But the heart has reasons that reasons cant know. Mr. Blaise Pascal was bang on. The hiraeth, hence, goes on. A homesickness for a home that exist only in your memories, the yearning to belong to the lost places of your past. Although futile, it brings out the innate romance that we all seek and few of us ever find. P. S. The ‘You’ and ‘I’ mentioned above are just other versions of ‘Me’ and ‘You’ respectively. Post written by : Anirban Dasgupta A person whom, I messaged at Facebook, only to ask him to call at my home (mom) and ask her to open the door, because I am late from office, and was waiting outside my apartment's main gate. Primarily because I was too lazy to recharge my phone call balance by net banking. It was near 1:00 am. By now, you know he is a close friend. :) --- - Published: 2013-11-20 - Modified: 2013-11-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-camera/ - Categories: Events, Photography Events, Random notes, Reviews, Wrap up - Tags: 4 Elgin Road, Amitava Bhattacharya, Arka Dutta, Baitanik, CamEra, events, kolkata, Pot Maya, Saimantick Bhadra People who know me, knows that I easily fall in love with any initiative that promotes Kolkata or Bengal. One such is CamEra. I am not a part of this, but few of my friends are. Of late, I came to know about the initiative properly and now, I am blogging about it. The one who started this – Amitava Bhattacharya wanted to popularise our culture and promote photography. However, he had no fixed aim while starting this. This became a blessing as this entire initiative is evolving with time, as all the associates are developing with the experience. What started with “Our city, our angle” now focusses on Bengal and its Heritage, in its phase 2. Not that I complain. It started with 357 photographers photographing the city of Joy – Kolkata’s heritage and lifestyle. About 100 photographers exhibited their work. The photographs were exhibited openly on the streets, 20 different locations in Kolkata. Around 72000 footfalls were registered, feedback from over 3500 people and feedback from the judges shortlisted 30 photographers who are now exhibiting their work in 6 different galleries in Kolkata. Right now, the exhibition at Baitanik is on. Phew, a lot of information given. Now why am I blogging about it? First, this is a pro-Kolkata and pro-Bengal initiative. I believe I should, by all my means support it. I liked the way Amitava da displayed the photographs on the streets. This will help to bridge the gap between art forms and the general mass of the city. This has brought smiles to many, as Amitava da told, a rickshaw puller saw another photograph of a rickshaw puller and could easily connect to it. As a photographer, I can say it is always encouraging when your work is visible to a large number of people. The entire set of photographers were broken down to groups, each headed by a mentor. This is a novel idea. Kudos, to this thought. When I visited the exhibition at Baitanik (4 Elgin Road, Kolkata) I found many photographers who are 1-3 year experienced. It is a great learning opportunity for them to interact with their peers, few seniors and the mentor. It is an incredible platform created. The photograph exhibition is coupled with music performances from different parts of the state. The overall ambience thus created, I love. There is another connection to it. Of the 8 photographers exhibiting their work in Baitanik, I knew 3 people... Arka Dutta , Saimantick Bhadra and Miyanka Paul. Arka Dutta is one of my mentors, one of the first persons I met in Kolkata Weekend Shoots and he still continues to mentor me. Saimantick Bhadra is a brother from a different mother. Miyanka is an acquaintance from KWS. It’s incredible to see Saimantick brushing shoulders with Arka Dutta. I started discovering Bengal (travelling that is) while in college. I did not even have a camera that time. Later when I joined Sounak Chattopadhyay to learn Indian classical music, I came to know about how Bengal has contributed to it. While learning Rabindrasangeet, I also came to know about the different kinds of Bengali music that had often influenced Tagore in his composition. To see someone doing the same, and bringing in the youth is exhilarating. Kudos to the entire initiative. I find Saimantick finding interest in Bengal. What more can I ask for? Upcoming is Amitava da’s “Pot Maya 2013”. It is a Poto-Chitro (Handicraft) fair in Pingla, West Midnapur. It shall be coupled with workshops, Baul music, Jhumur dance, Ramlila, Chau dance and perhaps more. CamEra received a good media response, and Pot-Maya too shall be covered by DD National, as I am informed. I want more of the locals, people from Kolkata, MORE of my friends to join this. Please see: The exhibition at Baitanik is still on. Please drop in, if you find time. The address is “Shrimati Art Gallery, Baitanik, 4 Elgin Road Kolkata”. --- - Published: 2013-11-10 - Modified: 2013-11-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographying-a-friend-saimantick/ - Categories: Colours, Kalighat, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Photographying a Friend, Portraits - Tags: photographying a friend, Saimantick Bhadra Friend? Umm. . Kid. Primarily friends at Facebook, I have met him 4 times. I crack the stupidest of jokes with him. And the kind of person I am in front of him, not many people perceive me as. I treat him like a kid and that is it. But he happens to be one of the most proactive and energetic kids I have known in the last one year. Managing family and study pressure, he manages some time for photography. Takes time out and LEARNS. Learns and implements. And, that is perhaps why I love and respect him. A lot of people these days are less substance and more glitter. He is obviously glittery, you can not expect a 16 year old kid to behave like that of 35. He still has that big bad logo, which he pastes on every of his photographs. But he is improving. He is also one of the top photographers to be exhibited in CamEra. PS: These were shot to be Facebook Profile Pictures for him ;) Apparently, these photographs will not show his energy. Energy got drained out. I can really tire people. So perhaps a more energetic photo-shoot, some time soon. And I am sure, I will keep photographying this kid. --- - Published: 2013-10-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-spark-of-creativity-workshop/ - Categories: Culture, Entrepreneurship, Events, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Non Techie, Photography, Portraits - Tags: event, Headstart, ICCR, Nobel museum, Rabindranath, Startup Saturday Kolkata, The Spark of Creativity workshop, Tobias Degsell 26 October 2013, Kolkata: People braved the rain, dared the flood... made it to the workshop. The 'Spark of Creativity' Workshop organized by Startup Saturday Kolkata and Embassy of Sweden in partnership with Nobel Museum. The Nobel Museum curator Tobias Degsell, conducted the workshop. Snapshots of the same: About the 'Spark of Creativity' workshop: Our lives today are better because of the million things big and small created by people all over the globe. Whether its the typewriter, the U pin, sliced bread, the computer, stem cells and so on. But life does not stop there. The future will belong to those who will and consciously find ways and means to do better things, to create products, services that make life great for all. And contrary to the belief that innovation and creativity belong to the laboratory and to researchers, it is something that can be learned, developed and practiced. On an individual basis as well as corporate. It is possible to get better, by finding new ways, processes, or developing new products, not just by the R&D department but by anyone in the organization. Few take home points: 1. Be persistent. That is the main reason of success and key ingredient of creativity. 2. Trust yourself, to the levels of being disrespectful of others. Yes. You read that correct. 3. Communicate and Network. Extremely important. Be visible and audible. Be a part of the community. 4. Work for your dreams. --- - Published: 2013-10-24 - Modified: 2013-11-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/shadows/ - Categories: Black and White, Burrabazar, Guest Posts, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Street Photography - Tags: burrabazaar, concept street shoot, game, guest post, kolkata, light, rocking post, shadows, vitasta shah It happens once in a blue moon, this confluence of shadows. The shadows are everywhere. Around the corner, walking on endless roads, residing in homes, and unnoticed, they even linger in the quiet corners of souls. They are always around. Some days, it is said, they want to be felt. Of the darkness, they are drawn to the inexplicable shreds of utter and complete desolation in the human psyche. Tonight, is their night. Post written by : Vitasta Shah One of the persons who inspired me to read more of Hindi/Urdu works, Vitasta calls herself "Baavri". Often quirky, we share same social media vibe. Expressive the way she is, she blogs at http://baavri. blogspot. in/ . Happy to have her as a guest blogger in my blog. :) --- - Published: 2013-10-22 - Modified: 2013-10-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/test/ - Categories: Random notes test post again Google+ --- - Published: 2013-10-19 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/city-colours/ - Categories: College Street, Colours, Culture, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, snapshots, State, Street Photography, Travel, travel, West Bengal - Tags: college street', colours, fantastic colors, gully, kolkata, mahatma gandhi road, north kolkata, shobhabazar Date: 19. 10. 2013 When you are happy from within, you get not to ignore the littlest things that bring to you - a smile . . one such are Colours, the city has to offer ! Date: 24. 10. 2011 --- - Published: 2013-10-19 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nakhoda-masjid-2/ - Categories: Burrabazar, Colours, Culture, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Nakhoda Mosque, Photography, Random notes, snapshots, State, Street Photography, travel, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: Bara masjid, Eid, evening, Hari Menon, islam, kolkata, Masjid, mosque, muslim, Nakhoda, nakhoda masjid, Nakoda, nakoda masjid, nakoda mosque, prayers, red, Rimo Saha, Rishav Saha Nakhoda Masjid, Kolkata. October 13, 2013. My first photo walk (2010) with Kolkata Weekend Shoots, my first proper exposure to photography was here at Nakhoda Masjid. The place is calm and serene. It offers you space, feel and time to contemplate. The architecture in its glory and at the heart of Burrabazaar, if you love photographing people, you shall be amazed. During Eid, it hosts one of the grandest gathering in the eastern India. The people are very hospitable and helpful. A perfect start to photography. I wish to frequent this place and photograph more. Check more Nakhoda Masjid photographs. Click on this blue link. --- - Published: 2013-10-15 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/sindur-khela/ - Categories: Autumn, Baghbazar, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, Portraits, Season, snapshots, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: bengali festival, bengalis, dashami, durga puja, durga puja 2013, kolkata, last day, red, sindur khela, vermillion The tenth and the last day of Durga Puja - Dashami. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-10-15 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bidding-adieu/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, snapshots - Tags: best, bhasan, durga puja, kolkata, relisious festival, top photographs Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-10-14 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nabami-aarati-at-sobhabazar-rajbari/ - Categories: Autumn, Baghbazar, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Portraits, Season, snapshots, State, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: best durga puja, durga puja, durga puja 2013, kolkata, kolkata palace, sobhabazar raj bari These photographs were taken in Sobhabazar Rajbari, 13. 10. 2013. It was a privilege to be let inside by a family member. She was kind and graceful. It was very nice interacting with her. With me I had Hari Menon, Sayon, Rishav, Soupayan and Susmita. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-10-12 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/durga-puja-2013-the-way-it-is/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, snapshots, State, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: durga puja 2013, kolkata, maa durga, Nivedita Saha, Salt Lake FD block, Samya karpha Decking the Goddess with her ornaments. Shot at Samya Karpha's home... and gifting to her the weapons. Arati on Sashti. Shot at Nivedita's home. Their Puja is near 150 years old. Below photographs shot at Salt Lake FD Block. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-10-07 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-the-two-celebrations/ - Categories: Autumn, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Explore Bengal, Explore Kolkata, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Portraits, Random notes, Season, snapshots, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: dandiya, durga mandap, durga puja, durga puja 2013, garba, gujarat, harshit mehta, kids, kolkata, kumartuli, navratri, puja preparations . . I am back with a personal post again. Yesterday Arya (Chakraborty) came to my place after his tuitions, camera with him and his new prime lens. Now that he is an incredible kid, I did not want to be lazy. I dragged myself out of my home with a camera. Later yester-evening I joined Harshit in their Garba celebrations. If you do not know about Garba / Navratri celebrations, please Google. Before you proceed any further, please be informed : I was awestruck by the Navratri celebrations. This was the first time I went to such an occasion. I could hardly photograph. It took me time to sink in the feelings, the colours and yes - the energy. Next time I go, I promise you better photographs. I bring to you few photographs of the two celebrations - The all inclusive city of Joy Kolkata's gearing up for the Durga Puja and the Navratri celebrations of a section of the Gujarati community in Kolkata. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-09-27 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kumartuli-2013-1/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Photography, Street Photography - Tags: anirban saha, durga idol making, durga maa, durga pratima, durga puja, durga puja 2013, kolkata, kumartuli, kumartuli photography, kumartuli pics, meetup group, The Meetup Group . . and the cliche, 3 hours 3 weeks Kumartuli. Showcasing few of the shots. If you are a publishing house watching this and want to use this or pass any assignment to me, connect to me at +91 99030 55542. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook Did this as an assignment with "The Meetup Group": "Puja Preparations" for MaaMatiManush. tv. An overview of the assignment: This group of photo-enthusiasts evolved from Facebook discussions I had with few school students. Today it is 40+ strong with a majority from class 10 - 12 and their close friends. Passion for photography, not disregarding our schedules and without loud promotion - that's "The Meetup Group". Meetup Group: https://www. facebook. com/groups/300597076725838/ MaaMatiManush - Digital Bengali Global Adda : http://www. maamatimanush. tv/ --- - Published: 2013-09-07 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/taking-tagore-forward/ - Categories: Culture, Long exposures, Non Techie, Photography, Rabindranath Tagore, Random notes, State, West Bengal - Tags: dakshinee, experiments with rabindrasangeet, rabindranath tagore, saikat sengupta, shekhar gupta, sounak chattopadhyay, Tagore, tagore quotes, tagore translation, taking tagore forward The first question - why am I writing this? One of you readers might just question my eligibility to comment on how to take Tagore forward, even without reading the full of the article. And perhaps, here lies the seed of all the problems. Why can we not let loose, relax and let people love Tagore? We have all grown up in our own way. We all have developed a thought process that makes us perceive one idea in our own ways. And that is perhaps how we all perceive that one little idea. It might have 10 different interpretations to 10 different people... And so does Rabindranath Tagore find different interpretations, newer forms in this present generation. How many of us have heard this statement - “This generation children do not like Rabindranath Tagore”? We just cannot complain that this generation is not inclined towards Tagore. Most of them are. I belong to this generation. I am inclined towards Tagore and wish to read more of him. The question is – are they getting the right amount of motivation and mentoring? If they wish to take a step forward, will their surrounding be supportive enough? Most of my friends, cannot even read Bengali properly. When I decided to learn Rabindrasangeet from Dakshinee, many of them supported me. Few of them wanted to listen from me and at times asked for translation. Even I started reading Tagore in Bengali from late 2011... inspired and motivated by Shekhar Gupta. And perhaps, there lies a significant difference between inclination and practising orthodoxy. One might just wish to stick to the note arrangement of the swara-bitan, one might just wish to twist few of its notes to suit his ways. One might just wish to do away with the Harmonium and play one Rabindrasangeet of his choice sitting in a dark room with his acoustic guitar. Or like my music teacher does – write Bandish and sing them along with his chosen Rabindrasangeet. What I would look forward to, in any rendition... Are the audience enjoying it? Are the powerful lyrics prominent, clearly heard, understood or comprehended? Are the lyrics relevant to the audience? Personally speaking, I liked A R Rahman’s “Jagao mere desh” which is a translation of the Bengali poem – “Chitto jetha bhoye shunyo” (Where the mind is without fear). I have liked Q’s “Tasher desh’s” music tracks. I have liked many such fusions. But not all fusions are as good. As one of my friend Agnivo Niyogi points out, “The lyrics must not be lost in the heavy music. ” A class 12 child Pushpak points out, “I would obviously not like a Rabindrasangeet being transformed into a skrillex or metal version. ” I would be disheartened if anyone wishes to surpass the essence of Tagore ie his lyrics and play foul with it. Like Sounak Chattopadhyay says, "If they want to show they calibre let them do before or after the song. I love Rabindrasangeet. I am classically trained. This does not mean, I will twist and include into the words unnecessary ornamentations. I can do that very well and people will hear it when I sing one Indian classical song. " There had been many “experiments” which I did not like. But why do we need to necessarily restrict them? Is Tagore not universal? Is Tagore not of all? Tagore is as much as theirs as he is mine. Let us present Tagore our way. If people can connect to it, they connect to Tagore. That is the ultimate aim, right? We need to shred inhibitions, take Tagore out of the shelves and make him available to the mass. While in a discussion, Agnivo said, “... we should not take Tagore to the level of pedestrians”, in one of the interviews the principal of Dakshinee once said, “Tagore should not be available to every Tom Dick and Harry. ” Agnivo and Shekhar Gupta, both hate popular Bollywood singers or singers of other genres singing Rabindrasangeet with broken accent. They feel Tagore is cheaply commercialised for a short term goal. I’ll share my story. From childhood, I knew there was a Tagore and my grandmother is a huge fan of his work. She used to sing his songs / quote him in numerous occasions and I used to look at her amazed wondering her capability to remember. Tagore lived in her veins. But with her death and my increasing pressure of school studies, Tagore got restricted to the translated verses in my syllabus. And I hated it. I had to understand, comprehend a lot, at times exactly the way my teacher wanted me to comprehend and explain it, or else they gave less marks. My objective was to get marks then. Later when I bought computer, I downloaded and borrowed pirated Rabindrasangeet music files to stay in the good books of my father. Weird, yes. So when did I get interested? It was the film “Aalo”, suggested by my Bengali tuition teacher. Later, during 150th birthday celebration there was a rush of musicians trying to do something with Tagore music. I started following and collecting different fusions. I never were a fan of loud music, so most of the experiments I collected, I could follow the lyrics properly. Slowly, I started listening to the old recordings. Call it a coincidence, I got to hear “Dibosho rojoni ami jeno tar ashaye ashaye thaaki”, at a time when it seemed so relevant and I could connect to it. Later inspired by Rituparno Ghosh’s “Gaaner Opare”. My decision to join Dakshinee was enlightening. And now I am a student of Sounak Chattopadhyay... . and I should admit, I am in love with Tagore’s work and I do read his work in Bengali. Little and late, yes. But I do. So what led me to Tagore? My grandmother? Saikat Sengupta (first a colleague and then my teacher in Dakshinee)? Rituparno Ghosh, whose films I admire the most? Sounak Chattopadhyay, who is more like an elder brother to me? Or the rush of fusions and experiments that happened with Tagore music? Perhaps all. Experiments should continue. Popular singers should also sing. I am a very general person, hailing from an extremely humble and middle class background. I am still one of the “Tom Dick or Harry, a pedestrian” as Agnivo mentions. If I get inspired, a lot like me will get to feel Tagore. We all, whatever we know of him, however we know of him... let us shred inhibition, present Tagore our own way. People, younger people who love us, will start knowing, appreciating and loving Tagore. Who knows, we will have more like me writing and urging their friends to know Tagore. Tagore is relevant. He is relevant to this generation as he was a 100 years back. He shall be relevant for the next multiple centuries and as long as the human race survives on earth. He speaks of nature and of human emotions. He is eternal. Shall leave you with three videos. Check them if you have time. NDTV: Amor Tagore - Tagore in Spain NDTV: Tagore reloaded - Tagore music experiments . . and A R Rahman's "Jagao mere Desh" --- - Published: 2013-07-12 - Modified: 2013-11-30 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-fading-bengali-childhood/ - Categories: Kolkata Street Photography, North Kolkata, Photography, Random notes, Rath Yatra, Street Photography - Tags: bengali, iskon, raath, rath, rath yatra\, yatra' Ankur was so fascinated by the little wooden structures that were sold by the street side. He wished for one, his father obliged the day before the Rath. A mere 150 rupees hardly made a difference to him. His son wanted that, that was enough for him to stop his car by the side of the street and get him one. That evening, Ankur went to his mother who was equally tired as his dad, after an entire day’s work in her bank. Hushed away, Ankur made way to his grandmother’s room. The grandmother looked at Ankur with delight. An uncanny smile lit her face up. She tried to get up from her bed. She held the railing of her bed, stretched her back and held her head up. The smile was still there on her face. She gestured Ankur to come near her. Ankur jumped up on the bed, made some space beside his grandmother. She planted a kiss on his forehead, and inquired where he got the “Rath” from. Ankur never knew what that is. He was too afraid to ask his dad. His eyes glazed. He asked, “Thakuma what is a rath? ” “The Rath is the vehicle by which Lord Jagannath travels to his Mashi’s place”. “Jagag? ” The grandmother burst into laughter. “Yes, Lord Jagannatha. He is a form of Lord Vishnu. Umm, Radha Krishna you know? ”, pointing her fingers to the small temple by the side of her bed. All possible God’s idols and photographs were stacked there. “Yes,. . ” said Ankur. “Another form of the Lord Krishna”. “Ooo, Jagag? ” “Jaga-nath, the ruler of the world. He rules over all of us. " "Thakuma, rath ? " "We decorate the Rath or the chariot with flowers, leaves, ornaments. . and make it like a palace on wheels. Then you put the lord in the middle of it and take him along with Subhadra and Balaram to his mashi's place. Give your best to decorate it. You will be God's favourite. " Ankur was thoughtful for a moment. He shook the lap of his grandmother and asked, "Thakuma will you help me making this? Mum is tired and dad is working. " “Eto shomoy kar ache bolun toh? Shobai toh ekhon takar pechone chutche ! ”, said the taxi driver. I held my breath for sometime. Not knowing what to reply, I released it heavily. “Eto dheerghyo niswash pheleo labh nei dada”. “TROLLED”, I said to myself, and left another heavy breath. While he was driving his way through Hatibagan, I spotted one tea stall by the side. It was a busy breakfast time, I sat beside an old man. The old man sipping from his cup of tea, sitting on the tool while the shop waiters served fresh hot “pudi saabji”, merkily smiled... he is hardly left with any teeth. “How can they even face their children? They are too engrossed with themselves, their own lives, their own freedom, their own bank balance. Future planning for them means saving more money and spending less time with their children. ” The middle aged man, whom he was talking to, was looking at me rather strangely trying to fathom what I was up to, seemed perturbed. “What are you looking that side? Many like him are found with their camera in the various by lanes. How many people read Khirer Putul, tell me! ” The other man joined in, “yes, no Feluda! I wish my daughter reads Feluda, Abol tabol... I will read out to her the short stories of Satyajit Ray. He wrote so well. ” The old man interrupted, “They have these. . the camera. The have their entire world. ” I gave up the thought of photographing them. I kept thinking, what went wrong? --- The end --- Share your Rath story, I am trying to build up a story and am planning to share it in this same blog. Adding your story shall be a great idea. Email your story to "gmail@www. anirbansaha. com" with the subject as "My Rath story". --- - Published: 2013-05-21 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-whats-up-post/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Model Shoot, Photography, Portraits, Wrap up - Tags: Aishaani Saha annaprashan, Aninda Das, kalamandir performance, Kapu annaprashan, Pratyay Mukhopadhyay, radio one, RJ Arvind, ronger jhorna, Saadhvi saha annaprashan, soumitra chatterjee, sounak chattopadhyay I just noticed, that this space was not updated for the last 1 month and more than 20 days. Quite contrary to the Anirban Saha people knew in 2009. . well, he posted two posts in one single day ! So what have I been up to ? Let me see, if I can script it down with few photographs. March 1 : I bought Nikon D7000. Ever since then, I am advised not to lift the camera :P Thanks Spondilities. In the photograph : Akriti Singh. March 3 - 5 : My Shantiniketan shoot with few other photographers. It was interesting and my second attempt with studio lights. Made some incredible friends in Indrani Chowdhury, Priyasha, Akriti. Later during return, had a spat with few of the "recognised" photographers regarding reproduction of the photographs. Decided not to post the shoot photographs. Posted 2 collages' Facebook cover photograph resolution for Akriti and Priyasha. Did not process the rest. March 9 : Organised a small photoshoot, the photographs of which are already updated in this blog :) In the photograph : Pratyay Mukhopadhyay March 27 : Boshonto Utsav in Shantiniketan. Some outing with my mom and an exclusive one. She proved herself to be my mom and rightfully so :P It was one mad trip with different permutation and combination of sorts. First, one of my cousins were supposed to go, then she cancelled it. That morning I messaged Pratyay and Rudra about the plan. They readily agreed. Got a car, left home at 1:30 am. . reached Shantiniketan at 5:15 am... and what a day ! Had fun with Rudra, Pratyay, Koustav, Tanishta and her friend and family. The blog post for the same was in the form of an adda ( discussion over a cup of tea ) and was well received. Did not expect such a warm response. Thanks Arko Sen, Aurindam, Achira, Samya. The adda needs to be bigger, needs to get better. March 15 - March 28 : Got to understand my teacher Sounak Chattopadhyay from a closer distance. There is so much to learn from him, and when I say this I do not necessarily mean music. He, as a person, as a leader is perhaps a better imposing figure. A lot to learn, I tell to myself. The photograph : Kalamandir, March 29. . Sounak Chattopadhyay's music school Chinton's presentation "Ronger Jhorna" March 29 : I got to share the stage with Indrani Sen. That's perhaps a bigger achievement than me singing there. Indrani Sen shall never get to know what she means to me, my sister and the entire family. Her's was the first cassette we bought after boro jethu gifted a tape recorder. The last track : Dure kothaye, dure dure... . happened to be my Grand mom's favourite. That was one of the primary introduction to Rabindrasangeet. Everything so changed after having come to dum dum park. Oh yes, I sang there... with a gang of other "Sounak's students". I was shit scared. But it turned out well. It was shown sometime later in Tara Muzik. They showed me properly among the others :P Okay, this is lame but it made me happy :P Photographs by Sayon Kumar Saha April 15 : Narayan Puja at my home. Kapu got her new and official name " Aishaani ". Thats' another name of Maa Durga. So she has three proper names now : Aishaani (meaning Maa Durga) Saadhvi (meaning Maa Durga) and Indrani (because she was born on a Tuesday) Phew. It was an incredible feeling feeding Kapu (Aishaani, Saadhvi and soon she will have 108 names like Maa Durga) with the first rice (Anna-prashan). No words can perhaps explain the feel. Supratik "ar or bou"(and his wife, as my daddy uncool puts it) was invited and we had an awesome evening together. In the photograph : Choto-Thakuma and Kapu (Aishaani) April 21 : The highlight of the day was - Choto thakuma (youngest of all my grand mothers) came to our home. She is the next best person after my Grand mom. The entire family (including my jijaji - Soumen) came to our home and I got a slice of my childhood :DI had to feed Kapu with fish (better pronounced as phish! ) and rice. :/ No images for the next event. :/ May 6 : RJ Arvind (Radio One) called me and told he will interview me. I had no clue. I kept on thinking what was happening. May 8 - 9 : I actually gave the interview. It was fun. All my English were edited out. My bengali were kept and I stammered. I should be ashamed of myself. I stammer in my own mother tongue. Sometime soon, I want to speak about Tagore ( If I am given a chance that is) in Bengali. It went on air on May 9. I sound so kiddish :/ TagoreQuotes. in got a huge promotion on May 9. RJ Arvind very entrepreneurally shared my photographs in his facebook profile. Okay, I must admit : It was weird... well, happy, weird, shy . . Come on, my vocabulary isn't that good ! ... and warm thanks to RJ Arvind and Aninda Das. Looking forward to some more work, and this time I will definitely not sing :/ In the photograph : Soumitra Chatterjee (Does he require an introduction anyway ? He has been taking the film makers by a storm across the globe, he being Apu, or capturing the fantasy of Bengali intellectual youth being Feluda. ) May 19 : I photographed Mr Soumitra Chatterjee. This was not a regular Saturday. Not in all Saturday's I sit with a LEGEND at his work place and at his home listening to him and photographying him. The mettle of the Legend. #respect --- * --- . . and in between, I had tension at office, at home. . my health. . Things started getting solved by themselves. Well, I guess problems and dependencies are now a regular part of life. I can not be that young kid who always nodded at the good stuff :P But then again, who wants bad to ever happen? We all work and work hard for the better, to be better, to experience better and yes, live better. While, I was writing this, I realised. . in this game of life, superheroes aren't reality. Perhaps, the littlest bit you do from your heart for others make you a super hero in their eyes. And for you to do good... don't worry, stick to your dreams. Coexistence is the rule of this game. By the way, I had some incredible time with family. Kids, are the best thing to happen to any household I believe. Kapu made my dad. . (yes, MY dad) a 62 year old kid. And my family includes all the incredible kids who are my friends - Harshit, Sayon, Surya, Basak, Avishek Rakshit, Shrija, Tanishtha, and Sayan ! Instead of blabbering, let me paste some photographs. First photograph courtesy in the last section : Aishwarya Das. Last photograph : Koustav Ghosh. None of my posts under this category ends like this. So, here goes my thank you list. Trust me, each of my friends are God sent. I believe in that. Thank you Abhinav (da), Tapashree (di), Animesh (da), Arunodaya (da), Shashank (da) Anirudhha (da) Anupam (da) Sunit Siddharth Mayank Pranai for all the encouragement in office. Darwin, Sathish and Balaji - God bless. Sounak Chattopadhyay (my teacher), Shekhar kaku ... thank you for all the encouragement. Aninda Das, RJ Arvind thank you for the honour, Mr Saptarshi Roychowdhury, Indrani, Priyasha, Akriti, Saikat, Koushik, Pratyay, Rudra. . thank you. Harshit, Sayon, Koustav, Surya, Sayan, Avishek, Prashant, Srivatsan for being such an incredible family. Toushik for the mad last sunday ! Well, my didi... giving birth to Kapu is possibly the best thing she has ever done :P Hahahhaha... signing off. God bless. --- - Published: 2013-05-21 - Modified: 2014-01-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/dslr-holders-photographers-is-the-boom-just-another-fad/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: amateur photography, DSLR, everyone wants to become a photographer, is DSLR another fad?, Journal of Indian Photography, popular How many of you have seen this image below : Did you laugh at it ? All seeming true. Isn't it ? It wasn't a fad when I started photography. It was not many years ago that I bought my camera. A junior of mine inspired me to open a facebook page for my photographs. People appreciated. I'm happy about it. I am no one to lecture people around about specific do's and dont's,, But this post has a purpose. Read through. This image has three sets of stake holders : One who photographs and laughs at it. One who does not photograph and laughs at it. One who photographs and does not laugh at it. So what makes it so laughable ? - The Indian youth, the kind of publicity Facebook offers or is it the Indian society's mindset ? Well, time to ponder upon. But before that . . few quick points : As a facebook netizen, I get irritated because of the following : 1) Mass tagging : You click a photograph. However good or bad you know it is, you tag 40 odd people in it. 6 of them turned up to "like" it. Dear friends, respect your work. If your work is good, your heart gets satisfied at first. You do not require "like"s to tell your heart - "I've done a good job". A good photograph, will always find viewers, (and definitely at Facebook). Please do not do this. "Good thought, Good words, Good deed... leads to ultimate success" ... is true to the rest of the world. For us in photography (if you are seriously in it ) "Good thought, Good frame, Good shot ... leads to ultimate success". See, even I used to tag people. That time, tagging wasn't so mainstream and I had limited it. But with maturity, I felt this is unnecessary. People kept commenting on their photographs so that they would remain obnoxiously visible. I personally do not approve of the intention. 2) Requesting for a "good" review : Be open to criticism please. We are artists. If someone is spending some time of his/her's, at least respect that effort. You might agree, or you might prefer not to. But be open to them; who knows, you might get a million dollar advice! Do not ask a person (who is elder to you) "Dada, bhalo comment koro". That comment in bengali roughly translates to "Elder brother, please leave for me a good comment". If your work is good, your elders will always say its good work and will suggest betterment. If your photograph is bad, why did you upload it in the first place? 3) Creating a group chat, adding a hundred people and asking to comment : I shall get personal at this. If you want me to review it, please show respect and humility. Drop me the link to your photograph personally and I shall oblige. As a person I get irritated when : 1) An young kid shows off his DSLR behaving as though he is some awesome photographer : He very well might be. But humility marks an artist. 2) Speaking all bull shit about another photographer : Well, that's entirely personal and loosely related to photography. More of a personal trait. But friends, be honest. Be humble. Appreciate others' work. Who knows you might get something interesting to learn from them ? Respect your seniors and more importantly - contemporaries. Now, getting to all the elders ( or at least those who regard themselves so) : For a moment, let's not laugh at it. I really did not intend to crack a joke. But if you have managed to laugh in between, let us find time to laugh at you. Why do we point at a handful of Indian Youth, generalise them and make ourselves believe that, that is the picture of the entire nation ? Personally speaking, all the 5 points I pointed out previously would hardly manage to gather near 200 heads in my 2500+ photographers in my facebook friend list. Can I say that all of the young photographers in my profile ask from me "good comments" ? Can I claim that all of them, creates a group and send links ? Perhaps, no. Even I was generalising. We need to understand that times are changing. We require to shift our attention from traditional Computer science or whatever engineering, medical or whatever traditional to more creative aspects. If they are interested, let us guide them. Let us not impose on them our thoughts, or laugh at their aspirations. Let us encourage freedom. Not everyone is bad. If we carry out statistical analysis among the Indian youth who hold the camera, we will see : 1) An overwhelming majority will be under the age of 22. That's precisely college and school students. 2) A very good percentage shall be of people who REALLY want to learn and is not getting proper guidance. Youtube cannot suffice always. Now what has Facebook done ? They bring to these young people good photographs to inspire them. The youth stands inspired today. All these Name-Surname-Photography is an exhibition of their aspirations. They express their frustration when they are not guided properly. All the mass tagging, messaging and stuff are exhibitions of a mix of expectations and frustration. They wish to be guided, They wish to be visible and a pat on their back shall work wonders, trust me. I was/am a regular face at Kolkata Weekend Shoots. And if you happen to read this, you already know where I post my photographs. Online, I started a group - "Amateur Photographer Unit Pan India". It got moderately good response. This is where I started knowing each of members personally. I took it offline with "The Meetup Group : Photography Discussions" and now see this : Prashant Awasthi, Srivatsan Sankaran and Me just enhanced the concept of my previous initiatives to make "Journal of Indian Photography". Few people said that we have many such "pages". How much of the response shall we get ? Now be informed : This page is 15+ days old. We did not "tag" people. We did not "mass share" links. I personally invited few people. This page has 1219 members right now. I am blessed, we found very good help from people we look up to : Mr Sayantan Mitra , Sapna Reddy, Mr Trilochan Kalra . . and their friends. Among my contemporaries we found Raghav, Rammohan Paranjape, Antony Pratap , Arundhati Chatterjee, Karthik Pashupathy, Kartikeya Jain, Vishnu Sivanandan. We conducted a contest. . That's Contest#1 : "My best shot". We have more than 141 people participating in it. The youngest of the lot being a 15 year old guy Kushaghra from Kolkata who photographed with his iPhone. We had 16 year olds participating. the average age was near 22 I guess (I shall come out with the complete statistics), spread over - Delhi , Lucknow, Agra, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Kolkata and different parts of Bengal, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati . . Such is the impact. We had a review section, where members were asked to send their photographs for review and we used to review each single photograph giving them the most of our knowledge in the friendliest possible ways. (Update(19. 01. 2014): We could not continue with the review section and then the page became inactive. The return percentage of visitors were hitting more than 97%. After 3 months, we were getting more than 70 unique people sending 3 photographs each, each single day to be reviewed. We could not continue with our quality of review and of help. We discontinued. In the course of this time, I personally made some incredible friends. Few of them are Akshay Kadam from Ratnagiri, Saimantick Bhadra and Siddharth Ghosh from Kolkata (Frank Anthony Public School) who are now like my family members. Many many friends were made and the connections are strong. ) Yes friends, who laughed at the first poster - Such IS THE IMPACT. We all want to learn. Let us not curb any young feeling. We might have had bad examples. But that's extremely few. I would not say that the entries are master pieces. We all can become better. We require encouragement. We have NOT set a specific agenda for "Journal of Indian Photography". It is open to anyone who wants to join. It is open to any idea, you would like to give. It is open to any suggestion for its betterment. If you happen to read this from any part of India, and want to join in, help spread awareness, help share knowledge ... feel free to join in. For a moment, let us not take the short cut. For a moment let us not laugh at the poster. For a moment let us just not walk that extra mile to make the difference. For a moment let us walk that extra mile to "FEEL THE DIFFERENCE". It's an incredible journey, trust me. Disclaimer : I am not an acclaimed photographer. I work in TCS because I love programming. I'm just another person who refuse to curb freedom. --- - Published: 2013-03-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/boshonto-utsav/ - Categories: Basanta Utsav, Colours, Culture, Explore Bengal, Guest Posts, Photography, Portraits, Random notes, snapshots, State, travel, West Bengal, Wrap up - Tags: Achira Dasgupta, Arko Sen, Aurindam, basanta utsav, boshonto utsav, Imon, Pratyay Mukhopadhyay, Samya karpha, shantiniketan Glimpses,small talks, photographs of Boshonto and fond memories, adda that can never be scripted down. বাতাস ছুটিছে বনময় রে, ফুলের না জানে পরিচয় রে। তাই বুঝি বারে বারে কুঞ্জের দ্বারে দ্বারে শুধায়ে ফিরিছে জনে জনে॥ ওরে ভাই, ফাগুন লেগেছে বনে বনে-- ডালে ডালে ফুলে ফুলে পাতায় পাতায় রে, আড়ালে আড়ালে কোণে কোণে॥ ~ কবি গুরু রবিন্দ্রাথ ঠাকুর বাঁচার ঋতু , প্রানের ঋতু , ভালবাসার ঋতু ... ভালো লাগার ঋতু - আমার বসন্ত ঋতু। বাসের জানালা দিয়ে দেখতে পাচ্ছি ফুটপাথের ভিকিরির গায়েও এক মুঠো আবির ঢেলে দিয়েছে কেউ। হাসছে সে, হাসুক। সুর্য তার সমস্ত্য আলো দিয়ে আকাশ সাজিয়েছে। আর সাজিয়েছে বাসন্তিকাকে, যার এক ঝলক রূপে জালিয়ে দিল চোখ। আমার পুড়িয়ে দিল চোখ। আগুন লাগলো মনে মনে। সেই আগুনের আঁচে বস্তি তে ভাত ফুটছে। মা উকুন বাচছে মেয়ের। বসন্ত এখানেও। তাই বুঝি মাতাল বর তা আজকে মদ ছয়েনি। আর সে মদে আকাশ বিভোর করে চাঁদ উঠেছে। বসন্ত এসেছে, আমার বসন্ত। ~ সাম্য কার্ফা A flash of fiery red; A dash of burnt auburn. A splash of bright orange. An explosion of sunburst hues . I close my eyes. And smile. Because I see with my closed eyes, the willowy boughs of the palaash tree, as if it stood before me. Laden with the blessings of bloom, it sways hypnotically in the sweet spring breeze, like a snake sways to the music of a snake charmer's pipe. It swoops down and shimmies up with the rhythm of the wind, and it paints red all over its invisible canvas. A spring in your step ; A smile on your lips. A sparkle in your eyes. Colour on your cheeks. Feel life. Feel alive. Boshonto. What does it play in your mind? ~ Imon That slight bitter-clay taste of Abir in your mouth. That slight crinklyness of your skin that is often the only reminder that you are not who you are for now. That heady smell, that dusty, earthy, heady smell, which intoxicates even sans the bhaang! The fingerprints you leave on everything you touch. You're afraid to go clean yourself, because that will only get you further painted, because no one is who they are... Yep, it's holi. ~ Arko Sen On this day, friendships are made, strengthened and kept. Ushering Spring with the festival of colors at Shantiniketan, it’s something worth your time. When you see those smiling faces, find yourself in the middle of thousands of people singing Rabindra sangeet on a bright sunny day, an unequivocal thought lingers in your mind all day long. . It’s all about love. ~ Aurindam Mukherjee Life seems a whole lot brighter as small children dressed in sarees of every hue possible took to the stage amidst a hearty burst of the Rabindrasangeet being sung by the choir then... 6 to 60, all putting in their contribution to the rainbow of melody which colours the sky. The performances end at around 9:30 and then starts the revelry, students and tourists alike smearing abir on each other, teasing and laughing, The mirth in their voices, mixed together in perfect unison. There seems to be no archness of manners, no unnecessary sophistication attached to the celebrations, everyone bent on enjoying the one day of freedom from their bondage of regularity to the utmost. The air around changes colour as the mood changes, the day getting more exciting as it nears to a close... ~ Achira Dasgupta . . while in the adda, I did not know how to participate. This city bred guy who has spent years trapped in the jungle of concrete and in fear of colours... what would he contribute to, in the discussion ? It was yesternight when I was sitting by the side of my open window, doing I do not remember what. The music playlist came to an end. The world seemed to have come to stand still. ভিশন দম বন্ধ করা নিশস্তব্ধ। I hate this feeling of being suffocated. I played the other set of tracks on. আমি তাঁরেই খুঁজে বেড়াই যে রয়ে মনে , আমার মনে, আমার মনে ... আমি তাঁরেই খুঁজে বেড়াই। How beautifully Ustad Amjad Ali Khan added to Tagore, how beautifully, he has taken this song to an entirely different dimension. Dreams ... you perhaps can never plan them. Wishes ... you perhaps can never guide them. Depths of the human heart - you perhaps can never gauge them. The colours of Shantiniketan's Boshonto Utsav still fresh in my mind, the full moon with its grace spelling her magic. I closed my eyes, ও আমার চাঁদের আলো, ধরা দিয়েছ যে আমার পাতায়ে পাতায়ে ডালে ডালে। মোর অন্গিনায়ে বাজলো গো, বাজলো সেই সুর আমার প্রানের তালে তালে। Trance again. Took me away to another world. Its fun, its fun to see how we all deny our hearts at times... specially at times, when our nature paints it with its' colours. . the colours of spring, how true. The colours of change, how true. The welcoming of warmth, how true ! The colours that slowly define us, . . how true. মুগ্ধ কোকিল মুখর রাত্রি দিন যাপে, মর্মরিত পল্লবিত সকল বন কাঁপে। দশ দিশি সুরম্য সুন্দর মধুর হেরি, দুঃখ হল দূর সব-দৈন্য-অবসানে॥ নিবিড় অন্তরতর বসন্ত এল প্রাণে। নিবিড় অন্তরতর বসন্ত এল প্রাণে। Adda friends : Photographs by Pratyay Mukhopadhyay, JU 3rd year Civil Engineering student. "Like" his page in Facebook... . and Anirban Saha, umm the host :) Personal note : It feels incredible to have them in the adda. Aurindam is a JU passout and one of my oldest twitter-made friend. Arko Sen, is perhaps one of the most creative persons I have met. PS : An awesome programmer too! His "About me" is interesting. It reads, " just an egoistic ill-phisyqued arrogant unattractive weird eccentric narcissistic misanthropic philogynistic nihilistic postmodernistic objectivistic hetero-techno-retro-sapiosexual male. " Haha. Achira Dasdupta, is not new in this blog. Always bubbly, enthusiastic ... and English honours student ! Samya is a person, I befriended very recently. A writer by passion, he already has his writings published at many newspaper. And guess what ? He is doing his masters in Chemistry. When he gets poetic, I make it a point to keep shut. I fear spoiling his sense! Imon, too is an old friend of mine. Not very frequently do we talk, but when we do, she always make sense. Strict, sensible... and at times I feel, how come she is my friend? :P Haha. Pratyay, by now you know - He is a champ ! It is his photographs that encouraged me to this adda. And, the omni present Tagore, amidst all of us. --- - Published: 2013-03-11 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/model-shoot-3/ - Categories: Model Shoot, Photography, snapshots, Wrap up - Tags: achira saha, Indrani Chowdhury, Invokee, model shoot, Prashant Awasthi, Pratick Jaiswal, Rahul Roy Chowdhury, Saikat Nandy, sayon kumar saha, Souvick Saha, Sreeja Sarkar, Srivatsan Sankarshan, Sutanu Das Not sure, if I shall be publishing my model shoot #2 ( Shantiniketan ) photographs any time soon. Model shoot #3 happened in less than a week's time and was an experience in itself. I definitely have to improve on my lighting and post processing skills. All theory knowledge and zero practical is so not good :P I am looking forward to some theme based shoots / outdoor next time :) About this shoot : Shot at Camerena studio at e-mall, Chandni Chowk, Kolkata. It was a pleasure having Souvick Saha as a guide. He is a very senior male model in the industry and a very warm person. Pratick Jaiswal is doing good in this fashion industry. In this short span of time, he has made a place for himself. Sreeja Sarkar is few tele-films old and it was a pleasure working with her too. Achira Saha is my elder sister. No other face came to my mind when we thought of middle aged Bengali beauty. An honest confession : I was actually under huge pressure and started doing things wrong in the middle of the shoot. Rahul Roy Chowdhury and Sutanu Das came to the rescue. Got to learn a lot about light setup from Sutanu Das. Later, I came to know he is a very renowned photographer himself :P Achira's costume was designed by Indrani Chowdhury. Her brand name is Invokee. She too, is extremely talented and has made a good place for herself in the industry. Saikat Nandy did the makeup and I tell you - he is a champ ! He takes up challenges and delivers them effortlessly. This was my second work with them. And this shoot too was a work with Sayon Kumar Saha. The edit was guided by Srivatsan Sankaran and Prashant Awasthi. I have not finished editing all the photographs. Sharing only a few. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-02-20 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-kumbh-experience-2/ - Categories: Black and White, Culture, Explore India, Kumbh Mela, Photography, snapshots, Street Photography, Travel, travel, Wrap up - Tags: allahabad, kumbh, kumbh 2013, kumbh hot photographs, kumbh latest photgraphs, maha kumbh allahabad, mauni amavasya, nagas, prayag While in the middle of the procession, one naga looked at me and scratched his head ! Friends, thank you for the encouragement. This is the second set of photographs I took while inside, right in the middle of the Naga procession. Many friends asked me, why I had to sneak into the Naga procession to photograph them. . The police we shouting and lathi charging all people with or without a camera. One of the Police shouted at me "Please matlab hato! " (Yes, what ever that meant) but I managed to make good terms with a lady police officer. One senior police took me to the starting of the street and asked me to photograph from there. Now that I am mad and if you happen to know me, you shall know how I am. . I decided to sneak into it and feel how it is like to be one of them, with ashes on my body, running and roaring "Har Har Mahadev". And yes, photographying them as well. Ganga Arati Feb 9, 2013 *Amavasya time started*. © anirban saha . com After mid night. © anirban saha . com When I decided to sneak into the Naga procession, dodging Police's attention. © anirban saha . com Har Har Mahadev... © anirban saha . com Photographying them while they were running roaring "Har Har Mahadev", and yes ! Dodging the Police at the same time, isn't an easy job. But it was fun. © anirban saha . com Dance of the Nagas while in procession. My priceless moment. © anirban saha . com Another set of Nagas © anirban saha . com After the Dip, the walk of the Nagas © anirban saha . com This is the link to my first blog post about My Kumbh Experience. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-02-11 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-kumbh-experience/ - Categories: awards and mentions, Colours, Culture, Explore India, Festival, Kumbh Mela, Photography, Random notes, snapshots, travel, Travel, Wrap up - Tags: allahabad, allahabad kumbh best photographs, hottest kumbh photographs, kumbh, kumbh 2013, kumbh best photographs, kumbh latest photographs, kumbh photos, maha Kumbh, mauni amavasya, prayag Travelling and photographing events have always led me dive into the uncertain. And after months, I was the same mad Anirban Saha, I cherish having been one. In spite of the Doctor’s prescribed rest, the increasing workload at office and the unconfirmed tickets... I managed to have the Kumbh experience. And trust me; words shall fail if I try to describe the Kumbh. No place as holy as the Sangam during the sunrise, with a lakh other bathing in it. The only warmth to receive was that of the people. A new insight to my own being - varied, plural and accepting all that came to me. And I believe, we all felt the same that very moment. The connect of ours’ with that of the sand below, the water in front. . the chill of the breeze, the hymns and the rituals and finally the rising sun. That for me, defined life. The way we camped under the open sky. The life was when one of the purohits’ came to me with a new blanket and kind words. I stayed there for 20 hours and I did not explore the entire of Kumbh. I visited few Akharas, bridge number 7 till the Sangam. The entire night I sat sharing talks with few others from Varanasi, Delhi and suburbs of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar around the campfire. Let us know few terms before we proceed : Naga Babas - The Yogi’s of the Naga sect . Sangam - The confluence of the three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the hidden Saraswati. Akharas - Sects / Camps of the Yogi’s. Ghat - River banks. Pranami - Donation / Token of money out of reverence. Shahi snan - The time for the Guru’s and religious leaders to bathe in Sangam. This is the place, where the universal religion of Din-e-illahi was conceptualised, and this is the place that rejoices humanity above all. The pilgrims are innocent, warm and welcoming. They flock on the sides of the road where their Godly manifested human Gurus’ walked their way to the ghat on the auspicious Mauni Amavasya, to take a dip. A single dip is all that was required for them and all of us to connect to the Almighty. This time of the year, the Ganges is supposed to bring alive the “Amrit” or the immortalising nector. The story is based on the stories of the Samudra Manthan (the churning of the ocean), and this year the yog (timing of the amavasya) is extremely holy and has come after 136 years. The Naga baba was saying all of these while we shared a puff of the cannabis. I did not know what to believe. His sense of conviction challenged our singularly scientific world, and talked of the soul and the Sanatan dharma (of which I understood quite less, as he went on speaking in complete Hindi). To me, the immortalising factor was meeting the set of amazing people. The immortalising factor was the bond we shared within minutes only to part ways, to see the fog clear and the sun rise at the Sangam. I do not believe in an afterlife. I believe in one singular life. And I have only this life to work, love and spread smiles across to friends. No bond with God as strong as the bond you share, the moment, with the one you gift a smile to. I had picked this topic up within a discussion with one of the Naga baba’s. He then spoke of our own selves. His words had striking resemblance with that of Sri Sri RamKrishna Paramhansa Dev and the ideologies I have grown up with and believe in. One of the Naga baba’s, I do not know why, maybe because I am young, he called me to his sermon and started blessing me. When I offered pranami, he refused it. One of his sermon lines was “Pehle jaano, phir maano” (Know from the experienced, experience it and then believe in it). I do not know what he precisely meant, but that seemed rational. Sanantan Dharma – the concept of Hinduism is the natural order of being; the natural order of connecting to the elements of the nature, our souls being an integral part of it. (“For more details, read www. rampuri. com” ... and yes, one of the good English speaking yogis from the Juna Akhada told me that! I am sure to go through the entire website in details some time real soon. ) The darkness and the fog made its way to the early dawn. People started flocking for the Maha Shahi Snan. The normal pilgrims were not allowed to the sangam, as it was the time for the Shahi Snan. We photographers hardly got a legal chance to photograph. I waited for some time and some opportunity. The police was at times harsh, and that was an absolute necessity at that point in time. But some kind talks always help. I found a safe place within the police at the start of the road and some sort of unspoken confirmation that I may photograph. The Naga baba’s were rushing onto the streets all of a sudden, and I seeked an opportunity there. I got to the middle of the crowd of the Nagas, trying to photograph them. I also pulled in a spanish guy - Emmanual, who happened to have taken the same opportunity. While I tried explaining to him what “Har Har Mahadev” means and why we all were shouting them while running, he was amused. At the start of the bathing ghat, he was caught, while I managed to escape through shouting “Har Har Mahadev” ! The Maha Sangam – I am not sure, if you get immortalised after you take a dip. I did not take a dip. I washed my hands, my feet and sprinkled Ganga water on myself to purify me and I offered the Surya pranam. It felt very pure- the rising sun, the merging rivers, the breeze... you and a million others; that is a triumph of the belief, the belief of having connected to your own self, a moment of peace. I mentioned in the opening lines – No place as holy as is the Sangam during the sunrise. The Nagas and the other Yogis, the police, the pilgrims, the media and all the tourists. . thats the perfect recipe for a chaos underlining spiritually. There were near 3. 3 crore people (information not verified) from various sects of Sanatan Dharma ( Hinduism ), and visitors from across the world. I travelled alone and in the 20 hours that I stayed there, I kept searching for people who would understand English or Bengali, or is a photographer. This while, I spotted a monopod and 3 photographers along with it ! They were from Kerala. I met tourists from Israel, Italy, Germany, Australia, Portland USA, California USA and I do not have a count of the Bengali photographers I met. PS : There were other photographers as well. Most notable of them was the Spanish Guy - Emmanual, who did not even understand much of English. He read about Kumbh in Spanish and the very next decision was to be at this place. And another photographer from Varanasi who knew Bengali - Anand Sharma who was extremely kind. I do not know what to add to this blog post. I love these chaos. I love travelling and reading. I do not know what the dip might do to you, but the Kumbh experience shall only make me humbler and more accepting by my nature. This is an enormous experience, an asset in its own definition and I shall look forward to the next, and this time a planned tour :) A slideshow of snapshots for you (wait for it to load): Update : 20-02-2013 ------- My Guest blog post at mapsofindia. com - the largest repository of Indian maps. --------------------------- Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-01-31 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/within-tenderness/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: flowers, human emotions, indoor shoot Have never felt, a flower and its photographs can reflect human emotions. This is just an attempt to showcase them. A definite more work is coming up soon. Rise | The power within Light the world | The fire within Feel | LustLonging | The time without you. Bond | Companionship Discontent | Anger ------- The Tale of Suffering | Pain Brewing up | The birth of Rebel Expression | Revolt Facing reality | Astonishment Discontent | Anomie Standing up with all my might | Courage Premonition. Desire Introspection ... and the playfulness | © anirbansaha. com Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-01-29 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-fire-within/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Personal - Tags: Avinaba, flower The fire within, the fire without, that drives to fuel your passions through. The rocky roads of destiny, the love in your heart have led you to . . You could be the gigantic, that has no bounds of shape or form . Like the sky that streaches above your head , Like the cosmos that is far beyond . Or you could be but a humble flower . . dropped to the earth to rise as a tree . or be plucked by a innocent belle , or placed as an offering for the Almighty . Whatever may your purpose be , Be strong, be tender, be you, be free! Shine on with the holy light , the fire that keeps on burning so bright. within me, within you and all that's there. . It's the fire within, the fire without! Post written by : Avinaba Mistry He is a 3rd year CSE student in Jadavpur University and a multi-hobbyist ! His hobbies include writing and rhyming. . and yes, he wrote this down within 5 minutes of me asking him to script something down! Other passions include - fiddling with Robotics, Sketching, singing composing . . playng guitar . . try his tricks with animation. . graphic designing ... phew, and yes ! At times. . he cooks (all sense of the term) and cooks food real well. In all, a wonderful friend of mine. Do look forward to more of his posts in my blog. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2013-01-27 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-statesman-vintage-car-rally-kolkata-2013/ - Categories: Colours, Culture, Episodes of my Life, Guest Posts, Photography, Season, snapshots, Street Photography, Vintage Car Rally, Winter, Wrap up - Tags: 13 january, 2013, Achira Dasgupta, Aishwarya Das, Akshay Deep, calcutta, car, car exhibition, fort william, kolkata, kolkata heritage, koustav ghosh, rally, Ranjurima Das, Saikat Das, sayon kumar saha, statesman vintage car rally, Statesman Vintage Car Rally Kolkata, the, vintage, vintage car rally dates, vintage car rally kolkata, Vintage car rally Kolkata 2015, Vintage cars in asia, vintage cars in kolkata Achira Dasgupta | Monday 14 January 2013, Kolkata About the Vintage Car Rally 2013. Photographs: Anirban Saha , Saikat Das, Aishwarya Das, Akshay Deep, Koustav Ghosh, Ranjurima Das, Sayon Kumar Saha Update: Statesman Vintage Car Rally Kolkata 2015 shall be on 11 January. Passes available in Statesman office. Cover : Anirban Saha & Saikat Das Standing outside the gate of Fort William at 6:30 am on a chilly winter morning in Kolkata, you wonder whether this is worth it all when a cruel breeze from the Ganges opposite stings your face, making you shiver. But there is hardly any allowance for thinking because it is about time for the Statesman Vintage Car Rally Kolkata, 2013 to kick off and when you see the colourful gorgeous cars flash past you on their way to the starting line-up, you cannot think of anything except following them in. The space which looked enormous at 6:30 looks tiny half an hour later as about 150 cars and bikes, their owners, the viewers and the photographers jostled with each other to be a part of the grand mayhem. Well, one look at the car owners and you feel this is how life should be! Thoughts of class equality go out of your head as you see cars straight from the royal garages along with their royal owners descend on the common man's path and make them stare with open-mouthed awe! The cars and the people in them make you go back to years bygone when these cars were the emblem of the families they belonged to. The charisma still remains; the ‘zamindari’ attitude shines through, what with the dazzling dresses, huge sunglasses and high heeled leather boots that the traditional ‘benarasi’ has given way to. You see the Fords, Fiats, Buicks, BMWs, Austins, Rolls, Pontiacs, Chevrolets and envy their chiselled bodies, stunning you with the reflections in the early sun. But no! Its not all about the past: We see the complete entourage of the famous reporter Tintin, including Captain Haddock and Snowy, jesting with a lady in a gorgeous Benarasi in another car. Sharp at 9, a baritone voice starts calling out the numbers, the cars move forward, hearty smiles and waves greeting us from under the beautiful hats set at perfect angles. They take off for their tour around Kolkata starting from the south, canvas the whole of the city and come back, tired but happy. The jury make their decision based on their performance of the cars as well as their riders on the road (in different categories). The age, of course, serves as a vital index because when you are going vintage (be it cars or wine), that’s what matters most! The older, the better! Photograph : Koustav Ghosh At 2:30 the field starts to empty. Some army officials pose with the very young ‘Vivekananda’ who can hardly blink in the fear of smudging his eyeliner! The prizes are announced and the gleaming trophies find their way to the great-great-great grandsons or daughters of the rulers of Bengal in distant times. One gets nostalgic trying to imagine these cars marching the streets in their days of glory and admiration, that these beauties duly deserved. As the day dawns to a close you feel a bit reflective... the day has given a glimpse of the old-world charm that characterized Bengal of the British era, the lives of the rich and the famous. I gaze with reverence at the wings of a Pontiac as it slowly exits the ground with a huge trophy. The elated smile on the winner’s face of the Seagram’s Royal Stag award reflects the mood of the day... a perfect winter carnival. Sharing some photographs with you. Do send us your feedback, and let us know how you have liked our work. Do leave a comment and do share. =================================================================== Post written by : Achira Dasgupta She is a second year English honours graduate student in Basanti Devi College, Kolkata. I was overwhelmed by her knowledge and her expressions, the first time I interacted with her. An extremely light hearted girl, anyone would love to work with, I wish her grand professional success in the near future. Look out for more of her posts in this blog ! =================================================================== Photographs by : Koustav Ghosh Photography Aiswarya Das Photography Akshay's Photography Ranjurima Das's Photography Sayon Kumar Saha Photography Saikat Das Anirban Saha Photography =================================================================== --- - Published: 2012-12-31 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-year-2012/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, Wrap up - Tags: year wrap up For a year that this is, this year was about taming myself, if "taming" is the word that is. Till December last day, the only travel I did was to Digha. Compared to 2009 and 2011 where I travelled to 13 and 11 places respectively, this year was dumb. The reason to it is very simple : I am a Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) employee. Successfully completed the ILP with presumably the best rating, doing the rounds and somewhat getting into a respectable project, development. . and SAP ABAP based project, which reportedly is very high priority for TCS. Rest for a fresher, I have no clue. . and revealing anything else shall be violating the TCS policies. Oh yes. I was under the impression that we can photograph in TCS canteen. . but somehow I successfully managed to get a "security violation incident" registered by my name, the last week of November. This year, not only did I do less travel, I made lesser newer friends, I shot lesser photographs. But in this new found mundanity of my life. . I sat down in introspection, and planning. I over look my personal life, well, as always. But it saddens me, when our close group of friends can afford very less amount of time to spend together, or fails to encourage good work... or say, attending office during Durga puja, or cancel shoot to attend office. But you see, there is a life beyond Office. No, I won't talk about girlfriends. I hardly go to Dakshinee these days, my rabindrasangeet learning took a back seat. Reasons are two. . one : lack of time, whatever time I am left with, ami keliye pore thaki. Second : I don't really appreciate the teacher. Instead I joined Sounak Chattopadhyay da. Reason : I appreciate him as a person, more than the singer. . and he teaches in Salt Lake. I have grown a curiosity towards Kolkata's hand pulled Rickshaws. I have photographed the streets of Kolkata few times. To suit my convenience, I started shooting friends under streetlights, and discovered that almost all the people photographed under streetlights or else, got popular at facebook :P I felt so happy. I started one small venture, regarding photography and I discovered that I need to do a lot of homework for the same. My peer-learning theory that led to the formation of the group "Amateur Photographers Unit Pan India" just went offline. I interacted with various people of my age group and younger, leading to a planned discussion at St Paul's Mission School and a bigger one in Bangur Avenue. My aim is to make this bigger than what it is now, and produce some good quality photographs from it. Somehow, I have managed to pass the entire year listening to very few tracks. . mainly "Traveller", "Dancing in madness" from Anoushka Shankar's album "Traveller", and "Raag Jog" from Amita Dalal's "Sitar Lounge". Sounak da's "Nuton o shonaton Rabindranath 1 & 2" seems to be the most heard album. ( So says my mobile phone ) Happy moments came in small packets. . The day when Bickram Ghosh's PA called asking permission for my photograph of Bickram Ghosh. . my first meeting with Bickram Ghosh... my first singing performance in Dhoibat circle, and the time spent with Shekhar Kaku. . I made few friends who are younger than me. Well, I feel like a kaku / dadu with them. But I enjoy being with them. I made few “para” friends as well =D . . and I actually enjoy being with them. May 5, 2012 : I spoke at the Nasscom IT niketan Tech unique 1. 0 : Turn the table. The interaction was good, and shall go down a great deal in my memory lane. Another happy thing that happened this year is my mother talking freely to me, lol yes, and accompanying me. I did not even remember the last time my mother went to the parents teacher meeting... perhaps class 2 was the last, I amn't sure. She wasn't there whenever I got some prize or the other in school or college life. But she did accompany me to my Rabindrasangeet performance in Dhoibat. . and yes, to the family day celebration in TCS. Talking of kids, I have become a mama now. A mama to an incredibly small ( obviously ) niece. Most of the time, I stay at home, I do babysitting :D . . and she does a mama-shitting each time :/ The month of December this year, needs a special mention. It wasn't calm. From personal life to issues of National importance, I was always agitated. Life is definitely not the same. The transition was as drastic as I imagined it to be. And I am happy earning five digits regularly each month. Money comes, and vanishes gradually. For few months, I planned expenditure before getting the salary :D But yes, somehow, I managed to buy things I have always wanted to buy, since the last 3 years. . Gifts for my dad, for my didi. . Mom's saree of choice. . Samsung Galaxy SIII for myself, not disregarding my other possessions. But how much of happiness does it give ? At times, I feel. . I should leave everything and follow my dream photographing people around. The next moment I see my niece wrapped up in the dress I gifted her. I smile, and get back to the regular bondage, hoping some day I shall earn enough by photography to support the lifestyle I have now. . and have a small business startup by the side. But is my office life that mundane? I have my freedom there, being a fresher, I cannot expect anything more. On a lighter note, my dad is an entrepreneur in his own capacity. My maternal family are businessmen, my dadu being the entrepreneur... I never knew how a job / job life is like. These circumstances demand a change in my outlook towards life, my view of life, behaviour and specially the high handed way I deal with stuff. Well, yes, taming myself. --- - Published: 2012-12-30 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/shot-at-indian-coffee-house-college-street/ - Categories: Black and White, College life, College Street, Culture, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography, Portraits, snapshots, State, West Bengal - Tags: coffee house, coffee houser shei adda, Indian coffee house, kolkata, manna dey Had been to the coffee house after a long time. As a photographer, you should visit same places quite often to feel how much your psychology as a photographer and as a person has changed over that period of time. I still remember my first set of photographs of the same place back in 2009. Now, I believe, I know bits of photography, and the shots show cased up here, aren't the best to offer. I often wondered why people of the earlier generation used to say, that the charm of the Coffee house is like no place else. I wondered, why one of the pioneers of Indian Bollywood music - Manna Dey, dedicated an entire song to his beloved Coffee House adda ( discussions ). . I wondered, why people used to call this the embryo of revolution. So I took some time off noticing people, their discussion, ably supported by their smiles, their "jhola" bag, fags, books, newspapers, their expressions . . the sun rays that tripped into the coffee house through the tiny ventilator up somewhere, the coffee and the food, the art work put up and the neatly dressed waiters. I am thrilled, to say the least. Stay tuned, I shall visit this place quite often now. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-12-26 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/christmas-2012/ - Categories: Christmas, Colours, Culture, Dalhousie, Esplanade, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Park Street, Photography, Portraits, Random notes, Season, State, West Bengal, Winter - Tags: akshay, christmas, deeptish lahiri, kolkata, saurish lahiri Merry Christmas to all who happen to see this ! I am yet to understand what Christmas is to my city of Kolkata ! I see, the Cathedral Church and the Church beside - jammed, all places for food and booze - jammed. I see the Park street - Esplanade- Chandni Chawk - jammed! Argh ! On the second hand, I see kids enjoying, demanding and getting for themselves the fancy Santa Claus hats and the weird looking big eye shades... err the horns! I must say - the Youth and the old - are on the streets, doing what I don't know. The demand for good stuff is way higher than the supply there is, and it comes heavy ( at-least ) on my pocket ! Christmas, in childhood was actually better off, with St Paul's Mission School organising some events ! I am sharing few snapshots with you. They don't happen to be photographs. Sad, but I need few more years to take a good "Photograph" of Christmas in Kolkata! Places travelled - Bow Barracks, Esplanade, Park Street and St John's Church ( no photos ) The cover photograph and this are shot at Bow Barracks. Shot at Chandni Chowk. And they are the happiest people selling stuff to kids around ! Shot at Esplanade. Shot at St John's Church. that are my friends and me posing :P =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-12-24 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-a-friend-harshit-day-2/ - Categories: Colours, Episodes of my Life, Model Shoot, Photography, Portraits, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: harshit mehta My first experiment with Studio lights at Sambit's dad's studio, near Dunlop Kolkata. . and it was a good learning experience. With my existing set of models failing to make it that far, Harshit ( as always ) was to the rescue. Anyone who knows me well, must be knowing Harshit by name and photographs. He is a very close friend, and an extremely patient one. Well yes, got to know it this day :P Sayon and me, kept on experimenting with the studio lights, and asking him to pose for us three ( third is Sambit himself ) and he did that will full patience, cooperating and trying extremely hard to pose as an angry man! Well, that isnt easy for him, and I know it. See, most of the photographs were not focussed on the face. So, I thought of square cropping few of them so that, it becomes his facebook profile pictures :D PS : Unedited set of photographs. This was the first attempt, and definitely not the best I have to offer, do suggest betterment and things you would want me to know. :D =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-12-22 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photography-and-the-latest-initiative/ - Categories: Culture, Explore Kolkata, Non Techie, Photography, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: Aishwarya Das, Akshay Deep, koustav ghosh, photography, Sayan Bhattacharya, social media promotion, Tanvir Reza Photocritique, The Meetup Group Search for like-minded people, peer learning, the decline of APUPI. The search for like minded people is still on. It . . is like a never ending thirst. I've always tried connecting to like minded people, especially those interested in photography. I must admit, almost all my knowledge in photography basics is by peer learning and Google. Mainly Pratik Shivagunde, Sayon Saha and Prashant Awasthi helped the most, not disregarding anyone else who did. I wanted to take this forward to an entirely peer-learning group sessions. This led to the formation of "APUPI" last year, and the initial response was good. But with time, people started having better priorities and slowly the group is fading away. We at TCS also follow peer-learning, not a forced one, but this is what we end up doing for the betterment of the project. We learn something and we do a KT - Knowledge Transfer. Pre-requisite to this is - the person at the receiving end should be humble to accept the knowledge and should be open to discussion. In our project we do presentation with slide shows, here we can have meetups in person and discuss stuff with hands on experience. Interactions , Doubt clearing sessions and the offline mode of work. This year, a lot of young guys asked me questions regarding photography basics, I could not answer them all. But I tried my best to do so, in-between office and other work. But the interactions made way to newer ideas and greater bonding. With so many people still fiddling with the basics of photography, and not willing to pay the four digit sum for a workshop for the same, I decided to take an initiative. This time, an offline one. Did the first workshop ( I prefer to call it "Doubt clearing meetup" ) at St Pauls' Mission School, and the second one in Bangur Avenue. I am no star and the people who attended are friends or friend of friends. I did not publicise much except for an update at my photography page. It was attended by 4, and 11 members respectively. I am working on the feedback received. Slowly the discussions demanded hands on experiments, with most of them interested in Bokeh and slow-shutter, I had no point refusing them. The first photo-walk was "invite only", attended by 7 people, extremely new comers and two of them - using digicams. But I found their ideas to be fresh, they just need to interact and talk more :P Photo-walks and some social media "No Promotional" approach. Tomorrow is the second photo-walk. That too is "invite only" and subsequently every photo-walks shall be "invite only". I have gradually shifted to this "No Promotional" approach. I feel, each of the promotional I do for my work hits the good-will I have generated. I feel so, its below dignity. I despise people who shoot one photograph, tag 40 people in it and keep sharing the same stuff in multiple groups. That looks like spamming in my notification areas. And since I do not like it, why should I do it myself ? People I require feedback from, I message them personally with the link. I believe, if my work is good, it is bound to get noticed. New approach in my photography page These days, I photograph very less, and my instincts have given way to the creative stubbornness almost all the IT workers have! So, whatever I photograph, I put it up on my page, and share it on my profile. I do not tag people. I share my work ( not the link ) in few groups like "Tanvir Reza Photocritique", and I generate some awesome ideas there. I stay in touch with few experienced photographers and this time, my knowledge making is theoretical in nature. Not that I like it to be all theory based, but I feel helpless. I need to attend to the office also, and some good collaboration shall help. Yes, ! of all the other things, I have taken to the Google+ communities related to photography. That also is an awesome place to generate ideas. You need to trust me. The last time I mass-tagged in any photograph was diwali 2011 and that was 15 people. After that, I did not tag people. The "like"s on my profile or the activity did not take a suffering. From 1540+ likes at Diwali end in 2011, its 2544 as of now. I was amazed at the fact myself, that more than a 1000 likes without promotion, without much photographs posted. . and yes, I believe I have generated some good will and credibility as well. Showcasing few photographs from the offline interactive group. Photograph by: Akshay Deep Photograph by: Aishwarya Das Photograph by: Atish Dutta & Akshay Deep Photograph by: Anirban Saha Photograph by: Anirban Saha Photograph by: Suvo Bhattacharya Photograph by: Aishwarya Das Photograph by: Akshay Deep Photograph by: Atish Dutta Demonstrating Bokeh on December 2, 2012 at Bangur Avenue. Some fun moment demonstrating Light trailing. Some fun moment demonstrating slow shutter, this is shot by Sayan ( CBS, class 9 ) Rudra guinin ( DPS, class 11 ). End note : Even this might fade out giving way to newer something, but as long as I am doing it, this gets my 100% and I am loving it. A special thanks to Rimbik Das, Surya Shekhar Chakraborty, the authorities of St Paul's Mission School, Akshay Deep ( your participation was a huge mental boost ) , Sayon Saha. Do leave your feedback for the same. --- - Published: 2012-12-22 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/peace-protest-at-kolkata/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: gangrape, kolkata, peace protest, stop this shame Too many things to scribble down, too many photographs to fit into one singular blogpost. I shall start with an apology : I apologise for behaving like a pessimist, and to a certain extent - demotivating my circles from participating in the peace protest held in Kolkata. I reconsidered it this morning, and decided to be a part of it. I come back inspired and I write this. I am inspired by the youth of Kolkata. The way they came in thousands, the way they controlled themselves - inspired me. Over the last few days, Facebook messages were exchanged, wall-posts made, circulating and contemplating a peace march against the Delhi gang rape case. I never expected Kolkata youth to be out there on the streets in the picnic season protesting. I reached the spot and I saw the mass, I said to myself, "Holy *uck ! " . . I rushed through, dodging the lines, asked few reporters who said 1900+ people were there. I rushed through, the tally rose to 3000+ by the time, I reached Birla Planetarium. The police confirmed a 5000 approximately at the end of the rally. I will not be surprised, if there were as many as 6000+ people. So much for a cause, spread through the social media - Facebook, Twitter and even emails... the response was heart warming. I personally know that emails were doing round in the reputed IT firm - CTS, the same mail got forwarded in TCS as well, specially the project I am in. It was peaceful, with few sloganeering in between. The Police personnel at the end of the march, exclaimed, "Eta Kolkata. . Ami khusi je aajke eta hoyeche eto bhalo bhabe" ( "This is Kolkata, I am happy this has happened here and in such a peaceful way" ) Shilpi Mukherjee writes, The march has invoked very mixed feelings. Primarily, there was no agenda, the organizers were very unsure of what they wanted. Some of them said, we should shout out slogans, others said that it was a peaceful march and hence no slogans. They mentioned that they didn’t have the permission for shouting. I saw so many people, laughing, make fun and just clicking photographs, once with a candle, and once without them. It wasn’t aplace to party right. We were walking for a cause, and I felt the cause got lost in the walk. There was this group of 6-7 very well dressed girls, each of them with a placard, shouting out “ We want justice, we want justice” . But when someone asked them, what justice they wanted, they were hardly able to say something. . It struck me like a frenzy, a trend. . that yes, I was there, and Facebooks photos in pretty poses to confirm the presence. . For the first 1 and a half hour or so, I was telling in my head to myself , “ I was right, these things are not going to help in anyway. . will never again come for this kind of a walk” But after the mob crossed st. Pauls Cathedral, we had candles lit and somebody started saying ,”1. 2. 3. 4... RAPE CASES NO MORE” and the whole crowd erupted ... It was a moment I would never forget. Each one of us were shouting at the top of our voices. The anger, the outrage against the system against the society, against the administration and of course against the rapists had acquired a voice, a momentum... I felt as if we would change, for the first time in that entire walk, I felt optimistic, I felt that yes we care; we show that we care and we will prove that we care. The enigma of that moment was impeccable. Now, that I have reached home, I am happy that I went for the march, it has infused a sense of self confidence. I just hope this is the start of a new beginning and not the end of the same story. Asked about the protest and the role of the social media, Anish Chakraborty says, The question was what we could do with an idea of a protest. The idea that spread through a social media like wildfire. The transparency of the whole thing and it's absence of political stigma brought people from all the ways of life. It was all through public forums and word of mouth. It shows the power of the social media to bring together people for a cause. I say - Rapes will continue, the crime against women shall continue, unless two things are done. An overwhelming majority of the crowd today is from the generation I belong to. . its my generation. We need to promise ourselves, and educate our children to respect the other gender, and feel them as equals... Trust me, education will remove the curse mostly, but few shall remain. For them, stricter and faster action from the administrations side is required. What we staged today, was a rising voice of this generation against the crime. . and a wish for faster actions. But I am apprehensive about the Governments' stand on this. After the brutal Delhi Gang rape in Delhi, 2 rapes were reported from Delhi, one from Siliguri ( West Bengal ), one from Tripura and one from Odisha. . All in a span of a week, and most of them - being brutal gang rapes. I condemn this. I am happy, I was a part of this, I am happy that I am blog posting about this, I am happy that I have photographed this and this shall remain in my blog as long as the blog stays. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-12-16 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-morning-blues-2/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Dalhousie, Esplanade, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Maidan, North Kolkata, Park Street, Photography, Portraits, snapshots, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: esplanade, kolkata, kolkata morning, new market, park street, sealdah Umm, the last set of photographs were not really good. I have taken them down. I present to you a new set of photographs. This is the second part of the series, shot in Kolkata over 3 days. . from 7 am to 9 am. Shot infront of New Market, Kolkata - 16 / 12 / 2012 Shot in Esplanade , Kolkata - 16 / 12 / 2012 Shot in Maidan, Kolkata - 25 / 11 / 2012 Shot in Esplanade, Kolkata - 25 / 11 / 2012 Shot near Park Street, Kolkata - 25 / 11 / 2012 Shot in Esplanade, Kolkata - 25 / 11 / 2012 Shot in Sealdah, Kolkata - 22 / 11 / 2012 Shot in Sealdah, Kolkata - 22 / 11 / 2012 =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-11-28 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/solace/ - Categories: Colours, Esplanade, Explore Kolkata, Guest Posts, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, snapshots, State, West Bengal - Tags: amartya saha, amrita bhattacharya, kolkata, solace, surya shekhar chakravarty S o l a c e . ~ Amrita Bhattacharya. The world might fall on me, yet I sleep on. This innocent sleep, which nourishes life, which takes away anguish and fills up with an unfelt sense of contentment, is my guest this day. ~ Surya Shekhar Chakravarty. Sleepless nights I have spent in a room... Another brick in the wall... I can see my doom... Tireless sleep, lying on a brick. No big budget insuarnces at stake. For protection I have a stick. No matter how dead the wall. No matter how great my fall. A ray of hope, the green in crimson brick... To destiny, I shall be a prick... Shall make it happen, when you ain't expecting me to rise... I Shall rise like a phoenix... ... High High... Till I die ~ Amartya Saha. Amrita Bhattacharya (di) is a dancer in Mamata Shankar Dance Company and is someone, I have always have heard high of, from my elder sister. Surya Shekhar Chakravarty is a student of Calcutta Boys' School. Keen in photography, he has other hobbies as well, including debating, cartooning, playing table tennis, writing lyrics, et al. He is all about "the show" ( For bengali's read : "Kyet" ) Amartya Saha is my school friend... and is now the Assistant Producer, Headlines Today Editorial. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-11-22 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaw-5/ - Categories: Black and White, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, snapshots, State, Street Photography - Tags: hand pulled rickshaws, kolkata, morning, sealdah Fifth part of the series. These photographs show the Rickshaw pullers busy in their morning schedule. The business includes, preparing for a day. . cook for themselves ( yes! I visited one of their homes today. Didnot like it. Neither did I expect a five star living standard, even then. ), haul children to their schools, transport materials / vegetables to the local vendors from the main market. I shot them in Sealdah today morning. Time frame : 7:00 am to 8:00 am. Photograph : Rickshaw repository? ( Where all rickshaws are dumped at day end! ) Photograph : Morning schedule includes cleaning dishes. Photograph : School time for kids... wanted to showcase the bucolism of busy Kolkata streets with the Rickshaws ( Is that a word even? Eh. derived from Bucolic ) Do comment on this post, and suggest betterment. I have started photography only very recently. Your suggestions help me better each time. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-11-21 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographying-a-friend-saurish-lahiri/ - Categories: Black and White, Colours, Kolkata, Photography, Photographying a Friend, Portraits, snapshots - Tags: photographying a friend, saurish lahiri Well, about Saurish. I am quite attached to their family. . Saurish, Deeptish, Uncle and Aunt. And I believe they too are. . Now that's this lazy guy who is a music freak, exactly the way I am fascinated about how the camera works wonder. . he fiddles with the guitar. When asked to pose with a guitar he went all "NO! " with it, ruining my composition in my mind. :) His is a face - you can read very easily. It grows looong when he is annoyed/ angry/ disapointed... and its tough fixing his mood. The otherwise unsocial guy is your friend and you know it, when he pings you for a chat by himself :) PS : He loves "Cool Blue". Update: 29-07-2013 Updated:04. 01. 2014 =================================================================== Feel free to ask me to photograph you :) I love the smile, when you see it turn out to be something good. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-11-21 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws-4/ - Categories: Black and White, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, snapshots, State, Street Photography, West Bengal - Tags: hand pulled rickshaw, hand pulled rickshaws, rest Fourth part of the series. These photographs show the Rickshaw pullers taking a break from their schedule and resting. Not that they get tired easily, but a sip of tea or a chitchat seems fine enough between two hauling. A short nap serves the purpose better. :) Photograph : Shot at Chandni Chawk. Photograph : Shot at Ahmerstreet. Photograph : Shot in Sealdah. Do comment on this post, and suggest betterment. I have started photography only very recently. Your suggestions help me better each time. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-31 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-profile-picture-business/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: Achira Dasgupta, achira saha, annesha paul, arpit saha, deeptish lahiri, dipak pandey, facebook profile pictures, Govind Damani, harshit mehta, kiranmoy sarkar, nagesh sahu, portraits, poulami bandhopadhyay, pratiti biswas, profile, raj roy, rajarshi bhadra, rimbik das, roshan singh, saurish lahiri, sayon kumar saha, Shrija Bannerji, Sukanya Sanyal, suman iyangar, toushik basu, zishan azad Most of our photography consists of people, of faces... mainly friends. And they love to change their facebook profile picture and that too quite often ! I love the sparkle in their eyes, when they see their photographs. . can feel them proud of themselves when they get "likes" on their profile picture. . This is perhaps the mechanical yet overtly emotional side of being a photographer friend. Here are some photographs that were made to be friends' profile picture, leading to either the highest or one of the highest "liked" profile picture. =================================================================== The photographer brings smile on your face by photographing you. Give the proper photograph courtesy, bring a smile on his face as well. =================================================================== Last update : 20. 04. 2013 =================================================================== Feel free to ask me to photograph you :) I love the smile, when you see it turn out to be something good. =================================================================== Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. =================================================================== "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-26 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/durga-puja-and-related/ - Categories: Autumn, Black and White, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Explore Bengal, Explore Kolkata, Festival, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Photography, Random notes, Season, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: durga puja, durga puja 2012, kolkata "First comes knowledge, then - observation, then comes photography. ", said one of the most renowned photographers in Kolkata. I started contemplating about it. "Lets know our traditions", he said while my friend and I, stared at him. The more we know, the more we feel . . we shall try to portray them in our photographs. That thought, that feel shall be our story. We asked ourselves, what more can we add to the Durga Puja ? What story shall we tell, in the ocean full of events ? Lets mark a change. Let's not keep pandal hopping. Lets feel puja, lets be a part of it. Let the description be up to your feelings. If you have a photograph that expresses the feel of the Durga puja, and want me to showcase it at my blog, do email it to me with your watermark at mailme@www. anirbansaha. com. PS : Publishing the photograph is entirely the site managers discretion. Photograph 1-4, 7-8, 10-14, 16 : Anirban Saha Photograph 5 : Sourav Bhunia Photograph 6 : Swaroop Singha Roy Photograph 9, 15 : Sandipa Malakar --- - Published: 2012-10-21 - Modified: 2015-10-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kola-bou-snan-durga-puja/ - Categories: Baghbazar, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Kolkata Street Photography, Kumartuli, Photography, Street Photography - Tags: durga puja, durga puja 2012, ganesha, india, kaol bo, kola bou, kolkata, west bengal, wife The "Kola Bou" (কলা বউ) of God Ganesha, fascinates any Bengali kid. One of the first rituals of Durgapuja is of the Kola Bou. It is the "Kola Bou Snan". Kola Bou: Popularly known as the wife of God Ganesha. The alternative story says, she is the manifestation of Maa Durga. It is a young banana tree, draped in a white saree with red border. Like the Bengali bride sports vermilion on the parting of her hair, the Kola Bou does the same. Haridas Mitra, saya that the Kola bou is intended to serve as a symbolic summary of the nine types of leaves ("Nava Patrika") that together form the sacred complex on Durga Puja. The officiating priests who carry out the ceremony tie a bunch of eight plants on the trunk of the plantain tree and it is the grouping of all nine plants that constitute the Kola bou. According to Martin-Dubost, the Kola bou does not represent a bride or shakti of Ganesha, but rather is the plant form of Durga. This was the first time I saw something as this. . and it was an over whelming experience. I got to see the dark blue of the sky giving in to the golden glow of the sun rise, while I kept listening to a friend of mine. The cool breeze, the river bank, the Dhaak beats, the sky of the Indian autumn and it leaves no space left to make an awesome morning, an awesome start to the Durga Puja. Do take a look at the photographs and share your honest view. I am a learner, and your views shall help me better my skills, develop better ideas. Where to shoot: Any Ganga ghat from Baghbazar to Prinsep ghat. Time: Slightly before sunrise. With inputs from : Aniket Bhattacharya Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-21 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-disguise-of-reflections/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: amartya saha, durga puja, maa durga, reflection The mighty finds expression in those who reflect its might from within... . A mother caresses carefully the reflection of her daughter... . one whom she has adored. raised... one who has come home after winning over her demons. The pristine durgotsav finds glory not in its fair share of a particular thing alone. But alone in one thing, the people's heart. How a person approaches these few days, makes a clay idol her own daughter, talks to her, caresses her before she goes. And yes ! Finds the reflection of unfathomable power within Durga in their own selves. Post written by : Amartya Saha He is Assistant Producer, Headlines Today Editorial. Gets to work on news bulletins. He has done his masters in media science and broadcast journalism from NSHM Institute of Media and Communication, This school friend of mine has always inspired me with his writing and his speech :) He has unnatural talent in delving into his soul finding words, and this is another of an example. A sparkling star from St Pauls Mission School, look out for more of his posts :) Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 email : mailme@www. anirbansaha. com All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-15 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mahalaya-and-tarpan/ - Categories: Autumn, Colours, Culture, Durga Puja, Explore Bengal, Explore Kolkata, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Portraits, Random notes, Season, snapshots, State, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: durga puja 2012, ganga, ghaat, ghat, kolkata, mahalaya, mullick ghat, street shots, tarpan For your peace, I pray to you and the Almighty (Shot at near 4:45 am, Mullick ghaat, Kolkata) Surprisingly the very few days of Durga puja when every traditional Bengali has a smile on the face, and plunges himself in the big celebrations starts with a ritual that goes to mark the short tenure of human life on earth - tarpan. It also marks the awakening of Goddess Durga - Mahalaya Mahalaya –takes a piece out of the mayhem that ensues to make a person thoughtful, reminds us, appeals to us to fight the evil within us and let the good within win. Tarpan- Brings us to pay homage to the people who are no longer with us and also to remember our life is as the bard has said “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances” The day when the mass wakes up at the wee hours of the morning and listen to Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s “Chandi Paath” ( Reciting / Chanting of the work of the Goddess Chaandi / Durga ) popularly known as the Mahishashurmardini ( The Goddess who killed the demon Mahishashur ), referring to Maa Durga (Goddess Durga). . Traditions elder to history, and multiple storied woven. . to guide the people towards the good, instil in them the rebel against the bad and be the good themselves. Cynics say, religion was the first entrepreneurial venture mankind knows of but one cannot ignore that religion in its purest form preaches nothing but harmony and love for the fellow human being. Each year, people go to the river Ganges to wash their sins, and pray for the well being of their ancestors. They offer food, water and prayers for them. Kolkata – the city of joy, being at the last end of the river, is the home to the biggest prayers. A place where the urban chaos and the rustic mayhem both gather in unison. The Ghats are filled up with people who come from different stratas. This is my first Mahalaya shoot and I must say, this will take me there each single year (if I stay in Kolkata). Sadly this year, I don’t have a photograph which I can brag about. However this montage is to present the snapshot describing the time I had spent there. Post edited by : Anish Chakraborty Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-08 - Modified: 2012-10-09 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-crowded-by-lanes-of-kumartuli/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: durga puja, kolkata, kumartuli, rush, tourism Reigning over the chaos. ( version 2. 0 ) Chaotic as one white skinned exclaimed, the chaos of the lanes of Kumartuli got on my nerves, when a big fat lady blocked the background of my subject, swiftly took out her mobile camera, photographed the idol and then asked her friends to pose infront of it. It killed my frame. On the second thought, like the family waits for a child to take birth. . the entire nine months, slowly watching the abdomen of their daughter growing into something as big as to deliver a healthy baby, the entire region of Bengal waits for the festival of Durga Puja, each single year with equal if not more - enthusiasm and energy. This perhaps is the spirit of the Durga Puja. Kumartuli is the womb to many pandals across the city of Kolkata and abroad. Not just the idol makers or the buyers, Kumartuli has developed to be the photographers destination, a tourist spot. . and as Sayon, my friend puts it - its no less than a picnic 12 days before the actual festival starts. We have mothers taking their children there, to make them see how an idol is made, or guides taking their white skinned tourists explaining even what "half coloured idols" are, often explaining to them the concept of the puja. I tried to photograph the business in Kumartuli, the rush, and the stillness of the objects around, and yes, Maa Durga. Do comment on this post, and suggest betterment. I have started photography only very recently. Your suggestions help me better each time. Kumartuli stands today as a celebration in itself. Do google about it , and if you are a photographer, hold on. . dont spoil someone else's frame :) Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-08 - Modified: 2016-08-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws-3/ - Categories: Culture, Kolkata, Kolkata Exclusive!, Kolkata Street Photography, Photography, Random notes, snapshots, Street Photography, Travel, West Bengal - Tags: hand pulled rickshaws, heritage, kolkata, kumartuli, north Third part of the series. These photographs were shot at Kumartuli. The beauty of these Rickshaws is that they enter any nook and corner of the city, without being hushed now. Once a prime mode of transport across gullis' of North Kolkata, this now forms heritage of the city, criticised by the activists on humanitarian grounds, the bengali moms love leaving their children to the nearest trustworthy rickshaw wala, to make them reach school in time. :) Photograph : Photograph : Transporting material to the other by lane. Photograph : Some time to rest. Do comment on this post, and suggest betterment. I have started photography only very recently. Your suggestions help me better each time. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-04 - Modified: 2014-07-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/lost-in-the-shadows-of-the-city-lights/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: alone, anirban saha photography, laketown, lonely, lost, portrait, saurish lahiri, street light It was another attempt, to shoot portraits in the street light. In this attempt, I wanted to do something different. We were up on the foot bridge, Lake town, where down below were the back light of the cars that were passing by. Thought of doing a silhouette. I dont know how the idea is, or even the photograph is. Would wish for a feedback from you. Lost in the shadows of the city lights Caption : Kuntal Goswami Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-10-02 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws-2/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots, travel - Tags: calcutta, hand pulled rickshaws, heritage, kolkata Sharing three more photographs of the hand pulled rickshaws of Kolkata. Do comment your honest reviews. Share ideas as well. Photograph : Another busy street, another attempt of using slow shutter while photographying Rickshaw pullers. (2012) Photograph : Shot in the rains, no clue about captions. Do suggest one. (2012) Photograph : Another busy street, another attempt of depicting the Rickshaw amidst the rush of the city. (2012) Link to the previous post : Kolkata and Rickshaws (1). Do post your feedback :) Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-09-30 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/innocence/ - Categories: Non Techie, snapshots - Tags: children, photo, shooting Children as subject have always fascinated me. But, you see ! Kids are not readily available. Shot few, and showcasing them now. Do take a look and leave honest reviews of it. Shall come up with more soon. If you want to shoot children, make sure that the child is very comfortable in front of the camera. Else, use telephoto lens and hide somewhere :P Kids look best when candid or left by themselves, or by their friends. I as a photographer, I spend more time noticing them and smiling myself, than photographing them :P Either use a telephoto lens or a prime lens for faster shutter. Telephoto lens generally takes time to stabilise and focus properly, my 55-300 does . . in that case use only prime lens. The first photograph in this series, was shot in Rajbalhat (29/04/2012), near Kolkata. Of all the kids near the "Taant" destination, I kept noticing this child, and his innocence drove me crazy. He kept hiding behind "n" number of other kids. His smile, even today brings a smile on my face. The second photograph in this series, almost got me arrested. I was photoshooting childrens at South City Mall, Kolkata at Childrens day (2011). While I got some candid shots, rest were mere ordinary. The above photographs were taken in different point in time, the left most at Howrah Station, Kolkata. The middle one at Tagore Birth festival at Jorasanko, Kolkata while the right most near Kumartuli, Kolkata. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-09-29 - Modified: 2012-09-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/wishing-to-be-a-stranger/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots, travel - Tags: kolkata, life, my camera, street, travel Wishing to be a stranger to the people around. There wont be a home, office or the general bustle of the streets. There wont be relationships as proper, but that of the smiles exchanged, or the stories shared. Me and my camera, some distant land with people whose language, I do not know. Wishing to be a stranger to the people around. There wont be a family, wont be colleagues. A land where acquaintance begins with a smile, felt more and expressed with a broader smile. Me and my camera, some unknown land where strangers touch my life. Wishing to be a stranger to the people around. Away from the bondage of regularity. Where love is less rhetoric and more care. Attachments more as the journey shared, and the less put into its place. Me and my camera, some humble land where the journey defines my life. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-09-10 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-formation-of-the-almighty-kumartuli/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: durga puja, kolkata, kumartuli, photographs Kumartuli is one of the places I go at least once and each year. Any aspiring or established photographer go there, its like the Mecca for the photographers. Sharing few photographs taken at Kumartuli in the last 3 years. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook Few of the photographs shot in the year 2009, 2010 and 2011 with Sony DSC H10 are --- - Published: 2012-09-10 - Modified: 2012-10-08 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-and-rickshaws/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: calcutta, hand pulled rickshaws, heritage, kolkata, rickashaw Kolkata's street photography is incomplete without photographs of the hand pulled Rickshaw. I present three shots of Rickshaws, different from what I had seen my contemporaries do, or perhaps different from what the few of the renowned photographers did. Photographs : I tried to keep it minimal, my feet over and near the head of a very elderly person who pulled the rickshaw in exchange of as less as ten rupees. (2010) Photograph was very elegant of the rickshaw pullers and it appealed to me. (2010) Photograph : I wanted to show a big crossing, busy street with heavy traffic and how instead of the slow pace, the hand pulled rickshaw coped with, forming a part of the city flowing and surviving with it. (2012) I have no specific reasons why I transformed them and presented them in monotone Black and White. May be that appealed to me, and I wanted the viewer to notice the subject and get with the feeling straight away , I am not sure. Do post your feedback :) Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-08-26 - Modified: 2012-08-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/pursuit-prayer-promises/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: 2012, delhi tour, Eid, india, jama masjid, kolkata, muslim, pir, random, series A snippet of the conversation with a "pir baba" of Jama Masjid, Delhi (2011). Coupled with photographs shot at Eid 2012, at Red Road, Calcutta. He asked,"what does your heart wish for? " I was unprepared for it. I said, "safety, peace, stability". He : "Who does not wish for it? " I sat there finding no answer, a slight smile on my face, questions in my mind, afraid to spill it out. He said, "We all want safety, we all want peace within ourselves and stability. What do we pray for? " I said, "We pray to the Almighty, to tell him our needs, and thank Him for what we get in our lives". He said, "Everyones' peace. . for stability all around us. For us to prosper. For us to feel Him, for our true knowledge. " As I grow, I understand what the eminent citizens of our society make the common people believe. They polish for us the better picture, which dwell in our hearts. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook --- - Published: 2012-08-26 - Modified: 2012-08-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/dhoibat-my-first-performance/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life - Tags: debut singing, first singing, performance, rabindrasangeet Dhoibat organised a inhouse rabindrasangeet evening, based on Tagore's Monsoon songs, which often led to personification and exhibited human emotions. Today was my first public performance as a rabindrasangeet student, and I was thrilled and was apprehensive. I did not know how I would perform. The over all review was okayish, or perhaps to the better side of it. The president of the group said, that feeling was what was lacking a bit, and I shall gain it with experience and exposure. I started learning Rabindrasangeet last year, from Dakshinee. I came in touch with few incredible people, which includes the likes of Shekhar Gupta and his family, Saikat Sengupta ( I knew him from before ) and made very good friends in them and Arindam Kanodia, Sutirtha da, and the entire group of Dhoibat. I enjoy being with them. Another reason why this day was special, was for my mother. This was the first time, she saw me infront of so many people and from such a close distance, performing. I felt like a child. These are things I have always wanted to do as a child, but that never happened. Perhaps, I am living my childhood days, with everything falling into place : photography, music and office. NB : In childhood, we had school, these MNC's are no better :/ PS : I missed Supratik, I so wish he was there. But sometime later may be :/ --- - Published: 2012-08-25 - Modified: 2012-08-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/blind-paradise/ - Categories: Guest Posts - Tags: chatterjee, M, mayukh, poem Sometimes on the mornings when everyone slept, she'd hum a few lines to soothe herself. She couldn't sleep nights in a row at times, but she could make out how the world worked without any lights. So one day she just left without a word, without a destination to hold her straight on her road. A little bit of the drug was all it took her to sway from the sense her parents said she had had all the way. She couldn't understand at first at all, why the world seemed so mute to her. Why the colors she knew so well couldn't brighten her heart, why the radio beside her bed died sometimes. All she heard were the notes floating through the air A bit of the majors and the minors, and the diminished ones so familiar here and there. And she knew that's what kept her alive, hoping for better days to come her way. And then she knew she needed to make a life out of the music The music that carried her blind soul to places so far away. So with all the grace she had left in the world, she made her way down the ladder and out of sight. ----------------------------------------------------------------- She knew the rains were well on their way, but she also had to get there straight away. She colored her wings so that the cars would notice. She lit up a fire so that the people could see. She broke her heart in two and threw it into the flames, and stood there proud with her head held high. She cut her wrists and felt them bleed. She ripped her soul to just try and see. She cut her pain with a broken knife, While the good doctors told her she'd be alright. And then one day she came back up the ladder with eyes in her soul, promising herself to keep making music till she was grey and old. She felt the winters turn into springs through the years She felt the anguish everytime she thought there were tears. She clutched at the curtains at times when she couldn't breathe. She groped through the window bars just to try and feel free. ----------------------------------------------------------------- When she got there she was all of thirty and a three, a decade from the day she'd started toiling ever so blindly. She soaked in her dreams dreamt from the young age of three. Realizing nothing, even for her blind soul, came absolutely free. Post written by : M. Random scribbler, a bit of a geek, musician, techie, and mighty fun. Uncombed hair is awesome, as is 3 quarters, a polo and my guitar on any day. :) Flamboyant, trendy, mad . His friends find him always handy and near when in need and definitely during madness or music. He is now in Pune, working for a software company of repute. He blogs at : I think Iblabble way too much A true straight-on-face friend that he is, look out for more of his posts :) --- - Published: 2012-08-21 - Modified: 2012-08-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/eid-ul-fitr-2012/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: 2012, child, Eid, girl, girl child, Id-ul-fitr, islam, kolkata, muslim, red road, religious harmony (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d. getElementsByTagName(s); if (d. getElementById(id)) return; js = d. createElement(s); js. id = id; js. src = "//connect. facebook. net/en_GB/all. js#xfbml=1&appId=222891141095649"; fjs. parentNode. insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Islam and its rituals interest me. This was the second Id-ul-Fitr shoot for me and I do visit mosques quite often. Muslim people, at least on this particular day, amaze me. They come from different parts of the city, to sit on the streets and pray. This time it rained, but that did not seem to bother them. Among the assembly, which mainly consisted of men, sat this little girl, bright pink in a sea of more muted, masculine colors. The guardian made the two children sit, and had asked the little girl to put on the veil to cover her head. I believe that's a mark of respect. For me, this was the defining moment of the day: the orthodox elder welcoming change, bringing his girl child to the Eid assembly, covering her head tenderly with the veil; and alongside the other young child expressing refusal to be a part of it. Do send me your reviews. Post edited by : Andrea Mandal. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography Contact : +91 9903055542 All rights reserved. "Like" Anirban Saha Photography at Facebook All rights reserved. Any unauthorised use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited. Contact : +91 99030 55542 --- - Published: 2012-07-21 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/just-another-blog-post/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots, travel I just noticed, I didnot really blog post this entire month. So I thought of coming up with a post, personal in nature. . mainly speaking about my whereabouts. So where do I start ? My last personal blog post was during ILP. So I start from there. I am assigned a work role of SAP ABAP Consultant, hopefully shall be on board this week. I am liking ABAP. Its like any other language. When Sumit Datta told - You need to learn one language properly, rest of the others are a cake walk, I refused to believe him then. Three years down the line, I find myself to have fiddled with many computer languages and finally landing up with SAP ABAP. I hardly attended Dakshinee classes in the last 2 months. And Sounak da started training me in basics of Indian Classical Music. I have hardly attended any KWS shoot. And my photography got limited to shooting friends' portraits for their facebook profile, and under low light. I tried shooting portraits under street lights, and I have shared the initial results on my blog. My birthday was very peaceful :P It was the first time, someone wanted to plan my birthday... and I loved it. Thanks Sayon and Harshit for it. These days, I started hanging out with Raj ( Rajarshi Bhadra ) and his friends. Did a mad Digha trip with them. It was awesome. Raj has shifted to Coimbatore, Deeptish shall shift to Bangalore. Argh. Aninya and Annesha asked me to join the Salsa classes. Well, I did. And I am loving it. Shall be continuing with it. Made new friends there, liking their company. . and this is my first training of a dance form. I am slow learner when it comes to dance. :/ I bought the Samsung SIII for myself. Could not really resist the temptation. Was leading a month of austerity, when I believe The Almighty just told me : Dude, you passed the exam for austerity, come on - I am sending you some money. LOL. Now why do i say that? The cover photo of Bickram Ghosh's next album was shot by me in the year 2011. I dont know how, but he got to know it. . and after more than one year, his PA got in touch with me, and shall be signing a cheque as "token of appreciation". Well, that came at the time when my bank balance crashed. Thank you Almighty, some times you make me feel your favourite child ! Of all the other news, I have decided not to drink (or atleast not as frequently) alcohol. I felt bad, and I think it was touching weird limit. aah... what else ? None of the blogposts of this sort end without me thanking people. So here I start - Sounak da, thank you for tutoring me. My seniors at TCS - Sayantan da, Sudipto da, my PL for allowing me to chip out of office to attend music class. My colleagues - Mrinalini, Nitish, Partho, Amit, Supratik - for such good acquaintance. Madhu , Ruchi di, Siddharth - for the friend ship. Tapashree di, for all the patient help. Deeptish, Saurish for all the time spent, with you, and your friends. Aninya, Annesha - LOL. . thank you for everything. The Tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh, for remembering me after more than one year ! Raj, Bhoju - for all the warmth. --- - Published: 2012-07-21 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/if-only-in-real-i-could-fly-drunkards-poem-1/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: angel, drun, drunk, evil, fairy, fly, god, hallucination, hrishikesh, if only i could fly, poems, shree pramanik Shooting oneself, ourselves to the infinite blue... floating on your dreams, pretending to fly. Closed eyes, breathing deep, senses numb, having no clue, Riding your dreams, pretending to fly. --- The evil all around, this dark night. The feel of you . . the look so sly. Nothing takes me. . much as you do... as up as this , and so high. The evil all around, this dark night. If only in real, I could... fly. Higher than fear , there one screams. . I forgot where I started from, floating in the void, living my life greater than my dreams. The evil all around, this dark night. If only in real, I could... fly. --- There stood my angel with her smile so sly, whispering arguments, which I would never buy. The evil all around, this dark night. I wish, I wish If only in real, I could fly. Up up. . I reached. . high in the blue. . Higher than the evil , having no clue. . Stands with arms open, there was my whitest white. Never in my life, I saw something as bright. The evil all around, this dark night. I wish, I wish If only in real, I could fly. Up up. . I reached. . high in the blue. . Higher than the evil , having no clue. . There at the horizon, stood Anirban While he cried. And here I am, floating in the air, in himself he died. The evil all around,/ this dark night. I wish, I wish If only in real, I could fly. --- I wish, I wish I could fly, as wild as my thought. that argument that never stood bought. The evil all around,/ this dark night. I wish, I wish If only in real, I could fly. It's her hand that was sought. . Good with Evil tied in the knot... If only in real I could fly. I wish I wish I wish I could fly. 3rd graphic is based on a painting by Shree Pramanik. --- - Published: 2012-07-01 - Modified: 2014-07-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-harshit/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: anirban saha, harshit, harshit mehta, mehta, park hotel, photography, photographying a friend, the street And as I said in the last blogpost, I hardly photograph these days, and if at all. . its either low interior light or the street lights, and the subject - Human beings... and this is Harshit Mehta. And as is the way I write, I have to write a brief about Harshit, and I am trying hard to find words. Well, it really shall take me time to find words to describe how much I trust him, both in personal and matters related to work. From college junior to being a brother, a person who is an excellent presenter, direct from heart. . needs a bit of initial guidance at first, but once done with that, he finds his way out with the work and flawlessly. Well he is the guy I generally shared a booze with in Durgapur, be it happiness or the sad times, be it the chilling winters, or after the monsoon shower! I dont really think twice before sharing a hi with him, or asking him to come over to my place. . and somewhere in my mind, I know- he shall be there! I guess that is enough said! People who now me, shall understand by now how much I trust him :P So heres' few snapshots of the person with the warm smile :) Shot at ISO 2500, Place : The Park Hotel, Kolkata. Date : June 23, 2012. And I thank Harshit and Sayon for making my birthday such special one :) Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-06-14 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/street-light-and-portraits/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: arpit saha, bokeh, deeptish lahiri, kolkata lights, portaits, rajarshi bhadra, rimbik das, street light Street lights can be interesting. Having said this, I would like to say, I have taken a new interest in human portraits. Somehow, call it lack of outings, or spending more time with friends each Sunday. . all I end up shooting are human beings, and in the evenings. What I understood is, street lights can also be good for portraits, atleast for my friends to get good facebook profile picture. I am sharing few photographs of the same, for you to see. Friend : Arpit Saha I liked the shade of the photograph, posed by the street lights. The bokeh produced by the shining edges of the cars travelling in esplanade, Kolkata added to the photograph. The street lights, and the decorations added to the expression of Arpit in this photograph. Towards the right of the photograph, the cars rushing past, also created some effect. Generally, the dark circles by the eyes side, does seem bad. I would leave it to my viewers review on how they liked/disliked this photograph. This was shot at ISO 4000. Place : Esplanade, Kolkata. Friend : Deeptish Lahiri. He is a very lovable kid, and wanted a photograph of him, that would go well with the "Evil" image, he wants to put on for some days! Both the photographs are shot at the Prinsep Ghat. The green lights produced the necessary evil effect, and his face is expressive as ever. The light on one side, created a black shadow at the other... and I refused to have it. Instead I concentrated on his eyes, nose and lips. Tried focusing on the eyes. The sly smile, and the white bokeh behind him, I believe did the trick. He might be taking this as "evil", but the innocence of the eyes, could never translate to much evil. The comments in his profile, suggested girls going gaga over him :P and I somehow had a feel of it. Thus, I shot him next. . zooming deeper into his face. Focusing on this nose, and lips. . a trial to make him look sensual. I donot know how much it succeeded. Would appreciate your reviews. ISO 2500. Friend : Rajarshi Bhadra Shot at Haldiram's, VIP Road, Kolkata An extremely straight forward guy at heart and that shows in his portraits. Here again, I loved the bokeh that are created by the street lights, the yellow ones that are old. . and the white ones - that the new government planted. It creates a dreamy world for me, and Rajarshi expresses wonder in the first photograph. Both the expressions in the photograph characterise it. The latter, is edited by Rajarshi himself to put up as his profile picture. ISO 2500. Friend : Rimbik Das. This is not exactly shot fully in street lights. This was shot during the sunset, infront of South City Mall, Kolkata. A slight shower , the glass infront of my camera, street lights played very nicely to create the effect. Rimbik too is a very lovable and innocent young lad. I wanted to showcase his innocence, and I believe this photograph is somewhere near to what I had expected of his portrait. This too is shot at a very high ISO 2500. I believe the photograph is somewhere balanced. I jotted down few lines for this photograph : Moments to cherish, makes me look for you, Moments grim, a drive to ourselves a new, Moments of love, makes me feel you. Moments of togetherness... still as fresh as a drop of dew. A look back at you. I would like my friends ( read : viewers ) who see this, express their views of the same. Some encouragement for the same is required :D You can comment your thoughts, feelings, suggestions for improvements, ideas down below, preferably using the facebook comment system. :) Thank you. Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-06-02 - Modified: 2012-06-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/attached-strings/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes It was the early hours of Nov 21, 2011 that I tweeted : "What remains at the end of it all, is what had actually mattered. " I was thoughtful, but wasnt sure of what exactly I was thinking about. I wish life had been as mathematical as I presumed it to be. It has way more feelings and emotions, and yes - people, than I ever thought was possible. These days, I want some enclosure, some sort of an insulation that would cut me off from the rest of the world. For few moments, I closed my eyes, pulled my blanket up till my eyes, turned by my side, and tried to sleep. Is it the same me who once said, life is completely digital? its all 0 and 1 ? 0 means "dude/mam! fuck off... its my world". . 1 means ... "i love you, stay with me, my entire lifetime". Is it the same me, who once believed in discussions and motivation? I am more instintive than ever perhaps, following my heart at every possible juncture, then also not contenting myself. Am I over-expecting from myself now? or some sort of a miracle to happen ? fall, fall... swirling down the way to the negetive infinity. There is something inbetween the 0 and the 1. Perhaps the attached strings... and you keep hanging there. Couldnot sleep that time, and I didnot want to ponder upon these. Got up to see my dad snoring on the other bed, after a super brain cracking day of internal audit. Went to the window, peeped out. The guard was sitting on his chair asleep, and I murmered "what fun! " To me, the definition of my world has been changing not too many times, if you listen to my heart... its quite the same, with minor changes only very recently. Today even when I turn back at my college life, its all smiles, but the faces have already started fading, few faces prominent... they are proper "1"s. What about the other "1"s of my life? Did they actually matter ever to me, or could I have done without them. Its a question, unjust to ask. . I wont ask that. I am a person who lives for today... today is the time to be in. Yesterday is a bag of gratitude, respect that. Future is my packet of opportunities, a fortunes gift... a wrapped box. It can contain anything, lets leave no possibilities out in our imagination. Lets plan it, 5 steps down the line. All plannings, gratitude stays on the wall of our insulation... whats in the innermost fold of our hearts? That's another question which I didnot want to ask. I feared, the answer might have made me fall in my own eyes. But the question was already asked. What remains at the end of it all, is what had actually mattered. Rest didnot, and the ones inbetween the 0 and the 1, should not have mattered. Do I seem rude? or am I flowing with the tide? I dunno, I feel I am sounding mean these days. ~ A diary post. Date : Nov 28, 2011. --- - Published: 2012-06-02 - Modified: 2012-06-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/star-leading-us-to-the-newer-life/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes Discussion has driven the social media forward. This is another of my scribbles from diary date 31st December 2011. This christmas eve really got me thinking. What if we really had a star which would guide us to the Almighty? then we could submit ourselves to the Supreme. . Or do we already have one? Our lives are a collection of stories each of which speaks of circumstances, constraints and how we manage to survive. How we manage, defines us. If we had had the star to guide, wouldn't we all have known all right decisions? Life would have been all good-good with little or no challenge, not much to feel, not much to regret. Or are regrets a way to the Supreme? One feeling connects each two of us, that feeling is a manifestation of love, in the most sincere way. What connects us to the Lord? A part of me, says its the star that guides us. A part of me says, its regret. Regret, and the feeling of it when masked, leads to no happiness. And star is not feasible. What truth then, leads us to the union with the Lord? At a certain place, beyond the limits of our perception, all feelings unite. Love mixes with vanity, unites with regret. Unite unto our own soul, perhaps lighting our innermost corner of soul. Is that the star, I want? The discussion that followed next in the facebook page gave in stronger emotions, quoting from there. Anirban Dasgupta writes, Regret is and always will be the driving force to spirituality for those who kid themselves by pretending to account themselves for everything they hav achieved, I can spk 4 myself atleast as I am an obligate member of that community! ! :) sometyms we do xperience things, and by things, I here mean the good things that has nothing to do wid our contributions towards achieving it, but we conveniently fail to conceive that, wat we do is wake up during the sufferings and turn back and sound philosophical. . ur point of corelating regret with spirituality is applicable to that very fraction of ppl . . Anshul Gautam wrote and I quote... ... When do we have regret? When mistakes we do, on facing challenges and we don't get able to give our best into them and likewise. And with regret comes realization, directions we missed; slack areas we didnt work upon; a handful of perfection we grab. Love for others, and love to live; spectral sermon and regret's sieve Shall be the next intrigue; This New Year's motive. Atmaja Santra chipped in to say , life as we travel through it. . can be dominated by hope,by strong emotions,or even a particular concept... so everything that we stumble on,everything that hurts us,gives us an adrenaline rush could be important in learning what next we should do... so the thing with almighty is we are never certain of its' existence or how he is leading us... n the unpredictable part of it makes it more interesting. . but as i said,life can b ruled by a concept,so the hope that stays burning in ur heart might be the star you're looking for... Do place your valuable thoughts down below as a comment :) --- - Published: 2012-05-09 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nasscom-it-niketan-tech-unique-1-0-turn-the-table/ - Categories: awards and mentions, entrepreneurship, Episodes of my Life - Tags: nasscom, passion, speech, tech unique, turn the table NASSCOM or its events need no introduction. I shall skip that part, and shall start discussing what the section "Turn the table" was. It showcased 4 speakers, who's profession was somewhat driven by, or shaped by their passion. The speakers include Mr Vikram Kumar (Entrepreneur, DataResolve Technologies), RJ Arvind (94. 3 fm), Sherman Jackson (Designer) and me. For me it was a pleasure speaking in this occasion, to such a audience which was either students or extremely high profile dignitaries. Nothing in between though ! Haha. I spoke about my passions - fiddling with photography and bits of Rabindrasangeet. Since, there was considerable percentage of students there, I wanted to make it interactive. The idea got struck down by the lack of time :( Nevertheless I shared examples, for them to know, feel and get inspired. I spoke on - Learning, what photography is for me, about passion, how our schedule plays a role, about sincerity, about passion and profession and somehow fusing them together making ourselves happy. I showcased few of my photographs. Few moments, that I am going to carry a long way to go. . i) When I asked, "How many of us here are Students? " and Mr Rajendra Pawar raised his hands up smiling. :D He started the applause many times, and interacted very freely, easing me. PS : I was really taking "chaap", but that eased me off a bit. ii) The shock of my life, when Suparno da (He heads NASSCOM, Eastern India) asked me to sing few lines after presentation. I was not prepared. I sang 4 lines of "Oi Ashontoler", first line was complete out of scale, rest were okay. I was shivering. That was the first time, I sang on mic, and enjoyed the way my voice reverberated inside the hall. Although not good, I enjoyed it. iii) Getting memento from Mr Bikram Dasgupta and Mr Babu. Mr Dasgupta is someone, who is regarded extremely dynamic and a demi-God for us students who are entrepreneurial. It was a pleasure to even see him by my own eyes. Sharing the slides with you. Passion. People. Profession. View more PowerPoint from Anirban Saha I thank Supratik, for being there all the while while I was preparing for my speech, giving valuable inputs and examples of Pandit Buddhadeb Dasgupta, and Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh ! They played wonders with the audience. I thank Aninda da, for having given me this opportunity to interact, it was an absolute pleasure, thank you for all the encouragement. Heart felt regards for Sudipto sir, Dr S Dasgupta (both from my college BCET) Mr Saikat Sengupta (my music teacher) Aji sir, Kamanashish da, Sumana di (for all the love and care) --- - Published: 2012-05-08 - Modified: 2012-05-08 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/rabindra-jayanti-at-st-pauls-mission-school-2012/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, snapshots - Tags: kolkata, rabindra jayanti, sealdah, st pauls mission school I am an alumni of St Pauls' Mission School, Kolkata. After having left school, I made it a point not to miss it. Instead concentrate more on the coming future. But something in my heart wished for... to get back to my school. Attended the Rabindra Jayanti Utsav at my school and I am delighted. Before I go into the details of the program... I need to mention: 1. The School has a new principal. I had heard a lot about her. Today had the fortune to see her speak, meet her. She is extremely warm, positive and more than anything else - dynamic and full of new ideas. 2. The school had had a makeover. Few shifts here and there, and Church block re installed. 3. Old teachers are supposed to be retiring, new teachers are reportedly haughty. 4. Different activity clubs are formed, Rabindra jayanti and other occasions are celebrated in a better way. Unlike the past, food is served after every occasion. 5. Students are reportedly and visibly more disciplined. And I actually find them happier. Happier than the batches that preceded them, and our batch. In all a thumbs up to the new principal ! She has also made the board governing visibly active. In my school life, I hardly understood that a board of Governors actually exist! It started with Dr Massey smiling at me, and a warm welcome. Mrs Ganguly anchored, inviting and welcoming the chief guest, with Ref Adhikary proceeding with the prayers. The musicale started with "Dwanilo Ahoban Modhuro Gombhir", "Momo Chitte nrite nritye". . The next section was striking. It gave an overview of how Tagore portrayed his female characters. A brief of dance-dramas were given and the following were sung: i) "Choron Dhorite diyo go amare" (Shyama) ii) "Mor bina othe kon shure baaje" (Shaap mochon) iii) "Ami Chitrangada" (Chitrangada) iv) "Bhalobashi Bhalobashi" (Roktokorobi) The junior school kids of class 2-4 enacted "Bir purush". A brief of Tagores' insight to Christianity was also given. The song that followed was "Ekdin jara merechilo taare giye". The guys that danced to it were very good, and Sagnik who sang is already a star. . but I shall be waiting for his CD's to come out in the market. He is THAT good ! Different stages of life, few texts from Tagore. . "Premer joware", "Aamra nuton jouboner dut", "Jokhon porbe na mor paayer chinyo" followed next. The paularians (as we fondly call ourselves) presented the skit - "Chinta shil", which was hilarious. I almost ROFLed. The next song was "Anondo dhara bohiche bhubone". What followed next, and I didnot like is the Amitabh Bachhan version of the song. This could have been avoided, when all the rest of the songs were done in purist form. There were few electrical glitches. The lights were too low, and very frequently changing making photography a hard luck exercise. I am elated, and what an occasion to get back to school premises. The same warm feeling. Okay, these days too much of Bengali is being used... but that's perfectly okay. These days, I find kids who are proud of their school and vocal about it. Especially when they represented our school and won awards for it. This will definitely go a long way to take the school forward, and perhaps in a very right direction. I , as am alumni and a very loyal one, is optimistic. NB: This is the occasion, that brought old retired teachers back together... and the new principals' child is extremely choto and cute \m/ --- - Published: 2012-04-20 - Modified: 2012-11-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-friend-1-arpit-saha/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: arpit saha, friends, photographs, photographying a friend, portraits Shot few portraits of Arpit and sharing it with all today. Please do suggest me improvements. tried playing a bit with the light and the shadow. Spot lights and street lights were used. ISO were as high as 4000. Added few grains to the first photo... The software used to edit the photos is Picassa. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-03-30 - Modified: 2012-11-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-morning-blues/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anirban saha photography, blues, kolkata, kolkata morning, morning, photographs Few snapshots describing Kolkata's mood in the morning. These shots were mainly taken in the northern part of Kolkata during 7:00 am to 9:00 am. The familiar abstract The vendor of Burrabazaar The 7 am bus's The sporty Kolkata The morning shift breakfast! The childhood dreams. The business starts at near 8 ... The 9 am Sunday games! A fragment of peace And one familiar sight , every morning in North Kolkata is ... The torko-baadi Bangali. Friends, the series is not yet over, this is just the start... Do leave your suggestions for improvement... or development of the theme. . Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-03-28 - Modified: 2013-11-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/by-thy-name-o-lord/ - Categories: Colours, Kolkata Street Photography, Nakhoda Mosque, Photography, snapshots, Street Photography - Tags: kolkata, mosque, muslim, Nakhoda, nakoda masjid, nakoda mosque, peace, serenity When it comes to photographing serenity in its purest forms, Nakoda Mosque has always been a preferable location for me. This was shot on 25th of March 2012, at Nakoda Mosque, Kolkata. Few shots are magical. You click it, share it and people start liking it. I shared this photos link with not more than 6 people, for their views are near gospel words for me, but gradually more than 150 people "like"d this photo at mt photography page. I am not finding words for a write up that would go with this... you all are free to contribute your feelings (as comments) :) --- - Published: 2012-03-27 - Modified: 2012-03-27 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ilp-completion-and-saanjh/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Wrap up - Tags: aritra chattoraj, ilp, mrinalini, piyali, ronnie shee, supratik, tcs Had an apprehensive start to this journey, but today we complete 60 working days at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, marking the end of the Initial Learning Program. The professional transformation is quite visible, and there was quite few stuff to learn. Our bizz lead, did extreme minute observation of my speaking, and I had to prove myself a diligent student. This was a lovely journey, and I made few real good friends, from our learning group and from other learning groups as well. The demo project, and me being the module leader of NON-LIC dummy project module 3 was very significant in my life. It was kind of pushing of my own limits. Earlier my team used to be of juniors, who never refused me any thing. I did welcome their thoughts, give them space. . but if I asked them to do something, they never refused. But this team in ILP, had members who were better than me in some way or the other. The only good thing that pushed me to this was some blunt confidence :P , complete hard work, and what others say - innovation ( I call it previous experience ). I often thought how to react if someone refused me some work. Hahah... I acted very cautious, mailing people their responsibilities. For the first time, I shared the responsibility, rather - the leadership. Manu (Bajpai) is a very nice hand to work with. It was such a pleasure working with him. The entire team - Manu, Sachin, Subhankar, Arnab, Manmohan and me gave in our bits, to complete the work. Perhaps for the first time, I started concentrating on the way I dress :D Bought lots of clothes for myself :P ILP was real fun, each time I speak to someone, I keep remembering the inter-personal relationship lessons :P Each time, I go up on the stage, I start concentrating on the speaking skills :D Last few days of ILP was like college. We shall be having the cultural program this evening,. . and I so wanted to sing in it. But I ended up making posters and shall be anchoring in the first slot. I need to end this here (read : Lack of time). This post is incomplete without thanking few friends - Supratik, you were a support, you are a support. . and hopefully shall remain a support. . Aninya,Annesha- I never tire thanking you. . Manmohan, thank you for the initial encouragement, Manu- for being such wise and incredible, Piyali - for not thinking me to be mad :P Mrinalini- for all the learning logs ! Aritra Chattoraj, looking forward to more work with you, the entire batch of K28 - Ronnie, Anirban Dasgupta, Vinod, the mota-guy, Saranipa, Mounomukhor, all ! My entire batch of K25, for making the journey such pleasant one. I wont be mailing you from now \m/ I also need to thank Aritra who changed the name to "Saanjh" from "Sandija", it sounds so good, and my friend Prashant Awasthi from Lucknow, who helped me with the basic format of the Saanjh poster ! God bless. --- - Published: 2012-03-20 - Modified: 2014-07-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/you-took-my-heart-away-soul-vibes/ - Categories: Uncategorized - Tags: debatma, raz dee, sayon, soul vibes, you took my heart away // Could not help but share Soul Vibes's latest song - "You took my heart away". These guys amaze me with their dedication to good music... so here's presenting Sayon Kumar Saha (as Cinematographer), Raz Dee (as Vocalist and Music Producer), Debatma (as Vocalist and Video Director). --- - Published: 2012-02-29 - Modified: 2014-03-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/dark-designs-smoke-photography/ - Categories: Colours, Photography, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: dark design, indian designs, smoke designs, smoke photography I had been wishing to try Smoke Photography for quite some time now, after being inspired by Prashant Awasti's work, and Abhijit Das' work. But, somehow didnot manage enough time or resources to try my hands on it. Today, I managed to try it and this are what I have come up with :) Do check and leave for me reviews : Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. PS: I changed host,this is a duplicate entry, comments to the original post has been lost. --- - Published: 2012-02-26 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/jayita-sahas-marriage/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, snapshots, Wrap up - Tags: anirban saha photography, bengali marriage, bokeh, jayita saha, jayita saha marriage, saha family, soumen das I wrote an entire paragraph, and then I backspaced one character after the other. . Not that I did not have the option to select all and backspace, but backspacing one after the other seemed more melodramatic and suited my mood. :P Sharing 2 photographs from the marriage First photograph's different effect (tried photoshop actions) Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-02-14 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/asha-o-alaap/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: aatreyee, asha, love, meet, valentines day, wish আশা - ও - আলাপ জানালা দিয়ে তোমাকে দেখা , আজ নতুন নয় ... তুমি পাল্টালে না | বেরোনোর সময়ে , সেই উঁচু গলায়ে - "মা আসি" বলে , আমার দিকে চাওয়া | আর তার পর? এক ছুটে চলে যাওয়া ... আমি বলি "দুগ্গা দুগ্গা" . . আমি এখন কি তোমার এক অভ্যাস ? হয় তো তাই... আজ কেন এই নতুন ব্যাকুলতা , জানিনা... হমমমমম ... এখন যেতে হবে, ওরা ডাকছে . . অনেক কাজ পরে . . প্রার্থনা করি, আজকের দিন ভালো যাবে. দাঁড়াও , একটু দাড়াও... আমার সামনে থাকো , আমার সঙ্গে থাকো কিসের এত ব্যাকুলতা ? আজকে এড়িয়ে যেও না, না যেও না . . ডাকুক ওরা তোমাকে. . তোমার নীরব দু চোখ , বলে যায়ে অসংখ্য অস্পষ্ট অনুভূতি ... না আজ না, আজ এড়িয় না ... আজ আসি, কালকে এই জানালায়ে দেখা হবে . . তুমি আবার সময় দেরী-তে বেরোবে,উঁচু গলায়ে বলবে, "মা আসি ". . তোমার চোখ আমাকে খুঁজবে . . তার পর, এক দৌড়. . আমি বলব - "দুগ্গা দুগ্গা" Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-02-04 - Modified: 2012-02-05 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-month-just-over-at-tata-consultancy-services/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes - Tags: .net, anindya, aninya, annesha, first five digit salary, first salary, ilp, life at ilp, life at tcs, manmohan, one month, supratik, tcs, training, vivek (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d. getElementsByTagName(s); if (d. getElementById(id)) return; js = d. createElement(s); js. id = id; js. src = "//connect. facebook. net/en_GB/all. js#xfbml=1&appId=235010883200660"; fjs. parentNode. insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));It has been one month in the Tata Consultancy Services, and my friends are so full of questions. So, here is a wrap-up of all the madness. This post is LONG, you might try clicking on the sub topics: 1. About ILP 2. Complete Personal info 3. How I am spending my money 4. What I am looking forward to. The first sixty working days are the part of ILP - Initial Learning Programme. It brushes up all the technologies you have learnt in your B. Tech. One HR person told, that this is the honeymoon period in TCS. So far it has been so good. The first day we got our employee ids'. The documents were checked. Make sure, you have the documents , especially the service agreement and the non criminal affidavit ready. Here employees are not employees, they are "associates", and the backbone of the Tatas' is its set of values, which screams out "TEAM WORK". Our learning group (class) has 2 leads - Ms Chinmoyee Kundu ( Tech-lead ) and Mrs Suchitra Mukherjee ( Bizz skill lead). ILP is fun. Its learning, and doing activities . We have no online exams. Each module ends with a "Final diagnostics", which is viva and presentation. Few handpicked associates have to appear for the telephonic viva from Thiruvananthapuram. The ILP begun with a PreAssessmentTest (PAT) and shall end with a Post Assessment as well. Although many associates say - "Dont need to prepare for PAT, it doesnot count", I would suggest if you are from a non-CS (nCS) background - make it a point to prepare for it. If you read one hour a day, you will stay in practice (of studying), and will get the computing concepts... because the ILP is just brushing up. Dont expect the kind of tutorials we had had in school or colleges. Here grades are given. . LL0 means- "dude, arise awake and stop not till you go to RL1! " , LL1 means - Learning Level 1, the next higher grade is RL1, means Ready Level 1, and the highest grade is RL2. The final feedback to the HR's will be sent by the respective leads in your learning group, based on your performance in diagnostics, assignment and activity in the learning group. Know this much, too much insight to the future can be harmful! ^Top I got the . NET training, and had to part ways with Anindya, Aninya, Annesha and many of my friends, who all got Java training. :( Along with me, Supratik is also there in . NET training. Our Bizz Skill lead has uncanny resemblance with my school teachers, and I love attending her classes. And I behave very responsible in her classes. I used to be the usual kid me, in the Tech classes, but I am slowly , you know... making sure, I dont behave kiddish or irritating... and I feel, I am doing a good job. I love programming, and I love taking assignments :P C# is entirely new to me, and I had always been bad at DBMS, but I am loving the time. My learning partner is Supratik. This means we share our assignments. and my presentation partner is Pooja Shekhar. I spoke well in my first presentation, but forgot to look at the slides. That got pointed out, and second presentation was a debacle. Pooja fumbled at first, and I should have skipped some portion to manage time, which I didnot. And I should not have shown the demo... but i wanted to show it to make it different, but alas, I hardly had time to explain. I was loud, but our Bizz Lead didnt really complain. In the initial diagnostics, I got a Rl1 in speaking, and also in writing skills. In writing skills classes, they teach us how to be precise. Mam often complains about me, not being precise or else very discontinuous in my writing. Well, I am trying my best! I am really enjoying the time with Supratik, Tanmoy, Vivek, Chetan, Sachin, Mrinalini(who is not a bengali! ), Shubhankar, Arindam, Kalyanjit all around me :P I love the way Pooja, Manu and Supratik carriy themselves. There is a lot to learn! Need to share 2 insights, 1. The 2nd day, I was sad about not having anindya, aninya and annesha in my learning group. But the warmth shown by Manmohan really made me feel comfortable, and look forward to the next day! 2. When mam was selecting the Class Representatives, I also reluctantly put my hand up, nominating myself for the post. Why reluctantly? - 4 out of the 32 students are from CSE-A, and the other 3, hardly know me. But every one knew me by my extracurriculars (And I believed they disliked me :P ) - I wanted Supratik to be the CR :P - Vivek's hand was also up, and he too wasnt a bad candidate either. But surprisingly, I got the second highest vote, 2 less of Supratik who became the CR. This kinda tells me, that the class doesnt really hate me, or is open for a new beginning. That is motivating and I am so game for it. Its always good to get a second chance to improve upon mistakes, if at all any. Personally speaking, I am low in confidence. . and I need to strike a balance between everything - music, photography and work... and see, I again forgot to mention family :P ^Top LOL :P There were a lot of speculations. We thought we wont get our salary as we didnot update our bank account details in time. (Which is 5th of every month, and we joined TCS on 4th) But the last working day, we got our salary. The SBI account holders didnot get their salary in January. But those who has Axis bank salary account got their salary! When I got my first 4 digit salary (not exactly salary, but yes money from work) I gifted mom something. . When I got my second 4 digit sum, I gifted bhai (souvick) a watch. . when I got my 3rd sum I gifted mom a dinner set. After that I didnt get that much amount of money, and whatever little I got, got included in my pocket money :P So this time, after keeping aside 200 bucks for puja, I made sure that the first gift was to dad! I also bought him "mishti" from his favourite store which he only visits if the occassion is BIG! (yea, BIG in capital letters). I hardly got an opportunity to thank him! Then I closed my eyes and tried to think what I couldnot buy because of no-money. Damn! There was hardly anything. . I tried hard and then I remembered I couldnot afford a blazer on 2nd Jan 2012 (just before joining TCS) so,. . I bought a Blazer for myself! I went to the "Just Linc" store in City centre. I once loved collecting pens, and this was the store for me. I visited it after a long time, and I got pens for myself :P Tried buying stuff for didi, but ... the one that caught my eye would have blasted my pocket! so. . next month ! . . and today I shall be getting something for mom... and lo! Salary over :P Update (05/02/2012): Got watches for sister/brother-in-law and sarees for maa, jethima, choto thakuma^Top LOL, like my new approach towards life. . each step a new step, and I promise I will gift each day a better anirban. For now, I have to practise yawning with my hands covering my mouth :P LOL... need to complete each assignment fully properly within deadlines, prepare for vivas and presentation, attend music classes on saturday and sunday, shoots on sundays. . and that will be a loop till march 27th! It has been quite some time I attended shoots, and my friends there are literally texting me abuses! :( . . in short, I am enjoying this new life... looking forward to the better! ^Top --- - Published: 2012-02-04 - Modified: 2014-03-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/pathos-emptiness-feelings/ - Categories: Random notes . . and unedited scribbling from a diary page ‎. . a kind of pathos. I can not relate to it, cant name it. Don't know what exactly it is. A feeling of being bound amidst emotions and constraints. A feeling of having lost, somewhat creating an emptiness, and the void thus created is a curbing ~ a kind of pathos. Feelings up against each other, heart wishing for peace. Brain says, the void, necessary for the wish for a better win. Feelings still up against each other... a kind of pathos, the emptiness of the world when the earphone's music pause. Memories fill the void, smiles sparkle in it. Innocent accent gifts me ~ a kind of pathos. Feelings, once dead awakened from their grave. Lament, lament - perhaps the only happy feeling left. Remorse remorse - the only happy expression . . wish, wish - the only happy thing to do. Feelings of the happy mothers the kind of pathos. --- - Published: 2012-01-29 - Modified: 2012-01-29 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/introspection/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life - Tags: introspection I scribbled this long back in February 2011. :) Do read, and leave a review. "Where there is righteousness there is victory", says the Bhagwad Gita. Whats tricky, is to know, whether and how you are right. Victory only follows then. Friends, Truth, Companionship. . its a package. A spice missing from it, makes the entire food stale. Where there is lack of trust, its an unbridgable gap. You can speak, show logic, express feelings none to any help. At some point the feeling of tireness overcomes the feeling of love for the person ;) "Infinite love can conquer the world, one single soul possessed of this can destroy the dark designs of a million others", says Swami Vivekananda. . I feel - Love. . forgive, forget and give up! Time is the best teacher, the best healer, the best judge. . the best test of companionship. Too many concepts, too many people creates too much noise in any relationship. Sometimes, life wishes for a melancholic solitude, a solitary companionship. . a tryst with romance. Moving ahead is ones' religion. This time doesnt allow me to sit, and to think. All plannings done, everything explained. . Life is at its fifth gear, my hands stern on the steering. The ride should be enjoyable whatever way I have chosen for myself! NB: Perhaps this is the best time to thank few friends of mine who had been with me through the thick and the thin, making me believe I have someone to fall back upon, if I go somewhere wrong. Saumaly, you were my first friend in the school (perhaps in nursery) Thank you. . Aninya, Annesha, Anindya... thank you for being shields, more than mere friends to me... Souvick, Karthik for being a bhai. . My Mom. . who means a lot to me. . --- - Published: 2012-01-23 - Modified: 2014-07-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-tale-of-memories-jibon-smriti/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Favourite Rabindrasangeet Lyrics, Random notes, Reviews - Tags: chapter one, jiban, jiban smriti, jibon, jibon smriti translation, smriti I dont know who paints the canvas of our memories. Whoever does so, actually paints it. He doesnot document events as they happen, he does not wait for them to happen with his brushes and colour pallete. He knows, he faces and thus paints it the way he wishes, the way his soul portrays it (the way he wants to narrate it to the rest of the world). He thus, in the course of painting doesnot think twice before rearranging the events to tell his story, or to make it seem interesting, exaggerate few events, while nullifying few. This way, events occur in the outer world, while the canvas keeps filling with colours. There is a connection between the two, yet each of them exclusive in its portrayal. We hardly find time to look into ourselves to see what colours have been splashed. But frequently do we refer to them, in our lives slowly, one after the other. But most of our events remain unattended at some corner of us. The artist who keeps painting, why he keeps painting, no one knows. No one knows whether the painting will ever be showcased in some exhibition. But he keeps his work on. Someone, few years ago, asked me of one such memory. . and I had to visit his exhibition of paintings to find the answer. I thought, i will acquire two or perhaps four of such paintings and that shall suffice. But it is when I unlocked the door, that I understood, its not a documentation of what I have come across but an unseen artists hard work of years put together. The canvas's are so filled with different colours, different brush strokes of different fashion, which is not entirely a reflection of what has happened. And thus, the canvases cannot be as good as evidences in the court. These memory paintings shall be a very ineffective way to know a persons history. But the paintings are intoxicating, and the illusion won me over. When a traveller walks down the streets, or the nearby hotel where he puts up - then the street or the hotel is not a painting for the traveller, it is more than just a necessity and extremely real for them, but when the necessity gets over, when the traveller walked down the street and looks back, it seems as good as a painting to him. We walk, we toil the entire day from the dawn. When at the day end we come back to our home to look back, in the transient light of dusk we see it as a painting. Similarly, when I had to go through, I got illusioned and fascinated by the colours. The curiosity that aroused, was it only for my own life and the general care/feelings laden with it? . . Amd yes, a little care has to be there, but the paintings attracts in their own right. Laksman showed Sita few paintings to amuse her, in UttamRamCharita, they are priceless as it has relation with Sitas' own life... but are not the complete story. Not one element of these memories are worth immortalisation. But literature doesnot depend on the graveness or the importance of the situation, the text that gets scripted... the art that gets painted. What we feel, our words should make the reader feel the same, and it shall be then only when it will be treasured. What I have in my own memory as a beautiful piece of art, it shall be regarded a piece of literature only when I translate it to words. The following memory laden paintings can thus be literature, and not mistaken to be just fragments of my life. That way, my writing shall always seem incomplete and unnecessary. --- - Published: 2012-01-22 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/they-prepare-to-keep-us-saf/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: 26 january, parade, parade practise, republic day Guys, last week I was out with my camera. This week, I couldnot manage it. But would like to discuss one shot from that day. Indian army was preparing steadily for the upcoming January 26th, 2012 - the Indian Republic Day Parade. I looked at them with amazement, as they practiced. There were the artillery, navy, and different regiments. There were few schools participating also. Had made a new friend - Lt Sharadwata Gupta. I failed to keep his request this week :( I hope to surprise him soon. I started shooting at near esplanade crossing. Was not satisfied with the photographs. >The cadres were marching towards the west, and since I was facing them, I was standing against the sun. This meant either my subjects turned silhouetted or I had to lose the background information completely. >I tried hiding the sun behind the tree, made f stop = 22, tried making some effect out of the star and that worked. It started looking good, when I noticed, that the statue of Netaji was pointing in the exact opposite direction of where the cadres were heading to. So I had to change my position. >I got something that would satisfy me... this statue at the gateway to the monument built for the "glorious dead" I wanted to frame the statue, the cadres marching and behind them - the statue of Netaji. But this is what I have come up with. There were stupid pedestrians who behaved as if no one created the footpath for them or they don't know what a "red traffic signal" means. I cropped out the people from the left, and the barricade below, thus shifting the statue to the extreme left. Never the less, the entire statue-tree portion comprises one third of the frame. I used a blue tone to the photograph. It was already misty, and greyish, I added a blue tint to it. I vignetted the right and the left portion a bit, and I donot remember why :P would like to get your views on the photo/ and how will you overcome the mentioned constraints to photograph them while they march? Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2012-01-07 - Modified: 2012-01-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/new-year-2012-and-the-start/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life - Tags: tcs I forgot to update my blog! Happy new year folks! I know its coming late... but believe me, I seriously don't know what to update this with! I haven't really even touched my camera, didn't talk to people, haven't gone through a book. Forget books, I even skipped newspapers! No new year special photos to share :( I did not go to Cossipur Uddyanbati in the Kalpataru utsav this year. I was having fever. . then was getting all the documents signed by gazetted officer. Anindya shifted to Kolkata on the 2nd, and I was busy shopping on the 3rd of Jan. Visited the Dakshineshwar temple on the 3rd. 4th January'2012 - I joined TCS... but was perhaps the last day me, anindya aninya and annesha stayed together. While I got MS. NET domain, the rest 3 got shifted to Java... and I have Supratik Chatterjee with me. The first day was quite interesting, with me running around here and there :P Got chatofied by the HR, but I quite liked it. He didnt hurt, and he treated me like a kid :P So have passed 3 days in TCS, and clueless what to blog next! This is 7th JAn, and tomorrow, if everything remains fine, I shall be picking up my cam again! Thats all about my news, Happy new year friends, may you have a rocking year ahead ;) --- - Published: 2012-01-07 - Modified: 2012-01-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-star-that-leads-us/ - Categories: Random notes I scribbled this long back, shared it on facebook few days ago... . resharing it here. This christmas eve really got me thinking. What if we really had a star which would guide us to the Almighty? then we could submit ourselves to the Supreme. . Or do we already have one? Our lives are a collection of stories each of which speaks of circumstances, constraints and how we manage to survive. How we manage, defines us. If we had had the star to guide, wouldn't we all have known all right decisions? Life would have been all good-good with little or no challenge, not much to feel, not much to regret. Or are regrets a way to the Supreme? One feeling connects each two of us, that feeling is a manifestation of love, in the most sincere way. What connects us to the Lord? A part of me, says its the star that guides us. A part of me says, its regret. Regret, and the feeling of it when masked, leads to no happiness. And star is not feasible. What truth then, leads us to the union with the Lord? At a certain place, beyond the limits of our perception, all feelings unite. Love mixes with vanity, unites with regret. Unite unto our own soul, perhaps lighting our innermost corner of soul. Is that the star, I want? --- - Published: 2012-01-07 - Modified: 2012-01-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/integrity/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: integrity It was an exercise at TCS, we had to choose one word from a list of "values" and let our partner speak about the word we chose and why! There were words like Justice, Kindness, Joyfullness, Helpfulness, Integrity, Friendliness, Honesty, Knowledge, Hardwork, Leadership, Perfection... I chose the word "Integrity", wrote something in a chit and passed it on to Saurabh Mitra, for him to read and speak to the rest of the class... I added 2 more lines at the end, when Supratik mentioned about his cultural committee leadership (some publicity, you see! :P ). So this is what I passed it on to Saurabh: Integrity defines the process that has made us what we are, and to the person infront, instills a certain amount of trust. This trust improves relationships. Relationships define Anirban. He believes his integrity led him to be his colleges blogger, eleader and the magazine editor and the face of the college to the outer world. --- - Published: 2011-12-20 - Modified: 2012-10-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mumbai-solapur-darshan/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots, travel - Tags: elephanta caves, marine drive, mumbai, nishant, rohit goyal, tusha bhatia, vora Well I was supposed to go to Gangasagar and north Bengal this December end... but didn't make further plans. Instead, planned an abrupt Mumbai-Pune-Solapur trip (Maharashtra) to meet my friends. Couldnot inform most of my friends who stay in Mumbai. Didnot get reserved tickets, so planned to get into general, but soon made my way to the sleeper class bribing the Ticket checker. Ah, Mr Anna Hazare, corruption helps sometimes :P It was my friend's birthday when I reached there. The next morning I met Tusha Bhatia. She is a friend I made through orkut back from when I was in class 11 (group name was ISC study forum). She is an extremely nice person to come across and a complete foodie... and with her, I also started loving food :P I never actually concentrated into this before :P She asked me to take each bite small, and spread it across the tongue and feel it :D She took me to some hotel called "Candies" at Bandra and then to the most delicious Italian shop for dessert. It was super cool food :D Then I headed to Marine drive, where I made some random friends who were trying tricks with their camera. They were students of near by college, and I helped them with little concepts and they seemed to have loved it :D Met Rohit. Rohit used to be a roommate during my hostel days... LOL. Walked the full stretch of the Marine drive... disturbing couples around, asking them random questions and then ROFLing :P There are many such experiences to share, but that will take some time, lemme hit my home back :D The day next, went to Gateway of India, and I was quite elated to see a Swami Vivekananda statue there. Now most of the Maharastrian youth feels Swami Vivekananda was a Marathi guy... and I felt like giving them a dose of history :P In all the talks, I asked few of them who the present chief minister of Maharashtra is. With the IQ level, I guessed I would have never got the answer. . and yes, I didnot :P But in the way, I found a bong navy guy who became friends that while. That guy is Subhadeep (or Subhajeet, am not sure) But his tamil friend was "Khudi ravan". That bong guy turned out to be madder than what I presumed him to be. While returning back, I caught cold. . and that developed to a fever! Next day woke up late, booked bus tickets to Solapur, met doctor. Then met Nishant. Now Nishant is a very shy guy, and we are friends through twitter. He made posters of BCET Bloggers meet for free. Anyone remember BCET Bloggers Meet 2009? Bunk. Madness and me are friends. We went to the bus stand 1 hour before, sat there... and guess what? We managed to miss the bus! We chased the bus by an auto, but eventually missed it. :P Finally got siddeshwar express to Solapur at 10:58 pm. (Am I giving too much details? ) This way, I couldnot meet Wishwas :( I wish I didnt have fever! Then I could have met him... Sid went senti while leaving me :P and Nishant (I quotw, unquote) was "holding his tears while bidding good bye" :P Such dramebaaz! These two guys were treat to be with. This while, kept moving here and there in Mumbai... Next time I come to this place, I must visit the Sidhi Vinayak Temple, which I missed :( the Kolapur Shakti peeth, the Ajanta-Ellora caves. :D and yes, the next time when I come, I wont be having students budget... :) Right now, I am in Solapur, having full time masti with Pratik and his friends... and that shall be another blogpost. --- - Published: 2011-12-11 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/balmiki-pratibha-rabindra-geeti-natya/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Favourite Rabindrasangeet Lyrics - Tags: ankita ghosh, balmiki pratibha, bengali opera, dakshinee, dakshinee bhawan, kalamandir, rabindranath tagore, rabindrasangeet, saikat sekhareshwar ray, tagore opera Once the dacoit Ratnakar decided to sacrifice a girl in order to please Goddess Kali. But the girl cried and pleaded for her life. Ratnakars' mind changed and he decided to set the girl free. Another dacoit, claims power, kidnaps the same girls gain and prepares to sacrifice her. Ratnakar discovers this, curses and sets the girl free again. But to worship the goddess, he asks his men to find another sacrifice. But when they were to hunt down a prey, Ratnakar asked them not to release the arrow. Later Ratnakars'men found that their leader was taking no more pleasure in bloodshed. Considering it a shameful cowardliness, they abandoned him. Valmiki began to wander in the forest. One day he saw a young hunter killing two innocent love birds. It is then when he saw the image of Maa Saraswati (Goddess of knowledge). Maa Lakshmi tried to lure him with wealth, failing to which Maa Saraswati appeared and blessed him. She told she came to him as the young girl, to melt and fill his heart with music and knowledge. She blessed him with the power to create music, giving him her veena and promised that his name shall resound over ages to come. Ratnakar thus became Rishi Balmiki (Valmiki, sanskrit) and is believed to have penned down the epic - the Ramayana. "Balmiki Pratibha, is a bengali opera penned down by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Dakshinee Bhavan, one of the premier institute of imparting tagores music to present generations staged this opera at Kalamandir, Kolkata on 09. 12. 11. " From Balmiki Pratibha photos, posted by Anirban Saha on 12/11/2011 (34 items) Balmiki Pratibha (Rabindra Geeti-Natya) staged at Kalamandir by Dakshinee bhawan. They are the bana-devi's. They voice wisdom at parts of the story to take it forward. The story starts with depicting the "dashyu's" or the dacoits, whos' leader is Ratnak... the dacoits, looted and happily so shared with their entire clan, claiming they fear ... . . and there came the leader of all the dacoits - Ratnakar. He decided to worship Goddess Kali in a fashion quite elegant, and orders others to f... sincere to their leaders, they set out to find a prey... but not before having something for food... and there, this balika (young girl) did lose her way in the dense jungle... sits do... . . and what better prey to sacrifice would they have got? She was taken to the leader, for her to get sacrificed, to please Goddess Kali. She was taken to the leader, . . and the bono-devis (thats actually the inner soul) starts singing "Daya karo anatha... the leaders mind changes... and he decides to leave her free. — Okay, now the thing is... who wishes to wash their hands off from such a target? ? Onc... thats the preparation for sacrificing her! . . and He prepared to sacrificed her to please Goddess Kali. Ratnakar - the leader of Dacoits, discovered it and was very angry at them, for not ... Hahaha, the second in power dacoit blames the others for having persuaded him to do s... . . and she decides to let her free again... . and Balmiki turns saint, listening to his heart that could have not bared any more... . . but even then he had to worship Goddess Kali... . so he asks others to get another p... They are the bono-devis. (fairies of the forest) and their work is simple : appear at... Balmiki withdraws his command to hunt down a prey. . and tells his group, not to hunt ... Slowly, but gradually the dacoits felt, that this "raja" or leader is losing on his m... Now that the band of dacoits didnot listen to him, Balmiki found 2 forest hunters hun... Goddess Saraswati appears! She is the goddess of learning... to bless him. To test his intentions, Maa Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) lured him of the show of weal... Finally the time of enlightenment... and I shouldnot joke here... Maa Saraswati appea... She blessed that the cry of the poor girl has changed him, and he shall be able to ch... Thats the blessing. Ratnakar apparently became a muni , or a saint. . and became Rish... Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher // Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-12-02 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengali-marriages/ - Categories: snapshots, Wrap up - Tags: achira saha, anindya, anirban wedding photographer, avishek saha, bengali marriage, geetali sahu, indian marriage, jalpaiguri, marriage, namrata dey, ramit saha, subho dada, wedding, wedding photograph Marriages, first feared. . then loved. . and then, oops! regret But when loved, I believe no better heaven exist than the eyes of your better half... and the two photographs below are special to me because of the eyes. . During marriage, the bride often exhibit way more emotions than the groom, who often stays confused, not knowing how to behave. . The eyes change from playful, to playfully shy. . to irritated during the long procedure of marriage. . to a state of confusion a mixed bag of happiness and having owned during sindur-daan... to a tearful "vidaai", at the end. How can we fathom the feelings of the newly wed bride with her parting of her hair filled with the vermilion from the grooms' hand? This uncertain look of the future makes this photo of my sister very special. A certain sense of happiness, a certain pain of leaving behind something, an excitement to start a new... can these feelings be put into words? "plethora of emotions just went by... " is how one of my friends described her emotions as... perhaps one such, on the face of Anindya's sister after her Sindur-daan. Her expression, made me look backwards to one of our discussion with her dad, where he expressed wearing Sindur as a sign of social captivity, an ownership socially recognised. . seldom loved, at times forced. The discussion shall continue if not stopped, my hunt of eyes during marriage shall continue. . I so wish all my friends start marrying, each one each week... I will get so many expressions, eyes and yes, have lotsa food :D Few more snapshots. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. If you havent "liked" it by now, Do hit the "like" button... --- - Published: 2011-11-26 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/childrens-day-2011/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots “Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of to-day. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul. ” -Francis Thompson Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-11-25 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/chamurchi-jalpaiguri-visit/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Non Techie, Random notes, snapshots, travel, Wrap up - Tags: anindya, chamurchi, jalpaiguri, jeet Went with my dad to Chamurchi. He went there to audit a tea state, and I thought I went there to spend some time photoshooting. Anyway, I was not let to either by my dad and his team of extremely efficient managers, who were smiling beeps or the government of Bhutan. So when I need to write about Chamurchi , I dont exactly have much to speak about except for the evening discussions of the manager-auditors... which ranged from quality of leaves to cow dung. . or how happy the managers daughter is to "satisfying your ego". Friends who followed my tweets that time, know about it in its entirity. Rest, better dont know about it. I kept watching the workers work from my window, and had to remain happy doing so. Bhutanese children are cute... We were shown as much of Bhutan as was possible, speeding in the car, hardly stopping anywhere. Was restricted to photograph the pagoda, or even the couples wheel by rules of Bhutan. I so wish I took some portraits of the school children there. . but the car didnot stop. So the only place where no one hindered me was this river, whose name , I discovered only yesterday! ... . bunk the topic of Chamurchi. Went to Anindya's sisters marriage. It was warm. . in all senses of the term. Jalpaiguri which was supposed to be chilling in the november winter was not at all chilling, and people greeted me warmly. Kaku-Kakima toh, was always warm. . warmer were the the in-laws of the sister. I never believed, I would be greeted so warmly, like a son of the family. . The photographer of the brides side seemed jealous of me :P but the one from the grooms side was extremely nice, he helped me with his experience, and also helped me predict expressions. . he was great! The best part of the entire trip were the kids :D Love them... these four days, dunno what bound us together - the entire bachha party. In this bachha party I will also include Bubla da (Anindya's dada) . . Perhaps the best dada. Never expected an elder brother to be this cool, he definitely sets an example for all the other elder brother to follow. The rest of the bachha party includes : Priyota... (my age) , Uma (momo) , Kutti (12 years younger to me) . . ful who is 2. 5 years old... tanmay, madan, babi, kinshuk, ankur, debu and a set of different boys of different shapes and sizes. I played badmiton all the four days with them... perhaps the first time that too on streets, picking the cork up from drain, if it fell there :-/ But it was kinda fun. The kid I got most attached to is my "bhalo bachha" , Jeet. He has a horrible proper name... I better not remember it. . he gelled with me very nicely, speaking all the four days... and I kept on listening to him, buying him corks, play when he wanted me to, sit idle when he wanted me to. . and yes feed him with chips during play! :P He is a fantastic chap being with! Dangerously simple, kind hearted. And I should end this post here before it gets too long! Love God, love the people around. God bless. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-11-16 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/travelling-my-way-2011/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots, travel, Wrap up Travelling is an unique term. You can use it for reasons more than just one. . travelling across emotions, people. . and places. Perhaps the most important travel is travelling across phases in life. Each phase teaches you something new, and has a surprise for you in the next phase... To refer to Tagore, the next phase plays with me. It gives me a wrapped box, promising me a gift and asks me to guess... and in my imaginations and guess's, I rule no possibility out. Last few months. . it was a lovely turmoil. Let me define this phase as the time from my breakup with my ex till say December end. Travelling in the original sense , has made me travel through this phase. Was working for the Kolkata Bloggers Meet, at Infocom 2011. . and after that I was so free, . . and the best thing I do when I feel alone is travel. :) Need to mention, in the year 2009, I travelled 13 new places in 12 months :D So I decided to work, beg borrow steal money and travel :D What better place can be during Holi? Yes, its Shantiniketan... They call it Basanta utsav. I had wholesome fun, met new people. . coloured many unknown people who treated me as their own. It felt good :) It was also the time, I delved into some serious photography and started reading books, but couldnot experiment much , for I was still a compact user then :) But the photos of Basanta Utsav were the first photos of Anirban Saha Photography. Yes, inspired by Sayon, I opened a facebook fan page for my photography. My initial aim was about 70 likes till december end. . But somehow it started evolving big. . I was actually planning for a Delhi trip to meet Saumaly, Powell da and Roshan. . and spent some time, and yes, look for some part time job, settle there for few months and come back to Kol/Dgp only to give semester exam. On 4th April, Supratik told he was going to perform in Delhi... and my instant reaction was : I wanna go with you :P It was a matter of moments, I decided to be in delhi that very day... or asap! :P Didnot get tickets, travelled all the way to Delhi in general class Kalka mail, wholesome dirty. . nevertheless lovely people :) Watched Supratik perform with Nad yoga, even anchored for one event in Gurgaon, loved it... heyy I watched Bickram Ghosh perform too :D After Supratik left, I wanted some time with myself. Met Meghadi, did madness with Saumaly. . met few more friends, made new friends but guess what? I needed time with myself. . So I made my way to Agra. . got looted of my cash, but guess what? I made newer friends in agra. . they turned out to be very good human beings, and we are quite buddies :P The experience was nice. . the night, the truck, the potato gunny bags, the mad women, the police, the slaps... oh, jumping on delhi streets at 3 am :P It was so cool... I spend almost 2 days at Jama Masjid, knowing its pirs and loved it! You can check Jama Masjid experience here. In all the rush, I forgot to mention I went to Bishnupur, Adra and some other place with Hrishikesh in March. . It too was a nice experience. . In June I kept travelling to near by villages, knowing people, photographing them... sometimes singing with them. . and yes talk a lot but listen more. Couldnot be a free bird, got into ISI with Supratik and Sreyasi. . worked there... and my sony camera was not working properly. So I thought better to bunk travelling and programming a bit... slowly slowly it was the small work at IIT. . well the work was not small, I made my role small, well... smaller... and then officially left it :P But somehow Kharagpur also forms one of the places I visited this way. . didnt travel much, didnt meet many people. . Oh ha... met Debashish Roy. I went to his home, and fell asleep :P I kept waking up in between, had something to eat and then fall back to sleep again :P All work ended in September when I had measles. Then was the pujas, had awesome fun. Hardly stayed at home... and for the first time boozed so frequently :P But what was important is the fact : I moved forward, keeping everything even college life behind. . natural isnt it? Made new friends... and I call them my ink'd actorism friends. They are super cool... happy go lucky kinda people. Made some real good buddies there and we have fun, we hang out. . I started fagging (only with them) Now it has been quite a few days we have met, need to plan something :P Well need to mention 3 minor events that actually had major impact in my life. First was the time with Deeptish. Need to tell all about this guy. . this is is the youngest among all my friends, and is in a self-discovery phase and I love his questions. Sometimes stupid, he challenges dogmatic rules... and is a food for my thought ! Affection for him comes naturally, he being the youngest and extremely talented. Whats most important is - he is open to learning and decent discussion. I came to know his elder brother Saurish, his mom and dad. . they are superb people to come across. I became more caring and more thoughtful being with Deeptish. The next event was admission of Arpit. Now Arpit is another kid, Ankits' younger sibling. Ankit was in Bangalore when Arpit was having his WBJEE counselling. Ankit told me to take all the decisions and I was so confused. For the first time, I came to know what situations an elder has to face :P It was scary being so responsible. I never felt that before, taking decisions for myself or for any committee that I run is different from taking decision for a younger guy who calls me dada! I actually felt responsible, as responsible as a real elder brother, with Ankit giving me all responsibilities... Well shall discuss the third event a bit late. :) Well I got my DSLR somehow on 18th October 2011. Couldnot afford another lens or even uv protector. . and started travelling across lanes of Kolkata again :P Found an old school friend - Dipanjan, to be interested in photography... met him, met his friends... Arre! ! ! I forgot to mention, I opened a facebook group - "amateur photographers unit pan india" and thats running quite well :) In between I had some madness about learning JS, and then was bogged down by TCS's aspire material :P Well this November I went to Chandannagar to meet Prashashti and her bhai during Jagaddhatri Puja, loved the experience. Shall be soon in her home again :P ... and then went to Mayapur/Nabadwip with Sandipan da. This year has been so good. This year started with me getting recruited to TCS on 4th Jan 2011... then I went to different places, my didi got married this year on 16th Jan 2011... and it was wholesome fun. I started keeping a low profile in my college, lol. . but worked for eweek... found fresh faces. But this time we couldnt win the championship. This year was so much with people. Oh... hmmm... I joined music classes this year. . I now officially learn Rabindrasangeet from Dakshinee... :D If 2009 was about acclaims, and travel. . if 2010 was full of sorrow for me... 2011 is about people. I met incredible people, being with them in personal or professional ties was superb. Made some real awesome friends online... Oh ha... perhaps for the first time, I felt jealous this year :P but thats another story :P The third minor event that happened was 2 old friends, who once stopped talking to me after I broke up with my ex, coming back to me, apologising and reliving the days again. I love them more now, and I trust in God more, more than ever... and yes, my photography page has more than 1560 likes to it, without bhayanak marketting :P And guess what? ? Travelling on my cards again. If everything goes well I shall leave for North Bengal today. . to Malbazaar and Jalpaiguri... . then to Chandannagar, Durgapur in December. . to Gangasagar mela in mid december, and there is also a faint chance of me going to Sikkim and related states this December end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edit: I went to North Bengal, Mumbai-Pune-Solapur after this blogpost :) Shot in Bhutan (River Diana) and in Mumbai respectively. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To end the note in my way, I need to thank few people... Thank you Aninya, Annesha, Anindya, Deboleena, Harshit, Sayon, Koustav, Hrishikesh, Tanumeeta, Ankit, Arpit, Sreyasi, Supratik, Deeptish, Rudy, Saurish (for all the chess matches), Somajita di, Neha, Debashish, Saumaly, Pratik Shiavagunde, Prosenjeet, Prashashti, Jijo, Suchisman, Dipannita di, Swaroop, Saikat da, Shekhar Sir, Sudipto Sir (I always feel like thanking him :D ), Kaleem, Roshan, Nilabha,Rana, Dipanjan, papai, suvanwit, Alpana, Anshul. . each shoot with KWS was fun, a big hug to KWS... my friends from Dakshinee. . and to end the note with, thanks Avishek Mishra and Soumee. God bless all. Peace. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-11-12 - Modified: 2011-11-12 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/light-up-the-world/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: candle, child, light, lighting up the world, mayapur, rash utsav Well, tried writing something along with this photograph. Some abstract, some quote, some story. . but failed so miserably. Fell straight on face. I personally am in love with this photograph. . evokes many feelings in me. One child holds the sole source of light, that lights his face up. . while the lady behind with her kid gets a fragment of the light. This is enough thought to be chewed upon. So this torch bearer... this child, the future of this world, smiles as he shows the others the way, in a way lighting up their world. Do leave in your reviews and suggest for me a caption :) Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-11-11 - Modified: 2012-11-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/rash-utsav-nabadwip-and-mayapur-iskon/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots, travel, Wrap up - Tags: chaitanya deb, mayapur, mayapur iskon, nabaddip, rash, rash utsav, rash utsav nabadwip, sri sri, vaishav culture For Tagore, looking back at events create a beautiful image of itself, which he perceived as a beautiful painting (ref: Jibon Smriti Chapter 1) When I look back, at the last 2 days I spent in Nabadwip and Mayapur Iskon, it perhaps is as good as a painting. It comes to my mind as one good and cherish-able painting that the artist inside me have immortalised. You can read the translated chapter 1 of Jibon Smriti here. Rash comes from the word "Ras" which means the sweet juice. The Rash utsav is celebrated to celebrate love and union of Lord Krishna with his Gopis. In Bhagawat Purana it is expressed as "Rash lila". Ohkay, no more of boring information about it... and straight to my experience. I shall divide the experience into two halves. One of Nabadwip and the other of Mayapur. Nabadwip experience: Well, what apparently shows is not that light... and before you ask me what crap I just spoke, let me clarify. Apparently you see, people making pandals, and worshipping Maa Durga, Maa Kali, Shiv ji, Maa Anna purna. . and perhaps every possible Hindu and Christian deity. It is explained by one of the monks there as being "Gupto-Brindaban" or the hidden brindaban. It is said, no one comes back from Bindraban, as they unify with the Almighty. In mortal terms, they die. Krishna is found in all forms of God, so all forms of Gods and Goddesses are worshiped in this time. During this time, all rooms in all hotels are booked, but everyone stays on the streets singing, dancing... or watching people do so. They get intoxicated publicly, flirt publicly... even does rampage but alls forgiven. Its weird to see such an unruly festival of "peace". Seeing Nabadwips infrastructure one would mock me while I say, its one of the most important historical places in India. Mayapur Iskon experience: Having found no room and space in Nabadwip, we made way to Mayapur. It is iconic in Vaishnav dharma cult. It is famous for its Iskon temple and for being a place of Sri Sri Chaitanya Debs' place of deliverance. I witnessed the procession of the Iskon temple, which for the occasion of Rash was made special. There were people who were singing the hymns, then the idols of Krishna and Balaram on a pair of oxen, then a band of boys playing drums (I tell you, Its superb music! ) and a procession of Kids welcoming the Lord by candles and lamps. Then at the end, there were a pair of elephants, with the Lord. I have a habit of slipping into the middle of affairs, good or bad. . most of the times, its good for me. . here also, I started conversing with a white skinned devotee and surprisingly he helped me through all the things, and I became an integral part of the procession, kidding with people around exchanging smile... (spreading love, the krishna way! ) ... ohkay, later to be hushed away by a bengali devotee, for photography was prohibited! Guys, thats all for now, lets not make this post unnecessarily long... next year, visit it yourself and if you have visited it, do leave for me your experience! Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-11-07 - Modified: 2011-11-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-divine-start/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: divine, i feel divine ... This morning is feeling so divine. The Almighty - controller of illusions, is repeating my story. I fear repeating the mistakes of mine. My life is magic, I'm God's favourite child . Lets not try tricks, Lets face the truth, lest the smile. . the illusion shall stand reviled. . They dance to His tunes, asking me to give in to it. . I fear, I fear I fear losing it all. I fear touching the forbidden line. Such happiness comes along now, do I stand fit? I feel so pure, I feel so divine today. The World today feels innocent, so pure . . so divine, The soul inside feeling at peace. The nature, creating newer illusions, me at cloud 9. . Feelings. . spelling magic. The Magician lifts his wand up - Colours! Flushing all that went tragic. The colours fill the void in the sky, not a space now left. The birds chirping their way into the day, The colours around, the colours fly, the sadness just got theft. I feel so pure, I feel so divine today. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-11-03 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/its-you-i-love/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: i love you, its you i love, love, painting, photoshop, poem, sketch Stay there, stay far The less I know, the less of tar The more of you, I love. Let me create an image of you Imagine you, feel you, each time a new. The illusion of you, I love Open armed across the ridges Love smear my dry edges The feel of you, I love Love you my way, love you the other way At my will, leave me at my fate you may The shadow of you, I love --- - Published: 2011-10-27 - Modified: 2013-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/monochromes/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: black and white, blue monochrome, by lane, colors, colours, crackers, cricket, diwali night, kali ma, kali puja, monochrome, north kolkata, red monochrome It was the August edition of Better Photography, where the theme was "Monochrome shades of Monsoon". I got quite interested in monochrome, specially which are not the pure black and white. And, at times, you dont need to use filter or editing to get a monochrome. I shall share 3 photographs with my readers, which are quite close to my heart and shall discuss it. I cannot tell this is an awesome photograph, but this is quite close to my heart. No filters were used. This was shot at the Diwali night, on the streets when there were no other source of light, except for the red crackers, that the girl was bursting. The ISO was high, adding grains to the photograph. This is completely unedited, shall try to edit this. This gives an unique feel, which I refuse to express, because each viewer perceives a photograph in his/her unique way. But do leave a comment on this photograph. The next in this line is another unedited photograph of Maa Kali. I have another similar photograph at f/3. 5, which I will upload later. This photograph too is very near to my heart, unedited, no filters used. They were spray painting Maa Kali at Kumartuli when I clicked this photograph. Its serene and is divine, and perhaps no one can perceive it in any better way. This is an edited monochrome. I converted it monochrome, as this takes me back to my childhood days when I played galli cricket in the by-lanes of North Kolkata, or watch others play. . this is nostalgic, and thus I converted to Black and White. Please do leave a feedback on the photographs, however harsh it might be. Coz, I believe I need to learn and I have a loong way to go :D . . and If you like my work, hit the "Like" button. . --- - Published: 2011-10-26 - Modified: 2012-03-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/happy-diwali-2011/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: bokeh, diwali, diwali bokeh, diwali photograph, festivals, ganesha, india, kali puja Happy Diwali friends, keep this safe. Let Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi bless us all with the richness of wealth and of wisdom. Share this if you like the photograph. --- - Published: 2011-10-26 - Modified: 2011-10-26 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kali-puja-experience/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: dum dum park youth, kali puja, kali puja kolkata, kali puja photographs, kids in dum dum park Well a lot to write perhaps. About Sourodip, about kids in Dum Dum Park... about my day and yes - the Kali puja. Sourodip, is a guy I met for less than 5 mins in a puja pandel. He is an extremely nice person and knows well how to make people their own, treat them with warmth and make them feel comfortable. Almost everyone I met today are kids. . a majority of them from school... Utsav - a first year student from Techno, and Titir is next to me by age, and she is doing MA in Bengali... and I kinda enjoy myself, feel comfortable with these kids... I stay relaxed. They dont care to call me "dada" and that actually puts off much pressure and expectations from my shoulders :P I went to Sourodip's place, I became a part of their puja preparations, accompanying him and abhishek to Shyambazar to get food packets. Sourodip's turned out to be one of the pure "north kolkata" people :P ... and I knew I was in comfort zone :D I loved the entire Kali puja. . from the start - the lakshmi puja. . till the yajna and the puspanjali. I wished to see Kali puja from quite some time. I kinda love attending religious/ spiritual functions. . the last one I attended was the Satya Narayan Puja at Karthik Sivakotis' place in Durgapur. Oh, did I forget to mention that Sourodip (nick name : Rana) loves posing and loves someone who clicks his photographs! :P hahaha... After the puja, we all were bursting crackers, meeting and greeting new people. It was great :D I hope you have kept this Diwali and Kali puja safe... leaving with you 3 memories of the evening :) Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-10-25 - Modified: 2011-10-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-geared-for-kali-pujo/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: kali puja, kolkata . . and as I said, I am falling in love with my home city... never loved it so much. So now, that Kali Puja is tomorrow. . I went out to see what is up at Kumartuli. And I was correct. . Kolkata is all geared up for the big occasion - the Kali Puja. Shall leave you with few images of the visit :) I am kinda in love with this photograph. It is completely natural and unedited. They were spray painting maa kali, and few photographers were fearing damage of their lens. Do give me feedback about this photograph in particular. May you have safe celebrations this season, take care of your elders and love your young like never before. Best regards from me to you and to your family. --- - Published: 2011-10-25 - Modified: 2011-10-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-roads-share-of-politics/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: chess, kolkata, roadside Kolkata- the city which is always politically active, lawfully correct and hideously simple. This perhaps is the place where everyone plans strategy, plays strategy games... few in situations you would never expect them. I was inside one of the gully's (by-lanes') of Kumartuli when I found 2 , hopefully idol makers, were playing chess. They might have lost their chess board. What they did was paint black n white squares behind a wooden sheet, and was comfortably and very ably playing it. I was surprised. I never expected two workers playing chess, in the middle of the street, perhaps right after their lunch. Regarding the photograph, I wanted to make it evident that they were playing chess, wanted to make it evident, they were playing on the back of wooden seat, and on streets. My main focus was "chess" and the "wooden seat". I focused on the pieces. The movement of the hands which suggest the game being on is left behind, un-focussed. Please leave for me a review of this photograph. Tell me, what I could have added more to the frame. . and criticise. --- - Published: 2011-10-23 - Modified: 2011-10-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/galli-cricket-the-kolkata-way/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: cricket, galli cricket, kolkata, lanes Gali cricket as it is popularly known. . who in his childhood in north Kolkata has not played it? LOL. North Kolkata offers us numerous "galli's" or the by lanes as we all prefer to call it... a place where every kid wants to be the next Saurav Ganguly, North Kolkata's congested and narrow by lanes provide heaven for the cricket lovers. I donot remember playing much of Galli cricket myself, but my lane used to be the pitch of the Das bari (house of the Das's) kids, the marwari kids from the floors above in my apartment. . Avik, perhaps my first friend of my life. . and they used to play cricket. I hardly joined them. . but when ever I did - I had great fun. . I asked few of my friends of my age (20-24) about their experiences. . Priyabrata laughed his entire experience off... he remembered how his friends used to make the bricks, their wicket. . and how it fell when someone was bowled out. . He remembers how his mother used to scold him when he was late :) Shounak recollects his friend, who was never satisfied with a 6-ball over... and always kept asking for more... Swaroop found the fights funny, when the batsman refused to leave the "galli" in the other wise umpire-less match :D The best story shared was by Soumyo. His friend's heroics with the bat, after noticing an extremely hot chick noticing him bat... had won, the otherwise lost match! What was common to most of my friends experience was - breaking of some glass pane... and the run, they had to, to save their skin. A lot experiences can be shared, how we in our childhood used to run away, hide and play. . fight for our survival on the batting galli, how the small injuries brought the entire match to a halt. . or the exhaust and falling asleep when it was time to study or specially how the pasher barir kakima used to scold if we made excess noise... Many of my age like me missed it. . Many younger to me misses it due to stringent schedule of their academic life... But this shall be a nerve of the people of Kolkata. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-10-22 - Modified: 2012-03-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-dslr-and-my-new-wishlist/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: bokeh, DSLR, Nikon D5100 :D Well I got for myself a Nikon D5100, this 18th October 2011. I was so dying for a DSLR, more so when my Sony camera refused to work properly everytime I used it. I had been looking out for bank loans and some way to finance, since my dad said "NO" to the idea. But finally he agreed to give me 24000 INR for he owed me that sum since 2006. :) Having done all permutations and combinations, I got my DSLR on EMI schemes. Hopefully I wont be kicked out from TCS, and I can pay the EMI's I had a choice between Canon 550D and Nikon D5100 at first. This month, at Better Photography, Raj Lalwani compared exactly this two camera models. In his article, he kept D5100 ahead of Canon 550D. So my choice was clear. Few suggested I take D90. Few reports suggested D5100 was better than that even, even Anirban Brahma da also suggested. So my choice was clear. . I dont like to think much myself, unless I feel I am an expert in the field... so trust the experts! I am actually enjoying this new camera. More the manual focus part, there is so much to learn. I am loving the "no grain" factor even at ISO 1600. . actually loving a lot of things. Now I wish to get the 14mm wide lens, and travel Nepal, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh... Its gonna take some time, considering permutation and combinations arranging my salary pa, the cost of the lens and of the travel. . and yes, I shall be a TCS employee, getting such big span of holiday is also not that feasible :D My Mom even bought a parrot, the day before... I could not find a suitable name for it... so I did what the West Bengal Government did few days ago... they transformed "West Bengal" to "Paschim Banga". . So I named my "Parrot" as "Tiya" :D Sharing with you the first shot from the D5100, which I shared. --- - Published: 2011-10-22 - Modified: 2012-03-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/pure-love/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: bokeh, llove birds, love, love poem, pure love To you I was led by an unknown worship, Bond with you through my prayer You are not a dream as it may seem, God almighty for my worships, care. My worship has with it all the love, my devotion and the soul. We two beads bond together by the feat, You are the person, my worship and my goal. The magicians' gift to my devotion, Colours spilling magic all around. It is you who is chosen, It is you whom I have found. - Anirban Saha If you Like this post then please promote it at Indiblogger here. Photograph : Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-10-20 - Modified: 2011-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/baghbazaar-shandya-arati/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: anirban saha photography, baghbazaar sandhya arati, ganga puja, kolkata Cannot help but fall in love with the city of Calcutta, or Kolkata as we all call it as. . This place Baghbazaar can boast of the oldest public Durga Puja of perhaps the world, and a ghat that transforms the region into mini- Varanasi for about an hour. Every evening , Ganga arati is done to worship Mother river - the Ganges. I went there for the first time, and here is a photograph for you that will be added to the album of - Kolkata. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-10-08 - Modified: 2011-10-08 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/society-identity-and-social-identity/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: identity, our life, social behaviour, social identity, social life, society, we and the society It was perhaps 2nd of July 2009. . when Souvick asked me : "It is not what you are supposed to do, its what you WANT to do. What have you done for YOURSELF Anirban da? ". . It was at the Jawahar Peak, Darjeeling. We were sharing puff, I was a bit uncomfortable because that was the first time I tried smoking. It was extremely foggy, I could hardly figure anything out. . and the question struck me right into my heart. As a Kid, I never have challenged my parents. Taken for granted. . I was told, from perhaps, the earliest days I can recall, "Ei bongsher chele ra toh bhalo hobei (Sons of this family has to be brilliant)". Moreover, I was pushed to DO something in life as regards studies, with regular comparison with my cousins (to the extent of paralyzing our relationship) I was made to believe that if I donot be an engineer from Jadavpur or IIT's, I will bring such a shame to my parents that they wont ever be able to show their face to the rest of the world. I was completely into the idea, although I never questioned who the "rest of the world" is. I perhaps got a life in Durgapur. I could experiment with myself, did what my elders asked me to. . and being what I am now. But Souvick got me working real hard on : Society, my own identity and social identity. Recently I met a kid. . an extremely lovable one : Deeptish. He questions, why do we need to pretend to be someone else when we are not? Is it only for the society to accept us? Perhaps, I am in a crossroad. I donot know how to react. . I put up the reasons, and myself hush it. I can perhaps answer this from my perspective. It took some time for my extended family to accept that children of their family can actually love music and arts. But are they the "society"? What exactly is the society? Society refers to the universal set of people. You dont need to be anything to them... Be decent, that's it. At this age (age->20), what matters is what we are to our parents. Our transparency matters to them. The character of the society differs from place to place. The bengali society, the supposedly "modern" bengali society is extremely selfish. There is an old saying that goes like this " Porer chele poromanondo, joto ucchonnye jaaye toto anondo (More their son rots, the more fun it is. )". Yet the society holds an important role in our life. Why so? We all want to be accepted, isnt it? Few are happy with fewer people accepting them. . while few wants to socialize more, be decent with all. . access the society when needed, talk, add value to their entire system. But none is asking you, not to be yourself. We would definitely not wish our parents to be ashamed of us. If I am required to compromise on a bit for my parents sake, I would love to. We would definitely not wish to miss out on a person that can actually be a close friend of ours. Each one of us, look at this, from our own perspective. I have read little of our Indian philosophy, I have not found any place where they have under lined the society. The society is described to be ever dynamic, changing as the wind flows. With newer people, newer ideas, social values keep changing. The focus has always been on "Karma", or the work you do. The work as in the profession, your duties and the responsibilities. Be the best musician and the world will respect you. Keep your parent happy, be the good son and the society wont complain. There is the action-outcome theory in our philosophical text (I refuse to call it religious) , and time is the prime variable. Till then, no one is entitled to speak. . but who cares? "Kuch toh Log kahenge, logon ka kaam hain kehna ( They shall speak, its their work to comment on our work)" . . remember the song? So perhaps, you dont need to prove anything to the society. Gita tells, if we are right we shall be victorious... since we are not fighting war :P So I take it in this way > If we are right, we shall be happy. Its relative, happiness is actually very relative. I can be happy now, doing something, the same action can fail to bring me happiness 5 years down the line. So the judgement of our actions happen 5 years down the line, right? What we can do, is this : Listen to our heart, listen to what our loved ones say, mix them... work over time and simply give in our 100% to each. Atleast we shall stay satisfied of our work if not anything else. Swami Vivekananda, goes a step ahead in tackling the "society", "Good motives, sincerity, and infinite love can conquer the world. ", he said. I perhaps cannot love all :P But yes, can try, be decent. . and love who are actually lovable. The book of Arda Viraf says,"good thought, good words, good deed... leads to ultimate success". They have actually nullified the concept of "society" , putting the all emphasis on ourself, our conduct and our work. We need dialogue, yes we do. We need to talk and discuss. We need to prove ourselves a bit, and then ask people (which includes our parents) to have their trust in us. Our elementary work shall prove us. Regarding work... I have a very nice hindi lyrics by Javed Akhtar : "raahi dekh raha hai tu kya, hain har disha ek raasta, bol tera hain kaun sa raasta. ". . Your work defines your destination. The world (society) looks at your destination to search for your definition. Does that mean, you need to pretend to be someone else? Javed Akhtar goes on to say "aasaaniya mil sakti hai tujhko zamaane se, par jara yeh bata jina hai kya yu tujhe, aajaadiya tu paayega khud ko hi paane se, phir bata koi darr mehsus ho kyon tujhe? Hoga tera hi yeh faisla, asaniya/ aazadiya. . bol tera hain kaun sa rasta! " . . the choice is ultimately yours. We all want to be accepted, "that all my destinations will accept the one that's me , so I can breathe " (Eddie Vedder). Few of us wants our parents to accept us. Few of us expect our friends to accept us. Few of us wants our local people to accept us. Friends, I wanted all. I never wanted my parents to be disheartened or spoken roughly to by my relatives because of my grades. . I wanted my friends to accept me the way I am. . May be they have accepted the weird little creature that I am, who doesnot abuse people and loves working more than girls in his life. They perhaps have accepted my madness, my arguments, my reasons. . I have defined my society for myself. My society is the immediate surrounding that I am in, and my close friends. Deeptish was actually right when he told, I am a situation driven person. And most importantly, each moment that I breathe, is a past tense. Move ahead, each new moment is a new opportunity for us. Each new moment a fresh start to our lives, another work to do, another task to accomplish. . another feather to add to our crown. You really donot need to care for those who regards you any less... keep working. Keep proving yourself. Keep working for yourself and the people you love... and you dont need to regret or pretend for anything, for we and our friends make the society. A final question, Should I help the society? "Infinite love can conquer the world", now comes the part of winning hearts... help those who need it. Be by their side, if they need it. Go to the extent till it can harm you if at all... and if you love/respect the person, even if it harms you a bit, go ahead... help. Help people around you grow, it in turn makes your world a better place to live in. --- - Published: 2011-10-07 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/subho-bijoya/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: bengali culture, durga puja, dusshera, kolkata, sindur khela, subho bijoya . . and with time, the Durga Puja ended. For some, this is the end of the most awaited bengali festival... for some, its just the time to start preparing for the next. It all ends with the Sindur Khela, where the women pray for their husbands' long life and well being. What follows next is a red-women's holi with vermillion :D Wishing you a heart felt "subho bijoya". May Maa Durga bless you with the richness of wisdom and of wealth :) Convey my greetings to your elders, and love to the young ;) Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-09-30 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-eye-to-the-dark-secrets/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: abstracts, diary writings, personal diary, photography, secret files, still life, table top photography Diary writing at the end of the day remains one of the hobbies for many of us. . we script down things we cannot actually convey with words to any other person, feelings which we tend to hold only on to ourselves and fear sharing them... feelings which might lead to parting of ways, split of thoughts,differences in believes and deficit of trust. While the inner self, in the diary it remains, sees and knows it all. "Dark, as the secrets (in the diary) are , dark were the feelings ... darker is the void created after we parted. Alls that is visible is the gateway to the darkness, while the almighty notices. " Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. Also check: (Click to enlarge) --- - Published: 2011-09-29 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/await-for-the-flight/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes A wish to take off and fly. I am waiting for the right moment. When the time shall be ripe, conditions fruitful - I shall re live salvation. Shall be salvaged in the blue of the sky. Has anyone actually restricted me? This is such game of the fate, of the illusion- feelings create around itself. Photograph by: Swaroop Singha Roy (Megapixel) He is pursuing his class twelve from Sree Bharati,Kolkata. This uber decent guy can actually be funny as well as philosophical, when needed. He uses a canon 1000D camera, armed with his other digital Photographic stuff, he loves to go around the city, village or anywhere in this big beautiful world and shoot at sight. Photographing Animals is what he likes the most. . He says he expresses his thoughts via photographs and that statement coupled with the photographs speaks volume about him. If you like his work, please "like" the button. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d. getElementsByTagName(s); if (d. getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d. createElement(s); js. id = id; js. src = "//connect. facebook. net/en_US/all. js#xfbml=1"; fjs. parentNode. insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); --- - Published: 2011-09-28 - Modified: 2014-07-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/flickr-photos-for-your-blogger-com-gallery/ - Categories: Techie - Tags: blogger gallery, blogger.com galleries, blogger.com gallery, flickr to blogger.com, simple gallery Go to the Application here. Finally I did something with the API. Damn! I had to study one whole day. This again although it is supposed to be techie in nature, shall not be. Now this is the second application. This is for Flickr users. . now my work is to integrate blogger into this, and lets try if we can actually make the work easier for everyone else. Damn! I used to run away from all javascripts. . I enjoyed copying and pasting them! But this time, building something from a blank notepad document was an interesting exercise. Things that are next in line : Using blogger. com API, facebook, photobucket APi and then... amateur photographer+ :) Stay tuned. --- - Published: 2011-09-28 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/simple-gallery-code-generation/ - Categories: Techie - Tags: direct image links, generates the code which you can embed to blogger.com, simple gallery Go to the application here What it does? >> It takes the direct image links and captions from you, and generates the code which you can embed to blogger. com or your website. I thank Bibhas for his help. JQuery was something i never explored. . he was of good help. Getting to the application, it is very crudely presented to you, but that suffices. The work will be done. It doesnot verify the link, so chances of the generated code not working is there. For the users, please give the exact link of the image file, the images that end with . jpg, . bmp, . gif, . png Then it will provide the right code, just copy it and paste it where you want. --- - Published: 2011-08-31 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/end-of-the-wait/ - Categories: facebook update elaborated., Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anupaul debnath Well, in the photograph we have Anupaul Debnath, shot at the seminar room of NSHM knowledge campus, Kolkata. I didnot personally like the photograph, but once uploaded, it got more than 50 likes without any link sharing. I believed, it was some wait which ended... such was the expression, but couldnot write about it. . so I thought of getting others view as well... What I recieved was a surprise, I wanna share with you all. . Disclaimer: I asked the question separately to each of them, so the answers being influenced by someone else is not there. My question to them was Achha tell me honestly, what are the first feelings when you see this photograph> Deeptish, student of class 12 from Kolkata, said, "Checking out a chick :P", well I dont need to explain what that means ;) Argha (1st yr, CS hons, Kolkata) was ecstatic," keu ekta gf k dress chnge kortey dekchey lol " . . well for those who got it, GOOD! else, I am sure you dont want me to translate. . and here are few of the other responses : Anjishnu (1st yr student, Kolkata) : "the person happy, contented and feeling very satisfied seeing something... maybe after waiting for quite a while he sees his girlfriend coming. " Arpith Vedhanayagam (2nd yr student, Chennai): "Future unknown, something like this. " SKSumit (3rd year,Durgapur, Pashchimbanga): "Retrospection? " Pratik Shivagunde (medical student, Solapur, Maharashtra): "Peeking from window... to see a hot gal on road. " Robin sinha (English hons student, Delhi): "dreaming... . . lonely... . sneaking through". Tanmay Biswas (Engg Student,Kolkata): "Jake capture kora hoyeche tar perspective-e bolchi... 'woo, mamoni ta to darun' ". Roshan Singh(MCA student,Delhi): "Cute". Mayukh Chatterjee (programmer, Mahindra Satyam): "your alone and happy the way you are, the way things are around you,and your looking outtof the window and just thinking happy thoughts, kinda nostalgic but in the good sorta way and thinking about hypothetical stuff". Zishan Asad (post graduate student, USA): "seem to be happy frm within a glow in the eyes and sense of satisfaction. " Alok Dutta (member, KWS) : "Valo, :P" Avinandan Ani (aspiring photographer, Kolkata) : "Kichu photo technically judge korte ichha kore na, eta serom ekta chobi. Pensive ekebarei lagche na,rather serene lagche. " Avishek Biswas (aspiring photographer, Kolkata): "kono feeling asche naa". Somajita Ray (mother of an extremely cute kid, USA) : "Found light :D" Deeptish went on to add " His vision is trying to comprehend nature's comprehension or mayb he's just lost inside his mind. . hovering around some old happy memory which brings a faint smile on his face. Three paths originate from this theory:- 1. His memory is a memory from a distant past which he barely remembers. . its all blurred and smokey 2. He does not want to remember the whole thing. . as the complete journey might now have been happy. . might be a bitter note somewhere that he does not want to remember 3. the pic was taken before he could smile properly. . exposing his full set oh calcium assests or. . another significant possibility would be a wait maybe he's waiting for something. . good times. . mayb his girl friend. . some old friend... maybe for lunch. " Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. Now the question is thrown to the floor... comment honestly ;) --- - Published: 2011-08-29 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-coconut-seller/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anirban saha photography, esplanade, kolkata, streets I wished to try capturing the rush of the city of Kolkata. . This wasnt my first attempt. I photographed this young boy, with coconut slices arranged in a thali, selling it to drivers in the hot afternoon, in esplanade. I was walking by the mid path with two sides of the road busy with traffic. I was eagerly searching for a frame with the Grand hotel, with the hawkers below it and the city rush, when I noticed the boy on the other side of the railing. But when I finally brought him to focus, he noticed me :( and the traffic lights turned red. . even then, I wanted to snap him. I wanted him to be shifted towards the right, with the cars to the left of the frame. . As a photograph, the boy looking at the camera is not good, I agree. I was even confused regarding which version should be kept. I wondered what this boy would grow up to be ! Well I still do. . I admit, we see less child labour as compared to when we were school goers, we even see less people on streets. . but when will be completely a thing of the past? I wonder. I am not eligible to comment, whether this is fast development or this is not, but would definitely not like to see children on streets or child labour anywhere. . Leave your comments ;) Special thanks to Arka Dhara for the B/W version of the Photograph. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-24 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/mayar-khela-2/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: dakshinee, kalamandir, mayar khela, rabindranath tagore "Love, how simple or how complex can it get. . is it just magic or a chance encounter? Mayar Khela, the musical drama by Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore took an unconventional way to see this. This story essentially feminine in nature made for the ladies college conceptualised in 1880’s deals with 2 female protagonists and one male. Tagore explains, it’s all the maze of illusion that surrounds us, in our world. The world we see is a mere series of coincidences knotted together by time. For this, love is requited, enchantments comes with follies while moments of depart becomes charming. Gurudev creates an unusual atmosphere of ecstasy; with the dream maidens tell the story in chorus. They spin illusions in the mind of the protagonists. Pramada sees love as an art, as pleasurable. While Shanta stands for sacrifice. Amar faces monotony with Shanta, and seeks at the outer world wondering what more was in store for him other than Shanta. Pramada rejects Amar, when Amar falls in love with her later. . Slowly, yet gradually Amar gets back to Shanta, and what happens is the mastery of Tagores’ skill. The inevitable happens, Pramada seeks Amar, and the story takes an emotional plunge. The Maidens remain the narrators , they sing. . they seek love for happiness but happiness eludes them... " From Mayar Khela (by Biswa Bharati Sangeet bhavan), posted by Anirban Saha on 8/24/2011 (12 items) . . shanta, ... pramada... she in her fleet of enjoyment... . and luxery. the pain of having hurt. Amar gets back to shanta. the dilemma ends, with each wishing to step back... such is love, such is the magic o... . . and the finale "aaj khela bhangar khela" Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher // It was staged on 24 August 2011, at Kalamandir. The presenters were from Biswa Bharati university- Sangeet Bhawan. The program was conducted by Dakshinee. It was my privilege being there, withnessing it. I have not witnessed better than this ever before. Thank you, Dipanjan Paul for your briefing. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-23 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bichitrer-normo-bansi/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: bichitrer narma bansi, bichitrer normo bansi, rabindranath tagore, shekhar gupta "A tune is existing in each part of the world around us, from the time it was created. . this music is spread across our environment and the human civilisation. This tune, this music is also scattered in Tagores work in the form of the music of the flute, the music of the world, and it is evident from his poems, write ups, songs and novels. It is this tune which the presenter wanted to exhibit with its vivid description in the entire recitation-singing sequence - Bichintrer Normo Bansi. It was conceptualised by late Partha Basu, first staged in 1992, replicated yesterday, Aug 22, 2011 at Purbashree auditorium, directed by Mr Shekhar Gupta. It is a sequence of recitation of verses and songs, taken from the work of Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. " From Bichitrer Normo Banshi, posted by Anirban Saha on 8/23/2011 (8 items) Bichitrer normo bansi The end dance sequence. . The presentation team. Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher // Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-22 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/beyond-urban-blue/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: beyond urban blues, chompahati, gochoron, gourdaho, pashchim banga, villages of bengal, west bengal Sharing few photographs from Kolkata Weekend Shoots outdoor shoots. I visited numerous nearby villages with them. They are rich by the scenes, poor by the peoples poverty. Yet they are extremely happy and lively. Its an unique combination of happiness amidst adversities. I might be a bit to early expressing this thing, but this is exactly what I feel. We can caption this set of photos like "Banglar mukh", but for me its ". . beyond the urban blues. " "Aji bangladesher hridoy hote kokhon aponi, Tumi aei oporup rupe bahir hole jononi" . . Tagore Please do leave honest reviews of the photograph, and if you a photographer from Kolkata, we at KWS shall be more than welcoming you. Quote suggested by Shekhar Gupta sir. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-20 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/cluster-of-emotions/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: hand cart, howrah, kolkata, kolkata weekend shoot, wodden cart Went to shoot with Kolkata Weekend Shoots, last Sunday to the Badhadad market in Howrah, crossing the river Ganges at the Ahiritola point. It was the industrial belt. . I was searching for water, and had to walk about 1. 5 kms to find a bottle of Kinley :( It was there, near a Sai baba- mandir, when I noticed few workers having their lunch. While the rest went to play cards, these 4 were engaged in chit chatting, on the half of the "ThEla GaaDi", and was so comfortable balancing themselves there. . :D They did not notice me at first, then I tried photographying them. Had various options in framing them. . but i chose this particular frame, coz mine is not a wide angle cam. Its Sony DSC H10, compact. . But i wanted to show maximum of the situation. My key points were: 1. the four people should stay in the middle of the frame. 2. it should be evident that they were on the "ThEla GaaDi" balancing themselves. . and I framed the wheel for it. For those who have seen the "ThEla GaaDi", they will be easily able to connect. I donot know whether these carts are used anywhere else in India :D Neither do I know what the english equivalent term is for "ThEla GaaDi", but I have seen them in Kolkata since childhood for shifting finished products in bulk. I am almost satisfied with the shot, but the fourth person from the left was looking at my lens, which even for a bit upsets the frame :-/ Leave your comments ;) Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-18 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/one-power-different-forms/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: hinduism, indian religion, maa durga, maa manasha, maa shakti, manasha purana, mother goddess, mother goddess india, mother india Maa Shakti (Mother Power) is the Supreme power as is believed by a sect of Hindus, the Shakta section of the society. Maa Shakti reigns in different forms across the society and the ecosystem. When Maa Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, Maa Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge and of wisdom. . Maa Durga is supposed to be the unifying power of all Hindu Gods. She was created to demolish the ultimate evil power, symbolically Mahisashur. She nurtures us like our mother and is responsible for every good around us. She is symbolised as ever powerful and mighty with ten hands, crusading the devil to death. Another such Goddess is Maa Manasha. She is the Goddess of snakes and reptiles, which signify venom, or evils as deadly as venom. She also takes care of varied venomous emotions in a human mind and protects people, marriages, making them fertile and happy. She was given birth by a yajna, by the power of the mind of Sage Kashyapa, gaining control over the venomous miscreants (symbolised by snakes and reptiles) by chanting mantras. Lord Krishna, pleased with her, formally worshipped her, giving her siddhi powers and making her an established Goddess. When we see the power around, we see it in different forms... It is one single power of mother goddess that protects/nurtures us being Maa Durga. . and seldom keeps the serpentine evils away being Maa Manasa. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-16 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nuances-of-the-female-mind/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: confusion, girls, nuances of the female mind, rishika I wished to write so much on the topic, "nuances of the female mind". . and again I failed. I failed to express how it feels to get drowned in someones' eyes. . loosing oneself. . and the moment next you are thrown out of the world. Such an antic... No I am not talking about the girl in the photograph. . she is Rishika, one of the oldest and modest members from Kolkata Weekend Shoots. . someone whom I look forward to, to review my photographs ;) I am talking about girls, in general. We guys have been most vocal about the unpredictability of the girls' mind. . and why shouldnt it be? So unpredictable, that classifying them as unpredictable shall be an insult in themselves. "They say, we all guys are the same. . can we dare say - all girls are the same? " questions Prantik. . on questioned why girls can be so playful with their moods, Sumana di told, "freaked out is the WORD... we get freaked out for no reason... we girls are often so unpredictable... i sometimes surprise myself by the way i respond to a situation... moods change without any prior notification... how cud we expect men to understand if we ourselves fail to do so... times are difficult "... mm yea, we men are actually dumbasses when we try fathom your emotions, mam. Well we all know it and how it feels when your friends goes to propose only to return with a red face :P An extremely thoughtful Neha added, "if we were to generalize. . we all want the same thing, we all like pink, chocolates,shopping, dressing up specially hair, talking about 'hot guys'. . :P oh yes shoes! " ... well till then was fine. . then she went on to add,"... and we all want a guy who loves us and doesn't look at other girls. ". . Well I slammed my face, vowing never to fiddle with the "wishes" of the women, simply to give in. I was taking photographs of Rishika when I actually understood how many expressions can be exhibited by a girl, sitting at one place looking at people :D Yea! perhaps the girls mind is such a maze, we guys would dare to get into. . But I still am inquisitive. . what was on her mind? Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-16 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/victory-over-theblues/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: hinduism, india, kolkata, rahul nath, shiva, shiva puja, shiva worship Hinduism, the oldest religious tradition across the globe, and traditions older than history, since time immemorial, has evolved and sublimed within the realms of Human conscience. Believed to have formed of diverse traditions, it is considered to be the oldest living tradition in the world. Not only this, some historians are of the opinion that Hinduism is the root of the emergence of the other religions as well, though the proofs have been pretty much debatable and controversial. Shiva, the God of Destruction is considered as one of the major Hindu Gods in the Hindu Triad. This is the most appropriate moment to mention about “the Auspicious One” as this being the Shraavan month, as per Hindu Calendar (Last week of July to 3rd week of August), with the entrance of Sun into Cancer, and it is celebrate across the nation as the annual pilgrimage of His devotees. According to the Puranas, Shiva is also known as the “Neel-kanth” as He drank the poison which emerged out of the giant snake, Vasuki, during the battle between the Gods and Demons for the “amrut” or the nectar of immortality, and with His yogic powers He managed to stop the poison from going further inside His body, but then again, His throat took the colour blue and since then He is worshipped as “Neel-kanth”. May Shiva bestow upon His devotees unconditional love, kindness, graciousness and the power to overcome their “samudra manthan”. Post written by : Rahul Nath He is pursuing his graduation in media science from NSHM Institute of Media and Communication, and is a member of Ink'd Actorism. He is a very nice conversationalist and someone I love talking to. He is unequivocally the most "cranky" person I have met and irrevocably a freak ! ! ! He chooses to live and believe in dreams and sleep-with-his-eyes-open and dares to believe in it ! ! This friend of mine is inspiring me with his writing and his speech :) A true straight-on-face friend that he is, look out for more of his posts :) Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-14 - Modified: 2012-11-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/revolutionalised-beaut/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: 15 august, dehli trip, delhi, indian independence day, sher shah gate Years of existence, few places older than history itself. . India strives to claim its super power position back in the world. A place which signifies glory, where people surge forward holding on to their history, a place where language is no barrier. . over 1700 languages spoken each day. . thats my India, where we live history each breath of ours'. The journey through the thousands of years, have let us feel proud, and see the old in every new way possible. Shall end this post saying "Jai Hind" and sharing a photograph for you. . In Bengal, a pair of Shalik birds is a good omen, I shot this at Delhi, when I last visited the place in April. This photo stands for good hope for me. . with the arch of a very old Islamic structure as its background. It for me is a good sign for the old India, to surge forward and resurrect itself. Happy Independence Day. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-13 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/ignorant-simplicity/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anirban saha photography, gourdaho kids, ignorant simplicity, kolkata, kolkata weekend shoots, life, open category photography, west bengal Happiness unbound in my moves,In my soul my freedom lies. Songs of happiness takes me high,Dreams alive in my eyes. I am the ruler of my world,My world lies within the Horizon, Turmoils touch me not, worries stay away. Happy as in am, worlds' ignorant son. Post first published at "We have a story: Ignorant simplicity" Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-09 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/monsoon-special-rim-jhim-ghono-ghono-re/ - Categories: Favourite Rabindrasangeet Lyrics, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: monsoon special, rabindranath tagore, rabindrasangeet, rim jhim ghono ghono re Was rain-dancing on the streets that time, photographing anything and everything around. . was enjoying the rains to the fullest. It was heavy rain, and it was a lovely feel to get drenched in the middle of a almost busy street of Kolkata... a photograph for you, and a song (rabindrasangeet)... although we dont find peacocks and peahens in Kolkata this way, this song is a monsoon treat for you ;) Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-09 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-stained-sword/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: battle, brotherhood, duel, imagination, mistrust, tale of two brothers They fought a fierce unparalleled battle. Both valiant warriors, achievers by their own might, proud of their legacy and lineage. The victor chuckled, pointing his sword towards him. He who fell to the dust, against the might of the victor. . He shivered, having lost, in shame. Blood ran down his forehead, his head taming down, the swords edge at his neck. He kept kneeling down in front of the Victor. The drops of blood trickled to the dust, disappearing in a moment. The guards came in, the victorious conch-shell blew. He was caught by his arms. The clouds roared, it was getting dark. . the day of war was about to end. . the sun was about to set. . The sky was painted with the golden streak of lights hitting the dark clouds. Vultures reigned the evening sky today, the birds refused to fly by. . The Victor trembled once. . shook his sword, swung it high up. . roaring revenge. He huffed pride. . a strong breath and decided to face his death eye to eye. A lot had been said, a lot done... forgiveness seldom replaced by pride. . Crossed eye brows, he looked at the victor. . and was surprised to see tear drops in the eyes of the Victor. He shivered, looked into the eyes of the Victor. His heart crying out “O brother, how can you misunderstand me so much? How can you trust the other so much? Let me have a word. . It wasn't anger, it was love. It has been years since I spoke to you last, It has been long since I embraced you and proudly proclaim you my younger”. The Sword stopped in the air. . the crowd silenced with awe. So was he forgiven? Is all the love accepted and acknowledged? He wanted the breeze to catch fire. . he wanted all to be blazed to death. . he wished to cry till his hearts content. He wished to embrace Victor and tell him, that he still is his elder brother. Nothing much had changed since he last left him. . The house remains the same, the stewardship ready. The honour remains the same. . Years of anger, seeding in a misconstrued event. . years of willingness to hug, all ending with him kneeling down, guards holding him tight. For some, it was chivalry, for some it was pride. . honour, duty. The sword swung high up again, swinging back to his neck, slashing his head off his shoulders. The head fell on the ground, already painted red, splashing more of the colour to it. No one cared to close his eyes. . It thundered somewhere, no one seemed to fear. A hundred questions remained unanswered, a hundred confessions kept secret. . all dying down flowing with the red. The pride turned to overconfident chivalry, the victor stood high amidst the red chaos. The conch shell blew, the trumpets sounded high... soldiers drummed, clapped, cheered. . The quest of the difference ended, with the horizon coloured with the golden and the red... and sun finally set. Darkness enveloped the field. Let it rain, wash the sins with rain. . sing the way, the way the sky sings today. . just the way the sky looks at me, look at me that way. . let my heart cry the way, the forest cries when the wind takes with it all its dry leaves. . the true wealth remained unshared, let me cry. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-08 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/22-shrabon-tagores-demise-anniversary/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: 22 shrabon, rabindranath tagore, rabindranath tagore light painting, tagore death anniversary, tagore rabindranath Today is 22 shrabon, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagores' Death anniversary... He lives within us in various forms of art, as songs, poems, stories, novels, philosophies, paintings... This is my tribute to the greatest teacher of all times... Gurudev tomaye shoto pronam. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. Do share your views about Rabindranath Tagore, about 22 shrabon :) --- - Published: 2011-08-07 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/o-beloved/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: amartya saha, anirban saha photography, kolkata, monsoon, o beloved, rain, romance ... from my birth till the inception of feelings... . have i been there by you like this... . withstood the harsh sun together, today as the rain quenches our thirst. . i stand just by you... . seeing you breathe a leash of life... . i want to be drenched in the same drop that has touched you so dearly... but... being on the other branch i could never touch you once... shall i nurture the dream to fall before thee... here... so that when your time in bondage with the twig is done... shall thou alight gently with the wind... i shall be on the ground... amidst the dust... . waiting to embrace you in my arms... ... . "aha tomar shonge praner khela... . priyo amar... ogo priyo... . . kichute keno je aaj mon laagena, aaji jhoro jhoro mukhoro badolo dine," Post written by : Amartya Saha He has done his masters in media science and broadcast journalism from NSHM Institute of Media and Communication, and shall be joining Headlines Today. He is now a freelance voice over artist. This school friend of mine has always inspired me with his writing and speech :) He has unnatural talent in creating romanticism, and this is another of an example. A sparkling star from St Pauls Mission School, look out for more of his posts :) Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. --- - Published: 2011-08-06 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-silent-lover/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: india, kolkata, lover, monsoons, nature, rain, window pane Standing by the window, seeing the world getting drizzled by the mighty clouds. . I feel the translucent crystal drops of rain as I gaze outside the window with my warm cup of coffee. I see the beauty that surrounds me. . the flickering tall trees pushed away by the strong winds... the blurred chatter of children as they play in the rain... the pleasant odor of the soaked soil... the twirling of sluggish earth worms on the road sides ... while I observe this as a silent lover, I feel “one” with the mother nature. Post written by : Neha Kasturia Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. --- - Published: 2011-08-05 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/destiny/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anirban saha photography, destiny, drop of water, droplet, ocean I wished to write few lines about this photograph... But I failed terribly. What is this photograph? Can you relate to the photograph? One simple drop of water, knowing fully well that it is going to mix with the ocean body, still enjoys all the attention, the light, the glitter. . The moment freezed immortalising its flight off the body. It was the splash, that hit it out of the body... and to the body it shall return. It is Destined. Once it is into the body, it shall loose all its individuality, thats destiny. But this moment is freezed for eternity... I have set the caption - Destiny, for this photograph. What say? Please comment your feedback :D Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography. Show support, Hit the "like" button. **Update** Got three very interesting comment, would like to include them to the main body ;) Deeptish: Its like the little moments of our lives. . our little memories. . that are mostly regular and common... When our time comes, we go into extreme introspection. . this is what we mortals really are. . cherishing immortality at the blinks of our lives. . remembering every intricate and intrinsic detail in the dark folds of our brains. . Time coagulates for the projection of these moments. . At this moment, we are extraordinary entities. . bigger than our bodies. . we feel big in ourselves. . Our mind and heart races faster than the light. . WE think and feel so much more, mostly because we are near to our destiny. . cause we know its all going to be over very soon. . just like this drop. . it'll soon reach the surface. . the end of its journey as an individual drop. . a brand new start... Amartya: "A Drop of Passion "... . As a part of my love and my fantasy... Once in the Ocean thou shall find it never,. . Ai moment u missed, a few frozen memories forever... . . Anindya: Well I would like to say a drop falling into that water can create huge vibration into it. Like that one small incident like that drop can cause lots of change into your life but ultimately life get back to it’s own and we move on. --- - Published: 2011-08-03 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/table-top-work/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: anirban saha photography, still life photography, table I tried shooting some photos of the books, pen stand and CD's I have on my rack of my study table. Recently Aninya gifted me a key ring (a puppy), and I found it perfect to be my subject :D Do take a look at the photos :) Like the photographs? Hit the "like" button> --- - Published: 2011-08-03 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-attachment-personal/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: adil rasheed, anindya, aninya, annesha, college life, debashis, deboleena, ponchobhoot, supratik I was trying to photograph my table top differently, trying out different arrangements. This photograph is relatively good. Not just technically. . but a lot of memories arise each time I see this photograph. Yes, of my college life. The Holy Quran in the photograph, was gifted to me by Adil Rashid, for I like reading religious books. . toh he gifted me the entire new Quran. I was humbled and obliged, and this was the parting gift - on the last day of my college life. The little puppy key ring was gifted to me by Aninya. She said that her dad gifted me that, but whatever that is... its special and cute :P She gave it to me the day we went to watch Harry Potter together :D The Mug in the photograph was the first birthday gift by Anindya, Aninya, Annesha and Deboleena (frankly known as Ponchobhoot) in 2008. This is extremely special. . I never used it till ow, today took it down and am using it to photoshoot :P Ponchobhoot might not exist anymore, but the time we spent together as "us" together is worth a life time. With time, situations and circumstances change. . none can be blamed for that, what we remain with are the good memories and a faint hope of reliving them back :D The key ring with "anirban saha" written on it, used to be my key ring of hostel. It still has the hostel locks' key in it :P I used it from the middle of 1st yr, till the end of college life. Its place was my right pocket of my pant, never to be misplaced anywhere else :) Miss Rohit these days :P . Well the earbuds are new, bought after college got over... they are my newest friends who stick into my ears while I walk on the streets of Kolkata :P If I am not wrong, the pens are the pens I used in my final months of college life :P :P :P Kinda missing Karmakar, Dheeraj, Shayantan and Koustav :D All these friends have shaped up my life. Whatever I am today its because of the entire set of occurances in my life. these days, people say about the quality of students being bad or perhaps worse... but it was in BCET only where I had found Sandip Sir, Sudipto Sir, Anindya, Aninya, Annesha, Deboleena, Supratik, Rohit, Swastik, Debashis, Sayani, Koustav, Souvick, Ankit and many more incredible people who helped me shape myself into what I am today. I owe them BIG time! The more I see the photo, the more nostalgic I might get. Praying to God, so that we Aninya, Annesha, Anindya, Supratik and me stay together even at TCS (and thats a faint hope though) and all my lovely juniors join me fast fast :D aah! long one :P BBye (If you like the photograph, click at the "like" button. ) --- - Published: 2011-08-01 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/what-is-love/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anirban saha, childs view, chils psychology, girl, photography, rabindrasangeet, the childs sight, what is love (If you like the photograph, click at the "like" button. ) The entire world is so beautiful in my eyes, so young and so smiling. Green and fresh. . fresh blue is my sky, green is the garden's dress. The fading moonlight, the tender bud, all are like my existence. They know no regret, no grief of life are met. They hum their songs of happiness, they laugh all day. . they wish to live and greet their death this way. The flowers fall while it is bright, the moonlight fades smiling its way. . Smiling all the way, the stars hide themselves behind the sharp light rays. Who is as happy as the way I stay in my life? Come, O friend come to me. Let us clear all strife. Let me tell you the story of my happy heart, lest you forget your grief. You cry all day, lets have a moment of an eternal smile, which might just be as brief. for one moment, let us sing together forgetting all grief. The day is now, the moment is here. . strong is my belief. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Footnote: Photograph courtesy: Anirban Saha Photography The above post is an attempt of directly translating an extract from Nobel Laureate Rabindranatha Tagore's song - "Sokhi bhabona kahare bole" to English. I beg your pardon if I went wrong somewhere. --- - Published: 2011-07-29 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/it-is-what-we-make-of-it/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: childhood, kid, life, parents, pressure A person is a product of his circumstances. He doesnt grow up in a vaccum. He lives in an ecosystem imbibing from it, its good and its bad! Let this child grow up free, with as many options we can provide him with, and we being a guide to him. He needs to experience, understand and know, choose . . and finally live his own life ;) Photograph courtesy: Anirban Saha Photography --- - Published: 2011-07-20 - Modified: 2011-07-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-sailing-boat/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: anchor, anchorage, boat, Boat ride, clouds, evening, kolkata, princep ghat, sun set, the sailing boat The wanderer heart sails through the ocean seldom seeking anchorage. Sun hid by the cloud, the ocean growls. No one for him but himself to encourage. Where does he stop to find peace? The wind keeps pushing, his sails set. Sailing through the heart of the blue Hit by its waves, the clouds give way to the dusk's colourful hue. Colourful surprises are weathers' caprice! A smile seeps in. . his home left behind. The goal far ahead. . The peace lives with the journey today, Prizes left cold and dead. The moment now, is to freeze. Photograph: Anirban Saha Photography --- - Published: 2011-07-19 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/for-the-red-to-turn-green/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: bam front, cpim, elections, eliot road, green means congress, green means happiness, kolkata, mamta bannerjee, red citadel, red means bamfront, red means left front, traffic green light, traffic redlight, trinamul congress, west bengal, west bengal election results, west bengal irony, west bengal politics, west bengal sarcasm, west bengal traffic, west bengal traffoc The traffic light showed red. A long queue of people, cars, autos, trams, taxis waited for it to turn green. It was a long and intriguing wait for the red to glow green, All was at wait, standing still without proceeding. Eager faces wanted the change, the queue turned to a crowd with more cars jamming the street. I took the opportunity to photograph few eager tensed faces. The situation seemed a political irony, 34 anyone? Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography --- - Published: 2011-07-18 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/richshaw-the-hypocritical-melody/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: calcutta, city of joy, hand pulled rickshaw, heritage, kolkata, rickshaw, west bengal Call it elitist, call it against humanism. . shunned by most part of the world, Hand pulled Richshaws are a vibrant reality on the street of Kolkata. The last government wished to rehabilitate the rickshaw pullers, not mentioning exactly how they would proceed with the idea. The Rickshaw pullers have now become a part of the heritage of Calcutta, of which we can insanely boast of. It has attracted lovers, poets, writers and have become an inspirational storyline to Rudyard Kipling, Dominique Lapierre... while films like "Do beegha zameen", and the "city of Joy" had a prominent character of the rickshaw in their story. The government has no proper plans to rehabilitate, parents find their kids easily transported to their schools, Calcutta is able to keep on to the inhuman custom. . while the vast majority of rickshaw pullers from the state of Bihar find some occupation. . Where are we actually standing? Photograph courtesy : Anirban Saha Photography --- - Published: 2011-07-14 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-streets-of-kolkata/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: bus, kolkata, photography, rush of kolkata, school memories, streets of kolkata As a child, I was always fascinated by the rush of the city. Each morning, my dad would hurry me to a bus from GouriBari to Sealdah, where my school remained strict, their eyes fixed on the hands of the ticking clock :D Each day, I used to take my head out of the bus to see whats coming at us, how the cars rush by. . how the people used to swear at jam, and frequent traffic red signals. . how traffic rules were broken to the will of the pedestrians. The symphony of the horns, the bus conductor's alerts, the "ting ting" sound of the bus bells. . and there started the bus again,me amazed looking outside :D The grey buses seem to have been replaced by the blue and yellow, while at certain parts, the graffiti gave way to a more sophisticated white body buses, but nothing seems to have changed. The dreams, hopes are still there, even today people amaze me when i look at them through the window ;) I lived one such past moment very recently, cannot resist the temptation to share a photograph with you. If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": regards, Anirban --- - Published: 2011-07-14 - Modified: 2011-07-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/blogadda-mentions-this-blog-as-notable-newbie/ - Categories: awards and mentions, College life, entrepreneurship, Episodes of my Life, Random notes - Tags: blogadda, kolkata, kolkata bloggers meet, mention, notable newbie, social media, twitter Today Blogadda mentioned this blog as the "notable newbie", featuring "Anirban Saha's Abhibyakti" on its homepage. Friends, thank you. This mention is important for me, as well as for this blog, for its visibility. I hope to reach out to more people in the near future. I started blogging in class 12, after having come to know about "blog" from a bengali youth magazine "unish kuri". Ever since, I have opened numerous blogs, interacted with numerous people related to blogging. Became my college entrepreneurship cells' blogger to National Entrepreneurship Network. One of my notable blogs were "Abhibyakti", (anirbansaha dot wordpress dot com), which made me actually reach out to people. Slowly I started using various social media, micro blogging sites, and even sms's to promote my blog. Slowly, after Kolkata Bloggers Meet, I came to know more about blogging... but sadly, that blog was hacked and deleted, and I couldnot recover it. Although I retained the name "Abhibyakti", only to remove it in May 2011. This site is less than a year old, and thank fully without even much updating it gets more than 100 visitors each day. I thank Techshu, for helping me make this site of my own. Today, a website for me is a platform to connect to people. Social media will come and shall go. It was orkut initially. . then twitter and facebook came in. . today Google+ seems promising. . But I believe a website accounts for a longer plan, bigger platform :) --- - Published: 2011-07-14 - Modified: 2014-07-07 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tokens-of-appreciation-blog-awards/ - Categories: awards and mentions - Tags: alpana prasad, melissa tandoc, sexy and talented diploma award, versatile blogger award I am extremely sorry. In all the rush, I forgot to mention two of the most beautiful ladies in my life. They even appreciated my work at the community blog - "We have a Story". The first mention is of the recognition that brought a wide smile : The versatile blogger award Melissa is a blogger Philippines, who believes she is a world citizen. She calls herself an incurable optimist and people lover. Its actually her love that had made her write "every artist has his/her own art style... what I like most from Anirban are the stories he creates with his photos... ". I feel honoured, loved and humbled. The next mention is of that which made me put myself back at hold for few moments : The STD : Sexy and Talented Diploma award :D I am not quite sure about how fit the honour is for me, and i am not being humble :P This mention was by Alpana, a friend of mine who is more of a tigress than just another woman you see next door. She inspires me, in my tough times. . Seldom calls me. . whats more important is, when ever i close my eyes thinking of a problem, I think how would Alpana have faced it, and my problem gets some way towards the solution, if not all. Thanks Alpana di for all the love and affection. She previously mentioned me as one of the most versatile bloggers here. She awarded this to me, when I was giving my final semester exams. Thank you again. . I thank Alpana and Aabhishek Panda da, to have helped me grow, and be a part of "We have a Story". It is a great exposure to the outer world, as a writer, to cater to a bigger set and diverse readers. Thank you. --- - Published: 2011-06-25 - Modified: 2011-06-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nibhrite-jotone-music-cd-review/ - Categories: Reviews - Tags: bratati bandhopadhyay, latest rabindrasangeet, music CD, music review, music world, nibhrite jotone, rabindranath tagore, rabindrasangeet, rabindrasangeet instrumentals, sabyasachi, tagore 150 birthday, tagore review, value for money Those who have interest in Bengali films, arts, recitations and music... Sabyasachi Chakravarty, Bratati Bandhopadhyay and Shonali Nath may be 3 of the cherished names. And perhaps when they collaborate and work with Tagore's work, anyone can expect miracles. And that is why I couldnt really resist its temptation ;) Was a bit dissapointed, but once I went to the flow, I am loving it even now... Why I loved it? Fusion of thinly related items with Rabindrasangeet has been in fashion, of late. After the copyright has been lifted, intellectuals experiment with Tagores' work to give it a new avatar. Previously we have seen the Baul mix with Rabindrasangeet, Ustad Rashid Khan and Nachiketa mixing raagas with Rabindrsangeet, Bickram Ghosh came out with his rendition of Rabindrasangeet with highly coupled percussion. But this effort is very simple, yet unique and touched my heart. There are poems/extracts recited from different Tagore texts, followed by Rabindrasangeet instrumentals. The concept is by Supriyo Nath, this is unique concept and I am totally in love with it. And I had always been in love with Bratati Bandhopadhyay's recitation (elocution). She perhaps has the most elegant voice in the world today. The Hawaiian guitar mixed with the other instruments has created magic. . Listen to it when you are alone, and its like the 9th heaven you shall be in ! Calm, soothing ever flowing Tagore. . Album name: Nibhrite Jotone ( Bhashyopath o Hawaiian Guitare Rabindra Shrodhyargho) Although only guitars were not in use, Tabla, Srikhol, Pakhwaj, Sitar, Sarod, Keyboard, Flute, Violin were also used :) The tracks include: 01. Tumi amar aapon (Gitanjali) Artist: Bratati Bandhopadhyay Song: Dariye acho tumi amar... 02. Nirob bansorikhani (Geetochhash) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Ghorete bhomor elo... 03. Jokhon binaye mor (Rog Sojyay) Artist: Bratati Bandhopadhyay Song: Ami tomar songe bendhechi amar pran... 04. Ei dekhun na (Shesher Kobita) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Bhalobeshe sokhi nibhrite jotone... 05. Rup jokhon (Ghare baire) Artist: Bratati Bandhopadhyay Song: Ami roope tomaye bholabona... 06. Dekho na ki hoye (Leela sangini) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Amar bela je jaaye... 07. Se din ki tumi (Naba besh) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Amar hridoy tomar aapon haather... 08. Brindabone prothom (Joy porajoy) Artist: Bratati Bandhopadhyay Song: Bhalo bashi. . Bhalo bashi... 09. Ghana baner chaya (Shesher Kobita) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Pran chaaye chokkhu na chaaye... 10. Ami ekhon somoy korechi (Protikkha) Artist: Bratati Bandhopadhyay Song: Amar Mallika bone 11. Jokhon amader (Poospanjali) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Aaj Jyotsnaraate sobai jeche bone... 12. Probhu aami ekjonke (Ghaater kotha o Geetanjali) Artist: Bratati Bandhopadhyay Song: Amar Hiyar majhe lukiye ache... 13. Jodi bhoriya loibe (Hridoy jomuna) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Esho Esho amar Ghore esho... 14. Seidin sondhya belaye (Shesher kobita) Artist: Sabyasachi Song: Amar jibonpatro Uchholiya... This "Times music" presentation is priced only Rs. 125 and is a must listen to by Tagore lovers'. Do buy original CD's and say a no to piracy. This website doesnot host pirated tracks and there is no download link. --- - Published: 2011-06-19 - Modified: 2014-03-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-take-on-work-hope-goal-plans-and-achievement/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: :P, chievement, eligibility for success, future plans, goal, hard work, hope, hope to succeed, ideals, plans, success, work You can only hope and work for it... Work, perhaps not to achieve what you hope, but to make yourself eligible to hope that way. Your work shall make you fail at times, the hope might just disappear. But your work should be to better yourself. . to make mistakes, rectify, learn, share, collaborate, work and hope again. For hope alone is the way to achieve, and the more eligible you are, fit for the hope, the better your chances to achieve it. And perhaps, that is success. My work shall be on, without any plans for the future. . based on the hopes I see today, directing it somewhat towards a better hope. For each opportunity puts up a new hope. . each new hope - a challenge, each challenge - avenues to develop myself. . make myself eligible for it. The hope maturing to a goal, and work taking me nearer to it. --- - Published: 2011-06-09 - Modified: 2011-06-09 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-personal-note-career/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, facebook update elaborated., Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: career, personal I had always been very uncertain of what I want to do in my life. But my only wish was to give my best each time I work, whatever the work might have been. The uncertainty, led to many successful ventures, while few led to disaster. The confusion made me learn BASIC, commercial applications, biology,... learn about film making, entrepreneurship, debating, singing, painting... writing, blogging, marketing, photography, event management, how to present myself and many other things! But slowly, with time, I am quite clear with what I want to do in life. . and very calmly so. This time I am content with my decision, and I believe I shall be happy in my work. I believe I will be happy with higher studies and preferably research based works and photography shall be with me always ;) --- - Published: 2011-06-07 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/achira-sahas-marriage/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: achira saha, achira saha marriage, achira saha marriage photographs, achira saha marriage pictures, koustav ghosh, koustav ghosh photography, photography Photographs by Anirban Saha, Koustav Ghosh, Souvick Mazumder, Kingshuk. Date: January 16, 2011. If you like the photograph, Please show support. Hit the "like" button below: From Didi Biye. , posted by Anirban Saha on 1/18/2011 (8 items) When the groom was lifted. . his head banged straight to the ceiling of the room... wh... @bashi biye. when the yajna was being done. its just after the sindur daan. "tolo tolo tolo... upore tolo! " :P be-lojja didi... subho drishti korei lojja paoar jaaye gaye hya-hya kore hashchilo! ! ! ... photo courtesy: Kingshuk da After I got the groom to the marriage hall... Koustavs' click. . I cannot give it any caption. sorry! This was the time when she was... Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher jQuery(document). ready(function{ jQuery(function{ jQuery(". gallery-icon a"). lightBox({ imageBlank:"http://www. anirbansaha. com/wp-content/plugins/facebook-photo-fetcher/jquery-lightbox/images/lightbox-blank. gif", imageBtnClose:"http://www. anirbansaha. com/wp-content/plugins/facebook-photo-fetcher/jquery-lightbox/images/lightbox-btn-close. gif", imageBtnNext:"http://www. anirbansaha. com/wp-content/plugins/facebook-photo-fetcher/jquery-lightbox/images/lightbox-btn-next. gif", imageBtnPrev:"http://www. anirbansaha. com/wp-content/plugins/facebook-photo-fetcher/jquery-lightbox/images/lightbox-btn-prev. gif", imageLoading:"http://www. anirbansaha. com/wp-content/plugins/facebook-photo-fetcher/jquery-lightbox/images/lightbox-ico-loading. gif" }); }); }); Whenever I wish to write few lines about the entire marriage, I get stuck... may be that is why I didnt write anything about it in the last 5 months... and today also I am stuck. Few feelings can never be expressed by words... :) --- - Published: 2011-06-02 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-insight-to-my-photography-page-at-facebook/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes, snapshots, Wrap up - Tags: 6 anirbans, delhi, durgapur, facebook, friends, insight, kolkata, light painting, mumbai, photography page, statistics, traffic Few interesting information about my photography page. Well I had nothing to do today morning, so I peeped into the insights of my photography page, wishing to see what the responses are like, and how I reached to 386 Facebook Likes. :) Few of the fascinating points are:On 1 June 2011, I did a vigorous link sharing, here. . there everywhere . . who ever pinged me, I pasted the link to my photography page, asking them to share with their friends... and I was very happy thinking, that newer people are visiting my page. Shockingly, from 30th May 2011 till today morning, only 47 newer people "like"d the page. The notable rise being in 236 likes when I posted the light painting. When the page was new, many of my friends joined it. So an increase in the initial stage was something that couldnot have been avoided. But I feel, the light painting, Jama Masjid minar photograph and the photograph with 6 Anirban's in it contributed to the momentum, giving me more than 250 likes during the time. I expected the audience to be mostly constituted of my friends. Surprisingly roughly 60% of the total people who subscribed to my photography page are in my friendlist. I expected to see much of the traffic coming from Kolkata, Durgapur. Theres a surprise also. . An overwhelming percentage (58. 8%) of the traffic comes from Mumbai and Bangalore combined, and Durgapur is not in the list ;) Expected my neighboring countries to provide me more traffic after India. Strikingly, visitors from USA is more than visitors from Pakistan, Bangladesh, UAE, and all other countries (expect India). Well expected Facebook, Twitter and "We have a story" to be giving more "like"s. But it is my website anirbansaha. com :) The highest feedback/impression was of the photograph with 6 Anirban's in it. It was not a surprise... I was quite expecting it :D The way my photography page got 386 subscription. I am very clear about few things now... My maximum audience is NOT from my college, nor are my juniors :D but an overwhelming 74% of the visitors are of the age group - 18-24. Hopefully novice and aspiring photographers. And promotion (was/shall) is never an alternative to good work, when it comes to visitors. I should put up more photographs to my website, and reactivate my flickr account. This page is 2 months, 12 days old now... looking forward to a long time and changing statistics :D Looking forward to more surprises... I wish someone would write for me, and someone else to promote it. . while I concentrate on photography only. This is an opportunity to sincerely thank few friends - Pratik Shivagunde, Apoorv Maurya, Robin Sinha, Sourav Das for being such a support. . Debika Datta, Atmaja Santra for writing two important posts for me. . Anirban Brahma, Swastik Pal for the hard kicks at times :D Sarasij da for such explosion of new concepts and patience. Arko Sen dada for being whatever you are :D hope you enjoyed reading this piece . . :D NB: If you like writing, and want to write to support one of my photographs, please do come up. If it is good, I shall put it up on my blog with your name, link to your blog/facebook profile. PS: I donot monetize from my personal blog. I write and click photographs for my personal satisfaction. I believe in sharing knowledge and collaboration. Please share your knowledge :D Advertisement: Latest from Anirban Saha Photography. Do subscribe ("like") if you like my attempts --- - Published: 2011-05-31 - Modified: 2013-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/photographing-multiple-selves/ - Categories: Non Techie, snapshots - Tags: multiple anirban, multiple self, photoshop, same person different positions After I uploaded this photograph containing 6 Anirbans' few people asked me how this is done. This is an attempt to write a tutorial for it. If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": Another example of this type is: First we click two separate photographs, containing the object in different positions. In this case, the object is myself. I selected the area where I wanted to shoot, fixed the tripod and the camera on it. . so that in both the photographs I get an almost exact same frame. I used timer, and just after I clicked the shutter... I went and posed :P Shot the two separate photographs: and then I opened Adobe Photoshop. I put one photograph over the other (upper) and erased the portion which did not have the object. Thus exposing the object in the layer below the upper one. This same method can be used in case of the object even if it appears for more than 2 times. We just need to be a bit careful of our positions and how we cut the portions accordingly. A theme is expected, as that I feel will add a certain meaning to the photograph. So the final photograph that we have after working upon these two photographs is what the above example photograph is like. You can now work upon the photograph and adjust colour, contrast and whatever you might just wish to, to make it look more probable and realistic. Please leave a feedback for me here... --- - Published: 2011-05-31 - Modified: 2011-06-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bokeh/ - Categories: Non Techie, snapshots - Tags: bokeh, light photography, lights Bokeh is said to be the kind of photography where, you intentionally blur sources of light. I tried my hands on trying Bokeh out. If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": Other example: What I did: I set the focus at 0. 5m range, and zoomed in, till the source of lights were completely blurred... and then clicked it :D I kept the ISO at the minimum (100) and f value at the maximum... (in my case its 8) NB: metering mode and focussing both should be matrix type. --- - Published: 2011-05-31 - Modified: 2011-05-31 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/water-droplet/ - Categories: Non Techie, snapshots - Tags: droplet, leaf, rain, water, water droplet Was trying to focus on water droplet. The photograph displayed below is cropped from a bigger photograph. the focus was set to a point, at the centre of the water drop. It was clicked when the water droplet was just about to fall from the leaf. Theres grain. Had to increase the ISO. The shutter speed was very high (about 1/1600) and the F value was at the minimum. It is also slightly edited using Adobe Photoshop. Do check. If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": This is currently my Photography page profile picture at Facebook. --- - Published: 2011-05-13 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tmc-mamata-railway-ministry-amit-mitra/ - Categories: Non Techie - Tags: amit mitra, chief minister, election results, mamta bannerjee, manmohan singh, ministry of railway, politics, sonia gandhi, west bengal I want to keep this post short. Being one of the million(s) of voters of TMC+ to bring it to power... This is what I feel after the epic win of the TMC+ in West Bengal elections. I want more leaders visible in TMC. I want Mamta Bannerjee to be in the centre continuing as the railway minister, fulfilling all her promises made in the last few budgets. This will not only pose her a strong leader in herself, but also strengthen her relations at Delhi, as a responsible and consistent leader. Moreover, the kind of Bengal I expect to have down the line, I wish Amit Mitra to be the next Chief minister, if not now, after few years or term. He was FICCI's member. He's the ex-secretary general of FICCI, and currently in Manmohan Singh's planning commission, and perhaps the strongest face of intellectual Bengal's face who can be diplomatic as well as efficient in handling the media,and its time TMC show more leaders and get ahead of just mamata bannerjee. When Sonia Gandhi, paved way for Dr Manmohan Singh to be the Prime Minister of India in , the young me was shocked. But never the less, it was the right decision to be made. I wish Mamta Bannerjee follows similar fashion. Not that she is inefficient, but she must stay committed to the Ministry of Railways, and the CM must exhibit Economics to people who ask him of that. Only a clean undisputed, good hearted, decent, simple image is just not enough. And one person should not pose greater than the entire team... or the government per say. --- - Published: 2011-05-11 - Modified: 2013-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/first-try-to-capture-lightening/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: kal baisakhi, kolkata, lightening, photography, storm, thunder If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": Well tried photographing lightening. Before capturing, I had many queries in my mind. The first of them being, how do I know where the lightening to going to happen? Arka da helped me in this. We need to be there watching it for few times. Generally, most of the lightening happen from the same side, or preferably similar spot. Now comes the setting. I am a very lazy person as you all know... I didnot use my mind much. Followed similar theory as I did in my light painting. Kept ISO at 100, F value at the maximum. . and the shutter exposure time at 30 seconds. I did this, because it was already dark, and I didnot have the chance for some other light to come in. I found the area from where the lightening was originating, pointed the lens at the point, and kept on clicking, and relying on my luck :D while I kept praying :) of the few attempts, most of them came with a lightening in it :D Few things which I believe is necessary for this, and I didnothave : a tri-pod stand, and wide angled lens. I donot have a tripod stand. I used a stool, a box and a cup to balance my camera. A wide angle lens would have definitely helped it further. If you are using a DSLR, donot put F value at maximum, but do keep it considerably high. I am a starter, but if you have any questions... you can ask. I can search for them :D If you want to add to this article, feel free :D --- - Published: 2011-05-07 - Modified: 2015-05-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/fancied-firework-streaks/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Non Techie, snapshots - Tags: aspirations, calcutta, childhood, debika datta, freedom, hope, india, kolkata, street photography "Mama take this badge off me, I can't use it anymore" "A dream was slowly building its nest in my mind, a dream to fly in high colours, a wish to learn, an urge of being taught. . the dream of education that 'll help me spread out my wings, so that i can bring everlasting smiles to all around me... " Blurred up images conjures up in my mind, and then the sudden blow of our poverty and hunger shatters all of them waking me up of my reverie. . the privilege of wearing a school badge has long abandoned him... Who is he? one of us? if so, why is he like this? if not , why not? His eyes seemed to say in silence- "My fancies are fireflies, Specks of living light, Twinkling in the dark. . " and what do they call me. . 'wandering souls of the reckless city'! Post written by : Debika Datta Edited by: Anirban Saha Photograph courtesy: Anirban Saha Photography Quotes from song lyrics of Bob Dylan, and Rabindranath Tagore If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": Comment using Facebook/Yahoo/AOL/Hotmail (you need to be logged in): --- - Published: 2011-05-04 - Modified: 2015-05-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/travelling-miles-acros/ - Categories: Guest Posts, Random notes, snapshots - Tags: cloud, cloudscape, dum dum park, megh, monsoon, nature, storm If you like the photograph, show support. Click on the "like" for "Anirban Saha Photography": The curtain swished apart... He was at his study table, eyes more keen on looking outside through the window pane. The heat had just ebbed into a cloudy dream like vacancy... as his thoughts got lost in them. "Ei chonchol sojolo pobono bege. . udbhranto meghe, mon chaaye mon chaaye oi bolakaro potho khani nite chine. . " It dawned upon me; the creative mind is far more beautiful than what it creates. . , for a creation is never complete and while one half of it lies on his table the other half continues to go elsewhere making the artist travel miles under the dark hovering clouds... to places from where everything seemed special, so pure, so lovely. . a height from where every other object seems so small... where the sky is limit enough to be exceeded, where the imagination merges with the reality of creation. --- - Published: 2011-05-02 - Modified: 2013-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/desaturated-glory/ - Categories: Random notes, snapshots - Tags: calcutta, desaturated glory, kolkata, politics, west bengal Kolkata, or Calcutta as it was known till lately was popularized as the City of Joy. . the City of Palaces... was idolized by the policy makers of Singapore. Today, it lies as a heap of memories, with the trade and commerce shifting to other cities, the political focus shifting to other parts of the country... trade and commerce at an all time decline. More than that, the "palaces" that once characterised Calcutta, lies unmaintained and unattended to. It is failing to produce political and literary figures, and we keep counting on names from past and near past. . What we need to look forward to is the future... ask from our politicians, the prospects of future, policies for the same and not what had been done earlier. Read WSJ's article: The Unnecessary Decline of Calcutta If you like the photograph, Please show support. Hit the "like" button below: --- - Published: 2011-04-29 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-blessed-minar/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots, travel, Wrap up - Tags: anirban saha photography, delhi, delhi trip, jama masjid, shah jahan, travel Shot by Sony DSC H10 Aperture: 6 F number: f/8 Exposure time: 1/2000 ISO : 100 If you like this then please click > I had no plans that day. My entire Delhi trip was hapazard, unplanned. It served the purpose though. That day, I went to Jama Masjid. I wanted to feel it. . wanted to stay there for few moments, experiencing what it feels like to be inside the mughal magnificent architecture, that has endured centuries of sword slashing. It was hot yet so peaceful. People, strolled the area, the guides helping the foreign tourists knowing the place. I made it a point to stay there till my heart wished. Was at the sanctum, sitting quietly noticing people. Loved it... few kids assumed me to be an "Angrez" :P But never the less, I had to dissapoint them. The place where the pigeons are fed is superb serene. The place for the ladies to pray, infront of the memorial of the fakir that conceptualised the Jama Masjid is peaceful, overlooking the busy street downways. After few minutes of total calmness, I started taking photographs, once trying to overhear a guide only to discover that he spoke in Italian. The Italian guy was very friendly, didnot know much of English. The french girl who studies her masters in IIT Delhi and her entire family was very generous and friendly ;) Met and interacted with few other tourists. If you like the photographs then please like "Anirban Saha Photography" > The note worthy meeting shall be that with the fakir and 2 young kids. Photography wasnt allowed inside Jama Masjid, one has to buy a ticket of Rs 200 for allowance. I was unaware of it. I was caught and a bit harassed. A Fair came in, took me out, saw my photographs... the above being one of them, and instructed them not to take any fine from me ;) He was very good and a curious person. I told him about Bengal and Bengalis, about poverty, about muslims here and how they live together. He told me how the Jama Masjid was made, the child who drew it, the fakir who conceptualised it, and Shah Jahan who approved it after having seen it in his dreams. The later part of the story said that the fakir, donated his life to fix Jama Masjid's allignment which initially was not exactly as was planned. He is said to have pushed it by his feet and made it straight. This part of the story was something hard to believe. Met two incredible broad hearted kids- Salman and Asif. Asif wants to be an IITian while Salman is working hard to be an IAS officer. It was great interacting with them, and being with them pulling other localites legs! :P We lunched at the Karim's. With time , the two kids faded away, only to stay in my memory... along with the incredible peaceful Jama Masjid. --- - Published: 2011-04-28 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/light-painting-just-an-attempt/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: copyright, light painting, pratik shivagunde, rabindranath tagore, rabindranath tagore light painting, trinamool congress While explaining few stuff to Pratik Shivagunde, we decided upon trying something out: Light painting. The concept was relatively easy. All that were required were, a camera with a manual mode where ISO was set at the minimum value, the "f" (1/f is the aperture , correct me if I am wrong) value was put to the maximum. A dark room and lots of patience were required. Now the only other thing that were left was : Shutter speed. Slow shutter means, the camera will be exposed to the outside light for long. Fast shutter means, the shutter opens and closes very fast, freezing the moment, while slow shutter speed meant, it will go on accepting light. Now when its a dark room, and theres no other light than the light source, it tracks the source of light. Which ever way you move the light, the path of the light gets traced resulting in patterns created by the source of light. This was the concept, and it was way after midnight. I tried out hearts, stars with candles. The shutter speed I used ranged from 3 seconds to 30 seconds (thats the max permissible in my camera) You can view them at the facebook album : here. Then I bought a torch to try out neater sketches. I tried out making the Trinamool congress logo :P for I believed it to be tougher than the rest. Well then struck the idea to make something really tough. This is what I have come up with : It took me around 2 hours and numberless attempts to make this, and people appreciated my efforts :) I am trying newer things. Well to check more light paintings you might like to visit lightpainting. org or check the light painting page at the Facebook ;) Give me more ideas friends, ideas of what can be sketched in the dark with a white light. . and leave your views also. If you like my attempts, then do "like" this> --- - Published: 2011-04-28 - Modified: 2011-04-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/some-street-shots/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: kolkata streets, night photography, slow shutter speed, street photography Three night shots that were taken very recently in the last few days! This photograph was shot by Pratik Shivagunde, a close friend of mine. . using Sony DSC H10. Place : National Highway, Solapur (near Mumbai). I love this shot, and Pratik is good as a person also, which adds more value to the photograph. This shot was taken by me, on the busy streets of Esplanade, Kolkata. In the photograph is the Metro Cinema Hall - near Heritage now ;) Esplanade is a place, I have known, loved in the last 4 years. Always busy as it may seem, one needs to feel the undercurrent of the place. This shot was taken by Arko Sen dada, on the busy Park Street, Kolkata. Park street - a nerve point of the city, hang out... a place frequented by the entire cross section of the society and ever busy and under protection. Do leave your views. :) --- - Published: 2011-04-21 - Modified: 2011-04-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/basanta-utsav-at-shantiniketan/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, snapshots - Tags: basanta utsav, bengal, festival of colours, holi, shantiniketan, west bengal It has been long, since it happened. Sorry friends, couldnt really manage time to write a blogpost for it, due to weak health, college and my madness :D After my Bishnupur trip, I was looking forward to spending some more time outdoors... experiencing life, and clicking photographs. It is when Aninya and Tanushree suggested me to go to Shantiniketan during the festival of Holi. Holi, or Basanta Utsav as it is known to Shantiniketan, is the celebration of the festival of colours, in the Tagore style. Shantiniketan (meaning - abode of peace) has been the seat of international studies for over decades, it is also the seat of studies of Bengali and Tagore's work. I put up at Koustavs' place. Monami asked me to be at the place as early as possible... but we really couldnt make it that early. Soumik sir was very helpful, suggesting me places to visit there at shantiniketan and about the basanta ustav. With Koustav and me, we had Koustavs' friends from Sainthia. After reaching Shantiniketan, I was so happily lost :P The procession had already started by then and was mid way to its completion. "ওরে গৃহবাসী , খোল দ্বার খোল , লাগলো যে দোল ... জলে স্থলে বন তলে লাগলো যে দোল. . দ্বার খোল ... দ্বার খোল " The field was extreme crowded, so were the streets. I had to literally push through people, climb tree, walls to get a glimpse. . and yes photographs. The cultural programme continued with all the rabindrasangeets of the season of Spring being performed and danced to in the purist forms. I was fortunate enough to make my way across extremes. . from the extreme end to the front row. Thanks to the old man, the aunty, the two incredible kids, 2 students of viswa bharati, and the accounts manager of the viswa bharati university, not to forget the professional photographer. . who gave me tips of shooting while the colours are in the air! The old man whom I mentioned earlier was an extremely kind person. He assumed me to be a student of Viswa Bharati university (I was wearing a white kurta, pajama - traditional set) and enquired of my identity. I didnt lie, told him that I am from Kolkata and that I went to Shantiniketan for the first time during Basanta Utsav and I wished to be up there in front of the stage, experiencing it. He asked me whether it was the craze of colours or my love for Tagore that had brought me to the place. I was blatant (stupid but true) enough to answer him, that i loved tagore's song, I read about Tagore in my history books and that I felt I can learn much about the Tagore culture and can take good photographs, that had taken me there. He smiled, put his hand on my head... I didnot know how to react, I felt the safest would be to touch his feet, which I did (and I think that did the trick). He took me from the extreme end and brought me to the middle of the field (amidst students) and put me there and left for some work back stage. I stood there astounded, thanking my luck :D but knew that the road to the front row was tougher than that... so tried concentrating on that :D The students there, few kids helped me a lot :D Taking photographs there, saving my camera and its lens was a bit strangely difficult. Strangely difficult because, I didnot know how to react when the colours were falling from no where, and difficult, because I wanted to capture every moment any how, and I didnt really stop... caring less for my camera. . It was weirdly beautiful feeling, playing colours there. NB: This is the only 2nd time in my life, I played holi. The first time being in the hostel the last year :D Well, the crowd erupted to joy, throwing colours into the air above... when the song " Rangiye diye jaao" (lets colour them) was being performed... . within moments, the entire air was filled with colours, all happy people around, came and coloured me, while I excused myself for a while and photographed them. . :D It was an incredible and extreme experience of joy and happiness, when the entire place, was playing holi with dry colours, treating each others like brothers and sisters... like they have been living together for years till then ! Having being lost, I met numerous other people and I loved interacting with them. Made a new friend - Nilabha, who is another fantastic person to meet and to work with. In shantiniketan, I met with many of my college folks, including Ritabrata, samik, souvick, antarip, anindya, sreyasi and many other friends from college. The entire atmosphere went electric after that, people formed groups, playing musical instruments, dancing to it. . all free of the worldly tension. It was a moment of fun! Few groups performed rabindrasangeet while at some place, people were performing Rupam Islam numbers... and all were so readily acceptable there, all absorbed in the atmosphere... all so colourful. Shall end this post with two photographs, I love the most from the days' work. If you like my clicked photographs, show your support: --- - Published: 2011-04-01 - Modified: 2014-03-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/friends-siblings-attachment/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: bridging gaps, companionship, friendship, love, relationships, sibling Few relations doesn't necessarily need a blood connect. It is complete trust, believe, love without a doubt, acceptance and companionship without a complaint. . Those few relations, understand who you are, from being friends... they become siblings and live with you the entire life, loving you the way they can do best and being by you, even when God's against. You shall love life, even in time depressing, once you start looking at yourself through their eyes of love. --- - Published: 2011-04-01 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/memories-in-march-film-review/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: deepti naval, film review, gay, memories in march, movie review, raima sen, relationships, rituparno ghosh, sanjoy nag Out of the melodrama, this is a practical film of two desolate people, coming close... bonding. This is a film, scripted by Rituparno Ghosh. And as is obvious, its open ended, slow moving and touching narrative, where you can feel the film, even with your eyes closed, by just listening to it. Siddharth works in an Advertising agency, hard working. . 6 awards winner in just 6 months of work, a gem of a person. He parties late night, drives, meets with an accident, dies. His close friends: Sahana and Ornob. His mother, informed, rushes from Delhi to Kolkata to collect her sons ashes, but goes back with things more than just ashes and belongings. She does back with the relationships that Sid has made over the time, with Ornob, and how it evolved to be gayish in nature. This film is of relationships, about a mother, about a son, about a lover... and about the loved one. Whats fascinating in this film, is nothing new. It is the script, the magic of Rituparno Ghosh. Discreet, implicit, developing with careful words and meanings. It talks of relationships, but goes not deep into it, revealing not much, and not cliche. The entire film's portrayal has been of a gay relationship, but the under current of it was that of a mothers love, her nature as a person, her struggle as a person, her confession, and yes, a lovers companionship. Although the striking note of the film was the discovery of Sid's homosexual preference, the script doesnot go skeptic, neither does it go preachy. Would like to site "Abohomaan" and "Sob charitra Kalponik". The reason being, both the films start with the death and goes back to the revelations of the story. In Abohomaan, it was the directors extramarital affair that was hinted upon (Nothing concrete was being told of it), and in the latter film, the wife discovers her husband, only after his death. By the scripts' permission, in Abohomaan - the under current was of the first wife. . while, the constant hint was the "noti binodini" and "sikha". In Sob charitra Kalponik, the plot and script was simpler. It was a direct revelation of the poet husband. . his inspiration, work and achievement. Curse this script, or the plot. . this film is of more dimensions, than the earlier two. This film deals less with the one who is dead, but more with the emotions of the mother, and the dead mans' gay lover. The girl - Sahana was an constant support all through out. The son - Sid is absent all through the film, but the presence, despite his physical absence, is very powerful. The mother, acted by Deepti Naval, has been a struggler. Divorced her husband 10 years back and her only support was her son. She was a student at Shantiniketan, always smiling, always positive. By profession, she was an art curator. . and very dynamic by nature. She confesses, that when she had the divorce, she felt that was the worst day... and that she had lost emotions after hearing about her son. She 's an working professional, and from the start of the film there were many "may-be"s, all being cleared by the end of the film... and as is the life - a fast closure helped by the Kolkata corporation. She is a strong lady, who doesnt want anyones favour. . slowly realising that she was taking back more than she thought of. Her feelings of being a mother, discovering her son not to be heterosexual, after his death was an anguished shock, followed by sharp exchange of words with Ornob. But quick to understand and accept all, only to act calm, savour the situation, maintain composure. She went on to express, as a mother she cannot accept her sons' death... and even if she wishes to and tries to, she cannot feel or understand her son to be gay. She expresses grave concern, for she didnt spare her child time, or that she might have consulted some psychiatrist after her divorce. . only to be chided by Ornob on screen. This film is not nagging about the death. . it revolves around death weaving a story of its own. Here the mother is strong, doesnot break down to melodrama, there is no rona-dhona. . only to maintain composure. This film deals with gay relationship, very thinly. . yet meaningfully. It adds value to all the country wide discussion. It is not preachy, doesnot discuss homosexual relationships at all. And why I suggest that it is not necessarily a gay film as many of the reviews suggest, is that - it is about relationship. . a mother-son, friendly relationships. . more importantly the relationship that binds Aarti and Ornob together, thats the relation of humanity, of companionship. Later in the scene in the car, Aarti expresses that when life heaps "itnaa sa" misery, one cannot stick to the lost or dead love, he/she requires a companion, a companion to hear you, to make you speak, to make you smile. . to care for you. It is this bonding that the film is perhaps about. It is also about the bond that Sahana (played by Raima Sen) and Aarti makes, that of a motherly figure. . Aarti (the mother) goes on to discover more of herself scattered in Sid's (the son) work place than she expected. Sahana on her part loved Sid, only to discover that he is gay on which was presumably her date with him at the Hyatt. . nevertheless she had been a close companion to him all throughout... designing his home... till his last breath in the hospital. She couldnt really accept his absence, and changes her job. The wider audience got a small dose of Rabindrasangeet. The background score was of "Eki labonye purno prano... prane sohe" (one of my favourites), and was the nerve of the film. There were two more tracks... I wish my knowledge of Tagore was more than it is right now... I suspect the second track to be a rabindrasangeet from Bhanusingher podaboli, I cannot confirm it though... and the first track was divided to 3 parts... it was about the strange invitation to the house (when the mother was in the sons' home after his death) and that it was an improper time... to how a stranger guest has become a friend at last (towards the end of the film). Rituparno Ghosh explained, "In the midst of life, we are in death... . Memories in March deals with death once again and goes much beyond it". This film has already won acclaims, screened at "Pusan International Film Festival" in the "new current section". It has also been chosen, scrutinised and awarded at the MIAAC New York IFF, Mumbai IFF, Kerala IFF, Chennai IFF, Pune IFF. . I am not eligible to comment on the technicalities... but yes, if I had to make this film... I cannot think of a better way... yes, I would give the film, some more light. . slowly I am becoming a devotee of Rituparno ghosh's film making and writings. . :D Trust me, I wanted to keep it short, but there are some things... which require more space... Go and watch the film. "The story remains a beautiful tale of complex revelations and even more complex relationships... Watch it only for the beautiful story, narrated in three languages (English, Bengali and Hindi) with a real human touch. " . . DNA India Cast: Deepti Naval (Arti), Rituparno Ghosh (Ornob), Raima Sen (Sahana) Direction: Sanjoy Nag ; Script and Screenplay: Rituparno Ghosh. --- - Published: 2011-04-01 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/lifes-cricket/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: cricket, gulli cricket, gully cricket, kolkata, north kolkata, photography, streets Camera Brand: SONY Camera Model: DSC-H10 Exposure Time: 1/100 sec. ISO Speed Rating: 100 Exposure Program: Manual Focal Length: 22. 2 mm Aperture: f/4 Flash Fired: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode If you like this photograph: Show support . This photograph was taken in a lane at North Kolkata. Like perhaps the rest of India, cricket is the religion here also, uniting homes... . and the World Cup fever is on... ! --- - Published: 2011-04-01 - Modified: 2011-04-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/blessed-bliss/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: blessed, bliss, blissful, greed, kiss, love, passion, relationship, romance, romantic, us, whitest white Innocent playfulness. The smile means the world for me and I can risk my life for one glimpse of it. A life for the sudden pull, the cuddle, the gentle rubbing of noses... warm air swirling around us, the smile fading to the sudden rush of breath. Us together, the world aside, the deadlines pushed to the dark while the wind blew. Holding ourselves to completeness, promising a life to the death, a fill to the void, together searching for a meaning in our hollow emptiness of being. All sealed with the kiss. A believe locked in that while, a promise made, the search ended. Submitting ourselves, merging into the one... loosing senses to the superfluous passion of being. The love has woken us up to the open doors of the white, flooding the room with the dazzle. . the white of the moment, the whitest white of the blessed bliss. --- - Published: 2011-03-12 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bishnupur/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, snapshots, travel, Wrap up - Tags: 2011, bankura, bishnupur, hrishikesh, incredible india, india, travel Penning down Bishnupur is just a few words, isnt just my cup of tea. More than a thousand years of heritage, lovely hospitable people; more than a hundred terracotta temples. . Bishnupur is the seat of bengali art and culture and the bishnupur gharana of Indian classical music. Its history tracks back to more than a thousand years when the Mallas used to rule. They had developed their distinct architecture, their folklore and its depiction. It forms a distinct part of the Indian heritage. The rickshaw -wala was our guide. With me, I had Hrishikesh... He is a fantastic person to be with and we had a nice time snapping pictures, resting, walking bare feet, climbing gates, jumping over walls, chasing monkeys... searching for food! Do check my Facebook album : 3 days out We started the hopping with Rashamancha. It is protected by the Archeological Survey of India now. . It is elegant with 108 arches, built of bricks and was built by Bir Hambhir in the 16th Century. We went on to see the Madan mohan Temple, Garh darja, Main dorja, stone chariot, Radhe Shyam Temple. . Jor banglo and the Pancha chura temple. By that time, the rickshawwala was frustrated, knowing that he was with two mad guys who were sitting, jumping, crawling... hopping. . anything for a photograph! :D We went on to see the Chinna masta temple, the durga temple (which was established in 997 AD) lal bandh, and few more temples! The Rashamancha looks elegant at the sunset. We had the fortune to see that few days later... the Madan-Mohan temple is explicitely decorated with intricate details of anything of Indian mythology... and is Great! Trust me... one day tour and Bishnupur is the destination you are searching for! ! :D --- - Published: 2011-03-10 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-sudden-break/ - Categories: College life, Episodes of my Life, travel - Tags: adra, bankura, bardhaman, birbhum, bishnupur, hoogly, hrishikesh, joychandi pahar, joyrambati, kamarpukur, purulia, travel It was 3rd March. . while I was talking about a break from everything and a day out for photography... Hrishikesh proposed the idea of going to Bishnupur. I called my mom, to ask for her permission (she never disagrees). She asked me to visit Kamarpukur and Joyrambati also. . ! :) Hrishikesh didnt get the permission to stay the night... so we decided upon visiting the interiors of Adra (his city/home town) also. . So the plan was made... and I came home on 4th March... took my camera. . and left home for bishnupur on 5th March. . we were in Adra on 6th March. We visited the Joychandi hill, on the top of which there was a kali mandir... the hill was extraordinary at the sunset. On 7th, we went to Kamarpukur and Joyrambati. Kamarpukur was the birthplace of Sri Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa dev. It is in hoogly district of West Bengal. The festivities of the birth anniversary of Paramhansa dev was on... when we went there. Joyrambati is the place where Sri Sri Sarada Maa was born. Both the places are extremely religious and regarded holy. On 8th morning, I returned to the College at Durgapur. Filhal I am looking forward to the shantiniketan visit during the Basanta Utsav. --- - Published: 2011-03-10 - Modified: 2013-10-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/apart/ - Categories: snapshots   --- - Published: 2011-03-10 - Modified: 2011-03-10 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-high-flight/ - Categories: snapshots A flyer in the sky... spreading wings of expression, He shall always remain high! ©anirbansaha. com In this photograph: Hrishikesh Kar Place: Jaichandi pahar (District: Purulia, State: West Bengal, India) http://i229. photobucket. com/albums/ee140/anirbansaha/DSC03151. jpg --- - Published: 2011-02-28 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/my-latest-post/ - Categories: Non Techie, Wrap up These days, I am writing for "We have a story". Its a community blog. Its not that I shall not be writing here... but waiting for that community blog to be stable! By stable , our aim is like producing 4 articles per day! Please check my latest articles there> 1. Bruise. Tint. Truth. 2. The Best Moment 3. Ignorant Simplicity --- - Published: 2011-02-28 - Modified: 2015-06-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/commoner/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: abuse, common man, experiences of common man For he waited, to be oppressed. For he toiled, to be suppressed. For he supported, to be rebuked. For he loved, to be used. --- - Published: 2011-02-21 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/at-the-end-of-it/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: love as worship, love unbound, love unlimited, unknown worship, worship as love, worship love Wrote this poem for the Blog: "We have a Story" Till now, it has recieved 69 facebook likes... and is till now my highest! :) Click to follow the poem: At the end of it. . --- - Published: 2011-02-17 - Modified: 2014-04-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/get-on/ - Categories: College life, Random notes Enjoying sitting idle, buddy? Eh ! Get your wallet, mobile phone, your digital camera... may be a book might be a good friend to carry with you. . come on o friend, get on with life! Still adventurous. . May be this is a new start, come on... Its "new", nothing's taken from the last life. . you have nothing to lose, nothing is at stake. . grab all that comes your way. . get down, get dirty. . enjoy life! Be fearless and fight. No ones actually noticing you. Even if someone does, should you care? enjoy the travel! --- - Published: 2011-02-15 - Modified: 2011-02-15 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-magic-called-love/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes - Tags: life, love, magic Please find time to read : Time the earth shook. Heyy Magician, let your magic wand touch my soul. Let the wand move around, sprinkling magical glitters all around, mesmerizing all to a stand still. Today shall we talk. Today, between us shall be not silence. Words, only if you can create magic, fill the surrounding. The thirst for words, drying the soul. The wish for the magic appalls the wand. The wand on the floor, heyy magician, let your magic wand touch my soul. How do I convince you of my failures? I am no hero of your dreams. A peep inside and the world looses the magic. Cry not today, the day to smile... the day for the magic, us holding hands, in others arm. We two strangers, intimate in a hug. Better we stay strangers, in the magic of the wand, in our colourful worlds', for you and for me to stay happy together for today and for ever. Heyy Magician, you, you know your tricks well. Your wand spells magic, letting all forget the old... letting all not care for the moment next, all engrossed in the time spent in the others arms', now as strangers in their worlds, for them to stay happy, today and forever. --- - Published: 2011-02-14 - Modified: 2011-02-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/entrepreneurship-at-colleges-whats-lagging/ - Categories: entrepreneurship A hearty congratulations to the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) for such huge awareness of entrepreneurship at the college levels... and All the best for Headstart and NASSCOM for their similar encouragement. I am into my Entrepreneurship Resource Planning Cell, for the last 3 years, switching various roles, attending numerous seminars, e-leader workshops, meeting different people. I feel somewhere few things are lagging, not in the thoughts of the organisers, not in the thoughts of the students but inbetween it. I shall site examples: The first thing that we have learnt being an e-leader was "preparing a B-plan". A student, entirely new even to the word "entrepreneurship" shall no nothing of it and why, and on what domains a B-Plan should be made. They end up making B-Plans just for the sake of making it, finally all loosing their interest, laughing at the entire system. I believe, the focus should be on skill building. Skill both in the domain, and communication skill. How many of the teacher coordinators are themselves entrepreneurs? I believe when it all started, when we were in our first year, the teachers and students were at the same knowledge level. Teachers get entrepreneurship training, which they tend to forget after coming back and taking regular packed scheduled classes. They seem not to believe in the values they preach! It appears very preachy! The head of the ecell should be an entrepreneur himself. An entrepreneur might handle or mentor more than one ecells, but the students should be able to connect to the entrepreneurs and not to the teachers! While developing a B-Plan, the idea is very required. First the person needs to know whether the product/service he wishes to establish already exists or not. If it does, what value more is it adding to it. The students need to know where to start from. An idea from a field can only come if you love the field you are working in. For example, a CSE/IT guy needs to know the latest technologies, things which are coming up, know in details as to find the opportunity, and then work upon it. Well, the major obstacle to it is the mindset! The general thought policy is... get a job in the MNC, get a fat salary, stay with wife and kids, drive your HondaCity at weekened trip... be happy! At the time of marriage, the girls family asks -"Is the guy settled? " I believe regular sitting with real entrepreneurs with the interested students can help! and in a BIG way! I believe, the best way may be what Startup saturday Kolkata is doing right now. Connect the dots! 1. There should be a direct interaction of the entrepreneurs with the students, once in a month meeting with the entrepreneurs, knowing what the market requires, discussing about the upcoming products of the entrepreneurs. . basically knowledge sharing with the students directly. 2. If we can remove the College's name and the teachers from inbetween, it shall be better. For example, Durgapur shall only prosper and develop its ecosystem if we can remove the names - NIT, BCREC, BCET, DSMS, NSHM, ABS academy from it. . and view students as only students. 3. If NEN or HeadStart or any XYZ wants to develop entrepreneurial ecosystem in say Durgapur, this might be effective: a. name is XYZ-, approach colleges to host the event. b. carry out regular (per month) TECHNICAL workshops. Technical not only refers to CSE/IT but also for the BBA/MBA students it can be numerous case studies. c. Create a database of the students, keep sending the news letters via emails. Notify them of the upcoming events via emails/sms d. Sub groups might be created, like XYZ for example - NEN-Durgapur-Computer applications... ie building a forum for only computer applications students, directly controlled by NEN. e. Also have workshops on Leadership and softskills. (say, every 3rd month) f. form small groups and distribute projects (definitely not all, but few). Projects of the startups. This can also be seen as short term internships and easy pocket money, and the students can also get to learn to work in a startup. g. Then comes B-Plan development sessions, may be twice a year (max) Then the students shall be able to know what value they are adding to the system, what the customer wants. And how to reach out for funding. h. For the new students, an orientation session at the beginning of the academic year shall be good, only after the students settle down. I feel it is the second semester when things settle down, they are done with their first university exams, they get their freshers, get to know how stupid the existing syllabus is. . If we extend our hand , the students should take initiative for the handshake! For that they need motivation. Please give your feed back. I feel we need to create one model and the rest shall follow and the ecosystem we dream of can be really made! --- - Published: 2011-02-14 - Modified: 2011-02-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/entrepreneurship-students-mindset/ - Categories: entrepreneurship - Tags: ecell, entrepreneurship, NEN, student I will speak with reference to Bengal only. When I was there at the WBJEE counselling (year 2009), I noticed parents, students regardless of their ranks asked one basic question - "How are the placements? " The parents doesnt seem to send the students to colleges to study. They mistake colleges to be employment exchange centres. Sorry, if I appear rude. But lets accept it as a fact. I remember a guy (Suraj Das, CSE, freshers-2009) who told "main jis college mein aapna 4 saal waste karne wala hoon. . janne ka haq toh banta hain! ? " while I was taken aback by a surprise. The typical mindset of a normal bengali parent is to get their children study, get into a good college, and come out with an offer letter. My dad also thinks the same, himself being an entrepreneur... even my mom (my maternal grand dad, by the time of his death was the owner of 7 rice mills, 5 brick mills, few oil mills... I am not going to other ventures at all. ) I am always surprised when they ask me to join MNC. In the similar fashion, the student also thinks of browsing through the books, bunk classes, "enjoy" life. . read before the semester exams (even I do so), get good score, appear for interviews, If they crack it. . they have the broadest smile on their face and go on to "enjoy" life even more, else abuse the system, or the interviewer. . or plainly curse their "luck". It is more of the parents psychology than that of the children. They will force their child to take "Mechanical Science" although their wards loves Computers, because of the "recession" bug in their mind. Result: Students who wanted CSE/IT took other departments, and maximum of CSE/IT students never knew what they are taking ! They are afraid. 2 ways: 1. afraid of taking risks in the future 2. afraid of getting on stage speaking or doing something entrepreneurial. they fear failing and people mocking them. They wanna take the short cut to making money. They dont want to approach the startups for either job or internships, the idea of them becoming entrepreneurs is far! Somewhere, in our ecell, the idea of completing each other has been replaced by "competing" with each other. . in the fight for popularity! :) Result: few guys with immense potential backed out of the ecell, hating it now speaking all ill ! For the students, I feel running the ecell, organising events are the best ways to explore the entrepreneurial abilities. But they find time to play counter strike, go around with friends, but when it comes to these activities... they are enthusiastic to organise fests... but ecell activities? ? WE ARE BUSY WITH THE SYLLABUS! #fact It is not entirely their fault. They should be guided to this path, with regular counselling. I, being a student understand them well. . and being in the ecell and associated with entrepreneurship activities in Kolkata also understand this mentality as well! --- - Published: 2011-02-13 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nen-eweekindia-bcet-wrap-up/ - Categories: College life, Wrap up Well I wont go into details. . we are no more the National Champions. . never the less we are obliged being the runners up for the same. But this year it was a good team... like that of 2009, and I loved being a part of it. Many many people worked, many of who's names aren't even known to me. . But few names have struck me , mersmerising /shocking and taking me by a surprise. First name should be Tanumeeta Ghosh (1st year, BBA) . . "over smart" is how everyone describes her (so does Abhinaba da) but nevertheless very promising... (agrees Abhinaba da). She has been great all through out... she worked hard, without fruitful end results. But she managed all my belongings, things which I usually forget and they usually gets misplaced! She can write really well and all her energy needs a direction. Anand Raj - perhaps a guy who would stay very near to my heart for his lively nature. Very hard to predict what he is from the inside... but I believe, he has the potential to make it real BIG in his life, whichever field he might belong to, and I assume that he is a very good person at heart. I have no reasons to think otherwise! Sayon Kumar Saha (shy-On): The guy who would walk with a girl down the lane, only to make her walk a bit more so that he could make her wait and stand outside a shoe-store for him to buy his own socks! A fantastic photographer with a fab cam nevertheless... very shy... but he talks over phone! The next names that are coming to my mind are Nikesh, Sourav Sircar, Saloni, Anamitra. Nikesh - Where was this guy this long? He is a true star. . a superb person at heart. . a fantastic guy to work with ! I wish to work with him a bit more! Sourav Sircar - the miraculous guy... truely entrepreneurial, responsible, hard working... started working and sharing my responsibilities... finally replacing me. . and what a way. Loved him working ! (it was such a relief ! ) Saloni (1st yr, AEIE) - bundle of energy, superb spirit. . almost a fantastic attitude, good worker... by why does she shifts to hindi when it comes to fluent public speaking (after getting excited! ) ? ? Nya... not approved by me... and that she wants to be an entrepreneur after she retires from work! :O Anamitra (1st yr, BT) - Too much energy, too good... but dude, you require correct guidance. Dont go ashtray! Superb speaking ability, management of time, team management. . way to go ! Sambadi (1st yr, BT) - dunno what to tell about this guy! So I will keep shut! Do I need to speak about Pulkit? ? He is the best person I have worked with till now. I could have never imagined him as the person he has developed himself to be today, when he joined the ecell in 2009. He is immensely mature guy now, who at work comfortably compliments me. We understand each others frequency... but dude, never let me part my biryani! :( Abhishek Adhikary - I had always been all praise for this guy before... but dude, you require correct guidance... very hard worker that he is, he is just steps away from being excellent. Vishal - I am not worthy of speaking about this guy, else he might show me a copy of his achievements! But yes, this guy is a super hard worker. . and again needs a good and correct mentor. He is superb, but no one should wish his energy to be mis represented. Nandan (thats the name, If I am not wrong) - leader of the first years! bro... give a patient hearing! you are good, obidient but very restless! Brijesh (2nd yr) - You are such a star. Ecell requires you! Abhishek Sural - Thou art my all time favourite voice... dont leave anchoring! Rakesh and Shriya - Both of you are superb to look at, to work with. . you both compliment each other so very efficiently... cheers! Aman (1st yr, BBA) - dont be a "neta", we need you as an anchor! Sneha, Surya, Subhodeep, Seema, Nisha, Neha , Vikas- you all are champs! That shall be it with the round of applause and thank you's... . This time we had Mr Arijit Chattacharya (founder, VirtualInfocom) Mr Abhinaba Dey(founder, Avow group) Mr Kamanashish Roy (founder,webprachar) Mr Sumit Datta (founder, Pixlie), Mr B Achari (renouned social activist) Mr S K Bhattacharya (teacher) Dr Sudha Singh (researcher) with us at the campus! for Shubhas' blog click here! tadaz! and dont ask me questions! This was the last year of eweek for me as a student. I missed my team_2009 a bit more than I should have! ;) --- - Published: 2011-02-03 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kolkata-bloggers-meet-2011/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, Wrap up So, whats new? ? We are BACK! After Kolkata Bloggers Meet '09 (8 August 2009) and BCET Bloggers workshop (31 October 2009), Webreps is back with KOLKATA BLOGGERS MEET '11. . Date: 20 February 2011. Time: 1630 hours (tentative) onwards till 17:30 hours (tentative). Place: Saltlake Stadium Grounds RSVP now! in association with Infocom. Index: 1. SFC's report on KBM '09 2. Saikat Sengupta's report Please share this post, or write about it in your blogs, and please promote this event... Share your thoughts about it. . What do you wish happens in the meet? ? --- - Published: 2011-02-03 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/amritashya-putra-mamata-shankar-balley-troop-presentation/ - Categories: Wrap up - Tags: amrita bhattacharya, amritashya putra, mamta shankar, mamta shankar balley troop The name Shankars' had been very close to our family. . and seeing Mamata Shankar perform was like an achievement in itself. And another person, I was looking forward to was Amrita di. I have been listening of her from my elder sister for almost 13+ years now. . but today I saw her perform. Coming to the Dance. The theme had been of humanity, about life... about atma- or the soul, about how a kid grows up clinging to its mothers' emotions. . grows up without complexity with its mother's smile, playing hide-n-seek with emotions. . only for the mother to discover that her child has grown up. While the child grows up, it makes friends with out a second thought, loving them from the core of the heart... slowly they understand the difference between genders... slowly but gradually matures into a man or a lady. But with age. . experience comes. . the true heart and love starts getting replaced by wishes, expectations and arrogance. It forms the root of destruction - war and death, of people one loves. Humanity hung its head in shame. . slowly, what they discovered is the beam of light. The Light of truth, the truth that we all are the part of one soul and that we should try to be as close to the soul as possible. Just 4 snapshots for you : --- - Published: 2011-02-02 - Modified: 2011-02-02 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/why-being-religious/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: life, mahabharata, religion, why being religious Every moment in our life is a new moment. However much familiar it may seem to be, however much we might have anticipated it, still each moment is a new moment that asks us to act. How can we act to the unforseen? to the new? Its fresh, its new and the result is uncertain. Hence uncertain is our life. Then to what shall we cling to ? Whom shall we speak to? What shall be the parameters of our action? and who shall decide the fate of this moment? May be I am too young to decide upon this. But I am of the believe that patience, perseverance helps a lot. A clear communication and yes, our religion plays an important role in our actions. Actions define a person. I believe our religion, which I am made to believe is right, shall define our actions. "Where there is righteousness , theres victory" says the Mahabharata. So perhaps, if we stick to our principles of religion we shall always emerge victorious. --- - Published: 2011-02-02 - Modified: 2014-11-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/nen-eweekindia-2011/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: BCET, BCET celebrates eweek, eweek, eweekindia, NEN So whats new this time? This time the theme is "Ideas for India"... interesting as it helps us explore the depths of problems and perhaps finding the solution. The solution arises from the problem and thats the idea that takes the world forward, and in case of India... takes India forward. About me and NEN eweek... I joined BCET_ERPC in back 2008. . while I joined as the coordinator in Auguest 2008, blogger in Feb 2009, was in charge of events from August 2009 till November 2009, speaker from March 5, 2009... I am very emotionally attached to this event if not anything else. I still remember seuli di, Sandip sir, Richa di. . caring for and attending to me, when I was working :P Loved the entire time! About BCET_ERPC: Launched in 2007 with few bunch of students, BCET_ERPC is now one of the towering ecells in the country. from just an ERPC, it has grown into commitments with organisations like NABARD, SIDBI, MSME, Webreps, StartupSaturday Kolkata... finally forming AICTE approved BCET_EDC (Entrepreneurship Development Cell) in 2009, parenting different other ecells across the district. About eweek in BCET and in 2011... When it regards eweekindia. . BCET_ERPC has been the national champions in 2008, 2009 and in 2010. . looking forward to a better 2011. . better in terms of more contacts, more resources, more parenting. . and growing up responsibly. This time, our sister colleges of BCPSR and BCETW is also participating for the best debut awards, wishing the best to all my juniors. . as for out BCET, a tight schedule has been drawn, keeping fingers crossed. All the best pals! --- - Published: 2011-01-20 - Modified: 2011-02-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/didis-wedding/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, snapshots - Tags: achira saha, bengali marriage, suvajit saha, wedding Perhaps the mixture of feelings and emotions. . anticipations and responsibilities. In my usual self, where helping my dad was the prime during the marriage, I hardly felt it. The strain occurred when I looked through the lens, watching the groom fill the parting of my sisters' hair with vermilion. The glance stolen after that was the time when I literally froze. It took me moments to recover and to snap more pictures! Coming to the wedding. Its unique, its something that all brothers should experience. I am not at all going to the emotional side of it. . but it feels responsible, it feels weirdly beautiful and happy from the inside. Its a kind of pleasurable pain to see my didi cry at the time of vidaai. --- - Published: 2011-01-15 - Modified: 2011-01-15 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/welcome-note-to-the-college-fresher/ - Categories: College life, Random notes - Tags: freshers orientation program, freshers speech, speech, welcome speech I had spoken on behalf of the seniors to the 1st years on many occasions, one being the freshers orientation programme. This was my speech on 2010, Aug 11 : Good afternoon Shri S K Sharma, chairman- SKSGi, Prof Dr A C Ganguly, Director- SKSGi, respected Principals and Faculty of S K Sharma Group of Institutions and Hi friends! I am Anirban - Department of Computer Science and Engineering, final year. When I was climbing up the stairs to this podium, my friend Sayani asked me to speak something really motivating. Friends, I find no motivating words for you. To give my speech a bollywood touch, "Chaar saal, chaar saal hain tumhare paas, shyed tumhare zindagi ke sab se khaas chaar saal" But I wont really say that. . (I am bad at mimicking, I know! ) Even if I say that, I wont be entirely wrong - these four years are THE deciding four years of your life. This is a new start, a beginning to something new. These four years give us an opportunity to become someone we never were ... for perhaps we can never be. . but atleast we can try to. We all have with us, our set of dreams, This is the time to let free and chase your dream. . not forgetting our core mission - studies! We are in this college, primarily to study, and this mainly forms the base of whatever we do. None the less, explore yourself, extend your limits, challenge your capabilities... take part in as many activities you can, meet as many people you can... express yourself. . spread your wings of freedom. But in this endeavor, be responsible, donot loose your track, remain the kind of person, your true friends wish you to be. Enough said, I am asked to share my experiences. I shall keep it short and simple - I had a blast these 3 years... when I was one amongst the many sitting there 3 autumns ago, it was like FOURRRR years! ! ! But 3 years down, when I speak to you on behalf of your seniors, I say - its "just" been 3 years! The teachers, the staff and authorities has been such a family. I wish you happy 3-4 years, 4 deciding years of your life. . wishing you luck with your dreams. . work hard and live your dreams! ! have fun. And ya... as an elder brother. . On behalf of the entire SKS Group of institutions, welcome to the family. Take care! --- - Published: 2011-01-14 - Modified: 2011-01-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/an-exchange-of-smss/ - Categories: Episodes of my Life, Random notes, Wrap up - Tags: love sms, proposal, sms It was an evening when Snehlata was in her room, alone. . wishing to meet Gauranga and bhai. . Gauranga, was in his usual self... sleeping at his room, not disturbed by anyone else. The phone beeped. Gauranga woke up irritated. . its an sms from Snehlata. Sneh: Janis u hav a vry imp wrk to do. N pls hurry up... jaldi jaldi. Girlfriends khoj, one for u n one for bhai. Pls pls pls. I wanna c u two happily committed! Gauranga wakes up... muffled with the sms and his roommate beside him shooting the terrorists at his computer screen. . decides to reply. "Bhak. No gf for me now. N bhai wnt make one, although he needs it. And what about u being my gf? :P" The phone beeps again. Sneh: Dekh toder gf banatei hobe. Amak banale, tui pagol hoye jabi aro... cholbe? :-P bhai cnvnc kor. Pls pls Gaur: As for bhai, janina. N I want his arranged marriage. In my case, I may get madder, but will you remain happy? Sneh: Hmmm... I guess I’ll nvr b unhappy! Gaur: This leaves an option of indifference! Will u remain happy? Sneh: Hmmmmm... I think yeah, I will remain happy. Gaur: Lols if u stay happy, shud I have a problem being madder? Sneh: U shud know na, j tui mad theke madder hote chaas kina... toh bol, u hav a problem being madder? Gaur: Yea, more than just mad... Sneh: Hmmm... so... ... what does it imply? Gaur: This implies that if u r my gf then I will get madder n u will be happy having me madder! There was a pause... while Gauranga wished for a reply. He waited. . anticipated. . His roommate had a grin smile on his face shooting... *roger that*. He smsed her again... "... and madness knows no limit, no parameters. . ensuring u shall remain happy forever! " It wasnt a long wait for the next beep... Sneh: Hmmm... happy forever... that’s a very tempting offer! Gaur: Lol. Never trust mad men and drunk men. Sneh: Lols! Hahaha! :-D yeah ... point to b noted. Gaur: Dhus khide peyeche! Sneh: Ja ja kha! But j kaj ta diyechi seta kor. Gfs khoj, one fr u n one fr bhai. Al the best. Gaur: I wnt search for mine. Need to see people I love, happy. Sneh: Ami na ekta tubelight... dnt expect me to understand complex sentences... ami only simple and compound sentences bujhi... Gaur: Ja babba, that’s not expected of you... ! There was another pause... while Gauranga thought of tweeting his thoughts... The phone beeped. Sneh: Tweet porlam! Ahem... Khepu kothakar! Ami na ki bolbo tok... u r seriously totally mad. There was a long pause... while Gauranga watched his roommate grin as he was on the killing spree... He thought of crashing back to his pillow, while the phone beeped again. . Sneh: Question fr u. Explain wid reference to context: “I wnt search for mine. Need to see people I love, happy” Gaur: Its all in the mind. Incidentally, "Its all in the mind" was said by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. . while Snehlata had used it as an weapon against a head-eater guy, who had been tormenting his group of friends. . the phone beeped again. Sneh: Chagol! Amar oi ekta line bhangiye kodin chalabi! Soja soja bol na baba... edike @iambivas amak dm e ask korche tor bishoy, He’s so cncrnd abt u! . . and the discussion continued without the cue. . leaving a smile on Gauranga's face, but with an empty stomach! :P --- - Published: 2011-01-13 - Modified: 2011-01-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/happy-new-year/ - Categories: Wrap up - Tags: achira saha, bolpur, didi marriage, happy new year, sainthia, shantiniketan, tcs recruited Happy New Year is now 12 days old, still a sincere wish hopefully touches. A lot to write in this new year, but I prefer taking rest the little time that I actually get these days... Report card of 2010 has been given at my facebook page. 2010 has been the worst year of my life this far, and i wont wish to post it to my website :P But trust me, year 2011 has had a fantastic start... and I wish this year to be better than 2009... and each coming year better than its last. . A lot to write mainly on these topics : my first day of the new year and preparation for TCS aptitude exam, the excess amount of biryani from 2nd jan to 5th jan... TCS aptitude exam, TCS interview and the anticipation. . 5th Jan : A day unique in itself, Birbhum: Sainthia, bolpur and shantiniketan and picnic at Praveen's place... Preparations for my didi's marriage. . and few rabindrasangeet that I have come across recently, the sad demise of the legendary Suchita Mitra, about Gaaner Oparey and a lot more. . To start the year , I have 2 good news from my end : 1. I have been recruited by the Tata Consultancy Services on 4th Jan 2011. 2. My didi - Achira Saha , is getting married on 16th Jan 2011. --- - Published: 2011-01-13 - Modified: 2011-01-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/tcs-interview-experience/ - Categories: Wrap up - Tags: TCS interview A lot of people share their interview experience at freshersworld and other related websites. . this is my sharing at my website, may share the link elsewhere. ~My Curriculum Vitae~ Of all the things mentioned in my CV (a similar copy of which is available at this site), I had it in the back of my mind, that since I am in the Entrepreneurship Resource Planning Cell and other similar student run groups, I might be interrogated in that sphere. It was somewhat anticipated, and even wished for... not expected though. ~ Before Interview ~ I was called at the first slot. It was an eerie feeling, and I was in a mood for comedy from the morning. I tormented dadu and all the people I met after I got out. . I was having full time fun with Satwati, NM, Sangita Majhi, Pashasti, Tripti, Piu. . seldom called Praveen to ask him about DBMS! :P took anindya out and met sudipto sir. . was chit chatting. . offered all joy-nogorer-moya (a typical rural bengal sweet dish, and is one of my favourites). When my name was been announced, I gulped a full moya , which ultimately got stuck in my neck. :P ~interview~ I entered the room. Wished him good morning with a smile (I remembered , Sayani's dad asked me to keep a smile always. . and I was fully prepared to smile at every possible occasion) and stood there, until he asked me to take my seat, and I thanked him for that. He went through my White application form. (I was expecting him to ask me to introduce myself! ). He looked at me, while I again smiled at him (see! I am an obedient child! ) He smiled back and asked me "Why did you strike Geetalis' name out? " Me: The delegate there asked me to strike the name off as she is not my blood relation. She is the wife to my cousin brother - Romit, who has been specified there. Him: But, she is your relative right? Me: *smile* Him: So? Blogger... of the three times national champions. . what did you have to do? Me: Blog, and publicise our colleges activities ... . (and I went on to discus it in objective details. I mentioned about my passion for writing and speaking and that we actually had to "market" our college to the outside world) Him: So, your project was Corpnews. . so market your product to me, me being the first customer. explain why I should be accepting your offer and how it can benifit me in measurable terms as in money. Me: *smile and exhibition of happiness, leaned forward, putting my two hands on the table* Him: *giving me a blank A4 sheet paper* Take and you might also wish to draw diagram while discussing your project with a diagram. Me: (took my pen out from my inner blazer pocket. . went on to discuss my project... the platform used, the content management system used, the ideas, objectives. . how much he has to invest (=0). . concepts of the various components. . ) Him: If this is the case, where is the revenue coming from, is it sustainable? discuss the revenue model. Me: *smile* (Left the pen and started discussion verbally of premium and sponsored stuff. . to the most accurate details, I remembered) Him: Why are you using XML? ME: (answered) Him: why not as text files, writeups using FTP ... (and various other methods)? Me: (Discussed each with the full forms and why XML/RSS and how that is hassle free. In the discussion, I went on to take TCS's website. . and was interrupted. ) Him: are you aware of the TCS website? Me: (affirmative with a smile. ) Him: whats the address? Me: *confused* I am not sure, but I believe its TCS. com , I googled it and I selected the first result *shy smile* Him: *wishing to frustrate me* Are you this negligent? Me: *smile*(and went on with my project) Him: suppose you get a garbage or not the right value at date, how can you eliminate it? Me: we will check it manually! *had no answers* Him: Can you write a program for it? using the language you used? Me: *very confident and boisterous smile* Yes Sir. . (took the pen and the paper and wrote a code down... God only know how right or wrong that was! ) Him: How can you ensure the quality of the articles and the verification? Me: (discussed it. ) Him: *seemed interested* What does your sister do? Me: She is a CS student and working with my dad. . err my father. Him: Your father has his company? Me: Yes, sir. He is an auditor. Him: Why isnt your dad your first customer? He should be taking it first. . ! Me:*shocking smile* (I took the relaxing posture, as I required time to think... in my mind, I was screaming - my dad is a kharoos person who hates whatever I do! ! ... but I had to be very sober! ) I discussed this with my dad many times, he says it is against his professional ethics and not as per the institute . . i mean Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (remembering how my seniors used to scold me, when I said computer science or CSE instead of Computer Science and Engineering! and trying to put forward all the legal and forward puttable reasons by my dad. ) Him: May be because you couldnot convince him Mr Marketter! *sarcastic smile* He can easily have a finance related website which you can make for him. . Me: *smile* May be I convince him the time I meet him at a longer strech... he always seems busy! Him: I think I am done with the interview... Me: *smile and 32 all out! I was all cold inside... only my face was animate by then while every other organ seemed to have frozen* Him: You have a problem being posted outside? because your sister may get married... (and I interrupted him there) Me: No No sir. . ! It shall be good, I want to stay out of home... my father is doing great and all my cousins are outside. . my parents wish it too. Him: I will send my feed back to the HR. . you enjoyed the interview? Me: *overjoyed and a bigger smile* *lost me composure* Yes sir. . ! very much. . ! It was great to have to with you. . had a nice time. was tensed before entering. . but it was g... very good! (was going to say "great! ". . only not to exhibit over enthusiasm did I stop! ) Him: *BIG smile* Nya, you must have prepared all of Java, DBMS and all technical... and this is not fully technical though. . Me: Yes, sir... I prepared bits of almost all the subjects and I was mentally prepared for it. Him: *smile* nya, if you insist, I can ask you bits from all those subjects. . (i interrupted him) Me: No no! ! ! its awright! ! its fine. . (God only knows why I reacted that way. . but it was instantenous! ) Him: *bigger smile* hahaha! You want to ask me something? Me: Sir, both my projects are in PHP/MySQL. . whats its prospect at our company TCS? (only to realise that I actually said "our" company... :P He must have thought me to be over confident~! was cursing me for this later on. . ) Him: I dont think, we use that much... see , I am in only HR (me: *smile*) ... (and he went on to say how oracle is supposed to be better and how I should learn things. . as they come my way. . I went on to givemy gyaan on learning and how its an never ending process and how we have to learn at all point of time. . the typical stuff I update at my blog! ) Him: yes. . you were good. It was nice talking to you. Me: (I stood up thanking him and shook his hand. I was completely cold... :P He couldnt hold his smile ! and he smiled. . I also smiled! :) and bbyed him! ) Bbye sir! ~end of the interview~ The results came out after 12 hours... and all the 12 hours, I was literally cursing me for being stupid and overconfident at times. . I kept on eating whatever I saw edible... from tic tac to candies... to biryani. . to KFC chicken... to whatnot! But at the end of the day, at about 10:30 pm... when the names were announced, my name was at 10th. . so I didnt have to wait much. I bet, I would have had an heart attack, if i had to wait for long that time! :P I hope you had a good read... and I tried to be as accurate as possible. ~date: 4th Jan 2011~ --- - Published: 2010-12-28 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/arekti-premer-kahini-review/ - Categories: Wrap up - Tags: arekti premer kahini, chapal bhaduri, churni ganguly, gay, homosexuality, indraneel, jishu sengupta, koushik ganguly, raima sen, rituparan ghosh, rituparna ghosh If the theme is unconventional, a film maker should try unconventional means to retain the attention of the viewers. This film was highly tangential and I wonder who the actual target audience were. This film was too much of Rituparna Ghosh, and very less of anything else. I am perhaps one of the self proclaimed biggest fans of Rituparna Ghosh's film. I have watched all the films that he has made so far. The audience who go to watch this film should remember this is essentially not a Rituparna Ghosh directed film. Its Koushik Ganguly's. I didnt love the direction of the film all together. And I refuse to believe Rituparna Ghosh was even remotely associated with its direction (He is one of the creative directors of the film). I didnot like the direction of photography and I hated the cinematography. This film was a desperate attempt to make it look intellectual, aritistic and full of emotions. This is a very conventional art film and is way outside the definition of parallel cinema existing in Bengali film industry today. The good thing in the film to look out for is the acting. Rituparna Ghosh was effortlessly elegant with his acting, Raima sen, Chapal Bhaduri, Indraneel, Jishu Sengupta, Churni Ganguly was extremely good at their work. I loved the inclusion of Rabindrasangeet in the film, although might spark rave criticism, I loved the sensitiveness of the inclusion. The lyrics of the song involving Radha was intoxicating, provoking and very introspective. I wouldnot label this film as "gay" film, because of its relevance in straight relationships also. It protrays and revolves around a gay director Abhiroop (acted by Rituparna Ghosh) and bisexual photographer Basudev. This story was placed in corelation with that of Chapal Bhaduri and Kumar. From protraying the veteran theatre artists work to captivising an insight to his life, the role of the media and the "independant" society's response to it. . of love and the feel of it is very nicely shown in the film. Not essentially a gay film, it touches various aspects of homosexual love which is not merely carnal in its kind, but that of just another person towards his friend who is closer than he is supposed to be! One might wonder who Chapal Bhaduri is and how he is related to the film. Abhiroop and Basudev came to make a documentary based on the life of Chapal Bhaduri who used to act as women in bengali "Jatra" (theatre) and was in his personal preference, a homosexual. But he wasnt able to express it, given the kind of social background he belonged to. Regarding the theme of the film - emotions, love and homosexuality, its a break from the comedies that were earlier made of the homosexuals and is presented in a dignified and not so discreet manner that makes this film special. With the exclusion of section 377 from IPC, this film is an attempt to dive into the matter not making fun of it and is highly commendable. This film is a fantastic film, if you manage to sit through the entire film. This film would have been much better, could have been very crisply presented with I feel a better director, may be Rituparna Ghosh himself. --- - Published: 2010-12-27 - Modified: 2014-04-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/its-about-moving-forward/ - Categories: facebook update elaborated., Random notes - Tags: change, episodes of life, life, move forward with life ~1~ Old days never come back. The ambiance fails the circumstances, the innocence refuses to come back. . the first thrill remains the thrilliest thrill... while the sweet at the end of the meal remains the sweetest sweet. Every episode in a persons life has an essence- different, distinct, different from all other episodes. . no point longing for the past. ****** ~2~ Each episode in your life is like a sport. . you win some, you lose some... what's important is the sportsman spirit in you ! ****** ~3~ Moving forward is the rule of life. . changes needs to be accepted, few by heart, few by brain. . few forced by circumstances. . few affordable, few entertained. But the truth remains - It occurs. Everything comes to an end. . the only good about the statement is : The Bad also comes to an end. Well thats the hope, the silver lining! Keep smiling. . ! ****** ~4~ Forming new relations doesnt mean leaving the old. The old relations stay as they were, and with time new relations are made as we meet new people. . this is nothing wrong, in my opinion. It happens with all, it happened with you, it happened with me. . your place remains the same in my heart, although it did fade a bit with the distance that existed between us all this while. . but it is not erased, the charm still exists, the warmth does even. . ****** ~5~ Making new relations as we proceed with Time is actually moving forward, is actually the change. . is actually the start of another episode of life. . ****** Feel free to share your views --- - Published: 2010-12-22 - Modified: 2010-12-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/je-raate-mor-duwar-guli-bhanglo-jhore/ - Categories: Favourite Rabindrasangeet Lyrics, Non Techie - Tags: je raate mor duwar guli bhanglo jhore, rabindrasangeet যে রাতে মোর দুয়ার গুলি ভাঙ্গলো ঝরে জানি নাই তো তুমি এলে আমার ঘরে || সব যে হয়ে গেল কালো... নিবে গেল দীপের আলো আকাশ পানে হাত বাড়ালাম কাহার তরে ? অন্ধকারে রইনু পড়ে স্বপন মানি ঝর যে তোমার জয় ধ্বজা তাই কি জানি সকাল বেলা চেয়ে দেখি , দাড়িয়ে আছ তুমি এ কি ঘর - ভরা মোর শুন্যতারই বুকের ' পরে|| link to the song at youtube. --- - Published: 2010-12-21 - Modified: 2010-12-22 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/birosho-din-birolo-kaaj/ - Categories: Favourite Rabindrasangeet Lyrics, Non Techie - Tags: birol kaaj, birosho din, gaaner opare, rabindrasangeet বিরস দিন , বিরল কাজ প্রবল বিদ্রোহে এসেছ প্রেম, এসেছ আজ কি মহা সমারোহে . . একেলা রই অলস মন , নিরব এই ভবন কোন, ভাঙ্গিলে দ্বার কোন সে ক্ষণ অপরাজিত ওহে . . কানন '- পর ছায়া বুলায়ে , ঘনায়ে ঘনঘটা গঙ্গা যেন হেসে দুলায়ে দূর্জটির জটা যেথা যে রয় ছাড়িল পথ , ছু টালে বিজয় রথ, আঁখি আমার তড়িত বৎ , ঘন ঘুমের মোহে . . Link to the song: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=WZK_hK3dIjg Credits: The video taken from "Gaaner Opare". If you have any old version/ recording of the song, please feel free to share it with me at mailme@www. anirbansaha. com --- - Published: 2010-12-04 - Modified: 2010-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/end-or-start-of-the-saga/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: end of a scene, everyone except the protagonist, pen in hand, teary eyed, teary eyes, the new start Everyone except the protagonist exits the stage. Teary eyed, he sits with his pen in hand. The scene ends. --- - Published: 2010-12-03 - Modified: 2010-12-03 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/dub-fx-india-tour-kolkata/ - Categories: snapshots, Wrap up - Tags: beat boxing, Dub FX, Dub Fx India tour, kolkata, park hotel, sabir khan, sarangi, sarangi maestro sabir khan, saxophone, the park hotel Sometimes words fail us. This is one such moment. I have seen so many people performing. But this was exceptionally mersmerising. Dub FX is a famous street performer of Australian origin. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his own performance aided by Live looping and effect pedals combined with his voice. But here in the Indian tour of his, he combined his music with Saxophone and the Sarangi. It created a world of itself taking the pub by a musical storm. They have redefined music and fusion. Dub FX 's India tour shall end soon and I personally am looking forward to his next album. . The Sarangi Maestro Sabir Khan was exceptional with his Sarangi. An able successor of a family that has one of the richest heritage of Indian classical music. Their combination in Kolkata - the cultural capital of the east created magic, the viewers never gonna experience again. While the crowd cheered to the drum and bass rhythm of hip hop and "dirty" raggae. . dancing to the beats. . they cheered after the first few notes of the sarangi were played! After the scheduled time, youngters were yelling "once more Sabir khan", "one more track". . I personally wanted few more :P The beatboxing gets redefined with the Indian classical music. Watch out for Dub FX and for Sabir Khan in future... Shall end this post with a short video clip. Enjoy and leave your responses ! Take care. . ! --- - Published: 2010-11-29 - Modified: 2010-11-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/physics-lab-and-ponchobhoot/ - Categories: College life, Episodes of my Life - Tags: anindya, aninya, annesha, DD, deboleena, PH101, PH191, physics lab, ponchobhoot, roll number 9 1st year days. . so many unknown faces. . yet known hearts. After the first few classes , I came to know my roll number. . :P My roll number is 9. . So somewhat I managed to get in touch roll number 7, 8,10. . Roll number 8, and 10 were roommates. . and are girls. They supposed me to be an intruder. from Labs to sitting at exam halls, I was inbetween them! While roll number 7 was the dexter in my Orkut friend list. . and yes we were good friends! Roll number 7 is Anindya Bhattacharya. . who had Dexter as his Display picture at Orkut... and now who on earth would wish to keep that as a DP, I couldnt understand. I have always let the person in me out in the public, and have always used my Face as the display! But the more I got to know him, the more we became friends. . he is a superb person at heart, a superb student and yes, till now my biggest academic help! Roll number 8, and 10 are my sweethearts Aninya and Annesha. . we were coolest of friends and we still are and touch wood we shall remain... and yea! they tie me Rakhi! ! Sweetest sisters they are, my help during the sessional exams without a fail! :P They introduced to me another girl in the physics lab, who when introduced gave a very illogical smile the reason to which is still not very clear to me... roll number 30. . Deboleena Dutta, who happened to be the only girl in her practical group and she did not like the company she was in. So she shifted! so my group was... of 2 guys. . anindya and me... and three girls! Slowly but very gradually we became very very good friends, and they are the few of the people I trust unconditionally. . we started calling ourselves ponchobhoot. . Ponchobhoot refers to the five elements that make up the human nature. we were 5 distinct people , distinct in the truest sense. . but yes very sincere and professional. Well thats the story of ponchobhoot. . i wish it exists the way it previously was even after years from now... --- - Published: 2010-11-28 - Modified: 2010-11-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/1st-days-of-life-away-from-home/ - Categories: College life, Episodes of my Life - Tags: 1st day in college, anindya, aninya, annesha, DD, deboleena, fantastic, orkut, ragging, ragging in colleges of west bengal, rohit, rohit goyal, sawstik, seniors Its not that I dreaded life away from home. Infact I enjoyed the first 3 years outside home. . well thats the hostel life. The start to a life away from home was smoooth! No hurdles, no problems. . I had already developed as a planner by then. . thanks to Orkut :P It was so very smooth, I never imagined that to be smooth. . no sudden excitement or flop shows. After getting my room organised, I realised. . yea I am blessed with room mates like Swastik and Rohit. But yes, sometimes I used to get angry when they used to fall asleep when I felt like talking! :D The first day at the auditorium was special. Repetition of promises for a "fantastic" infrastructure and ragging free zone. . I had to strain my ears to listen to stuff. . I found HOD of English to be inspiring enough. . she asked us to lead a free yet responsible life. A 4th year guy spoke on behalf of the seniors. . I was quite motivated but did find anything "auspicious" about the occassion to which he continually kept mentioning. Months later, I found out it was Debmalya da :D The first five minutes of my college life, actually found ragging in the otherwise ragging free zone! My seniors presumed me to be overtly smart, having a high self esteem... err being a narcissist, and that I should be taught a lesson for having sent a friend request to a college senior over orkut! Well yes. . that was some time, I wouldnt love to recollect. From being called out from the class, to be threatened, to being called to the tea shop. . it was quite an experience. The only positive that I could have drawn out of it was... yea, I was made to speak to unknown people, speaking all ridiculous stuff, which otherwise I wouldnt have dared. . was made to sing weird songs with boasting confidence. . and I wont go to the dancing part at all. . the dancing included the steps of "changing bulb" and "padling the boat with one feet". Well yes those were the first few days of folking together with other 1st years so that seniors cant spot me. . :P to having my dinner by 7:30 pm (if at all) so that I dont have to face the seniors. . I had found friends in Aninya, Annesha, Anindya and DD... well thats another blogpost for you. --- - Published: 2010-11-27 - Modified: 2010-11-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/introduction-to-the-name-bcet/ - Categories: College life, Episodes of my Life - Tags: 2007, howrah, sandip chatterjee, sarat sadan, soumen bhowmik, wbjee, wbjee counselling If I say that my life actually started with the college life, I wont be entirely wrong. I hardly used to speak to any one before during my school life with very less friends. Other students used to know about the existence of Anirban and that he takes part in quizzes and elocution, but never did I interact with them properly. I remember the only space where I used to talk was the virtual world. . Orkut being the widely accepted one. My WBJEE rank was 10529... and yes, I didnt expect this bad a score. I went to the counselling hall, met a person who stood at the first stall put up by a college. I went through the words - "Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Durgapur". The man, with a subtle smile , tall,fair. . asked me what department I wished to take. . my reply to him was "Are there Quizzes? enough books so that I can prepare for the IITJEE next year? " --- - Published: 2010-11-27 - Modified: 2010-11-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/being-orkutia/ - Categories: College life, Episodes of my Life - Tags: agnit, anindya, ankita, arnish, bastab, clifton brooks, coming of age, govind, kaveri, koustav, orkut, powell, proma, raj, ritobroto, rohit goyal, roshan, sandipan, sanmitro, saurabh, silver saurav, social media, start of interacting, subhobroto, swastik nandi, tusha My introduction to social media was done by an edition of "unish kuri", in the later part of 2006. I joined orkut following my cousins. . Orkut for me was another tool for me to collaborate and study :P I remember I used to scrap Agnit with physics problem. The only community I was active in was ISC study forum. . created by Saurabh Goenka. I made few friends there like Tusha, Kaveri, Sanmitro. . and yes solving problems for them was fun. After my ISC exam, I got more involved in orkut. I used to get engaged in the ravishing discussions in the community "World asks, Indians answer", "Indian idol 3". :) Yea. . that was my first exposure to actual public speeches (in writing though) I remember fighting with Clifton Brooks, few of staunch India haters from USA and Pakistan. I made few friends from Pakistan and Bangladesh. I was already a fan of Emon Chatterjee by then, and made many friends at the related community. Friends like Tomoghno da (powell da), Ankita, Roshan are still in touch with me. That was the time when I started interacting with them at a larger scale, moderating people and understanding them. After I recovered from the shock of my WBJEE rank, I realised the blunder I made. . yea, I had already chosen BCET as my college. I felt the urge to meet the people here. Our college started late, by that time most of my schoolmates had joined their colleges. They used to talk about their start to college life, their new friends, girls and the inevitable seniors! So the best thing that I could have done was to join BCET's group at Orkut. I even opened a new community "BCETians 2007-2011". Well yes, I made some stupid questions like "Who is Mr SKSharma? " in the BCET community, to which my seniors ridiculed me. But true, back in 2007, no SKSGi existed. It was only one college name that everyone knew. Getting back. . I even joined communities that were made to meet your batchmates in the universities. I went aggressive when I found a guy - Silver Saurav quite offensive. What I did was to join WBUT version 07-11, owned by Arnab (Heritage institute) and it was fun fighting with Silver saurav. . there we made friends many out there of which Bastab, Proma, Subhobroto are the prominent. It was fun interacting with people of my batch over orkut! I even used orkut to find my roommate! ! Yea, initially we were promised two people in one room, later the hostel manager changed it to 3 beds in one room... So I had to find the third guy, and what better than Orkut could have helped me? I met numerous friends, who are with me even now... be it Anindya, Satwati, Sandipon, Raj, Ritobroto,Koustav, Govind Singhi, Arnish. . well after having a good chat with Swastik, we decided of becoming roommates. . Trust me those days were of fun, where talking was the only thing we could have done to get our jobs done. . we had to talk to so many people so that they didnt create nuisance in the Emon chatterjee or Amit Paul fan club. . so many people so that they become more loyal to our community... it was the time we really started to collaborate and work. Basically it was the time when words were actually sold ! . . and that gave me a name "orkut" in the boys hostel when I joined it. . ! --- - Published: 2010-11-26 - Modified: 2014-07-10 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-facebook-update-regarding-relationship/ - Categories: facebook update elaborated. - Tags: college life, inter personal relationships, relationships, senior-junior relationship, status updates The bridge between the elder and the young is fast bridging, than was in the times so conservative. Yet the tradition of respect shall continue, when transparency is there mixed with shared values and responsibility. One slip, and you loose the worth you are..! (Just A Thought) The bridge between the elder and the young is fast bridging, than was in the times so conservative. Yet the tradition of respect shall continue, when transparency is there mixed with shared values and responsibility. One slip, and you loose the worth you are. . ! (Just A Thought) To this few people responded: Avishek Roy (ex-BCETian, presently working in TCS) : "traditional customs of respect do keep us apart and different from others" Mr. Simarprit Singh : ‎"Worth" is becoming more tangible and in my view it is "no good worth" if it can be lost in one inadvertent/ or otherwise slip... times are changing :) Sarbani Ghosh (Student, University of Delhi) : I feel, personally, that the bridge was always in the making. Yes we are seeing tangible results now but it was always a fusion of thoghts of young and old. whenever a generation matures to take up the responsibility to run the world they assume supremacy, as in their ideals and values do. The bridge today is palpable but the differences even amog siblings is so great that the effective distance remains the same. Its always a one man's thought that can confer some stability to the system , though short lived, but so has been the case always although the process is self- destructive as Marx always professed. Debmalya Sen (ex-BCETian, presently working in Tech Mahindra) : somewhere or the other the word respect is missing or rather should i say the awe is missing, its not with all but i do feel that somewhere with this bridge the respect is going lost... Nikita Ganguly (student, final year, B. Com, South City) : I really second ur notion on d need to develop n retain inter-personal relationship, ethics n values, especially on d part f youngsters n infact d urge to erase d differences shud b encouraged greatly by us! To Mr Singhs response, I responded : ‎"worth" needs to be built sir, with credible work, inter personal relationship, transparency, ethics and values... its more of what you can share than what you need to recieve. Any person who sees a disbalance in the same removes the "worth" associated! --- Yes, the social media is fast bridging the gap and the communication. Today, I follow my teachers on twitter, my dad has subscribed to my FB updates on mobile, so has many of my friends and yes, my own didi. We have access to our idols, near ones, friends updates so very easily. There used to be a time, when elders used to stay with their friends who matched their taste and age group. Today, a teacher can get in touch with his/her students, connect to them at a personal basis... but yes, should know where to draw the line. Few people mis understood my statement , but it I believe yes, to build inter personal relationship transparency is required. . "shared" values of respect for the other needs to be there. . if a senior/elder respects the other, the other must reciprocate. . else where does one relationship stand? In a similar way credible work and responsibility needs to be shared. . it infuses new spirit of responsibility and only takes both the parties in the relationship forward. Today, suppose I give Sourav a particular job, and he accepts it, I will be there to help him. . while he will also learn from the work and the experiences that I would share. . but if his attitude towards me or the work isnt good, I have to be dismissive of the idea. Similarly on the part of the elders, I feel if you donot add value to the system, share things with your youngsters, share your thoughts and values and try to dominate instead of sharing, it creates a bad impression. I feel, understanding needs to be there both ways. . since the young people are young (ohk, thats the way I can put it best) and they lack experience and exposure to the outer world, the elders need to take the step 1 to communicate with the youngster. . The other way can also be seen, when the youngster knows he/she lacks experience, they need to understand how seniors can guide them. . they should be told the stories found in our religious books. Anyway do leave your comments as to how a striking balance can be maintained, either here or at Facebook thread. You might also like to read : Action If you wish to take this word further and engage more people to discus this then do "like" or "share this" at various other social networking sites. . --- - Published: 2010-11-25 - Modified: 2010-11-25 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/well-my-new-display-picture/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: achira saha, anirban saha, blog, blue, display picture, facebook, orange, orkut, red, twitter, website, white Well time to change my Display picture... I have been using this picture: for more than 2 years. . in various forms, the b/w, coloured and the designed one. . I am quite excited about my new Display picture. . This time , it was shot by my didi after we painted her room with the Red, Blue, Orange and White. . ! and this pic is kinda good... Do share your views about this picture. . ! --- - Published: 2010-11-23 - Modified: 2010-11-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-revolution/ - Categories: College life - Tags: monthly magazine, sauvagya, shriya, sreyasi BCET awaits the next big sensation. . separate, distinct, individual. A team to revolutionalise BCET college life. . ! The seed thought oflate 2008, but finally executed by my juniors... I am proud of it. I wish it stays out of unnecessary controversies. . a healthy team and deliver a healthy product, cherishable by all. Well I am not wishing to speak much of it in my blog, but speak facts... which shall be available only in January. Keeping my fingers crossed and wishing for the success! --- - Published: 2010-11-21 - Modified: 2010-11-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/satya-narayan-puja/ - Categories: Random notes - Tags: karthik sivakoti, satya narayan puja, telegu culture I went for the Satya Narayan Puja at Karthik Sivakotis home. I had a great time. . the pandit there was very candid... although the candid moments came in telegu. . I managed a smile at my ignorance for the same! I was taken aback by the surprise - Karthiks mom remembered me. Need to mention, Karthik was one of the first juniors whom I had met. . and he calls me dada... today I discovered that this bhai of mine has a didi of his own, who is 3 years elder to me and a fantastic student. Karthik was there with me at NIT Verve 08, and that was perhaps the last we worked together... We had been in touch and today I was bowled over by the hospitality. I love religious occasions be it of any religion. . and this was a hindu ritual, way more elaborate than that of any bengalis, and yes better and comprehend-able. Listened to the Satya Narayan Katha. . felt good. Could connect to it, coz the stories were already known to me... Met many juniors. . many of whose names I donot know. . There were Divya , Ashitang, Pratik, Rishav, Shouvik and many others. . Loved the time I had spent there. . Looking forward to more time spend with his family, if not necessarily with him! well I guess I need to learn Telegu! Well this is supposed to be a candid and a personal post. Sorry , if knowingly or unknowingly I did hurt any of my readers... but its time i go and sit and study! Semesters ahead! --- - Published: 2010-11-20 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/barkha-dutt-barkhagate/ - Categories: Non Techie - Tags: #barkhagate, barkha, barkha dutt, BDUTT, dmk, dutt, exposed cover sory, indian politics, journalism, media, ndtv, news, newspostindia, support barkha, wsj Cutting the story short, lets face it. If a person loves you, and asks you for your opinion. . you cant help it. The audience actually SHOULD NOT be engaging themselves in the personal lives of public figure. Barkha Dutt (@BDUTT) is a public figure. . Let us know people for the WORK that they do. Padmashree Barkha Dutt is a Journalist and a anchor. Let us know her for her journalism and her anchoring. A person has two faces of a life. . something that he/she wishes to show to others, and the other is the personal life. No one wishes his/her personal life be exposed. As an anchor, she had been an inspiration to millions, me being one of them, inspiring them to speak english and to learn to moderate session and indulge in public speaking. Let us know her for her reports. As for the tapes, I feel that was an extremely private talk and if at all this is journalism, its legitimate as @BDUTT writes "Radia was a valid news source for DMK camp. She gave info on Karunanidhi, and sought my analysis on what Cong may do next. Valid journalism. " She has earned this respect over years, hard earned. A bloggers view about the same, which contradicts mine. Read> Barkha Dutt Exposed-Cover Story! Few other links: NDTV, Newspostindia, WSJ. --- - Published: 2010-11-17 - Modified: 2010-11-18 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/restart-to-my-lif/ - Categories: College life - Tags: abhishek karmakar, abhishek singh, adhikary, apurva panigrahi, aritra, arya samanta, avishek mishra, dhruba, koust, nilakshi, nitish singh, paramita lahiri, puja, rakesh kumar, rumela saraswati, sambadi, sayani mondal, sayani mukherjee, shaid, shriya, shriya sah, soumee, sourav ganguly, souvick, sreyasi, sural These days, I stay a lot in my feeling world. . and perhaps this is one of my personal posts after a long gap! I am getting back to the extracurriculars... I know, not a good time to when my exams are screaming for attention, TCS pressing the calling bell, this definitely is not the right time! May be thats why, I prefered to skip the main portion of responsibility. These days I love to see my juniors work :P At the foundation day 2010, I quite loved the way Rakesh and Shriya handled the entire job. Rakesh has huge bundle of energy that stands to be appreciated. Shriya is very very responsible. Prior to this post, in my earlier blog (anirbansaha. wor. . )I was all praise for Sreyasi, Souvick, Aritra, Shaid, Praveen, Adhikary, Sural and Dhruba. . After that blog, I had almost left blogging. I think I am getting back! :) Few of the other juniors of note must be Nitish Singh (Me,2nd yr) Paromita Lahiri (BCETW,2nd yr) Rumela Saraswati (CSE, 3rd yr) Abhishek Singh (ECE 3rd yr) Apurva Panigrahi (Me, 1st yr) Sambadi Majumder (BT, 1st year) Arya Samanta (BT,2nd yr) Sourav Ganguly (AEIE, 1st yr) Avishek Karmakar (my roomie) Koustav (CSE, 3rd yr) Nitish is a talented guy, good student but very emotional and Lazy! Paromita has the best voice power and potential to become the best speaker/anchor in the coming days! Abhishek is very mature guy, love to have him as my friend. Rumela Saraswati, why didnt I work with her earlier? ? poor me :P Apurva Panigrahi is typically the way elder brothers are. . responsible, mature with an equal balance of all the elements of the human character. I respect him for that (although he is junior to be by 3 academic years) As a person he is very good. . I havent yet worked with him that much as to comment on him as a coworker. Looking forward to work with him. Sambadi is a narcassist gone humble these days. . good if he changes a bit from within. Any apparent change wont help him! #wisedom He is a good person nevertheless. Arya is a gem of a person. . I dunno how he is as a colleague, but he is a person with the right judgement and wisdom. These days I spend more time with him compared to any other guy! His friends Amrita and Ruchira... When they start talking, I prefer to keep quite... I dont really have a second option anyway! His friend - Rohit is truely an inspiring guy! Sourav Ganguly is a distinct individual, quite very much like Souvick. . but somewhat different. He is a true person, sweet and bichoo nevertheless! I dont even need to talk to him, he takes me back to my childhood days. Simple, Sweet, Elegant. . yet distinct, discreet individual. Avishek Karmakar ... he is a very good person and a fantastic roommate. . He is very much like Rohit. . clean and friendly. . I can atleast talk to him and Koustav. Both FIFA freaks. . ! ! but both are way better than what I had expected them to be! Koustav is another "individual", he stays by himself not disturbing others... but yes, its useful following what he says... err I mean, he is mature, responsible and yes caring! Sayani is truely a very very good person at heart... leaving the entire relationship thing aside, She is truely a speaker... the best BCET has perhaps seen... . and shall see in the coming few years. . I love spending time with Soumee, Avishek... they are kids! :P Puja is truely a caring friend... its a treaure having her as a friend. . Nilakshi ... ahem! I end this post here! Peace! --- - Published: 2010-11-14 - Modified: 2010-11-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/198/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: the day the earth shook The wand moved. The Colours dissapeared, the music stopped... the movements ceased. She looked at me. I stared at her. We didnt speak a word. She stood there dumb. Silence, if you can resonate peace in my life. . I embrace you. Gray shade, if you can fun fill my life. . I embrace you. . Stillness, if you can move my life to some distant land, I fall for you. if only you can. if only you can feel me. if only you can read my heart. if only you can smear the dryness. I shall be on my knees. Life, not just days. . not just moments passed. Life, not just you. . not just me. Life, is us. . true you, true me. . true everyone around. Life, is love. . The Gold poured down. . The red splashed. Colours beware. . you can be mistaken. Colours beware. . you require tenderness. . Colours beware. . you need to be valued. The canvas was so incomplete. She looked at me. I stared at her. And between us, Silence. Silence, if only you can resonate love, I embrace you. Colours, if only you can soothen my scars, I embrace you. . Stillness, I fall for you. Stillness, I love you. You have taken me back, back to the days of my mere existance. back to the days of the innocent smiles. back to the days when love meant holding hands and a shy stare. Colours, not you. . you are dazzling me. . She shook. I faltered. We didnt speak a word. Colours, not you. . I cant see Red. Colours, not you. . the Gold is all shining. . She streched her hands towards me. Her Silence shouted compassion. . Its dazzling. . Its dazzling. I stood there disturbed. Dazzled, I closed my eyes hoping all would dissapear. A shriek. The earth shook. The wand moved. The Colours apeared, the music resumed... the earth moved again. --- - Published: 2010-11-14 - Modified: 2010-11-14 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/diwali-snapshots-2010/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: 2010, candles, diwali, diwali greetings, diwali photos, diwali wishes, diya, happy diwali, mahavir nirvan divas The festival of lights - Diwali. . Often celebrated as the day of return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya. In Bengal it is celebrated as Kali puja... both the occasions as the victory of good over evil and fulfillment. For the Jains, this is the auspicious Mahavir Nirvan Divas. . when Lord Mahavir attained the soulfull bliss of Nirvana. Although late, my heartiest wishes to all. --- - Published: 2010-11-13 - Modified: 2010-11-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/incomplete/ - Categories: College life, Non Techie - Tags: arya samanta, incomplete, poem, sambadi mazumder, sourav ganguly Slowly I give in to the happiness and to the song. Slowly I start believing To them I can never do wrong. I am on the other side standing shining and strong Stood against the flowing tide my heart crying to the song. The song it says cries for the days the days of love the release of the dove I smile today as the song comes to a stop as I look ahead the life today isnt on the slop. The way ahead so clean and yes so green No more do I wish to see the unseen. The new awaits. . variables equate half filled glass of the red wine the finishing line --- - Published: 2010-10-24 - Modified: 2010-10-24 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-fading-good-bye/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: soul wishes for a tryst, the arrow struck the moon, the fading good bye The soul wishes for a tryst with you, you and me together far away in solitude. Solitude and Silence shouts Schmaltzy. The arrow struck the moon shattering it into pieces, that falls on earth as glittering remains of romanticism. Am collecting its pieces, memory lane sheds a drop tear. Also read: Rush. Expectations. Hue. --- - Published: 2010-10-10 - Modified: 2015-01-23 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/kumartuli-snapshots/ - Categories: snapshots - Tags: festivals, fetivals, india, indian, kolkata, koustav ghosh, kumartuli, surgapuja, west bengal Check out the pictures, snapped at Kumartuli. Check out few of them. Theres the slideshow --- - Published: 2010-09-28 - Modified: 2010-09-28 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/cwg-fuss-indian-media-wish/ - Categories: Non Techie - Tags: common wealth games, CWG, cwg 2010, CWG controversies, CWG village, delhi, indian media, journalism Sorry to chip in late, but I am quite disturbed as an Indian citizen and a person as well. Countries like Australia and Pakistan are quite vocal about slamming Indians organising the Common Wealth games. It comes as no surprise to me atleast. After Indians slamming Australians on racist issues which are as good as proved, they needed their turn... and much before the games actually begins. Mr Hooper, passing the buck. . and the Indian politicians passing the buck very effectively. Where does the buck stop? In even organising a simple event, there are bound to be mistakes and last minute preparations and changes. This is the first time for India, and not with standing with any low standards, we should be cooperating to make the games better and should maintain cordial relations. The western Media (with a capital "M") has been critical of us, and we are the ones who leaked information and gave them chances to slam us. But what exactly is the Indian media doing? There may be corruption, last minute preparations. . it is very easy to have negetive publicity. But the "Indian" media should decide what they wish to potray of India to indians as well to people outside India. Instead, I believe , an active and progressive media should take pride in the better parts and not focus on the one or two bathrooms of the uninhabited apartments! and the media should publicise the better of the Indian organisation, and boost brand India, instead of criticizing. I believe there will be enough occasions where they can showcase corruption and public hygiene. Its time to be ONE INDIA, be it engineers, artists, actors, musicians, media personnels or any Indian at any part of the cross section. We should know and believe criticism is a way of development, not neglecting the cost of it. I am a proud Indian, and I wish the games a success. --- - Published: 2010-09-21 - Modified: 2010-09-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/facebook-like-button-function-using-php/ - Categories: Techie - Tags: facebook, facebook like, facebook like widget, php, php functins facebook like The wordpress plugin with the name "Facebook-Like-Button-Widget. zip" is not working properly. The problem : The entire content of the blog post is being replaced by the facebook "like" button. It was not visible in the index blog page, although it was visible in the single blog post pages, for the particular blog post. Solution: I wrote a function to remove the problem. go to index. php of the wordpress theme folder. search for "... . . " After that put in go to the single. php of the wordpress theme folder search for and put in Go to functions. php and just before the "? >" tag put function fb_anirban_like($fb_anirban_link) { $anirbanvalue=$fb_anirban_link; $anirban1= rawurlencode($anirbanvalue); $anirban1=$anirban1. "&"; echo ""; Make sure: that you add "&" to the end of the encoded url. and now it is working properly. Replace the "%24anirban1"with "**dollar*anirban1" --- - Published: 2010-09-19 - Modified: 2010-09-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-day-out-with-varied-variables/ - Categories: College life, Non Techie, Wrap up - Tags: avishek mishra, day out, dj, durgapur, dvc, fun, masti, nilakshi, pagalpanti, puja, sayani mukherjee, soumee As we call ourselves... We skipped the daily routine and took a car on rent and went ot Dammodar Valley Corporation... , the beach there and the river. Had huge amount of fun with Sayani, Avishek, soumee, nilakshi, puja and DJ. Thats a single snap for you! It was a rainy, gloomy day... and the river was all swelled up roaring to every thunder... and I had fun splashing water at all... my camera lens need to be cleaned. By the end of day I had sand scattered all over my body, and yes, Drenched! We went to biryani Center and had Biryani and Chicken chaap! ! well that was the end to an otherwise fuldoo masti wala day. It was very relaxing, unconventional, first of its kind day in my life... --- - Published: 2010-09-17 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/khichdi-the-movie/ - Categories: Non Techie - Tags: instant khichdi, khichdi, khichdi the movie, star one, star plus, the mad indian family "Hello baa, Khabar mein toh... . . *gossip* ha, babuji abhi tak zinda hain... . aur baa hum log abhi bare parde per aa rahein hain bhagwan! " Trust me friends, one of the bestest comedy shows in Indian Television is hitting the bigger screens during the festive time. . Khichdi - the movie Praful, Hansa, Jayshree , Babuji and the entire Mad Indian Family is back~! So get ready to shed tears,... of laughter and happiness, from 1st October ! Follow them at Twitter: http://twitter. com/madindianfamily and on facebook: http://www. facebook. com/madindianfamily Check out the Video: Khichdi started as a TV serial in the year 2002 on Star Plus. It gained immense popularity and was continued to the second season as Instant Khichdi on Star one... and now its a film. Eagerly waiting! ! Written and Directed by: Aatish Kapadia. --- - Published: 2010-09-17 - Modified: 2010-12-04 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/new-friend-dance-moves/ - Categories: College life, Non Techie, Wrap up - Tags: 3rd september, abhishek singh, aeie, aeie students, anirban, apurba panigrahi, avishek mishra, cse, dance, dance performance, dance show, dancing steps, debjoyti, dhruba, dil chahta hain, final year, first time dance, foundation day, hema goenka, lifes first time, nilakshi, o hum dum soniyo re, preety, puja, rakesh, rumela, saathiya, saha, sayani mukherjee, sayari, show, shriya, soumee, varied variables, woh ladhki hain kaha I got to write this. And people who knows me shall read this awe struck! Never before August 30, 2010 did I dance , even in my dreams, or in bathroom ... or in any sort of room. August 30, 2010: I reached Durgapur and was supposed to hang out with Sayani and her friends. I reached bidhannagar, and instead of going to my residence, i entered the college with my luggage. I wasnt stopped. I went to the auditorium. There were puja, and Sayani trying hard to tutor Avishek and DJ's dance moves. I sat there, on the sofa. And was watching them practise. . wondering to myself. It isnt that I wasnt approached for a dance. . but I hesitated to shake a leg. . I was even approached for this dance, to which I politely refused! After a certain time, I felt, I can do it... and perhaps better... And when approached the second time, I went to the green room and wore my half pants. . and with the big 4 headed boil on my right thigh... no unturned stones were left! ... 3 days of practise resulting in The Varied Variables! Check the Video and do leave comments! The group was named: Varied Variables. . The first 3 tracks were performed. . it was stopped due to unavoidable circumstances. I was a part of "O hum dum soniyo re" and "Woh ladki hain kaha" the second track was very funny. . and I enjoyed each bit of the practise and dance steps. I loved the steps of "One love" as I found them suiting my personality. ! ! now those three days were some real practise, training, ideating, tutoring, and fighting for the stage and jhelofying a very irritating administrator. . I feel I was quite quick at it. . not to forget to mention one day was spend , me searching for anchors... this time my set of anchors didnt include Sayani, Sreyasi, Sural, Harshit. Instead, I had an entirely new team... Rakesh, Dhruba, Apurba panigrahi, Abhishek Singh, Shriya, Rumela and the first year girl. Dhruba is extremely good and is quite cheered at... Panigrahi has the potential of a big showbiz personality. . ! ! I worked with Rumela for the first time and I regret not working with her earlier! She is extremely flexible working with, very very good. Shriya is like an ideating box... and for the first time I didnt really quite work much. Instead I enjoyed watching my juniors take the responsibility and trust me, It feels great! ! ! Coming to the dance... I am relieved, it ended and what a way to end it... There were cheers, calling by the performers name... and not to forget - the big fight, and then a week long suspension of the classes! Alls that and even more... comments expected! --- - Published: 2010-09-16 - Modified: 2010-09-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/bengali-bengali-film-industry-and-national-awards/ - Categories: Non Techie, Wrap up - Tags: benagli, bengali, bengali film industry, national awards, tollywood A comparitive study with respect to the Indian national film awards. In the category of "National film award for best feature film in Bengali", Rituparno Ghosh won it 4 times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2010), Gautam Ghose - 3 times (1988, 1994, 2001) Aparna Sen - Twice (1996, 2000) Aniruddha Roy-Chowdhury - once for his film Anuranan. They are few of the note worthies keeping aside the Oscar winner Satyajit Ray, who won it 11 times. For the "Best film" award, Bengali films won 23 times compared to Hindi films' 15, Malayalam films' 11, Kannada films' 7. Of them Oscar winner Satyajit Ray got 6 awards. Of the remaining, note worthy filmmakers are: Buddhadeb Dasgupta (5 times) Mrinal Sen (4 times) Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (for Antaheen, 2009) Rituparo Ghosh (for Unishe April, 1995) and Gautam Ghose (for Dakhal, 1982). For the "Best Director" award, Bengali films won 14 times compared to Malayalams' 12, and Hindi films' 7. Of them, Utpalendu Chakravarty got it once for his film Chokh, 1983. Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Rituparno Ghosh and Gautam Ghosh got it twice each. Satyajit Ray won it 6 times. The Art house film making in Bengali cinema is well appreciated. Bengali films got 2 awards for "Whole some Entertainment" compared to hindi films' 22. The Bengali films that recieved the awards were : Gana devata (1979), Kony (1985) (both way before I was born). For the "Best Childrens film" Category , Bengali films got 1 award compared to 9 of hindi film industries. "Damu" by Raja sen won the award in the year 1997. "Best Actor", 5 times for Bengali films - Mithun Chakravarty winning it twice. Stalwarts Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee recieved one each. Malayalam Film industry bagged 11 such awards. Of the other notable Bengali actors - Utpal Dutt, Ashok Kumar won it once each. 6 times for "Best Actress", Madhabi Mukherjee being the first in 1970. Other notable Bengali actresses winning it are Konkona Sen Sharma, Seema Biswas. "Best Cinematography", Bengali film industry bagged 8 awards, Abhik Mukhopadhyay winning it 3 times (2009, 2004, 2003). Hindi film industry won it 21 times and Malayalam film industry won it 10 times. Other notable Bengali cinematographers, Goutam Ghose won it in 2007 for his film Yatra (hindi), Subrata Mitra for his film "New Delhi times" (1986, hindi), Soumendu Roy (1978,1975, 1974) "Best Screenplay", 11 times to Bengali films. Notables are : Gautam Ghose (2004) Rituparno Ghosh (1998) Buddhadeb Dasgupta (1987) Satyajit Ray (1994, 1975, 1971, 1967) Mrinal Sen (1983, 1981, 1974) Tapan Sinha (1972). Other Notable Bengalis recieving it for non-bengali films : Aparna Sen (2003). Indranil Ghosh won the "Best art direction" for his film "Chokher Bali". National awards for singers has credited many note worthy singers from bengal and bengal film industry. Some of them are : Shreya Ghoshal (2009, 2008, 2006, 2003) Niranjana Sarkar (2010) Rupam Islam (2010), Jayshree Dasgupta(2000) legend Sandhya Mukherjee (1971) pandit Ajoy Chakravarty (1990) legend Hemant Kumar (1987,1972),legend Anup Ghoshal (1981) legend Manna dey (1971). Of the notable Bengali editors, Gangadhar Naskar won the national awards for best editing for three consequetive years - 1979, 1980, 1981. Arghyakamal Mitra won it in 2010 for the film Abahomaan. Of the other from the bengali film fraternity credited by the jury are: haridas bhattacharya (1958) Bimal Bhoumick (1970) Raja Mitra (1988) Nabayendu Chatterjee (1990) Amitabh Chakravarty (1990) Pradeep Sarkar (2006) for direction, Prasenjit Chatterjee (2007) Mamta Shankar (1992) for acting. The Art film industry aimed for a particular genre of people, Bengali films according to me appeals to the heart of the people. The story telling methodology is unique in its class, be it Satyajit Ray's films or the films of Rituparno Ghosh. Bengali films have mainly voiced emotions be it in Apu tri logy, introspective films by Mrinal sen or the fantasized Romanticism of Rituparno Ghosh. The coming of age "parallal cinema" has lots to offer. --- - Published: 2010-09-13 - Modified: 2010-09-13 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/test-post/ - Categories: Uncategorized this is a test post to check my networked blog set up. --- - Published: 2010-09-11 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/new-facebook-account/ - Categories: Uncategorized Tired of playing hide n seek with the Mr Hacker, I have opened a new facebook account. The link is http://facebook. com/sahaanirbannew I cannot add http://www. anirbansaha. com/blog to my networked blogs of the new account because I have already added it in my previous account. If you read this, PLEASE send me a FRIEND REQUEST at my new account. warm regards Anirban --- - Published: 2010-09-09 - Modified: 2010-09-09 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/the-frozen-mind%e2%80%99s-rambling-bruise-tint-truth/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: black, gold, hidden truth, intentions, red, shallow, truth, white In search of the whitest white, that could dazzle me with its brightness. The colour so pure, tinted itself bruising with the red, broken heart I sit, searching for the dazzling ray of light. Shallow height, shallow sight, shallow in the mind. Shallow was the smile, shallow was the While, shallow was all. . Shallow was the call, nothing was as tall. . Its all in the mind. The shallow within the white, the white within me, the white tinted with shades of red in the course of time while the soul cries deep down. . Within is now shallow, smiling at the white. Lost its lustre. . weeping thus so quiet. Foot note: The truth remains with all of us. . deep down inside our heart. Sometimes we acknowledge it. . while most of the time we refuse to do so... while our heart weeps. The whitest white truth seldom tints itself with the not-so-wise red intentions of the human mind, while the heart still tries to search for the truth. --- - Published: 2010-09-09 - Modified: 2010-09-09 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/lastfewdays/ - Categories: College life, Non Techie - Tags: ankit sah, aritra das, last days, prabhanjan panigrahi, rajat chandra, sayani, sayani mukherjee, techshu It has been quite a while since I last updated my blog... and its time I update it with my life’s update. . First of all... I need to thank Techshu. I have completed my 8 weeks of internship from Techshu. More than anyone else, I feel I should thank Mr Prabhanjan Panigrahi, who was patient enough with me and the numberless mistakes that I made during the 8 weeks. The atmosphere of Techshu is way different from the ones I had worked with till now. It is friendly beyond the limit that can be expected of, never compromising with the work. There were evenings when I had to work till 9:30 pm. . Mr Panigrahi always had been there with me. . in a way am missing the maggi, that we used to make at times when we fell short of rice or rotis at the office! The first day at work was co incidentally my birthday too. . and I had a surprise birthday treat the next day as per TST (Techshu standard time). . As of now, my laptop is not at all working and the project too is at halt.  I have this site, anirbansaha. com and till now, I didn’t find time to sit and to focus on its look and feel. . A lot of ideas spinning in my mind, nothing taking shape. Right now, I am infrastructurally challenged. there were misunderstandings between sections of third year regarding the techfest and my inclusion to it. The problem arouse when aritra spoke of it knowing exactly nothing concrete of it to other batchmates of mine. anyway they were cleared that very day when the entire students body sat together. . and to be on the safer side, I did finally pull out of it... and once again - sorry ankit and rajat! Not till the 30th of August, I never even danced in my dreams, nor in the bathroom ... not in any sort of room... so if I say –Dancing on stage was a dream come true, it will be entirely false. :P On 30th, I saw Sayani practising with her group. I noticed them for quite some time and then once approached, I thought of giving it a try. And try it was, I practised for the next 3 days and performed on the foundation day. The dress up was funny, and in a way indecent. For the first time I had my tie knot hanging so low to my chest, and I wore a cap that hardly made my hairline visible... and I had my shirt tucked out! Anyway first time... but I think I was looking cool. I have no intention to try it again sometime soon. I guess few readers of my batch may be searching for this section. I was supposed to be given the best all rounder award. It was withheld after a group of my batchmates expressed their disappointment in writing to the director of the college. To be clear, I had no talk regarding this before it was announced, and even after it was announced. It came to me as a surprise and it went away from me as another surprise. Nothing changed in between... It was the management’s decision to award me with the certificate and I wish no ill feelings towards me by my batchmates regarding this issue. I prefer to remain aloof from any college matter. And I wish my relation with the authorities doesn’t change either. As is the custom. . me, dad, maa and didi went to tara pith, like any other year. This year, something was different. Perhaps this wasn’t exactly me there... There were way too many questions that was popping up in my mind, the answers weren’t really satisfactory. I discovered newer lows in my personality, things that has kept me thinking for quite some time now. I had a nice presentation of my internship at the college. There were many questions asked, and I answered them to their satisfaction... and once again thank you Mr Panigrahi who had been such supportive as to put the files to the production just for my presentation. My facebook profile again got hacked, and now I know that this person is from BCET. In a way, I wish it comes back to me. Am on my bed peacefully, in this infrastructurally challenged place. . :P but I am happy amidst so many tension and disappointments... my focus has changed, my short term goals achieved. I have actually made my way to the goal and have achieved it. Now, I am making newer goals... and newer strategies to achieve it. . none could comprehend it earlier... and none shall even now --- - Published: 2010-09-09 - Modified: 2016-05-19 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/rush-expectations-hue/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: expectations, hue, new acquaintances, rush, rush of our life With all the clothes and belongings, I packed few emotions, dreams and aspirations and I set out to achieve them. In the rush of our life, we tend to overlook few things. Of the few, there are quiet surprises which never gets unfolded, sweet smiles which never express itself, a few tear drops that gently soaks into the piece of cloth. Of the few certain emotions got hid, few glances missed! The rush does not allow us to dive into the eyes of those who love us. Flowers are pretty but it’s the leaves that keep the plant alive. Loving the need and needing the love has always been talked about. What more can I add to it? The rush never makes us realise the blossom of the new flower- the freshness that it brings, the way it plays with the bees. We make new acquaintances. Slowly with the blink of the eye- we become friends. In all the playfulness, we bond. In all the love our individuality fades. The thin line between our lives fade into the other striking a new hue. Slowly yet gradually we start loving the hue we have created. This love binds us together, promising us happiness even in the rush of events, promising us love and care even as we tend to overlook them. In this expectation, we overlook the basic fact – we still are two different individuals with colours so different. Sometimes I feel, overlooking isn’t sinful, in fact it’s Life! How many of us take a note of the smiles that comes with our success? The way our friend teases or support us? Or even simply... . the way they talk to us? Let us dive to a newer essence of Love, of Life with maturity blend with innocence, forgiveness and sincerity. Regards, Anirban --- - Published: 2010-08-21 - Modified: 2014-03-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/a-wanderers-soliloquy/ - Categories: Non Techie, Random notes - Tags: inspirational writing, new color of light, note to self, notes of depression, spiritual prayer, wanderer, wanderers soliloquy ...A hope of an adventure, an adventure that would gift me new thrill… a new excitement, new fun. Another hope of accumulation. Another hope of loosing all…. another despair.. Slowly we move to a new life, we start from level zero. We leave in our past all that we have accumulated only to make a new start to life. We carry nothing from our past life, nor do we take anything forward to our next life. But in this life we gather experience, the wisdom that we treasure. . that remains with our soul forever. With all the wisdom God has given us lets make a new start afresh to our life. Lets see our lives in the light we had never seen before... lets rediscover ourselves, our inner soul. . an aspect which we had never thought of. . or have imagined of... I am a wanderer with two pockets full of hope and despair... Despair of having lost whatever I had accumulated. A hope of a better tomorrow. I hope to find a new colour of light that would dazzle my eye. . a new chord that would seem music. . a new colour that would paint my heart... I hope to find a path, a path that connects me to you, o Supreme. A hope of an adventure, an adventure that would gift me new thrill... a new excitement, new fun. Another hope of accumulation. Another hope of losing all... . another despair. . --- - Published: 2010-08-21 - Modified: 2014-05-01 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/report-card-2009/ - Categories: Non Techie, Wrap up - Tags: report card 2009, travels The year comes to a gradual end... . . and its time I write how the year had been... praises, acclaims, travels, love, cynicism... When I read Bejan Daruwala’s prediction of ”travelling is on your cards”, I laughed a lot... but take this... the guy who had only seen Gantok and Vizag till the year 2008... did really travel. . Going to IIT kharagpur twice with Aritra (January), going to Bangalore with Sandip sir (February), to Siliguri, to Jalpaiguri and to Darjeeling with $ouvick (June/July)... ... to Tarapith and to sainthia at praveens place (August), to coimbatore and chennai with pulkit, priyank, monodeep (September), to parasnath with praveen (October)... it was real travel... I am not naming all the places that I have travelled. I found a new friend in my Camera (Sony Cybershot DSC H10, bought: January 9, 2009). . This year brought with it good feel... Like all year, this year started with the cossipur uddanbati visit with my maa, followed by the invitation to IIT kshitij 09. The eweek (feb 09) was real fun, being at a helm of affairs really count, blogging my heart out, being made the speaker for ecell by sandip sir at the e-leaders workshop (March 5, 2009). . from there to being anchors at the Sphutati 09 (April 5, 2009) and at the Euphonic 09 (September 4,2009)... to addressing my juniors at their freshers welcome, to having orientation session for juniors, it was fun. My first extempore at the IIT Kharagpur rocked, followed by the failure at the debating! The Kolkata bloggers meet(Aug 8, 2009), and the Kolkata tweetup(June 21, 2009) made me realise the need of networking. . each experience added to my exposure, be it at Bangalore accepting the trophy or persuading Greenpeace to be in our college during the eweek. . or be it some time spend with Mr Abhishek Rungta for the Ecell wrork. . The BCET Bloggers workshop really made me realise how fantastic organising a simple event can be... Being the student editor / coeditor of the magazine was enjoyable... too much work but all were smooth These were the successes... the failures? I can spot only one failure... that of the LST. and sorry I will not take the responsibility... . and now the cynicism? ? The thing I hate the most – Gossip. And now if the gossips are to be believed, I keep on eyeing girls and I am already committed to more than one! . . and yes, I am arrogant and cant speak properly. . and what not! ! I will accept all... but no yaar! I dont have a girlfriend! Anyway... this year has been enjoyable and the extension of 2008, which brought happier days in my life... I am finding peace in my life among the warmth of my friends... shelter in their calm eyes. . Truely speaking, my heart lies here and I am happy. I am happy being at BCET. These kinda wrapup posts never end without thanking people! So here goes the list... thanks Sandip sir, Prof (Dr. )A. C. Ganguli. Thanks Gayatri mam (I feel like thanking her always, why I dont know! ) and now before I thank anyone else... my juniors- Aritra, $ouvick for being such a fantastic and hard working junior. . the B Pharm guys for all your love and affection. Thanks Priyank, Monodeep for being whatever they are... Thanks Pulkit for being such a fantastic working partner. Thanks Supratik (. . for reasons more than countable ! )... Thanks Bastab, Arjun da, Shrabasti di,Kamnashish da, Anirudh. . Thanks Anindya, without whose guidance I would have never passed my 4th semester exams. . Aninya, Annesha and DD for always checking my zigzag path... . anyway Cancerians are like that... like a crab, they go ahead few steps and then take a zigzag path, but they move forward... And now... thank you Sagnik, thank you Abhishek... thanks Abhijeet, Icy, Romil,Debosmeeta, Anupam, Sumedha for being so affectionate... and now the ones without whom I would not have survived. . without whom I would have died out of suffocation... thank you Sayani. . a million thanks to Sayani. . for being with me all throughout not caring about herself... thank you Sreyasi, for being a rebel and keeping on putting me on place! Thanks thanks a ton Praveen – You are the sweetest kid I have seen... thank you for being with me, for being what you are... for your thoughts. . for your religion. . for making me understand the value of relations... thank you for all the time we have spend together... thank you for everything. --- - Published: 2010-08-21 - Modified: 2010-08-21 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/upcoming-days-anticipation/ - Categories: College life, Non Techie - Tags: abhishek karmakar, aji issac mathew, anindya, aninya, annesha, daipayan, dheeraj majhi, dipayan, kamalika, koustav ghosh, manisha, prabhanjan panigrahi, praveen puglia, priyankar, sayani mondal, sayani mukherjee, sreyasi I have always documented my college life, now those blogs are deleted. I remain with the memories only. Now, this Monday I am returning back to Durgapur. A fresh new start to life. Rush, Expectations... and less of Hue :P Whats new and perhaps different? I have shifted to a mess with Koustav, Avishek Karmakar, Dheeraj, Dipayan, Daipayan and their AEIE friends, all my juniors. Cant really be sure of a fantastic learning time, but yes there will be resource constraints and I am prepared for it. . What ever be it, it shall be fun! I shall be joining Techshu as a part time programmer... from this month. Thats new life as well. I have a site to my name, to experiment upon! and thats so JIO! My 7th semester project, project conceptualised by Mr Mathew, it will be lead by Mr Prabhanjan Panigrahi. . At college my project guide will be Ms Sayani Mondal, and my team consist of Priyankar Kundu, Kamalika Das and Manisha Desai. I had kept Ms Mondal as my project guide in my mind for quite some time now. She had been a fantastic student and a senior herself and is one of the most reputed teachers in our college right now. Its my pleasure having her as the project guide. I have always admired Priyankar for his commitment towards work. He had been an intern with Web prachar for 6 weeks and I guess he loved it. Kamalika is a very nice sis of mine who writes the time table for me each semester! and I very obediently and neatly fold and keep it in my copy not wishing to open and see it. Manisha has lots of potential, she is an able speaker and very logical and practical. I hope we have a good time teamed up together! In a way after the shamble of my personal life, this is a new beginning personally also. And yes, in the best possible way - away from home and with lots of work. Have been missing Anindya, Aninya, Annesha, DD, Sreyasi a lot these days. . wishing to relive my 1st and 2nd year days where we used to have lotsa fun together! Well thats exactly what I am going to do this semester atleast! ! --- - Published: 2010-08-20 - Modified: 2010-08-20 - URL: https://www.anirbansaha.com/abhibyakti/ - Categories: Uncategorized Another drive to express myself. . --- ---