All stories by Swarupa Dutt
'Are you alive? Please tell me you are alive'
Rediff.com7 days ago'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.'
'Israelis are committing genocide'
Rediff.com7 days ago'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.'
'A lot of Israeli soldiers will lose their lives'
Rediff.com26 Oct 2023'Hamas is going to be prepared. There will be booby traps and tunnels; it's going to be door to door fighting.'
'Hamas is not stupid'
Rediff.com25 Oct 2023'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.'
Memories Of Durga Puja And Bhog
Rediff.com19 Oct 2023Mahalaya, 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.
Swarupa Dutt's Desi Papaya and Mango Salad
Rediff.com22 Jun 2022It is refreshing, fresh, summery and incredibly tasty.
Recipe: Swarupa Dutt's Maachher Kaalia
Rediff.com18 May 2022A staple in Bengali households, Maachher Kaalia is a rich fish curry made with sweet-water fish.
Summer Special: Tok Dal With Alu Sheddo
Rediff.com2 May 2022Get transported to Bengal with this simple, yum meal.
Recipe: Bati Chorchori
Rediff.com21 Jun 2021A few basic ingredients are all you need to make this traditional dish.
'Trinamool will get 50% of the votes'
Rediff.com1 May 2021'The BJP will get the lion's share of the Opposition vote. I would give the Congress-Left around 15 per cent.'
'Modi, Shah have to start eating fish to win Bengal'
Rediff.com22 Apr 2021'At this moment, the Trinamool has an edge.'
What Mamata can learn from this actor
Rediff.com17 Apr 2021'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.
'We believe in only one leader and that is Mamata'
Rediff.com12 Apr 2021'Mamata is synonymous with Bengal, its culture, language, traditions.'
'It is not easy to misappropriate Netaji'
Rediff.com7 Apr 2021'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.'
'Bengal has a lot to learn from Gujarat'
Rediff.com30 Mar 2021'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?'
Why TMC's 89-year-old MLA joined BJP
Rediff.com26 Mar 2021'The TMC did not bother telling me, a sitting MLA for 20 years, why I was not being given a ticket.'
'Mamata is mentally and physically finished'
Rediff.com23 Mar 2021'Our honourable CM is so shameless that she will say the state is among the safest for women.'
'Alas! Mamata has become a machine'
Rediff.com16 Mar 2021'Mamata is an emotional person, she follows her heart.' 'We loved that Didi, we still love her, but she is a changed person.' 'Why and how the change happened, who is responsible, I can't say.'
'There are people in TMC who are termites'
Rediff.com15 Mar 2021'The TMC forgets that if people don't stand by you, your party will never win.'