Smita's Kolkata Chronicles

The Entrance The Building architechture Painting by the renowned artist Isha Mohammad Maulana Azad College was founded by  A. K. Fazlul Haque, on December 9, 1924. The foundation stone was laid by  Lord Lytton, the contemporary Governor of Bengal. The vision of the college was to  promote Islamic learning and general education among the Muslim population in British India and with the sustained efforts of contemporary education minister of Bengal. It was then named as  Islamia College   under the affiliation of University of Calcutta.  The first Principal, Mr. A. H. Harley was formerly the faculty of Oriental Languages, Edinburg University, UK. Post-independence, the college was renamed as   Central Calcutta College   and generously moved beyond religious barrier and was open for male students only. probably due o the efforts of Professor F. J. F. Pereira. In 1960, the final baptism held as   Mau...

Bengali cuisine , as with any culture, is a showcase of family tradition. It has also been a melting pot of several Indian and European cuisines, as different rulers and traders crossed the Bengal land. The ladies of both West and East Bengal, particularly those from the affluent families, loved experimenting and writing down new recipes. They also had a penchant for fusion food.  However, many of these signature dishes are forgotten today though a lot of hue and cry has been generated to revive them. Evening snacks or Bikeler Jolkhabar was very important particularly when it came to hosting guests for matrimonial purposes.  Today we can trace these recipes to some publications of historical significance. Pragyasundari Devi granddaughter of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore authored ‘ Amish O Niramish Ahar ’ which was a ‘significant’ early cookbook in Bengali language, published in 1902.  Burdwan’s claim to fame, however, is not its history, but for publishing India’s first ...