Udaipur Tales back with ecstatic line-up of stories
In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, the festival founder Sushmita Singha, talked about the importance of reviving the art of oral storytelling, especially during the present digital age.
In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, the festival founder Sushmita Singha, talked about the importance of reviving the art of oral storytelling, especially during the present digital age.
A focus on encouraging compliance with lower tax rates and improved enforcement would be more effective.
As per a cross-country World Bank study on sugar-sweetened beverages, India has one of the highest tax rates for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) at a total tax rate of 40 per cent as of 2023.
The Gadhimai temple committee has not only decided to continue with the sacrifice, but they have also banned any filming or photographing of the animal killings during the festival.
According to the program head, teaching practical skills—such as completing bank withdrawal forms, basic calculations —greatly boosts women's independence and self-assurance. Geeta, a former waste picker who once felt anxious about traveling alone due to facing difficulties in reading numbers, now travels confidently back to her hometown in Begusarai, Bihar.
Mahalaya, also known as Sarva Pitri Amavasya (forefathers in heaven), was observed on 2 October this year and marked the end of Pitri Paksha—recalling the ancestors. This is a religiously significant day for Hindu devotees, particularly Bengalis, who, at the crack of dawn with devotional or Shroddha offerings, pray for their souls in the afterlife.
This story about Shyamal Dhan Dutta Durga Puja started in the year 1880. The puja is done with every tradition their ancestors provided them with. Devotion and respect are what separate this particular puja apart from others.
It was in 1998 that a group of women decided to organise an all-women-led Durga puja that would celebrate ‘Nari shakti’ and challenge the gender norms, thus leading from the front with their capabilities, an initiative that had garnered much zeal from several neighbourhood homes
Themes for Durga Pujas in the city have always reflected a slice of the society or major events around the world. So, it is natural for the pujas this year to be affected by the rape and murder of Tilottama at R G Kar hospital.
Keki N Daruwalla is a true pioneer in Indian writing in English. Among his ten volumes of poetry are The Keeper of the Dead, which won the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984, and Landscapes, which won the Commonwealth Poetry Award, Asia, 1987.
