Long time ago, I used to draw cartoons for some magazines like Proma (published in Kolkata), Udayan (published from NY), Sangbadik (also published from New York) and News India Times. I would like to share some of them with you. This cartoon was published in Proma few years ago. It is a take on art valuation. Let me know how you like it. In future weeks I’ll post one cartoon a week, from my old archives.
Dakshineswar Ramkrishna Sangha
Adyapeath, USA Foundation, Inc.
(A non-profit tax-exempt organization)
An Evening of Songs by Lopamudra Mitra &
Dance Recital by Nritya Creations
(A Fund Raising Event for Temple Fund)
Lopamudra Mitra, the most popular contemporary singer in Bengal today is
performing in New Jersey this summer!
Daughter of Late, Shree Pranab Mitra and Shreemati Sumita Mitra, she started
learning music from her father in childhood. Ranging from Rabindra Sangeet,
Indian Classical music, Bhajan and Nazrulgeeti, her versatility knows no
bounds. She ultimately found her platform in the songs based on poems of
renowned Bengali Poets. And that was her way to success. She performed all
over India with her new approach and won the music-lovers’ heart.
She won many awards for her unique dramatic style of singing, which is
fashioned with the classical aid and tenor voice quality. She won the prestigious
‘Bengal Film Journalist Award’ on her debut playback in the film ‘Sedin
Chaitramas’. Her album ‘Bhalobaste Balo’ was honoured as the best puja
album, best singer and album of the year in 2001. Her other album ‘Jhor Hole
Par!’ got the ‘ZEE MUSIC AWARD’ in 2005.
The scintillating creative dance performance of Nritya Creations will keep you
spellbound. Nritya Creations is the winner of First Prize in the Senior Category and Best
Choreographer Award at the 2008 Naya Andaz Dance Competition 2008.
Meena Basunag, the founder and Artistic Director of Nritya Creations
artistically blends various styles of Indian Classical dance such as Bharat
Natyam, Oddissi, Manipuri and Kathak with western contemporary forms such
as jazz and ballet and other cultural dance forms to create a unique and
wonderfully pleasing experience of sight and sound. Nritya Creations has also
won the Best Choreography and Best Performance Awards at the 2008 Naach
Revolution.
Contacts:
Swapan Nandi (609) 235-9576 Pamela Ghosh (732) 516-0730
Keya Chatterjee (732) 369-6759 Anasua Biswas (732) 727-2621
Amitava Hazra (908) 874-6923 Kanika Mazumdar (732) 496-5216
Avijit Dasgupta (732) 548-6065 Madhumita Sinha (201) 796-5738
Tapan Dutta (732) 650-9513 Priya Bhattacharya (609) 799-7975
Uttarjyoti Banerjee (732) 767-0260 Santanu Chakraborty (732) 572-3650
On July 27th, 2008 at 4:00PM
Marlboro High School, 95 N Main Street, Marlboro, NJ 07746
Tickets: $100, $50, $35 & $25
DRSA, USA Foundation, Inc. (A Non-Profit Organization)
1190 Easton Avenue, Franklin Township, NJ 08873, USA
Phone: (732) 249-7077 E-mail: adyapeathusa@adyapeathusa.com Website: www.adyapeathusa.com
It is our great pleasure to have The Famous Rabindra Sangeet Artist Pramita Mallick with us. We are organizing a Sangeet Anushthan for her honor on 20th of july (Sunday) at 5:30 pm. Please come and enjoy the evening with us.
Venue: 112 Monroe Ave, Edison, NJ 08820 (Sharmila & Sandip’s house )
Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
There will be no ticket for this Anushthan but your willing contribution for the artist will be appreciated.
Please call me if you need anymore information and forward this mail to your friends who are interested.
My phone # 908-4228-6650(home) 908-787-6590 (cell)
Email id dastandra@yahoo.com or tandra1975@yahoo.com
On 15th of July, 2008, Barack Obama laid out his foreign policy strategy in very clear and specific terms. He talked about how he would end the war in Iraq, how he would like to combat terrorism and end the oil based conflicts by reducing our (as well as other nations) dependency on oil. His plans call for getting back the world’s confidence in America, to get back some of its lost credibility by working together with the nations of the world to combat terrorism, reduce oil dependency and control climate change. He even talks about his willingness to sit down and talk to Iran about resolving the nuclear crisis.
All this may sound quite idealistic, but I guess at this point of time this idealism gives some hope to make things right. Any idealism can succeed if it is supported by the people. Let’s hope that Barack gets the support he deserves and brings in the change he envisions.
Watch the speech in this embedded video.
July 20th 2008 Sunday, 3 pm
Suggested Donation $10 per person, Sponsors – $50 per family
Ashvin Bhigendra, a leading male Carnatic musician is paired with Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik a leading female Hindisthani musician.
at 24 Scott drive Morganville, NJ 07751
Ashvin will be accompanied by Arun Ramamurthy on Violin and Suresh Ramachandran on Mridangam.
Mitali will be accompanied by Kedar Naphade on Harmonium and Amod Dandawate on Tabla.
For more details and directions etc.
Jayashree Suresh 732- 251-7085 rsuresh59@yahoo.com
Just as the excitement and euphoria of the recently concluded BangaSammelan (Toronto) dies down, Bengalis living in the middle western states are preparing to get into a festival of their own – Bangamela.
The 10th annual Bangamela 2008 will be held in Columbus OH this year from July 18 to 20. The event is hosted by COBCA (Central Ohio Bengali Cultural Association). Just as Bangasammelan (NABC) is franchised and sponsored by CAB (Cultural Association of Bengal), Bangamela is managed and controlled at the high level by MABA or Mid America Bengali Association. Without going into the details about the genesis of Bangamela, it suffices to say that the Bengalis of the mid west felt that they needed to have a festival of their own, a festival that is located closer to where they live and is easily accessible compared to NABC that tends to get most of their attendees from the densely populated (with Bengalis) east and west coast states. Continue reading
The Cultural Association of Bengal (CAB) every year honors a group of people for their outstanding contribution to the society. This year, one of our closest friends, Pronoy Chatterjee has been awarded the “Distinguished Service Award” for his contribution towards promoting and nurturing Bengali literature in North America. His award letter reads,
You are one of the foremost literary personality in the United States who has helped the cause of propagating and nurturing Bengali culture in North America, the goal the Cultural Association of Bengal cherish. You have done so as founder of NJPA and through years of association with Kollol of Jew Jersey, Ananada Mandir and other well known organizations. Your contribution to literature and work on arsenic cleaning in water is also well known.
In recognition of your dedication, we have the honor to award you the “Distinguished Service Award’ during the 28th North American Bengali Conference.
Pronoy Chatterjee is an ardent author, has written two novels (a review of one of his books appear in this blog) and has been an editor or several Bengali magazines including “Kallol Sahitya Sambad”, “AnandaLipi”, “Ananda Sangbad” and many others. He has that magical ability to inspire people around him to be creative, to develop their literary skills that have been dormant in them, and to enrich the lives of the community members through their creations.
My heartiest congratulations goes to Pronoy-da for this well deserved award.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
The credits are given below.
“Baad Protibad”
A Hilarious Play in Bengali by Sudipta BhawmikProduced by ECTA Inc.
Directed by Indranil Mukherjee
Cast:
Subhodev Das as Ashok
Aparajita Das as Kakoli
Indranil Mukherjee as Soumen
Anisha Das as JhimliRecorded and mixed at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, NJ, Studio by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee
Edited by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee and Indranil Mukherjee
Music and effects by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee.
Song “Need some cash to fill up my gas” by Vikram Kumar
Please let me know how you liked the play. We may do more plays like this in the future.
Couple of years ago, I wrote an article on how to save gasoline by changing some of our driving habits. I have republished the article again with the faint hope that it may help us again. I say “faint hope” because whatever we could have saved has been wiped out by this record price increase. These days I am taking a more philosophical approach towards this disaster, and this resulted in a new play “Baad Protibaad”. Well, don’t be scared, since “Baad Protibaad” is not a philosophical play at all (unless you really try hard to dig out the trace amounts from deep within the characters). It is just a humorous take on the effects of the gas price increase on us, the Bengalees.
The word “Gas” has some special connotation to us the Bengalees. But now, it almost means our life blood. And when this important part of our existence in this country is threatened, how do we react?
“Baad Protibaad” is a short play, produced in an audio play format. The play will be broadcast on EBC Radio, 1170 AM on Sunday, June 22nd, in the Bengali program air slot – “Probaha” hosted by Abhijit Sanyal at 10am in the morning. The play is produced by ECTA Inc. Following are the detailed credits:
“Baad Protibad”
A Hilarious Play in Bengali by Sudipta BhawmikProduced by ECTA Inc.
Directed by Indranil Mukherjee
Cast:
Subhodev Das as Ashok
Aparajita Das as Kakoli
Indranil Mukherjee as Soumen
Anisha Das as JhimliRecorded and mixed at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, NJ, Studio by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee
Edited by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee and Indranil Mukherjee
Music and effects by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee.
And please remember to come to ECTA’s mini theater festival on June 28th and 29th at the Edison Valley Playhouse, in Edison, NJ. If you like the above play, I am sure you’ll love the plays at the festival.
One of the key advantages of living in the United States was cheap gasoline and the joy of driving. But it seems that it will soon become a luxury of the past. Gas prices are going through the roof, and we are all suffering. The trouble is, the fundamental requirement to live in the suburbs is to be able to drive a car. We do not have a rickshaw stand nearby where we can walk to and hop into a human driven (absolutely green) vehicle and merrily coast to the local grocery store. It will be a major human rights issue if someone even dreams of such an entrepreneurial venture. Hence we have no other option other than trying to save on gasoline costs. Continue reading