In the beginning......

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Raibahadur

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Rao Bahadur (also Raobahadur and Rai Bahadur; abbreviated R.B) is a title of honor issued in India to individuals who have performed great service to the nation. Literally translated "Rao" implies "prince" and "Bahadur" means "most honorable." This title was awarded to Indians, both Hindu and Christian. During the British Rule, the Rao Bahadur was accompanied by a medal. The equivalent title for Muslim and Parsi subjects was Khan Bahadur.-Wikipedia Raibahadurs are extinct now. But it was not so even around five decades back. In and around Rashbehari, Bhowanipur and Ballygaunge areas there were a number of mini palatial buildings with gardens at the front behind large wrought iron gates which used to display names of the owners of the buildings prefixing "Raibahadur" . In my early years, while I was in my morning schools I developed the habit of walking around the Kolkata roads most of the day. I could find a number of those build...
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My tryst with the Goddess of Learning

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I read somewhere that while two Britishers meet they form a club and while two Bengalees meet they initiate a Puja.Now I understand that Gurudas,my elder ,aged 10 years then and me,8 year old were gifted with both the traits.We initiated a club way back in 1956 with an ulterior motive to organise a Saraswati Puja. The Goddess used to be worshiped in our household in most humble way but we looked for something more gorgeous.The nearby club in the locality, "Dilip Smriti Sangha", used to perform Puja with usual pomp and gay but we were not much accepted in the group as we were fairly new to the locality. We felt neglected. Neglect of this kind, sometimes, ignite a spark within the mind of persons who are creative by nature. I heard that Sir Jamshedji Tata came up with the famous Taj Mahal Hotel as he was not treated favorably in some British five star hotel.Unknowingly we followed suit and decided to establish a club. Space was not much of a problem as the roof of our house ...
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Cyclone

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Kolkata and West Bengal suffered a devastating cyclone on May 25, 2009. As reported, at least 80 people were killed and over one lakh people rendered homeless. The storm which is named Aila had a wind speed of 100 kilometers per hour hit the city at around 2 p.m and, thereafter, blew through Howrah, Hoogly and Burdwan districts and moved towards further north into the hills. The scale of devastation were so severe that the Army was deployed for rescue operations in affected parts of North and South 24-Parganas.Several thousands of houses washed away in tidal waves in the coastal areas. The city witnessed uprooting of hundreds of trees which blocked roads for hours dislocating traffics for the day. Air, train and tram services got disrupted for hours. Ananda Bazar Patrika, the Bengali daily, informs from the available records that this city witnessed cyclonic devastation of this extent only on September 30,1737 and October 5,1864.I observed that the report had overlooked the incidence...
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