With the book fair being shoved to a seedy outpost of the metropolis, Kolkata booklovers now have quite a news to gorge on. The city is planning to have a book mall, ''Varna Parichay'', the very first of its kind, spread over 7,80,000 sqft designed by the ace architect Hafeez Contractor. The book mall will replace the 90-year old municipal market on College Street, the cultural focal point of Kolkata.
According to company sources, the five floor mall (around 5,00,000 sq ft) of the seven-storey block would comprise an auction space for rare books and manuscripts run by an agency, where the buyers and sellers can interact regularly, along with a host of other features never before seen in the country under a single roof. The mall would also include a coffee shop, library and a multi-level car parking facility.
As per the estimates, the establishment cost and the other expenses amount to Rs 158 crore approximately. The project is being developed in a public-private partnership- a fifty-fifty joint venture, between the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Bengal Shelter Housing Development Ltd. The latter plans to finish the construction work by April 2010.
Friday, 15 June 2007
The Scene-stealers of Indian Football- Mohun Bagan-East Bengal Rivalry
What makes people watch the game of football staying up all night? What exactly gives it the universal appeal and popularity it has? What actually lies behind this game that fascinates the young and the old equally? The answer is precise and simple- football is the game of 'the people'….the masses.
But when it comes to Indian football, there is more to the aforementioned reason for such fondness we have for it, slightly different from the conventionally existing ones, like, the love for the game or watching real talents, competent players as scene-stealers. The existing conflict between the different local clubs is what comes first to mind, especially those of Goa and Bengal, since Indian soccer has a strong base in these two places. However, Bengal rivalry still continues to play a major role in it. And this pervades the scene in the field making the game interesting and exciting like no other. Take for example the long-term rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal…perhaps the greatest one in the history of Indian football.
The East Bengal Club, based in Calcutta as of 2004 had won top honors in the National Football League, two years running. They were the first and the only Indian club in over forty years to win a continental trophy when they beat BEC Tero Sasano in the final of the 2003 ASEAN cup championship. Whereas, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club (Mohun Bagan AC) - the oldest football club in Asia, established on August 15, 1889 has been immensely successful since its foundation, and has maintained its status as one of India's most successful clubs with the legacy of being the former's toughest competitor. Mohun Bagan was in fact the first Indian team to have defeated a foreign team, when it defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment to lift the 1911 IFA Shield. The association has always carried on an intense local rivalry with the East Bengal Club that represents Bengalis hailing from eastern part of Bengal, along with innumerable supporters from the western part too. On the other hand, Mohun Bagan represents Ghotis comprising a class of people from western part of Bengal, with some from the eastern side as well. East Bengal fans celebrate their victory by eating Hilsa fish while Mohun Bagan supporters do the same by eating Prawns. With the passage of time, both teams now have fans belonging to various communities and regions of India and through ethnic conflict have found prolific expression in their rivalry...
But when it comes to Indian football, there is more to the aforementioned reason for such fondness we have for it, slightly different from the conventionally existing ones, like, the love for the game or watching real talents, competent players as scene-stealers. The existing conflict between the different local clubs is what comes first to mind, especially those of Goa and Bengal, since Indian soccer has a strong base in these two places. However, Bengal rivalry still continues to play a major role in it. And this pervades the scene in the field making the game interesting and exciting like no other. Take for example the long-term rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal…perhaps the greatest one in the history of Indian football.
The East Bengal Club, based in Calcutta as of 2004 had won top honors in the National Football League, two years running. They were the first and the only Indian club in over forty years to win a continental trophy when they beat BEC Tero Sasano in the final of the 2003 ASEAN cup championship. Whereas, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club (Mohun Bagan AC) - the oldest football club in Asia, established on August 15, 1889 has been immensely successful since its foundation, and has maintained its status as one of India's most successful clubs with the legacy of being the former's toughest competitor. Mohun Bagan was in fact the first Indian team to have defeated a foreign team, when it defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment to lift the 1911 IFA Shield. The association has always carried on an intense local rivalry with the East Bengal Club that represents Bengalis hailing from eastern part of Bengal, along with innumerable supporters from the western part too. On the other hand, Mohun Bagan represents Ghotis comprising a class of people from western part of Bengal, with some from the eastern side as well. East Bengal fans celebrate their victory by eating Hilsa fish while Mohun Bagan supporters do the same by eating Prawns. With the passage of time, both teams now have fans belonging to various communities and regions of India and through ethnic conflict have found prolific expression in their rivalry...
Life is a maze of death...
Show me how to ease this pain…
And lose it all again,
before it drives me insane…
A life,
Lived on the jagged edge of a knife…
Has been a real pain,
Where all my efforts have been in vain…
Many a times have I tried to kill
the excruciating pain I often feel
Lying deep within me, tearing me apart…
Maybe it’s just the beginning…
A fresh new start…
And now, I feel so lost
And I feel so low,
Since I know I have to let go,
For this pain I can endure no more…
Bitterness has filled me to the core.
I tried to make, I tried to shake,
a countless time for my sake I tried to break
And once in a while
I chose to walk that extra mile.
But now it all seems so futile…
Many a times have I tried restoring the long lost faith,
Not knowing- LIFE IZ A MAZE OF DEATH!
Often you must have heard it said…
It only lasts for a short while
with faces bearing a sardonic smile…
At last I’ve been proven wrong;
perhaps I was never built that strong.
I can’t put up with it anymore, I can take it no more
Cos I feel so tired and I feel so sore...
Gradually I’m losing the faith I once tried to restore…
So now, there lies the bloodstained twisted wire…
feels like my body has been set on fire...
This marks the end of pain,
And the end of faith…
LIFE IZ NOTHING BUT A MAZE OF DEATH!!!
And lose it all again,
before it drives me insane…
A life,
Lived on the jagged edge of a knife…
Has been a real pain,
Where all my efforts have been in vain…
Many a times have I tried to kill
the excruciating pain I often feel
Lying deep within me, tearing me apart…
Maybe it’s just the beginning…
A fresh new start…
And now, I feel so lost
And I feel so low,
Since I know I have to let go,
For this pain I can endure no more…
Bitterness has filled me to the core.
I tried to make, I tried to shake,
a countless time for my sake I tried to break
And once in a while
I chose to walk that extra mile.
But now it all seems so futile…
Many a times have I tried restoring the long lost faith,
Not knowing- LIFE IZ A MAZE OF DEATH!
Often you must have heard it said…
It only lasts for a short while
with faces bearing a sardonic smile…
At last I’ve been proven wrong;
perhaps I was never built that strong.
I can’t put up with it anymore, I can take it no more
Cos I feel so tired and I feel so sore...
Gradually I’m losing the faith I once tried to restore…
So now, there lies the bloodstained twisted wire…
feels like my body has been set on fire...
This marks the end of pain,
And the end of faith…
LIFE IZ NOTHING BUT A MAZE OF DEATH!!!
Life... or something like it?
A silent rebel, she rose from the floor,
hard and cold to touch, no sign of life…
Her spirits crushed, her soul scarred and bruised,
devoid of all human attributes…
oblivious and indifferent to every emotion lost…
Lacking any sign of life…
Am I still alive? Sigh…
starts taking deep breaths...stops for a while,
steals a glance at the marks left behind by the storm
that raved along her body, mind and soul. Clothes torn...hair disheveled...
Her stolid face bears the marks of tears long dried up,
Lacking any sign of life…
Embarrassment? No longer there...
The dejected feel is now a nonentity.
I am not alive, I cannot feel
Life? Or something that looks like life?
There is neither a beginning…nor an end
merely a dead existence…
Lacking any sign of life…
It has been quite some time now…
Blood still oozing out of cuts and lacerations…
It used to leave her weak once, but hurts no more…
Not anymore.
The agonizing pain- nonexistent.
A gory picture…
Lacking any sign of life…
There comes the sound of his approaching footsteps…
drawing closer...he, nearing his end every fleeting second…
An inch closer will leave him departed, beaten to jelly,
body tattered…shredded into pieces.
She revels in the thought of a lifeless existence without him…
her face shows no sign of discomfort…
lacking every sign of life…
She nurtured many hopes in her heart…
never imagined herself capable of hatred like that!
She could make it work, if only he would let her…
Or that was what she thought.
Contemplating on the sinful thought,
leaves her in tears...streaming down her face...
Shows what? Every sign of life!
hard and cold to touch, no sign of life…
Her spirits crushed, her soul scarred and bruised,
devoid of all human attributes…
oblivious and indifferent to every emotion lost…
Lacking any sign of life…
Am I still alive? Sigh…
starts taking deep breaths...stops for a while,
steals a glance at the marks left behind by the storm
that raved along her body, mind and soul. Clothes torn...hair disheveled...
Her stolid face bears the marks of tears long dried up,
Lacking any sign of life…
Embarrassment? No longer there...
The dejected feel is now a nonentity.
I am not alive, I cannot feel
Life? Or something that looks like life?
There is neither a beginning…nor an end
merely a dead existence…
Lacking any sign of life…
It has been quite some time now…
Blood still oozing out of cuts and lacerations…
It used to leave her weak once, but hurts no more…
Not anymore.
The agonizing pain- nonexistent.
A gory picture…
Lacking any sign of life…
There comes the sound of his approaching footsteps…
drawing closer...he, nearing his end every fleeting second…
An inch closer will leave him departed, beaten to jelly,
body tattered…shredded into pieces.
She revels in the thought of a lifeless existence without him…
her face shows no sign of discomfort…
lacking every sign of life…
She nurtured many hopes in her heart…
never imagined herself capable of hatred like that!
She could make it work, if only he would let her…
Or that was what she thought.
Contemplating on the sinful thought,
leaves her in tears...streaming down her face...
Shows what? Every sign of life!
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