Celebrated moments - Durga Puja 2016

To me and many other people from the state of West Bengal, Durga Puja is a celebration of life. An awaited time of the year when all plunge into delectable indulgence of celebrating the sweet togetherness of our society. Its a festival of charm, its a festival of élan...its a festival that celebrates the art and culture of the state and of the country as a whole. Kolkata especially is transformed into a showroom of vivid art, wherein the darkest niche of the city is enlightened with luminescence of the festival. It is a something to behold. Palatial marquees or Pandals, replicating somewhere the city palace of Udaipur, somewhere Taj Mahal of Agra or in some other location reliving the beauty of rural Bengal, its incredible and unbelievable.

But for the last four years, Durga Puja to us has been synonymous to Spandan. Spandan is a socio-cultural organisation of Mumbai that brings together likemindedness of the people who believe that life has a purpose, and so does festivals. Besides numerous activities that the organisation does for the society, every year it celebrates Durga Puja. But the festivities unfold with a purpose, we call it "Theme Puja", wherein we try to emulate some social cause through the marquee and the interpretation of the Goddess. This year we celebrated the "revered presence of our elders with us", and named the festival as "Janak-Janani Utsab". A subtle step towards the laminar acceptance of the yesteryears into the modernised realm of today. The idol had traversed miles to grace the grounds of Mumbai straight from the city of joy Kolkata. Made by celebrated artists of the city, our IDOL was a remarkable rationale explaining the beauty of the old, yesteryear traditions, that are never old enough. The impetus of which, resonated our theme, of the wondrous collaboration of generations. 

These five days of Durga Puja breathes enough oxygen to survive an entire year of breathlessness. From the seraphic rituals that pulls you to a mist of devotion, to the echoing of the thunderous DHAK, from the aroma of DHUNO and the magic of DHUNUCHI NAACH to the illustriously dressed and effortless naive BONG dames, from the exhausting labour and never-ending enthusiasm of the organising committee to the long queue of thousands awaiting to taste the tongue-alluring BHOG every afternoon, from the enchantment of Nakash Aziz, Tirtha, Shayok to our very own talent hub, "POWAI SHARODOSTAV 2016" by SPANDAN FOUNDATION was a bumper hit and being a part of it was an honour.

Every year I adorn the ethnic during these days, cotton sarees, chunky jewellery and that round bindi empowers the woman, the narrator and the art lover in me. I also participated in a play, a comic relief called "CROSS CONNECTION", and as always enjoyed my niche of spotlight. 

The late night ADDA, pandal hopping, loads of calorie intake and an absolute chaotic life, afterall imperfections makes life perfect, and thats why this festival  is so dear to me. Looking forward to 2017, lets see what the coming year unfolds.....

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

PINK- A MOVIE REVIEW

Hello Friends!! I am back to my very own space after a long long time. Durga Puja celebrations had pulled me into an intoxicating twirl of emotions. However now I am back, back to telling the tales of my choice. By the way...How was your Dusshera/ Durga Puja? I hope you have had an overwhelming celebration time. Wish you permanent festivities inside your heart. Now this blogpost is a long pending one, my review of the movie "PINK", cannot wait more to pour my heart.

I wanted to watch PINK from the day I had seen the trailer. Besides the evident reasons, like Amitabh Bachchan and Shoojit Sircar, the trailer was intriguing and thought provoking, I knew I had to watch this one. And as expected, I cherished my decision to the core.

PINK holds on to you from the very first scene, when the girls are seen rushing back to their apartment in a cab, on the silent night streets of the capital. Their smudged kohl and lip colour and the scared expressions, conveys loud and clear that something is so wrong. But the real essence of the movie gradually unfolds and ensures that the purpose of it is a bit more than just discussing an assault incident. PINK is a tight slap to the male chauvinist and gender biased societal structure of our nation, wherein "Equality..Equality" is just a cool thing to utter. The real bias exists in the very core of this bourgeois social structure. 

Minal, Falak and Andrea are tenants in a posh area of South Delhi. They are spirited, modern and independent girls, leading life their own way. Things are gay, until that outrageous night, when the girls push back the unwanted sexual advances by guys they were not completely unacquainted. In the fight to restrict, Minal badly injures Rajveer, who happened to be from an influential political family. The real tale of mental harassment begins after the incident. I don't want to get to the details of the storyline, as I am sure most have already watched. What I want to convey is the targeted message to the society.

Amitabh Bachchan as the bipolar lawyer Deepak Sehgal is more than convincing. He is witty yet naive, he is deadly yet silent. This master of emotions renders another masterpiece. Taapsee, Kirti and Andrea are extraordinarily natural, to an extent that you tend to forget its a movie. I loved Kirti Kulhari as Falak Ali the most. Shoojit Sircar who has produced the movie, is known for creating excellence, the director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury has done a marvellous job but I thought the movie could be better edited. It wasn't as lucid as PIKU .

PINK openly addresses the conjectures and judgemental attitude of the people when it comes to working women. If they come late and are too successful, they must be sleeping with their bosses. If they are too unsuccessful, then women can't compete men after all. If they are beautiful, vibrant and smiling, then they must be either escorts or easy preys to the hungry wolves. In a country where even today a woman is judged by the length of her skirt, by the amount of make up she puts on....PINK is an important movie.

It clearly says that when a woman says NO it means NO, it does not matter if she is a wife, girlfriend, unknown or even a sex-worker. NO cannot mean anything else.

With that I conclude, applauding aloud the ensemble cast, technicians and makers of PINK, thanks for giving the society a dose of reality check.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Check my website: http://www.talestotell.co.in

BAN on PAKISTANI Artists

Terror attacks are not new to India or the world at large. We humans have learnt to live with this constant trepidation, day in day out. But that does not mean we have immuned ourselves from the pain these attacks bring to our existence. It doesn't mean that as our soldiers battle for us on the bloodstained grounds of the border, and we are untouched and hypocritical to behave as if everything is normal. Nationalist emotions are bound to arise in the hearts of every Indian.  

Recently I was watching a debate conducted by "Arnab Goswami" on "Ban on Pak Artists in India". True, this man is dominating, biased and even overpowering. As a debate mediator he is not suppose to take sides. However, this nature of his can be irritating and invoking anger but cannot be heart-breaking. Mita Vashisht an eminent actor, known for character acting had walked out of the debate and this drew a lot of spat on the host. While I too believe that Arnab is absolutely incorrect in his insulting and biased approach, yet I think Mita was equally disrespectful. The way she casually mentioned the martyrs and the tone in which she addressed Colonel V.N. Thapar, father of late Captain Vijayant Thapar, who had given his life for us, was unacceptable at-least to me. So Arnab well done on this account but be a judicious and unbiased mediator, afterall that is what a mediator is meant to be. ( Read this : Captain Vijayant Thapar)

The way she casually mentioned the martyrs and the tone in which she addressed Colonel V.N. Thapar, father of late Captain Vijayant Thapar, who had gave his life for us, was unacceptable at-least to me.

Then coming to the debate, I definitely think that Pakistan Artists should be banned from working in India. Not because I hate them, not because they are terrorists but just because I don't want them to take our money to their nation. A nation that is germinating terrorism. It is not that we don't empathize with fellow Pakistani citizens, we know they are also sufferers. 

But enough is enough. India is an extremely liberal country. We have loved their art and given their artists respect, fame and humongous money, while celebrated actor Anupam Kher was denied of Pakistani Visa. We have protested and voiced our desperation on Peshawar Attacks, while Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and other artists from Pakistan were dumb after the Uri attacks. We didnot expect them to voice against their Nation, we wanted them to commune with the pain, the Nation that has given them so much recognition was going through. We have not banned their movies in India, while they have. 

Its high time people, solidarity is expected from every citizen including Bollywood. Shed aside hypocrisy, business and understand the need of the hour. Art was, is and will be borderless, Ghulam Ali sang gazals will continue to enrich our souls, but today its not the time for that thoughts to be cuddled, it is time to stand up as an united Nation and salute the soldiers who are fighting for all of us, indifferent towards our view on Pakistani artists. Salute to their valour!!

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Jai Hind
My new website: http://www.talestotell.co.in

Pedro's On the Benaulim Beach

Goa symbolises the sea, the sandy beaches, the colourfully clad firang and desi people and most importantly the elaborate and palatable Goan cuisine. Few weeks back we were in Goa and for the 4^th time. As expected we have had our share of site-seeing in our former trips, so this one we wanted to convert to a foodie delight. We started off with “Pedro’s” on the scenic Benaulim Beach of South Goa.

It was a beautiful moonlit night and the sand was shining ceremoniously in its imaginative luminance. When we drove down to the place from Varca, it was around 8:30 pm. But as September is off season for Goa as a travel destination, it was relatively sparsely populated.The staff was extremely cordial and sweet and since there were not too many to be attended, we were quite pampered. 

We started off with "Masala Crab" and when the red hot crab cuisine came, we were left gasping for breathe. It was tasty, tangy and most importantly "HAWT". So to neutralize the tantalizing effect of the crab we ordered some less spicy "Masala Prawns". Both the dishes were undoubtedly delicacies and we enjoyed every bit of the red eyes and flowing nose. We had also ordered a cocktail "Jamaican delight", which was a yummy citrus indulgence with vodka. And then to top it all, we experienced flavoured hookah, me for the first time.

Life is a journey and sometimes when I look back, I appreciate the importance of uniqueness. Pedro's is undoubtedly not the best restaurant in South Goa, but its location by the sea on the serene Benaulim Beach, its friendly and chilled out atmosphere and the magic of time has made the experience unique to me. Do visit the place next time when you are in Goa.

we at Pedro's

A distant view

Colorblast :-)

Jamaican delight

Crabs before

Crab After ;-)

Hookah time...

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Visit my website : http://www.talestotell.co.in/

The Emerald Palms, Varca, Goa

A couple of weekends back, we were in Goa. I call it the let loose haven or the tropical paradise. Each time I have set foot on the golden sands by the Arabian beauty, I have collected new tales to tell. This time we had put up in "The Emerald Palms", a Club Mahindra Property near Varca Beach in South Goa. This was our second rendezvous with Club Mahindra, the first being Gangtok. And unfortunately this time nothing met our expectations. And would firmly "NOT" recommend this property to any Club Mahindra Membership holders. The reasons I have listed in this blogpost of mine.

The Emerald Palms

NO FEEL OF GOA

Goa is one of my most preferred travel destinations. Its air is absolutely intoxicating yet detoxing your heavies. The water, the waves, the breeze, the colourful crowd infuses a new zest of living life. But the location of "The Emerald Palms" keeps you away from the spirit of Goa. Yes, its true that South Goa, is serene, silent and scenic. Its seclusion is its beauty. Yet the part of Varca beach which is near this resort, is isolated to a different level. For kilometres you will see no sign of life, no shack and you can't even buy a bottle of water, and this is the picture of broad daylight. Nights must be scary, we didn't try though. And this secluded beach is again 2 kms away from the resort, with no facility to reach there arranged by the Club Mahindra Management. So if you please to touch the waters of the sea, you will have to drive down 2 kms and find almost a nobody. Yet the beach is exceedingly beautiful, its clean beyond imagination, pebbles, crabs, fishes give you a complete feel of the aquatic life. I would have loved to behold this phenomenal natural beauty, if this was not the only beach available nearby.

The secluded beauty

Posers always...found someone even in that nobody zone

EXTREMELY COSTLY FOOD 

Well not that I have to write much on this topic. But the food was far too expensive and taste wise just OK. There were shacks just outside the resort and most of the younger crowd was having all meals there, one for money and two for the Goan Spirit. And I must admit that I loved the food there.

AWAY FROM MARKETS AND PLACES OF INTEREST

Well as the readers have already guessed it, that " The Emerald Palms" is away from any market, Church, renowned eateries and each time when you plan to venture out, be prepared to travel for 20 - 30 mins on secluded stretches of roads.

  Our Room

  Our Room

 Tea Time

 Chill out at the nearby shack

Chill out at the nearby shack

Overall the experience of "The Emerald Palms" as a resort is just about average. The only thing I loved was the room, spacious, gorgeous and chic. I loved my time within the four walls. And as we were finding it different to go to beaches, due to the location hazard of the property, we chose to convert this trip to a food trip and made it a  point to explore some great eateries nearby. My posts on them will follow soon. Till then "bye" and keep reading my space for more updates.....

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

visit my website: http://www.talestotell.co.in/

MY NEW WEBSITE

Hi,

I have launched my own website and need your support and love to make it a success...please  do like it, comment on it and share if you like.....

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

The link is as follows:

http://www.talestotell.co.in

NIGHT.......................

THE SKY, THE MOON AND THE STARRY SHINE

THE KNOWN, THE UNKNOWN AND THE ENVELOPE OF BLACK

THE NIGHT, OH! NIGHT YOU ARE SO MYSTERIOUS

THAT AT TIMES I LOVE YOU BUT AT TIMES I AM PETRIFIED.

AT TIMES YOU ARE GRAVE AND SILENCE RULES

AT TIMES THE CACOPHONY OF URBANITY GETS INFUSED

YOU CAN BE NAUSEATING AND GENERATING JITTERS

OR FULL OF LIFE, FREEING OF ALL FETTERS.

TO ME YOU THE GORGOEUS BACKGROUND

THAT BESTOWS THAT IDENTITY TO LIGHTS

TO ME YOU ARE MY CREATIVE SPACE

WHEN NARRATIVES, POETIES IN MY MIND DOES RACE

OH NIGHT MY KNIGHT, YOU ARE A FIGHT TO FIND HOPE

HOPE FOR A BRIGHT MORNING WITH FLOWING SMILES

HOPE FOR BETTER, MORE CREATIVE TOMORROW

GETTING ME BACK MY MIND'S REVENANT FILES.

SO LET THESE LINES BE DEDICATED TO THE DARK

THE OWL, THE FIREFLIES OR THE DISTANT CRIES

AS I WATCH THE CITY GETTING ALIVE, AND THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG

GET ME MORE CREATIVITY AND KEEP ME MESMERISED........

ARITRA CHAKRABARTY SENGUPTA

visit my website : http://www.talestotell.co.in/

pic courtesy google images..

How wud u describe?

From today I start my " how wud u describe ?"series
So let's SriGanesh....n what better than this...

Let ur imagination flow.....

Love Aritra

visit my website: http://www.talestotell.co.in/

City Walk

Mumbai has many names, some call it “Maya Nagari” or the city of dreams; some call it the city of lights. Some say that it is the city that never sleeps. And in reality the city does justice to all the names offered. It is hard hitting as you land here, but gradually grows on you and converts your hatred for it to love. It's unequivocal aura casts a spell unknowingly and stealthily. This aura resides in the crowded streets, clamorous waves or the Parsi colony...it exists in the millionaire homes of South Mumbai or the clustered chawls and slums of Dharavi. The beating of drums during Ganapati or the aroma of biriyani in Mohd. Ali Road during Eid, there is just something about it. 

I am by nature a peace-loving person, my only aim in life is to be happy. Which is quite a difficult aim you might appreciate. And few things that make me so, are lights (read my post:My Radiance Obsession) and exploration. So this Saturday, me, my hubby and my friends Nilesh and Shalaka headed on a expedition, which fitted my second mentioned modus operandi to seek happiness. We explored South Mumbai during hours when most other cities would have gone to sleep. 

Sharing with you my moments with the city...

a. Bandra Reclamation: We drove to this amazing spot and for the first time stopped the car to take a look at the glorious view of Mumbai this spot offers. The lighted sky-scrappers across the sea and the black looming night sky, a treat to eyes as the sea breeze leave you feeling revolutionary. 

As I was not equipped enough to capture the view with justice,

I spotted one from Google images

BANDRA RECLAMATION

We at Bandra Reclamation

b. Marine Drive: Then we drove off to Marine Drive, which is an area of our frequent visit. But this Saturday was different, a kick-start to the long Independence Day Weekend, and hence the streets were more colorful than ever. The horse carriages decorated in plentiful and playful leds, Coffeewalas and Champiwalas more busy than usual. It was a cacophony representing life. We had our time gazing at the bay and the incessantly banging waves. A delectable dough of darkness, lights and effervescence.

Colourful Maine Drive

c. Bade Miya: For every person who wants to take a dig on super yummy non veg stuff and is OK with street foods, Bade Miya in Colaba is a must destination. Though it has fine diner outlets in two other locations in Mumbai, this one is undoubtedly the best. Its mind boggling to see the number of cars that convene to that street near Gate way even at hours as late as two in the night to indulge. With salute worthy swiftness and efficiency, they serve no less than mouth smacking stuff. We narrowed down to "Bhuna Chicken" and "Rumali Roti" and loved every bit of the taste, the ambience and the added pinch of ecstasy. 

Bade Miya

We at bade Miya

We at Bade Miya

Overall I admit, that the more I have tried to hate the city and curse the jammed roads, the more I have fallen for it's unsung glory.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

visit my website: http://www.talestotell.co.in/

The Woking Mama-restaurant review

Main land China has been my all-time favourite Chinese eatery. I just adore to see and feel the Hunan and Szechuan sauces embrace the prawns, chicken…yummy! And also because of its nearness to the place I live, whenever there is a craving for Chinese, I, I mean, we land there. But last Saturday we were in a shopping mall which is unfortunately not the home for this favourite diner of ours and then there was this urgent craving for Chinese….oops!! So we landed laden with uncertainty, indecision, and dubiety on this place called “The Woking Mama” to satiate our craving.

But as soon as we entered, the décor struck me. It was pretty homely, non-flashy, earthy and creative. The painted lamps, wooden furniture…it’s not bad…aha! The waiters were cordial, to friendly, to jovial…it’s kind of good…aha! And then the food, well that’s most important and I am not going to spare even a single star if that is not good enough!!

The above two images are taken from Google

And this is me, a badly captured one though

but just for the drink and the chopstick thing

To start with we ordered, Chef’s special chilli chicken and a mocktail whose name I completely forgot. Ok fine! I admit chilli chicken is a cliché choice, but it’s ok once in a while…yes the fancy names sucks at times. Well, jokes apart, it is worth mentioning that the mocktail was ordered on the recommendation of a staff boy, who was really sweet and friendly. And we actually loved the drink, it was pure, chilled grape juice with small pieces of apple in it and probably sweetened externally to combat the occasional sour of grapes. Loved it and also the starter. For main course we ordered Woking Mama yang zhou fried rice and Prawns with bell pepper, chilli and basil. The rice was a bit spicier than we had expected, but the prawn making was a thorough delicacy.

Overall Woking Mama was a great experience and now has joined my favourite “Pan Asian eatery” list. I recommend it to people who love to explore new joints and make eating a little more than just that.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

visit my website: http://www.talestotell.co.in/

Address: 

The Woking Mama

Korum Mall

Khopat 

Thane west

(They have a branch in Guwahati, in case you are interested)