Francis Bacon, the first major English essayist, wrote about books, “Books serve for delight, for ornament and for ability.” He further wrote, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.” Subrata Kumar Das’ autobiographical book ‘Uthso theke Porobas’ (Searching the Roots by an Expat) will suit these observations.
It is a great credit of the Bengali nation that the world has celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Laureate Bengali Poet. As readers, how much do we know about Rabindranath? We do not know more about the world famous poet, as huge information about him are unknown to us till date.
MAHABHARATA, an ancient Indian epic, literally means ‘Great India’ and propagates ‘eternal truth’ for humanity. Of all the epics of the world, the Mahabharata is the second oldest (next only to the Ramayana), and the second largest (next only to the Gilgamesh). The Mahabharata is a circle whose center is everywhere but its circumference nowhere.
Among all the epics ever written, the Mahabharata of India is widely read and popular among readers from around the world. The story of an epic is always a big one with lots of characters, fortunes and frailties and above all it passes many messages to its readers. This is true with Iliad, Faust, Paradise Lost and Inferno too. They all have great stories of human sagas, bloody wars, loves and above all trails of tragedies.
The book Korokdi Ekti Gram (Korokdi Is a Village) bears testimony to the deep love of one’s motherland and one’s desire to learn its glorious history. Subrata Kumar Das has brought together the glorious history and famous personalities his village has produced. With the passage of time many of these personalities have opted for a life in Kolkata.
Every sunrise appears with the hope of the day illuminating not only the darkness but also wiping off the tears from paupers’ eyes. Japan, known as ‘Nippon’ or ‘Nihon’, the most prosperous country in Asia, is called ‘The land of the rising sun’. This compliment has really matched every instance of progress in Japan, even till now.
Bengal i.e. India has a long cultural relation with Japan; this dates back to 6th Century AD, the time when Buddhism got transplanted in Japan from India, through China and Korea. A more vibrant exchange between Japan and India started in the late 19th Century. Japan in the late 19th century underwent a drastic phase of modernization that drew the attention of the world.
Though Sri Chaitanyadev lived for only forty seven years, he is still a force to be reckoned with in religion, literature, music, dance and drama in India and abroad, spanning a period of about five hundred years. Not a single book was written by Chaitanyadev, but hundreds of books have been written on him by his contemporaries, as well as successors, both Indian and foreigners.
Chaitanya Deb (1486-1533) was an interesting and charismatic personality of the 16th century in Bengal, Assam, Orissa and across the eastern India. Although primarily his fame was related to a religious movement, his influence was also felt in reforming the society, politics and culture. ‘Sri Chaitanya Dev’, written by Subrata Kumar Das, a Toronto-based activist