Growing up in Kolkata, trams have always been more than just a mode of transport for me; it’s been a source of respite from the chaos all around. The familiar sound of the tram’s bell which could be heard in every nook and corner and the gentle sway of the carriage through the bustling streets, trams became synonymous with my life in the city of joy. The perpetual news to cease the tram services feels like a piece of my childhood slipping away.

Police personnel were assaulted in one incident when they stepped in to resolve the conflict

The Emami Art Experimental Film Festival, held at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity, will put a spotlight on Canada’s unique contributions to experimental cinema

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari called the move ‘unprecedented and unethical’, writes to Union Sports Minister seeking his intervention

The BJP official page on X also posted the video of Mr. Hakim’s speech and wrote, “Calling a woman ‘maal’ is not just an insult to her but a slap in the face to all women and to the SC Poundra-Kshatriya community. This behavior from a minister is a disgrace to public office!” 

Friday’s CTUA protest was initially planned to demand restoration of the third surviving route, Ballygunge-Tollygunge, which was shut down temporarily about four months ago due to pipeline work; but by Friday they had more things to protest against as media reports showed bituminisation of not-in-use tram tracks in Alipore.

Civil police volunteer Sanjay Roy, accused of rape and murder of doctor, pleads innocence and says he is being framed

The development comes three months after Sheikh Hasina resigned as PM of Bangladesh and left the country, causing political turmoil in Bangladesh and creating ripples in the internal politics of West Bengal

This year’s festival features nine events including walks, installations, talks and performances, presented at historic sites and archives across Kolkata

Iyer has captained Delhi Capitals to their only IPL final in 2020

He is the first Indian to hold that position for the two-time IPL champion

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Supriyo has shared the picture on May 8, claiming that if Sinha and Banerjee are together then it "raises many questions".

Pat Cummins also said he owes Brendon McCullum and the KKR staff "a few dinners" for showing confidence in him during the IPL auction.

The City of Joy is now the city of containment zones. From north to south, large parts of Kolkata are barricaded with residents unable to get in or out. Burra Bazar, eastern India's biggest trading...

कोविड-19 महामारी के कारण बढ़ी मुश्किलों के बीच ब्लड डिसॉर्डर (रक्त विकार) के मरीजों को इलाज नहीं मिलने से उनका जीवन संकट में है।

Chikungunya, a form of viral fever spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, has returned to Kolkata after 44 years with at least three people here testing positive for the virus that causes the disease.

Case No. 37 of 2019 1

2. The Informant, a private limited company, is engaged in the business of export of stone aggregates/ boulders and has stated that it exports stone aggregates/ boulders through rakes allotted by OP. For allotment of rakes, the Informant places indent itself or through its consignor at respective railway sidings. The Informant also stated that OP follows quota system for dispatch of rakes. Under such a system, the Informant got rakes allotted to it at various sidings in Howrah and Malda Division of the Eastern Railways, which is OP in the present case.

3. The Informant alleges that from July 2019 onwards, OP stopped allotment of rakes to it and instead, the rakes were allotted to Orient Exports Pvt. Ltd. as per the directions of the Indian Railway Board contained in letter No. 2017/TT- III(M)/71/D/10/Quota dated 18.07.2019. The Informant claims that this decision was taken by Indian Railway Board as per the request of the Bangladesh Railway Board. The Informant has stated that non-allotment of rakes has impacted its goodwill amongst its customers as it is not being able to meet its prior commitments.

2

She files affidavit of service to show copy of the application was served on Chief Law Officer, Legal Cell, Kolkata Municipal Corporation. It be kept with records.

The writ petition has been listed along with the application. Sum and substance of applicant's submission is that she fears being dispossessed. In that context Court has perused letter dated 14th June, 2018, written on behalf of petitioners and communication dated 18th July, 2018, impugned in the writ petition, appearing respectively at pages 67 and 71. It appears, by impugned communication, made in reference to said letter dated 14th June, 2018, assessee number of premises occupied by, inter alia, applicant, has been automatically cancelled on amalgamation of premises.

1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Eastern Railway, DRMO Howrah Division seeking information on two points, including,

a) To provide a copy of S.DPO/HWH Letter No. E/Engg/OC/Policy/Pt.IV/2nd Phase dated 31.07.2015, 07.08.2015, and,

b) To provide a copy of seniority list of Track Maintainer III and IV from 2007 to 2015.

2. The CPIO, vide reply dated 27.04.2020, provided requisite information to the appellant. The appellant filed a first appeal dated 24.04.2018 on the ground of no information furnished by the CPIO. The first appeal was not disposed of by the FAA. Thereafter, the appellant filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission on the ground of non-receipt of information and requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the information sought for.

1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Eastern Railway, Sealdah Division, Kolkata seeking information on two points pertaining to his representation dated 31.05.2018, including,

a) Whether his aforesaid representation dated 31.05.2018 addressed to Sr. DOM/SDAH has been considered or disposed of, and

b) If disposed of, please serve a copy of the same at the earliest.

2. Having not received any response from the CPIO, the appellant filed a first appeal dated 25.07.2018. The first appeal was not disposed of by the FAA. Thereafter, the appellant filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission on the ground that no information has been furnished by the respondent and requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the information sought for and take appropriate legal action against the CPIO and the FAA.

1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Eastern Railway, DRMO, Howrah Division seeking information on two points, including,

a) To provide a copy of S.DPO/HWH Letter No. E/Engg/OC/Policy/Pt.IV/2nd Phase dated 31.07.2015, 07.08.2015, and

b) To provide a copy of seniority list of Track Maintainer III and IV from 2006 to 2015.

2. The CPIO did not provide requisite information within stipulated period to the appellant. The appellant filed a first appeal dated 24.04.2018 on the ground of no information furnished by the CPIO. The first appeal was also not disposed of by the FAA. Thereafter, the appellant filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission on the ground of non- receipt of information and requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the information sought for.

1. The appellant filed an online application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Eastern Railway, Kolkata seeking information regarding General Conditions to Contract applicable to the works (contracts) under Eastern Railways for the year 2000, 2003 and 2010-2018.

2. The CPIO, vide letter dated 13.07.2018, offered inspection to the appellant. Being dissatisfied, the appellant filed a first appeal dated 30.07.2018 requesting to provide the information sought for. FAA, vide order dated 28.08.2018, upheld the reply of CPIO. Thereafter, the appellant filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission on the ground of incomplete information furnished by the CPIO and requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide complete information sought for and take appropriate legal action against the respondent.

1. The appellant filed an online application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Eastern Railway, Kolkata seeking information on seven points regarding reduction of pension of the Pensioner Shri Ganesh Chandra Mishra with PPO No. 02101265992 including,

a) Reason for 75% reduction of Pension,

b) Whether any inquiry was held against the Pensioner due to which pension was reduced,

c) Copy of Notice issued to the pensioner informing him that he is subject to an inquiry,

d) Receipt of confirmation showing Notice received by the Pensioner,

e) Transcript of the inquiry and report of inquiry, if any, held against the pensioner,

Branded as insipidly traditional and rather reluctant to keep up with the up-country changing currents, Kolkata has let itself be swept by a few Bollywood blockbusters. Summer holiday camps for kids and teenagers have taken the city by storm. Children are changing too, reports Kasturi Basu.

Pat Cummins also said he owes Brendon McCullum and the KKR staff "a few dinners" for showing confidence in him during the IPL auction.

An official of the sweet shop said they have decided to offer one Corona Sandesh for free to each customer visiting the shop to lift the spirits of people.

Services are crawling back to normal at eye hospitals across the city that had been forced to suspend emergency surgeries and outpatient (OPD) services since the lockdown started. While some have resumed elective surgeries in a restricted way following screening of patients, others are on the way to reviving OPD services even as they continue telephone consultations and online advice.

A woman living in a high profile highrise off Ballygunge Phanri filed an FIR at Ballygunge police station on May 7, alleging torture and abuse by her husband.

In a filing with the stock exchanges, the company said it is buying 95.53% stake of STPL. Balance 4.47% stake will remain with STPL’s existing shareholders.

An official at the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) said air quality index (AQI) hovered between 100 and 150 (particulate matter 2.5) in Kolkata -- a spike from 'satisfactory' to 'moderate' level, amid the lockdown.

The Indian Museum in Kolkata was sealed on Friday after a CISF officer posted there died of COVID-19, an official said.

Kolkata and ADB are working systematically to update the city’s ancient urban systems after years of piecemeal approaches

KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has finally found a plot for setting up its second solid waste disposal ground. The civic body will use an area covering about 20 acres at Rajarhat New Town to develop a ‘waste-to-energy’ converting system that will be an alternative site to the existing Dhapa ground which has become overburdened. The KMC will soon sign an MoU with the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) for this project. “We will sign a MOU with the KMC authorities. The KMC will develop the project on Action Area III. It will be a compact solid waste disposal ground from where energy generation will be done. The solid […]

Kolkata is all set to turn into a blue-and-white city during the Mamata government. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) announced Monday that if you paint your house’ exterior blue-and-white, you will be fully exempted from paying property tax to the government. The Trinamool Congress-run KMC has come up with a proposal to waive the property tax for 2014-15 if a residential building or house is painted in the party’s favorite color combination — white and sky blue. “We will allow full waiver of property tax for 2014-15 if anybody wishes to paint his/her house or even apartment buildings, of course residential, in white and sky blue – the theme color […]

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Chef Cham Hun Chakap plates a portion of chilli chicken. Chilli chicken is one of the spicier dishes that can be traced back to Tangra. But the food of the Kolkata locality is often a lot sweeter than other Indo-Chinese dishes because that’s how the Bengalis prefered it. This can be evidenced in something like honey chilli potato.

Chef Cham Hun Chakap moves around the kitchen with the assurance of a well-set batsman completing a comfortable single down to deep midwicket. He is running the show behind the scenes at a restaurant in an upscale Powai hotel, which is hosting an event called Tangra Festival. The dish that the chef is whipping up for us is chilli chicken, possibly the most ubiquitous item in the culinary spectrum of Indo-Chinese dishes. And he tells us that it was invented in Tangra, the new Chinatown in Kolkata, considered by many to be the Mecca of this particular cuisine.

Tangra does indeed occupy a unique spot in the country’s food-scape. It all goes back to about 100 years ago, when the British — along with Kolkata’s older Chinese community in Tirreti Bazaar — established the area, setting up leather factories there to manufacture boots and other goods for soldiers at the battlefront during World War I. Business picked up further during World War II. But then, the British packed their bags in 1947. So, the Chinese community took over the tanning operations. Their life ambled comfortably along, only to be turned upside down by the Indo-China war of 1962, when many indigenous Chinese people immigrated to safer havens like Canada, Australia and Taiwan. And suddenly, the community in Kolkata found its numbers to have considerably dwindled.

Food to the rescue
What’s worse is that the ones who were left behind, and who had picked up the mantle of the leather business from their predecessors, found themselves on the wrong side of the law after the state government deemed the tanning industry to be an environmental hazard in the mid-’90s. A large number of factories thus faced closure, with some being shifted to the nearby neighbourhood of Bantala. Many of the owners faced overnight financial ruin. So, to get out of the soup they found themselves in, they turned their attention to another business that had been gaining momentum in the area over the ’70s and ’80s — restaurants serving “Chinese” dishes.

“Initially, these restaurants were serving the authentic cuisine of the Chinese mainland. But that did not suit the palate of Kolkata’s Bengalis, who found it to be too bland. So the restaurants were running in losses in the beginning, till their owners decided to alter the recipes, adding Indian herbs and flavours,” chef Cham says, adding that this formed the genesis of what we call Chindian cuisine.

Illustration/Ravi Jadhav

These dishes, of course, bore as much resemblance to true-blue Chinese food as idli-sambar does to tandoori chicken. Instead of being stir-fried, for instance, most of the preparations were gravy-based. The spice quotient was also so much higher than a Shanghai local would put his chopsticks down to fan his mouth after one bite. Plus, while something like a Peking duck is roasted over a length of time, Tangra food was geared to suit the purposes of the quick-service restaurants there. This automatically also meant that the meat — including the fish items — was almost invariably diced into pieces, instead of being served whole, like some of the dishes in mainland China.

Pan-Indian acceptance
Be that as it may, the cuisine gradually started spreading to other parts of the country. Nelson Wang, a Tangra local who opened SoBo’s China Garden in 1984, is widely credited with having invented chicken Manchurian, a dish which if you say is Chinese, you might also say that the giant panda is India’s national animal. Punjabis also caught on to the trend, developing a brand of Sino-Ludhianvi dishes. And with time, Indo-Chinese food became a mainstay of restaurants in various cities, including Mumbai, where lunch home menus reserve equal space for “Chinese” dishes as they do for stuff like chana masala and aloo matar.

The credit for this goes to the original restaurateurs of Tangra who Indianised their indigenous dishes. But things are no longer hunky-dory in the Kolkata neighbourhood, says Dominic Lee, a fourth-generation Tangra local. “Many of the smaller restaurants are finding it difficult to sustain themselves, with only the bigger eateries, which have space for parking, constantly managing to upgrade themselves because they have the requisite capital,” he tells us, adding that the recent controversy around dubious meat being supposedly sold in the city’s restaurants has led to a further dip in fortunes.

Nonetheless, he continues, the legacy of the cuisine has left a permanent imprint on the history of India’s food. Take chilli chicken, something so popular that it’s travelled all the way from the humble Kolkata locality to the swish Powai hotel where chef Cham is making us his version of it. But when he is done in a matter of mere minutes, he recognises the look of doubt on our face after we have had a taste. “I have to make a blander variety because most of our customers are from the West, and they wouldn’t be able to handle something too spicy,” he explains, revealing how Indo-Chinese cuisine of the Tangra variety is a preserve of only our own countrymen.

Looking for it anywhere else in the world would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, for all practical purposes.

Awesome sauce
A huge contribution that Tangra has had is popularising the concept of chilli sauce. “You will find it in all the kathi roll shops dotted around Kolkata. But before we added it to our food to suit Indian taste buds, people had no clue about it,” says Lee.
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The English indie scene in Kolkata is rapidly resembling a guitar with broken strings. We had written about a band that had all six members packing their bags for Mumbai from the Bengal capital some months ago. And a gig this weekend features another band, Rejected Cartoons, that's followed the same trajectory.

"The thing about Kolkata is that there is a really tiny circuit of about 20 indie musicians organising gigs themselves. And you get about '8,000 to '10,000 per gig that you have to divide among five or six people. That wasn't feasible because we were at a point in our lives where music wasn't about pocket money anymore. We wanted to make this our living," multi-instrumen­talist Tapasi Bhattacharya tells us, adding that she and keyboardist Rohit Ganesh first moved to Mumbai in October last year to study in a music school, after which guitarists Sankalan Samaddar and Shashank Vishwakarma followed suit to take a plunge in the city's music industry.

The band is currently working on an EP. We gave two of their originals — Bless Me Fair and Lifeline — a listen and found them to have the sort of mellow sound that's suited for a walk down a street lined with cherry blossom trees. The band, curiously, also covers Arabic and Nepali tracks by singers such as Bipul Chhetri. But what we found really encouraging — at least for the future of independent music in India — is the fact that they have their own renditions of songs by their more established peers.

Think about it. Here we have a bunch of musicians in their mid-twenties playing the songs of indie biggies like Parvaaz. What that means is that the younger lot is no longer looking only to the West or Bollywood for cover tracks. Home is where the music is. Except, not literally, in the case of Rejected Cartoons. For, home for them means Kolkata. And we know what the situation in that city is.

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It's not yet 9 am on a crisp wintry morning in Kolkata. Our guide for a synagogue trail, Jael Silliman, a Jewish scholar and author, reiterates that it's the ideal time to explore the three hidden gems before chaos takes over the oldest part of the city.

The decorative piece that rests above the central entrance to the chamber of the Magen David Synagogue in which the scrolls of the law are housed. Spot the representations of the Menorah and the two tablets on which are inscribed the initial words of the Ten Commandments. PICS/FIONA FERNANDEZ; information courtesy/jewishcalcutta.in

She curates an ongoing project on the city's Jewish community in partnership with Jadavpur University's School of Cultural Texts and Records and NUI Maynooth (Ireland). The digital archive received initial funding from Fulbright. 

A collection of scrolls of the Holy Torah housed at Magen David

"The area pin code is 1; the city took shape from here," Silliman slips the fact in, in between guiding our cabbie as he negotiates his rickety yellow Ambassador with the deftness of a Formala-1 driver in slow-mo. The Bombaywallah is smiling. Saki Naka seems like a sprawling promenade in comparison.

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STOP 1: Magen David Synagogue

Junction of Brabourne Road and Canning Street

We crane our neck and take a few steps back to soak in the grandeur of the structure built in Calcutta Renaissance style, as Silliman points to its steeple and clock tower, a rare feature in synagogues. The 42m-high tower was possibly suggested by its makers, who might have been influenced by the prevalent colonial design template. Silliman tells us that its benefactors allowed it on the condition that it towered above all other buildings in the city! "This synagogue was built in 1884 by Elias David Ezra, as the Beth El synagogue nearby was unable to accommodate the growing numbers of the community. Now, we are barely 20," she rues. We gaze at the stunning interiors, from its mosaic tiles and polished wooden furniture to the large stained-glass rose window. Silliman takes us closer to the pulpit where the Rabbi would preach, and towards the half dome and three curtained doors. Behind this, are housed handwritten Torah scrolls that are out of bounds for non-Jews. As sunlight bathes the space in all its morning glory, we notice rows of chairs that line the balconies of the synagogue. "Those were meant for Jewish women," she informs, all along giving us glimpses into customs and more importantly, the philanthropy and enterprise of the community that shaped the city, just like their counterparts in Bombay.

STOP 2: Neveh Shalome Synagogue

Junction of Brabourne Road and Canning Street

Kolkata's oldest surviving synagogue, which is Silliman's favourite, appears more like a dressed-down version of Magen David. Located in the same compound as its opulent counterpart, it was built in 1831, and rebuilt in 1911 by Jewish pioneer Ezekiel Judah Jacob.

We are welcomed at the entrance by Masood Hussain, who leads us to the upper level where he proudly explains the contents of a few rare books of the community. "Our families have been caretakers here for generations," he tells us with a wide smile. We spot several photo exhibits around us.

Caretaker Masood Hussain 

"We just held an exhibition of the city's Jewish history sourced from the digital archive that I am working on," shares Silliman. It's an invaluable resource. "Bring it down to Bombay!" is our first reaction to the exhaustive repository.

STOP 3: Beth El Synagogue

Pollock Street

We diligently follow our guide while combating the bullish traffic on Brabourne Road, to reach Pollock Street. Walking through this narrow gully feels as if all of India's market produce has been hastily thrown into a tiny location. The smells and sounds are in full flow.

All of a sudden, an impressive pale yellow façade springs up on us. The Beth El Synagogue was built in 1855-56 by visionaries, Joseph Ezra and Ezekiel Judah. Silliman leads us up the flight of marble steps to our final stop. Inside, we note that the basic architecture is similar to the other two synagogues. Though not in use for the congregation, its interiors are well maintained.

The craftsmanship of the chandeliers, stained glasswork, especially above the main entrance, its half dome and balconies, take our breath away. Despite the buzz outside, we could hear a pin drop as the past and present come to a standstill inside. Finally, we are able to gauge the unique challenge that faces this once-vibrant, now-dwindling community that has been integral to Kolkata's cosmopolitan fabric.

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Kolkata is all set to make history by adding a floating market on its water front.Officials say the proposed market is the first of its kind in India and third in Asia. Located on the fringes on Biswa Bangla Sarani or the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in South Kolkata near Patuli area, this will be open for public in January next year.