5 Great Free iPhone Apps

Since I started using the iPhone 4S, I have been looking for free apps that are really useful. I found few, and I am going to share five of them with you. These apps help me in many ways, they entertain me and they enrich me.  But let me warn you, none of them are game apps.  So here you go.

1. The Free Dictionary by FARLEX:  This dictionary app not only gives you meanings of

The Free Dictionary

The Free Dictionary

english words that you are looking for but it also includes a Thesaurus. When you open the app, it shows you a “word of the day” and an “article of the day”. So if you are looking to improve your vocabulary, open the app few times a day and keep browsing.

2. TED : TED.com is one of my favorite websites where I get to watch and listen to truly  inspiring lectures. The TED app is an elegant way to enjoy these videos on your iPhone when you have some free time. Try to use this in a WiFi enabled area to reduce your data usage. Continue reading

Basanta Koomar Roy – The First Indian American Journalist

Basanta Koomar Roy

Basanta Koomar Roy's Publicity Brochure

Sudipta Bhawmik

In 1910, a young Bengali student from Calcutta arrived at the University of Wisconsin to complete his BA degree. His name was Basanta Koomar Roy.  In those days, coming to America for higher education was a growing trend.  Rabindranath Tagore pioneered the trend by sending his son Rathindranath to USA for studying agriculture for he felt that “It is better to be a farmer from Illinois than to be a gentleman from Oxford!” Basanta Koomar being an ardent fan of Rabindranath, was most likely inspired to come to America for the same reasons. He later mentioned (in his publicity brochure),   “… by receiving an American education he would be able to serve his Motherland more efficiently.”  And although he did not go back to India, he did serve his Motherland handsomely.  Basanta Koomar took up journalism with a mission to bring India closer to America.  During the early part of the twentieth century, information about India came to America filtered by the British media. The nationalist uprisings in India, the literary and cultural renaissance taking place Continue reading

New Look

Aside

NY/NJ Bengali Blog now has a new look. After procrastinating for a while, I decided to upgrade my wordpress platform to version 3.3.1, all the way from 2.5.1 – a huge jump. During the upgrade process I had to face some hurdles, for which the site was not live for some time. Thanks for bearing with me. But the upgrade was worth it. Hope to keep adding content more frequently in the coming days.