Dance Pe Chance

Our theater group ECTA is known to our audience as creators of serious theater – theater which makes us think, makes us to introspect and makes us a bit more engaged with our fellow members of the community. This however does not mean we don’t like to have fun. Over the years, many of our audience members have  requested us to produce a full blown comedy that would cause a laugh riot in the theater. And we listened. So this year we are staging not one, but two comedies that will make you laugh like you have never laughed before – “Dance Pe Chance” and “Banijye Basate Lakshmi”. Continue reading →

Raag-Rang presents Kal Ke Kalakar on 16th March at 4 pm.

Featuring:

– Megha Nair & Ariaki Dandawate Hindustani Vocal Duet
– Duet Presentation of Kathak & Kuchipudi by Young Artists of
Kalamandir of New Jersey and Nritya Madhavi School of Dance
– Vijay Narayan– Carnatic Vocal
– Harini Rajshekar– Carnatic Violin
Venue:
Balaji Temple Auditorium (HTCS)
1075 Route 202/206, Bridgewater, NJ 08807
For Directions Visit: www.venkateswara.org

Admission:
Non-Members: $15 (Kids below 10 Years: $7)
Raag-Rang Members: $10 (Kids below 10 Years: $5)
RSVP will be appreciated.
Email: raagrang07@gmail.com Or Phone:908-429-1120

Saraswati

February is the month of Saraswati Puja and most of us have many sweet memories of this day. Although Saraswati Puja celebrates learning, education and the arts, the spring weather adds that extra zing of romance to the air on this special day. No wonder Saraswati Puja and Valentine’s day go hand in hand.

This year New Jersey will be celebrating Saraswati Puja at different venues and different dates through out the month. Somerset Bengali Association (SBA) will be celebrating their Puja on  Saturday February 9th at the Bridgewater Raritan Middle school, 425 Foothill Road, Bridgewater. Although the weather forecast doesn’t look too promising, the organizers are going ahead full steam to present a gala event spanning the entire day. SBA’s claim to fame is the food they serve during lunch and dinner. This year too they promise a sumptuous feast as well as a great entertainment show featuring local and invited artistes. On the same day, NJPA will be celebrating their Puja at the Community Presbyterian Church, 57 Sandhill Road, Kendall Park. Their puja will feature a variety of entertainment programs including a drama by Nupur Lahiri, Rabindrasangeet by Suparna Guha and many others.  Continue reading →

Nandikar Theater Festival

During my last visit to Kolkata, I was lucky enough to catch the Nandikar National Theatre Festival which over the years have evolved to be one of the major theatre festivals of India. During the festival, the Academy of Fine Arts compound livens up like no other time. This time Nandikar Festival was dedicated to the memory of the famous writer Sunil Gangopadhyay, playwright Mohit Chattopadhyay, and the great musician Pandit Ravi Shankar, all of whom we lost in the year 2012.  Huge posters bearing photographs and quotes from these masters decorated the path from the gate to the  theatre entrance. It was indeed a fitting tribute to these great men. Rudraprasad Sengupta, the seventy eight year old thespian and the director and president of Nandikar, claims that this festival is the festival of all theatre lovers of Kolkata. Nandikar only provides the labor. Continue reading →

Kolkata Airport

That’s what I am going to find out very soon. On Monday (Dec 10, 2012) morning when my flight lands on the tarmac of Netaji Subhash Chandra International airport, I will possibly see the new terminal building from the window, but will still use the old one. I understand it will still be a few more months before the terminal opens to the travelers. It’s okay with me, as long as it does not become yet another unfulfilled promise. After the new government took over the reigns of West Bengal, like many other Bengalis, I too hoped to see change sweeping over Kolkata and West Bengal like wild fire. But the indications I get from the news media and from my friends social network posts, I am a bit sceptic these days. I understand that it takes time to change things that have settled in over the years. But one and half years is not too small either. Two years ago when I was in Kolkata, I saw hope glittering in the eyes of the people. They were eager to welcome the new leaders in the hope of a better system. They said, “We are going to throw out the old and bring in the new. Only then things will change for the better.” This time when I visit them, I’d like to hear from them how do they feel now? Do they feel that things are changing for the better or are they the same? Continue reading →

8:00 pm, November 9th, 2012. Hurricane Sandy has just battered the US Eastern Seaboard. New Jersey and its neighboring states are still trying to recover from the massive destruction all around. Several thousand households still without power, and gasoline shortages all around causing long lines at the gas stations.  Amongst all this pandemonium, lights go up on a small theatre stage in Edison New Jersey. A young man, dressed in US Army fatigue, rise up from a corner and says, “Hi! I’m Ron. Captain Ron Mitra. Talking to you from Bagdad Iraq.” The show starts, because the show must go on.

Continue reading →

by Amitava Sen

That was a Sunday afternoon not long after I came to this country; I was traveling to Kansas City on a Sunday to attend a conference in our corporate head quarter with my boss and a few other co-workers.  Although the road to the airport had light traffic, I missed the flight.  I panicked at first, but then realized that no harm had been caused.  The meeting was for Monday morning and I had the whole night to make up for the delay. Those were the days when Pan-Am and TWA were still flying; you could change your flights without paying a penalty or even could transfer your flight to another airline. I rebooked in a flight touching St.Louis, Missouri in between and reached my destination later in the evening. Other than my boss, Stanley Simon no one noticed that I had been missing.  He seemed visibly upset. I offered some kind of excuse and he in turn did not make any attempt to hide his incredulity. Continue reading →

Sankhadeep, Ujjaini and Shiladitya

The first day of Kallol Durga Puja 2012 concluded just couple of hours ago. This is a unique feature of Kallol, to celebrate Durga Puja for three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not too many Bengali clubs of North America can boast of this feature. It is more homely and informal in nature and the crowd is manageable. People walked in leisurely, picked up their passes and parking tickets and strolled into the hall while greeting friends on their way.  Pretty ladies dressed in designer saris busy complementing each other and posing in front of eager camera men,  men in colorful kurtas hanging around with tea and cigarrettes,  and children in cute dresses running around the hall made the festive mood just perfect.   Continue reading →