Odisha Police have arrested Raja Sahani, an undertrial prisoner who escaped from Choudwar Circle Jail in Cuttack during last year's Durga Puja celebrations. He was apprehended in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, after months on the run.
Cricket legends Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara joined the Durga Puja festivities in Kolkata on Sunday.
West Bengal is home to 43,000 Durga Pujas, and the business around it is a major economic driver.
Tarun Vijay visits 20 Durga Puja pandals in five towns in Bangladesh and comes back impressed.
Supriyo Hazra tells us just what dishes you must try out during the nine days of Durga Puja revelry and shares with us some lip-smacking recipes.
Supriyo Hazra tells us just what dishes you must try out during the nine days of Durga Puja revelry and shares with us some lip-smacking recipes.
'Kajol has always been very particular about Nysa and Yug coming for the puja every year.'
If the Puja as a brand can be marketed more effectively outside Bengal, even overseas, it might do wonders for the economy, says Atanu Biswas.
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.
He said designs for special range of saris will be launched before Durga Puja.
Rediff.com's Indrani Roy visits Pranab Mukherjee's ancestral home in Miriti, Birbhum district. India's President arrived here on Saturday to perform Durga Puja
Fondly remembering for his memorable spells at Eden Gardens, the former cricketer expressed gratitude towards the city and its people, saying he would forever cherish his bond with Kolkata.
Be prepared to bump into some special people at the pandal.
A halogen light at the pandal overheated, causing an electric wire to catch fire at multiple points simultaneously. Soon the fire engulfed the wooden scaffolding and the tent, Rathi said.
The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO in the heart of Kolkata's red light district, has decided to celebrate Durga Puja, reports Indrani Roy/Rediff.com.Speaking to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com, the sex workers say that they want to get rid of ostracisation and be allowed to celebrate Durga Puja just as others do.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused the TMC of conspiring to include infiltrators in electoral rolls, claiming the party objects to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) while those rightfully removed from the rolls did not protest.
'The last time I played dandiya, I injured my eye very badly! Now, I watch other people playing the garba.'
The sound of the dhak is an essential part of Pujo celebrations, says Indrayanee Mukherjee.
'This is a major rupture in Tamil Nadu's political order.' 'For the Dravidian parties, the message is clear: The old DMK-AIADMK binary is no longer guaranteed a future.'
A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
But the more significant development is that just as politicians took over pujas some years ago, NRIs, hi-tech and market managers are now moving in. I have nothing against them except that it would be sad if professional commerce overwhelms the spirit of collective youthful effort that traditionally sustained public pujas.
And it's not just the festival Kolkata's beloved tram service is celebrating.
'Durga Puja is also a time to catch up on the gossip and when the girls of the family get together it's a beautiful feeling that is hard to describe.'
Insisting that Tendulkar will be sorely missed in the Indian team, former selector Raja Venkat enlightens Harish Kotian why, despite such a long and successful career, the batting icon still believes in working hard in the nets and improving every day.
India has expressed serious concern over the increasing incidents of violence and extremist rhetoric against minorities in Bangladesh, urging the interim government to fulfill its responsibility of protecting all minorities. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that India has consistently raised the issue of threats and targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities with the Bangladeshi government. Jaiswal emphasized that these developments cannot be dismissed as mere media exaggeration and called upon Bangladesh to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of minorities.
Maa Durga's devotees hold one or more dhunuchis in their hands -- and even in their mouths -as they dance to the dhaak (drums) and venerate the Goddess who has come to visit them.
'We currently have new proposals worth Rs 1.48 trillion in the pipeline.'
Lionel Messi's much-anticipated visit to India has received its final seal of approval with the Argentine superstar set to kick off his three-city tour in Kolkata on December 12.
Lionel Messi on Thursday confirmed his participation in the much-anticipated GOAT Tour of India 2025, calling it an "honour" to revisit the "passionate football nation" where he last played 14 years ago.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said the state government has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to invoke the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore to secure full cooperation from authorities in the case of singer Zubeen Garg's death.
'Once when he was on a flight, the plane hit an air-pocket.' 'The turbulence outside caused it to see-saw violently which caused a lot of panic inside. While his co-passengers were crying and praying for their lives, Salil kaku was writing a song in his head.'
Zubeen Garg's manager Siddhartha Sharma and festival chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta were arrested from Delhi on Wednesday in connection with the singer's death in Singapore last month, the Assam Police said.
Of the Rs 474.4 crore insurance cover, the largest component -- Rs 375 crore -- has been allocated towards personal accident cover for volunteers.
The Bengalis have their own special variety of spicy-sweet tomato chutney usually had at the end of a meal.
'For all you know, in the next five years there could be a path-breaking cancer treatment and I may be absolutely fine. Or maybe I won't be. I have to live with both scenarios.'
There's a lot more to the festival than just five days of celebration; that is something you can only experience when you live in Kolkata. And that's what every Bengali living outside the state misses, notes Chitrangada Datta Chaudhuri.
This "Special Eleven Team" has been equipped with a dedicated control room, a senior officer said.
As a child, Sufal Das used to dream of becoming a dhaki. But a life full of adversities, and dwindling popularity of the dhak, has made him regret his dream.
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