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(273, 1, '2008-12-18 13:23:45', '2008-12-18 17:23:45', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/slumdog_millionaire_poster.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/slumdog_millionaire_poster-202x300.jpg" alt="" title="slumdog_millionaire_poster" width="202" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-274" /></a>When you watch Danny Boyle''s latest rags-to-riches fairy tale "Slumdog Millionaire", you''ll experience an emotional roller-coaster ride that only Mumbai can offer.  The city that never sleeps, the city that is in the center of the center of the world (as mentioned by Salim in the movie), a city that has an economic and social contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1, reveals itself on the screen as Danny Boyle and his screen writer Simon Beaufoy (based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup) masterfully crafts the film using the television game show "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" or "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" as the spine of the story. Indian slum and street life has been explored by many international film makers like Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay) and Roland Joffe (City of Joy) amongst others, but Slumdog brings to life the dark as well as the bright side of the city of Mumbai in a style that is shocking and heart warming at the same time. <!--more-->The story of Jamal, an uneducated chai-wallah at a modern high tech call center, who question after question moves towards the highly coveted  two crore rupees award money is indeed a fairy tale.  It''s such an unbelievable incident that the show host (Anil Kapoor) gets him arrested to find out how this boy can cheat his way through to the correct answers. But, fortunately for Jamal, the answers to the questions comes from his life experiences and not from any books - the vivid memories of his life in the slums and streets of Mumbai, to his struggle for existence along with his brother Salim at the foot of the Tajmahal, and finally in his search for the love of his life - Latika! Ironically, the final two crore question comes from the book, "Three Musketeers" by Alexander Dumas, that he and his brother had only started to read during his limited encounter with school. He calls his "Life Line" - his brother and Latika, but they fail to answer either. Hence Jamal gives in to destiny - and once again gambles his life in front of the millions of television viewers.\r\nThe performances by all the lead characters were heartfelt and spontaneous, especially the performance of the children in the first half on the movie.  The music by A. R. Rahman (who bagged a golden globe nomination) has helped heighten the emotions and the final song and dance scene during the credits was a treat. \r\nThe film, although extremely enjoyable, has sometimes gone overboard and simplified many of the complex issues.  The film does contains some strong imagery, some quite disturbing, and some very heartwarming. Special kudos to the cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle for the gorgeous photography and the editor Chris Dickens for maintaining the breakneck pace of the film that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. \r\nThe film has already won quite a few awards and have already bagged four Golden Globe nominations. Many pundits and film buffs feel that Slumdog will be a strong contender for the Oscars next February. But the limited release of the film is really a major constraint for many viewers. Hopefully, we''ll see more theaters screening the film if the Oscar nominations give it a nod. But before that happens, I''d like to encourage you all to check out the listings and find a theater where you can enjoy this film as soon as possible.\r\n \r\n', 'Slumdog Millionaire: A Mumbai Two Crore Opera', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'slumdog-millionaire-a-mumbai-two-crore-opera', '', '', '2008-12-18 13:23:45', '2008-12-18 17:23:45', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=273', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(274, 1, '2008-12-18 13:15:12', '2008-12-18 17:15:12', '', 'slumdog_millionaire_poster', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'slumdog_millionaire_poster', '', '', '2008-12-18 13:15:12', '2008-12-18 17:15:12', '', 273, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/slumdog_millionaire_poster.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(275, 1, '2009-01-01 23:41:00', '2009-01-02 03:41:00', 'Year 2008 is finally over, and what a year it has been. I am sure this year will go down in history as one of the most significant year of this century.  If we look back to this year, the two events that stand out the most are - the global economic meltdown and the historic presidential election. \r\nThe economic meltdown of the 2008 will go down in history possibly as the darkest economic times of the twenty-first century just as the great depression of 1929. The sub-prime mortgage crisis, the credit crisis, the crash of the Wall street giants,  the market crash created a snow ball effect of financial disasters which still remains to be contained. This crisis also proved once again how tightly the global markets are connected these days when it spread from its epicenter in USA to all parts of the developed and developing world. \r\nThe second most significant event was the US presidential election. The election of Barack Obama, the first African American to grace the White House as the president of the United States is an event that will be recorded in history in golden letters. Barack Obama brings with him the hopes for a positive change not only in USA but also the whole world. The worldwide celebrations at the election win of Obama  is a testament to how the world looks forward to this new leader.  \r\n\r\nIndia too has seen some good and bad days during the last year. The dastardly attack on Mumbai by the terrorists has caused the world community to refocus their attention to deal with global terrorism. Terrorism still continues to plague the world and keeps on challenging our defenses in any way they can.  \r\nOn the positive side, the Indian technological and economic prowess showed off with the successful launch of Chandrayaan I and then with the successful implant of the lunar probes on the surface of the moon. This has been a significant achievement for a country that is relatively young to the space race. \r\n\r\nAnother 2008 global event that I will remember for a while is the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Olympic games demonstrated how human beings like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt can become super humans. This Olympics was also especially favorable to the Indian athletes with its first individual gold and if I am not incorrect, the highest medal tally at the games. \r\n\r\nI hope 2009 comes to us with the promise to fulfill our hopes and dreams. Let''s hope that from January 20th, the new President brings in the change he promised and helps herald in the peace and prosperity that we all have been looking forward to. Let''s hope that evil in all forms, from terrorists to the financial swindlers, all are defeated and good prevails for all in the world.\r\n\r\nWishing you all a very happy New Year.\r\n\r\nSudipta Bhawmik', 'Goodbye 2008 - Welcome 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'goodbye-2008-welcome-2009', '', '', '2009-01-01 23:41:00', '2009-01-02 03:41:00', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=275', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(276, 1, '2009-01-15 18:09:00', '2009-01-15 22:09:00', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/wt_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/wt_web.jpg" alt="" title="wt_web" width="500" height="316" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-277" /></a>Traveling long distance by train was one of the most enjoyable modes of transportation in India. Once you get over the initial hurdles of getting a reserved seat or squeeze yourself in through the crowded doors as the train slowly rolls in to the platform or the frantic attempts to manage the porter and the family, the journey becomes much easy and enjoyable. Overnight train rides are especially thrilling when you not only need to manage a berth to sleep, but also keep an eye on your luggage and belongings to protect them from the "highly suspicious" co-passengers around you. When I was a child, I remember the train journeys from Kolkata (Sealdah or Howrah depending on which train you take) to Siliguri. Before the Farrakka bridge (barrage) was completed, we had to get off the train at Farakka and then take a steam boat across the Ganges to the other side (Sagrikoli Ghaat)  and then scramble on to the train after a long run. If you were unlucky enough of not having a proper reservation, then your plight can only be imagined by those who took that journey.  However, once you are settled in your seats or berths, temptations start knocking on your senses as the aroma of hot food attracts your attention along with the loud marketing attempts by the food vendors on the station. The appetizing offerings of "Ilish Maachher Jhol", "Bhaaja Mooger Daal", "Gorom Bhaat with Ghee" and "Begun Bhaja" pulls in many hungry passengers to the bamboo and hay thatched eateries all around the train station.  <!--more-->\r\nLater, after the completion of the Farrakka barrage, we had to be consoled only with the food offered by the railway caterers which looked and smelled tempting but was hardly tasty. Still, we waited eagerly for the moment when the uniformed caterers brought in those food trays with holes and slots filled with rice, daal, anda curry, fish curry etc. Often we carried better food with us like luchi, alur dom, but still those aluminum trays looked much tastier than our home cooked meals. \r\nAnother feature of this specific route was that most regulars hardly ever bought any tickets for their travel. After traveling few times, they all knew each and every Ticket Collector (TTs) and they had a nice arrangement with them which reduced their travel budget significantly. In fact it was a disgrace for a young guy to travel with a train ticket as one of my cousins explained to me. When he displayed his ticket to the TT on board, the disappointed official scolded him citing that a young guy like him should have been more adventurous. \r\nI really appreciate our railway minister Mr. Lallu Prasad Yadav. It must have been a real challenge for him to make the railways profitable by collecting the proper fare from each and every passenger. However, he must have killed the adventurous spirit of our young folks in this process.', 'Cartoon of the Week 15: Train Travel', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-15-train-travel', '', '', '2009-01-15 22:48:20', '2009-01-16 02:48:20', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=276', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(277, 1, '2009-01-15 18:07:19', '2009-01-15 22:07:19', 'Travel', 'wt_web', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'wt_web', '', '', '2009-01-15 18:07:19', '2009-01-15 22:07:19', '', 276, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/wt_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(278, 1, '2009-02-05 16:27:09', '2009-02-05 20:27:09', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jodiogolpo_web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jodiogolpo_web-288x300.jpg" alt="Jodio Golpo" title="jodiogolpo_web" width="288" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-283" /></a>Theatre Workshop, the leading theater company/group of Kolakata, will be premiering their new production "Jadio Galpo" at the Academy of Fine Arts theater in Kolkata at 3.00pm on Saturday February 7th. The play is written by yours truly and was earlier produced by our group ECTA in Kolkata and USA as "Satyameva". The play has also been published in the Bohurupi theater magazine in 2008.\r\n\r\nTheater Workshop, who under the leadership of Ashok Mukhopadhyay, is promoting the play as the first attempt in globalizing Bengali Theater. Globalization has affected Bengali theater from its early days with the contributions of Herasim Steppanovich Lebedeff and later with the numerous adaptations of western plays onto Bengali stage. But the play "Jadio Galpo" introduces globalization from a different perspective - it deals with the lives of the global Bengali. Bengalis are no longer limited within the geographic confines of the two Bengals, they have now spread themselves out all over the world.  And, it is rare to see a play these days that talks about the lives of the Bengalis who live outside Bengal or Bangladesh. There has been some attempts in films (Bong Connection, The Namesake etc.) but Bengali theater has always kept themselves limited to their roots. In 2006, when our group staged "Ron" in Kolkata, it created quite a bit of stir. Ananda Lal, the theater reviewer of "The Telegraph" wrote in 2007 while writing about "Satyameva" - "The group from New Jersey who last year stunned Calcutta with their play Ron...". And I believe that this effect was caused not by any production extravaganza, but due to the fact that possibly for the first time the Kolkata audience experienced a Bengali play that takes place in an American locale, a play that tells the stories of Bengalis in America. \r\n"Jadio Galpo" also tells the stories of two generations of Bengalis in America - the veterans who struggled hard to reach their pinnacle of success, and the new comers or FOBs (Fresh Off the Boat) who with their H1-B visa are set to conquer the world by any means. But it also talks about hopes and dreams - dreams fulfilled and dreams shattered. The tales of the global Bengali also needs to be told - also needs to be listened too. Because it is only from a distance can one see one''s own world in a different light. \r\n\r\nThe upcoming show schedules are as follows:\r\n\r\nFeb 7th, 3.00pm  Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata\r\nFeb 13th, 6.30pm Girish Mancha, Kolkata\r\nOther shows will be advertised in the local newspapers.\r\n\r\nThe play is directed by Ashok Mukhopadhyay who also acts in one of the lead roles. The other character is performed by Krishnagoti Chatterjee.\r\n\r\nIf you happen to be in Kolkata, I''d strongly encourage you to watch the play and give me your feedback. \r\nThank you.', '"Jadio Galpo": Globalization in Bengali Theatre', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'jadio-galpo-globalization-in-bengali-theatre', '', '', '2009-02-12 11:25:02', '2009-02-12 15:25:02', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=278', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(280, 1, '2009-02-11 15:59:39', '2009-02-11 19:59:39', 'Jadio Galpo : A New Play by Theatre Workshop\r\nFriday February 13, 2009 at 6:30pm\r\nGirish Mancha,\r\n76/1, Bagbazar Street\r\nkolkata, West Bengal Get Directions\r\nTheatre Workshop presents\r\n\r\n"Jadio Galpo"\r\n\r\nA play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nDirected by Ashok Mukhopadhyay\r\n\r\nSanjoy, a young software professional, has arrived in USA, the "land of opportunity", for just over six months and works for a software body shopping company "InterSoft" owned and operated by Bill (a Bengali American living in the States for over thirty years.) On the day of the play Bill fires Sanjoy and asks him to go back to India. Sanjoy, however, is not happy with this decision and refuses to oblige. He informs Bill that he is not going to return to India under any circumstances. He states that returning to India is synonymous to signing a death warrant for himself. He cannot subject himself to such a grave risk. And to justify himself, and to win his ultimate motive, he has to make a choice between truth or deceit.', 'Jadio Galpo by Theater Workshop', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'jadio-galpo-by-theater-workshop', '', '', '2009-02-11 15:59:39', '2009-02-11 19:59:39', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=280', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(281, 1, '2009-02-11 16:02:49', '2009-02-11 20:02:49', 'This month''s Sahitya O Alochana will be held on the fourth Friday, February 27, at 8 PM at Anandamandir. \r\nThe topic will be "The Story of India -- the Aryan Migration." I shall show portions of the first hour of the PBS series on the subject (:"The Story of India") and then lead a discussion on the topic.', 'Sahitya O Alochona', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sahitya-o-alochona', '', '', '2009-02-11 16:02:49', '2009-02-11 20:02:49', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=281', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(282, 1, '2009-02-11 16:09:21', '2009-02-11 20:09:21', '<p style="text-align: center;">ECTA presents</p>\r\n\r\n<h1 style="text-align: center;"><strong>BANAPRASTHA</strong></h1>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;">A play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\nDirected by Indranil Mukherjee</p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">“</span></span><em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">A senior Bengali virologist returns to India, after retiring from his medical practice of 35 years, to find peace, tranquility and solace amongst his family and old friends. But soon he discovers that his nemesis has followed him and he has nowhere to hide.</span></span></em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>"</span></span></span></span><strong></strong></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;">Cast:</p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Gargi Mukherjee, Samya Goswami, Keka Sirkar, Kaninika Dutta, Sudipta Bhawmik, Subhodev Das, Indranil Mukherjee, Pradeep Ramdass, Kaushik Dutta, and Lilabati Majumdar</strong></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;">Music: Partha Sarathi Mukhopadhyay</p>\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n<h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">Edison Valley Playhouse, 2196 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ</span></strong></h2>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;">Tickets: $20.00</p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;">Contact: Email: <a style="color: #0000cc;" href="mailto:bhawmik@gmail.com" target="_blank">bhawmik@gmail.com</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a style="color: #0000cc;" href="mailto:indymukh@gmail.com" target="_blank">indymukh@gmail.com</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<div style="text-align: center;">Phone: 732 241 7060</div>\r\n</div>', '"Banaprastha" : ECTA''s New Production', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'baanaprastha-ectas-new-production', '', '', '2009-04-03 21:00:44', '2009-04-04 01:00:44', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=282', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(283, 1, '2009-02-12 11:24:34', '2009-02-12 15:24:34', '', 'jodiogolpo_web', 0, 'Jodio Golpo', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'jodiogolpo_web', '', '', '2009-02-12 11:24:34', '2009-02-12 15:24:34', '', 278, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jodiogolpo_web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(284, 1, '2009-02-19 16:04:02', '2009-02-19 20:04:02', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bank-report-web.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bank-report-web.jpg" alt="Bank Report" title="bank-report-" width="478" height="310" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-285" /></a>\r\nI drew this cartoon long time ago to highlight the healthcare cost crisis. For the benefit of the readers who don''t read Bengali let me explain it a bit. The doctor looking at his patient''s charts comments that he is not concerned with his lab reports but he is concerned about his bank statement reports which of course is not good enough to bear the cost of treatment. \r\nHealthcare cost management, one of the major election issues last year, is once again in the back burner - being overshadowed by the economic meltdown. Although the recent economic stimulus package contains a provision to modernize health-care record keeping which can potentially reduce some of the costs and also provide for some computer programming jobs, it can hardly put a dent on this monstrous problem. Health-care cost is poised to be the next bubble to burst and it can also have devastating effects on the population and businesses. This needs to be dealt with as soon as possible before the entire system disintegrates. Many hospitals are reporting higher rates of ER admissions for patients without insurance. This is expected with the high unemployment numbers.  Soon the hospitals will be asking for bail out money.<!--more-->\r\nThe current method of cost reduction as practiced by the insurance companies and HMOs has not been working for a long time, at least not in the patients favor. The medical practitioners have been  forced by the HMOs and insurance companies to avoid treatment as much as possible. A patient is treated based on the amount he (or his insurance company) can pay and not based on what they need. Remember the finger attachment case in Michael Moore''s Sicko? I have seen in doctor''s offices, clear instructions for the nurses and attendants to ask the patient if he/she can pay for a specific test or procedure before conducting it. \r\nThe doctors spend minimum time with their patients because the reduced compensation per patient forces them to increase their patient count. The doctors rely more on the lab reports and mechanized algorithms rather than spending time to solve the unique medical puzzle each patient poses. I don''t blame the doctors, they simply don''t have the time.  \r\nThe medical costing structure is another huge puzzle. I just cannot understand what kind of costing method does the hospitals use. When their astronomical bills gets sized down to a fraction of their original amount by the insurance companies, I fail to comprehend how could these hospitals survive. Since most patients have some kind of insurance, I am sure none of them agree to pay those huge bills and only pay a highly reduced negotiated amount. And since the hospitals are still surviving and their employees getting paid, I am sure that the negotiated amount they receive serves them well. So why this inflated bill in the first place? Is this notion of high health-care cost nothing but an illusion? Only an imaginary crisis? I am sure there is some explanation for all this. However, I think that if the hospitals and medical practitioners had charged the typical insurance company negotiated rates to the common public, then many would have been able to pay them without going through insurance companies. The businesses who employ their patients also could have easily picked up the bill without going through the insurance companies any pay them the hefty middle-man charges.  \r\nMany smart people have looked into this problem and they must have found the problem complex enough to leave it unsolved. However, the only worry I have is, if these problems turn out to be "greed", "special interests" and "lobbies", then we are in for another disaster. The sub-prime crisis, the credit crunch and the Wall-Street meltdown should have taught us enough lessons - only if we learn from them.\r\n', 'Cartoon of the Week 16: Healthcare Costs', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cartoon-of-the-week-16-healthcare-costs', '', '', '2009-02-19 16:08:39', '2009-02-19 20:08:39', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=284', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(285, 1, '2009-02-17 20:34:47', '2009-02-18 00:34:47', '', 'bank-report-', 0, 'Bank Report', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bank-report-web', '', '', '2009-02-17 20:34:47', '2009-02-18 00:34:47', '', 284, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bank-report-web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(286, 1, '2009-02-26 13:44:03', '2009-02-26 17:44:03', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cover-3916.gif"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cover-3916.gif" alt="Mothers for Sale" title="cover-3916" width="125" height="194" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-287" /></a><em>"My name is Shikha Morol. That''s not my real name, but I don''t want to tell you my real name. This is my name here. And please don''t take any pictures. I won''t allow it . . ."\r\n\r\nThe woman in front of me sat with her head bowed. She wore a blue synthetic sari with garish floral prints and a mismatched purple blouse. She looked neat and clean but signs of poverty were evident in her work-roughened hands and broken nails.\r\n\r\nHer name, she said, was Shikha, "a little flame." She said she was 30. I was surprised. I assumed she was closer to 50.</em>\r\n\r\nThis is how one of the interviews with Sikha, a sex worker in Sonagachhi Kolkata, starts in Shamita Dasgupta and Indrani Sinha''s latest book, "Mothers for Sale: Women in Kolkata''s Sex Trade". <!--more-->\r\nKolkata sex workers have earned an international reputation through Oscar winning films like "Born into Brothels" (directed by Zana Briski) and their activism. Several novels have been written, several films made on these women and their lives, mostly my male writers and film makers. They portray them from different view points, sometimes as exploited women, sometimes as victims of poverty and social injustice, sometimes a lovers and sometimes just as sex objects. However, Shamita and Indrani looks at these women from a different perspective, as working mothers who sell their services to take care of their children and family. \r\n\r\n<em>"They tell me I am their son,"</em> says Sikha about the greatest compliment that was bestowed upon her by her in-laws. Sikha''s husband, a landless laborer, killed himself few years ago leaving his parents and three children to be taken care of by Sikha, the sole bread earner. Shikha sold the milk of their cows, worked in a rice mill and picked vegetables in other people''s farms, sometimes working sixteen hours a day. But she couldn''t earn enough to properly feed her sons and her husband''s parents and through a series of accidents had to finally chose the oldest profession of sex trade. <em>"I came of my free will"</em>, she declared to Shamita and Indrani. She was not forced into this trade by anyone. Since she began her work in Shonagachhi, she had been regularly sending money orders to her parents-in-law for them and her three sons. But she hates this work and looks forward to the day when her children no longer need her money and she can "leave all this behind." \r\n\r\nAs per the promotional material, the book <strong>Mothers for Sale</strong> attempts to offer an understanding of sex workers as mothers that goes beyond the current debate on the viability and legitimacy of sex work for women. It highlights the aspirations and fears, joys and disappointments, triumphs and failures that sex workers share with all mothers. The book is based on information gathered from more than 750 sex workers and more than 300 of their children through detailed interviews that the authors conducted since 2006.  This is not fiction or fantasy that many writers and film makers have resorted to,  to portray the conditions of the sex traders. This is an objective and compassionate study of a class of working women who are trying to make a living for themselves and their children.\r\n\r\nThe authors Shamita Dasgupta and Indrani Sinha have been working for women''s cause throughout their career. <a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dasgupta-3916.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dasgupta-3916.jpg" alt="Shamita Dasgupta" title="dasgupta-3916" width="125" height="190" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-288" /></a>\r\nShamita Dasgupta cofounded Manavi in New Jersey and is an adjunct faculty of law with the NYU Law School. Indrani Sinha founded <strong>Sanlaap</strong> in 1987 and works with women and young people fighting for their rights and protesting violence against women.\r\n\r\n\r\nI sincerely congratulate them for their excellent work. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'Mothers in Sex Trade : An In-depth Look', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'mothers-in-sex-trade-an-in-depth-look', '', '', '2009-02-26 13:44:03', '2009-02-26 17:44:03', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=286', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(287, 1, '2009-02-26 13:34:48', '2009-02-26 17:34:48', '', 'cover-3916', 0, 'Mothers for Sale', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'cover-3916', '', '', '2009-02-26 13:34:48', '2009-02-26 17:34:48', '', 286, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cover-3916.gif', 0, 'attachment', 'image/gif', 0),
(288, 1, '2009-02-26 13:35:35', '2009-02-26 17:35:35', '', 'dasgupta-3916', 0, 'Shamita Dasgupta', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'dasgupta-3916', '', '', '2009-02-26 13:35:35', '2009-02-26 17:35:35', '', 286, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dasgupta-3916.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(297, 1, '2009-03-15 11:32:30', '2009-03-15 15:32:30', '<a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bengali_sweet.jpg"><img src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bengali_sweet-300x199.jpg" alt="Bengali Sweet Jaynagarer Moa" title="bengali_sweet" width="300" height="199" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-299" /></a>The famous Joynagar moa, a confectionery prepared from date palm jaggery (nalen gur) and puffed,  rice could be given a geographical indication (GI) patent. If awarded, the patent would be the second for a produce of Bengal, after Darjeeling tea. Also in the pipeline for a GI patent are Bardhamaner Sithabhog, Shaktigarer lyangcha and Mursidabad silk.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe patent means that the particular product can be made only in that area and cannot be copied in the countries where it is registered as a GI product. Darjeeling Tea, which got a GI patent in 2008, has been registered as a GI product in countries like the UK, USA, Germany and Russia.\r\n\r\nThe Federation of the Association of Cottage and Small Scale Industries (Facsi) has started an awareness and sensitization program among confectioners who make Joynagarer Moa. They are being told about the details of intellectual property rights at an even held in the Joynagar-Majilpur Municipality area.\r\n\r\nAshok Kumar Ghosh, Sri Krishna Mistanna Bhandar is the oldest moa shop in Joynagar, felt GI would be a big boost for the poor sweet shop owners keeping alive Bengal''s legacy. "Our shop was established in 1929 by my father. Earlier, babus from Kolkata would order huge quantities of moa during Poush Sankranti. Our moa has even been sent to USA. But fake products are being made all over the state, putting our identity at stake," he said.\r\n\r\nGhosh attended the awareness program conducted by FACSI and the patent office. "There are over 150 sweet shops in Joynagar, Bahura and Charan, which make the delicacy. We shall sit and discuss the issue of the GI patent," he added. Ghosh pointed out that Joynagarer moa is made of a special brand of aromatic rice called Kanakchur and nalen gur, which cannot be made elsewhere.\r\n\r\nFACSI president Sukhendu Bikash Ghose said the organization is trying to act as a facilitator for a GI patent for Joynagarer moa. "The confectioners have set up an association. A GI patent is only given to associations. We have got a mandate from the department of MSMe of the Union government to facilitate a GI patent for ethnic products," he said. \r\n\r\n(News courtesy Times of India)', 'Jaynagarer Moa to be Patented', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'jaynagarer-moa-to-be-patented', '', '', '2009-03-17 22:42:12', '2009-03-18 02:42:12', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=297', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(298, 1, '2009-03-17 22:16:26', '2009-03-18 02:16:26', 'This is a reminder that we will resume our quasi-monthly Sahitya O Alochana meetings this Friday, March 20, at 8 PM at Ananda Mandir.\r\n\r\nDr. Nupur Lahiri, who recently translated Rabindranath''s "Rakto Karabi," will lead a (much-anticipated!) discussion on Tagore in Translation. I for one am looking forward to it.\r\n\r\nHoping to see you all there,\r\nAmitabha Bagchi', 'Sahityo-O-Alochona', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sahityo-o-alochona', '', '', '2009-03-17 22:16:26', '2009-03-18 02:16:26', '', 0, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/?p=298', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(299, 1, '2009-03-17 22:37:29', '2009-03-18 02:37:29', 'Jaynagarer Moa a Bengali Sweet', 'bengali_sweet', 0, 'Bengali Sweet Jaynagarer Moa', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bengali_sweet', '', '', '2009-03-17 22:37:29', '2009-03-18 02:37:29', '', 297, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bengali_sweet.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(300, 1, '2009-03-19 10:44:33', '2009-03-19 14:44:33', '<p><a href="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/mahasweta.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-301" title="Mahasweta Devi" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/mahasweta.jpg" alt="Mahasweta Devi, novelist, author, activist" width="260" height="297" /></a><span style="font-size: small; ">On Wednesday (18th March), fourteen authors across the world were been named as the contenders for the Man Booker International prize. The long list of writers includes the name of prolific veteran Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi.   Sir V. S. Naipaul is also included in the list. In all 14 authors from 12 countries have been nominated for Booker Prize, which is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world. The prize given in two years carries prize money of 60,000 pounds and can be won by any author worldwide, provided their work is available in English.<br />\r\n </span><!--more--></p>\r\n\r\n<p>Seven out of fourteen writers, who have been named in the judge''s list of contenders, are in translation category. Mahasweta Devi, who writes in Bengali, is based in Santiniketan in West Bengal. She is one among India''s foremost writers.  She is also a well-known activist for the rights of indigenous peoples. Devi is known for depicting the moral dilemmas Indians from different walks of life face.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style="font-size: small; ">"I have always believed that the real history is made by ordinary people. I constantly come across the reappearance, in various forms, of folklore, ballads, myths and legends, carried by ordinary people across generations," Devi has said.</span></p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style="font-size: small; ">"The reason and inspiration for my writing are those people who are exploited and used, and yet they do not accept defeat. For me, the endless source of ingredients for writing is in these amazingly, noble, suffering human beings. Why should I look for my raw material elsewhere, once I have started knowing them? Sometimes it seems to me that my writing is really their doing," Devi added.</span></p>\r\n\r\n<p>The 14 authors on the list are: Peter Carey (Australia), Evan S. Connell (USA), Mahasweta Devi (India), E.L. Doctorow (USA), James Kelman (UK), Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru), Arnošt Lustig (Czechoslovakia), Alice Munro (Canada), V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad/India), Joyce Carol Oates (USA), Antonio Tabucchi (Italy), Ngugi Wa Thiong''O (Kenya), and Dubravka Ugresic (Croatia), Ludmila Ulitskaya (Russia).</p>\r\n\r\n<p>The judging panel for the Man Booker International Prize 2009 includes: Jane Smiley (writer), Amit Chaudhuri (writer, academic and musician) and Andrey Kurkov writer (film script writer and essayist).</p>', 'Mahasweta Devi Nominated for the 2009 Man Booker Prize', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'mahasweta-devi-nominated-for-the-2009-man-booker-prize', '', '', '2009-03-19 11:01:08', '2009-03-19 15:01:08', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=300', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(303, 1, '2009-03-19 21:28:47', '2009-03-20 01:28:47', 'Sunil Ganguly introducing Urhalpool.', 'sunil_ganguly', 0, 'Sunil Ganguly introducing Urhalpool', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sunil_ganguly', '', '', '2009-03-19 21:28:47', '2009-03-20 01:28:47', '', 302, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/sunil_ganguly.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(301, 1, '2009-03-19 10:41:33', '2009-03-19 14:41:33', 'Mahasweta Devi, author, novelist, activist', 'Mahasweta Devi', 0, 'Mahasweta Devi, novelist, author, activist', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'mahasweta', '', '', '2009-03-19 10:41:33', '2009-03-19 14:41:33', '', 300, 'http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/mahasweta.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(302, 1, '2009-03-19 21:34:26', '2009-03-20 01:34:26', '<p><img class="alignleft" style="float: left; margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;" title="Sunil Ganguly" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/sunil_ganguly.jpg" alt="Sunil Ganguly" width="250" height="188" />Few months ago I wrote about the debut of a new Bengali webzine, Urhalpool.com. The magazine has now reached new heights with the introduction of the first hard copy version at the 2009 Kolkata Book Fair. On Saturday 7th February 2009, at 6PM, the UBI auditorium at the Kolkata Book Fair ground was completely packed with people standing all over. Sunil Gangopadhyay introduced Urhalpool with a short speech which was  followed by editor Goutam Datta talking about the vision of the magazine. The Hon''ble consul general of Italy was present on the stage along with Urhalpool''s Italian writer Alessandra Corsini. Several other contributers to the magaine like  Alolika Mukherjee, Subodh sarkar, Mallika Sengupta, Pinaki Thakur, Bithi Chattopadhyay and others were present at the event.  Urhalpool''s  Shakti Chattopadhyay Life Time achievement in Bengali literature award (Rs25,000) was presented to Nabaneeta Dev Sen and Nirmal Chandra Gangopadhyay Sahitya puroskar was awarded (Rs15,000) to Poet Srijato. Poet Shakti Chattopadhyay''s wife Minakhi-di handed over the Shakti Chattopadhyay award and Nupur Lahiri handed over Nirmal Chandra award.  The entire program was conducted by Soumitra Mitra.</p>', 'Urhalpool Inaugurated at the 2009 Kolkata Book Fair', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'urhalpool-inaugurated-at-the-2009-kolkata-book-fair', '', '', '2009-03-19 21:47:58', '2009-03-20 01:47:58', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=302', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(304, 1, '2009-03-20 11:58:08', '2009-03-20 15:58:08', '<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/49c3b888cc8e7b3d/4741e3c5156499a7/76969f91/-cpid/87808604619d465f" id="W4727a250e66f972349c3b888cc8e7b3d" width="384" height="283"><param name="movie" value="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/49c3b888cc8e7b3d/4741e3c5156499a7/76969f91/-cpid/87808604619d465f" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /></object>\r\nPresident Obama on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno! Enjoy', 'President Obama on the Tonight Show', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'president-obama-on-the-tonight-show', '', '', '2009-03-20 11:58:08', '2009-03-20 15:58:08', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=304', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(305, 1, '2009-03-20 14:13:36', '2009-03-20 18:13:36', '<p><img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" title="The Total Artificial Heart" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kgp_heart.jpg" alt="Artificial Heart developed at IIT Kharagpur" width="250" height="188" />My alma mater, IIT Kharagpur is once again in the news with a great device - an artifical heart.  It''ll be to coronary care what Nano is to cars, say scientists at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, who have devised an an artificial heart that could save lives for just Rs 1 lakh - reports the Times of India.    The research team says trials of the prototype lab constructed heart have been successful on small animals and the gadget is being perfected on goats. The institute has applied for permission to conduct human trials.  The Total Artificial Heart (TAH) — said to be the first such in the country — has been developed by a team of scientists at IIT-Kgp''s school of medical science and technology. <!--more--> After four years of painstaking research, the scientists say their creation is better and far more affordable than the first artificial heart developed in the US, which showed a "high rate failure'''' and at Rs 30 lakh, beyond the reach of the common man.   The inventors hope to fit the heart into an ailing patient within a few months, once permissions from the Indian Council of Medical Research come through. The unique 13—chamber heart is working fine in small animals, said a member of the team. Human tests are to be conducted at Medical College and Hospital (MCH), Kolkata.  Senior cardiac surgeons — Madhusudan Pal, Bhaskar Ukil, Tarun Saha and Kalishankar Das from MCH and Rajiv Narang of AIIMS, Delhi — will conduct the human trials.   "We are also in touch with P Venugopal, former AIIMS director and one of the leading cardiac surgeons of the country. We expect him to be part of the team as well,'''' said Sujoy Guha, IIT-KGP faculty member and bio-medical engineering expert, who is leading the artificial-heart team.   "The TAH will be of great help to patients whose heart muscles have become so weak that they need immediate transplantation. Angioplasty, stents and even bypass surgery are of no use for such patients because they cannot strengthen muscles. It is difficult to find donor organs and even if transplantation is done, the body develops auto rejection and severe medication is required to suppress immune reactions," said Guha.   "TAH will be a life-saver, for the price of a Tata Nano,'''' said one of the scientists. "Bengal may have lost the Nano, but the world cannot miss this Rs 1-lakh invention.''''  News Courtesy of Times of India.</p>', 'IIT Kharagpur Develops Artificial Heart', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'iit-kharagpur-develops-artificial-heart', '', '', '2009-03-20 14:13:36', '2009-03-20 18:13:36', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=305', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(306, 1, '2009-03-20 13:49:38', '2009-03-20 17:49:38', 'Total Artificial Heart (TAH) developed at IIT Kharagpur, India.', 'kgp_heart', 0, 'Total Artificial Heart (TAH) developed at IIT Kharagpur, India.', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kgp_heart', '', '', '2009-03-20 13:49:38', '2009-03-20 17:49:38', '', 305, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kgp_heart.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(307, 1, '2009-03-21 12:47:39', '2009-03-21 16:47:39', 'An assortment of healthy Indian Food. Rice, Dal, Chick Peas, Spinach and Cheese.', 'indian food healthy', 0, 'Healthy Indian Food', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'indian_food_healthy', '', '', '2009-03-21 12:47:39', '2009-03-21 16:47:39', '', 219, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/indian_food_healthy.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(308, 1, '2009-03-23 13:12:36', '2009-03-23 17:12:36', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" title="IIT Kharagpur" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/iit_kharagpur.jpg" alt="IIT Kharagpur" width="116" height="87" />It is ironic to say the least that just when I was enthusiastically reporting the news of the development of an artificial heart by IIT Kharagpur, a young heart stopped beating in the campus. Rohit Kumar, a third year Electrical Engineering student (LLR Hall) died due to the apparent neglect by the in-campus "B.C.Roy Technology Hospital".  Details about this event can be found in the campus students newspaper "<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/?referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/?referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php?post_status=draft'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/?referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=308'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/?referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php?post_status=draft'');" href="http://scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank">Scholars Avenue</a>" and I will refrain from reporting them once again out here.  However this incident resulted in a student uproar that was unprecedented in the history of IIT Kharagpur. The angry students demonstrated their frustration at the residence of the director of the Institute which resulted in the resignation of the director as well as some other administrative staff.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI grew up in the campus and hence the state of the health care infrastructure in well known to me. The hospital had primitive facilities and it never had the capabilities to take care of brain injuries or any other serious conditions that require intensive critical care. The doctors and the staff were equipped only to treat common ailments like dysentery or some other infections. Any complications were referred either to the railway hospital or to some Kolkata hospital. This has been the situations through ages. In the meantime the number of students in the campus has increased multiple folds, and so did the Institute budget. But it seems, not much has changed in the hospital.\r\n\r\nThe authorities now have promised to rectify the situation and to improve the medical facilities. But it is sad that it required the sacrifice of a promising young man to bring their attention to this matter.  The incident has also tarnished the image of the IIT students (especially by the media) who in the heat of the moment did things that they shouldn''t have.  But I think we need to understand their frustration too. They have to spend four years of their lives in the campus of a premier Institute of the nation. They have the right to expect a minimum level of health care.\r\nThis also goes true for the faculty and staff. How can IIT Kharagpur attract the best teachers if they cannot offer them some level of decent health care? Kharagpur has the disadvantage of being not close to any major metropolis. The health care infrastructure in the towns surrounding the campus is poor too. An Institute that develops artificial heart should have a health care facility to take care of its talents hearts and minds.', 'Trouble in IIT Campus', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'trouble-in-iit-campus', '', '', '2009-03-23 13:14:34', '2009-03-23 17:14:34', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=308', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(309, 1, '2009-03-23 12:33:23', '2009-03-23 16:33:23', 'IIT Kharagpur', 'iit_kharagpur', 0, 'IIT Kharagpur', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'iit_kharagpur', '', '', '2009-03-23 12:33:23', '2009-03-23 16:33:23', '', 308, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/iit_kharagpur.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(310, 1, '2009-03-23 23:13:56', '2009-03-24 03:13:56', 'RAAGRANG is arranging a Lecture-Demonstration by a noted musician Shree Kedar Naphade on 29th March from 4 to 6 P.M. The event will start with a short vocal recital by young Ria Sabnis. Refreshments will be served after that. Please let us know how many of you will be attending. It is free for the members and $7.00 for the non-members. Hope you can make it.\r\n\r\nVenue:\r\n28 McBride Way\r\nBridgewater,\r\nNJ 08807.\r\nRSVP will be appreciated.\r\n(732) 241-7063.', 'Harmonium Lecture-Demonstration', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'harmonium-lecture-demonstration', '', '', '2009-03-23 23:13:56', '2009-03-24 03:13:56', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=310', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(311, 1, '2009-03-24 10:48:58', '2009-03-24 14:48:58', 'Piyalir Password is the first Bengali film shot entirely on locations in the US, particularly in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. The movie has been subtitled in English. For more information www.piyalirpassword.net\r\n \r\n http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200903230951.htm\r\n\r\nThe film will be screened at 2:00 PM on 11th April at the TV Asia Studios, 76 National Road, Edison, NJ 08817\r\n\r\nThe lead actor of the film Rituparna Sengupta will be present in the beginning of the show and talk about the film.\r\n\r\nThe film is being presented by Center for Social Change www.centerforsocialchange.org, an organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities for the past 15 years, worlwide.\r\n\r\nTickets are $10 dollars and available online at www.sulekha.com and www.centerforsocialchange.org. Additionally ticket reservations can be made with Sonali Ganguly (tel: 732 203 7310) and Devasish Ray (tel: 240 988 1112)\r\n\r\n\r\nRaj Basu (703)507-6420 (cell) rajbasu@msn.com rkbasu@gmail.com', 'Movie Release : Piyalir Password', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'movie-release-piyalir-password', '', '', '2009-03-24 10:48:58', '2009-03-24 14:48:58', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=311', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(312, 1, '2009-03-24 16:51:34', '2009-03-24 20:51:34', '<h3>Gautam Dutta Receives Sudhindra Dutta Award</h3>\r\nOn February 15, 2009, "Janmadin" Literary Magazine of Baharampur Murshidabad, presented Gautam Dutta (of New Jersey) with the prestigious Sudhindra Dutta award for his collection of poems "Grihojuddher Dalil".  He received this award along with Krishnadulal Chattopadhyay, the folk poet of Bankura West Bengal. I congratulate Gautam for this achievement.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<h3>Gargi Mukherjee on the Screens of the 27th San Francisco Asian American Film Festival</h3>\r\nGargi Mukherjee, the well known New Jersey actress, will feature in two films to be screened at the 27th San Francisco Asian American Film Festival. The first one is a short film.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em><strong>Dida Reema Anjana</strong></em>, directed by Bornila Chatterjee and the other a feature length comedy,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em><strong>Karma Calling</strong></em>, directed by Sarba Das.  Gargi''s son Birsa also featured in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><em>Dida Reema Anjana</em></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> along with another local actress <em><strong>Lilabati Majumdar</strong></em>.</span>\r\nBirsa also acted in  a short film directed by Mira Nair,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em><strong>How Can It Be?</strong></em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>as part of 8 short films for the United Nations Millennium Project, directed by world-renowned directors.\r\nBoth Gargi and Birsa had earlier acted in Mira Nair''s acclaimed film "The Namesake".\r\n<h3>Indranil Mukherjee in Piyalir Password</h3>\r\nNew Jersey based actor Indranil Mukherjee will soon be seen on the silver screen with the realease of <em><strong>Piyalir Password,</strong></em> a Bengali thriller film shot entirely in the United States.  Indranil performs in a key role along side famous Tollywood actors, Rituparna Sengupta, Roopa Ganguly, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Kaushik Sen. The film is directed by Raj Basu of Maryland. The film premieres in New Jersey on  11th April at 2:00 PM at the TV Asia Studios, 76 National Road, Edison, NJ 08817.', 'Community News Bites: Sudhindra Dutta Award and San Francisco Asian American Film Festival', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'community-news-bites-sudhindra-dutta-award-and-san-francisco-asian-american-film-festival', '', '', '2009-03-24 16:54:26', '2009-03-24 20:54:26', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=312', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(314, 1, '2009-04-01 17:45:11', '2009-04-01 21:45:11', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/make_money_blog.jpg" alt="Make Money on your Blog and Website" width="200" height="200" />Anybody who is even the least interested in making money with their blog has done a google search this title phrase and have landed up with thousands of articles, posts, advertorials, videos and other material that provide a hash-up of few different techniques that can bring in the greens. But when you look at them with some curiosity, you''ll see that almost all off them give you a bullet list of techniques that can bring in traffic and can potentially bring in some dough. You''ll learn about SEO techniques to improve search engine rankings, you''ll know how important it is to have in-links to your site, you''ll discover what article marketing is, and how to effectively use the social networking and bookmarking sites (Facebook, Orkut, Del.icio.us, Reddit, Stumbleupon etc. etc.). You''ll know the benefits of enlisting your blog to multiple blog networks and directories, tricks to improve Alexa rankings and the secrets of setting up RSS feeds for potential subscribers. All these techniques are good and work to some degree to bring in traffic to your blog - but believe me, millions of bloggers are doing just the same. Traffic is king to any blogger, and whatever published technique exists today are being tried over and over again. The problem is that the search engines (google, yahoo etc) and traffic ranking sites (like Alexa) keep on changing their strategy frequently and hence many techniques become stale.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nOn the money making aspect, these how-to articles will tell you, that online advertising is the only way to make money on your blog. Subscription, donation, and other direct fund collection schemes simply does not work on the blogosphere. There are multiple different ways to publish advertisements from agencies like Google Adsense, Yahoo Publisher Network and many many others - and they work to some degree - like collecting few cents after a year on the net. If you are lucky, you may be able to recover your blog hosting cost, but if you plan to quit your day job - this may not be the right vocation.\r\n\r\nHaving said that, you can make money on your blog only if you get traffic - lots and lots of traffic - period!  But how to get them to flock to your site? The answer is simple - create your long tail!\r\n\r\n<img class="alignright" style="margin: 4px; float: right;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/long_tail.png" alt="Long tail distribution" width="200" height="200" />Long Tail is a term coined by Chris Anderson to explain the marketing phenomenon used by companies like Amazon and Netflix that sell large number of unique items, each in relatively small quantities. For example, Amazon does not make its fortune by selling only the best sellers, rather the bulk of the sale comes from books and items that sell in small quantities. In other words, if you can manage to sell your two copies of your book through Amazon, you get your peanuts - but Amazon has millions of dreamy eyed publishers and writers like you to make their money from. Netflix rents more movies that can hardly be regarded as block busters. I think you get the idea. The concept of Long tail comes from the sales frequency distribution curve which shows high sales volumes for a very small number of items (less than 20%) but the distribution curve tapers down asymptotically such that most sales volumes occur for the low selling items.   If this long tail is properly exploited then most money can be made from those low selling items.\r\nFor example, when you use Google Adsense kind of advertising on your low-traffic blog or website, you hardly make any money (maybe few cents a month) but Google has millions of websites like yours and hence they reap in the big bucks.\r\n\r\nSo how can we exploit this principle to bring traffic to your blog? What is the product that you are providing to your visitors on your blog? Your posts or articles. If you do some traffic analysis (whatever traffic data you may have) you''ll find that very few posts draw large number of visitors. Most of your articles will fall under the category of the long tail - each bringing in a measly number of visitors. Hence all we need to do is to make this long tail very very long! The longer you make, more traffic you get. That means you need to post a large number of articles or varied topics. This principle is used by many blog platforms like blogger or blogspot. Squiddo Lenses is another attempt to create a long tail to harvest visitors.  You can do that too. Invite guest bloggers to write on your site, if possible syndicate articles. Note that your articles need not be long and wordy ones, they can be short, specific and to the point, that adds some value to the visiting experience.  Not only articles, you may post images. Google image search can bring in large amount of traffic.\r\n\r\nHowever do not forget the SEO and the other promotional techniques I mentioned earlier. Your posts need to be discovered by your visitors. Web bots and crawlers will eventually discover your new post, but you need to be pro-active to invite them as early as possible.\r\n\r\nOnce you start getting traffic on your website or blog, advertisers and cash will follow. Till then keep stretching that long tail.', 'How to Bring Traffic to Your Blog or How to Make Money with Your Blog!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-bring-traffic-to-your-blog-or-how-to-make-money-with-your-blog', '', '', '2009-04-01 17:45:11', '2009-04-01 21:45:11', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=314', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(315, 1, '2009-04-01 17:36:21', '2009-04-01 21:36:21', 'Long tail distribution, Pareto curve', 'long_tail', 0, 'Long Tail ditribution', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'long_tail', '', '', '2009-04-01 17:36:21', '2009-04-01 21:36:21', '', 314, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/long_tail.png', 0, 'attachment', 'image/png', 0),
(316, 1, '2009-04-01 17:39:03', '2009-04-01 21:39:03', 'Make Money On your Blog and Website', 'make_money_blog', 0, 'Make Money On your Blog and Website', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'make_money_blog', '', '', '2009-04-01 17:39:03', '2009-04-01 21:39:03', '', 314, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/make_money_blog.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(317, 1, '2009-04-03 10:29:43', '2009-04-03 14:29:43', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/zakir_hussain.jpg" alt="Ustad Zakir Hussain on Tabla" width="127" height="100" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Saturday April 25 Doors open 7.30 pm Show 8 pm\r\nThe Grand Opera, Wilmington DE.\r\nSponsored by The Bengali Association of the Delaware Valley\r\n*Shiv Kumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain, santur and tabla*\r\nTickets $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00\r\nTickets can be purchased from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a style="color: #0000cc;" href="http://www.ticketsatthegrand.org./" target="_blank">http://www.ticketsatthegrand.org.</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>A<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>\r\n$2.00/ticket service fee applies when you purchase tickets on-line.\r\nPhone 302-652-5577 or 1-800-37-GRAND</span>', 'Shiv Kumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'shiv-kumar-sharma-and-zakir-hussain', '', '', '2009-04-03 10:29:43', '2009-04-03 14:29:43', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=317', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(318, 1, '2009-04-03 10:28:18', '2009-04-03 14:28:18', 'Ustad Zakir Hussain on Tabla', 'zakir_hussain', 0, 'Zakir Hussain on Tabla', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'zakir_hussain', '', '', '2009-04-03 10:28:18', '2009-04-03 14:28:18', '', 317, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/zakir_hussain.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(321, 1, '2009-04-08 13:35:36', '2009-04-08 17:35:36', ' Actor Kal Penn is taking a job in the Obama administration as a liaison to Asian-American groups, a White House spokesman said. The Hollywood star, who appeared in Fox TV’s drama “House” and several movies like "The Namesake", "Harold and Kumar" etc., is joining the White House Office of Public Liaison as a link to Asian-American and Pacific- Islander communities, spokesman Shin Inouye said.\r\nKal Pen was recently seen in Fox Network''s highly popular series "House" as Dr. Cutner who commits suicide on the April 6 2009 episode. I guess Kal has a more important call to answer to.', 'Kal Penn in White House', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kal-penn-in-white-house', '', '', '2009-04-08 13:35:36', '2009-04-08 17:35:36', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=321', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(322, 1, '2009-04-09 18:07:14', '2009-04-09 22:07:14', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sms_cell_phone_teen.jpg" alt="Teenager sending text message on cell phone" width="288" height="201" />Recently I listened to an excellent talk by Dr. Jeffrey Cole (Director, Center for the Digital Future, of the USC Annenberg School) about Social Networks, the digital media and our teens. His research and insights into this digital revolution that we are growing through threw some interesting light on our teen generation. The teens today use technology in ways we never thought of. The entire digital industry is geared up to develop new gadgets and gizmos for the new generation. The social networking phenomenon like Facebook, Orkut and others have demonstrated how much influence this new generation has in defining the shape of digital media.  Dr. Cole lists few characteristics of a teen in this and our future digital generation.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>They will never read a newspaper. However that does not mean that they don''t want to stay informed. They get their news from other sources rather than print media. Some print media still attracts their interest, for example magazines like Vogue and Bazar cannot be replaced by online media just because the glossy paper, and the sniffable perfume ads cannot be reproduced online.</li>\r\n	<li>They will never own a land-line phone. Mobile phone will be their center of the universe. They want to communicate, socialize, get entertained, get their information, do financial transactions and conduct their business using their mobile phones. You may have noticed that teenagers do not wear wrist watches - they see time on their mobile phones.</li>\r\n	<li>They won''t watch television on the schedules set by the networks. They want to create their own schedule - hence Tivo, PVR and DVR, Hulu.com and YouTube!</li>\r\n	<li>They trust unknown peers more than experts.</li>\r\n	<li>They are least interested in the source of information - they just want the information.</li>\r\n	<li>Their internet experience centers on their communities. The popularity of on-line social networks amongst teens proves that.  They use these communities to socialize and communicate. They also use it as their source of information.</li>\r\n	<li>They think that they are not affected by advertisements and branding, but that is far from truth. How many teens do you think would accept a generic MP3 player other than an iPod?</li>\r\n	<li>They want to be able to move their content freely and easily from platform to platform. They don''t want content that ties them to a specific device (like your DVD player and TV in your basement).</li>\r\n	<li>They want to be heard. That''s why they are on Facebook, they are on these blogs and other Web 2.0 media. As Dr. Cole puts it, they don''t want 15 minutes of fame, they''d like 15 Megabytes of fame!</li>\r\n	<li>Instant Messaging (IM, SMS, Scraps, Walls) is their mode of communication. They think email is for their parents.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nBeing a parent of teenagers, I couldn''t agree more with Dr. Cole''s observations.  I am sure, you do too.  Online social networking can be a great tool. I am on Facebook too and I am also on Orkut and Linked-in. However, I am nowhere close to the extent my kids use it. For us it is more like a curiosity, for them it is their lifeline.', 'Facebook, Social  Networks and Teens', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'facebook-social-network-and-teens', '', '', '2009-04-10 10:33:43', '2009-04-10 14:33:43', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=322', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(323, 1, '2009-04-10 00:07:32', '2009-04-10 04:07:32', 'Teenager sending SMS using cell phone', 'Teenager sending SMS using cell phone', 0, 'Teenager sending SMS using cell phone', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sms_cell_phone_teen', '', '', '2009-04-10 00:07:32', '2009-04-10 04:07:32', '', 322, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sms_cell_phone_teen.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(324, 1, '2009-04-10 00:27:49', '2009-04-10 04:27:49', 'It seems the "Ghost who walks" is not aware of the rampant piracy that''s going on in the Indian ocean. Phantom, the nemesis of the pirates, is needed once again. The Somali pirates have been ravaging the shipping lanes off the horn of Africa. The recent attack on Maersk and the kidnapping of its American captain has suddenly caught the attention of the media.\r\n\r\nWhere is Phantom? Let the drums of Denkali once again summon the great comic book hero - Phantom - The Ghost Who Walks!', 'Phantom - Where are You?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'phantom-where-are-you', '', '', '2009-04-10 00:27:49', '2009-04-10 04:27:49', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=324', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(325, 1, '2009-04-13 10:44:30', '2009-04-13 14:44:30', 'NJISACF will be organizing a Film Festival of regional Indian films on April 18, 2009 at the Rutgers Bush Campus Students Center from 12pm to 11.00pm.\r\n\r\nThe feature films to be screened include:\r\n\r\nGENESIS - directed by Mrinal Sen\r\n\r\nKAALBELA (Calcutta My Love) - directed by Gautam Ghosh\r\n\r\nMAATI MAAY (A Grave Diggers Tale) - directed by Chitra Palekar\r\n\r\nBIOSCOPE - directed by K. M. Madhusudhanan\r\n\r\nFor details visit: http://www.njisacf.org', 'New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest Spring Festival 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'new-jersey-independent-south-asian-cine-fest-spring-festival-2009', '', '', '2009-04-13 10:44:30', '2009-04-13 14:44:30', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=325', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(326, 1, '2009-04-14 13:28:06', '2009-04-14 17:28:06', 'Rush Limbaugh once again pushed the limit of political correctness - this time referring to workers handling outsourced jobs in India as "slumdogs".\r\n\r\nResponding to a listener''s call about flight of jobs, Limbaugh referred to President Obama''s statement that the jobs aren''t coming back to US. He said, "They''re outsourced for a reason, an economic reason, and they''re not coming back. If you''re sitting out waiting for a job that''s now being done by a slumdog in India, and you''re waiting for that job to be cancelled, for the slumdog to be thrown out of work, and you to get the job, it ain''t going to happen."\r\nThe news has been widely published by the Indian media and has raised a storm of protests.\r\n\r\nLimbaugh is not new to controversy. He has mocked Obama on his program, including playing a parody song titled ''Barack the Magic Negro''. This is a free country and Rush has the right to say whatever he wants. But we the listeners are also free to tune off from Limbuagh''s show, boycott the merchants who advertise on his show, as well as raise our voice.', 'Limbaugh''s Slumdogs', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'limbaughs-slumdogs', '', '', '2009-05-04 22:59:12', '2009-05-05 02:59:12', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=326', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(327, 1, '2009-04-14 15:39:10', '2009-04-14 19:39:10', 'Just heard this news on the radio. Now you can outsource your term paper to some online company who employs writers in India, Philippines, Pakistan and other countries to write original essays for you. Note, that these essays are not plagiarized versions, rather they are crisp original and custom made. Although in some cases they have raised suspicion because some of the essay''s quality were far better than what the teachers expect of the student. Not only short term papers and essays, these enterprising writers can write an entire dissertation for you. In one case (I understand it was for an MIT student) the online essay mill delivered a dissertation on aerospace engineering (read rocket science). These companies charge anywhere from $10 to $75 per page and the students spend hundreds of dollars to get them. They are located off-shore but they typically have a fake US address. In the case of one company, EssayWriters, they used a Virginia address while the company was located in Philippines.  \r\n\r\nBut was the essay mill the culprit here or the folks who purchase their products?', 'Want to Outsource that Term Paper Assignment?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'want-to-outsource-that-term-paper-assignment', '', '', '2009-04-14 16:35:40', '2009-04-14 20:35:40', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=327', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(328, 1, '2009-04-15 16:07:15', '2009-04-15 20:07:15', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 4px; float: left;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gregory-house-md.jpg" alt="Hugh Laurie Gregory House MD in Fox networks show House" width="200" height="155" />I kind of like Gregory House, MD. And who doesn''t? House is one of the most popular TV shows that has catapulted Fox network to lead the popularity ratings (along with 24 and other shows). The quirky, obnoxious and ill mannered medical genius has become everybody''s dream doctor.  We the New Jersey viewers specially feel his absence in real life since Gregory House works in this fictitious "Princeton-Plainsboro" hospital and to whom people come crossing the rough seas risking their lives (no pun intended) to get treated.  How lucky we would have been to have such a doctor in real life. And a hospital like "Princeton-Plainsboro" where doctors do everything - they serve not only as doctors and surgeons, but they draw blood, they set up IV lines, they give the patients their pills, they feed them, they operate the MRI, CT Scan and other diagnostic machines.  There are hardly any nurses or technicians. In real life hospitals, I have seen the doctors come in to visit their patient only with one objective - how soon they can leave. They spend more time in front of the computer screens looking at the charts and filling up their billing codes than with the patient.  But in Princeton-Plainsboro, Dr. House''s team is like Scotland Yard, deeply engaged in finding the culprit - in this case the cause of the disease. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor those of you who have not seen any of the House episodes, here is a typical structure of an one hour episode.\r\n\r\n0 - 5 mins: Symptoms appear in a patient and he/she is brought to Princeton-Plainsboro hospital.\r\n\r\n5-30 mins: House and his team starts their detective work. House lists symptoms on a white board and they brain storm. With the patient, they draw blood, setup IV lines, do CT scans, EEG, EKG, lumber puncture, biopsy and others. They keep thowing medications at the patient at random with the hyposthesis that if the patient responds well to a medication, then whatever that drug is supposed to cure must be the cause of the symptoms.\r\n\r\n30-35mins: Around this time, House first sees his patient. Also around this time the patient is likely to have a cardiac arrest (revived by defibrillator shocks), may stop breathing and require artificial ventillation, and in some cases dialysis.\r\n\r\n35-50mins: More of the above. Some relationship issues between the doctors also needs to be taken care of.  Also somewhere along the line the team members break into the patient''s house to find possible clues for his ailment.\r\n\r\n50-55 mins: House suddenly has his stroke of genius, bulb lights up above his head from a piece of conversation or a painting on the wall. He finds the root cause which is always a simple and curable. He stops a surgery or chemo or some other life threatening procedure about to be performed on the patient and delivers his treatment along with some insults and misbehaviours.\r\n\r\n55-60 mins: The patient recovers and goes home, while House gulps couple of Vicodin tablets.\r\n\r\nI don''t know whether you can call this a formula for a successful TV show, but it still keeps the audience glued to their TV sets every Monday from 8.00pm to 9.00pm. The predictability of the show is possibly the main ingredient of this success - we know how each episode is going to unravel, we just want to find out the details of the relationship sub-stories and watch Hugh Laurie with awe. The show, apparently inspired by Sherlock Holmes detective stories, is indeed a medical whodunit show crafted by intertwining a medical thriller with human relationship stories in the right mix.\r\n\r\nCouple of weeks ago, one of the doctor in House''s team, Cutner (acted by Kal Penn) committed suicide for no apparant reason (the real reason being, Kal Penn had to leave the show to join the Obama adminstration). House fans will now wonder how this vacuum gets filled up withing the frame work of the above formula.', 'The House Formula', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-house-formula', '', '', '2009-04-15 16:20:20', '2009-04-15 20:20:20', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=328', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(329, 1, '2009-04-15 16:02:55', '2009-04-15 20:02:55', 'Hugh Laurie as Gregory House MD in Fox networks show House.', 'gregory-house-md', 0, 'Gregory House, MD', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'gregory-house-md', '', '', '2009-04-15 16:02:55', '2009-04-15 20:02:55', '', 328, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gregory-house-md.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(330, 1, '2009-04-20 15:26:54', '2009-04-20 19:26:54', 'New York City Council\r\nSpeaker Christine C. Quinne \r\nWith \r\nCouncilman Jim Gennaro\r\nAnd \r\nDistrict leader Uma Sengupta\r\ncordially invite you to  \r\nBengali New Year''s Celebration! \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nType: Music/Arts  - Performance \r\nDate: Friday, April 24, 2009\r\nTime: 6:45pm - 9:00pm\r\nLocation: New York City Hall\r\n260 Broadway ( Park Place) \r\n Manhattan, NY\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nJoin us for dinner, performances, and honoring members of our community in the historic City Hall Chambers!\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis event is free. Please extend this invitation to your friends and family. \r\n\r\n www.usincelebrations.org\r\n\r\nEvent on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=95879501256\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFor further information call:\r\n\r\nUma Sen Gupta\r\n718-380-0724\r\n\r\nRoger Sen Gupta\r\n201-864-4190 \r\n**********************************************************************************************************\r\n\r\nThank you & Regards,\r\n\r\n\r\n          Roger Sen Gupta\r\n           201 864 4190\r\n\r\n', 'Bengali New Year Celebration at NY City Hall', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bengali-new-year-celebration-at-ny-city-hall', '', '', '2009-04-20 15:26:54', '2009-04-20 19:26:54', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=330', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(331, 1, '2009-04-21 17:09:02', '2009-04-21 21:09:02', '<img class="alignleft" style="float: left; margin: 6px;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/hilary-swank-freedom-writers.jpg" alt="Hilary Swank" width="205" height="135" />Just finished watching the movie "Freedom Writers". It is such an intense, moving and at the same time inspiring film that I''d recommend it to everyone who loves movies. Based on a true story about an LA school, the film depicts how a teacher can change the lives of his or her students. Hilary Swank gives an wonderful performance (if I recall correctly, she was nominated for an Oscar for this role) and so does her students. If you haven''t seen the film, pick up a DVD copy and watch it right away.', 'Freedom Writers', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'freedom-writers', '', '', '2009-04-21 17:09:02', '2009-04-21 21:09:02', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=331', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(332, 1, '2009-04-21 17:06:10', '2009-04-21 21:06:10', 'Hilary Swank in Freedom Writers', 'hilary-swank-freedom-writers', 0, 'Hilary Swank Freedom Writers', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'hilary-swank-freedom-writers', '', '', '2009-04-21 17:06:10', '2009-04-21 21:06:10', '', 331, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/hilary-swank-freedom-writers.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(333, 1, '2009-04-21 17:52:49', '2009-04-21 21:52:49', 'I was searching for an online Bengali dictionary that I can use not only to check meanings of Bengali words but also to use it as a spell checker. Then I chanced upon this website, <a title="Samsad Bengali-English Dictionary" href="http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/biswas-bengali/" target="_blank">Samsad Bengali-English Dictionary</a> by Sailendra Biswas. The dictionary is quite effective, however you may need few tries to get accustomed. The dictionary is partly funded by the US Dept of Education.', 'Online Bengali to English Dictionary', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'online-bengali-to-english-dictionary', '', '', '2009-04-21 17:52:49', '2009-04-21 21:52:49', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=333', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(334, 1, '2009-04-22 11:18:50', '2009-04-22 15:18:50', ' \r\n\r\n<span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Over MAY 15, 16 &amp; 17, IIPA, New Jersey will be celebrating "Rabindranath - Universe and Beyond, 2009" at The Community Presbyterian Church of Sand Hill, South Brunswick, New Jersey.The three-day celebration is an attempt to expand the boundaries of appreciation of Tagore''s literary and musical works through a variety of presentations:</span>\r\n\r\n<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Friday, MAY 15</span></strong> <span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">- Screening of Movie “Teen Konya.”</span> \r\n<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Saturday, MAY 16</span></strong> <span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">- Interactive talks with audio visual illustrations. </span>\r\n<span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Topics: Rabindranath’s Poetic Vision: A Synthesis of Arts &amp; Sciences; Rabindranath in Translation; Disconnected Genius: Rabindranath, Dwarakanath; and Rabindranath &amp; Folk Culture.</span><strong></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Sunday, MAY 17</span></strong> <span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">- Rabindra Sangeet Soiree.</span>\r\n\r\n<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Tickets and Details:</span></strong> <span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Please contact any of the following persons:</span> \r\n<span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000080; font-size: x-small;">Hirak Guha:(732) 821-8719, Subhodev Das:(609) 924-6709, Surya Dutta: (732) 422-0599, Dhriti Bagchi: (732) 577-9575, Jhum Basu:(732) 817-0264, Sushmita Dutta:732-658-1643, Priyoranjan Das: (732) 274-9654, Krishna Bhattacharya: (732) 536-6325, Narayan Ray:(908) 561-9766, and Zafar Billah:(732) 951-9962.</span>', 'Rabindranath - Universe and Beyond, 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'rabindranath-universe-and-beyond-2009', '', '', '2009-04-22 12:28:29', '2009-04-22 16:28:29', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=334', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(335, 1, '2009-04-22 17:26:39', '2009-04-22 21:26:39', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bp_logo-copy.jpg" alt="HIV AIDS Red Ribbon" width="216" height="288" />I think it was in 2004 when I met Pranay Dutta, an AIDS activist from Calcutta who was on a world tour attending several AIDS conferences in Europe, Asia and America. Pranay Dutta was then (and I understand he still is) the secretary of Sonata Foundation, an NGO in Calcutta who was trying to spread AIDS awareness in West Bengal and India through music, documentaries and performing arts. His theory was that HIV/AIDS awareness through print media was bound to be a failure in India where the majority of the affected people are illiterate. He thought that if this message can be spread out using music and performing arts then it could have the greatest impact. During my discussions with Pranay, he told me numerous incidents of how HIV and AIDS are affecting the poor Indian population. But what struck me most was the fact that how this disease was surreptitiously spreading amongst the educated, urban middle class. He told me several incidents of well-to-do middle class families affected with HIV and their attempts to hush it up, just like the way people used to do in the early half of the twentieth century when people got infected with TB or Leprosy or something similar. The fear of social back lash was more than the disease itself.  Anybody infected with HIV is immediately branded as an immoral social outcast - some one who does not have the right to exist amongst the social elite. Most middle class family consider themselves immune to HIV and think that this is only a poor man''s disease. As Pranay says in one of his <a title="Pranay Dutta Interview" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/origin.www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2004-11/a-2004-11-30-3-Pronoy.cfm?textmode=0&amp;referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/335'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/origin.www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2004-11/a-2004-11-30-3-Pronoy.cfm?textmode=0&amp;referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/origin.www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2004-11/a-2004-11-30-3-Pronoy.cfm?textmode=0&amp;referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/origin.www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2004-11/a-2004-11-30-3-Pronoy.cfm?textmode=0&amp;referer=http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-admin/edit.php'');" href="http://origin.www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2004-11/a-2004-11-30-3-Pronoy.cfm?textmode=0" target="_blank">interviews with Voice of America</a>, people in our society doesn''t care about HIV until someone in their family is infected. It is difficult to make someone aware when he or she doesn''t want to be.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nWhen Pranay learned that I write plays, he requested me to write a play on this issue. I thought about it for a while, started delving into some research and even contacted couple of medical practitioners who deal with HIV/AIDS. However, I had no intention of writing a play that only deals with the issue of HIV/AIDS. I wanted a bigger canvas, a canvas where our lives (as immigrants in the country) are intertwined with those of our friends and family in India. If we look back to the history of HIV/AIDS in USA, the story was not any different from what it is in India now. Films like "Philadelphia" and plays like "Angels in America" depict the social apathy during the 80''s and 90''s towards HIV and AIDS victims quite vividly. Hence, for a person who has encountered that situation in  USA from close proximity - another encounter  at a different time and space would be quite painful to say the least.  And from this evolved the play, Banaprastha (The Retirement).\r\n\r\nThe play Banaprastha tells the story of a senior virologist Dr. Parijat Sen, who returns to <img class="alignright" style="margin: 6px; float: right;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/buladi.jpg" alt="Bula-di AIDS Camapign" width="170" height="162" />India, after retiring from his medical practice of 35 years, to find peace, tranquility and solace amongst his family and old friends. But soon he discovers that his nemesis has followed him and he has nowhere to hide.\r\n\r\nThe play, on multiple levels, depicts the rapid change in the economic, social and cultural life that is happening in India today due to the effects of globalization. The changes are too drastic for a person like Parijat Sen whose perception of his native land is nearly unchanged from the time he left for the U.S. But when he arrives in the city of his youth, he finds that there is hardly any difference between the middle-class life in New York and that in Kolkata. And in the process of his rude awakening, he encounters his old nemesis - the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. He finds that the virus has climbed its way through the social ranks and is now infiltrating the middle class.  Dreadfully he also finds that this so-called educated and enlightened society is in a state of denial and refuses to deal with the disease - just the way he saw it happen during the early days of his career in the States.\r\n\r\nThe play was first written during the 2004-2005 time frame. It was again thoroughly revised during 2008 and 2009 when it reached its current form. The rapid changes in dealing with this disease in India were one of the main reasons for the revision. In 2004/2005 Bula-di was an unknown entity in Calcutta. Now, Buladi (the cute little doll) is everywhere spreading AIDS awareness in the most gentle way possible. AIDS awareness has gone a long way in these 4/5 years, but lot more needs to be done to make a lasting impact.\r\n\r\nPlease join me along with the cast and crew of "Banaprastha" on May 16/17 and 30/31st at the Edison Valley Playhouse (Edison, NJ) to show our solidarity with the people around the globe who are fighting this epidemic of our times.', 'Banaprastha and AIDS - The Genesis', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'banaprastha-and-aids-the-genesis', '', '', '2009-05-05 12:23:23', '2009-05-05 16:23:23', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=335', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(336, 1, '2009-04-22 16:59:33', '2009-04-22 20:59:33', 'Red Ribbon for HIV AIDS Awareness', 'bp_logo-copy', 0, 'Banaprastha Logo Red Ribbon', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bp_logo-copy', '', '', '2009-04-22 16:59:33', '2009-04-22 20:59:33', '', 335, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bp_logo-copy.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(337, 1, '2009-04-22 17:35:05', '2009-04-22 21:35:05', 'Buladi Campaign for HIV AIDS Awareness', 'buladi', 0, 'Buladi Campaign for HIV AIDS Awareness', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'buladi', '', '', '2009-04-22 17:35:05', '2009-04-22 21:35:05', '', 335, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/buladi.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(339, 1, '2009-04-28 16:14:02', '2009-04-28 20:14:02', '<ul>\r\n	<li>On Thursday, April 30th, <span>Jhumpa Lahiri</span>, <span>the</span> internationally renowned writer, will  have a book <span>signing ceremony</span> at the <span>Barnes &amp; Nobles book store</span> at <span>Menlo Park, New Jersey</span> at 7 P.M. Sushmita Dutta, a co-editor of our Ananda Sangbad will be covering a special report of this event with a possible interview.</li>\r\n	<li>Tickets for Banaprastha, ECTA''s new play, are now available on-line at http://ectainc.org</li>\r\n	<li>Urhalpool, the online Bengali webzine''s second edition is delayed due to some technical difficulties. It will be published soon.</li>\r\n	<li>Raj Basu''s film "Piyalir Password" had a successful premiere in New Jersey. The producers of the film are looking for more screening opportunities in New York and New Jersey.</li>\r\n	<li>ECTA is staging a "members only" event - "Putuler Chithi", a one woman show by Abanti Chakraborty from Kolkata. The script is by Bibhas Chakraborty and is based on Nora of Ibsen''s Doll''s House. The play will be staged on May 3rd.</li>\r\n	<li>NJISACF had a successful Spring Film Festival. The hightlight of the festival was the screening of "Kaalbela", a film by Gautam Ghosh based on the novel by Samaresh Majumdar. The director was present to answer questions from a full house.</li>\r\n	<li>Subhashis Das and Tandra Das will perform Badal Sircar''s "Bhool Rasta" on May 2nd at the South Brunswick Senior center.  They are also looking to perform this theatrical storytelling show at different venues and festivals. All proceeds will go to the benefit of Badal Sircar and his group Satabdi. </li>\r\n</ul>', 'Community News Bites : Jhumpa Lahiri, Urhalpool and Bhool Rasta', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'community-news-bites-april-28-2009', '', '', '2009-04-29 11:56:19', '2009-04-29 15:56:19', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=339', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(340, 1, '2009-04-29 12:05:09', '2009-04-29 16:05:09', 'The Mason Gross School of Arts at the Rutgers University in New Jersey is opening up a whole new department of Indian Dance and Music.  The program is being introduced with a concert of Indian music and dance on Sunday, June 28th from 2 to 3.45 p.m. at Nicolas Center, Cook Douglass Campus, Rutgers University, NJ featuring most of the faculty. The concert will be followed by a summer camp from Monday June 29th through Friday July 3rd with a daily schedule covering 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.   \r\n\r\nThe program is headed by Samir Chatterjee. The faculty includes:\r\n\r\n<strong>Faculty:</strong>\r\n\r\nArchana Joglekar Muley, Kathak\r\n\r\nArun Ramamurthy, Violin\r\n\r\nBani Roy, Odissi\r\n\r\nDibyarka Chatterjee, Percussion\r\n\r\nHidayat Khan, Sitar\r\n\r\nKalyani Ramani, Carnatic vocal\r\n\r\nKedar Naphade, Harmonium\r\n\r\nMitali Banerjee Bhawmik, Hindustani vocal\r\n\r\nSamir Chatterjee, Tabla\r\n\r\nSanghamitra Chatterjee, Popular vocal\r\n\r\nSteve Gorn, Bansuri\r\n\r\nSudha Devulapalli, Bharatanatyam\r\n\r\nSuresh Ramachandram, Mridangam\r\n\r\nSamir Chatterjee will teach rhythm and yoga in addition to leading the audio-visual and discussion sessions.', 'Rutgers University Offers Training in Indian Music and Dance', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'rutgers-university-offers-training-in-indian-music-and-dance', '', '', '2009-04-29 12:05:09', '2009-04-29 16:05:09', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=340', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(341, 1, '2009-05-04 16:43:14', '2009-05-04 20:43:14', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/etv-bangla.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-346" style="margin: 8px; float: left;" title="etv-bangla" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/etv-bangla.jpg" alt="ETV Bangla" width="224" height="224" /></a>ETV Bangla has changed its broadcast schedule in USA. They claim that the schedule is now follows the current Kolkata broadcast schedule only with the time shifted. In other words a show at 8.00pm in Kolkata will be broadcast at 8.00pm Eastern in USA. Although, now we have the privilge of watching the current shows instead of  a huge lag, the popular serials have now fast forwarded quite a bit with lot of story being lost in the process. The scheduling also doesn''t seem to be stabilzed - we often have to experience erratic programming.\r\n\r\nThe second issue is that the advertisements seem to have increased quite a bit. A short segment of broadcast is followed by a prolonged advertisement most of which are irrelevant for US market (I don''t think we are interested in Baygon Spray or Glucon-D).\r\n\r\nThe third issue is that ETV does not bother to update their listings with Direct-TV database and hence it makes DVR (aka Tivo, PVR) recording a major problem. I had once sent an email to ETV, and they did update it once. But that''s it.\r\n\r\nLet''s hope ETV gets their act together soon and make our subscription worth it.', 'ETV Bangla New Schedule for USA', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'etv-bangla-new-schedule-for-usa', '', '', '2009-05-08 17:16:30', '2009-05-08 21:16:30', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=341', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(342, 1, '2009-05-05 15:35:25', '2009-05-05 19:35:25', 'Want to search the web in Bengali for websites in Bengali? Visit <a title="Google Search in Indian Languages" href="http://google.co.in">google.co.in</a> and select the language (Bengali) from the menu below the search window.  Now type in your search keyword using your keyboard. Google uses a transliteration scheme to form the word in Bangla. It will also offer multiple options as you type in. Select your option, and voila'' - several Bangla websites will splash on your screen.\r\n\r\nGive it a shot right away - if you haven''t done so.', 'Use Google to Search in Bengali', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'use-google-to-search-in-bengali', '', '', '2009-05-05 15:35:25', '2009-05-05 19:35:25', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=342', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(343, 1, '2009-05-05 23:48:10', '2009-05-06 03:48:10', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/subho_sammo.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-344" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" title="Parijat and Pallab" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/subho_sammo.jpg" alt="Parijat (Subhodev) and Pallab (Shamyo) in Banaprastha" /></a>After a long preparation phase, the end is now in sight. In two weeks time, ECTA will be launching their latest production, "Banaprastha" or "The Retirement". ECTA''s play have always generated interest amongst the theater lover audience of this area and "Banaprastha" is no exception. People are eagerly waiting for the new play with lot of expectation. We hope this play will live up to that.\r\n\r\n"Banaprastha" will feature some of the regular performers of ECTA along with few new faces. Shamyo Goswami, a newcomer to New Jersey will be appearing for the first time on NJ stage. Although Shamyo''s primary interest is in film direction (he has directed and produced a Banga Tele-serial featuring some of the top actors of Bengali screen), he is also an excellent actor. Subhodev Das, after a long hiatus, will be performing the role of the protagonist character - Dr. Parijat Sen.  Another newcomer is Pradeep Ramdas. Although not a native Bengali speaker, his love for Bengali theater is no less than any Bengali. In India, Pradeep was involved with the street theater movement. Pradeep plays the role of Ashok Diwan, a young business man of Kolkata.  Kaninika Dutta''s debut in New Jersey theater was with Pratham Alo, where she acted in the key role of Bhumisuta. Kaninika, after a long break, returns to the stage as Sudeshna. Gargi Mukherjee, the well known actress (you cannot miss her in Mira Nair''s film - The Namesake) also returns to an ECTA production after a long time. She performed in ECTA''s first production "Phera" (The Return) in 2004 as a guest artist. In Banaprastha, she performs in the role of Suranjana - a character that will touch the hearts of many. Kaushik Dutta, who won the hearts of many with his role of Nando in "Ron", will also feature in an important character role.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe play also features the veteran performers like Lilabati Majumdar, Keka Sirkar, Indranil Mukherjee. I''ll also join the team on stage as Parikhit Sen.\r\n\r\nThis will be the third directorial venture of Indranil Mukherjee with ECTA. Alibaba and Satyameva were his first two ventures for which he has earned accolades from the audience. The music is composed by Partha Sarathi Mukherjee.\r\n\r\nMany of ECTA''s past actors like Pinaki Dutta, Nandita Ghosh, Tapas Ghosh, Aparajita Das and others will be performing behind the stage. ECTA believes that theater does not only belong to the actors and the director - but it also belongs to the entire crew who works hard to make the production a success.\r\n\r\nI hope you will all join us on May 16, 17, 30, 31st to celebrate this momentous event.', 'Banaprastha Rehearsals in Final Phase', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'banaprastha-rehearsals-in-final-phase', '', '', '2009-05-06 14:25:58', '2009-05-06 18:25:58', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=343', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(344, 1, '2009-05-05 23:43:04', '2009-05-06 03:43:04', 'Dr. Parijat joins Pallab in his fight.', 'Parijat and Pallab', 0, 'Parijat and Pallab in Banaprastha', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'subho_sammo', '', '', '2009-05-05 23:43:04', '2009-05-06 03:43:04', '', 343, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/subho_sammo.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(345, 1, '2009-05-06 16:38:51', '2009-05-06 20:38:51', 'Alexa ranking is now the defacto standard for determining web popularity - the less the rank number the higher is your popularity. For example Google has the highest rank - 1. Most online advertisers use Alexa rank as the key metric to decide whether to spend their precious advertising dollars on a site.\r\n\r\nHowever, the way Alexa computes a sites rank is  by measring how many visitors are viewing your site using a browser that has an Alexa tool bar installed. In other words, if a visitor do not have the Alexa tool bar installed, that visit does not count at all. Well, apparently there are are other variables used in computing the rank, but most webmasters and SEO pundits agree that the Alexa tool bar is the key instrumentation used in computing this elusive number.\r\n\r\nOne of the best ways of improving a web sites Alexa rank is to convince your visitors to <a title="Alexa tool bar" href="http://www.alexa.com/toolbar">download</a> and install the Alexa tool bar (quite an unobtrusive element though) on their browser.  <a href="http://www.alexa.com/toolbar"><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>So if you are reading this now, download and install the toolbar and help improve my rank.</strong></span></a> However, if you are using one of the less popular web browsers like Google Chrome, then you (and me) are out of luck.\r\n\r\nThe other less effective ways are things like, installing Alexa widgets on your site, increasing the number of incoming links, use techniques like posting on Asian forums (apparently Alexa is more popular in Asia) etc. Google the term "how to improve Alexa rank" and you''ll find tons of advice.\r\n\r\nBut I think the only way to make it work for you is to get tons of traffic to your site.', 'The Elusive Alexa Rank and How to Improve It', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-elusive-alexa-rank-and-how-to-improve-it', '', '', '2009-05-06 16:38:51', '2009-05-06 20:38:51', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=345', 0, 'post', '', 4);
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(346, 1, '2009-05-08 17:08:02', '2009-05-08 21:08:02', 'ETV Bangla and its popular serials like "Krishnokoli".', 'etv-bangla', 0, 'ETV Bangla', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'etv-bangla', '', '', '2009-05-08 17:08:02', '2009-05-08 21:08:02', '', 341, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/etv-bangla.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(347, 1, '2009-05-11 14:56:16', '2009-05-11 18:56:16', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/quillpad-bengali.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-348" title="quillpad-bengali" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/quillpad-bengali.jpg" alt="Quillpad.in Bengali Web interface" /></a>Do you write in Bengali or any other Indian languages? Try <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/quillpad.in/bengali/home.html?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/347'');" href="http://quillpad.in/bengali/home.html" target="_blank">quillpad</a>! Its a great new online wordprocessor for Indian languages. The cool thing about this tool is its flexibility in transliteration. One does not need to follow any specific set of rules. The tool automatically tries to guess the word that you want to type in, and also offers multiple alternatives.  This is an excellent feature because it can take care of  several Bangla spelling issues.  The documentation says that it works better on Internet Explorer, however I tried it on Firefox and Chrome and it works fine.  One issue I encountered was the limitation of Bangla font availablility. Currently the font used is "Vrinda" and it''s not the best Bangla font available. The other issue is that this tool seems to have limited formatting capability.  I am concerned about how effectively can this tool be used to write Bengali documents besides emails and small messages.\r\n\r\nI plan to check this tool out in more details and write a regular article some time later.', 'Quillpad.in: A New Tool to Write in Bengali', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'quillpadin-the-new-tool-to-write-in-bengali', '', '', '2009-05-11 15:07:15', '2009-05-11 19:07:15', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=347', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(348, 1, '2009-05-11 14:50:21', '2009-05-11 18:50:21', 'Quillpad.in Bengali Web interface', 'quillpad-bengali', 0, 'Quillpad.in Bengali Web interface', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'quillpad-bengali', '', '', '2009-05-11 14:50:21', '2009-05-11 18:50:21', '', 347, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/quillpad-bengali.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(349, 1, '2009-05-12 23:39:55', '2009-05-13 03:39:55', '<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/indian-idol-anu-malik.jpg" alt="Indian Idol Anu Malik " width="351" height="293" />The reality TV show "American Idol" has triggered a new trend - Idol search! TV channels all over the world are searching for idols - or talents. This search is not only limited to the television screen, but it has also proliferated onto the stage in various forms. Although the primary objective of this kind of shows is to screen for talent,  in reality (excuse the pun) it is nothing but an entertainment show. The excitement, the drama, and the occasional emotional outbursts, are all part of the show. Undoubtedly, such shows do bring many talented men, women and children to the limelight, but is this the right way to do explore talent?  In many cases, the exploration turns to exploitation - especially for the young participants. They have to go through a grueling screening process, sustain a tremendous pressure to perform, and then handle a barrage of criticism from the celebrity judges.  I know in one dance show, a young girl couldn''t take the judges criticism anymore and had a nervous breakdown resulting in a paralytic fit. In several instances the young competitors sacrifice their education to continue the show. But the tragedy is, in most cases the winner is not judged by the celebrity panel whose criticism these young participants have to encounter, but rather by the audience through cell/mobile phone text messages (SMS). And in this process, the wireless carrier mints money. I am sure the show also gets their share of this income too.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI remember in one such show (on ETV Bangla) one of the judge (a famous musician) was so frustrated with this gaming system, that he almost stormed out of the show. His argument was that these shows undermine the hard work and perseverance most musicians and performing artists have to go through in order to make it in this difficult world. He pointed out that these shows are unfairly biased to popular cheap performances (because that''s what the masses like), rather than music that requires years of professional training and practice. Well, he may have a point but he should have known that before agreeing to become a judge.\r\n\r\nLately, these shows are also held on live stage. Recently CAB (Cultural Association of Bengal) has announced NABC Idol, a show to select musical talent from this region to perform at the final to be held in San Jose in July.  Arranging such a show is not trivial, and I hope this show will be successful in finding the real talent. The advertisement says that the judges will be all from overseas. I don''t know if this show will use SMS to collect audience voting to select the winners - that will be a major logistic and technical challenge. However, if this turns out to be the typical music competition that we used to have back home, it will undoubtedly lose some of its entertainment punch.  I am not sure if the intention of the organizers is to make it a true talent search or a mere entertainment show, but I hope we''ll know that soon. ', 'Search for Idols', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'search-for-idols', '', '', '2009-05-13 10:19:55', '2009-05-13 14:19:55', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=349', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(350, 1, '2009-05-12 23:43:20', '2009-05-13 03:43:20', 'Indian Idol Anu Malik', 'indian-idol-anu-malik', 0, 'Indian Idol Anu Malik', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'indian-idol-anu-malik', '', '', '2009-05-12 23:43:20', '2009-05-13 03:43:20', '', 349, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/indian-idol-anu-malik.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(351, 1, '2009-05-21 14:08:55', '2009-05-21 18:08:55', '<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="480" height="295" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MlaeaaxabMo&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MlaeaaxabMo&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>ECTA''s latest production "Banaprastha" premiered at the Edison Valley Playhouse on May 16th in front of a full house. The play was very well received by the audience as you can see in the accompanying video.  The second show was held on May 17th. Besides the video comments, here are some of the comments sent over the email.\r\n\r\n"<em>We thoroughly enjoyed Banaprasta. This is a very timely production. I wish this drama can be viewed by millions Indians in India in view of the fact that India is crazy about Bollywood. Once again congratulations for presenting a great drama.</em>" - Aurobindo Mukherjee\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n"<em>I saw your play yesterday and I must say it was outstanding. The theme was very contemporary and acting was great! Looking forward to many more!!</em>" - Gargi Gupta\r\n\r\n"<em>I want to encourage everyone to see the play Banaprastha. Mary and I saw it yesterday, and we both loved it. The play, entitled "Banaprastha," is about an Indian-born physician who spends is professional career in Manhattan and retires to his childhood home in India. It is performed in Bengali and English, with English subtitles. The acting and story was superb, and the cast comprised several actor''s from the Jumpha Lahiri movie "The Namesake." If you go, I''m sure that you''ll enjoy it as much as we did.</em>" - Jason Paul DeMont\r\n\r\n<em><span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">"</span></span></strong></span></em><span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></span><span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I especially liked the topic that was addressed. I am one of those that believe if your spouse at old age is no longer by your side for whatever reason, one should find another companion. Perhaps my work leads me to believe that, I work with the Geriatric society in this country. Of course the crazy lifestyle which is imitated not really realized by Indians in India will cause a generation to suffer enormously. Globilization is fantastic but it does have its</span></span></strong><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">repercussion to the ones that are not mature.</span></span></strong><em><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">" - Sashwati Chatterjee</span></span></strong></em></span>\r\n<h2>Bengali Webzine Urhalpool Released</h2>\r\n<span>After the smashing success of the first edition, the 2<sup>nd</sup> edition of online bilingual (Bengali &amp; English) magazine <strong>URHALPOOL</strong> (<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_status=draft'');" href="http://www.urhalpool.com/" target="_blank">www.urhalpool.com</a>) is out. The 2<sup>nd</sup> edition is even bigger, better and has contents covering more variety. Following are the highlights –</span>\r\n\r\n<span> <span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Urhalpool Reader Ruchira Mondal''s short story &amp; Indranil Bakshi''s poem</span></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Series novel from <strong>Sunil Gangopadhyay</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Series poetry-novel from <strong>Tasleema Nasreen</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Collection of short stories including a translated one from 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner <strong>Juno Diaz</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Interview from India’s most successful cricket captain <strong>Sourav</strong> “dada” <strong>Ganguly</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Special section on <strong>Feluda</strong> with interviews from <strong>Sandip Ray</strong>, <strong>Soumitra Chatterjee</strong>,<strong>Sabyasachi Chakroborty </strong>and a<strong> <span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ull script of unpublished one-act play on Felu-da</span></strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Interviews from film-star<strong> Prosenjit </strong>and<strong> </strong>multi-percussionist <strong>Bickram Ghosh </strong>(member of the Grammy award winning team for the album “Full Circle”)</span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Special write-up from <strong>Nabaneeta Deb Sen</strong>, <strong>Sarat Kumar Mukhopadhyay</strong>, <strong>Sunil Gangopadhyay</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Poetry from Nobel Laureate <strong>Roald Hoffman</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Remaining part of the interview of <strong>Prof. Noam Chomsky</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><span>Poetry from </span><strong><span lang="EN"><span>Carolyn Forché</span></span></strong><span lang="EN">, <strong>Yousef Komunyakaa</strong></span><strong></strong>\r\n\r\n<span><span><span style="font-family: ''Times New Roman'';">-<span> </span></span></span></span><strong><span lang="EN">Goutam Ghoshe’s </span></strong><span lang="EN">multimedia interview introducing his latest movie<strong> “KaalBela”</strong></span><strong></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><span> ..and many more</span></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><span lang="EN"> <span style="font-weight: normal;"><em><span lang="EN">Also for the literary minded in Kolkata and vicinity URHALPOOL printed version is available in circulation, printed and marketed by </span></em><strong><span lang="EN">“Punoscho Prokashoni”, </span></strong><span lang="EN">Kolkata</span></span></span></strong>', 'Community News Bites: Banaprastha and Urhalpool', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'community-news-bites-banaprastha-and-urhalpool', '', '', '2009-05-21 14:08:55', '2009-05-21 18:08:55', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=351', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(352, 1, '2009-05-21 14:21:59', '2009-05-21 18:21:59', '<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">RAAG-RANG PRESENTS :<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">MUSIC</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">OF</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">INDIA</span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Cine-<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">music</span>, Ghazals, Bhajans, Taranas, Tillanas, Folk,</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Thumris, Dhrupad, Khayal, Kirtans, and more.</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Our journey will take us across<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">India</span>''s landscape, stopping at points<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">of</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>interest from the Himalayan Highlands to the backwaters<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">of</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Kerala, from the havelis<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">of</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Rajasthan to the flowing waters<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">of</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Bengal, as distinguished artists perform</span></em></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">music</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88;">of</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>their heritage.</span></em></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Mohan Deshpande, Mitali Banerjee-Bhawmik, Astha Shukla,</span></strong></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Kamala Ramamurthy, Arun Ramamurthy, Trupti Parikh, Bhupendra Gadhavi</span></strong></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Kedar Naphade, Pratik Devasthale, Amod Dandawate</span></strong></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #ff0000;">Introducing young artiste Rahul Palnitkar</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Arsha Bodha Center, 84 Cortelyous Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873</span></strong></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(287, Exit 10, Rt. On Cedar Grove, Lt. on Amwell, Rt. On</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">South Middlebush, 2.5 mi Lt. on Cortelyous, 1mi on left)</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Tel: (908) 429-1120, (609) 890-4890, (201) 447-6936, (973) 539-5534</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span> </span><a style="color: #0000cc;" href="mailto:bhawmikm@gmail.com" target="_blank">bhawmikm@gmail.com</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a style="color: #0000cc;" href="mailto:mayuresh.khare@gmail.com" target="_blank">mayuresh.khare@gmail.com</a></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Donations : Adult:<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>$15 (non-members) / $10 (members)</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Under 12 : $7 (non-members)/$5 (members)</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Limited seating, RSVP. Convenient parking at the Venue.</span></p>', 'RAAG-RANG PRESENTS : MUSIC OF INDIA', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'raag-rang-presents-music-of-india', '', '', '2009-05-21 14:22:55', '2009-05-21 18:22:55', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=352', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(353, 1, '2009-05-26 23:06:49', '2009-05-27 03:06:49', 'I am watching the devastation caused by hurricane Aila on ETV Bangla news. It looks really bad. Although the local adminstration has ramped up the rescue operation quite efficiently, the wide spread destruction is very difficult to handle. The recent election seems to have been responsible for this quick response from the Left Front State Govt who wants to prove that they have not lost contact with the people. The Trinamool leaders on the other hand is using this disaster to prove themselves as the viable alternative in the state.  The White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had once said, "... a crisis like this cannot go to waste."  The West Bengal politicians do not want this opportunity thrown to them by Aila to be wasted either. This is an excellent opportunity to prove themselves.\r\nWhatever may be the reason, if  the state politicians for a change work in favor of the people, it would serve them as well as the people.', 'Aila Causes Devastation in West Bengal', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'aila-causes-devastation-in-west-bengal', '', '', '2009-05-26 23:09:17', '2009-05-27 03:09:17', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=353', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(354, 1, '2009-05-27 23:52:16', '2009-05-28 03:52:16', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/kathak-kalamandir.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-355" style="margin: 6px; float: left;" title="kathak-kalamandir" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/kathak-kalamandir.jpg" alt="Kathak by Kalamandir Students" width="385" height="220" /></a>The classical Indian dance form Kathak is now quite well known amongst the dance connoisseurs of America.  Americans who have some familiarity with classical music and dance of India, know about Kathak - a dance form that truly blends together the various components of Indian music - melody, rhythm and the beauty of the physical form.  It is true that many stalwarts of the Kathak dance form like Pandit Birju Maharaj and others have graced the American stage with their amazing performances, but the primary reason for its popularity and sustenance in this country is due to the tremendous efforts put in by several Kathak dance schools and academies run by the immigrant dancers from India who wanted to spread their passion for this art form amongst the next generation. Once such school is <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.freewebs.com/njkalamandir/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/354'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.freewebs.com/njkalamandir/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/354'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.freewebs.com/njkalamandir/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/354'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.freewebs.com/njkalamandir/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post-new.php'');" href="http://www.freewebs.com/njkalamandir/">Kalamandir of New Jersey</a> led by its director, Malabika Guha.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor the last twenty three years, Malabika Guha and the students of Kalamandir have been working relentlessly to nurture and promote this traditional dance form of north India in USA. Malabika herself received training from illustrious gurus like Bela Arnab, Guru Bipin Singh, Amala Shankar and many others. She felt that it would be a crime to keep this art form within herself or to let it die like many other dreams once we land into this country.  The passion for dance that her gurus have imbibed in her, found its release through her students and the journey that started twenty three years ago still continues. Kalamandir and Malabika has performed more than two hundred shows all across America, Europe and India. She has proven to the world that classical Indian music and dance not only transcends time but also space - it can shatter all barriers -  social, geographical, political! "Art for art''s sake" - that''s what my teachers taught me, says Malabika.\r\n\r\nBut Malabika''s greatest success story is her daughter - Brinda. Like many other second generation Indian American girls she started taking lessons in Kathak from her mother - but then she fell passionately in love with dance - with rhythm. Now she is one of the prime drivers of Kalamandir, taking up the mantle from her mother and promising to take Kalamandir and Kathak to new heights. Always eager to explore, eager to push the boundary, Brinda blends Kathak with Flameco, Ballet and other modern dance forms to create new compositions that are classical and modern at the same time.  She is what every dance and music teacher dream about for their students - someone who can carry on their legacy - a legacy that has been handed over to us through the generations.\r\n\r\nOrganizations like Kalamandir and people like Malabika and Brinda are what makes us feel proud of our heritage today. We should all come forward and support them in whatever way we can to make their mission a grand success.', 'Kathak in America - The Story of Kalamandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'kathak-in-america-the-story-of-kalamandir', '', '', '2009-05-28 16:07:42', '2009-05-28 20:07:42', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=354', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(355, 1, '2009-05-27 23:48:32', '2009-05-28 03:48:32', 'Kathak by Kalamandir Students', 'kathak-kalamandir', 0, 'Kathak by Kalamandir Students', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'kathak-kalamandir', '', '', '2009-05-27 23:48:32', '2009-05-28 03:48:32', '', 354, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/kathak-kalamandir.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(356, 1, '2009-05-28 11:07:00', '2009-05-28 15:07:00', '<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="349" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vuYkS6LeAeI&amp;border=1&amp;color1=0x6699&amp;color2=0x54abd6&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vuYkS6LeAeI&amp;border=1&amp;color1=0x6699&amp;color2=0x54abd6&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>\r\nA Taiwanese Idol contestant is singing a Hindi film song. It is amazing to see how Indian films are being accepted all across the world. Globalization is great! Jay Ho!', 'Taiwanese Idol Contestant Sings Bollywood Song!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'taiwanese-idol-contestant-sings-bollywood-song', '', '', '2009-05-28 11:07:00', '2009-05-28 15:07:00', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=356', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(358, 1, '2009-06-03 23:16:58', '2009-06-04 03:16:58', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/suranjana-and-pallab-web.jpg"><img class="alignleft alignnone size-full wp-image-359" style="border: 6px solid black; margin: 6px; float: left;" title="suranjana-and-pallab-web" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/suranjana-and-pallab-web.jpg" alt="Suranjana and Pallab in Banaprastha" /></a>I''d like to express my sincere thanks to all those of you who came to watch our play "Banaprastha" (The Retirement).  We had full houses on all the four days and it was a testament to the fact that New Jersey Bengalis like to watch quality theatre if we can offer them. However, it was not only Jerseyans who came to our show, people came from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York city and even Buffalo New York. The overall feedback has been extremely positive,  and people are asking for more shows.  Such encouragement is what makes all this hard work worth it and drives us to our next venture. We hope that with your good wishes, we''ll be able to keep up with your expectations and put New Jersey on the map of serious and quality Bengali theatre for time to come.\r\n\r\nThank you once again for supporting us.', 'Thank You', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'thank-you', '', '', '2009-06-03 23:26:40', '2009-06-04 03:26:40', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=358', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(359, 1, '2009-06-03 23:14:23', '2009-06-04 03:14:23', 'Suranjana and Pallab in Banaprastha', 'suranjana-and-pallab-web', 0, 'Suranjana and Pallab in Banaprastha', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'suranjana-and-pallab-web', '', '', '2009-06-03 23:14:23', '2009-06-04 03:14:23', '', 358, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/suranjana-and-pallab-web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(360, 1, '2009-06-10 16:41:57', '2009-06-10 20:41:57', '<h1><strong>New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest</strong></h1>\r\n<span><strong>GALA OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION\r\n<img src="http://njisacf.com/09/blank.gif" alt="" height="10" />\r\nat the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village\r\n<img src="http://njisacf.com/09/blank.gif" alt="" height="10" />\r\n201 Village Boulevard, Princeton, NJ</strong>\r\n<img src="http://njisacf.com/09/blank.gif" alt="" height="10" />\r\nFriday October 9 | 6:30 pm to 12:00 am\r\n$50.00 ALL ADMISSIONS</span>\r\n<img src="http://njisacf.com/09/blank.gif" alt="" height="10" />\r\n(includes Red Carpet, film screening, cocktail and dinner)\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/">http://njisacf.com/09/</a>', 'NJISACF 2009: Opening Night', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'njisacf-2009', '', '', '2009-10-05 15:59:25', '2009-10-05 19:59:25', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=360', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(428, 1, '2009-10-05 15:49:23', '2009-10-05 19:49:23', '<strong>SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10</strong>\r\n<strong>ALL SCREENINGS AT LOREE IN DOUGLASS COLLEGE\r\n72 Lipman Dr., New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901</strong>\r\n<table border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="600">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="left">\r\n</td></tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class="fnt14bold" align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width="60" height="20" align="center" bgcolor="#ff9900"><strong>Time</strong></td>\r\n<td width="290" align="center" bgcolor="#ffcc00"><strong>LOR 022</strong></td>\r\n<td width="10"></td>\r\n<td width="290" align="center" bgcolor="#ffcc00"><strong>LOR 024</strong></td>\r\n<td width="10"></td>\r\n<td width="290" align="center" bgcolor="#ffcc00"><strong>LOR 020</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">12:00 PM</td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Boomerang</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/USA/ 2009/ 12min/ English)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Karma Calling</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2008/ 90min/ English-Hindi)\r\nSponsored by Sukh Sagar Cuisine of Piscataway\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Certain Chapters</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/Singapore/ 2008/28min/ Tamil-Hokkien-Malay)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Dinner for Four</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/Germany/ 2008/ 14min/ English)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Malaamee / Funeral</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/France-Nepal/ 2008/ 20min/ Nepali)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Small Voices</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/Pakistan/ 2008/16min/ Urdu-English)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Who Am I Ek Zindagi</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/India/ 2009/20min/ Hindi)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Banshi</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/Bangladesh/ 2007/ 76min/ Bengali)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Chinese Whispers</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Silent Short/India/ 2007/ 28min/ English-Hindi)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">2:15 PM</td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Sarpanaah / Shelter</strong>\r\n\r\n(Animated Short/Afghanistan/ 2007/ 6min/ Silent)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Loori</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/USA/ 2008/ 90min/ Dari-English )\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>7 Days in Slow Motion</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2009/ 101min/ English-Hindi)\r\nSponsored by The Indian Institute of Performing Arts (IIPA)\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">4:30 PM</td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Barah Aana / Short-changed</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2009/ 97min/ English-Hindi)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>THE DAMNED RAIN (Gabhricha Paus)</strong>\r\n\r\nNarrative Feature/India/ 2008/ 100min/ Marathi\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">7:15 PM</td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Akasa Kusum / Flowers of the Sky</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/Sri Lanka/ 2008/ 90min/ Sinhala)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Gulabi Talkies</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2008/ 122min/ Kannada)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">9:30 PM</td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Swapnodanay / On the Wings of Dreams</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative FeatureIBangladesh/ 2008/ 88min/ Bengali)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Ghosht Story</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/USA/ 2009/ 19min/ English-Marathi-Hindi)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Kala Pul / The Black Bridge</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/US-Pakistan/ 2008/ 42min/ Urdu-English)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Hungry God</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Short/India/ 2009/ 8min/ Marathi)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Pura Handa Kaluwara / Death on a Full Moon Day</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/Sri Lanka/ 1999/ 74min/ Sinhala)\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/film2009?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/njisacf.com/09/tickets?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/428'');" href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>', 'NJISACF 2009: Day 2', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'njisacf-2009-day-2', '', '', '2009-10-05 15:52:36', '2009-10-05 19:52:36', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=428', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(361, 1, '2009-06-10 16:44:28', '2009-06-10 20:44:28', 'Tauryatrika 2009\r\nAnnual Cultural Event\r\nof\r\nBharatiya Kala Kendra, New Jersey\r\nwith Bappi Lahiri\r\non June 27th, 2009\r\nAt : North Brunswick High School,98 Raider Road; North Brunswick; NJ - 08902\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\nFor detail information – check <a href="http://www.bharatiyakalakendra.com/" target="_blank">www.bharatiyakalakendra.com</a>', 'Tauryatrika 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'tauryatrika-2009', '', '', '2009-06-10 16:47:54', '2009-06-10 20:47:54', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=361', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(362, 1, '2009-06-10 17:12:28', '2009-06-10 21:12:28', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/habib-tanvir.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-363" title="habib-tanvir" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/habib-tanvir.jpg" alt="Habib Tanvir" /></a>Very few theatre personalities in India have become legends in their life time. Habib Tanvir was one of them. Born as Habib Ahmed Khan on September 1, 1923 in Raipur, Chattisgarh, Habib Tanvir has reinvented Indian folk theater and brought it out on the world stage in its full glory.  I still remember the evening in Calcutta when I watched his brilliant creation "Charandas Chor".  The presentation of the play in a traditional folk form looked so modern, so fresh, that I couldn''t think of anything comparable in contemporary theatre. Habib,  through is work, has left a legacy that is difficult to carry on - because it demands a level of dedication that many of our modern theatre workers will fail to match. The sensitivity with which he nurtured the folk forms, experimented with content and presented them with such grace and simplicity - only a true genius can achieve such excellence. \r\n\r\nHabib Tanvir passed away on June 8th, 2009, but the lengend he became still lives on and inspires theatre workers all around the globe.', 'Habib Tanvir : The Legend Lives On', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'habib-tanvir-the-legend-lives-on', '', '', '2009-06-10 17:15:18', '2009-06-10 21:15:18', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=362', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(363, 1, '2009-06-10 17:08:28', '2009-06-10 21:08:28', 'Habib Tanvir', 'habib-tanvir', 0, 'Habib Tanvir', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'habib-tanvir', '', '', '2009-06-10 17:08:28', '2009-06-10 21:08:28', '', 362, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/habib-tanvir.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(364, 1, '2009-06-11 15:52:14', '2009-06-11 19:52:14', '<h2>A Review by Amitava Sen</h2>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/banaprastha-biswajit-web.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-365" title="banaprastha-biswajit-web" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/banaprastha-biswajit-web.jpg" alt="Banaprastha: Biswajit Kaberi and Parikhit" /></a>As I entered the theatre the house was full and audibly expectant; as the play ended crowd was visibly appreciative and a few even ecstatic which was quite an achievement and cause for satisfaction for the group of people who presented Banaprastha<span> </span>at Edison Valley Playhouse on May 31, 2009. The play was generally well produced. A full house helps to create an environment of connectivity between the performers and audience. Perception of a full house and ambience that it helps create encourage the players to be their best. <span> </span>Selection of this adequately equipped arena, small in size, reflects producers’ sensibility about the importance of interaction between the players and the viewers and economic prudence at the same time.</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">The play was about a returning Bengali doctor with the expectation that he would spend his retirement amongst his own people.<span> </span>Instead he found himself in an unlikely family situation and in a native city, which was different than what he left behind decades ago. But in these days of cheap airlines tickets and cheaper communication cost can anyone be so unaware (and acting so taken aback) of the changes going on, particularly for a person having purchased a place of residence there during the intervening years? Where has he been?</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">The play apparently and seemingly has a statement to make with a hint of somewhat half-understood intellectualism that Bengalis so proudly flaunt and which sometimes veers towards sentimentalism. The play whether intended or not attempts to convey a message.<span> </span>Message is not clear though, at times it looks like telling us that it is all right, even laudable to acquire HIV virus provided the cause is right.</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">But unfortunately there is no saintly or romantic way to get afflicted with HIV virus.<span> </span>That brings us to another question. Was the character Suranjana necessary at all? She appeared in two scenes.<span> </span>A quasi-erotic introduction, a hint at potential virus transmission and one in the middle of the play, the intent of which was unclear, except that it stemmed the flow towards building up the narrative.</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">The time setting of the story was not clear. The doctor, expert on AIDS treatment uttered not so much of a word about anti-retroviral drug. What did he want to fight was not clear, was it the disease or the societal stigma that went with it?<span> </span>So is it pre-David Ho (inventor of cocktail regimen) and pre-Bill Gates initiative? That was a long time ago; the ignorance of HIV virus was universal at that time. Even now the ignorance about and apathy towards HIV virus is not typical of Calcutta or India, it is still a fact of life in more advanced societies as well. <span> </span>On this subject at least India is not far out of step with the rest of the world and this is a wrong issue to depict the primitiveness and heartlessness of our people, which appears to be the subtext of the story. That is not to say in any way that India is not far behind in treating the disease and in the area of accessibility to the treatment.</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">In the role of the father/ brother Sudipta Bhawmik, as always was superb, though at times he might have been a little overwhelming, but that proved quite effective in a stage setting.<span> </span>As his wife Keka Sirkar was natural as a mother swept away by the turn of events.<span> </span>Her mature but fragile demeanor brought out the pathos that the story was about. But her high-heeled shoes in all circumstance were somewhat incongruous and distracting. Gargi Mukherjee, the actor getting the top billing with lengthiest resume, in the role of Suranjana did not quite get it. <span> </span>A woman afflicted with HIV did not need to be speaking under her breath, sometimes out of breath but always shrill. Her interpretation of the character was undefined. Lily Majumdar <span> </span>(Nabanita) did not come out quite as urbane as a do-gooder NGO person.<span> </span>She appeared uncomfortable in that character, flubbing her lines a few times, confusing between counseling and counciling (sic).<span> </span>It is not all her faults; her dialogue gets unwieldy and haranguing making it difficult to deliver on stage. Shubhodev as the older brother was impressive, especially in the first part of the play.</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">Stagecraft, lighting and sound were professional under the circumstances. Stage discipline followed by the players was excellent. The credit is due the director, Indranil Mukherjee, who is also a fine stage actor in the role of Alakendu.<span> </span>His attention to small details was noticeable. But his handling of the denouement, that is the final resolution of the intricacies of the plot, was rushed and uncharacteristically melodramatic for the ethos of the story.</p>\r\n<p class="MsoNormal">In the end add I must, the play was thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Amitava Sen</h2>\r\n<h3><span style="color: #333399;">The views expressed in this article are solely those of its author.</span></h3>', 'Banaprastha - Only if the message could be clearer', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'banaprastha-only-if-the-message-could-be-clearer', '', '', '2009-06-16 15:33:51', '2009-06-16 19:33:51', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=364', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(365, 1, '2009-06-11 15:45:17', '2009-06-11 19:45:17', 'Banaprastha: Biswajit Kaberi and Parikhit', 'banaprastha-biswajit-web', 0, 'Banaprastha: Biswajit Kaberi and Parikhit', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'banaprastha-biswajit-web', '', '', '2009-06-11 15:45:17', '2009-06-11 19:45:17', '', 364, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/banaprastha-biswajit-web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(366, 1, '2009-06-30 15:31:44', '2009-06-30 19:31:44', 'North America Bengali Conference (NABC) 2009 kicks off at the San Jose Convention Center on July 2nd. The biggest Bengali event of the year will run till July 4th and will feature some of the best performers from India, Bangladesh and USA.\r\n\r\nUrhalpool editor Goutam Datta will be awarded the "Distinguished Service Award" at NABC 2009 on Friday, July 3rd at 6:45PM in "Banga Mancha". The award is given by the Cultural Association of Bengal (the umbrella organization of NABC) for helping the cause of propagating and nurturing Bengali culture in North America.\r\n\r\nURHALPOOL (<a style="color: #0000cc;" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/'');" href="http://www.urhalpool.com/" target="_blank">www.urhalpool.com</a>) had been chosen by NABC2009 as their internet media partner. URHALPOOL in association with NABC2009 will be presenting extensive coverage of the event for all 4 days from July 1st to July 4th. Catch up with all the NABC excitement at  URHALPOOL(<a style="color: #0000cc;" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/'');" href="http://www.urhalpool.com/" target="_blank">www.urhalpool.com</a>).\r\n\r\nOn June 26th, Anandamandir hosted their monthly "Sahitya-o-Alochona" meetings where the attendees discussed the celebrated Bengali poet Joy Goswami. The attendees read Joy Goswami''s poems, discussed the artistry of his work and shared their personal experiences with the poet.\r\n\r\nTauryatrika 2009 [the annual cultural program of Bharatiya Kala Kendra - BKK] was a mega success.  The event started with an excellent and highly interactive seminar, followed by screening of a movie on Ustad Bismillah Khan [directed by Goutam Ghosh]. In the cultural program, students of BKK put an excellent presentation. At the end, Bappi Lahiri was on top of his form.', 'Community News Bites: NABC 2009 and Urhalpool', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'community-news-bites-nabc-2009-and-urhalpool', '', '', '2009-07-01 10:45:54', '2009-07-01 14:45:54', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=366', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(511, 1, '2010-10-06 22:45:52', '2010-10-07 02:45:52', 'Ananda Mandir for the seventh year in a row will present “MAHISHASURA MARDINI”, the famous musical show, live on October 10th, at 4.30am. \r\n\r\nThis show  has become synonymous  with the celebration of  “MAHALAYA” in Bengal and around the world for decades. Written by Bani Kumar and produced by All India Radio includes some of the most popular Bengali songs composed by Pankaj Kumar Mallik. On 10th October morning,  some of our most talented local musicians will present Mahishasura Mardini in its full glory. \r\nPLEASE COME AND ENJOY THE SHOW.', 'Ananda Prabhat at Ananda Mandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ananda-prabhat-at-ananda-mandir', '', '', '2010-10-06 22:45:52', '2010-10-07 02:45:52', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=511', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(512, 1, '2010-10-13 21:10:23', '2010-10-14 01:10:23', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/photo127.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-513" style="float: left; border: 4px solid black; margin: 4px;" title="Durga Pratima Bisarjan" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/photo127.jpg" alt="Durga Pratima Bisarjan - IIT Kharagpur Campus during the seventies." width="307" height="321" /></a>Few minutes ago an old friend of mine called to wish me for the upcoming Durga Puja festivals. He said, "It''s Mahasasthi in Kolkata today!" I wished him back, but it occurred to me that it''s Mahasashti everywhere, not only in Kolkata. When I reminded him, he laughed and said, "Yes indeed. But our Sasthi starts on coming Friday!"  And he is absolutely right. Our Pujo in New Jersey (I am referring to the Kallol Durga Pujo which we both attend), starts on October 15th, Friday evening and that''s our Mahasasthi. The thought does give me some consolation that Pujo is yet to start and we have few more days to look forward too. But my friends and family in Kolkata have started enjoying their Pujo. They have started posting photos of their favorite idols on Facebook and Orkut, sending Pujo greetings through emails and expressing their joy and merriment. ETV Bangla is taking us through the streets of Kolkata and the online newspapers and magazines giving us day by day commentary of the Pujo happenings. And we cannot deny that this does cause a bit of a tinge in our hearts. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI did not grow up in Kolkata, hence I don''t miss the city festivities. In fact, the few times I have been to Kolkata during the Pujo, I didn''t enjoy the crowd, the hustle and bustle and the inconveniences of daily civic life. The only excitement was drifting from Puja Pandal to Pandal and watching the Pratima and the other pleasant visuals (especially of the opposite sex) around. I grew up in Hijli Kharagpur (IIT Campus) where we had only three very homely Puja''s. We spent all four days of Puja hanging around the Pandals, tasting savory snacks at the make shift food stalls, participated in various events. During the evenings we gathered around the Pratima where the priest performed the arati while the dhakis and the dhunuchi dancers danced to the intoxicating beats and the perfumed smoke from the dhunuchis. I still remember our favorite "Dari Kaku" (you can see him standing on the right side in the picture above), the bearded compounder from our campus hospital drumming to his hearts glee and once in a while pulling in one of us kids to play the "kashar ghonta"! And at the end of the arati, came the prasad that we all waited for. Later in the evening, cultural programs, plays, music and dance livened up the pandal. Our favorite of course were the movie shows, old black and white Bengali movies like Dhuli, Ashite Ashiona, or Neel Akasher Niche with frequent breaks due to changing on the film spools on a singe projector. Late night, when the movie concluded, the grounds looked like a battled field strewn with bodies of children and grown ups sleeping happily under the open sky.  Another attraction of the campus puja was the burning of the Ravan effigy or Ravan Dahan. During the Puja afternoons, me and my friends were assigned the task of building the Ravan using huge bamboo baskets and colored papers. On Dashami afternoon the 25 feet high Ravan effigy was installed on the island in our campus lake. The pyro-technicians from Kharagpur town came and installed the bombs and other fire works inside each of the ten heads and the torso.  During the evening, the idol was put up on a truck and taken around the campus before the immersion ceremony. Dari-kaku would pull us up onto the truck and we accompanied Maa Durga while dancing to the drum beats and yelling "Bolo bolo Maa Durga ki Joy! Ashchhe bochhor aabaar hobe!". After the immersion of the Durga idol in the lake and some glorious display of fireworks, an arrow mounted on a wire-guided missile was launched from the banks of the lake. The arrow flew across and hit right on target - the heart of Ravan, and a series of controlled explosions soon brought down the effigy into a pile of ashes.\r\n\r\nBut the fun did not end with the Pujas. The Bijoya celebration was another great attraction, especially to us <a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/dsc_0316.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-514" style="float: right; border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;" title="New Jersey Durga Puja Celebrations" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/dsc_0316.jpg" alt="New Jersey Durga Puja Celebrations" width="365" height="240" /></a> the kids who went from door to door, touched the elders feet and waited for the plates to appear from the kitchen filled with sweet and salty treats. This continued till Kali Puja came knocking at the doors.\r\n\r\nFor me, the Puja''s here more resemble the campus days - a meeting place with friends, to share a laugh and some happiness, to enjoy our kids running around, to appreciate the beautiful ladies around in their wonderful saris, enjoy those not-too-perfect presentations on stage and just reminisce of the good old days.\r\n\r\nHappy Puja to all of you my friends. May Maa Durga fill your lives with happiness and joy!', 'Durga Puja - Here and There', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-puja-here-and-there', '', '', '2010-10-13 21:36:41', '2010-10-14 01:36:41', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=512', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(509, 1, '2010-09-22 23:14:50', '2010-09-23 03:14:50', 'Raag-Rang presents for the first time an Informative, interactive and intimate session on different styles(Gharana) in Hindustani Music.\r\nA Lecture-Demonstration by Dr Mohan Deshpande.\r\n\r\nDr Deshpande, a musician and musicologist, will talk about different\r\nstyles of Indian music and how it is in use in today''s context.\r\n\r\nDate-- 3rd October, Sunday.\r\nTime-- 3 pm.\r\nDonation-- $5.00 for members and $10.00 for non-members.\r\nRSVP will be appreciated.\r\nContact-- (732)-296-1865, (908)-429-1120. Email --raagrang07@gmail.com\r\n\r\nVenue--At Sunil Nair''s residence\r\n36 Pine Ridge Drive,\r\nEast Brunswick,\r\nNJ 08816.\r\n\r\nFrom New Jersey Turnpike\r\n-Take Exit 9\r\n- Exit left after tolls to Route 18 South towards East Bruswick\r\n- After you pass Eggers St make the next U-Turn to get on 18 North\r\n- Immediately get to the right most lane on 18 North\r\n- Turn right on S Woodland Ave\r\n- Turn right at Serviss Ave\r\n- Turn left at Messler\r\n- Take the 2nd right onto Pine Ridge Dr\r\nDestination will be on the right  0.3 mi\r\n 36 Pine Ridge DrEast Brunswick, NJ 08816\r\n\r\nFrom Route 1\r\nTake Exit to Route 18 South and follow signs above.', 'Raag Rang Presents Lecture Demonstration by Dr. Mohan Deshpande', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'raag-rang-presents-lecture-demonstration-by-dr-mohan-deshpande', '', '', '2010-09-22 23:14:50', '2010-09-23 03:14:50', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=509', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(510, 1, '2010-09-22 23:17:27', '2010-09-23 03:17:27', 'SKN Foundation Proudly Presents:                                        \r\n"Sangeet Sandhya"\r\n\r\n"An Evening of Classical and Semi-Classical Songs"\r\n\r\n"A fundraiser for the preservation of Hindustani Classical Music" \r\n\r\nDate – Oct. 2 nd , 2010 – Time – 4 PM to 8 PM \r\n\r\nVenue – Stonecrest Community Church Auditorium\r\n\r\n1 1 Technology Drive North , Warren , NJ – 07059\r\nHindustani Vocal Classical by – ANASUA ROY\r\n\r\nAnd Semi-Classical Vocal and with a touch of Fusion by – NIRMALYA ROY (From Kolkata) \r\n\r\nSemi-classical music  with touch of fusion:\r\n\r\nVocal by Nirmalya Roy (Kolkata), a scholar in classical music from SRA and disciple of Pt. Arun Bhaduri, is equally talented in light classical, Ghazal and Filmi songs. He has released number of CDs and has been performing in TV, Radio and abroad. Performed with Ravi Shankar-ji. Currently, involved with Z-TV Bangla SaReGaMa show as composer. www.nirmalyaroy.com.\r\n\r\nSitar By Abhisek Mallick, disciple of Pt. Shyamal Chatterjee and Pt. Manilal Nag, is a recipient of President Award for first position in AIR music competition 2003. He has been performing in TV, Radio and abroad.\r\nTabla By Shivalik Ghoshal, disciple of Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri.\r\nResonance Band (Satyajit Bhattacharya on Keyboard, Atish Mitra on Guitar and Anil Das on Percussion)\r\nFor More details pl. visit www.sknfoundation.org or call 732-310-3617 Cell.', 'Sangeet Sandhya', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sangeet-sandhya', '', '', '2010-09-22 23:17:27', '2010-09-23 03:17:27', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=510', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(369, 1, '2009-07-08 11:12:00', '2009-07-08 15:12:00', '', 'Rabindranath Tagore', 0, 'Rabindranath Tagore', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'tagorejpg', '', '', '2009-07-08 11:12:00', '2009-07-08 15:12:00', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tagore.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(370, 1, '2009-07-08 11:12:01', '2009-07-08 15:12:01', '', 'tagore-thumb.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'tagore-thumbjpg', '', '', '2009-07-08 11:12:01', '2009-07-08 15:12:01', '', 371, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tagore-thumb.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(375, 1, '2009-07-08 14:25:34', '2009-07-08 18:25:34', '', 'time-zone-web-thumb.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'time-zone-web-thumbjpg', '', '', '2009-07-08 14:25:34', '2009-07-08 18:25:34', '', 378, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/time-zone-web-thumb.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(376, 1, '2009-07-08 14:25:35', '2009-07-08 18:25:35', 'Sahaj_Ma', 'sahaj-ma.jpg', 0, 'Sahaj Maa', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'sahaj-majpg', '', '', '2009-07-08 14:25:35', '2009-07-08 18:25:35', '', 378, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sahaj-ma.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(377, 1, '2009-07-08 14:25:36', '2009-07-08 18:25:36', '', 'sahaj-ma-thumb.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'sahaj-ma-thumbjpg', '', '', '2009-07-08 14:25:36', '2009-07-08 18:25:36', '', 378, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sahaj-ma-thumb.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(378, 1, '2009-07-08 14:25:36', '2009-07-08 18:25:36', '<a rel="thumbnail" href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/time-zone-web.jpg"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" title="NABC Time Zone" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/time-zone-web-thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="NABC Time Zone" width="296" height="295" align="left" /></a> On July 4th, Saturday night, the curtains came down upon the NABC 2009 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. But as the NABC lights faded out in the West Coast, Kallol of New Jersey got into full gear to herald in the NABC of 2010 to be held at the Atlantic City Convention center from July 9th to 11th, 2010. Although I was not able to attend the San Jose NABC, but judging from the excellent coverage on <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/urhalpool.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/378'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/urhalpool.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/378'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/urhalpool.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/378'');" href="http://urhalpool.com" target="_blank">Urhalpool</a>, it seemed that it was a successful one from an overall perspective. It seemed that the shows ran on time (which was unthinkable even a few years ago, NABC seems to have fixed that vexing problem and made this cartoon irrelevant), they were entertaining and dazzling, food was good, as were the long adda sessions. The second generation kids also seemed to have enjoyed themselves, some made new friends and some met old ones they met at previous NABCs.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nHowever, the editor of Urhalpool, Gautam Dutta (who also has received an award from the Cultural Asso. of Bengal at the NABC 2009 for his contribution to Bengali literature) wrote an editorial on the NABC proceedings which echoed some of the frustrations of the past.  Gautam’s grievances about the treatment of domestic artists and performers, neglect of  literary guests and their seminars, lack of care for Bengali literature as a major component of Bengali culture has been voiced time and again but to most of the organizers those are of lower priority. After all Shantanu (Shan) from Mumbai can pull in more registrants than Sunil from Kolkata. Although I wrote about some of these issues in a past article, I think I’ll re-iterate some of them once again. Since the 2010 NABC will be held in our home turf, organized by our club “Kallol”, I can hope that our hopes and wishes will find some compassionate ears.  So here goes my wish list:\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Cut down the number of artistes from India (Kolkata, Mumbai).</strong>\r\nInviting a large number of artistes and performers from India is counter productive. It not only boosts the NABC budget, but to the audience members it becomes a major hassle to co-ordinate between other shows, social meetings, literary seminars, films, theater etc. etc. I have nothing against the professional performers from India. My point is to give some room to the audience members to enjoy and appreciate the other programs.  How can we expect audience at a literary seminar when it runs parallel to “Shan”, “Shreya” or “Srikanto”?  And hence during the local performances, they take their breaks for meals, addas and shopping.  Please give them a break.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Introduce new and upcoming talents from India.</strong>\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sahaj-ma.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-376" title="sahaj-ma.jpg" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sahaj-ma.jpg" alt="Sahaj Maa" /></a>Aren’t we tired of watching and listening to the same performers again and again? Srikanto Acharya is a great singer, but think how many times we have heard him in the last five years. We wouldn’t have attended his concert this many times even if we had lived in Kolkata. Same goes for many of the other artistes whom we see at each and every NABC gathering. Why not introduce some of the new and upcoming artistes at NABC? With the proliferation of Indian and Bengali TV channels in USA, we are now familiar with many of these artists. One name comes to my mind is “Sahaj Maa” – her renderings of <strong>Sufi</strong> and folk music is simply mind boggling. Stand up comedians like “<strong>Mir</strong>” or “Kanchan” can be an excellent addition to the usual repertoire and they can double up as anchors/emcees.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Special events for second generation.</strong>\r\nAlthough this sounds like a cliché, but the fact remains that we mostly ignore our next generation at the NABC festivities and get too involved with ourselves. Mind you, when we talk about second generation, we are talking about a wide range of age groups. “Speed Dating” (introduced at NABC 2009 I presume) is nice for the youths, but may not be that attractive for the younger kids. We need to be innovative about getting them engaged – be it quiz contests or spelling bees, Bengali Idol (NABC idol was introduced in 2009) music contest, children''s drama competition,  dance competition – anything that  can engage them.  How about mini-workshops on arts and crafts, music, acting or film making? And let our second generation kids organize, manage and run them.\r\n\r\nI have more wishes and I’ll list them in the coming weeks. I also welcome comments and suggestions from the readers and listen to their wishlist. However, the bottom line is that we need to rethink the objectives of Bango-Sammelon aka NABC and act accordingly.', 'Goodbye NABC 2009 - Welcome NABC 2010', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'goodbye-nabc-2009-welcome-nabc-2010', '', '', '2009-07-09 13:50:26', '2009-07-09 17:50:26', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/archives/378', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(379, 1, '2009-07-08 16:34:08', '2009-07-08 20:34:08', 'A unique concert of Tagore songs with the accompaniment of Indian and Western musical instruments is planned for Saturday, July the 18th, 2009, at 6-30 P.M. at the fabulous sanctuary of the futuristic Saint Peters Church in the heart of New York City at 619 Lexington Avenue (corner of 54th Street), New York City. Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, the famed Tagore singer, will be the solo vocalist. Among the instruments will be Piano, Violin, Saxophone, Harp, Cello, Veena, Sitar, Flute, Tabla, Mandira etc. The musicians who will play these instruments are all accomplished artistes in their respective areas. This is the first time that such a concert is being offered where so many Western instruments will be played with Tagore songs (or any other Bengali song genre, for that matter) at the same session. As planned, Ms. Bannya will sing an average of two songs with each instrument individually. At the end, two or more songs are expected to be offered with all the  instruments playing together.\r\n\r\nSuggested donations for the concert has been set at $100, $50 and $25, to defray the costs for the concert. Guests are requested to arrive on time and take their seats by 6-30 pm so that the session may start on time. The entrance is through the 54th Street south side doors, less than 50 feet from Lexington Avenue while walking towards Third Avenue. Discount parking is available at Metropolitan 51 Parking, 569 Lexington Avenue, south side of 51st Street, between Lexington and 3rd Avenue ($15 for upto five hours).. For getting the discount, the tickets have to be endorsed by a seal at the reception desk at the church entrance.\r\n\r\nThose interested to attend the concert and collect tickets are requested to ontact: 347-570-7787, 917-770-0146, 718-414-9743 or send email at following adresses:\r\nemail: <a href="mailto:smullah41@yahoo.com">smullah41@yahoo.com</a>, <a href="mailto:sarwarharun@gmail.com">sarwarharun@gmail.com</a>', 'Bannya Concert in New York', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'bannya-concert-in-new-york', '', '', '2009-07-08 16:34:08', '2009-07-08 20:34:08', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=379', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(380, 1, '2009-07-13 10:58:57', '2009-07-13 14:58:57', '<div>\r\n<div style="text-align: center;">\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span>On the Occasion of its 20<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Celebration, Mrittika, Inc. of New Jersey-A South Asian</span></strong></p>\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span> Language and Heritage Center (formerly known as Bengali Learning center)</span></strong></p>\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span>Cordially Invites You to Attend the First <span>“South Asian Heritage Day”</span></span></strong></p>\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span>Celebrating “Unity in Diversity through the Arts”</span></strong><strong></strong></p>\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span>Co-Sponsored by Monmouth County Library Headquarters</span></strong></p>\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span>On August 1, 2009, Between 11:00 AM &amp; 3:30 PM </span></strong><span>at <strong>Monmouth County Library Headquarters</strong></span></p>\r\n<p align="center"><strong><span>125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726-3249</span></strong></p>\r\n<p align="center"><span> The  day-long cultural program includes Exhibition, Performing Arts, Documentaries</span></p>\r\n<p align="center"><span>Author Presentations, Art Workshops </span></p>\r\n<p align="center"><span><strong>The  Exhibition</strong> </span><span><em><strong>"My Roots"</strong></em> contains three areas of display which includes:</span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><em><strong>Desire within boundaries:</strong> The Earth friendly, handed down ritualistic traditional</em>, painting <em>art form by women(from Three generations )of the </em></span><span><em>Bengali Community features Alpana works</em></span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><strong><em>"Vanishing Earth":</em> </strong><em>A special display of miniature clay art form of Bengal</em></span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><em><strong>"South View":</strong> An assorted display of folk artworks, articles and jewellaries from South </em></span><span><em>Asia</em></span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><strong>The Performing Arts</strong> will include Music and Dance programs by community artists</span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><strong><em>"Enchanting tunes of South Asia":</em></strong> <em>A multimedia musical composition featuring flags and costumes of South Asia: Research, Compiling and composition by (Alumni) and other Mrittika members from the community. The live section will be presented by community celebrities </em></span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><em><strong>"Mother Earth-Father sky": </strong>A performance of Indian Lyrics and tunes written and composed by world famous writers poets and composers(Co-ordinated / directed and sung by: Arundhati Mullick with a group of local community celebrities) along with a specal dance segment by "Rhythms of dance and Music(Artistic Director: Mitra Purkayastha, performed by Mitra Purkayastha and Orchi Dutta)</em></span></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><span><em><strong>"East meets West"-</strong>A performance of classical Indian (Kathak, Bharata Natyam) and</em></span><em>Western Dance(Ballet, Flamenco) by "Kalamandir" of New Jersey(Artistic Director: Malabika Guha, performed by Brinda Guha and Ariana Dasgupta)</em></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Documentaries </strong>contain</p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><em>"The treasure hunt from the past": Learn about the disappearing clay art form of Bengal(Bengali with English Subtitles)(Directed by: Sanjiban Guha and produced by Mrittika)</em></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><em>"A Journey"-Glimpses of Mrittika''s twenty years</em></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Art workshops</strong> include</p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><em>"Building the bridges": Guest Artists share techniques in South Asian Art Forms in the prticipatory programs for children and adults which includes Face art and Mehendi</em></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><em>and </em></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><em> there will be a  <strong>Author presentation</strong></em></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Two Books: Two authors</em><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;"></span></p>\r\n\r\n<span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;"><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;">\r\n<p align="center"><em>Mothers for Sale: Women in Kolkata’s Sex Trade</em></p>\r\n\r\n</span></span><span style="font-family: AlbertusMT-Light;"><em>by Indrani Sinha</em>\r\n<p align="center"><em>&amp; Shamita Das Dasgupta. Author Shamita Das Dasgupta shares this</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>sharply intelligent and compassionate exploration of an East Indian</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>social reality.</em></p>\r\n\r\n\r\n</span><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;"><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;">\r\n<p align="center"><em>Red Oleanders</em></p>\r\n\r\n</span></span><em><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;">(</span><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;"><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;">Raktakarabi</span></span><span style="font-family: Albertus-Medium;">) </span></em><span style="font-family: AlbertusMT-Light;"><em>by Rabindranath Tagore [1861 – 1941].</em>\r\n<p align="center"><em>A new translation and adaptation of the renowned Nobel Laureate</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>Tagore’s drama by Nupur Lahiri. Dr. Lahiri will present.</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em></em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>The program co ordinator: Dhriti Bagchi on behalf of Mrittika</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>Co-Sponsor: Monmouth County Library Headquarters</em><em></em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>Light refreshment will be served</em></p>\r\n\r\n\r\n</span>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n<p style="text-align: center;"></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p align="center"><em>This program has been made possible in part by the Monmouth county Arts Council through funding from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, through the County Historical Commission and the New Jersey State Council of the Arts/Department of State, A Partmer Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>For further information pleae visit : <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.mrittika.org/" target="_blank">www.mrittika.org</a></em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>For Library  direction: phone number: 732-431-7220</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>Website: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.monmouthcountylib.org/" target="_blank">www.monmouthcountylib.org</a></em></p>\r\n<p align="center"><em>Address: 125, Symmes Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726</em></p>\r\n<p align="center"></p>\r\n\r\n<div style="text-align: -webkit-center;"></div>', '20th Anniversary Celebration, Mrittika, Inc.', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', '20th-anniversary-celebration-mrittika-inc', '', '', '2009-07-13 10:58:57', '2009-07-13 14:58:57', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=380', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(373, 1, '2009-07-08 11:14:13', '2009-07-08 15:14:13', '<strong>By Amitava Sen</strong>\r\n\r\n<a rel="thumbnail" href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tagore.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" title="Rabindranath Tagore" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tagore-thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="Rabindranath Tagore" width="182" height="244" align="left" /></a> The derivative meaning of the word “Jayanti” in Bengali is, an occasion to acclaim and praise, linguistically speaking. But the word really means a Jubilee, celebration of certain anniversaries. More often it means celebration of birthdays of famous persons, usually dead than alive. In our case, the dates of these anniversaries could be an amalgam of many calendars. Saints and spiritual gurus are observed according to lunar calendar; Sri Ramakrishna is celebrated on the second day of the new moon on the eleventh month (Falgun) of the Bengali era. Poets and littérateurs have their assigned days in accordance with the dates of Bengali calendar, as in 25<sup>th</sup> of the first month (Baisakh) of the calendar for the poet Rabindra Nath Thakur and for some, the ones dealing with science, politics, sports etc. as per the Christian calendar; January 23<sup>rd</sup> for Subhas Chandra Bose, for example.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nBengalis worship their heroes. The modality of hero branding has changed somewhat. Now a foreign recognition is deemed necessary for getting up there. There was a dry period after Satyajit Ray till Amartya Sen arrived. Both are internationally recognized. Though Bengalis made Mother Teresa a hero she was not really their kind. Then there was Saurav Ganguly, whose virtual beatification for a period of time seemed destined to make him a candidate for Jayanti of his own. That he is still alive should not be a problem. We have precedents. Biggest of all our Jayantis, one for the poet Tagore had been happening long before he died. Indeed he was an enthusiastic and willing participant. In addition he saw to it that celebrators did not run out of songs and poetries for his anniversaries for longest time to come after he was gone, thousands of them; compare this with only 154 sonnets that Shakespeare wrote.\r\n\r\nAs we like to live in our past, present is dreary and the future is bleak; we need anniversaries, lots of them. The ways of celebrations differ.\r\n\r\nThat was January twenty-third; a taxi traveling in a side street in Calcutta was stopped at the entry by a group of youngsters. In the middle of the street a portrait of Bose was installed in a makeshift platform, duly garlanded. They objected to the taxi proceeding. The passenger reasoned that this was the only way the taxi could reach its destination, but that pleading fell in deaf ears. He was accused of being unpatriotic. The taxi driver got involved but he soon came to the conclusion that discretion was better part of valor and promptly retreated when some one threw a stone aiming at the windshield of the taxi causing a small crack, realizing that the violent outburst was probably the way the young fellows in the street intended to uphold Subhas Bose’s valiant legacy of armed resistance to the intruders.\r\n\r\nSaints and gurus have a peaceful way. Their affairs are usually confined in the temple and other places indoor, except for when Bharat Sevasram Sangha and the likes decide to bring out a big procession blaring loud music stopping traffic for hours. But disrupting traffic back in West Bengal is everyone’s revolutionary right. Almost everyday can be called an anniversary of some sort.\r\n\r\nPoets and writers, especially ones with songs to their credit usually do better, because their anniversaries have a monetary potential as it can attract a fare paying crowd of aficionados of their songs and poetries performed by celebrity artists and movie stars.\r\n\r\nCloser to home, here in New Jersey we love our Jayantis too, as long as it has a cover of culture. We consider only the poets and writers for the honor.\r\n\r\nOn a recent evening, there were three portraits, somewhat worn out from many years of use, two of them were instantly recognizable; the third though a familiar name, the face still remained a little unknown to the crowd who gathered there. Anyway, the display of three pictures was all we needed for their Jayanti celebrations. What followed had nothing to do with the subject poets and their contribution to the Bengali literature. They are dead anyway, who will care how they feel. Turning in the grave does not pose a threat of any consequence.\r\n\r\nOne of the organizers made an announcement that the Jayanti celebration was the major annual cultural program of the club. Demonstration that followed the announcement did not appear to promise a very bright future for the state of Bengali culture or for that matter, even for the three Kobis adorning the arena. The poor Kobis could not even get up on the stage, their pictures looking forlorn were planted below the main podium while some variation of go as you like was going on, up on the stage.\r\n\r\nThere is plenty supply of Kobis in Bengali. There is no reason that we have to have Jayanti for same three of them year after year after year. Could it be because we have no other framed portraits available readily? But we can act as Romans while in Rome. . Here in America we have a day earmarked for President George Washington but it really is a Presidents’ Day for all 40 dead presidents. It is closer to the first president’s birthday in February, that’s all. In the same vein we can have a Kobi day for all the dead Kobis. Assigning a day closer to the most famous of them will be fitting. We can do away with the three faded pictures and celebrate Jayanti for all of them. As they are too many in number, we will not be expected to sing and dance for any particular one. We will celebrate our culture in whatever shape and form we want. That will be liberating.', 'Jayanti''s are For Ever!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'jayantis-are-for-ever-3', '', '', '2009-07-08 13:36:57', '2009-07-08 17:36:57', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/archives/373', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(374, 1, '2009-07-08 14:25:32', '2009-07-08 18:25:32', '', 'time-zone-web.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'time-zone-webjpg', '', '', '2009-07-08 14:25:32', '2009-07-08 18:25:32', '', 378, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/time-zone-web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(381, 1, '2009-07-20 19:45:36', '2009-07-20 23:45:36', 'A translation company specializing in voice-overs and subtitling are looking for native <span>speakers</span> of <span><span>Bengali</span></span> for lip-sync/dubbing of a video series for the City of New York (We are New York). They need approximately 10 --12 <span>speakers</span>, teenager to senior, male and female. Is this something you''d like to get involved in?  Experience is preferred by not necessary.\r\n\r\nContact: Lindsey\r\nInterNation, Inc.\r\n299 Broadway, Suite 1400\r\nNew York, NY 10007\r\ntoll free: 800.222.8799\r\nphone: 212.619.5545\r\nfax: 212.619.5887\r\n<a href="mailto:info@internation.com" target="_blank">info@internation.com</a>\r\n<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.internation.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post-new.php'');" href="http://www.internation.com/" target="_blank">www.internation.com</a>', 'Bengali Speakers Needed', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'bengali-speakers-needed', '', '', '2009-07-20 19:45:36', '2009-07-20 23:45:36', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=381', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(507, 1, '2010-09-20 21:49:54', '2010-09-21 01:49:54', 'PLEASE JOIN US FOR A COMMUNITY FORUM & DISCUSSION ON WORKING TOGETHER TO SECURE AND STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITIES\r\n\r\nDate: Saturday, September 25, 2010\r\n\r\nTime: 10:15am – 12:45pm\r\n\r\nWhere: \r\nGeorge Bush Senior Citizen Center\r\n1 Old Bridge Plaza, Old Bridge, NJ 08857\r\nDirections: www.oldbridge.com Ph: 732-721-5600\r\n\r\nPART I\r\nBias Incidents and Hate Crimes:\r\nHow to identify and address them as a community?\r\n\r\nPART II\r\nBridging the Gap:\r\nHow can community members collaborate with local law enforcement agencies\r\nto enhance public safety?\r\n\r\nRSVP preferred by Saturday, September18th, 2010 to\r\nCitizensofOldBridge@gmail.com\r\nPlease indicate whether you would like an interpreter. Refreshments provided.\r\n\r\nTHIS EVENT IS ORGANIZED BY THE CITIZENS OF OLD BRIDGE (COBNJ), SOUTH ASIAN AMERICANS LEADING TOGETHER (SAALT) AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE IN COLLABORATION WITH OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP, MIDDLESEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE, OLD BRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SOUTH ASIAN BAR ASSOCIATION NEW JERSEY (SABA-NJ), ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND (AALDEF), MANAVI, THE SIKH COALITION AND INDIAN AMERICAN DEFENSE LEAGUE', 'Divyendu Sinha Murder Followup: Community Forum and Discussion', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'divyendu-sinha-murder-followup-community-forum-and-discussion', '', '', '2010-09-20 21:49:54', '2010-09-21 01:49:54', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=507', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(383, 1, '2009-08-05 16:38:27', '2009-08-05 20:38:27', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/desh-review-web.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-384" title="desh-review-web" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/desh-review-web.jpg" alt="Review of Jadiyo Galpo" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/desh-review-web.jpg"></a>Subrata Ghosh, an emiment theater critic from Kolkata, recently reviewed Theater Workshop''s production "Jadiyo Galpo" in Desh patrika.  The play is directed by Ashok Mukhopadhyay. "Jadiyo Galpo" is the play that we had staged last year as "Satyameva". Check out this review and tell your friends and family in Kolkata to watch this play at their latest opportunity.', 'Jadiyo Galpo - A Review', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'jadiyo-galpo-a-review', '', '', '2009-08-05 16:38:27', '2009-08-05 20:38:27', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=383', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(384, 1, '2009-08-05 16:32:38', '2009-08-05 20:32:38', 'Review of Jadiyo Galpo in Desh Patrika', 'desh-review-web', 0, 'Review of Jadiyo Galpo', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'desh-review-web', '', '', '2009-08-05 16:32:38', '2009-08-05 20:32:38', '', 383, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/desh-review-web.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(386, 102, '2009-08-06 22:59:24', '2009-08-07 02:59:24', '', 'wp-app', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'wp-app', '', '', '2009-08-06 22:59:24', '2009-08-07 02:59:24', '', -1249613824, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/wp-app.php', 0, 'attachment', 'application/octet-stream', 0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(388, 1, '2009-08-18 23:52:05', '2009-08-19 03:52:05', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/nissan_altima.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-391" title="Nissan Altima" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/nissan_altima.jpg" alt="1998 Nissan Altima" /></a>Recently I was in the market to buy a used car for my son. It has been quite a long time since I bought a used or should I say "preowned" vehicle. Even when I had bought couple of "pre-owned" cars during my early days in this country, I bought them through my colleagues and friends. The first car I bought was a Dodge Aries wagon that was sold to me by a colleague of mine when I was desperate to get a car that had four wheels and could take me from my home to work and maybe some shopping. Hence I ignored several of its "minor" blemishes - like the rear passenger door which was disabled permanently. A previous accident had bent it awkwardly and  my colleague warned me that if I attempt to open the door from inside, it may swing out violently and injure a bystander. I never opened the door. But the car served me very well. It was the time when minivans were just appearing in the market and station wagons were in high demand to haul luggage to the airports. My friends loved the car. It could sit six people quite comfortably and the huge trunk could pack in a whole apartment.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nMy second car was a Nissan Sentra - a cute little car with very low mileage. A friend of mine, who was a grad student at Rutgers helped me find this car while I was searching through local newspapers.  Since then, lot of things have changed - the internet revolution happened - social networks and blog sites came about, and people stopped reading newspapers - old relations faded and new ones formed. I too avoided getting into the hassles of  used car shopping and stuck to buying new cars just to avoid the stress.\r\n\r\nWhen my son became eligible to drive, pressure started to mount on me. He wanted a car of his own. I tried to hold off for a while but finally gave in and started looking for a "pre-owned" vehicle - a reasonably reliable vehicle that would have reasonable number of miles on it and would have a reasonable (read low very low) price tag. The problem with used vehicles is that you typically do not have a model in mind, rather you move with a dollar amount in mind. Maybe you can also setup a mileage target and age of the vehicle too - but my primary objective was to find a good deal! The next problem was, where do I start my search?  My friends and colleagues suggested I should look up <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/craigslist.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388&amp;message=4'');" href="http://craigslist.com">CraigsList</a>, and I did just that. Soon  I identified few cars in my area (central Jersey) that I liked and contacted the sellers.  The cars were very attractively priced and I was eager to close a great deal. The sellers soon responded with tales of their own. Some were going through a nasty divorce, some lost their jobs, some had to leave the country, but the common theme was that everybody wanted to ship their car to me. Most wanted to transact through eBay or similar service and ensured that if I am not satisfied with the car, I can return the car and the money will be returned to me promptly. I was literally thrown aback - I never heard of used car salesman shipping cars via UPS or FEDEX and that too for free! I smelled a rat and sure enough I discovered the warning posted on craigslist - any offer to ship a car is fraud!  I found some genuine sellers too, and checked out couple of them but none were satisfactory.\r\n\r\nIn the meantime I discovered <a title="Carfax" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/carfax.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/carfax.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388'');" href="http://carfax.com">CARFAX</a> and <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/Autocheck.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/Autocheck.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388'');" href="http://Autocheck.com">AutoCheck</a>. Both these services provide you with a detailed history of the car as to whether it had any (reported) accidents, whether the car was salvaged or whether the odometer was tampered. It also contains reports of each and every title change and registration renewals and in some cases inspection and service records. Autocheck (by Experian)  even provides a Autocheck score which helps you tally the car against similar cars in the same category. For example, for the same model year a car with less mileage would have a higher score than one with higher mileage. Both companies offer buy back guarantees if the car later is proven to be a salvage, or have title or odometer discrepancies that were not reported. Hence I subscribed to CARFAX and Autocheck to arm myself with enough information before negotiating a deal.\r\n\r\nI was always hesitant to go to a used car dealer, mainly because of the stigma associated with this class of businessmen. I heard so many horror stories, I thought that the moment I step into a used car dealership, I''ll me coerced into buying a junk. But with CARFAX and AutoCheck, I felt that maybe I can outsmart them in their game. But soon I discovered that the used car sales people have changed their strategy. I met three sales people and none of them were pushy.  They showed such a calm and disinterested demeanor that at times I felt that they must be in the wrong business. They all have their websites with the details about their inventory and even before I could mention CARFAX, they pulled out a report for me. Maybe the current state of our economy has been good to the used car business and hence they really didn''t mind losing a customer or too, but it kind of turned me off.  Maybe my ego was hurt since they were not begging me to sell their cars.\r\n\r\nAs I was getting tired of searching for that great used car, and even contemplated the idea of buying a cheap new compact from Japan or Korea, a friend of mine pointed me to <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/Sulekha.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/Sulekha.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=388'');" href="http://Sulekha.com">Sulekha</a> classifieds.  And it was indeed a gold mine. Almost all sellers are of Indian origin and most cars posted are the Indian favourites - Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans. Very few American cars.  I started shortlisting them and contacted the sellers  for their VIN numbers, ran them through CARFAX and AutoCheck and soon I was able to find my car - a ''98 Nissan Altima with low mileage and good AutoCheck score!  Now let''s see how long it lasts.', 'Buying a Used Car', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'buying-a-used-car', '', '', '2009-08-19 11:02:55', '2009-08-19 15:02:55', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=388', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(389, 1, '2009-08-17 23:28:59', '2009-08-18 03:28:59', 'August 22 at the Woodlot Park in Kendall Park NJ.\r\n\r\nContact Nilotpal Paul at nkpaul@gmail.com', 'Jadavpur University Alumni Picnic', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'jadavpur-university-alumni-picnic', '', '', '2009-08-17 23:28:59', '2009-08-18 03:28:59', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=389', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(390, 1, '2009-08-17 23:31:29', '2009-08-18 03:31:29', '<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif;">\r\n<div>\r\n<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">IIT KGP Alumni – East Coast Summer Picnic 2009</span></h1>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Hi Alumnus –</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Our 12<sup>th</sup> annual picnic is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, 2009 (rain or shine) at the same park as last year (but different pavilion). Please join us, and bring your family/significant other. Invite your group of friends, and<span> </span>bhaat, play and chill.</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">When:</span></strong><span style="color: blue;"> Sat, Sept 12, 2009, 11am-4pm</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Where:</span></strong><span style="color: blue;"> Oak Grove Pavilion within Duke Island Park, Old York Road, Bridgewater, NJ</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Park Contact:</span></strong><span style="color: blue;"> 908-722-7779, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #800080;">http://www.somersetcountyparks.org</span></a></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Cost: </span></strong><span style="color: blue;">$20/adult (16yrs and above), $5 (6-15 yrs); Cost goes up after Sept 1</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Catered Indian lunch will be served at 12:30pm. Please bring along any games or sports equipment (e.g., soccer, volleyball, cricket, baddy).</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">To register and pay by credit card, please click on paypal links below (you don’t need to be paypal members):</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">1 Adult ($20): <span style="color: blue;"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd%20=_xclick&amp;business=iitkgp_newyork%40yahoo.com&amp;amount=20&amp;item_name=IIT%20KGP%20Picnic%202008%20%2D%201%20Guest&amp;currency_code=USD&amp;bn=paywiz0105xx-bx" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;">IIT KGP Picnic - Early Registration - Single ($20)</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">2 Adults ($40): <span style="color: blue;"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd%20=_xclick&amp;business=iitkgp_newyork%40yahoo.com&amp;amount=40&amp;item_name=IIT%20KGP%20Picnic%202008%20%2D%202%20Guests&amp;currency_code=USD&amp;bn=paywiz0105xx-bx" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;">IIT KGP Picnic - Early Registration - Double ($40)</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">1 Child ($5): <span style="color: blue;"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd%20=_xclick&amp;business=iitkgp_newyork%40yahoo.com&amp;amount=5&amp;item_name=IIT%20KGP%20Picnic%202008%20%2D%201%20Child&amp;currency_code=USD&amp;bn=paywiz0105xx-bx" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;">IIT KGP Picnic - Early Registration - 1 Child ($5)</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">2 Children ($10): <span style="color: blue;"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd%20=_xclick&amp;business=iitkgp_newyork%40yahoo.com&amp;amount=10&amp;item_name=IIT%20KGP%20Picnic%202008%20%2D%202%20Children&amp;currency_code=USD&amp;bn=paywiz0105xx-bx" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;">IIT KGP Picnic - Early Registration - 2 Children ($10)</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">If you prefer to send a check, please send to: Ajit K Agrawal, 315 West End Avenue, #8B, New York, NY 10023.</span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">KGP ka tempo HIGH hai! See you on Saturday Sept 12.</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Ajit Agrawal (<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:ajit_k_agrawal@yahoo.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">ajit_k_agrawal@yahoo.com</span></a>)</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Subhodev Das (<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:subhodev@att.net" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">subhodev@att.net</span></a>)</p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></p>\r\n<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Websites: <span style="color: #333333;"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://iitkgpny.community.officelive.com/" target="_blank"><span><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://iitkgpny.community.officelive.com/</span></span></a>, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.iitfoundation.org/chapters/" target="_blank"><span><span style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://www.iitfoundation.org/chapters/</span></span></a></span></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>', 'IIT KGP Alumni – East Coast Summer Picnic 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'iit-kgp-alumni-%e2%80%93-east-coast-summer-picnic-2009', '', '', '2009-08-17 23:31:29', '2009-08-18 03:31:29', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=390', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(391, 1, '2009-08-18 23:41:27', '2009-08-19 03:41:27', '1998 Nissan Altima GXE', 'Nissan Altima', 0, '1998 Nissan Altima', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'nissan_altima', '', '', '2009-08-18 23:41:27', '2009-08-19 03:41:27', '', 388, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/nissan_altima.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(392, 1, '2009-08-18 23:58:51', '2009-08-19 03:58:51', 'Join the OFA Health Care Forum with the President on August 20th at 2.30pm.\r\n\r\nhttp://my.barackobama.com/page/s/aug20web', 'Health Care Forum With The President', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'health-care-forum-with-the-president', '', '', '2009-08-18 23:58:51', '2009-08-19 03:58:51', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=392', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(393, 1, '2009-08-20 17:31:23', '2009-08-20 21:31:23', '<img class="alignleft" style="float: left; margin: 6px;" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dsc_0770.jpg" alt="Durga Puja" width="300" height="200" />Bengali Associations of NJ are gearing up for the biggest festival of the year - Durga Puja. This year the festival starts quite early, around 25th-26th of September. Kallol, GSCA and Anandamandir will be celebrating their Durga Puja during that weekend.  And just like last year we should expect that the registration to start soon. GSCA has already opened their online registration, and Kallol is expected to open theirs in early September.\r\n\r\nLast year (2008) was the first time when Kallol of NJ started their online pre-registration process and it caused quite a bit of furor amongst the Kallol regulars who failed to register early. The registration window was closed as soon as the guest count limit was reached and that left many people with a bad taste.  Some people were able to get in at the last moment (I don''t know how) but several people had to go back. I think Kallol needs to do something about this.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI suggest that Kallol retain a limited number (approx 200 to 300) of reasonably priced daily tickets. These tickets should be released only on the day for which they are designated.  For example a Saturday tickets should be sold on Saturday only and not earlier. The price of these daily admission tickets when totalled should be higher than the combined 3-day registration fees,  and they can have different rates based on the key attractions of that evening.  This process has several advantages:\r\n\r\n1. People who want to attend only on a specific day at Kallol can do so. They do not have to be tied to Kallol puja for all three days.\r\n\r\n2. Many people (including non Bengali speaking) would like to come to the Puja to watch their children or other family members perform in a show on a particular day. It would be unfair to charge the full 3 day registration from them.  Even if they purchase the 3 day package and come only for one evening, Kallol will lose out a spot for the other three days.\r\n\r\n3. The daily tickets (which from our past experience can be expected to be sold out) will fetch more revenue for Kallol than 3-day registrations. This is a win-win situation.\r\n\r\nThese are my humble suggestions to the committee for consideration. However, other organizations can also follow this process.\r\n\r\nI hope the 2009 Puja festivals will bring in joy and happiness for all. I am looking forward to it, just like any other Bengali.', 'Durga Puja 2009 - Just a Month Away', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'durga-puja-2009-just-a-month-away', '', '', '2009-08-20 17:32:20', '2009-08-20 21:32:20', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=393', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(394, 1, '2009-08-28 11:00:47', '2009-08-28 15:00:47', '<div>Indian Community Center of <span><span>Garden State</span></span> (ICC-GS) cordially invites you to the <strong><span><span>Durga Puja</span></span></strong>celebration on 19th and 20th September (Saturday and Sunday) at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.roxbury.org/rhs/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #400000;"><span>Roxbury High School, located at <span style="color: #000000;">One Bryant Drive, Succasunna, NJ 07876.</span></span></span></a></div>\r\n<div><span style="color: #400000;">\r\n</span>The biggest attraction is the cultural program with an exciting line-up featuring famous artists from <span><span>Kolkata</span></span>.\r\n\r\n<strong>Amit </strong>Paul, the India Idol Runner-up will perform on Saturday, Sep 19th.\r\n\r\n<strong>Jagannath and Urmimala Bose</strong> from Kolkata are the pioneers of ''Shruti-Natak'' or talk theater. They will perform on Sunday, Sep 20th.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>There will be special Bengali community dinner both the days.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>For further details, please visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icc-gs.org/" target="_blank"><span>www.icc-gs.org</span></a></div>', 'ICC_GS Durga Puja', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'icc_gs-durga-puja', '', '', '2009-09-14 14:05:39', '2009-09-14 18:05:39', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=394', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(409, 1, '2009-09-16 12:04:54', '2009-09-16 16:04:54', '<p>I have been trying to avoid writing about the current health care issue on this blog. The key reason being that if I start writing I won’t be able to stop. I have been discussing this issue with my friends on my <a href="http://facebook.com/bhawmik" target="_blank">facebook page</a> and the discussions often became quite passionate and sometimes quite heated too. The rumors, hear-says, myths and speculations on the healthcare bill have risen to a level that I doubt if ever happened before in American social and political life. Multiple bills have been floating in the Capitol and today Senator Baucus unveiled the so-called bipartisan bill (which apparently only one Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe is likely to support) which has no option for a public-option, requires families to contribute 13% of their income for health insurance premiums and imposes fines ($3800 per family) on those who do not purchase insurance. The bill does however impose some restrictions on insurance companies to prevent them from rejecting people with pre-existing conditions or from increasing the rates for people with serious illnesses. This bill, if accepted, would cost $856 billion over 10 year time. </p> \r\n<!--more-->\r\n  <p>I would say that this bill is kind of a disappointment, at least for me. Thirteen percent of one’s income as health insurance premium is far from what we call affordable. Secondly the bill does little to encourage competition. Without any public option, the insurance companies will have a field time to set their own rates. The so called exchange or market place can do little when each state has only a handful of&#160; insurance companies to select from.&#160; Health co-operatives, as proposed in the bill, can hardly compete with the insurance companies. </p>  <p>In New Jersey, the state imposes some regulatory measures for individual and small business health coverage. The standard plans for individuals are community rated. From late 1993 through 2008, this has meant that a carrier must offer a standard individual health benefits plans to everyone at the same rate, regardless of the applicants'' age, gender, profession, health status or geographical location in the State. In 2009, carriers may offer standard individual health benefits plans using community rating that considers age. The ratio of the highest rates for a standard individual health benefits plan to the lowest rates for the same standard individual health benefits plan cannot be more than 3.5:1. </p>  <p>Although this is far from being perfect, but at least it ensures one aspect of health coverage is that the premium rate cannot be adjusted based on health status. And this is one of the aspects of the Baucus bill – something which is already available in NJ and I am sure in many other states.&#160; This bill seems to me as a huge compromise with just a light slap on the insurance companies palms which I presume was worked out as a deal. </p>  <p>What I fail to understand is, what does this bill and similar bills like this can do to reduce or contain the health care cost?&#160; Insuring everybody (or almost everybody) can only reduce the risk for the insurance companies and possibly improve their profits, which unless the insurance companies share with their policy holders, will do little to reduce the premiums. </p>  <p>But premiums are only part of the story. What about deductibles and out of pocket expenses?&#160; What about insurance companies policing the doctor’s decisions? What about inflated hospital bills? What about doctor’s and hospitals practicing defensive medicine to shield themselves from potential malpractice suits? </p>  <p>Without public participation, I don’t think any reform can help control healthcare costs.&#160; People should not go bankrupt, or lose their homes or die just because they cannot afford medical insurance.</p>  <p> One suggestion I have is for the Government to provide a supplementary insurance for major medical costs like chemotherapy or other expensive treatments or surgeries that insurance companies are reluctant to cover. Currently, Medicare does pay for patients requiring dialysis for kidney failures even if they have not reached the Medicare qualifying age. Why not expand this coverage for other life saving expensive treatments like chemotherapy or transplant surgeries or similar conditions? This may require a minor adjustment of social security taxes or other taxes, but it would significantly reduce the cost of general health insurance and hence the potential savings in premium can cover for the increase in taxes, if any.</p>', 'The Health Care Debate', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'the-health-care-debate', '', '', '2009-09-16 12:10:41', '2009-09-16 16:10:41', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/archives/409', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(395, 1, '2009-08-28 11:28:35', '2009-08-28 15:28:35', 'I mean Vishal Varadwaj''s latest film "Kaminey". I liked it a lot! I was pleasantly surprised when I saw his previous film "Omkara".  So I went to the theater with high hopes. And Kaminey exceeded my expectations. I can say that it is the best Bollywood gangsta movie ever made.  It is a treat to watch how this talented film maker has blended in violence with humor! The story telling style, the high paced and intelligent editing, the mood photohraphy and lighting, the music and the exemplary acting by the cast members reminds us that Bollywood film making has evolved a lot from the days of Ajit, Pran and Prem Chopra! Vishal Varadwaj is the Quentin Tarantino of Mumbai - he can create visual poetry with violence, he can create characters that get tattooed in your brain, and he can create wonderful music with Gulzar''s lyrics!\r\n\r\nIf you have seen the movie, let us know how you liked it.\r\n\r\nAnd if you haven''t seen the movie - don''t sit there! Go to the nearest theater that''s screening "Kaminey"', 'Did You Like Kaminey?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'did-you-like-kaminey', '', '', '2009-08-28 11:28:35', '2009-08-28 15:28:35', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=395', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(506, 1, '2010-09-15 22:15:13', '2010-09-16 02:15:13', '<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kheM-M0Qfps?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kheM-M0Qfps?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nThe time of the year is here again. The sky is blue with patches of white clouds floating lazily and the weather is cooling down. Durga Puja is here again in New Jersey. The local Bengali associations are gearing up to welcome Ma Durga with the usual pomp and cultural extravaganza, and let me share with you some information about the festivities that has come to my notice.\r\n\r\nLike previous years, Durga Puja festival in New Jersey will be heralded in by the live Mahishashura Mardini (Mahalaya) performance  at the Ananda Mandir on October 10th at 5.00am in the morning. I have been a regular attendee at this event, and I can promise you that if you can take that bold step of getting up from bed that early and drive down to Ananda Mandir, you''ll have an experience that you will never regret.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis year however, Puja starts even earlier in New Jersey with Indian Community Center (ICC) of Garden State having their Puja on Oct 9th and 10th at the Eisenhower Middle School, 47 Eyland Avenue, Succasunna. ICC''s cultural program this year will feature the famous Bangla Band KAYA, who promises to rock the audience with their folk inspired melodies. Pranab Biswas, a noted classical vocalist, will be presenting a medley of Bengali and Hindi songs. The program will also present a bunch or events by local artists including an audio play (sruti natok) "Baad Protibad", written by yours truly.\r\n\r\nKallol of New Jersey will be celebrating Durga Puja on Oct 15th, 16th and 17th at their usual venue - Ukranian Community Center in Somerset NJ. The cultural events at the Kallol Puja has not been well publicized as yet, but the invitation card says that the program will include classical vocal performance by Parthasarathi Desikan (disciple and son-in-law of Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty), Jolly Mukherjee from Bollywood, and Koel Mukherjee of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa fame. The list also includes sarod recital by Anirban Dasgupta (son and disciple of Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta), Rabindrasangeet by Sasha Ghoshal and modern songs by Shamit Tyagi and Sumona Banerjee from Kolkata. This year Kallol is introducing few new events :\r\n- Chess championship (all ages)\r\n- Bridge championship (adults)\r\n- Quiz show conducted by Dr. Nupur Lahiri.\r\n\r\nTo participate in any of these events, contact Sunanda Mitra (sunandamitra@yahoo.com) or Poushali Sengupta (poushali123@yahoo.com).  And no Kallol Pujo is complete without drama performances by the adult and children members of Kallol. The Kallol seniors will present the play "Sorry, Wrong Number" directed by Debiprosad Palit, and the Kallol juniors will present "Khirer Putul" the all time favorite Bengali fairy tale. There will also be dance recitals by Sunrita Mitra''s young dancers, Brinda Guha''s Kalamandir Dance Company and Mitra Purakaysatha''s Rhythms of Dance & music. So, get ready. Kallol website mentions that online registration will open on Sept 20, 2010.\r\n\r\nGarden State Cultural Association (GSCA) will be celebrating their Puja on Oct 16 and 17. This year GSCA''s entertainment program includes recitation by Partha Ghosh and Gauri Ghosh, Bharatnatyam dance recital by Jhinook Mukherjee from Kolkata, vocal music performances by Shounak Chattopadhyay,  Soumen Adhikari, Suchismita, Chandrayee Bhattacharya, and Gayatri Sharma. Kalamandir Dance Company will present their acclaimed composition, Heat. The highlight of GSCA''s presentation this year will be "Ajo Kahini", a hilarious play (written by Sudipta Bhawmik and directed by Pinaki Datta) produced by ECTA.  For further details visit their website.\r\n\r\nAnanda Mandir and Bharat Sevashram Sangha will also be celebrating Durga Puja from October 13 to 17, 2010, as per the Bengali calender.  People who are interested in attending a more traditional Pujo, Ananda Mandir and Bharat Sevashram Sangha may be the place for them.\r\n\r\nI hope, like all the previous years, Durga Puja this year too will be an enjoyable experience for all of us and pray that the Puja brings in peace and prosperity for all.', 'Durga Puja 2010 : New Jersey Style', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-puja-2010-new-jersey-style', '', '', '2010-09-20 22:28:46', '2010-09-21 02:28:46', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=506', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(397, 1, '2009-09-08 23:26:42', '2009-09-09 03:26:42', 'For folks who follow the Weight Watchers diet system of points, the following table illustrates some of the popular Indian food items found in restaurants. However, note that this is not what we eat at home on a daily basis.  Now how do we calculate points for Maachher Jhol, Begun Bhaja, Mung-dal, Posto-bata?\r\n<table class="article" style="text-align: left;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Wise Choices</th>\r\n<th><em>POINTS</em> Value</th>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Raita, 1/2 cup</td>\r\n<td>1</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td>Chapati bread, 1 piece</td>\r\n<td>2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Puri bread, 1 piece</td>\r\n<td>2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td>Nan bread, 7 x 8-inch piece</td>\r\n<td>4</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Tandoori chicken without skin, 1 piece</td>\r\n<td>4</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td>Chicken tikka, 4 oz</td>\r\n<td>5</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Bean and lentil stew, 1 cup (dal maharani)</td>\r\n<td>6</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n<table class="article" style="text-align: left;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Not-So-Wise Choices</th>\r\n<th><em>POINTS</em> Value</th>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Samosa (fried vegetable or meat patties)</td>\r\n<td>3</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td>Lamb korma (spicy curry), 1 cup</td>\r\n<td>15</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Chicken curry, 1 cup</td>\r\n<td>10</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td>Vegetable fritters, 1 cup</td>\r\n<td>10</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Lamb biryani, 1 cup</td>\r\n<td>14</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n<table class="article" style="height: 89px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="704">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th></th>\r\n<th></th>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="altrow">\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>', 'Indian Food and Weight Watchers', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'indian-food-and-weight-watchers', '', '', '2009-09-08 23:26:42', '2009-09-09 03:26:42', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=397', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(442, 1, '2009-11-03 18:45:44', '2009-11-03 22:45:44', 'I have been an ardent reader of "Desh", the premier Bengali literary magazine since my childhood days. As I moved to the US, I continued my subscription through the "House of Ananda", a New York based agency of ABP (Ananda Bazar Publications). I could pay my subscription dues using a credit card or via Paypal through their website. I used to get the magazine regularly and in time. However, recently due to some mysterious reasons, the US based distribution ceased to exist and the magazine is now mailed directly from Kolkata. This resulted in two issues.  First, the magazine delivery became irregular and I missed few issues which I guess was lost in the mail. The delivery is also delayed. Secondly, the subscription process has become really complicated and ABP now demands the payment to be sent to their Kolkata office in the form of DD. This is totally unacceptable in current times. Technology has evolved and the days of demand drafts and money orders are long gone in the global market. I recently purchased a book from an Indian distributor who accepted credit card payment through their website and mailed me the book in less than two weeks.  Why can''t a huge publication house like ABP do this? Bengalis now live all over the world, and publishers and book sellers like ABP should cater to their international clientele using modern technology.  An email sent to the ABP office had no positive effect.   Publishers like ABP should learn a lesson or two from their international counter parts. Magazine publishers in USA use all kinds of methods to hold on to their subscribers. They try to make the subscription renewal  process as painless as possible. Where as, publishers like ABP seem to be happy to lose a few customers. To manage the loss of readership, all they can do is reduce the frequency of publication to monthly and then maybe to quarterly. That''s what they did when the reduced the frequency from weekly to fortnightly.\r\n\r\nI hope, ABP comes to their senses and reinstates their foreign distribution centers and try to expand their business to the Bengalis living abroad.', '(Un)Availability of Desh Patrika in USA', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'unavailability-of-desh-patrika-in-usa', '', '', '2009-11-03 18:45:44', '2009-11-03 22:45:44', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=442', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(443, 1, '2009-11-25 15:30:38', '2009-11-25 19:30:38', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/manmohan_singh_obama.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-444" title="Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pres. Obama." src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/manmohan_singh_obama.jpg" alt="Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pres. Obama at the White House state dinner." /></a>On November 24th, 2009, President Barack Obama  hosted the first state dinner, since his inauguration, in honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the honorable Prime Minister of India and his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur.  State dinners honoring foreign head of states are huge events and are attended by members of the top echelon of the society. The official White House fact sheet says:\r\n\r\n<em>The first State Dinner for a foreign head of state was held by President and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant on December 12, 1874 for King David Kalakaua of Hawaii.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Since that first dinner, many traditions have been added to State and Official Visits – yet the common theme of forging friendships, exchanging knowledge and building bridges that last for years to come remain unchanged.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>As the world’s two largest democracies, India and the United States share common ideals and strengths, and the United States and India are working together to address a number of global challenges of the 21st Century—from security to the economy to climate change to the health and education of our people.<!--more--></em>\r\n\r\n<em>Previous State Dinners at the White House in honor of India include those hosted by the following Presidents and First Ladies:</em>\r\n\r\n<em>• President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush in 2005</em>\r\n\r\n<em>• President William J. Clinton and Mrs. Hillary Clinton in 2000</em>\r\n\r\n<em>• President Ronald Reagan and Mrs. Nancy Reagan in 1985 and 1982</em>\r\n\r\n<em>• President Lyndon B. Johnson and Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson in 1966</em>\r\n\r\n<em>• President John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy in 1963</em>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/obama_manmohan_state_dinner.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-445" title="The White House State Dinner in Honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh." src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/obama_manmohan_state_dinner.jpg" alt="The White House State Dinner in Honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh." /></a>The state dinner for Dr. Singh was held held under a tent on the South Lawn of the White House. The décor reflected the Obamas’ dedication to green and sustainable elements and  featured a garden theme. Tables will be covered in apple green linens.  Deep purple flower arrangements at each table pay homage to the state bird of India, the Indian Peacock. The centerpiece bouquets were composed of flowers that are evocative of the classic American garden: hydrangea, garden roses, and sweet peas in a rich palette of deep plum, purple and fuchsia. Arrangements of magnolia branches will surround the walls of the tent.  Magnolias are native to both India and the United States. The magnolia, ivy, and nandina foliage used for the occasion were locally grown and sustainably harvested.\r\n\r\nThe tables were set with the following china from the White House’s historic collection.\r\n\r\n<strong>Service Plates - Eisenhower : <span style="font-weight: normal;">Porcelain, 1955, New Castle, Pennsylvania, Castleton China, Inc. U.S. Government purchase, 1955.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Service Plates - Clinton State China Service : <span style="font-weight: normal;">China, 2000, Trenton, New Jersey, Lenox, Inc. Gift of the White House Historical Association, 2000. Commissioned to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the White House.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Dinner Plates - George W. Bush State China Service : <span style="font-weight: normal;">China, 2008-2009, Kinston, North Carolina, Lenox, Inc. Gift of the White House Acquisition Trust, 2009.</span></strong>\r\n\r\nThe dinner was prepared by the award winning guest chef, Marcus Samuelsson.  Mrs. Obama worked with Guest Chef Marcus Samuelsson and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and her team to create a menu that reflects the best of American cuisine, continues this White House’s commitment to serving fresh, sustainable and regional food, and honors the culinary excellence and flavors that are present in Indian cuisine. Herbs and lettuces were harvested from the White House Kitchen Garden.\r\n\r\nWhite House Executive Pastry Chef William Yosses and his team created the desserts. The pears were poached in honey from the White House Beehive. Desserts were garnished with mint and lemon verbena grown in the White House Kitchen Garden.  I have attached the dinner menu at the bottom of this article.\r\n\r\nThe dinner entertainment included two Academy Award winning musicians, Jennifer Hudson and our own A.R. Rehman. The other performers included eight time Grammy nominee Kurt Elling, the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch and the United States Marine Band.\r\n\r\nThe star studded guest list included celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Blair Underwood, M. Knight Shyamalan, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Kal Penn, Bobby Jindal and many others.\r\n\r\n<a style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" title="View State Dinner Menu on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/23072796/State-Dinner-Menu">State Dinner Menu</a>\r\n\r\n<a style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" title="View State Dinner Menu on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/23072796/State-Dinner-Menu"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: ''Lucida Grande'', ''Lucida Sans Unicode'', Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="100%" height="500" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="id" value="doc_883949818818876" /><param name="name" value="doc_883949818818876" /><param name="align" value="middle" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="play" value="true" /><param name="loop" value="true" /><param name="scale" value="showall" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><param name="devicefont" value="false" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="menu" value="true" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="salign" /><param name="mode" value="list" /><param name="src" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23072796&amp;access_key=key-1is6w36by9sl0kq7ekri&amp;page=1&amp;version=1&amp;viewMode=list" /><embed id="doc_883949818818876" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" height="500" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23072796&amp;access_key=key-1is6w36by9sl0kq7ekri&amp;page=1&amp;version=1&amp;viewMode=list" mode="list" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" menu="true" bgcolor="#ffffff" devicefont="false" wmode="opaque" scale="showall" loop="true" play="true" quality="high" align="middle" name="doc_883949818818876"></embed></object></span></a>\r\n\r\n(Photo Courtsey: AFP and AP)', 'The Green State Dinner', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-green-state-dinner', '', '', '2009-11-25 16:34:46', '2009-11-25 20:34:46', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=443', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(399, 1, '2009-09-09 17:22:17', '2009-09-09 21:22:17', '', 'billygoatprofile1.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'billygoatprofile1jpg', '', '', '2009-09-09 17:22:17', '2009-09-09 21:22:17', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/billygoatprofile1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
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(408, 1, '2009-09-10 10:57:39', '2009-09-10 14:57:39', 'Ananda Mandir will feature "Live" Mahalaya with local artists. Admission Free. \r\nDate: Sunday, 20th September, 2009. Time: 4:30 A.M. \r\nAddress: 269 Cedar Grove Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873-5212. \r\nPhone: 732-873-9821. Get directions: http://anandamandir.org/Contact.html', 'Mahalaya Live at Anandamandir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'mahalaya-live-at-anandamandir', '', '', '2009-09-10 10:57:39', '2009-09-10 14:57:39', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=408', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(410, 1, '2009-09-22 15:27:45', '2009-09-22 19:27:45', '<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="350" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="salign" value="l" /><param name="id" value="Mahalaya-1" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1iBQSt4saNU" /><param name="align" value="center" /><embed id="Mahalaya-1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1iBQSt4saNU" align="left" salign="l"></embed></object>Mahalaya in Bengal is synonymous to the seventy year old radio musical "Mahisashur Mardini" written by Bani Kumar and composed by Pankaj Mallik. Over the years this has become a Bengali tradition to wake up at 4.30am on Majalaya day and listen to this wonderful program that has not lost its charm till date. In fact, in Bengal the demand for new radios spike during this period. The inspiring narration and "Chandi Path" by Birendra Krishna Bhadra, the wonderful songs by the great musicians like Supriti Ghosh, Manabendra Mukherjee, and many others cast a spell on the listeners and put them into the Puja mood. Once there was an attempt to change the program and make it more contemporary using stars like Uttam Kumar, but severe protests from the listeners forced All India Radio to scrap it and go back to the traditional format.\r\nIn New Jersey, we have developed a tradition of our own. At the Anandamandir, at 4.30pm local musicians gather in front of a packed audience and perform the famous "Mahishashur Mardini" under the guidance of Arun Bhowmik.  The musicians, most of whom are accomplished in their own right, devote their time to usher in the Durga Puja festival in front of the idols of Goddess  Durga and Kali and create a magical moment for the audience some of whom travel all the way from  Philadelphia, Long Island, and other distant cities. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="350" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="id" value="Mahalaya2" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ryI4oPLppJ4" /><param name="align" value="right" /><embed id="Mahalaya2" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ryI4oPLppJ4" align="right"></embed></object>\r\nI have attached two clips of this event (recorded on my cell phone) for you to get a glimpse of this event. The audio quality is not too good, but you''ll still feel the electrifying atmosphere that charges us up for the upcoming festivals.', 'Mahalaya in New Jersey - A Tradition of Our Own', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'mahalaya-in-new-jersey-a-tradition-of-our-own', '', '', '2009-09-24 17:40:16', '2009-09-24 21:40:16', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=410', 0, 'post', '', 0),
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(411, 1, '2009-09-23 11:17:58', '2009-09-23 15:17:58', 'For the first time Raag-Rang presents Kal Ke Kalakar (Budding Artists of Future), providing a platform to promising young talents, featuring,\r\n<strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">Rohan Prabhudesai (Harmonium Solo),\r\nTejas Tope (Tabla Solo),\r\nRohan Misra( Sarangi solo),\r\nCharmie Mehta(Hindustani Vocal),\r\nVeena Bhagavathi, Shiv Nadkarni &amp; Ruchita Zaparde (Kathak T</span></strong><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">rio</span></strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">).</span>\r\n\r\nDate: Sunday, October 11th, 2009\r\nTime: 3:00 to 5:30 (Sharp)\r\nVenue: Universal Unitarian Congregation of Princeton (Fahs Theater).\r\n50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.\r\nAdmission: Non-Members: $12.00 (kids below 10 years: &amp;7.00)\r\nRaag-Rang Members: $10.00 (Kids below 10 years: $5.00).\r\nContact: 908-429-1120, 609-890-4890, 908-240-8289. RSVP appreciated due to limited seating.\r\n\r\nEmail: <a href="mailto:bhawmikm@gmail.com" target="_blank">bhawmikm@gmail.com</a>, <a href="mailto:mayuresh.khare@gmail.com" target="_blank">mayuresh.khare@gmail.com</a>, <a href="mailto:dhu92@optonline.net" target="_blank">dhu92@optonline.net</a>', 'Raag-Rang presents - Kal Ke Kalakar', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'raag-rang-presents-kal-ke-kalakar', '', '', '2009-09-23 11:17:58', '2009-09-23 15:17:58', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=411', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(412, 1, '2009-09-23 16:37:19', '2009-09-23 20:37:19', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ujjaini.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-413" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" title="Ujjaini Mukherjee" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ujjaini.jpg" alt="Ujjaini Mukherjee" width="180" height="230" /></a>In New Jersey, Durga Puja is a special time when the festive mood brings with it a flurry of entertainment and cultural programs across the state. This year too the line up looks very promising although the spirits have dampened a bit due to the tough economic times and with the rejection of visas of few of the performers.  Still the combination of local talents and professionals from India is bound to enthrall the Puja attendees on the coming weekends.\r\n\r\nI''ll try to briefly summarize the lineup this year, although the organizers have in many cases conveniently omitted the details about the local performers from their web sites. I tried to collect as much information I could manage. If any of you have more information, then please feel free to add them to this post as comments.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nKallol of New Jersey starts their celebrations with a bang featuring Sangit Martyanda Pandit Jasraj''s Hindustani classical vocal on Friday the 25th evening. Although this a deviation from Kallol''s tradition of presenting a classical musician on Sunday Bijoya night, but when you try to get an artist of the caliber of Pandit Jasraj, you have to go by the availability of the artist and not by your choice of date and time. Friday night will also feature dance presentations by Kalamandir of New Jersey under the guidance of Malabika Guha. The presentations will include a Kathak style Jugalbandi titled "Conversations" and a creative composition "Heat" which is billed as the debut performance of the newly founded Kalamandir Dance Company. The  dancers include talented performers like Donia Salem, Nadia Nalini Singh, Ria Dasgupta, Jamuna Dasi, Natasha Mehra, and Brinda Guha with vocal accompaniment by Jayeeta Ghosh, Zafar Billah, and Arunava Chakraborty.\r\nOn Saturday evening Kallol''s stage will lighten up with close to forty kids of our community who under the direction of Aparajita Das will present the evergreen anti-war musical play - "Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen". Based on Upendrakishor Roychoudhury''s story and Satyajit Ray''s film, this play tells the story of the adventures of Gupi and Bagha in a colorful presentation that will surely win the hearts of adults and children alike.\r\nThis will be followed by the Kallol adults play "Ajo Kahini" written by yours truly and directed by the talented young actor director Pinaki Dutta. This hilarious play will feature some well known actors of our community like Subhodev Das, Dhriti Bagchi, Piu Majumdar, Debi Prasad Palit, Sankar Ghoshal, Nandita Ghosh, Kaushik Dutta, Kaushik Bhowal, Roni Bose and Gautam Ghosh.  I wrote more about this play in a <a href="http://nynjbengali.com/archives/406" target="_blank">previous post</a>. I only hope that Kallol makes sure that the sound system works properly this time.\r\nThe featured artist this evening will be Ujjaini Mukherjee from Kolkata. Ujjaini, a talented young singer, was a finalist on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 achieving 7th place and subsequently a winner on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Ek Main Aur Ek Tu with Aishwarya. I have never heard her live concerts before, but the few numbers that I listened to on YouTube were excellent and I have high hopes for this concert. On the same evening  a dance fusion extravaganza by Nritya Creations and choreographed by Mina Basu Nag will keep the audience tapping their shoes. \r\nOn Sunday, the last day of Kallol''s durgapuja 2009, Sunrita Mitra will present a dance ensemble called ''Amei Sei Meye''. She has used her ''neo-fusion'' dance style to create a story about  a free-spirited girl''s journey  from girlhood into womanhood. Fortynine kids will play different roles in the ensemble. Dr Arunansu Dasgupta has written the script while Samya Goswami has created the back ground score. Bhaswati  Bhadra will be the narrator. This will be followed by another Sa Re Ga Ma Pa champion Debojit from Mumbai and Assam.\r\n\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/subhomita.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-414" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" title="Subhomita" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/subhomita.jpg" alt="Subhomita Banerjee" /></a>Few miles away from the Kallol stage, Garden State Cultural Association will be celebrating their Puja on Saturday Sept 26 and Sunday Sept 27.   On Saturday, their star attraction is Subhomita from Kolkata. Couple of years ago, Subhomita performed on Kallol stage. She is undoubtedly one of the best female singers in Bengal today. That evening, GSCA will also present a dance show by Nrityanjali group from New York, vocal recital by Ahin Das and guitar by Sekhar Das. On Sunday, Arnab Chakraborty from Mumbai will entertain the audience with a medley of popular Hindi and Bengali songs. Jagannath Bose and Urmimala Bose, the famous radio play and recitation duo from Kolkata will present an audio play. The local New Jersey organization IIPA, led by Suparna Guha, will present a unique Rabindrasangeet based show - Sakhi Sambad.\r\n\r\nAnandamandir has also lined up an impressive cultural program during their Durga Puja celebrations on Friday evening, well known singers of the community will present "Bangla Ganer Jolsha", with tabla accompaniment by Pandit Samar Saha. On Saturday evening, Anandamandir will present two classical music concerts. Dr. Shubhada Shiralkar, a Sangeet Visharad and Sangeet Acharya will perform Hindusthani classical vocal. This will be followed by a  “Jugalbandi” by Pandit Snehashish Majumdar on Mandolin, and Sri Kedar Naphade on Harmonium with Sri Samrat Kakkeri on tabla.\r\n\r\nBharat Sevashram Sangha will also be celebrating Durga Puja this weekend. However I do not have any details regarding their cultural events except that Kalamandir of New Jersey will present "Tagore Around The World" directed by Malabika Guha which includes Hindi, Bengali and English translations to Rabindranath Tagore''s world renowned music and songs!\r\n\r\nAs I said this is by no means a complete list. So please let us know if you know of any other events.\r\nThese days it is difficult to attend multiple Puja''s on the same weekend. But wherever you go, I am sure you''ll have a great time with your friends and family.', 'Durga Puja and Cultural Events: The 2009 New Jersey Lineup', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-puja-and-cultural-events-the-2009-new-jersey-lineup', '', '', '2009-09-24 17:23:54', '2009-09-24 21:23:54', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=412', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(413, 1, '2009-09-23 16:25:30', '2009-09-23 20:25:30', '', 'Ujjaini Mukherjee', 0, 'Ujjaini Mukherjee', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'ujjaini', '', '', '2009-09-23 16:25:30', '2009-09-23 20:25:30', '', 412, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ujjaini.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(414, 1, '2009-09-23 16:29:44', '2009-09-23 20:29:44', '', 'Subhomita', 0, 'Subhomita Banerjee', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'subhomita', '', '', '2009-09-23 16:29:44', '2009-09-23 20:29:44', '', 412, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/subhomita.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(415, 1, '2009-09-24 16:50:17', '2009-09-24 20:50:17', 'From hot-deals:\r\n[feedsnap, 6]http://hot-deals.org/rss/xml[/feedsnap]\r\n\r\nFrom SlickDeals:\r\n\r\n[feedsnap,6]http://feeds.feedburner.com/SlickdealsnetFP[/feedsnap]', 'Deals', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'deals', '', '', '2009-09-24 17:01:40', '2009-09-24 21:01:40', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?page_id=415', 0, 'page', '', 0),
(406, 1, '2009-09-09 17:29:01', '2009-09-09 21:29:01', '<a rel="thumbnail" href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/goat.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" title="goat" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/goat-thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="goat" width="205" height="180" align="left" /></a> The intelligentsia (as defined by Wikipedia) is a social class of people engaged in complex mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them.  You can very well attribute this term to the Bengali society who fits this definition quite well.  But what does a timid and herbivorous (although Bengalis think goats to be omnivorous - chhagole ki na khay) mammal like goat got to do with this elite group of people?  The answer to this is well known to all of us - Bengalis love goat meat. Although in other parts of the World, goat milk and milk products (cheese) are also extremely popular, but we the Bengalis don''t care much about the milk.  It is the meat that is most important to us - the ultimate food in any Bengali plate.  Historically, goat meat is the only kind of meat that Bengalis (especially the Hindu Bengalis) ate. Goats were the most popular offerings to Goddess Kali and Durga - and the meat then cooked in a recipe void of any garlic or onions and hence termed as "vegetarian meat".\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nBut Bengalis hardly ever use the term "goat meat".  "Panthar Mangsho" or "Khashir mangsho" or the anglicized version "mutton" were the popular terms. In Bengal (West Bengal to be more specific) it is a sacrilege to slaughter a "she goat". Hence, the male goats or "Pantha" or the neutered male goat or "Khashi" were the unfortunate ones. If some inscrupulous butcher tried to sneak in a female goat and got caught by the "intelligentsia", he would be severely punished and his business would be ruined for ever.\r\n\r\nBengalis have invented several goat recipes and sometimes have cleverly adapted many other meat dishes. Although goat and lamb are sometimes used interchangeably  in culinary circles, Bengalis detest lamb meat. Lamb meat, although treated as a delicacy in many parts of the world, is hardly sold in Bengal.  When a Bengali serves goat meat, he/she makes it absolutely clear that the meat you eat is goat and goat only.  In America, goat meat is not popular amongst mainstream Americans. Hence most Indian restaurants will not advertize goat on their menu. They''ll call it lamb - lamb curry, lamb biriyani etc.\r\n\r\nA Bengali’s love for goat meat is legendary. In Kolkata (or for that matter any town in West Bengal), Bengali babus queue up in front of their local meat shops.  The traditional Sunday lunch of goat and potato stew with fine white rice followed by a nap is the highest point of luxury in a Bengali’s life.  Just the words "Kosha Mangsho" (spicy fried goat meat) and "Parota" is like music to Bengali ears. No dinner party or celebration is complete without goat meat.\r\n\r\nIn this country (USA) we, the Bengalis, try hard to hold on to our culture and traditions. Hence goat meat is an integral part of that effort. Goat meat is not sold in most American butcher shops, but that is hardly an impediment. We travel miles to find a "Indo-Pak Halal" meat shop to get our quota of red meat.  Goat meat is a must at any weekend party.  Since cooking goat meat is kind of a long term project, we prefer if someone else cooks it for us. Hence the demand for invitations to goat meat parties is extremely high. A persons popularity in this community is judged by the number of goat meat parties he/she is invited to.  Hence, no Bengali would sacrifice a goat meat party invitation.  Attendance is a must at any cost. Another way to become popular is to invite folks to your goat meat party.  Since you are assured of a high attendance, a few calculated parties can catapult your popularity poll numbers to ensure a seat at your local Bengali club committee.  Goat meat parties dominate over any other events – be it a musical concert, or a theatrical show, or a literary gathering.  Once a frustrated Bengali play director lamented during a rehearsal that was scheduled on a weekend evening, “I give up! I just cannot compete with goat!”  The Bengali intelligentsia cannot function properly without goat. People seem to have a wrong notion that the Bengalis can kill for a meal of fish curry and rice! But they are wrong – goat rules the Bengali palate!\r\n\r\nDuring the upcoming Durga Puja festivals, Kallol will be staging a hilarious play titled “Ajo Kahini” or “The Goat Story”. The play, a satire on our social existence as a Bengali in this country, talks about our love affair with goat. It’s not the kind of affair that Albee talks about (The Goat or Who is Sylvia), but its an affair nonetheless - an affair that defines many a moment in our lives as Bengalis. Join the party and let’s have a big laugh on ourselves!', 'Goat and the Bengali Intelligentsia', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'goat-and-the-bengali-intelligentsia-4', '', '', '2009-09-09 17:33:19', '2009-09-09 21:33:19', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/archives/406', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(407, 1, '2009-09-10 10:22:15', '2009-09-10 14:22:15', 'Kallol announces the celebration of New Jersey Durga Puja 2009 (NJDP''09) on Sep 25, 26 and 27, 2009 in the Ukranian Cultural Center, Somerset NJ.\r\n<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="450" bgcolor="#fef7da">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr align="left">\r\n<td>\r\n<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="500">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3">\r\n<p class="headTxtBlk" align="center">Friday, September 25, 2009</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="redTxtOther">Mahasasthi and Mahasaptami</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td width="218" align="left">Puja: 2:00 p.m.</td>\r\n<td width="8" align="left"></td>\r\n<td width="274" align="left">Anjali: 5:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Dinner: 6:30 p.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left">Cultural Program: 8:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3">\r\n<p class="headTxtBlk" align="center">Saturday, September 26, 2009</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="redTxtOther">Mahaasthami and Sandhi</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Puja: 10:30 a.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left">Anjali: 2:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Dinner: 5:00 p.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left">Cultural Program: 6:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="headTxtBlk">Sunday, September 27, 2009</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="redTxtOther">Mahanabami and Mahadashami</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Puja: 11:00 a.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left">Anjali: 2:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">Dinner: 5:00 p.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left">Cultural Program: 6.00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="headTxtBlk">Saturday, October 03, 2009</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="redTxtOther">Kojagari Lakshmipuja</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Puja: 3:00 p.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left">Anjali: 4:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Vijaya Sammelani &amp; Cultural Program: 6:30 p.m.</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left" valign="top">Dinner: 9:00 p.m.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3" align="center">\r\n<p class="headTxtBlk">Cultural Program Highlights*</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Friday, <span class="headTxtBlk">September 25</span>, 2009 :</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td class="redTxtOther" align="left">Pt. Jasraj</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Saturday, <span class="headTxtBlk">September 26</span>, 2009:</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td class="redTxtOther" align="left">Ujjaini from Kolkata\r\n\r\nChildrens play "Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen" - based on Satyajit Ray''s film. Directed by Aparajita Das\r\n\r\nKallol play "Ajo Kahini" - written by Sudipta Bhawmik, directed by Pinaki Dutta</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td align="left">Sunday, <span class="headTxtBlk">September 27</span>, 2009:</td>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n<td class="redTxtOther" align="left">Debojit from Mumbai</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr class="lineHt22">\r\n<td colspan="3">*Subject to change</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\nFor questions regarding registration at NJDP 09 please send an email to <a href="mailto:njdp09@kallol.com">njdp09@kallol.com</a>.\r\n\r\nIf your questions are not answered via email within 2 working days you may contact the following at evening hours  EDT ONLY.\r\n\r\nAmal Paul: (908) 255-4047\r\n\r\nArunansu Dasgupta: (732) 572-0391\r\n\r\nFor questions regarding member login and passwords please send an email to <a href="mailto:membership@kallol.com">membership@kallol.com</a>.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>', 'Kallol Durga Puja 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'kallol-durga-puja-2009', '', '', '2009-09-17 11:15:56', '2009-09-17 15:15:56', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=407', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(416, 1, '2009-09-24 18:57:25', '2009-09-24 22:57:25', 'Do you like a great deal? Check out the <a href="http://nynjbengali.com/deals" target="_self">Deals page</a> on this site.  This page receives feeds from hot-deals.org and slickdeals.net. So check it out.', 'Like a Great Deal?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'like-a-great-deal', '', '', '2009-09-24 18:57:25', '2009-09-24 22:57:25', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=416', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(417, 1, '2009-09-30 16:52:26', '2009-09-30 20:52:26', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/durga-protima.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-420" title="Kallol Durga Protima" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/durga-protima.jpg" alt="Durga Protima Kallol of New Jersey" /></a>Finally the annual Durga Puja celebrations are over. I was mostly present at the Kallol pujo but also paid (no pun intended) short visits at the Bharat Sevashram Sangha and Anandamandir. Kallol, just like the previous year, had a full house and had to turn away several people. In one of my previous blogs I had requested, rather wished, that Kallol provide a daily ticket for people who would like to come in for a day. However, for whatever reasons, Kallol decided on the contrary and the result was that I had to listen to complaints from several disappointed friends and family.  Well, rules are rules - that''s what I said.\r\n\r\nThis year I did something which I never did before. I dropped in on Thursday evening - and it was real fun. There was no pressure of showing the badge, no parking tags, no stress about reserving seats with shawls and jackets and no celebrities on stage to pay attention to. While the volunteers were busy setting up the idol and the kids busy rehearsing on the stage, I had a good time chatting with  friends. For once, after a long time, I had the pleasure of pure Pujo adda - completly unadultered fun. I think we should, at least informally, start the festivities from Thursday - just to prolong the enjoyment for few more hours.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe formal festivities at the Kallol venue started on Friday afternoon. People started wheeling in their cars and under the strict vigilance of the security personnel who meticulously checked for parking tags and guided the cars to the parking lots. Inside, the doors were also well guarded with black uniformed and grim faced Caucasian security guards who were extremely mindful of their duties and didn''t allow a single fly without a plastic badge.\r\nOn the makeshift stage, the idol of Goddess Durga and her family was well decorated and our revered priest Bhavani Mukhopadhyay was well into his three day long process of worshipping Maa Durga on our behalf.\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/pandit-jasraj-kallol.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-421" title="Pandit Jasraj at the Kallol Durga Puja" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/pandit-jasraj-kallol.jpg" alt="Pandit Jasraj at the Kallol Durga Puja" /></a>On Friday evening, the cultural events started after the community dinner that was served in tents outside the main building. The highlight of that evening was the Hindustani vocal concert by Pandit Jasraj. Earlier that afternoon, Panditji and his students came in to join the Puja celebrations, offered Pushpanjali and Panditji even played the drums (Dhak).  I guess the environment helped build up Panditji''s mood that evening and he gave a spectacular performance that lasted more than two hours. Panditji started with compositions in Raga Puria, followed by Bageshree, Adana, and concluded with a rendition in Bhairavi. All his compositions were in praise of the Goddess Shakti and the dexterity and fluidity of his renditions was something that can only be experienced. He was accompanied on the tabla by Pandit Samir Chatterjee and Aditya Narayan Banerjee and on the harmonium by his student Suman Ghosh who also provided vocal support. The other members on stage providing vocal support were his disciples, Tripti Mukherjee and Marina Alam Khan. Earlier that evening, the members of Kalamandir of New Jersey presented few dance numbers that were highly appreciated by the audience, especially the contemporary fusion presentations set to the music of Zakir Hussain and others.\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kallol-crowd.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-424" title="Kallol Pujo Crowd" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kallol-crowd.jpg" alt="Kallol Pujo Crowd" /></a>On Saturday evening, after a scrumptious dinner of spicy goat-meat and pulao, the audience settled in to their well preserved seats (with shawls, sweaters and jackets) for some scintillating performances which began with "Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen" a musical play by the kids of Kallol directed by Aparajita Das. The play followed the well known story of Gupi and Bagha as told in the popular film by Satyajit Ray and also used music tracks from the same film. The kids (aged four to fourteen), in their colorful costumes and jazzy makeup, did an wonderful job in presenting the play despite few glitches in the audio system. Gupi, Bagha, Shundi and Halla Rajah, Montri-moshai, Jadukar Barfi, Senapati and others were excellent. For most of these kids, Bangla is something that they speak with some degree of difficulty. But for this play, they made a conscious effort to improve their Bengali diction and justify the message "Mora Bangla Desher theke elaam ..... Mora Sei Bhashatei kori gaan...". And this is where this play succeeds.\r\nThe next item was a dance recital by students of Mina Basu Nag that I missed, but have heard great praises about. Following this was the Kallol adults play "Ajo Kahini" (or the Goat Story). Since I was sort of involved with this production, I''ll refrain from commenting and wait for others to speak. However, from the audience reaction and the feedback I received later, it seems the play was well accepted - especially after the goat meat dinner.\r\nThe last item that night was the "dhamaka" vocal presentation by Ujjaini Mukherjee - the SaReGaMaPa sensation. Although she was able to make many to dance to her tunes, I was a bit disappointed by her performance. First of all, singing to pre-recorded track music robs off the spontaneity that one expects in a live performance. Secondly, if her SaReGaMaPa judges were present, her scores would have been quite dismal to say the least.\r\n\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kallol-pujo-dance.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-422" title="Mili Dancing at the Kallol Pujo" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kallol-pujo-dance.jpg" alt="Mili Dancing at the Kallol Pujo" /></a>Sunday evening the stage lit up with fifty odd boys and girls of Kallol in a dance extravaganza titled "Ami Sei Meye". The show, choreographed by Sunrita Mitra, traced the life of a girl from her childhood to womanhood through a series of contemporary songs and dance. The kids were bubbling with energy as they romped through the stage in a riot of rhythm and color.  The final program that evening was the vocal presentation by Debojit Dutta, another product of the SaRegamapa talent search contest. But Debojit was explosive on stage - he sang, he danced, he gyrated, he jumped into the audience - just like a rock star. Although he was also singing to pre-recorded tracks, but was helped on the keyboard with one of his musicians.  His range of selections was also well appreciated by the audience who went berserk with  the high octane music blared out by their favorite star.  Debojit may not have pleased some of the seniors of Kallol, but he was surely a big hit with the younger crowd.\r\n\r\n<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/debojit-kallol-2009.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-423" title="Debojit at Kallol Puja 2009" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/debojit-kallol-2009.jpg" alt="Debojit at Kallol Puja 2009" /></a>Durga Puja, the greatest Bengali festival, comes and goes. But what remains is the happy memories of our children''s performances on stage, those heated discussions in the lobby, those laughs and jokes in the dinner lines, and some flashes of wonderful moments on stage by some of the legendary performers like Pandit Jasraj.  Let''s not destroy this by over commercialization and making the festival a collage of marketing banners as is done in Kolkata these days. Let''s try to keep the Puja our own. The other day, one of the Kallol volunteers told me how one of the attendees complained to him saying that he didn''t like anything at this festival - the cultural programs, the food, the arrangements - nothing! I told him that this festival is not a Broadway show or a restaurant. If the person wants to have the best food, he should go to a restaurant. If he wants to see a professional show in a comfortable auditorium, he should opt for a Broadway show or a similar event.  Having said that, I would say the Durga Puja festival is a great bargain with three meals and top level performers ( a Pandit Jasraj concert would cost a minimum of $40.00 in any city in this country) giving their best on stage. There is room for improvement, but instead of complaining we should come up with constructive suggestions and help the organizers.  I would like to invite the readers to post their comments (click the comments link at the top of this post) and provide their feedback.\r\n\r\nNOTE: Photos in this article are provided by Koushik Bhowal', 'New Jersey Durga Puja 2009 : A Review', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'new-jersey-durga-puja-2009-a-review', '', '', '2009-10-02 10:10:18', '2009-10-02 14:10:18', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=417', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(420, 1, '2009-09-30 16:05:00', '2009-09-30 20:05:00', 'Durga Puja', 'Kallol Durga Protima', 0, 'Durga Protima Kallol of New Jersey', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'durga-protima', '', '', '2009-09-30 16:05:00', '2009-09-30 20:05:00', '', 417, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/durga-protima.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(418, 1, '2009-09-30 15:34:14', '2009-09-30 19:34:14', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/manna-dey.jpg"><img class="alignleft alignnone size-medium wp-image-419" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" title="manna-dey" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/manna-dey.jpg" alt="Manna Dey" width="100" /></a>Ninety-year-old playback legend Manna Dey - who belted out evergreen songs like “Ae mere pyaare watan” and “Zindagi kaisi hai paheli” - is being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest honour in Indian cinema, his family said Wednesday.\r\n\r\nBorn as Prabodh Chandra Dey May 1, 1919 to Purna Chandra and Mahamaya Dey, the singer was a name to reckon with in the Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3,500 songs over the course of his career.', 'Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Manna Dey', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'dadasaheb-phalke-award-for-manna-dey', '', '', '2009-09-30 15:34:14', '2009-09-30 19:34:14', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=418', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(419, 1, '2009-09-30 15:32:53', '2009-09-30 19:32:53', 'Manna Dey', 'manna-dey', 0, 'Manna Dey', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'manna-dey', '', '', '2009-09-30 15:32:53', '2009-09-30 19:32:53', '', 418, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/manna-dey.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(421, 1, '2009-09-30 16:23:00', '2009-09-30 20:23:00', 'Pandit Jasraj at the Kallol Durga Puja', 'Pandit Jasraj at the Kallol Durga Puja', 0, 'Pandit Jasraj at the Kallol Durga Puja', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'pandit-jasraj-kallol', '', '', '2009-09-30 16:23:00', '2009-09-30 20:23:00', '', 417, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/pandit-jasraj-kallol.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(422, 1, '2009-09-30 16:24:24', '2009-09-30 20:24:24', 'Mili Dancing at the Kallol Pujo', 'Mili Dancing at the Kallol Pujo', 0, 'Mili Dancing at the Kallol Pujo', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kallol-pujo-dance', '', '', '2009-09-30 16:24:24', '2009-09-30 20:24:24', '', 417, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kallol-pujo-dance.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(423, 1, '2009-09-30 16:46:27', '2009-09-30 20:46:27', 'Debojit at Kallol Puja 2009', 'Debojit at Kallol Puja 2009', 0, 'Debojit at Kallol Puja 2009', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'debojit-kallol-2009', '', '', '2009-09-30 16:46:27', '2009-09-30 20:46:27', '', 417, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/debojit-kallol-2009.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(424, 1, '2009-09-30 16:48:06', '2009-09-30 20:48:06', 'Kallol Pujo Crowd', 'Kallol Pujo Crowd', 0, 'Kallol Pujo Crowd', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kallol-crowd', '', '', '2009-09-30 16:48:06', '2009-09-30 20:48:06', '', 417, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kallol-crowd.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(425, 1, '2009-10-01 10:09:25', '2009-10-01 14:09:25', '<span><span style="font-family: courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;">NJPA cordially invites you to celebrate Kali Puja on October 10<sup>th</sup> at CrossRoads Middle </span></span><span><span style="font-family: courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;">School.Puja will start at 3:00 PM which will be followed by Prasad and Dinner. Nirmalya Roy of Zee-TV, Tara TV, ETV, Saregama fame will present semi-calssical and ghazals and Moumita Chatterjee of Calcutta Door Darshan, ETV, Tara Music and aAkash Bangla Fame and will present variety songs,. For more information, please visit </span><span style="font-family: courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;"><a href="http://njpa.net/" target="_blank">http://njpa.net</a>.</span></span>', 'NJPA Kali Puja 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'njpa-kali-puja-2009', '', '', '2009-10-01 10:09:25', '2009-10-01 14:09:25', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=425', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(426, 1, '2009-10-01 10:26:59', '2009-10-01 14:26:59', 'If you like any article, please Digg it by clicking the Digg button on the top right corner. Digg, kind of, gives a popularity rating to an article and helps bring in more readers. You may also share the article to your friends on Facebook, email, Reddit or a bunch or other social bookmarking sites by clicking one of the buttons below the article.\r\n\r\nPlease support this blog!', 'Digg! Please Digg!', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'digg-please-digg', '', '', '2009-10-01 10:27:27', '2009-10-01 14:27:27', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=426', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(427, 1, '2009-10-05 14:13:16', '2009-10-05 18:13:16', 'New Jersey based <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.quezara.com?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/427'');" href="http://www.quezara.com" target="_blank">Que Zara Productions</a> has announced that they are hosting a concert which will showcase the melodies of the 50s era down to the jingles of the 90s. The show is aptly called B2B Legends or Burman to Burman (S.D.Burman to R.D.Burman), which will be led by original yesteryear super musicians like Ajit Pachegaokar (electric and acoustic guitar) and Inder Singh (I.P.Singh) on the piano/keyboards. They will be supported by nine other famous musicians, including Sanjay Shah (keyboards and vocals), Kumar Majmudar (accordion), Atish Mitra (bass guitar), Sripad Jail (dholak, tabla), Deepak Gundani (rhythm), Pappoo (octopad), Harish B (mandolin), Kalpesh Patel (drums) and Ramesh Maraj (saxophone) of IndiaSax.\r\n\r\nThe show will focus on the genius instrumentation behind the melodies and will feature vocal renditions from Shweta Ranade and Abhijit Pachegaokar.\r\n\r\nCelebrated talent Dan Skye (formerly with Bon Jovi) will provide the sound engineering for the show. Additionally, it will feature melodies of other legendary music composers from Khaiyyam, Laxmikant - Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji to disco king Bappi Lahiri.\r\n\r\nSpeaking on the occasion Kousik Bhowal and Prabir Mitra, Board Advisors for Que Zara agreed, "It is like a Yanni show of Indian music, an Indian instrument-lead concert to savor and learn how the blockbuster hits were created, meet these great musicians in person, enjoy world class audio and go home humming your favorite tunes.”\r\n\r\nAparna Tandon, Prajee chief who will manage the event, said, "I am simply excited to be a part of all this. Five musical decades in one night, eleven expert musicians on one stage, what else can a music lover want?"\r\n\r\nQue Zara has plans to replicate the show in the tri-state area in future months.\r\n\r\nDolna Banerjee, Que Zara founder partner, said, "We chose this facility for the excellent acoustics and people capacity. We sincerely hope we can replicate this in other music-loving cities in the US. New Jersey will now experience this unique collage of musicians playing together."\r\n\r\nQue Zara has ambitious plans to bring other unique blockbuster shows to the tri-state area.\r\n\r\nTickets, Show Details are available from: <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/cities.sulekha.com/new-jersey/events/Social/2009/09/b-to-b-legends.htm?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/427'');" href="http://cities.sulekha.com/new-jersey/events/Social/2009/09/b-to-b-legends.htm" target="_blank">http://cities.sulekha.com/new-jersey/events/Social/2009/09/b-to-b-legends.htm</a>', 'B2B Legends : A Unique Concert from Que Zara Productions', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'b2b-legends-a-unique-concert-from-que-zara-productions', '', '', '2009-10-05 14:16:09', '2009-10-05 18:16:09', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=427', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(429, 1, '2009-10-05 15:57:16', '2009-10-05 19:57:16', '<strong class="fnt18bold">SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11</strong>\r\n<strong>ALL SCREENINGS AT BUSCH CAMPUS CENTER\r\n604 Bartholomew Rd, Piscataway, NJ</strong>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="left"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class="fnt14bold" align="left"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<table border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="500">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width="60" height="20" align="left" bgcolor="#ff9900"><strong>Time</strong></td>\r\n<td class="blackfnt" width="279" align="left" bgcolor="#ffcc00"><strong>MPR</strong></td>\r\n<td width="10"></td>\r\n<td class="blackfnt" width="288" align="left" bgcolor="#ffcc00"><strong>Center Hall</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td height="52" align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">12:00 PM</td>\r\n<td width="279" valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="279">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Pura Handa Kaluwara / Death on a Full Moon Day (Narrative Feature/Sri Lanka/ 1999/ 74min/ Sinhala)</strong>\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details\r\n\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td align="center">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Barah Aana / Short-changed</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2009/ 97min/ English-Hindi)\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">2:15 PM</td>\r\n<td valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="279">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>A Bristol Pilgrimage</strong>\r\n\r\n(Docu Feature/UK-USA-INDIA/ 2008/ 60min/ English)\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Shared Look - Theatre Life in Kabul</strong>\r\n\r\n(Docu Short/Germany-Afghanistan/ 2006/ 43min/ Dari-English)\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td height="4" align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td valign="top">\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Oru Pennum Randaanum / Climate for Crime</strong>(Narrative Feature/India/ 2008/ 115min/ Malayalam)\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details\r\n\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Shared Look - Theatre Life in Kabul</strong>\r\n\r\n(Docu Short/Germany-Afghanistan/ 2006/ 43min/ Dari-English)\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009"></a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">5:15 PM</td>\r\n<td>\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="279">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Mohandas</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2008/ 117min/ Hindi-English)\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td>\r\n<table class="boxborder" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" width="100%">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td align="center"><strong>Chaturanga / 4 Chapters</strong>\r\n\r\n(Narrative Feature/India/ 2008/ 125min/ Bengali-English)\r\nSponsored by Mrittika of New Jersey\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/film2009">See Film Details</a>\r\n\r\n<a href="http://njisacf.com/09/tickets"><strong>BUY TICKETS</strong></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody></table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td height="10px"></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>', 'NJISACF 2009: Day 3', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'njisacf-2009-day-3', '', '', '2009-10-05 15:57:16', '2009-10-05 19:57:16', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=429', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(430, 1, '2009-10-07 10:24:28', '2009-10-07 14:24:28', '<img class="alignleft" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/venkatraman-ramakrishnan.jpg" alt="Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan" width="75" height="126" />Once again an Indian (or person of Indian origin) wins the Nobel prize. Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was awarded the 2009 Nobel prize in chemistry for his research on ribosomes. It was in 1930, another Raman, Dr. Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman (popularly known as C. V. Raman) won the Nobel prize in Physics.\r\n\r\nDr. Venkataraman (of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England) won the award along with Dr. Thomas A. Steitz of Yale University, and Dr. Ada E. Yonath of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.\r\nDr. Venkatraman was born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India, in 1952 and obtained his Ph.D. at Ohio University, and holds American citizenship.\r\n\r\nFor further details, visit http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/index.html', 'Another Raman Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'indian-wins-nobel-prize-in-chemistry', '', '', '2009-10-07 15:41:33', '2009-10-07 19:41:33', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=430', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(431, 1, '2009-10-07 10:19:57', '2009-10-07 14:19:57', 'Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, winner of 2009 Nobel prize in chemistry.', 'Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan', 0, 'Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'venkatraman-ramakrishnan', '', '', '2009-10-07 10:19:57', '2009-10-07 14:19:57', '', 430, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/venkatraman-ramakrishnan.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(432, 1, '2009-10-08 10:33:13', '2009-10-08 14:33:13', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/herta-muller.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-433" title="Herta Muller" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/herta-muller.jpg" alt="Herta Muller - 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature" /></a>Herta Muller, "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed" won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature. Ms. Müller, 56, emigrated to Germany in 1987 after years of persecution and censorship in Romania. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel award since Günter Grass in 1999.\r\n\r\nHerta Müller was born on August 17, 1953 in the German-speaking town Nitzkydorf in Banat, Romania. Her parents were members of the German-speaking minority in Romania. Her father had served in the Waffen SS during World War II. Many German Romanians were deported to the Soviet Union in 1945, including Müller''s mother who spent five years in a work camp in present-day Ukraine. Many years later, in Atemschaukel (2009), Müller was to depict the exile of the German Romanians in the Soviet Union. From 1973 to 1976, Müller studied German and Romanian literature at the university in Timi?oara (Temeswar). During this period, she was associated with Aktionsgruppe Banat, a circle of young German-speaking authors who, in opposition to Ceau?escu’s dictatorship, sought freedom of speech. After completing her studies, she worked as a translator at a machine factory from 1977 to 1979. She was dismissed when she refused to be an informant for the secret police. After her dismissal, she was harassed by Securitate.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nMüller made her debut with the collection of short stories Niederungen (1982), which was censored in Romania. Two years later, she published the uncensored version in Germany and, in the same year, Drückender Tango in Romania. In these two works, Müller depicts life in a small, German-speaking village and the corruption, intolerance and repression to be found there. The Romanian national press was very critical of these works while, outside of Romania, the German press received them very positively. Because Müller had publicly criticized the dictatorship in Romania, she was prohibited from publishing in her own country. In 1987, Müller emigrated together with her husband, author Richard Wagner.\r\nThe novels Der Fuchs war damals schon der Jäger (1992), Herztier (1994; The Land of Green Plums, 1996) and Heute wär ich mir lieber nicht begegnet (1997; The Appointment, 2001) give, with chiselled details, a portrait of daily life in a stagnated dictatorship. Müller has given guest lectures at universities, colleges and other venues in Paderborn, Warwick, Hamburg, Swansea, Gainsville (Florida), Kassel, Göttingen, Tübingen and Zürich among other places. She lives in Berlin. Since 1995 she has served as a member of Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung, in Darmstadt.\r\n\r\n<strong>Works in German</strong>\r\nNiederungen. – Bukarest : Kriterion-Verlag, 1982 ; Berlin : Rotbuch-Verlag, 1984\r\nDrückender Tango : Erzählungen. – Bukarest : Kriterion-Verlag, 1984 ; Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 1996\r\nDer Mensch ist ein gro?er Fasan auf der Welt : Roman. – Berlin : Rotbuch-Verlag, 1986\r\nBarfü?iger Februar : Prosa. – Berlin : Rotbuch-Verlag, 1987\r\nReisende auf einem Bein. – Berlin : Rotbuch-Verlag, 1989\r\nDer Teufel sitzt im Spiegel. – Berlin : Rotbuch-Verlag, 1991\r\nDer Fuchs war damals schon der Jäger : Roman. – Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 1992\r\nEine warme Kartoffel ist ein warmes Bett. – Hamburg : Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1992\r\nDer Wächter nimmt seinen Kamm : vom Weggehen und Ausscheren. – Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 1993\r\nHerztier : Roman. – Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 1994\r\nHunger und Seide : Essays. – Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 1995\r\nIn der Falle. – Göttingen : Wallstein-Verlag, 1996\r\nHeute wär ich mir lieber nicht begegnet. – Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 1997\r\nDer fremde Blick oder Das Leben ist ein Furz in der Laterne. – Göttingen : Wallstein-Verlag, 1999\r\nIm Haarknoten wohnt eine Dame. – Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 2000\r\nHeimat ist das, was gesprochen wird. – Blieskastel : Gollenstein, 2001\r\nDer König verneigt sich und tötet. – München : Hanser, 2003\r\nDie blassen Herren mit den Mokkatassen. – München : Hanser, 2005\r\nAtemschaukel : Roman. – München : Hanser, 2009\r\n\r\n<strong>Works in English</strong>\r\n<strong> The Passport</strong> / translated by Martin Chalmers. – London : Serpent''s Tail, 1989. – Translation of Der Mensch ist ein großer Fasan auf der Welt\r\n<strong> The Land of Green Plums</strong> / translated by Michael Hofmann. – New York : Metropolitan Books, 1996. – Translation of Herztier\r\n<strong> Traveling on One Leg</strong> / translated from the German by Valentina Glajar and André Lefevere. – Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press, 1998. – Translation of Reisende auf einem Bein\r\n<strong> The Appointment</strong> / translated by Michael Hulse and Philip Boehm. – New York : Metropolitan Books, 2001. – Translation of Heute wär ich mir lieber nicht begegnet', 'Herta Muller Awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'herta-muller-awarded-the-2009-nobel-prize-in-literature', '', '', '2009-10-08 10:33:13', '2009-10-08 14:33:13', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=432', 0, 'post', '', 0),
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(434, 1, '2009-10-08 16:23:55', '2009-10-08 20:23:55', 'Special Event:\r\n\r\nBansuri Concert by Steve Gorn with Dibyarka Chatterjee on Tabla\r\n\r\nShyama Sangeet', 'Anandamandir Celebrates Kali Puja 2009', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'anandamandir-celebrates-kali-puja-2009', '', '', '2009-10-08 16:23:55', '2009-10-08 20:23:55', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=434', 0, 'post', '', 1);
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(505, 1, '2010-09-08 23:35:44', '2010-09-09 03:35:44', 'On August 10, 2010, at the Paschimbanga Bangla Academy, an interesting event took place along with my book launch ceremony. As a part of the book launch, Saptarshi Prakashan arranged for a discussion from a panel of contemporary playwrights which included Ujjal Chattopadhyay, Tirthankar Chanda, Sudipto Chatterjee and myself. The panel was moderated by Satya Bhaduri, the editor of the well known theater journal SAS. The topic of discussion was "Exchange of Ideas". Ujjal and Tirthankar being Kolkata residents and both Sudipto and me being expatriates, the moderator essentially wanted  to get the panelists view point as to how contemporary Bengali playwrights, living all around the globe, can exchange their thoughts and ideas, discuss and debate their plays and finally produce plays that enrich Bengali theater on the whole. The panelists spoke about their own ideas and convictions which may not have found a perfect answer to Satya Bhaduri''s question, but it did raise some good issues that we the playwrights and theater lovers ought to ponder on. The following video clips from the panel discussion will give you a better understanding of the proceedings of that meeting. Enjoy and don''t forget to add your thoughts below as comments.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d2bhBfvzHP0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d2bhBfvzHP0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Eknrlrv8KWY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Eknrlrv8KWY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ukt6NC9hECQ?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ukt6NC9hECQ?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CBlxTP85KFo?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CBlxTP85KFo?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>', 'A Panel of Bengali Playwrights', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-panel-of-bengali-playwrights', '', '', '2010-09-08 23:35:44', '2010-09-09 03:35:44', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=505', 0, 'post', '', 0),
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(437, 1, '2009-10-14 18:02:07', '2009-10-14 22:02:07', '', 'oru-pennum-randaanum-srilanka-thumb.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'oru-pennum-randaanum-srilanka-thumbjpg', '', '', '2009-10-14 18:02:07', '2009-10-14 22:02:07', '', 438, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/oru-pennum-randaanum-srilanka-thumb.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(438, 1, '2009-10-14 18:02:08', '2009-10-14 22:02:08', '<a rel="thumbnail" href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/oru-pennum-randaanum-srilanka.jpg"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" title="Oru_Pennum_Randaanum_Srilanka" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/oru-pennum-randaanum-srilanka-thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="Oru_Pennum_Randaanum_Srilanka" width="224" height="150" align="left" /></a> The three day long 3rd Annual New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest (NJISACF) concluded on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at the Rutgers Busch Campus Student Center. The festival does not have the clout that some of the other major films festivals around the World enjoy, but it is gradually gaining in momentum. The festival does not boast of stars and glitterati, but is more focused on quality films made by artists of South Asian descent. This year, the festival showcased around 25 films including full length features and shorts that highlighted the best works of some young and promising film makers as well as veterans like Adoor Gopalakrishnan. I, however, was able to watch only a handful of films and I’ll discuss those in this ‘attempt of a report’ of mine. I would like to welcome the readers who attended the festival to comment on the films they watched.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe festival opened on Friday, Oct 9th evening at the Westin Hotel in Princeton with the film “7 days in Slow Motion” by Umakanth Thumrugoti. Before the screening, as announced by the organizers, there was a small strip of red carpet on which some film makers might have walked while being photographed by the awaiting camera men. I must have missed it, cause while I was hanging out in the lobby I didn’t notice anybody on the carpet. The screening started a bit late, not because of any logistics related delay, but only to accommodate some more people who got stuck on a Friday evening traffic. The film maker, Umakanth was introduced before the screening and he also made a few comments about the film. We learnt that he is an art director at Disney films and has worked on many of Disney’s popular animated features. He took a sabbatical for one year to make this film in Hyderabad. The film starts off as a light hearted comedy about a young boy Ravi, who along with his friends ventures upon making a film using a “borrowed” camera. The film gradually takes on a more serious tone as the camera starts to capture stories that Ravi had never imagined. The film was well made, and had that professional polish that distinguishes it from an amateur art house film to a more Hollywoodish kind (not that there is anything wrong with that). The screenplay structure follows the typical three act flow as preached by Hollywood gurus, although the story kind of slacked during the second act. The film however, made a point of its own - that films are finally made on the editing table. The boy did not have a story to begin with, but the story he finally told through his film came about on his editing tool by mostly using footages captured accidentally on his Panasonic camera.  Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable film and I brought along my 12 year old son (who dabbles with film making now and then) to watch the film the following day.\r\n\r\nThe film screening was followed by a short celebration where the famed film maker from India, Adoor Gopalakrishnan was felicitated. Adoor is one of the most respected film maker and has received numerous awards and acclaims for his films both in India and abroad. It was indeed a major achievement of the festival committee to bring him and his film at this festival.  A nice dinner followed this event before wrapping up for the day.\r\n\r\nThe next day, the venue shifted to Rutgers University Cook-Douglas campus. I was able to watch only two films – “Loori” a film made by Afgan expats and “Barah Anah” a film made by Raja Menon from Mumbai.\r\n\r\n“Loori” (directed by Saeed Orokzai )<strong> </strong>is a film about a young Afgan woman Meena. Meena was brought to USA as a child when her parents died during the Soviet invation. Later,  after some troubling incidents in her life, Meena develops some serious emotional and mental problems. Finally she finds herself back after some help from an Afgan doctor, an Artist and a homeless boy.  The story had a slow, soft lyrical quality to it and is loaded with symbolism. However the key problem of this film was its technical quality and the entire production can be regarded as amateurish at best. The acting performances for most was quite poor, so was the photography which got further skewed by an inadequate DVD projection system.\r\n\r\n“Barah Anah” (Short Changed) is directed by Raja Menon and is produced by  an interesting team of people including an Italian (Giulia Achilli), an American (Raj Yerasi) and an Indian (Raja Menon). The film tells the tale of three migrant workers in Mumbai who got tired of the continuous indignity and disdain showered upon them by the rising middle class, and takes up crime to achieve their goals. They kidnap simple middle class people who, having no faith in law enforcement, prefers to pay the “micro” ransom demands instead of going to the police. The story, in itself, is nothing novel and has been told several times. However, the film gets its boost from the wonderful performances of its cast members which include none other than the great Nasiruddin Shah and Vijay Raj. The film seem contrived at times, with the ending clearly a patch work which is difficult to justify, even with a back story of Shukla’s (acted by Nasiruddin Shah) predicament at the beginning of the film. If a death certificate can get a person out of judicial claws, then all criminals would have carried a death certificate of their own. Raja Menon’s answer to this was that he took some artistic license and left it to the audience to figure it out, but I think that kind of an excuse is not even used by the regular song-and-dance kind of seventies style Bollywood movie.\r\n\r\nOn Sunday, the third and final day of the festival that happened at the Rutgers Busch Campus Students Center, I was able to see only one film and possibly the best of the lot I’ve seen so far. “Death on a Full Moon Day” (Pura Handa Kaluwara) a Sinhalese film directed by Prasanna Vithanage was made in 1997 and was banned by the Sri Lankan Govt. Prasanna fought against the ban and won the case in the Supreme Court who forced the Govt to lift the ban. The film is a wonderful treatise on the de-humanization of common people by war and the reigning authorities.  Old Vannihamy, on a full moon day, receives the remains of his only son (a soldier in the Sri Lankan army) in a sealed coffin. But Vannihamy refuses to accept the death of his son and risking the compensation money from the Govt., he opens the casket to vindicate his belief.  The loss of humanity and the general apathy of the people caused by a prolonged war  is dealt with great sensitivity and beauty that only a master film maker can. I am inclined to see more of Prasanna’s films if they are available on DVD.\r\n\r\nNJISACF brings to us some of the gems of South Asian cinema and exposes us to the rich cultural variety of that region. I hope this modest festival develops into a major international event and helps build bridges between cultures. Kudos to the festival organizers.\r\n\r\nMy only request to the organizers would be to make sure that the projection systems do justice to the films being shown. The film makers take lot of care in composing their shots and arranging color schemes for each frame. But it really gets frustrating for the film makers as well as the audience when a less than adequate DVD player and projection system screws it up.', 'NJ Independent South Asian Cine Fest 2009: A Brief Report', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nj-independent-south-asian-cine-fest-2009', '', '', '2009-10-14 18:08:13', '2009-10-14 22:08:13', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/archives/438', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(439, 1, '2009-10-21 17:21:01', '2009-10-21 21:21:01', 'Three months ago, when I lost my mother, I received the following email from a close friend:\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gayatri_gamarsh_poet.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-440" title="Gayatri Gamarsh" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gayatri_gamarsh_poet.jpg" alt="Gayatri Gamarsh" /></a>Tonight at the Sahitya O Alochana meeting I heard the very sad news of your mother''s passing away.</em></div>\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em> </em></div>\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>I offer my heart-felt condolences to you. I have suffered some losses in my own life and I know first hand the sorrow of having to say good bye to a loved one. I also know that during this time and all through your life, you''ll </em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>know</em></span><em> that she is with you and watching over you, because you can </em><strong><em>feel</em></strong><em> her presence in your heart.</em></div>\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em> </em></div>\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>I feel deeply moved by this change from life to after-life that your mom has gone through and I felt compelled to tell you that she is still with you and will always be, just as I feel that my son is always with me, no matter where I am.</em></div>\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em> </em></div>\r\n<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>With my love and blessings to you and your family</em></div>\r\nThe email was from Gayatri Gamarsh (who allowed me to call her as Gayatri-di) and it really helped me cope with my pain. Little did I know that three months later, Gayatri-di herself will move on to "her after-life" leaving us behind mourning her loss.\r\n\r\nI came to know Gayatri-di mainly through her literary works and her love for anything artistic.  She used to love coming to our plays and appreciated them very much. Several times she has written about our plays in Anandasambad and other magazines. Her appreciation and encouragement meant a lot to me and my team mates.   It is for people like Gayatri-di that makes all the hard work in writing and staging a play worth it.\r\n\r\nIn September, she had participated in a workshop on creative Bengali writing conducted by Sunil Gangopadhyay. She had rescheduled her heart surgery just to attend this workshop online. That was the last time I had heard her voice on the phone.  Later, after her surgery, she had sent me an email asking for an article or cartoon for the "Sambad Bichitra" English section. But I never had the chance to hand it to her.\r\n\r\nAs mentioned by Gayatri-di in her email, I''ll believe that she is always with us and will be watching any play we put up or read any article I write or any cartoon I draw.\r\n\r\nGoodbye Gayatri-di and thank you for all your encouragement and blessings, for those will be my source of inspiration for whatever I do in the future.', 'Loss of a Friend', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'loss-of-a-friend', '', '', '2009-10-21 17:21:01', '2009-10-21 21:21:01', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=439', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(440, 1, '2009-10-21 17:17:53', '2009-10-21 21:17:53', 'Gayatridi at Banaprastha show.', 'Gayatri Gamarsh', 0, 'Gayatri Gamarsh', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'gayatri_gamarsh_poet', '', '', '2009-10-21 17:17:53', '2009-10-21 21:17:53', '', 439, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gayatri_gamarsh_poet.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(444, 1, '2009-11-25 15:24:07', '2009-11-25 19:24:07', 'Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pres. Obama.', 'Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pres. Obama.', 0, 'Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pres. Obama at the White House state dinner.', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'manmohan_singh_obama', '', '', '2009-11-25 15:24:07', '2009-11-25 19:24:07', '', 443, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/manmohan_singh_obama.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(445, 1, '2009-11-25 15:26:25', '2009-11-25 19:26:25', 'Guests are seen in a tent on the South Lawn of the White House during a State Dinner with President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.', 'The White House State Dinner in Honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh.', 0, 'The White House State Dinner in Honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh.', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'obama-us-india', '', '', '2009-11-25 15:26:25', '2009-11-25 19:26:25', '', 443, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/obama_manmohan_state_dinner.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(446, 1, '2009-11-25 16:32:37', '2009-11-25 20:32:37', 'Date : 5th December, Saturday. Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.\r\n\r\nRaag-Rang is presenting a lecture-Demonstration by Arun Rammurthy\r\n\r\n(Violin) and Suresh Ramachandran (Mrudangam).\r\n\r\nSuchishmita Dutta is going to start the afternoon with her short\r\n\r\nrendition of hindustani vocal. Amod Dandawate And Indrani Chakraborty\r\n\r\nKhare is going to accompany her on Tabla & Harmonium.\r\n\r\nVenue: Upadhyay Residence.\r\n\r\n42 Walter Brook Drive, Bridgewater, NJ 08807.\r\n\r\nDonation: $ 5.00 for members and $7.00 for non-members.\r\n\r\nRSVP will be appreciated as seats are limited.\r\n\r\nContact: (908)-429-1120. (908)-707-8582, (609)-890-4890.\r\n\r\nemail: bhawmikm@gmail.com, mayuresh.khare@gmail.com', 'Raag-Rang Presents Violin Lec-Dem ', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'raag-rang-presents-violin-lec-dem', '', '', '2009-11-25 16:32:37', '2009-11-25 20:32:37', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=446', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(447, 1, '2009-12-02 22:51:06', '2009-12-03 02:51:06', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_sdt.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-448" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" title="Sapphire  Creations" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_sdt.jpg" alt="Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop" width="371" height="397" /></a>The count down to NABC 2010 has started.  In little more than seven months from now, Bengalis from all over USA and abroad will converge upon Atlantic City in New Jersey. Kallol of New Jersey, the host organization of NABC 2010, is working at a hectic pace to make it a great event. Most of the performers have been lined up, registrations pouring in and the committee members are busy working on the final details like scheduling and fund raising. On January 8th, 2010, a kickoff meeting/press-conference will be held in Kolkata in the presence of most of the artists and performers.\r\n\r\nLets take a look at some of the foreign performers who will grace the Atlantic City convention center stage. I''ll not be able to cover all of them in this article and plan to continue in future posts.  At the 2010 NABC Kallol will be presenting some performers who are relatively unknown to the Bengali crowd in USA. One such group is Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop who will be performing at the opening ceremony.  Sapphire Creations  is a premier experimental dance company based in Kolkata and the only one  of its kind in Eastern India performing regularly and popularly in festivals and arts events in India and abroad. Their objective is to integrate in its dance <em>an awareness of tradition, a dimension of experimentation, an urge to entertain and a purpose to provoke consciousness to inspire us to reach brighter horizons. </em><!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe group was founded in 1992, but during its early days it had to face huge hurdles in the form of criticism<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_rituranga.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-450" title="Sapphire Creations Rituranga" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_rituranga.jpg" alt="Sapphire Creations Rituranga" width="299" height="403" /></a> and abuse, accusations of sensationalism and ‘bad’ culture. However, over the years and after numerous acclaimed performances in most national dance festivals and important international tours, Sapphire has been regarded as pioneers of a radical innovative dance idiom.  Sapphire delves into the body and its reservoir of movements,  to discover a basic language of dance that can transgress race, color or religion and reach out to the global youth enabling them to find integrity in their otherwise racy, urban lives. Here are some of the recent criticisms in the press:\r\n\r\nTimes of India:\r\n<em>Kolkata’s dynamic dance troupe Sapphire Creations has broken all barriers of tradition with their very own dance statement. The lead female dancer of the group, Paramita epitomizes womanhood in all her portrayals. She is at one time, the Bharatiya nari and the modern woman emancipated, free and unfettered. Themes such as this or such bold depictions have rarely been witnessed on the Kolkata stage. But their audience has always loved their performance. Why else would their show at Rabindra Sadan draw a full house?</em>\r\n\r\nThe Indian Express:\r\n<em>The ballet shows a more intellectual treatment of the subject… is based on extensive research charting Indian history in a new interpretative mode.</em>\r\n\r\nThe Statesman:\r\n<em>The hard work and research gone in to the project is obvious when one sees the stage performance. The scintillating dance and the flawless steps are matched brilliantly with the sets, background voice and the lights. All credits go to Sudarshan Chakravorty for excellent conceptualization and choreography.\r\n…sheer professionalism was on display as the artists matched their rhythm with difficult body movements.</em>\r\n\r\nArtistic-Director Sudarshan Chakraborty leads the group with a vast experience in a multitude of dance forms that include Bharatanatyam, Modern Dance, Jazz, Modern Vietnamese dance and Thangta to Kathakali. Along with Sudarshan, the team consists of talented dancers and choreographers like Paramita Saha (Co-Director), Dibyendu Nath, Subhojit Sarkar, Moumita Debnath and many others. The following YouTube clip gives a glimpse of one of Sapphire''s presentations.\r\n<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QAwFoVx1ZxY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QAwFoVx1ZxY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>', 'Countdown to NABC 2010', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'countdown-to-nabc-2010', '', '', '2009-12-02 22:58:54', '2009-12-03 02:58:54', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=447', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(448, 1, '2009-12-02 22:45:06', '2009-12-03 02:45:06', '', 'Sapphire  Creations', 0, 'Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sapphire_sdt', '', '', '2009-12-02 22:45:06', '2009-12-03 02:45:06', '', 447, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_sdt.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(449, 1, '2009-12-02 22:47:06', '2009-12-03 02:47:06', '', 'sapphire_sdt1', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sapphire_sdt1', '', '', '2009-12-02 22:47:06', '2009-12-03 02:47:06', '', 447, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_sdt1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(450, 1, '2009-12-02 22:48:44', '2009-12-03 02:48:44', '', 'Sapphire Creations Rituranga', 0, 'Sapphire Creations Rituranga', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sapphire_rituranga', '', '', '2009-12-02 22:48:44', '2009-12-03 02:48:44', '', 447, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sapphire_rituranga.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(504, 1, '2010-09-01 21:20:16', '2010-09-02 01:20:16', 'Few weeks ago I had written about the plight of domestic performers at the North America Bengali Conferences. I had also mentioned that the current CAB president Kajal Sarkar promised to look into this issue and try to resolve the matter in future NABC meets. He also asked the domestic performers to come up with a consolidated list of "10 most important things need to be implemented in future Banga  Sammelan for performance related to local artists / groups".  I volunteered to co-ordinate the effort and came up with a list based on inputs from several domestic performers at the NABC 2010. I would like to share the list with you all and maybe you can put in your comments too. I hope all Bengali organizations, who plan to host NABC in the future, would read this and take this as an important feedback from the local/domestic performers and groups.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n1. All domestic performers/groups should be invited just like the overseas performers. These days there is no dearth of talent in USA amongst first generation and second generation Bengali Americans. Many performers are either professionals or of professional quality. Scout for them (just the way you do for overseas talent), solicit proposals, and then select them with the help of a "culturally aware" group of people using a rigorous selection process using past credentials and recommendations. Focus on quality and not on quantity.\r\n\r\n2. The domestic performers/groups selected through the above process should be treated as invited performers and should not be charged any group registration fee. Professional performers/groups may also have to be paid some token honorarium. The domestic performers should also be offered food coupons for the day of their show as part of the hospitality and preferred hotel reservations.\r\nIndividual registrations may be charged to the domestic performers if the individual plans to attend the entire convention.\r\n\r\n3. The NABC organizer should publicize the local performers and their performances at the same level as they would for overseas performers in brochures, posters etc. Websites should highlight the selected local performers, their credentials etc. NABC has an obligation to promote the local performers.\r\n\r\n4. "Star" performers (overseas or domestic) should not be scheduled to perform in parallel  to any other performer (domestic or overseas). Only another "Star"  can perform in parallel to a "Star" or none at all. No stage should be given the status of the main stage with all the “Star” performers scheduled to perform on that stage only. Scheduling should be distributed such that the audience do not stick to one hall only.\r\n\r\n5. Encourage audience to watch domestic programs by scheduling at such a time that would allow viewers to watch domestic programs without sacrificing performers from Kolkata. This would include periodic announcement by the anchor during any program in any auditorium, which would remind people about which show is going on in other auditoriums.\r\n\r\n6. If multiple halls/auditoriums are used, the halls should be equipped and decorated at the same levels. Each hall entrance must display the current program and the upcoming programs to be performed in that hall as well as schedules for the other halls.\r\n\r\n7. The stage, light and sound should be adequate and appropriate for the shows to be performed. The groups should be allowed enough time to set up their light cues, check the sound, and at least have a feel for the stage if not a full stage rehearsal. Time slots should be scheduled for this purpose well in advance.\r\n\r\n8. Help should be provided to all performing groups to load/unload their sets/props/equipments (if any) and to setup stage and strike-down. This will minimize the time lost in setting up the stage. Also, NABC organizers should offer some level of support for sets and props (chairs, sofa, table, etc) such that the performers do not have bring those heavy stuff with them. This service is typically provided for overseas performers and should also be extended to domestic performers.\r\n\r\n9. All stages should be equipped with drinking water bottles, tea/coffee and a  first aid kit. The dressing rooms should have adequate lights, and mirrors.\r\n\r\n10. Treat all performers and groups, domestic or overseas, with respect and honor they deserve. After all they are bringing value to the NABC and should not be treated like dirt.', 'Top Ten Requests from NABC Domestic Performers', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'top-ten-requests-from-nabc-domestic-performers', '', '', '2010-09-01 21:20:16', '2010-09-02 01:20:16', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=504', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(452, 1, '2009-12-10 00:45:31', '2009-12-10 04:45:31', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sahaj-ma.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-376" title="sahaj-ma.jpg" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sahaj-ma.jpg" alt="Sahaj Maa" /></a>Few months ago, I wrote my wish list about the kind of performers I''d like to see at the 2010 NABC in Atlantic City, and the one artist I mentioned specifically was Sahaj-Ma. When NABC 2010 committee announced the name of their foreign performers, I was delighted to see Sahaj-Ma and Utpal-Faqir''s name on the list. I am not sure whether the committee members actually read my post and felt inspired to invite the duo, or whether it was a sheer co-incidence - I am glad and thankful to the decision makers for giving us a chance to watch these amazing performers on stage.\r\nI heard Sahaj-Ma first on ETV-Bangla on a show called "Baranday Roddur" conducted by the famous Bangla Band Bhoomi. It was kind of a mix of a musical and talk show, and Sahaj-Ma mostly talked about her musical journey. She mentioned about her early training in classical music from her mother and then from Pundit M.R. Gautam and Srimati Sunanda Pattanaik.   And when she performed, it was mesmerizing. She has a unique style and tonal quality that is very rare in a female Bengali singer. The next time I listened to her music was in another ETV-Bangla show, "Dada Didir Ganer Lorai". In this show, whenever she went up to perform, it was almost magical. Although she mostly performs Baul and folk songs, but in this show she proved that she has mastery over all forms of Indian music.<!--more-->\r\nDuring her talk with Bhoomi, she mentioned about how she became Sahaj-Ma from Sharmistha. When she and her husband Utpal went to Sadan Das Bairagya to receive "Dikhsa" (spiritual initiation), he said the name Sharmistha doesn''t go well with the Baul traditions. He then named her Sahaj-Ma, saying that I am giving you a great responsibility - to become Sahaj or "Simple" in this complex world.\r\nSahaj Ma and Utpal Faqir are not only house hold names in Kolkata, but also getting popular amongst the music lovers around the world.  Her music (a collaborative fusion album with Bikram Ghosh) now plays on MTV.\r\nThe attached video will give you a glimpse of Sahaj-Ma''s performance singing her famous number "Allah Meherban".\r\n<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3zvhTuIiYj0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3zvhTuIiYj0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>', 'NABC 2010: Sahaj-Ma and Utpal Faqir', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nabc-2010-sahaj-ma-and-utpal-faqir', '', '', '2009-12-10 00:50:10', '2009-12-10 04:50:10', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=452', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(453, 1, '2010-01-14 01:03:32', '2010-01-14 05:03:32', 'After a gap of two years I was back again in Kolkata this winter and whenever I had some spare time, I utilized it watching a theater. Although most people in Kolkata were flocking the multiplexes for "3 Idiots" or "Avatar", I thought it would be prudent to capture as many Bengali plays as possible since I won''t be able to see them back in New Jersey.  The day I landed in Kolkata also happened to be the opening ceremony of Nandikar''s National Theater Festival, and Satya-da (Satya Bhaduri, editor of the theater magazine SAS) invited me to attend the show with him. That evening, the festival opened with Bangladesh Dhaka Drama''s staging of Selim-al-Din''s "Dhabaman".  "Dhabaman" is an allegorical folk tale of a young buffalo who wanted to be free. The play was presented in a traditional folk form with elaborate choreography and physical acting. This kind of play does not depend on traditional dialogues but on descriptive narratives which works almost like a commentary of the happenings on stage. It was a pleasant experience overall, especially when you get to watch a play in a form that is rarely used in Bengali theater these days.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe next play I saw (at the Aneek Theater Festival) was Natya Anan''s musical "Hirak Rajar Deshe" based on the popular film by Satyajit Ray. The play, directed by my good friend Chandan Sen, was well attended (Rabindra Sadan was almost full) and seemed to be well enjoyed by the young viewers. Musicals are a neglected genre in Bengali theater and I am glad that Chandan and his team showed the courage to stage something like this. However, remaking of a classic is always a challenge and Natya-Anan had to face an uphill task to stand up against a wonderful film that still lingers in the memories of every Bengali film goer. Besides, the current political situation in Bengal makes the content quite relevant. The music was different, but quite good. Although I would have preferred the songs to be performed live on stage rather than the loud pre-recorded  playback. The actors did a decent job, however the choreography could have been more imaginative.  The play used some special effects with lights and sound which looked nice (if you don''t try to compare with any Broadway production). Overall, I''d recommend the play to anybody, especially the kids.\r\n\r\nAt the same festival, the next play I saw was Bohurupi''s "Birja Sulka", a play based on the story of Shikandi of Mahabharata. Shikhandi''s tale has always fascinated me, but frankly speaking, this play disappointed me. The structure of the play  was seriously flawed and failed to capture the attention of its audience. The director, Tulika Das, may have been motivated by the spirit of  woman''s liberation but failed to deliver. The actors had serious problems with the dialogs (in verse) and the  poor structure of the play added to their despair.  I expected a better quality from a group like Bohurupi.\r\n\r\nOn 28th Dec, I saw the best play of this season - Theater Workshop''s latest production "Juddha Paristhiti". "Juddha Paristhiti" is adapted from Nabarun Bhattacharya''s novel by the veteran thespian Ashok Mukhopadhyay, who also directed the play. The play is about a middle aged institutionalized schizophrenic man who lost his mind due to police brutality during the political turmoil of the seventies.  Often he escapes from his asylum and roams the streets of Kolkata searching for his hidden arms - his instruments of liberation.  The play demonstrated how a well crafted play can keep the audience glued to their seats and how an imaginative director can transform a stage using simple structures.  The actors did an excellent job in presenting the play, although  the excessive use of the fourth wall could have been minimized (also true for many of the other plays I saw.) The playing of the "International" during the curtain call seemed to be too dramatic and overimposed.\r\n\r\nThis time I also happened to see the production of my play "Jadiyo Galpo" by Theater Workshop (directed by Ashok Mukhopadhyay) staged at the historic Minerva Theater.  Since I have a personal attachment with this play, I''ll refrain from going into the details. The audience  seemed to like the play and the two actors on stage (Ashok Mukhopadhyay and Krishnagati Chatterjee) were able to hold their attention even with an intermission break.\r\n\r\nAnother Bohurupi production that I happened to chance upon was "Mr. Kakatua" and was pleasantly surprised to see that this old play can still draw the crowds. The play, directed by Kumar Ray, is a comedy that not only entertains but also makes you think. Unlike "Brija Shulka", this play was firmly placed on a solid structure and the actors went all the way to enliven the stage under the brilliant direction of the veteran Kumar Ray.\r\n\r\nThe last play that I happened to watch was Bratyajan''s "Ruddha Sangeet", the celebrated and sensational play written an directed by Bratya Basu. It was a call show (organized by a bank) at the Mahajati Sadan and when I got the news I took my chances and showed up at the theater back stage. My good friend Bratya was kind enough to arrange a seat for me for a show that was for invited guests only.  The play is kind of a biopic on the life of the popular singer Debabrata (or George) Biswas and is loosely based on his memoirs "Bratyajaner Ruddhasangeet".  The play became an instant hit in Kolkata, especially at a time when the city intellectuals (artists, writers, actors) have been alienating themselves from the ruling left party and joining the ranks of the opposition.  The play talks about a similar time in history,  when the communist party in Bengal tried to stifle the voice of the free spirited artists and performers.  The play brings on stage some of the most popular and famous Bengali personalities of the last century and some very dramatic moments. However, dramatic moments alone cannot make drama. The play was too anecdotal in nature and lacked any plot line. This might have been intentional but it fails to keep the audience interest going.  This became quite evident when I heard people behind me getting restless and some of them leaving the auditorium early.  The lack of a clear story line and definitive action on the part of the protagonist (except at the end when George Biswas fights against the ban on his songs) makes it a docu-drama at best but not a play.  As a director, Bratya did a commendable job in managing a huge cast in a well choreographed manner on stage.  The stage was sparse which was alright, however, a little more imagination might have helped to make it more pleasing visually. Debshankar Haldar as George Biswas was excellent, and so was Satrajit in the role of Ritwick Ghatak - but this kind of created a wide gap between the quality of characterization between them and the other actors.\r\n\r\nMy overall impression has been that despite all the rumors I hear, Kolkata theater is still thriving. People are going to the theaters, new plays are being produced. The quality of production (in all branches) has lot of room for improvement, but that can only happen when the theater goers demand for it. I wanted to see few more plays like "Patal Babu Filmstar" by Purba Pashcim, "Darjiparar Marjinara" by Swapno Sandhani (written by Bratya Basu), "Shonali Sarak" by Ganakrishti and many others, but my time was limited this year. Better luck next time.', 'Kolkata Theater : A Personal Snapshot', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kolkata-theater-a-personal-snapshot', '', '', '2010-01-14 01:14:59', '2010-01-14 05:14:59', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=453', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(454, 1, '2010-01-21 00:44:34', '2010-01-21 04:44:34', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bari_siddiqui.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-455" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" title="bari_siddiqui" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bari_siddiqui.jpg" alt="Abdul Bari Siddiqui" /></a>One of the guest performers at the upcoming NABC 2010 is Abdul Bari Siddiqui of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although Bari is a relatively new name to the Bengali music lovers in this part of the world, he is a well known and sought after musician and composer in Bangladesh.   Trained as a classical flutist, Bari finds his passion both in the classical ragas as well as the folk tunes and Baul music of Bengal and has created his own genre of folk fusion by fusing North Indian Classical Music with Baul music. Bari (born 15th November 1954) started his initial lessons in classical vocal music at the age of twelve under Gopal Dutta of Netrokona. Later, in 1981, he was taken under the wings of Ustad Aminur Rahman, a direct disciple of Pandit Panna Lal Ghosh, the famous flutist, and Beenkar Ustad Dabir Khan. Ustad Aminur Rahman spotted Bari during a concert, and offered to tutor him. For the next six years Bari trained under Rahman. Bari also received extensive training from Pandit V G Karnad in Pune. Since 2000, besides playing the flute, Bari started to perform vocal music and his first album "Srabon Megher Din" was an instant hit and won him several awards.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->With this passion for around four decades, Bari reserves that the difference between the Indian and European music is that, "Indian music comes from silence whereas the European music comes from sound." Bari maintains that the Indian way is more melodious with the "Miir" and more natural with the typical natural bamboo flute. As of his Gurus, he believes in praying through his tunes and devotes all his creation to eternity.\r\n\r\nBari has performed in countries like India, Pakistan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, USA, England, Switzerland, France and many other European countries. In 1999 at the World Flute Conference in Geneva, where representatives from seventy countries took part, Bari Siddiqui was the only representative from the Indian subcontinent. He received many awards for his performances at Fajar Music Festival award in Iran, World Flute Conference Award in Geneva, International Film Movement Association Award, and Bachshash Award.\r\n\r\nTo listen to some of his tunes visit Bari''s website at <a href="http://www.barisiddiqui.net/">http://www.barisiddiqui.net/</a>.', 'NABC 2010: Abdul Bari Siddiqui - The Flutist Baul', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nabc-2010-abdul-bari-siddiqui-the-flutist-baul', '', '', '2010-01-25 15:42:47', '2010-01-25 19:42:47', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=454', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(455, 1, '2010-01-21 00:42:54', '2010-01-21 04:42:54', '', 'bari_siddiqui', 0, 'Abdul Bari Siddiqui', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bari_siddiqui', '', '', '2010-01-21 00:42:54', '2010-01-21 04:42:54', '', 454, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bari_siddiqui.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(456, 1, '2010-01-27 17:00:46', '2010-01-27 21:00:46', '<img class="alignleft" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="http://ethnomediallc.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tagore.jpg" alt="Rabindranath Tagore" width="301" height="405" />Ask a Bengali what in his/her bookcase does he/she treasure most?  And the answer will be - the sixteen volume set of Rabindra Rachanabali, that is, the complete works of Rabindranath Tagore. Over the years, the works of Tagore has been one of the key source of revenue for Bishwabharati. However, after the expiry of the extended copyright, publishers were free to reprint Tagore without having to pay any royalty to Bishwabharati. The Society for Natural Language Technology Research (SNLTR) grabbed this opportunity and made the entire published works of Tagore (Rabindra Rachanabali) available online through their website <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=456'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=456&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post-new.php'');" href="http://rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org">http://rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org</a>. No longer do you have to carry along with you the heavy volumes, neither do you have to spend money to buy them. Online <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=456'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=456&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post-new.php'');" href="http://rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org">Rabindra-Rachanabali</a> is free.  The website was released to the public on 27th January 2010, at the Kolkata Bookfair.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAccording to Prof. Anupam Basu, the director of <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=456'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=456&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/nltr.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post-new.php'');" href="http://nltr.org">SNLTR</a> who spearheaded this project, Rabindranath should be accessible to anybody and everybody who wants to read in Bangla.  A professor at the department of Computer Science and Engineering of IIT Kharagpur, Anupam leads a series of projects to enable computing in Bangla. He and his team has developed Baishakhi, a unicode compliant keyboard that enables one to type in Bangla, and also enable web browsers to render Bangla in a clean and uncluttered manner.  The entire Rabindra rachanabali project has been developed using Baishakhi and has been implemented by MAT3 Impex of Kolkata. The project had an initial seed funding from the Govt. of West Bengal, and had also received support from several organizations like IIT Kharagpur, ISI Kolkata, Jadavpur University, BESU, C-DAC, IBM and Microsoft Research, India.\r\n\r\nThe Rabindra-Rachanabali site organizes the works of Tagore several categories, like poetry, songs, novels, short stories, plays, essays etc. It also provides an alphabetical index to search for a specific article. However the best feature is the in-built Bangla search engine, named Anweshan. It allows the reader to search Tagores writings using Bangla keywords. Keywords can be entered either using the Baishakhi keyboard, if you have one installed on your Windows PC, or you can use the virtual keyboard provided along with the search engine. I tried it few times and it works like a charm. Click the link on the left side bar titled "Anushandhan" and you can search to your heart''s content. The font (Bangla Academy or Vidya) layout and the text is also very pleasing to read.  If you don''t have the fonts, you may download and install them by clicking the button on the left sidebar. One can move from one page to the other using easy to use navigation buttons. The site also allows you to report any typographical mistakes or any other issues via web based email.\r\n\r\nThe site, however,  does not allow you to print a whole story as a single file and you''ll have page one page after other. I''d like to request the developers to look into this useful feature.  Another issue is that the articles (poems, stories) does not have the dates associated with them, like the way we see them on the printed volumes. Some links are not active yet (like "Prakalpa Sammandhe" or "Jogajog"), but I think they''ll be active soon.\r\n\r\nKudos to Anupam Basu and his team at SNLTR for giving us this wonderful gift in this new year. Next year being the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore, this is a very well timed offering to the Bengalis all over the world.', 'The Complete Works of Tagore Now Online', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-complete-works-of-tagore-now-online', '', '', '2010-01-27 18:16:07', '2010-01-27 22:16:07', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=456', 0, 'post', '', 1);
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(457, 1, '2010-01-27 19:54:00', '2010-01-27 23:54:00', '<div></div>\r\nPlease join <span class="il">Urhalpool</span> Magazine''s 2nd Annual Award Ceremony on Wednesday. January 27th @6:30PM in Collaboration with: Rabindranath Tagore center, ICCR &amp; American Center, Kolkata\r\n\r\n<strong>Shakti Chattopadhyay Lifetime Bengali Literary Achievement Award (Rs25,000):   Sunil Gangopadhyay\r\nNirmal Chandra Gangopadhyay Bengali Literary Award for an Young writer (Rs15,000):    Mandakranta Sen\r\nDr. Sishir Kumar Das Award for research in Bengali Literature: (Rs,20,000):  Dr. Sibaji Bandyopadhyay\r\nPushpa Little Magazine Award: (Rs10,000):    Bibhab</strong>\r\n\r\n<span class="il">Urhalpool</span>(<a href="http://www.urhalpool.com/" target="_blank">www.<span class="il">urhalpool</span>.com</a>) January Issue, focusing on Mexican poets/writers has been released.\r\n<div>Bengali section: Poems-Sankha Ghosh, Sunil Gangopadhyay &amp; many others/  Golpo- Yashodhara Roychoudhury, Mexican writer Liliana Blum, Ivy Chatterjee, Tridib Chatterjee and others\r\nSpecial Article on Translation by Goutam Datta</div>\r\n<div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>English Section: 2010 Kolkata Book Fair visiting poets Anne Waldman &amp; Meena Alexander''s essays,  Many Mexican writers &amp; poets. Special article by Father of Contemporary American Poetry Jerome Rothenberg: POETS &amp; TRICKSTERS: INNOVATION &amp; DISRUPTION IN RITUAL &amp; MYTH</div>', '2010 Urhalpool Awards', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '2010-urhalpool-awards', '', '', '2010-01-27 19:54:00', '2010-01-27 23:54:00', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=457', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(458, 1, '2010-02-03 16:52:03', '2010-02-03 20:52:03', 'Are you looking for the right Bengali meaning for a English word? Do you often hunt for Bengali words and their spellings when you know the exact English equivalents. Look no further. Try out <a href="http://doroja.com">http://doroja.com</a>.  The developers of this site has taken an ingenious approach. They have scanned an entire English to Bengali dictionary, broken it up into pieces (for each word) and created a searchable database which links up the words you type in with the appropriate snippet. Thanks to <strong> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/raishul">Raishul Islam Russell</a> </strong><span>for developing this useful site. Give it a try when you can.</span>\r\n\r\nThe', 'Online English to Bengali Dictionary', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'online-english-to-bengali-dictionary', '', '', '2010-02-03 16:52:03', '2010-02-03 20:52:03', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=458', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(459, 1, '2010-02-03 17:12:31', '2010-02-03 21:12:31', 'Once again we are looking for Bengali speaking male actors for ECTA''s upcoming new play to be staged in June and July of 2010. The character is that of a middle aged man. Previous acting experience is desirable but not a must. Must be willing to commit to ECTA''s rehearsal schedule. Rehearsals will be held in central New Jersey. Interested people must contact me at the earliest. To know more about ECTA and its productions, please visit <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/ectainc.org?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post-new.php'');" href="http://ectainc.org">http://ectainc.org</a>.', 'Looking for Actors', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'looking-for-actors', '', '', '2010-02-03 17:12:31', '2010-02-03 21:12:31', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=459', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(460, 1, '2010-02-03 17:21:25', '2010-02-03 21:21:25', '<strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">Natyabharati presents</span></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>"RON"</strong>\r\n\r\n(in Hindi and English)\r\n\r\na play by Sudipta Bhawmik\r\n\r\nHindi translation by Kaushik Datta and Stuti Banerjee\r\n\r\nDirected by Suma Muralidhar\r\n\r\nApril 3, 2010\r\n\r\nat F. Scott Fitzgerald Auditorium, Rockville Civic Center, Rockville, MD.\r\n\r\nCast: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Jay Tipnis, Suresh Kodolikar, Meera Narasimhan, Rajiv Paul, Madhuri Subramaniam, Subhojit Sen, Pranav Pandya and Chetna Gola</em></span>', 'RON to be Staged by Natyabharati of Maryland', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ron-to-be-staged-by-natyabharati-of-maryland', '', '', '2010-03-10 15:43:12', '2010-03-10 19:43:12', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=460', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(461, 1, '2010-02-04 00:16:01', '2010-02-04 04:16:01', 'Want to write in Bengali? Google now offers transliteration service from several Indian languages including Bengali. Visit <a href="http://google.com/transliterate">http://google.com/transliterate</a> and set up the language to Bengali using the drop down menu on the upper left corner. Then start typing in Bangla using your roman keyboard.  For example, type in "manush" and hit space button and the transliteration software will convert it to its corresponding Bangla in a unicode compliant font. To switch from Bangle to English (or vice versa), just press Ctrl+G (in Windows) or Cmd+G (in Mac OS).  If the transliteration engine does not generate the word you want, just press the "back" or "delete" button, and it will provide you with multiple choices. The tool also offers you a dictionary that can provide you Bangla word equivalents for most English words. You can select the correct word and insert in the document.\r\n\r\nHowever, this system is still in its infancy and has several limitations. For example, you cannot save the documents you create using this system. Currently Google transliteration is offered only in Gmail, Blogger, Knol and Bookmarklet. Even Google docs is not supported, let alone Microsoft Word or any other word processor. Choice of fonts is also limited. I hope Google is working on these issues and make transliteration a truly useful system. Till then we''ll have to work within these limitations.\r\n\r\nThanks Google!', 'Google Bengali Transliteration', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'google-bengali-transliteration', '', '', '2010-02-04 00:16:01', '2010-02-04 04:16:01', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=461', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(462, 1, '2010-02-09 18:09:36', '2010-02-09 22:09:36', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/kaivalya_kumar_gurav.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-463" title="kaivalya_kumar_gurav" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/kaivalya_kumar_gurav.jpg" alt="Pt. Kaivalya Kumar Gurav" /></a>Kirana Gharana holds a very special place amongst the traditional styles of North Indian Classical vocal music. Widely recognized to be founded by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (although opinions differ amongst the musicologists) from the village of Kirana (or Kairana) near Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Kirana gharana has given us several excellent performers of the Khayal style of singing including masters like Pandit Bhimshen Joshi, Pandit Rasiklal Andheria, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan and many others.  In July 2010 at the North America Bengali Conference (NABC 2010), Kallol of New Jersey will be presenting yet another exponent of the Kirana Gharana, Pandit Kaivalya Kumar Gurav.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nKaivalya Kumar''s grandfather Pt. Ganapatrao Gurav was a first batch disciple of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.  Kaivalyakumar''s father and guru Pt. Sangameshwar, trained by Pt. Ganpatrao, was well known for singing in the true Kirana tradition. And Pt. Sangameshwar in turn has groomed Pt.Kaivalyakumar into an outstanding vocalist of the current times.\r\nIronically, during the early part of his life, Kaivalya Kumar tried hard to avoid a career in music. Discouraged by his father''s moderate success in the profession, Kaivalya educated himself for a career in business, and engineering. When none of these gave him the satisfaction he was looking for, Kaivalya Kumar turned to his roots in classical music and surrendered himself to rigorous training under his father.  And within a short period of time, Kaivalya established himself as a grade "A" artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan at an age of only 35. Now Kaivalya Kumar is one of the most sought after artists in India.  A great singer of Khayal, Pt.Kaivalyakumar also renders Marathi Natya Sangeet and Abhang, Bhajans, Kannada Vachana and Dasara Pada with equal finesse and all of which has won him the acclaim of listeners and critics alike all over India and abroad.\r\nAttached is a small clip (performing Raga Shankara) from one of his concerts:\r\n<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WBLXrtMRVVk&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WBLXrtMRVVk&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>', 'NABC 2010: Kaivalya Kumar Gurav, the Pride of Kirana Gharana', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nabc-2010-kaivalya-kumar-gurav-the-pride-of-kirana-gharana', '', '', '2010-02-09 18:12:20', '2010-02-09 22:12:20', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=462', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(463, 1, '2010-02-09 18:08:47', '2010-02-09 22:08:47', '', 'kaivalya_kumar_gurav', 0, 'Pt. Kaivalya Kumar Gurav', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kaivalya_kumar_gurav', '', '', '2010-02-09 18:08:47', '2010-02-09 22:08:47', '', 462, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/kaivalya_kumar_gurav.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(503, 1, '2010-08-25 21:47:40', '2010-08-26 01:47:40', '<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xtwQd-IFT3k?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xtwQd-IFT3k?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Plays are meant to be staged. At least that''s what a playwright expects when he or she writes a play. A play or drama finds its fullest expression through the interpretations of its director and the actors. So what good is it to publish a book of plays?  Mostly people who produce, direct and act in plays are typically interested in the text of the play and hence would likely be interested in a book of plays.  Although it is true that some non-theater people do love to read plays just as much as some like to read stories and novels, but isn''t such a group a minority? Is it worth publishing a book for such a limited audience? These were the questions I was grappling with before I decided to go for a publication of an anthology of my plays.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor quite some time, many of my friends and well wishers were pushing me to publish the collection. My mother was one of them. She thought  that my plays would find a larger audience through this publication than they would from our limited number of productions. Several of my friends in different parts of the country also wanted to see my plays in print. I too thought that maybe I should offer my readers an unadulterated view of my plays. Whenever a play is staged, the audience is offered an interpretation of the text as made by the director and the actors. A play in print offers the reader to make his own interpretation - the reader becomes the director and the actor.  The reader has the complete freedom to identify with the characters in his or her own way.  As Edward Albee once said, it is better to read the play than to watch a bad production of it.\r\n\r\nThen my mentor, Ashok Mukhopadhyay, also insisted that it is time to publish a collection through a reputable publisher. Although some of my plays have been published in theater magazines in Kolkata, he felt that a printed collection is a better form to reach out to the drama readers.  Sensing my inhibition as a newcomer to the Kolkata theater world, he assured me, "Don''t worry! Your name is well known in the theater circles. Your book will not go unnoticed." He then took me to his publisher Saptarshi Prakashan who in recent years have earned the distinction of one of the fastest growing publishers and have bagged quite a few awards like Sahitya Academy and Ananda Purashkar. And hence my first book of plays.\r\n\r\nOn 10th of August, 2010, the book was formally launched by Bibhas Chakraborty the noted theater personality at the Paschimbanga Bangla Academy in Kolkata (watch the attached video clip) in front of a large group of theater lovers of Kolkata. The book includes seven plays - Phera (The Return), Kaalsuddhi (The Redemption), Durghatana (Accident), Ron, Satyameva (Truth Only), Musical Chair and Taconic Parkway.\r\n\r\nNow that the book is out in the market, it needs readers. Those who have seen my plays, and liked them, you may want to have a copy to revisit the plays once more. For those who have not seen them, this may be your chance to enjoy them in print.  If you like the book, please spread the word.  Let your friends and family know that a book of plays is out in print that tells the stories of our existence as immigrant Indians in our adopted homeland. And don''t forget to give me your feedback.\r\n\r\nThe book is available in USA at most online book stores and at <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=10365798844_amp_noworks=1_amp_query=natak+samagra_amp_qsort=_amp_page=1&amp;referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=10365798844_amp_noworks=1_amp_query=natak+samagra_amp_qsort=_amp_page=1&amp;referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=503&amp;message=4'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=10365798844_amp_noworks=1_amp_query=natak+samagra_amp_qsort=_amp_page=1&amp;referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;post=503&amp;message=4'');" href="http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=10365798844&amp;noworks=1&amp;query=natak+samagra&amp;qsort=&amp;page=1">alibris.com (click on the cover picture on the right sidebar)</a>. In Kolkata, the book is available at Saptarshi Prakashan (69 Sitaram Ghosh St, Kolkata 9; ph: 9830371467), Dey''s, Dey Book Store, Book Friend, Chakraborty and Chatterjee, Adi Nath Brothers, Naba Grantha Kutir, Lokenath Brothers, Balaka. Also available at Subarnarekha in Santinekatan, Prantor in Durgapur, Annapurna Book House in Balurghat, Books and New Central Book House in Siliguri.', 'Why a Book of Plays?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'why-a-book-of-plays', '', '', '2010-08-25 23:55:06', '2010-08-26 03:55:06', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=503', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(465, 1, '2010-02-17 17:41:09', '2010-02-17 21:41:09', 'Sahitya O Alochana will be held on Friday, February 19, 2010, 8.00pm at Ananda Mandir. Topic for this session is "Barnomay Jibananda" featuring a discussion on Jibananda Das''s works including, poem, short stories, fictions, etc. Ms. Dhriti Bagchi will be the discussion leader for this session. Active participation from the attendees in the discussion including reading of Jibabananda''s poetry or prose is highly encouraged.\r\n \r\nPlease also note that the topics for the next two sessions (March and April) will likely be the following:\r\n \r\n1) Jhumpa Lahiri''s work - discussion leader  (To Be Declared)\r\n2) Bengali Drama in North America - discussion leader Sudipta Bhawmik', 'Sahitya O Alochona : Barnomoy Jibanananda', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sahitya-o-alochona-barnomoy-jibanananda', '', '', '2010-02-17 17:41:09', '2010-02-17 21:41:09', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=465', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(466, 1, '2010-02-23 11:25:56', '2010-02-23 15:25:56', 'Bidhyak Bhattacharya''s classic play "Tahar Namti Ranjana" was made into a famous radio play by the legendary duo Sambhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra. Now Listen to this wonderful drama online at the following link:\r\n\r\n<a href="http://www.raaga.com/channels/bengali/moviedetail.asp?mid=B0000126" target="_blank">http://www.raaga.com/channels/bengali/moviedetail.asp?mid=B0000126</a>\r\n\r\nIt is available in 3 parts.', 'Tahar Naamti Ranjana', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'tahar-naamti-ranjana', '', '', '2010-02-23 11:25:56', '2010-02-23 15:25:56', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=466', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(467, 1, '2010-02-23 11:38:26', '2010-02-23 15:38:26', 'ECTA has launched the pre-production work on their new play "Ekti Ganye Thaki" (We Live in a Village). The name of the play has been borrowed from one of Rabindranath Tagore''s famous poems, "Ek Ganye". Currently the team is going through workshop sessions and theater games before delving into the rehearsal process that will start from March. The play will be staged during the months of June and July 2010. ', 'Ekti Ganye Thaki', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ekti-ganye-thaki', '', '', '2010-02-23 11:38:26', '2010-02-23 15:38:26', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=467', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(468, 1, '2010-02-23 16:30:12', '2010-02-23 20:30:12', 'Raag Rang Presents "Kal Ke Kalakar"\r\non 20th March, Saturday, 2010. \r\n\r\nTime 3-30 p.m. to 5-30 p.m.\r\nAriaki Dandawate on vocal, \r\nGetiara Zaidi on Sitar \r\nand \r\nBrinda Guha''s Kathak presentation.\r\n\r\nVenue: Universal Unitarian Congragation of Princeton\r\n(Fahs Theater)\r\n50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, NJ 08540\r\nAdmission: NonMembers:\r\n$12 (Kids below 10 Years: $7)\r\nRaagRang Members: $10 (Kids below 10 Years: $5)\r\nRSVP will be appreciated.\r\nFor details Contact: 908-429-1120,609-890-4890, 908-240-8289.\r\nEmail: bhawmikm@gmail.com, mayuresh.khare@gmail.com, devang42@yahoo.com\r\n', 'Kal Ke Kalakar', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kal-ke-kalakar', '', '', '2010-02-23 16:30:12', '2010-02-23 20:30:12', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=468', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(508, 1, '2010-09-20 23:21:09', '2010-09-21 03:21:09', 'She has already been tagged as the rising star of Indian playback and may hold the most expensive concert ticket next year. \r\nFolks who attended NABC 2010 and left dazed by her singing prowess but still desired that she had sung those magical Hindi renditions of Lata, Asha, Shreya and Sunidhi numbers - the wait is over.\r\n\r\nAnwesha will be back in NJ (only show in NY-NJ) to perform in a concert "Anwesha, Live in NJ" hosted by Que Zara Productions at the conveniently located North Brunswick School Auditorium (Exit 9 from NJ Turnpike and 40 minutes from NYC) on Oct 17, 4 ? 7 p.m.\r\nFrom Salil Chowdhury, R.D.Burman, Shankar Mahadevan to her latest hits, she will enchant in a 3 hour musical concert. The sound engineering will be done by Jack Lowrie of Strike Sound.\r\n \r\nShe is coming in with Zee Bangla fame Trijoy and soulful Bandita along with five top notch musicians from the Indian film industry.  \r\n\r\nTickets and Show Promo video: www.quezara.com \r\n\r\nA special post concert elaborate dinner has been arranged by Moghul Caterers for the musical team. You may email Abhy - abhy_m@hotmail.com to purchase the VIP Dinner tickets or for any additional details.\r\n\r\nYou may like to get hold of your tickets which understandably are running fast.', 'Bijoya Celebrations in NJ with Anwesha', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bijoya-celebrations-in-nj-with-anwesha', '', '', '2010-09-20 23:21:09', '2010-09-21 03:21:09', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=508', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(470, 1, '2010-03-02 12:35:48', '2010-03-02 16:35:48', '', 'supriyo-samajdar.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'supriyo-samajdarjpg', '', '', '2010-03-02 12:35:48', '2010-03-02 16:35:48', '', 474, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/supriyo-samajdar.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(471, 1, '2010-03-02 12:35:49', '2010-03-02 16:35:49', '', 'supriyo-samajdar-thumb.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'supriyo-samajdar-thumbjpg', '', '', '2010-03-02 12:35:49', '2010-03-02 16:35:49', '', 474, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/supriyo-samajdar-thumb.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(472, 1, '2010-03-02 12:35:50', '2010-03-02 16:35:50', '', 'bibhaban.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bibhabanjpg', '', '', '2010-03-02 12:35:50', '2010-03-02 16:35:50', '', 474, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bibhaban.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(473, 1, '2010-03-02 12:35:51', '2010-03-02 16:35:51', '', 'bibhaban-thumb.jpg', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'bibhaban-thumbjpg', '', '', '2010-03-02 12:35:51', '2010-03-02 16:35:51', '', 474, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bibhaban-thumb.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(474, 1, '2010-03-02 12:35:52', '2010-03-02 16:35:52', '<p><b>Supriyo Samajdar</b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>Prologue</b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/supriyo-samajdar.jpg" rel="thumbnail"><img title="supriyo_samajdar" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 10px 10px 0px 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="161" alt="supriyo_samajdar" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/supriyo-samajdar-thumb.jpg" width="162" align="left" border="0" /></a> Let us start with me, my relationship with theatre, in general and with open theatre, in particular.</p>  <p>I might be digressing from the central issue when I discuss these additional and presumably “irrelevant” personal stories. I could have constructed this explanation like a theoretical manifesto or just made a compilation of various people’s experience of undergoing this process. But that doesn’t adequately answer the question of how and where, who first laid down the initial few precepts of open theatre. Under what socio-political and economic conditions did they say these things, what were their relations to their immediate environment while thinking about open theatre? I tried to structure this article to the best of my abilities, but eventually, I realized that open theatre can’t be defined under certain compartmentalized topics; rather I will try to reproduce the stream of consciousness that gave birth to them. In recounting my thoughts, I will talk about my group Bibhaban<a href="#_ftn1_1860" name="_ftnref1_1860">[1]</a> but let me question why I ventured into theatre, in the first place.</p> \n<!--more-->\n  <p></p>  <p>At the beginning of my tryst with theatre, I was confronted with this fundamental question, to which my answer was, out of a social responsibility to the times I exist in. Looking back into the distant past, I realize that the entire scenario (society wise) might have changed with time, but my reason still holds true. Experience makes us weary of the language we use; we tend to understand the various shades of a word and the meaning it connotes. Today, if I were to rephrase my fundamental query or the answer to it, I would think twice before talking about any social responsibility. What is my standing in the power structure, which we label as society? Back then, the logic might have been questioned but the emotion with which I uttered those words, are true to this day.</p>  <p>Now that we have tried to answer why and are moving onto the how, let us look into the origins of a thought process. A thought is said to be born out of a conflict, a dispute between what I see and what I can accept as the truth. When a disparity occurs between the two, an idea is born. Now the question remains, why am I thinking in the first place? What was the conflict I faced?</p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>Private Investigations</b></p>  <p>In 1993, I started my conscious journey as a Theatre Activist, by acting in a Proscenium play, in the Malda district of North Bengal. Some more one act plays passed in between and I eventually joined the cosmopolitan stream of Kolkata. Out of a voluntary impulse, I started my researches in theatre, worked with different groups, and spawned my own, Bibhaban. Between 1993 and 1996, I gradually started receiving recognition for my work, all the while, developing a conscience, geographically removed from my loved ones. As I started coming to terms with my existential reality, a time came when I had to deal with the dismantling of the group that I worked with. Monetary concerns brought us to a premature halt. In an urban sphere, there are generally two types of actors in progress. One who work with financially well off groups in lavish productions, and the other only gets the opportunity to take part in minimal expenditure competitions. While this dichotomy wreaked havoc on my fragile mind, I managed to witness a staging of “Michil,” (The Procession), by the group Satabdi. It changed the way I conceived the absolute rules and glories of proscenium theatre. In the meantime, I received a letter from the Alternative Theatre group to take part in a workshop(in Madhyamgram) dealing with alternative theatre methodologies. Having attended that, I resumed my theatre studies at the Rabindrabharati University. Somewhere around this time, I formed Bibhaban along with a couple of close friends, primarily to take part in One Act play competitions. We had decided never to incur debts while running a theatre group. The two staging of Bikalpa(The Alternative), which we undertook in a proscenium setting, came to a stop when we failed to meet the expenses. Eventually, the open space in front of the Sangeet Bhavan of Rabindrabharati University (Jorasanka),Kolkata, Bibhaban staged its open air theatre, “Tarpor”(The Next), on April 12<sup>th</sup> 1997. Some months down the line, we staged “Swapno” (Dream) on 15<sup>th</sup> August, 1997. Due to natural calamities, we had to hold the staging in a closed space, and that was my first brush with Intimate Space Theatre. Later, when we had done it in an open air theatre, certain equations started being questioned. I saw how the audience-actor relationship dramatically changed in the two different venues. After all, theatre thrives on the heartland of interaction. Feedback procedures are so dynamic in an intimate space, that I started toying with the idea back then. I can’t exactly define how, but I felt I saw Open Theatre being born at that point of time. </p>  <p><b>Watching Open Theatre (Mukta Natya) in progress, and the target “audience”</b></p>  <p>I started rethinking the ways in which theatre serves its objective of communicating its message to an audience. Most groups fail to question these finer sensibilities of staging a production, why do people come to watch theatres and what do they take back with them? How do you transfer emotions and ideas seamlessly into their thought processes and attune them with your message? </p>  <p>Every genre has its takers, whether it is proscenium or street theatre. A friend once joked that, if instead of a street theatre, I put up a trivial game show like a monkey dance (a literal translation of the term <i>bandor naach</i>), people will crowd to witness it. Everybody loves to be entertained and if that form of entertainment comes for free, all the better. Human beings are a crazy breed; they tend to have widely disparate likings, things which even question their moral standings. Bengalis more so, are known for their multicultural habits. Finding an audience can’t be too difficult.</p>  <p>However, we can’t expect the entire human race to be conscious enough to try and create an artifact which lives beyond its time and which addresses the question of greater good. Generally, we tend to accept the conditions we have been thrown into, refusing to question those tenets which are imposed by our irrational beliefs and superstitions. </p>  <p>Our State boasts of millions of teeming theatre groups, each with its own targeted audience. How do we then create our own space and make ourselves heard?</p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>Philosophical Deliberations</b></p>  <p>Who is a philosopher but a common man who confronts reality, asks questions regarding its validity and then establishes certain life guiding principles based on his experiences? If Philosophy is a way to reconcile with the incidences we encounter in a lifetime, Open Theatre is an amalgamation of this experience.</p>  <p>Just like every cooked food item has its recipe, similarly, theatre forms also have its own distinctive methodology. We are aware of the fact that theatre is a culmination of the various performing arts (music, dance, and acting) for a live audience. Arguably, one might surmise that theatre was born out of the need to appease the sovereign deities, and purge one’s self of his daily sins. We know that theatre evolved out of the hunting experiences of the first man, one who drew these scenes on the walls of caves.</p>  <p>In theatre, a person tries to channel his thoughts into a character and communicate it to a wider audience which is willing to accept these and question them before accepting. A process of mimesis is being talked about here, where we present to the audience a sequence of well accepted signifiers to drive home an idea. This is but one school of thought. On the other hand, there might be a process of theatre, where the<i> duende<a href="#_ftn2_1860" name="_ftnref2_1860"><b>[2]</b></a></i> happens when the audience emotionally and intellectually engages with the existence of the character in performance. In that manner, a completely new dimension of theatre and its communicative strategies open up to us. Theatre deals with living beings and living beings are not immune to changes in philosophies nor do they remain inert to change.</p>  <p>Society functions by transforming one person’s weakness into the other’s strengths and cohabiting for the sake of common welfare. Anthropological studies show us that when a technologically progressive nation passes through a state of political upheaval, actors on stage try to bring out the times’ reflection by refining their abilities to portray their respective characters faithfully. However, Open Theatre, tries something different. It calls forth an integration of the actor’s emotional state with reality so that he comprehends it better. Open Theatre seeks a solitary refuge away from this machine driven society, a place for man’s own thoughts. </p>  <p>What does one live for? He can’t survive for his own well being, the implicit rules of society always bind him into an interminable contract of give and take. We are always surrounded by social, political and economic changes which relatively determine our life force. Every instant, I am forced to question my wants since it doesn’t depend on me alone, anymore. Advertising has ruined my ability to take a clear cut decision about my day-to-day life, leading to a suffocated sphere where man fails to develop his intellectual faculties. This is where the concept of Open Theatre had it roots.</p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>Influences at the Germinal Stages </b></p>  <p>Stanislavski wrote his phenomenal treatise (<u>An Actor Prepares</u>) elaborating the key processes an actor undergoes and he stressed the importance of affective memory in it. He later revised his ideas to incorporate a method of Physical Actions, something which was furthered by Jerzy Grotowski in his seminal treatise on Para Theatre, <u>Towards a Poor Theatre</u>. Antonin Artaud’s “Theatre of Cruelty” , as enunciated in his book <u>The Theater and its Double</u>, remains an over arching presence on our ideologies. In India, theatrical procedures have been defined in the age old treatise called The Natyashastra, which again doesn’t talk further beyond the creation of the spectacle. We always wanted a psychological basis for the theatrical process we underwent and hence searched for a medium of enhanced public feedback response system. After dabbling in an intimate form of theatre with Swapno(Dream) in 1997,besides from our performance I started my conscious experiments with Open Theatre form since2002 with the concept “Journey” on which Bibhaban continues to build. Presently, through this research, we are now trying to develop a work, called “Approach to Silence” started in 2009. We are trying to evolve a space where we can redefine our daily existence in a more intimate manner, unaware of the presence of a removed audience. In trying to pay tribute to the work of Mr. Jerzy Grotowski, we have accommodated our own societal standings into our art. </p>  <p><b>Without you, I am not, am I?</b><b></b></p>  <p>There have been groups in the past which talked about open theatre or called themselves Open theatre groups. Unlike them, we aren’t a group, rather a concept. Here anyone and everyone can take part in the process, to develop his or her own line of action and thoughts.</p>  <p>We must first shed the notion of an actor-audience dichotomy existing in an open theatre space. The basic mantra/line of our work is -“Without you, I am not, am I?”</p>  <p>No one is an audience, no one is an actor, and everyone can be everything or nothing.<b> </b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>There are no fixed identities. </b>Rather the term visitor seems more apt to describe a friend who has come to be a part of the process. </p>  <p>You have to free yourself from the notions of any kind of audience. You have to rethink the entire equation you have with people who come to witness you in performance. </p>  <p><b>The Process</b></p>  <p><b><i><u>Can you reveal a naked truth to them uninhibitedly, a truth which you hide even from your closest friends? </u></i></b></p>  <p><a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bibhaban.jpg" rel="thumbnail"><img title="Bibhaban" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="244" alt="Bibhaban" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bibhaban-thumb.jpg" width="175" align="left" border="0" /></a> First of all you need a fairly large room, which is free from all kind of furniture and other cluttering. Those who will take part in it are requested to develop a common ground of thought or a common frame of reference along which they will align their respective bodies and minds. Once the common topic has been established, you are asked to analyze your experiences against it. </p>  <p>Once your common motif has been decided upon, you will exercise your individual artistic abilities (music, dance, art, and performance poetry) to elaborate it. You will try to accommodate the other participants into your respective spaces, allowing room for an interaction to take place, energy to flow through all members of the group. </p>  <p>Once everyone starts feeling comfortable with his or her own modes of expression and interaction, you will invite another new member to join in your process.</p>  <p>In this process of Open Theatre, you have to rethink the idea of a group. Will this be a daily affair, where the participants need to sit in every day, take part in physical or mental workshops to make themselves inhibition free? Or should you allow it to be a long standing, even a life long alliance, punctuated by momentary interludes of silence? It is in silence, that we organize ourselves to present “us” to society once again. Silence affords that necessary break, when we question the first principles.</p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p>Supriyo Samajdar</p>  <p>Born in 1969 in India. Theatre director and practitioner. Studied Directing at the Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata. Founded Bibhaban, an experimental theatre company in 1996 and has been directing, writing plays and leading it since. Since 2002 Samajdar is running his research project on Mukta Natya (Open Theatre), exploring the communication between a spectator and a performer, Through this research work ‘Journey’ with Open Theatre presently he is working on a project called- Approach To Silence, participated in Regular contra Regulam, research project of Teatro La Madrugada, in Brzezinka (Poland) in 2008.His research paper&quot; in search of a new form -open theatre was&quot; selected for a international symposium-“Language(s) of Theatre”, organized by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and the Indian Society for Theatre Research (ISTR). in January 2009, and &quot;Grotowski - Alongside - Around - Ahead&quot; at the University of Kent in Canterbury(England) in June 2009.</p>  <p><b>Bibhaban:</b></p>  <p><b>37Baguiati 4h lane, Kolkata-700028, India,</b></p>  <p><b><a href="mailto:Email-bibhaban@hotmail.com">Email:bibhaban@hotmail.com</a>, cell: +919830034978</b></p>  <p><b>(This article was originally written in Bengali and later translated into English by Samik Dasgupta)</b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <hr align="left" width="33%" size="1" />  <p><a href="#_ftnref1_1860" name="_ftn1_1860">[1]</a> According to the Samsad Bengali-English Dictionary, the term Bibhaban literally means the process of exciting magnanimity, sorrow, surprise, resentment, terror, love, mirth, disgust or quietism in a person.</p>  <p><a href="#_ftnref2_1860" name="_ftn2_1860">[2]</a> <i>El duende</i> is the spirit of evocation. It comes from inside as physical/emotional response to music or dance. It is what gives you chills, makes you smile or cry as a bodily reaction to an artistic performance that is particularly expressive.</p>', 'Without you , I am not , am I?', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'without-you-i-am-not-am-i', '', '', '2010-03-02 12:35:52', '2010-03-02 16:35:52', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/archives/474', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(475, 1, '2010-03-02 23:41:59', '2010-03-03 03:41:59', '<a href="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/kumar_roy.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-476" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" title="kumar_roy" src="http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/kumar_roy.jpg" alt="Kumar Roy" /></a>Last Sunday (Feb 28th 2010) the noted Bengali theater personality Kumar Roy died in Kolkata after a protracted heart ailment at the age of 84. Kumar-da was long associated with the theater group Bohurupee which he joined in 1949 and was a close associate of late Sambhu Mitra. He was a director, playwright and also an actor. He had done roles in several plays like ''Gallileo'', ''Rakta karabi'', ''Baki Itihas'', Bisarjan and ''Nabanna'' among others besides acting in films. He also worked as a professor at the Rabindra Bharati University. Kumar Roy also headed the Paschim Banga Natya Academy for quite some time. He had also penned many books. He was awarded the Sanget Natak Akademi award in 1983.\r\n\r\nAlthough I never had the opportunity of meeting him in person, but had the good fortune of speaking to him few times. It was he who published my play "Ron" in "Bohurupi" (of which Kumar-da was the editor) the well known theater journal of Kolkata. He said how much he liked the play and thought it was an important addition to the repertoire of plays that Bohurupi has published over the years. Later, he also published another play of mine, "Satyameva". He had asked me to meet him when I was in Kolkata. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity and I will repent it all my life. I hope and pray that his soul rests in peace.', 'Kumar Roy Passes Away', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kumar-roy-passes-away', '', '', '2010-03-03 00:01:23', '2010-03-03 04:01:23', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=475', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(476, 1, '2010-03-03 00:00:16', '2010-03-03 04:00:16', '', 'kumar_roy', 0, 'Kumar Roy', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'kumar_roy', '', '', '2010-03-03 00:00:16', '2010-03-03 04:00:16', '', 475, 'http://nynjbengali.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/kumar_roy.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(478, 1, '2010-03-10 15:36:16', '2010-03-10 19:36:16', '<strong>Sararattir - Play by Badal Sircar</strong>\r\n\r\nSaturday 8th May 3PM\r\nSaturday 8th May 6PM\r\nSunday 9th May 1PM\r\nSunday 9th May 4PM\r\n\r\nTicket Price - $25.00\r\n\r\nLOCATION\r\nLivingston Student Center\r\n84 Joyce Kilmer Avenue\r\nPiscataway, NJ, 08854\r\n\r\n<a href="http://www.sararattir.info">http://www.sararattir.info</a>', 'Sararattir - A Play by Badal Sircar', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sararattir-a-play-by-badal-sircar', '', '', '2010-03-10 15:37:40', '2010-03-10 19:37:40', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=478', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(479, 1, '2010-03-10 15:42:05', '2010-03-10 19:42:05', 'AN EVENING OF TAGORE SONGS\r\n \r\n \r\nWITH\r\n \r\nREZWANA CHOWDHURI BANNYA\r\n \r\n \r\nSunday MARCH 14, 2010\r\nAT 6PM\r\n \r\nAT HOME OF NUPUR LAHIRI\r\n4343 RT 27 PRINCETON NJ 08540\r\n \r\nORGANIZED BY SURER DHARA,\r\nNJ SCHOOL OF MUSIC\r\n \r\nSUGGESTED DONATION $15.00 PER PERSON''\r\nLIGHT DINNER WILL BE SERVED\r\n \r\nMUST RSVP, SPACE LIMITED\r\nNARAYAN ROY 908 561 9766\r\nBHASWATI BHADRA 732 821 2545\r\nNUPUR LAHIRI 732 821 3949\r\n \r\nFOR PARKING:\r\nPLEASE TRY TO CAR POOL\r\nLIMITED PARKING AT THE HOUSE FOR ABOUT 12 CARS.\r\nDRIVE DOWN RT 27 SOUTH., 1 MILE\r\nPARK ACROSS DURGA MONDIR IN PUBLIC LOT,\r\nCALL FOR RIDE OR CAR POOL', 'Bannya in Concert', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bannya-in-concert', '', '', '2010-03-10 15:42:05', '2010-03-10 19:42:05', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=479', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(480, 1, '2010-03-17 15:37:58', '2010-03-17 19:37:58', 'One of the greatest challenge of any NABC is to come up with events and programs that can attract and engage the the next generation of young Bengalis. Most of the cultural events that happen on the stages of NABC are of little interest to them. They need their own kind of entertainment and engagement, else they have nothing to do except hang out around the convention center with a long faces while their parents have all the fun. However, the trend seems to be changing over the last few years. The NABC organizing committees are making a conscious effort to come up with events that are targeted towards the young Bengalis of USA.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe youth committee of the 2010 North American Bengali Conference (NABC) has chosen the theme of "Fun, Culture and the Future!" to represent this year''s youth program. Conveners are working hard to make sure that the youth-oriented events are relevant, engaging and fun for our young people.  The list of events include live stand-up comedy show by an up and coming comedian from the Indian community. A film and video show plans to encourage our young film makers to showcase their talent.\r\nDo you  have an idea for a seminar, workshop or panel discussion that would be interesting?  The Youth Committee formally invites you - anyone, regardless of age or background - to submit a proposal for a seminar session. Topic choices are wide open, from social (dating, social media, parental relationships) to cultural, educational, environmental and even job hunting and job resumes. Other topics are also invited. To read more and create a proposal for consideration, go to<a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.nabc2010.org/Youth_Seminar_Invitation_v5.pdf?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.nabc2010.org/Youth_Seminar_Invitation_v5.pdf?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/480'');" href="http://www.nabc2010.org/Youth Seminar Invitation v5.pdf"> http://www.nabc2010.org/Youth Seminar Invitation v5.pdf</a> .\r\n\r\nSeveral other events are being planned and worked on, including dance party, fashion and talent shows, games and many many more. For information on the broader Youth Program, go to <a onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.nabc2010.org/youthactivities.html?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/'');pageTracker._trackPageview(''/outgoing/www.nabc2010.org/youthactivities.html?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/archives/480'');" href="http://www.nabc2010.org/youthactivities.html">http://www.nabc2010.org/youthactivities.html</a> .\r\n\r\nThe future of Bengali culture in the North America is in the hands of our young people! So join in  and make this event a memorable one.', 'NABC 2010: Youth Programs', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'nabc-2010-youth-programs', '', '', '2010-03-17 15:40:19', '2010-03-17 19:40:19', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=480', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(481, 1, '2010-03-17 15:57:09', '2010-03-17 19:57:09', '<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: ''Times New Roman''; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">\r\n<div><span style="background-color: #dceeff; color: #000000; border-bottom: 1px dashed #0066cc;">New York</span>’s distinguished and dynamic theater group, Dhaka Drama is celebrating the World Theater Day this year on Sunday,  March 28,  2010 at ‘club<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #0066cc;">Sanm</span>’  in Astoria, New York. To commemorate the occasion,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-image: none; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-width: medium; border-bottom-style: none; background-position: 0% 0%;">Dhaka</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Drama has arranged an interesting and exciting line of events, such as, a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span>panel discussion</span>, a talent competition for our young actors and a showcasing of one-act plays by different theater groups from the tri-state area. A panel of prominent theater practitioners from the Indian sub-continent would share their thoughts and reflections on Bangla Theater and its form practice and the role of directors in the Bengali diaspora. A number of noteworthy theater groups and performers have accepted invitations to present their work on this day. As a fitting finale to the occasion, Dhaka Drama will be staging their latest production, “Etao Thik Otao Thik” (This is Right and That Too) written and directed by Golam Sarwar Harun.</div>\r\n<div>The grand sponsor of the event is Club Sanm.</div>\r\n</span></span>', 'Dhaka Drama Celebrates World Theater Day in New York', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'dhaka-drama-celebrates-world-theater-day-in-new-york', '', '', '2010-03-17 15:57:09', '2010-03-17 19:57:09', '', 0, 'http://nynjbengali.com/?p=481', 0, 'post', '', 0);
