Rajesh is one of those youngsters from Varanasi, who has to leave “Kusti” to earn their livelihood. As one of the best fighters of “Babua Ghat Akhara”, he was practicing Kusti for almost twelve years, which earned him two “Kusti Bir” honours from local wrestling competitions. Three years back when Rajesh was at his best [...]
An almost eight million square feet area behind the great old Ghalib Bar… there sited a modest playground along in the midst of an old huge Victorian edifice and a few numbers of cluttered slum houses. Now all those are just history. That eight million square feet area has been scattered into concrete fragments… now, [...]
On one lazy winter afternoon, in the light of the setting Sun, I came across a very old mansion surrounded by a slum on the bank of river Ganga. The old house, now almost dilapidated, standing tall in the middle of a ground with its all glory faded today. It appeared as a very old [...]
The day is Bijoya Dashami, the end of the six-day Durga Puja festival, bidding adieu to the Goddess and hoping for the new celebrations in the coming year!! But this end of the festival also marks the festival of friendship and union among the residents of the borders lands of India and Bangladesh. On the [...]
Anjum, Munna, Pintu, Hassan, Bimla, Kartik, Tamu… some rarely see their parents…some live with them, these children don’t share the same roof…but interestingly they share one common thread intimately related to their life … The River Ganga. On either side of the river, children living by the ghats try to fill their life with some [...]
On a lazy afternoon, August 2009, I was savouring the last few days of summer in our garden. The air was full with the dusty brown aroma of the earth, soaked with the first rainfall. The sky, still partially clouded and the tree tops glimmering with the sunbeams through the dark clouds. Suddenly a narrow [...]
Severe cyclonic storm “Aila” hit West Bengal on May 25, 2009 at 125 km/hr. The well known Sunderban delta region was badly damaged due to severe rain, cyclonic storm and waves. The cyclone flooded 55 major islands, destroyed 400 kilometers of embankments and leaving 55 lakhs people homeless. Still now, even after 6 months since [...]
It was another busy day… a week ahead to follow… new dreams to fulfills… new hopes to lead on… It was another day for me… a medical reason to land in Mumbai… a day off… and I thought of experiencing Mumbai… What better way but to get on a taxi. My driver!! a man in [...]
