A Tribute to Kishore Kumar: Six Superb Songs at Muziboo

A Tribute to Kishore Kumar: Six Superb Songs at Muziboo | Upload Music

Dr Sid Mukherjee Wins Pulitzer for Non-Fiction

Another Bengali writer of English prose has made it to the prestigious Pulitzer Winner's list. After Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies: Tales from Bengal, Boston & Beyond (2000), it's Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (2010), which has won the Pultizer Prize - this time in the general non-fiction category. The jury described Dr. Mukherjee's book as "an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science." He will receive $10,000 as prize money for "a distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author."

About the Author

Siddhartha Mukherjee is a cancer physician and researcher. He is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a staff cancer physician at Columbia University Medical Center. A Rhodes scholar, he graduated from Stanford University, University of Oxford, Harvard Medical School. He has published articles in Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine, The New York Times, and The New Republic. He lives in New York with his wife and daughters.

About the Book

The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence. Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist.

From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave cut off her malignant breast, to the nineteenth-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee’s own leukemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely demanding regimens in order to survive—and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease.

Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer. (From Scribner)

Such a Nostalgic Song!

Why this Sad Song was Salil Da's Favorite... Some very Curious Facts! 

মনে পড়ে সেই সব দিন ('Mone Pore Shei Shob Din') from the film Swarnatrishaa (1992) is the last and arguably the best song sung by Kishore Kumar for Salil Chowdhury. It has been one my favorite songs of nostalgia, and of moments of past joy since the time I first heard it in the late 1980s.  I just loved the Hindi version of the song, which I discovered only a few years back. I thought this was perhaps his only song with a single 'antara' – as you’ll see in the video – until I found the full version, which I can’t but share with all of you. Listen to the song first and then we’ll talk about it in some detail (please ignore the intro-ad).

Happy Birthday, Salil Da!

A Tribute to the Legendary
Salil Chowdhury on his 85th Birthday

November 2010 marks the 85th birth anniversary of one of the greatest musicians India ever produced - Salil Chowdhury, the self-trained Bengali composer, music director, poet-lyricist and activist who had shaped Bengali popular music and left an indelible stamp on Bollywood songs. From tiny tots to the grannies and grandpas, Salil Chowdhury's melodies have touched every music lover, not only in India and Bangladesh, but around the world.

Early Life
Salil-Da, as many called him fondly, was born in Sonarpur, (24 Parganas) in West Bengal on November 19, 1925. He spent most of his early years in the verdant hillsides of Assam, where his father was a forest-officer. Salil was exposed to music, musicians and musical instruments right from his childhood. He trained himself on the flute, piano and violin and was introduced to Western classical music, particularly Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin, as well as traditional North Indian classical music at a very early age.

When Calcutta Became Kolkata

I wrote this article on January 7, 2001 for a very popular American web site - now part of the New York Times Company. Originally entitled "New Name for a 'Dying City'", it was featured as a top story on the homepage, and I remember receiving a flurry of comments - via email. It's a rather long article, but captures a bit of history and all the important news and events around the rechristening. At the end of it, don't miss what the Bengali intelligentsia - Mrinal Sen, Mahashweta Devi, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Buddahdev Guha, Shankar, et al - had to comment on the name change.

Calcutta has ceased to stay as Calcutta this New Year. Literally so! 'Calcutta' - the name of world's 10th largest metropolis - will now go down permanently in the pages of history, to be replaced by 'Kolkata', the Bengali name of the city. The renaming of the erstwhile Capital of India and the present Capital of West Bengal has been made official.

It's Official!
On the 1st of January 2001, the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya announced that the State Capital 'Calcutta' has been officially renamed 'Kolkata'. Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said that all official communications would now carry the new name - with effect from January 1, 2001. Earlier, the CM, reacting to the Central Government's decision to accept the State's proposal to rename Calcutta, greeted the residents of the city, saying: "Kolkata has returned to Kolkata!"

Maa Durga: Playing to the Gallery

This hilarious post is by my dear friend 'Debu' aka Dev of Radio Mirchi fame, now an academic based in Dubai. I can't but marvel at the gay perspective and amusing angle from which he views even such serious things as divinity :-)  

I have been thinking about it for a few years now. About how Maa Durga looks, more often than not, uninterested in slaying Mahishasur!

Bengalis, the world over, celebrate Durga Puja with the idol being the centre of all festivities and attractions. There is a huge art factor in it as well. Special artists are employed to construct the 'perfect' artistic idol of the divinity and the demon. Thrown in is some bit of wildlife as well, for effects.

Kishore Da: 81 yrs of the Evergreen Entertainer

Tribute to a Bong Genius - on his 81st Birth Anniversary!

Can you imagine Kishore Kumar in his 80s? He must have been made a one-of-a-kind octogenarian entertainer if he was still alive. After all, there was only one such person in the history of Indian cinema!

True genius — there is perhaps only one word to describe Kishore-Da, for he defies any one particular definition for an artiste. He could sing and dance; act and mimic; write and compose; make you laugh and cry; and he lived a life that challenged all social norms. Kishore Kumar's hilarious movies, and his ever-enchanting songs make him the most memorable multifaceted talent of Bengali origin of all times.

Kishore Kumar: FAQs & Facts

Some tell-tale quotes and comments from Kishore himself, his family members and friends

Was Kishore Kumar mad?
"He was very childlike and innocent. There was always a sense of wonder about him," says Preeti Ganguly, Kishore's niece and Ashok Kumar's daughter. "I'm mad, true. But only about one thing. Horror movies. I love spooks. They are a friendly fearsome lot. Very nice people, actually, if you get to know them. Not like these industry chaps out here…" ~ Kishore Kumar

Kishore Kumar: A True Blue Bong

Kishore Kumar's Contribution to Bengali Culture

Although born outside Bengal, Kishore Kumar was a true Bengali, from all possible points of view.

Unforgettable Puja Songs
To the Bengalis, Kishore is most memorable for his Puja albums, which mostly contained Bengali songs that he composed himself. Who can forget the magical semi-classical rendition in Noyono Sharashi Keno, Aamar Moner Ei Moyur Mahaley, Aamar Dweep Nebhano Raat? His Bangla fun songs Shingh Nei Tobu Naam Taar Shingho, Bum Chicki Bum, Gaaner Gaw Jaani Na, and Daake Lokey Aamake Clown are one-of-its kind in the history of Bangla "gaan".

100 Years of Mohun Bagan’s Historic I F A Win

Today, Mohun Bagan celebrated the centenary of their historic 1911 IFA Shield win. Mohun Bagan (MB) was the first-ever Indian soccer club to have won the IFA Shield beating East Yorkshire Regiment by 2-1 on 29th July, 1911, a red-letter day in history of Indian sports.

Outside the MB club in Kolkata, the main gate has been built in the shape of the IFA Shield trophy, while the main stage for the celebration has been given the shape of a sail boat, the club's emblem. A glow-sign bearing the photograph of the “Immortal XI” of 1911 IFA Shield winning team was also erected outside the club. The header read “India’s first fight for Independence on the sports field.”