Friday, November 28, 2014

A Little Happiness for your Loved ones

Share the creations of the special people in your life for Jhaalmuri Winter Special

Do you remember?

The Nakshi Kantha of your granny which is stocked in that old trunk
The stories of your grandfather which you loved hearing on the dinner table.
The poem which your mom had written in her teen may still be in that old diary of hers.
The exemplery B/W photograph of TajMahal taken by your dad remains in that rusty old album
And how much you had loved Minu Pishis signature Sunday mangshor jhol.

Give your special ones a chance of expression - through Jhaalmuri.
Jhaalmuri Winter Special shall feature the work of your special people around you. Help them to enjoy their moment of creativity. A little attempt on your part can bring a smile.

Rush their work as well as yours to thejhaalmurigang@gmail.com by 20th Dec 2014



Thursday, November 27, 2014

Art of Craft 2: The arena of great creativity :Durga Puja



Durga Puja is one of those times, when we get a chance to see the works of the craftsmen of bengal all across the puja pandals. However most of us spend the Durga Puja hopping pandals and keeping our eyes glued to the idol. Think about the artists. They toil hard for 4-6 months to come up with the decorations. And all these hard work lasts only 4 days. Is it the passion of the artists that bring the best of art from them during this puja? Or is it the basic needs of food & money that drives them?





Found this fishes made of seashells in a pandal in South Kolkata. Amazing intricacies - each of the fishes looked so similar, crafted by some master craftsman.




One of the puja pandals decided to have Chhau masks as their primary decoration theme. These beautiful masks are made of clay and the art of making these masks are passed on from generations.

Watch an youtube video on the art of Chaau mask making here



Some more from the Puja pandals. A collage made from plastic plates. Watch the use of colors. Makes such rustic art so intricate. And a sculpture from one of the pandals in North Kolkata.




A beautiful craft which adorns some unnoticed corner of the pandal.


Have you captured any such exquisite craft work while pandal hopping? Share with Jhaalmuri and let all get a glimpse of such extraordinary creativity. 

Article by +Subhamoy Chakraborti 
Read the first article of the craft series "Art of Craft 1" here.



Saturday, November 22, 2014

The Art of Craft 1: The Ribbon Candy Man



My childhood days were spent in the quiet lanes of a small town in Assam. Sundays meant playing outdoors till mid-noon, until we got that final call from parents to get in. It was then the ribbon candy man came to our neighborhood. His bicycle made a strange buzzing noise. He mostly came in Sundays afternoon. A whole bunch of children would flock around him.

He pulled out a bit of sugar ribbon (a white one with three stripes of red in between) from that magic box of his. We would stand around that white piece in his hand and wonder what would he make of it today. Yes, it was not just a blob of sugar ribbon. Because soon our candy man would turn them into a beautiful peacock, vanity bag, rose or a fish - in seconds. It remained not just a candy but a toy. We had in our palms 10 or 20 paisa which we exchanged for those toys. Or candy. Whatever you think. The toy,or candy brought gleam to our eyes. And it brought a smile at our candyman's face.

The candyman was a craftsman, a talented one. He was a master in the craft of making toys out of simple sugar candy. And that art brought smiles to us.

In our walk of life we find so many such candy man - one who tries to do a little bit different, from their usual routine. And that sprinkles some sweetness in our memories.

Jhaalmuri salutes such skilled craftsman. Share your story of your candyman. Those who had brought a smile or still brings a lovely rush of memory.

Ribbon Candy: Pic from Betty's CookNook

Article by Suparna Chakraborti

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

KabboKotha Contest Results

Finally we announce the results of our poetry contest KabboKotha. Results are based on the number of votes and judges selection. 
Our four judges are

Mrs. Leena Sikidar, Retd HOD of Bengali
Mr. Manoj M Chakravarti, Retd. HOD of English
Mr. Biswajit Chakraborty, Retd. HeadMaster and Regular contributor to newspapers
Mrs. Jaya Deb, Regular contributor to leading newspapers.

On the basis of subject, way of expression and the overall presentation of poetry our judges have come up with their favorites. All of them said that it was very difficult to judge the best among the 14 of them. Their top selections were 


As we have to choose only one poem(which was a tough job), we select Mahanagar by Anwesha Sengupta as the winner of KabboKotha by Judges Choice

And we have another prize, the Popular Poet by Voters Choice
Samay by Sayan Chakraborty gets the maximum number of votes and is the selected the winner of KabboKotha by Voters Choice.

Congratulations Anwesha and Sayan!!!!

The prizes for the contest are sponsored by Debanjana Roy Chakraborty and Rajib Chowdhury. Thank you Debanjana and Rajib.



Friday, November 14, 2014

Sandesh

গাজরের সন্দেশ

উপকরণ
১ কাপ কুড়নো গাজর, ১ কাপ কুড়নো ছানা, ১ কাপ মিল্কমেড, ১ কাপ চিনি, ১/২ চামচ এলাচ গুঁড়ো, ২ চামচ ঘি

প্রণালী
প্রথমে কুড়নো গাজর গুলো ঘি তে হাল্কা ভেজে জলটা শুকিয়ে গেলে তাতে কুড়নো ছানা দিয়ে দিতে হবে। কড়াই থেকে সব ছেড়ে এলে মিল্কমেড আর চিনি দিয়ে নাড়তে হবে বেশ কিছুক্ষণ। ভালো করে পাক হলে তাতে এলাচ গুঁড়ো দিয়ে গ্যাস বন্ধ করে রাখতে হবে ২ মিনিট। চৌকো প্লেটে ঘি মাখিয়ে তাতে মিশ্রণ ঢেলে একটু ঠাণ্ডা হলে চৌকো চৌকো করে কেটে পরিবেশন করুন। 

স্ট্রবেরি সন্দেশ 

উপকরণ
২৫০ গ্রাম স্ট্রবেরি,১ ১/২ কাপ চিনি, ১ লিটার দুধ, ক্যালসিয়াম ল্যাকটেট ২ চামচ

প্রণালী
দুধ ভালকরে ফুটে গেলে আধ কাপ জল এ ক্যালসিয়াম ল্যাকটেট গুলে দুধে ঢেলে দিয়ে ছানা কাটিয়ে নিতে হবে । অন্য দিকে স্ট্রবেরি গুলো কে কুচি করে চিনির সাথে মিশিয়ে পেস্ট করে নিয়ে কড়াই তে নাড়তে হবে যতক্ষণ না সিরার মতো ঘন হচ্ছে। এবারে একটা থালা তে ছানার সাথে ভালো করে সেই সিরা টাকে মাখতে হবে ঠিক আটা মাখার মতো। ডো বানিয়ে নিজের পছন্দ মতো আঁকারে বানিয়ে নিতে হবে


Recipe by Ankita Chatterjee for Jhaalmuri Puja Special 2014

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Of Music and Passion

Music has the power to influence and transform everyone. 
Watch this extremely moving speech by Benjamin Zander on classical music and passion. It is sure to move anyone and instill faith in the power of music.

Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of classical music

You can also view the speech here
http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

The Scent of Music


The music was fading out slowly. It was a sufi one. The jockey had a nice collection. You need to be brave and a true music lover to run hindi sufi music in a bar at 930PM. The uncertainty around the real world was slowly gripping in. It’s like that feeling of a flight, just before it lands, the tentativeness of flying just a few feet above the ground, swaying the body trying to balance itself before making it happen. Like holding oneself before the kiss. Or the anticipation before the first touch. At that moment of anticipation and blurred reality, Soham realized the lady on the other table looked familiar to him. He picked up his phone and went to phonebook searching for a name. He paused at a number. Alcohol is making him brave. He stared at the number for a while. He had last called this number 11 years back. Is it still valid? Is she still carrying the same number? Soham Whatsapp-ed “Hi”. After a few tensed seconds, she did pick up her phone.


Soham works as a Sales Manager in a financial organization. He had started his professional career early, while continuing his education in parallel. Like 95% of bongs, he didn’t have a super rich father and hence had a long journey towards success. Possibly because of that, or due to some other reason, he knew the value of hard work unlike many other bongs. He puts in his best effort in search of the invisible corporate ladder, though it often eludes him. He is on travel almost 2 weeks every month. And Soham enjoys the travel. Throughout his career, he has travelled extensively. He knows beautiful exquisite places in remote areas of Eastern states, which you may never find in the Google map. However this is the first time he is visiting Pune.


It took a while to adjust himself with the morning sun. The curtains were having a narrow gap. And the early morning sun took that chance. Before stretching his eyes to see the time, Soham recalled its Sunday. He could enjoy the extra 15 minutes in the extending warmth of the bed. He stretched out his hand with the AC remote and increased the temperature. It was feeling chilly on a July morning. On a reflex, Soham pulled out his smartphone from the side table and gently pressed the power button. New mail, SMS  & Whatsapp messages are showing their traces. However his eyes got stuck at the Whatsapp notification. Hurriedly he sat up straight. And read the conversations from last night again. The emptiness was coming back. Or was it emptiness?


Soham reached the CCD half an hour earlier than he had planned, as he got a smooth ride without much traffic. Also he didn’t want to take a chance today. It was getting cloudy. It might rain today in the evening.


His flight is at 7:45 PM. Since this place is quite close to the airport, he could easily stay here for two and a half hours. Whenever
Soham goes to any of these coffee shops, the most dreaded part is ordering a cup of coffee. There are so many options to choose from. Wish life was like that. Ordering a cup of coffee and lazily finishing it off took 20 more minutes. 10 more minutes to kill. The anticipation is coming back. Outside it has started to drizzle again. From his seat, he could view the entrance. An old tree had one of its branch hanging over the gate. The green tone had become richer with the raindrops. The music playing in the cafe was a known one, but Soham was not concentrating on the lyrics. The sound of rain was seeping into the music. And the known lyrics was becoming unknown. The old memories were invading his consciousness. A mesmerizing numbness was sinking in. The words, spoken and the unspoken ones, from seemingly some other universe were crowding his memory. The sequence of many events were getting garbled. Which one happened earlier and which one was an afterthought? Why did he say that at that moment? Was it immaturity? Would he have reacted differently today?


Amidst this semi-consciousness, suddenly
Soham heard a familiar voice after 11 years: “kotokhon wait korchis?” Sahana is standing right across the table. The raindrops have added pearls in her hair. Just like 2003.

Story composed by Shree Chowdhury for Jhaalmuri Puja Special 2014

Sunday, November 9, 2014

ভালোবাসা খারাপবাসা

হোস্টেলের ঘরে বসে জানলা দিয়ে একটা বড় আকাশের দিকে তাকিয়ে থাকতে থাকতে নিহারের মনটা ভীষণ খারাপ হয়ে গেলো। আজ সকালবেলাই ও ঠিক করেছিল অতনুর সাথে ও আর কোন সম্পর্ক রাখবেনা। অতনু যে শুধু ওকে ঝেনা তাইনা, অতনু ওকে কতটা ভালবাসে তার ওপরও সন্দেহ হতে শুরু করেছিল। কিন্তু এখন আবার মনে হচ্ছে অতনুকে ছেড়ে থাকাও নিহারের পক্ষে সম্ভব নয়


অতনুর সাথে নিহারের এক আকাশ পার্থক্য। অতনুর আর নিহারের কোনোদিন কোন ব্যাপারে মতের মিল হয়ে না। কেন যে ওরা কাছাকাছি এসেছিল, কেন যে ওরা পরস্পরকে ভালবেসেছিল, সেটাও একটা বড় জিজ্ঞাসা নিহারের কাছে। অথচ ওদের ভালোবাসার বয়েস পাঁচ বছর। আর সম্পর্কের বয়েস বোধহয় হিসাব করা যাবেনা, নিহার ভুলেই গেছে কবে ওর অতনুর সাথে পরিচয়ের শুরু



গত তিন মাস অতনু নিহারকে একটাও ফোন করেনি, এমনকি নববর্ষ, ভালেন্তাইন'স ডে কোন কিছুর শুভেচ্ছা জানায়নি। নিহার চিঠি লিখেছিল কয়েকটা, উত্তর আসেনি। ফোন করতে পারেনি, কারন ওদের ফোন নেই। ভেবেছিলো আকাশকে একটা ফোন করে জানতে চাইবে কি হয়েছে অতনুর। কিন্তু অতনু পছন্দ করেনা ওদের সম্পর্কের সম্বন্ধে কেউ জানুক। সত্যিই তো, এই গত পাঁচ বছরে কেউ জানেনি ওদের সম্পর্কের কথা। কেউনা, এমনকি মিনাও না। যে মিনাকে নিহার ওর সমস্ত কথা না বলে সস্তি পায়না, সেই মিনাও না। সবাই জানে ওরা 'just' বন্ধু। অবশ্য ওরা 'just' বন্ধুই তো, শুধু বন্ধু কখন বঁধু হয়ে গেছে বোঝা যায়নি না নিহার ভাবতেই পারেনা ওর জীবন অতনুকে ছাড়া, অথচ অতনু কেন আজকের দিনেও একটা ফোন করছে না? আজ যে বড্ড স্পেশাল দিন। কোন বছর তো এরকম হয়না! আজকের দিনেই নিহার ওর জীবনের সব থেকে সুন্দর, সব থেকে দামী উপহারটা পেয়েছিল - অতনুকে। আজ ওদের anniversary , আজ নিহারের জন্মদিন। তবে কি অতনু নিহারকে ভুলে গেছে?



ভীষণ কান্না পাছে আজ, কিন্তু তপতি আর রানু ঘরেই আছে। কাল একটা ক্লাস টেস্ট আছে তাই সব মন দিয়ে পরছআর নিহারের সামনে খোলা বইয়ের প্রতিটা অক্ষর মাঝে মাঝেই ঝাপসা হয়ে যাছে। না নিহার কাঁদবে না, কেন কাঁদবে ও অতনুর জন্য? যে ওকে এতদিন ভুলে থাকতে পারে!


Friday, November 7, 2014

Hattrick

He had been just hit for two consecutive sixes....the ball seemed to betray him...he looked at it with a expectant face...as a friend would do to another at a time of crisis..wouldn`t say a word but expect the friend to just understand...pick up and come forward. He wasn`t sure if cricket balls behaved that way!! Seemingly not when the going flow is up against you , pushing you , testing you, mocking you. He just wished the ball would land as he wanted, turn as he would envisage and the batsman would make the mistake he prayed for!!

He was Rajat. The newbie in the team.People were not surprised, they kind of expected him to get beaten like this, the look of ..`see I told you’ lurking in the face of Sekhar, his captain ,who looked at Ashim sir after each six . He didn`t miss the glance exchanged between them. Ashim sir`s look said it all, he wanted Rajat to just do it, to just take a few wickets, to just repay the faith he had shown on him.

4 balls in in his 2nd over were left, the first over was hit for 7 runs broken up into a four, 3 dot balls, a double and a single. Not bad , he had thought considering the raging bats of Dinesh and Mithun. The over before his , bowled by Raja, had gone for 12 runs and seemingly 7 runs seemed nothing out of place. He was surprised to see the cold shoulder given by Sekhar to him after he finished his, he didn’t say anything, but Rajat could feel it. He had gone  back to the boundary line and tried to get back his attention on the game. He needed to watch closely, very closely for any weakness in the batsmen, any small clue of uneasiness that they would show and he thought that he had found something. Dinesh swayed his bat at an uppish delivery by Raja and in the next , rode his luck as the ball missed the stumps by inches, there was no footwork.

He also thought that Dinesh was getting a little restless with each dot ball. He prayed that he should get the next over. Sekhar tossed the ball to Satya, the off spinner and Rajat thought he`d better get down to the ropes. Satya and Sekhar had a small chat and Rajat was called, Sekhar tossed the ball to him and gave him a look of ‘you better do it’. He got the over he wanted and though he came in confidently, he was whacked for two straight sixes by Dinesh. Both times lofted straight over mid on. He had to do something, this over would define him, his confidence, his self. It was not just about wickets....it was more...it was not just about this match....it was his match. He wanted to make a mark. He had worked on it ,risen mornings, toiled hard and he wouldn`t just let it go.  

They were playing the annual inter club cricket, the winters had set and the action had begun. He hadn`t expected to be in the team in the first place. But he had made it riding on some of his feats in the opening matches. Those were league matches and now they were playing the semi final of this big tournament. There were some India players in action too, some Ranji players in most of the clubs. Sekhar was a permanent fixture of Bengal`s Ranji team and was touted to get into the big league in the next series. Ashim sir had insisted on playing him and was proved right in the very first match against Dhakuria club. He had taken 3 wickets, all bowled. The ball had turned sharply each time taking the batsmen by surprise. He knew he could turn the ball and make it tough for batsmen.

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