Monthly Archives: October 2015

With a perfect eye

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
A still from Satyajit Ray's classic Pather Panchali
A still from Satyajit Ray’s classic Pather Panchali

The man responsible for the distinct visual vocabulary of “Pather Panchali”, has unfortunately been forgotten.

Subrata Mitra was an observer of Jean Renoir when he was shooting The River at Kolkata in the late 40s. It was at this juncture he came across Satyajit Ray who was also a keen Renoir observer. Both struck a creative chord and agreed to work together.

No wonder when Satyajit Ray made his debut as a writer-director with Pather Panchali, he had Mitra as his cinematographer. The teaming of Ray, Mitra Ravi Shankar, Dulal Dutta and Banshi Chandra Gupta was perhaps the greatest combination in Indian cinema. With a Michele camera, Mitra created wonders in Pather Panchali. The incomparable use of natural light during the monsoon rains, shots of the kash flowers and a running train in the distance created cinematographic magic. Mitra won a National Award for his camera work in Pather Panchali.

By the time Aparajito went on floors, the Arriflex camera had arrived in the cinematic world. Mitra made superb usage of bounce lighting during the indoor shots in Aparajito. Prior to Aparajito, bounce lighting was unknown to Indian cinema. Even the iconic Ingmar Bergman made use of this technique years later in Through A Glass Darkly.

Mitra can best be described as the perfect cinematic eye of Satyajit Ray. So well did he understand Ray’s thoughts, imagination and visualisation that his camera interpretation of them was sans any flaws. Apur Sansar, Jalshaghar, Devi, Teen Kanya and all Ray films bore the masterly Mitra stamp of cinematography. When Ray decided to shoot Kanchenjungha in colour, it was a challenge for Mitra. Without opting for too many special effects or cinematographic jugglery, he used close-ups to capture the panorama of the Himalayas. The montages were lyrical. The first ever freeze shot in Indian cinema was used to perfection by Subrata Mitra in Charulata.

After Nayak in 1966, Ray and Mitra parted ways. It was mainly due to creative and not egoistic differences. Mitra believed in certain visions which did not gel with Ray’s.

They drifted apart with dignity never criticising each other in public. Ray’s films after Nayak lacked the genius of Mitra’s cinematography. Mitra sans Ray was also not at his altruistic best. One of Indian cinema’s greatest tragedies.

James Ivory and Ismail Merchant worked with Mitra very well in Householder, Shakespearewala, Bombay Talkies and The Guru. In Householder, Mitra used tight close-ups of Shashi Kapoor and Leela Naidu, five in quick successions creating visual poetry. Raj Kapoor made sure Mitra cinematographed Teesri Kasam for Basu Bhattacharya. The shot of the train through a hole in Hiraman’s (Raj Kapoor) cart shot without a tilt still haunts.

The genius took a sabbatical from cinematography in mid 70s. He returned in 1986 to shoot Ramesh Sharma’s New Delhi Times. The shot of Shashi Kapoor running in a dream sequence as his newspaper office burns remains a lesson in cinematography.

Mitra spent his last years teaching cinematography at SRFTII, Kolkata. He was an expert of monochrome and favoured soft colours compared to stark ones. He considered Saath Pake Bandha, Dakhal and Drishti truly well-lit films.

As Pather Panchali is completing 60 years Pather Panchali it is sad that the camera architect of the classic has been forgotten. Mitra still is an idol for any aspiring cinematographers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Ranjan DasGupta / October 22nd, 2015

This is how Calcutta will become London?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

bigbenKOLKATA22oct2015

A replica of Big Ben, the famous clock tower of London, has come up at the Lake Town crossing on VIP Road. The 135ft-tall structure, however, falls far short of the original, which towers at 314ft.

The replica, designed by artist Sunil Chandra Pal, is made of concrete and has a fibre casing. Work on the structure had started in December.

Big Ben is the nickname of the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. Like the original, the replica will ring every hour, but the sound will not be produced by a bell like that in the London tower. Instead, a recorded sound will play from a speaker.

South Dum Dum Municipality spent over Rs 1 crore to build the clock tower.

Architect Partha Ranjan Das said the replica looked good but the money should have been spent on building something original.

“If they were so interested in making a tower’s replica, they could have chosen from Gour-Pandua (in Malda). There are many towers there,” he said.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / picture by Amit Datta / Monday – October 19th, 2015

Nadia royal family bears Puja torch since Akbar era

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Krishnanagar :

Illuminated by earthen lamps and torches (mashals), the idol of Ma Raj Rajeshwari looks resplendent in the Akbar-era Natmandir at the Krishnagar Maharaja’s palace.

The serenity is suddenly shattered by the town crier’s shrill call: “Attention! Agnihotri Bajpeyi Raj Rajendro Maharajadhiraj Nabadwipadhipati Mahashaya Krishno Chandro Roy Bahadur is arriving.”

On cue, 108 dhakis beat drums to frenzy.

The Maharaj arrives in an elaborately carved silver palanquin that was gifted to one of his forefathers by Emperor Jahangir. He approaches the pulpit. Shortly thereafter, the palace cannon booms, a signal for the beginning of sandhi puja. A hundred and eight buffaloes are assembled before the Goddess. At shandhikshan, the heads are severed and placed before the Goddess as offering to cleanse the human spirit of its evils. “As a child, I grew up watching these rituals being performed while sitting on my grandmother Maharani Jyotirmoyee Debi’s lap. Growing up, I always held a grudge against Ma Raj Rajeshwari. How could the divine mother, the supreme protector of good and the destroyer of evil, devour so many harmless, helpless lives? I would often bring this up with my father. Being a God-fearing man, he would stick to tradition till the resistance melted away when he saw my infant son Manish crying on witnessing the sacrifice.The practice was stopped in 1987,” said Saumish Chandra Roy , the 39th descendant of Nadia royal family .

Nadia Rajbari’s Durga Puja remains the oldest puja in what was then Anga-Banga-Kalinga or undivided eastern India region. Started in 1603 by Maharaj Rudra Rai, the great grandfather of Krishno Chandro, it has continued uninterrupted till date. “The puja began two years before the death of Emperor Akbar. Since it all happened at the height of the Mughal era, the influence is very strong in the architecture of the natmandir,” said Saumish’s son Manish. However, though the gran deur of celebrations have shrunk over the centuries, the rituals have remained intact.

Ma Raj Rajeshwari has seen Nadia during the most tumultuous of times.In medieval India, persecution and heinous tyranny on the grounds of religion was common.

Blood was spilt for the protection and defense of Nadia’s “honour”, for the protection of the freedom to choose and profess the religion of our choice.”Jato dharma Stato jayo” (Stay in the path of good dharma and victory will be yours) is embedded in the Krishna gar royal family’s coat of arms.

Ma Raj Rajeshwari’s power was tested during Partition. Nadia had initially been ceded to what was then East Pakistan on grounds of religion. “For three nightmarish days, we were Pakistanis. My father Saurish Chandra Roy , the last officially recognized maharaja, had told Sir Cyril Radcliffe (the chairman of the Boundary Commission in British India) that if Nabadwip was lost to Pakistan, then what would remain of the great Hindu faith in the Anga-Banga-Kalinga region?

After three days of rioting, rape and arson, a significant portion of Nadia was returned back to India. The entire population went wild with joy when the news was broadcast over All India Radio. People arrived in trucks from far and wide and assembled in front of the palace gates, shouting ecstatically “Ma Raj Rajeshwari’r Jai!” Though the princely order was abolished by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, some royal customs are still followed. The Maharaj was believed to be the protector of his people.Accordingly a clay model of a “shatru”, symbolizing evil, is created which is slain by the Maharaj every year during the Durga Puja. Saumish does the slaying now.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Subhro Niyogi, TNN / October 19th, 2015

An evening to remember for Pele

Sports, World Opinion
DOWN MEMORY LANE: Players from the Mohun Bagan team that hosted Pele way back in 1977 had a great time getting reacquainted with the Brazilian legend in Kolkata on Monday. Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty / The Hindu
DOWN MEMORY LANE: Players from the Mohun Bagan team that hosted Pele way back in 1977 had a great time getting reacquainted with the Brazilian legend in Kolkata on Monday. Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty / The Hindu

Felicitates the 1977 Mohun Bagan team, shares special moment with Rahman

Football legend Pele had an evening to remember as he renewed his acquaintance with the players of the Mohun Bagan team which hosted him in 1977.

Pele feted all the 13 players and coach P.K. Banerjee who were present to receive the honour from the greatest footballer on earth at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday evening. Subrata Bhattacharya, the captain of the Bagan side then, called in his players to be felicitated by the owner of three World Cup crowns. The others players included the likes of Shibaji Banerjee, Prasoon Banerjee, Gautam Sarkar, Bidesh Bose, Shyam Thapa, and Pradip Choudhury.

Prasoon, the younger brother of P.K. Banerjee, asked Pele who he thought was better: Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi? “Both have the same style and are great players, but Maradona was a more complete player than Messi. For the last 10 years, Messi is the best player the world has seen,” said Pele.

Machine closed!
Asked whether the world would see another Pele, the legend quipped, “My mother and father have closed the machine.”

Pele also had a special moment with internationally-acclaimed music composer A.R. Rahman, who has scored the music for a biopic on the Brazilian great which is yet to be released.

“I am zero on sport, and know only names like Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar. I have composed the music for Pele’s biopic without even knowing him. But, when I saw the ‘rushes’ of the movie, I cried thrice,” said Rahman, after meeting the legend.

“I wanted to see the real Pele. He is such an amazing personality, a great inspiration. All my musician friends were envious when they came to know that I was doing the music for Pele’s biopic,” said Rahman.

Rahman sang ‘happy birthday’ for Pele, who turns 75 on October 23. The Brazilian also cut a cake, shaped like the Jules Rimet Trophy, which he helped Brazil retain forever after becoming the world champion for the third time in 1970.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Football / by Amitabha Das Sharma / Kolkata – October 13th, 2015

Young entrepreneurs in Kolkata float startup ideas over boat ride

Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features

Kolkata :

Entrepreneurship is the last thing that comes to our mind while taking a rooftop boat ride. However, on Saturday evening, a boat packed with young entrepreneurs did just that, pitching their startup ideas to investors on a cruise along the Ganges. For many, it turned out to be a smooth sailing, with their ideas being appreciated, endorsed and taken up for funding by investors.

In a first of its kind, Nasscom’s startup wing 10,000 Startups joined hands with Catapooolt, India’s first industry-backed crowd funding platform, to organize a platform on which various startups from across the country pitched their ideas to investors, who assessed them and extended funds on the spot.

Just as the boat left the dock, the 10 startups that were selected, started pitching their ideas. Paritosh Sharma, head of channel partnerships of PayUmoney, said, ” This live crowd-funding pitch at Kolkata is India’s first. Catapooolt, PayUmoney and Nasscom 10K Startups have collaborated with a mission to build India’s largest growth ecosystem for startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). And the same happening while taking a boat ride makes it even more interesting.”

The idea was to present every member with a booklet which had five coupons worth Rs 100. Whoever would want to invest in a specific startup based on their presentation would write down it’s name and place it inside a ballot box. In the end, a counting was done and a winner selected.

Ravi Ranjan, the warehouse manager of 10,000 startups, said, “This would support startups to validate their ideas with crowd and initially get small but significant money.”

Fading Clouds, a startup, co-founded by 2008 Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute(SRFTI) pass outs Sumon Majumder and Mrimoy Mondal, showcased their independent film sharing the same name. The movie centres around the loneliness of urban life, due to the over use of technology and how as a result, people are losing out on the family bonding.

Satish Kataria, managing director of Catapoolt said, “We are pleased to have organised India’s first ever live crowdfunding pitch event in Kolkata. We endeavour to make innovation accessible to all through crowdfunding and wish to inspire everyone to contribute and engage with new ideas.”

“While Kolkata had been slightly late in catching up with start up movement, we hope that with such concepts, the people here can leapfrog to new ways of funding ideas and together, put the city, sky high on Innovation map,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Abhro Banerjee, TNN / October 12th, 2015