Traditional granaries for storage of rice - West Bengal

When you travel in rural Bengal, you will come across traditional rice granaries. After the harvest, rice is stored in these structures.

The granaries are of different sizes, but typically they stand between 10-20 feet tall from base to roof. They are built on raised platforms; a sensible way to protect them from flooding during the rain.

There are multiple rice crops during the year. It is the local practice to plant different varieties of rice. So a prosperous household with large holdings may have multiple granaries, or may store only 1 crop in the granary and the others in jute or synthetic gunny bags. I photographed these granaries in a Santhal village. These are typically small holdings, with not much surplus available for sale in the markets. The granaries are in the inner-courtyards, where the cooking is also done. You can see in the photo below, the grinding stone and the big wok.

These granaries are made with paddy straw, which is the by-product of the rice growing process. Once the rice is harvested and threshed, there is plenty of paddy available. Paddy straw is twisted into rope, and then used to build the walls of the granary. Rope making is traditionally the job of women, although these days there are machines to make these ropes.

Here is a closer look at the rope weave:

The inner walls of the structure are treated with clay and cowdung; this keeps away insects. The structure is then lined inside with more paddy.

The thatched roof is also made of paddy straw, which is available in plenty after the harvest. Many layers are used, in order to prevent rainwater from entering the structure. Those who can afford it also buy plastic tarpaulins as cover. The family invests money every couple of years in repairing, plastering and maintaining the granary.

After the harvest, the rice is sun-dried for preservation; and then it is put into the granary. Usually neem leaves are mixed along with the rice, to keep insects away. This photo below shows the open area used by one family for sun-drying their crop. Their paddy has also been neatly stacked away, for feeding cattle.

Sun-drying is a very important part of the preservation and storage process

These traditional methods of storage have stood the test of time and continue to be used even in modern era. We have much to gain from understanding and appreciating these sustainable methods of harvest storage. Of course, in spite of the precautions taken, the rice is under threat from infestation as well as rodents. Farmers monitor the stored grains; they remove insects and destroy infested grain from time to time. 

New Market Walk: Food and Shopping in Hogg Saheb's Bazaar

Here's the latest addition to our bouquet; a new tour in Calcutta designed exclusively for eating and shopping!

The tour takes you through the lanes of New Market, one of the most popular bazaars in Calcutta. 

 Built in 1874 as a posh “Whites Only" shopping complex, New Market today spills chaotically over to the adjoining streets, selling everything under the sun.

You can sample delicacies from the most iconic bakeries in the city (among other things).

And shop to your heart's content. 

Find out more about the tour on our website. 

See more photos of the tour on our Facebook page.

Saraswati idols at Kumartuli, Calcutta

Basant Panchami was celebrated yesterday in Calcutta, heralding the arrival of spring.  Homes, shops, schools and colleges, all celebrate Basant Panchami by worshipping Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning and of the Arts.

For several weeks before the festival, the potters at Kumartuli work hard to create beautiful idols of the goddess. I love the unfinished look of the statues, when they have no paint. Pure magic with clay and straw and water.

Saraswati is always depicted with a veena, a plucked stringed instrument that is mentioned in the natyashastra. In the photo below you can see how the hands are a different colour. That's because the hands are made separately, and attached after the base structure dries.

After the basic structure is completed, details are added. Crown, wavy hair, jewellery, these add beauty to the figures.

Here are some of the idols, being painted: in this one, the saree is the only part that is painted; only a first coat has been done. It will be further finished with more details and shading.

 Here's another one, see the curl of hair near the ears, on the cheek :) :) It is a traditional way of depicting beauty.

This one is also very beautiful, and waiting for more work to be done.

The entire area is busy at work. Some of the statues are very big, like the ones in this photo which the two men are working on.

There are decorations and embellishments also being sold.

I wanted to spend more time, but I had lots of other things to do. I hope you enjoyed this small glimpse!

Shundorbon (Sundarban) - the Beautiful Forests of Bengal

- by Deepa Krishnan

The Shundorbon (Sundarban) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. Shundorbon means 'Beautiful Forest'. It is easily accessible from Calcutta.

A halophyte is a plant that grows in waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray.

"Shundorbon" is made of two Bengali words: Shundor (beautiful) and Bon (forest). The name comes from the beautiful Shundari tree which makes up more than 70% of the forest.

The Shundorbon extends over Bangladesh and India, covering approximately 10,000 square kilometres. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

India has 3% of the world’s mangroves, of which the Sundarbans comprise almost half of the total area. Apart from the Sundarbans, the other large belts of mangroves are in the Andaman-Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.

The Sundarban National Park is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger. It is also home to a wide variety of birds, reptiles and invertebrates, including the salt-water crocodile.

Photo credits:
First photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans#/media/File:Boat,_trees_and_water_in_Sundarbans.jpg
The Sundari tree: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritiera_fomes#/media/File:Sundarbans_02.jpg
Map of Shundorbon: Public domain

The works of Charles Forrest

"City of Benares" by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Ramus Forrest (1750-1827). He was an amateur artist who also served in the British (East India) army from 1802-1827.

The painting above is one of 24 illustrations in a book called "Picuresque Tour along the Riverrs Ganges and Jumna in India". It was published in London.

Like many Englishmen and women,  Forrest was enamored of India and its romantic landscapes. He was based in Calcutta, and whenever his regiment was sent upcountry, he would make excursions from the camp on horseback, palanquin or boat, to capture images. He drew sketches of what he saw, and then later coloured them. The image below is of Barrackpore, which was the earliest cantonment town in India:

Forrest drew unfamiliar vegetation, animals, palaces, forts, temples and other landscapes. He drew not only grand monuments but also smaller places. Along with other artists like Daniells and Salt, Forrest was responsible for creating exotic images of India in the public imagination. 

Bangles of Bengal

- By Deepa Krishnan

In Bengal, married women wear red and white bangles. Called ‘Sannkha pola’, the white bangle is crafted from conch-shell while the red is made either of coral or lac.

These days with modernization of the traditional conch shell bangles craftsmen have started using gold on these bangles. Of course, those who cannot afford real gold can buy these popular red and while bangles in plastic.

I photographed this set of bangles in a small streetside shop in Kalighat.

The "kaajerlok" of Calcutta

The kaajerlok are many. Kaaj = Work, Lok = People. These are the working people of Calcutta, the energy that keeps the machine going. Drivers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, rickshawallahs, shop assistants, odd-job men, labourers; they are all over the streets of the city.

Incomes range from Rs 50 a day for basic jobs, to Rs 300 for more skilled jobs. Some look more prosperous, like these two men I saw, one of them has a cell phone in his hand, and I wondered if they had some specialist skill or trade for which they could be hired for the day. 

Waiting for the day's work to begin. Early morning photo, side street somewhere off Sadananda Road

Often you can identify the kaajerlok by what they wear. There is almost a uniform sometimes - the red gamcha (towel), banian (sleeveless vest), and the lungi (sarong). The gamcha is bright red when it is new; it is starched, crisp, so much so that even after 5 washes it continues to be stubbornly stiff. But as time goes, the red fades, it becomes very soft. It is versatile, a cloth put to many uses, to wipe off sweat, to shield the nape of the neck, to protect from the mid-day sun.

Labourers outside a grain market in Calcutta

The kaajerlok are also women; some wizened, some young, and many work as domestic help. You don't see them on the streets that much, unless they have been sent out on an errand. But they exist - an army of maids, washing clothes, doing the dishes and sweeping floors. If you go to a middle-class Bengali home, you will see them. Many of them work in multiple homes. They assist with cooking as well.

The kaajerlok all have one thing in common - a desh, or a gaon, a village to which they return year after year. This is of course, the very village whose clutches they escaped to come to the city. But they will return, as frequently as they can. It is a hungry gaping maw, this desh, it takes every last scrap of their city earnings and leaves them more broke than ever.

If you talk to labourers in Calcutta, you will hear tales of a small village home, of extended family, old debts and above all, of poverty. But they will speak of the village with fondness and nostalgia, even though it sucks every penny they save in the city. Often they go to the village for extended periods; and when they return, they are half the size that they were, they come back sunburnt and looking half-starved, and ready to let the city grind their bones all over again.

Cart-puller and assistant, Howrah

Young shop assistants in a tiny snack-shop, Chitpur

"My name is Gauhar Jaan" - the beginnings of the recorded music industry in India

Gramophone recording came to India towards the end of the 1900s. The Indian elite had been importing them as a luxury item already. But there were no local recordings. In fact, many leading male artistes of Indian musical traditions rejected the gramophone. Perhaps they feared that this new-fangled device would make their music too easily accessible, and thus compromise their ability to command high prices for live performances. Or perhaps they balked at the idea of condensing a long classical music performance to meet the restrictions of this new format.

However, several female courtesans came forward to record their voices; I am really not sure why. Maybe it was a chance to become more widely known; maybe they were already very wealthy and didn't have to worry about financials. Or maybe they were attracted by the potential of this new device. Whatever the reason, it was these "nautch-women" who became pioneers of the music industry in India.

India's first commercial 78rpm disc was recorded in 1902 by Fredrerick William Gaisberg of The Gramophone Company. The singer was Gauhar Jaan, Kolkata's most famous courtesan. The recording was done in a makeshift studio in two large rooms of a hotel in Kolkata. 

Traditionally Hindustani music performances were long affairs, but Gauhar Jaan devised a unique template for presenting it in just 3 minutes, which was all that a single disc could record at the time. 

At the end of each recording, she would announce in English "My name is Gauhar Jaan". In those days, there were no facilities in India to cut the the master disk (acetate). So the master tape of the recording was sent to The Gramophone Company's pressing plan in Hanover (Germany). The announcement of the name at the end of the song helped the technician identify the singer. 

By 1903, Gauhar Jaan's records started appearing in Indian markets and were in great demand. She recorded over 600 records in 10 languages. She became very famous; so much so that when King George visited India for the Delhi Durbar, Gauhar Jaan was invited to Delhi to sing for him. She sang a special song congratulating the emperor on his coronation She was accompanied by Allahabad's famous courtesan, Janaki Bai (pictured here).

In 1908, a record pressing plant was set up at Sealdah, Calcutta (availability of plenty of lac/shellac was one of the reasons). With this plant, there was no need to send the wax masters to Germany, and as a result, the name announcements at the end of the song also disappeared. The workers at this plant called it "Baaja-Khana", the Music House. The harmonium or baaja was the most commonly used musical instrument accompanying vocalists.

P. S. Technically speaking, Gauhar Jaan was not the first recording that the Gramophone Company did. Three days before recording Gauhar Jaan, Fredrerick William Gaisberg recorded two other girls, Shoshimukhi and Fani Bala. He was not impressed with their voices. It was Gauhar Jaan who went on to achieve stardom, while the two singers before her remained unknown.

Visiting Kalighat Temple, Calcutta

The Kalighat Kali Temple is one of the four 'Adi Shakti Peethas' of India.

The Shakti Peethas are places in the sub-continent where the Goddess is worshipped.

Kalighat Temple, 1887

All major temples in India have sthala-purana or sthala-mahima, which explains the legend behind the temple. For the Kalighat temple, the legend is here: 

King Daksha was one of Brahma's sons. One of his daughters was Sati or Dakshayani, who wished to marry Shiva. Daksha forbade it, but Sati married Shiva anyway. Daksha disliked Shiva intensely, calling him a dirty, roaming ascetic with a cohort of goblins and ghouls. Once Daksha announced a great yagna (religious sacrifice) and invited all the Gods. Although she was not invited, Sati visited her father, only to have him ignore her and insult Shiva. In great sorrow and rage, Sati immolated herself in the sacrificial fire. 

When Shiva learnt the news, he let loose his goblin armies and they wreaked havoc on the yagna and killed Daksha. Later Shiva revived Daksha, by attaching a goat's head to his lifeless body. He then picked up Sati's body and in his grief began to wander the world. Another version of the story is that Shiva took Sati's corpse and began to dance the Tandava. To relieve Shiva and to end the grief, Vishnu spun the Sudarshana chakra (a discus) and sliced the body of Sati into many parts. These parts fell to the earth, forming the Shakti Peethas.

The right toe of Dakshayani is said to have fallen here, at Kalighat, imbuing the ground with the sacred presence of the Goddess. Originally Kalighat was a ghat (landing stage) on the old course of the Hooghly river. It is believed that the name Calcutta is derived from the word Kalighat. The Hooghly river has moved away from the temple, and the temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga which connects to the Hoogly.

Pilgrims bathing at the ghat, about 60 years ago. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kalighat_1947.jpg

Here are three photos of the temple which I clicked a couple of years ago. The bazaar below has many shops selling religious items and souvenirs. The path to the temple is lined with flower-sellers, offering hibiscus garlands.

Visiting the temple is rewarding for anyone who is culturally and spiritually curious. However the experience is marred by the aggressive hardsell that you experience from the priests (pandas). There are often long queues for darshan at the temple. While the pandas offer short-cut queues for a fee, they will also insist you purchase puja offerings from shops that they recommend, and they will also ask for fees for doing some instant pujas and mutterings. It is really a pity that such a sacred site is abused by the priests, making it impossible to visit it in a peaceful state of mind. To add to the priests, there are also beggars who come up asking for alms. Overall, unless the state of things improves, this is not a temple I would recommend for a first time overseas visitor to Calcutta. The Kali temple at Dakshineshwar is a much better experience.

Puchka: Calcutta Street Food

Metcalfe Hall, Kolkata

The Metcalfe Hall, named after Lord Metcalfe, who officiated as Governor General of India from March 1835 to March 1836. The architecture shows clear Greek influences. It was originally conceptualised as library. The annex building of the Asiatic Society is on the ground floor. The Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) has a small museum on the upper floor.

Photo credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metcalfe_Hall.JPG

White Ambassador Car, Kolkata

White Ambassador car, displaying Police sticker. The automobile is manufactured by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara plant near Kolkata. The Amby, as it is affectionately called, has been in continuous production since its inception, with very few improvements or changes.

The Amby is used by government departments, including the Kolkata Police.

About the Kolkata Police: The Calcutta Police Act and the Calcutta Suburban Police Act, which are still in force, were enacted in 1866. After India gained independence from British rule in 1947, Calcutta Police was re-organised as an arm of a newly emerged nation-state keen on consolidating its freedom. Surendra Nath Chatterjee was the first Indian Commissioner of Police.

Kolkata Police has 8 divisions covering 65 Police Stations. It has a strength og approximately 26,000 and a territorial jurisdiction of 243 sq. kms (approx). There are 8 battalions of armed forces as well as specialized branches like the Detective Department, Special Branch, Reserve Force, Traffic Police, Enforcement Branch, Wireless Branch Special Task Force and security Control office.

Opium Trade, Kolkata

After the conquest of Bengal in 1757, the British East India Company had a monopoly on the production and export of opium from India. Bengal and Bihar were producers of opium. The company initially purchased opium through local traders. Opium was sold at auctions in Calcutta. From Calcutta opium was then taken to Canton in China.

New Jaggery, Old-time Sweets, Kolkata

Since winter is here, let's talk about nolen gur  The subtle fragrance and taste of nolen gur — or new jaggery — is unlike any ingredient used in traditional Bengali sweets. And if the winter is as cold as it should be, the richness of the date palm juice and the consistency of the gur produced from it increases. My favourite blogger Sayantani has a wonderful article here about winter sweets made with nolen gur. Her photos, like the one here, are gorgeous as usual.

http://www.ahomemakersdiary.com/2011/01/nolen-gurer-sandesh-bengali-cottage.html 

Of Weddings, Fish and Turmeric, Kolkata

Turmeric is not only auspicious, it also has healing properties. In the gaye holud ceremony, the bride and groom are bathed in turmeric and gifts are exchanged. Among the gifts given to the bride is fish dressed up as a couple.

Puchkas, Kolkata

Kolkata is very famous for its street food culture-the most popular being Puchkas! Almost every nook and corner has this delicious mouth-watering snack; right anytime of the day, and any season too! Visit Kamla Puchkas and let your taste buds go for frenzy!

Photo credit: http://www.dhapa.com/kamla-puchka/