Smita's Kolkata Chronicles

Kalachand Mandir is situated at 133/2/1 Ramdulal Sarkar Street near Hedua Park.  The date of establishment is not known. The descendants of the ancestral owners of this temple resides just adjacent to it. It was established by B. C. Naan , relative to Ishwar Chandra Naan who had built the Nistarini Kali Temple (https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7479581961566189553/7231031474303729419) .  The Kalachand Mandir bears exquisite architechtural details with marble carvings, carved wooden doors and spacious interiors. The picturesque depiction of the different stages of Lord Krishna’s life and engravings of images of Vishnu , Ram-Sita holds one in awe.  Looking at the building one can easily feel the deviation from traditional Bengal temple architecture.  Entry point to the sanctum sanctorium  (where Kalachand/ Narayan shila  resides) from the front yard has three carved doors.  The hanging varendah on the second floor used to seat devotees during kirt...

Aristocratic Bengalis dwelling in the erstwhile capital of the British monarchy, developed a passion for cars due to their proximity with the colonizers from the early part of the past century. Descendants of these traditional families ( bonedi bari ) maintain these treasure troves with immense pride and effort till today.  Presently Kolkata has retained almost 200 of them .  Many owners were forced to sell off their cherished possessions when confronted financially. The new owners restored these vehicles out of sheer passion.  As stated by an organiser of one of the prestigious vintage car rallies in Kolkata, “These classic-beautifies are treated as heirlooms in Kolkata with entire families getting involved. It is this passion that tints Kolkata’s affair with vintage cars in an unlikely amateurishness, in comparison to other parts of India”. Interesting anecdotes exists related to the vintage cars. The legendary Bose Family, known for their fascination for vintage cars ...

A notable social worker and freedom fighter Ashoka Gupta  ( nee Sen, November 1912 – 8 th July 2008) was the founder of Mahila Seva Samity, member of the All India Women's Conference and president of Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption.   She was the recipient of several prestigious awards including honorary D.Litt. from Jadavpur University and the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2007 in recognition of her work for the cause of women and children.  Early life - Gupta was the fourth of six children and the second daughter to Kiran Chandra Sen, a lawyer and Jyotirmoyee Devi, a writer whose stories and essays featured in contemporary Bengali journals. She lost her father at the age of six to a contagious influenza epidemic following the First World War. Her maternal grandfather Shri Abinash Chandra Sen, a cabinet minister to the Maharaja of Jaipur took over his grandchildren’s responsibility. Her formal education began at Indraprastha School in 1919 upon the in...