'How can you shoot somebody raising a white flag, even if he's a fighter, when he's surrendered?'

'Israelis arrested us before this war and continue to do so -- even more so -- now.'

'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'

'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'

'There is no safe spot in Gaza.' 'Israeli airstrikes are targeting everything, everywhere.' 'Hospitals, mosques, churches, schools have been bombed. These are places where people were taking shelter.'

'What's happening in Gaza is another ethnic cleansing, a repeat of what happened in 1948.' 'That is why people do not want to evacuate. Either you evacuate or you die.'

'Hamas is going to be prepared. There will be booby traps and tunnels; it's going to be door to door fighting.'

'The Israeli government is saying, "OK, leave northern Gaza, because we're going to fight Hamas there".' 'But Hamas is not stupid. They are going to put militants in southern Gaza too. And then what's Israel going to do?' 'At some point are they going to say, 'Leave southern Gaza too because we want to fight Hamas there? Go across the border to Egypt"'? 'That's what people are worried about. Because they fear that once they cross the border into Egypt there will be no coming back.'

Mahalaya, though essentially about the goddess, wasn't religious for us. And it isn't for most Bengalis. Mahalaya is an emotion. It's gooseflesh for a memory. A welling up of happy tears. A celebration of what is to come.

It is refreshing, fresh, summery and incredibly tasty.

A staple in Bengali households, Maachher Kaalia is a rich fish curry made with sweet-water fish.

Get transported to Bengal with this simple, yum meal.

A few basic ingredients are all you need to make this traditional dish.

'The BJP knows it can't win Bengal.'

'The BJP will get the lion's share of the Opposition vote. I would give the Congress-Left around 15 per cent.'

'At this moment, the Trinamool has an edge.'

'The power of love is the greatest power in the world.' 'Add a smile and you can conquer the world,' Bengali actor June Maliah, the Trinamool Congress's candidate for the Medinipur constituency, tells Swarupa Dutt/Rediff.com.

'Mamata is synonymous with Bengal, its culture, language, traditions.'

'He was always opposed to a form of nationalism that was narrow, selfish and arrogant.' 'He will always remain a beacon of inspiration for freedom-loving people across the world and for movements of resistance against oppressive State power.'

'Look at the number of billionaires, the number of new billionaires in India.' 'Adani and Ambani are not the only ones.' 'What's wrong with people making money as long as it benefits us?'