TheRovingIndian

  The name Shantiniketan conjures up an image of music, art, dance, folklore,  handicraft ...just about everything nice.  It is 4 hours by road and 3 hours by train from Kolkata ( fittingly named Shantiniketan Express,  Bolpur Express,  Kaviguru Express).  The recent addition of Vande Bharat train has further reduced commute time.  How did Shantiniketan emerge as an university town? ( say like Manipal or Pilani) Ah, therein lies a tale!  The ( Singha) Sinha family,  moved from Ayodhya,  were the zamindars of the area namely Bolpur region ( in Birbhum district) Birbhum is a semi-arid tribal district,  approximately 160 km North West of Kolkata.  Bolpur sub-region is largely a rural area with marginal cultivation ( Nearby river Ajay is largely seasonal and the soil was reddish and loamy , not of the fertile alluvial variety. Devendranath Tagore once visited,  saw a large tree and surrounding greenery and fell in love with th...

From my bedside, through a large French window, I'm treated to a captivating view. The older row houses in the UK, with their slightly sloping walls, grant me a generous slice of the sky. On clear days, London's sky is a delightful expanse of bright blue. Even on cloudy days, when low cumulus clouds drift past, the scene remains no less enchanting. These low clouds, originating from the nearby seas, zip by swiftly. Britain's unique geography—surrounded on all sides by the sea—keeps these clouds close to the ground, preventing them from soaring too high. As they glide past, they invite my imagination to conjure various shapes and figures. During Puja days, I fancied glimpses of her majestic form. Later, Diwali decorations adorned the sky, and eventually, Santa Claus himself made an appearance. But, it's not just the sky that captivates me. My gaze is drawn to the well-defined air corridor, bustling with aircraft. In a mere three minutes, I often count up to ten flights—a...