And it definitely speaks to the West Bengal of today, which has seen a marked increase in Islamophobia even as, ironically, its Chief Minister has sought to woo Muslim voters. Consequently, it has the ability to speak to people beyond the rarefied world of academia.

ItвЂ™s rare to find an academic book that not only stretches disciplinay boundaries (here, history has been brought into conversation with sociology and anthropology), but more remarkably, aligns disciplinary agendas with contemporary issues of great import. But it also challenges essentialized accounts of вЂMuslim identityвЂ™ in a global climate of IslamophobiaвЂќ вЂ“ so declare the authors Joya Chatterjee, Claire Alexander and Annu Jalais in the вЂIntroductionвЂ™ to their book The Bengal Diaspora.

It addresses a glaring lacuna in Partition Studies, of course. вЂњOur focus on Muslim migration is deliberate. The city loses itself during the 10 days of celebration.Д¦.~ Review by Rituparna Roy originally published in The Wire ~ The city sure has some of the best artistically made pandals which draw attention from all around the world. The celebrations are truly on a different level altogether with roads being ten times more crowded than the usual (mind you the usual crowd there is unusually large!)with people going out for their last minute shopping sessions and for sightseeing the extensive pandals that flock the city. The festival is a massive celebration in the name of Goddess Durga who defeated the shape-shifting demon Mahisasura after a ten-day battle. Perhaps one of the grandest festivals of the state, Durga Puja of Kolkata is famous worldwide for the huge celebrations and the faith that comes with the victory of Good over Evil. The day is a lso marked with giving gifts to the son in law from his in-laws too and also being blessed by them with having a long and prosperous life ahead. The mother in law cooks extensive and mouth-watering dishes for her son in law and no celebration in the Bengali household can be complete without food. On this special day, the son in law visits his in-laws home where a grand party is organized for him, containing people from the household or more acquaintances as they want to mark the occasion.

This is a day to bring the warmth back in the relationships and proves to be yet another reason to celebrate the blessing that is life. This beautiful commemoration celebrates the complicated but underrated relationship between a mother in law and her son in law. Saraswati Puja (Usually in the months of January or February) So here we go on with the list of festivals of Kolkata that take place throughout the year: 1. There are also a lot of lesser-known ones which are popular in the Bengal region and which assume different forms in different regions of the country and we will try to make you aware of those. There are a plethora of festivals that take place throughout the year, like Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja etc. The entire atmosphere is painted completely different during the festivals and there is a lot of commotion and rush all around.

The beautiful township is known for its many festivals which keep its residents busy throughout the year. The festive fervour is perhaps one of the many things that highlight Kolkata, making it a place one of its kind. This fact of the region is and has been being glorified in various aspects of the print and cinematic media. Kolkata is a colourful city in terms of everything and Bengalis just need one reason or another to celebrate.

Bengali books on history of kolkata