We have become a country of food pop-ups and one where everyone’s food sticks in someone else’s craw. As the political row over the Chittaranjan Park fish market shows when someone is ready to fish in troubled waters even a red herring will do.
Happy New Year! April 15th was the Bengali New Year, but the LAST day of the year means the Charak Mela!
A group trying to save Kolkatas historic trams makes a case that the old streetcars actually benefit the mangroves of the Sundarbans.
Freedom fries, the Gulf of America and Cafe Canadiano. Sandip Roy explains.
A new approach at the Indian Museum in Kolkata is blending up some interesting pairings. Sandip Roy goes for a visit.
Social media was meant to bear witness to our daily lives. Now it might well become a witness for the prosecution.Sandip Roy explains.
We all love chocolate. And Sandip used to bring home little samples of the confection to share with his family and friends in India. But perhaps he didn’t need to travel so far.
March 3rd was World Wildlife Day and Sandip remembers his very first literary autograph, from Gerald Durrell.
A lot of people think of Indians as the “model minority.” Hard working, paying taxes and fitting in. But Trump’s focus on Indian immigrants has added another layer to their ‘American’ story.
The Cadbury company wants to kill Valentine’s Day, and they have released a powerful foe to do it. The Indian Uncle. Of which group Sandip Roy belongs to.
This year marks the 48th Kolkata Book Fair, a fair Sandip Roy has been going to his whole life. This year he ruminates on what makes this particular festival so special.
This week Sandip celebrates a deity that has always been a bit more personal, but also worries about how the modern world is remaking her influence.
An Indian CEO has caused a furor over dismissive statements concerning work hours. Sandip Roy considers the implications of a seven day work week.
The character of “Durga” has haunted film audiences the world over. The actress who portrayed her had something of a tragic life herself. Sandip remembers Uma, as she now, like her character Durga, has died.
At the beginning of what will inevitably be a year filled with conflict and stiff, it’s a memorial service from the close of last year that reminds us how alike we all are.
Sandip Roy contrasts the Christmases of his childhood with the current revelry taking place in Kolkata.
“Music can’t work miracles” Zakir Hussain once said, but he certainly was a miraculous musician and collaborator. Zakir Hussain passed away in San Francisco on Dec. 15th, 2024.
‘Ol Chiki’ is a thousands year old language in Bengal, but has only been written down since 1925. Sandip Roy travels to an art biennial to find out more.
Salman Rushdie’s book Satanic Verses could, perhaps, FiNALLY be available in India. But with so many verses under the bridge will it matter?
Due to illness Sandip is forced to consider the world in his own backyard.
