MISCELLANY

[rorichakraborty]

The Beatles  by Peter Laurie -- 1964 -- The Ed Sullivan Show

British Vogue

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From the personal collection of VOGUE 100 postcards issued by the National Portrait Gallery

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Calcutta, August 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

Judy Dent and the Koola Lobitos (formed by Fela Anikulapo Kuti) by Brian Duffy, 1961

British Vogue

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From the personal collection of VOGUE 100 postcards issued by the National Portrait Gallery

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Calcutta, August 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

A stupid little illustration I did for a tender single called “MARBLES” by Whale in the Pond, band which comprises two of my mates from Jadavpur University, Sourjyo and Shireen.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx_jQche86s

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Calcutta, February 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

At Dawki Lake, Shillong.

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Calcutta, February 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

मसूदी / মৌষুধী

[Johamal / Priyon]

‘Well,’ Johamal now clasped his coat to conceal that dog whistle of a pendant. Zubeen only wished he were like Truman, ninety-four percent recall; this was turning out to be a riveting play, ‘this was in another century: there was a Welsh naturalist who worked for Victoria who never saw her brown Empire and he had a son who wore pinafores over his sunday best. Half-learned in the Oriental sciences of Ardhvasis like us, he thought he had found a remedy in our liver. A drop of the secretion went into the boy’s nightcap daily - a glass of milk carried to the nursery by Aftab Masudi. What would you expect of that half-teacher and us half-creatures? The child lost his childhood.’

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An excerpt from “R.M.S. (Nabhnav)”, a short story I completed last month.

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[rorichakraborty]

শর্তা-সুপাড়ী

C O N T E N T S :~

1. Baba, Kaka, and Pisha: all connoisseurs of the paan-cones;

2. Shawrta (শর্তা): Usually of brass, the betelnut cracker, the staple of a Home Paan Kit sends pellets flying in every direction when placed in the hands of the untrained. Caution is extended to those who are adventurous. Marvel is extended to Tonu, Ma, and Chutki Didi, Supreme Shawrtadames, who leisurely create piles of shaved or chopped betel nuts in minutes;

3. Cracked betelnuts (সুপাড়ী): Bereft of the elusive deftness with the cracker, the boy has borrowed cracked and diminised betelnuts. He is only a consumer. He has tried contributing to the familial craft and has been several times on the edge of dishonour. Rummy has been a saving grace, thankfully;

4. Miscellaneous stationery and a staple of the Jyamiti box;

5. Thakurda's hand, abler than his toothless gums;

6. Christian Watson and his @1924us vibes. •   •   •   •   •

[rorichakraborty]

[rorichakraborty]

আজ ট্রাম এ বসে মুড়ি খাবো |

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Calcutta, February 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

“I have heard something about you from Mishti Maashi.”

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Calcutta, February 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

An extra from a Hrishikesh Mukherjee 70s House Party who will be nominated for a handful of Filmfares in a decade’s time. 

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February 2017

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[rorichakraborty]

4 p.m. [When the Post Lunch Rummy is in session]: Storm in a tea cup

8.30 p.m [When the “current goes” for two hours like clockwork]: Hurricane in a lantern

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[rorichakraborty]

Munnu: A Boy From Kashmir

“On the right, the famous declaration of love by Amir Khusrau is cruelly borrowed first by the Mughals, then the Afghans, and then the Sikhs. “If there is a Paradise on Earth” paints the invaders in the guise of marauders as they are perched gloriously upon their horses while at their feet lie the Hanguls, first in their military garb, then their arrow-pierced corpses, then with their skulls and ribs laid bare. The decomposition is complete with each “It is here,” reminding one of Walt Whitman’s “heart, heart, heart” that imitates, gloriously, audibly, the “bleeding drops of red”. “

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My review of Malik Sajad’s graphic novel, Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir, has been published in The Millions. The complete review is available here: 

http://www.themillions.com/2017/02/hanguls-and-poachers-in-malik-sajads-munnu.html

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[rorichakraborty]

Indira Devi, Cooch Behar.

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February 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011)

I had expected a formidable baritone when I first saw his portraits. And then I heard his nomadic declaration, and was swept off by his tenderness and the warble on “path”.

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আমি এক যাযাবর: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8vWxAzXRYU

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[rorichakraborty]

Miss Marcel’s disdain towards the poof in butch drag who has elbowed her on the pavement.

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February 2017.

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[rorichakraborty]

Tunes of  a Tumult

The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. 

-- “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut

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February 2017

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[rorichakraborty]

[Exeunt Diana] 

The Supremes  ~ Destiny’s Child [cue Dreamgirls, 1981]

Present day: Solange

[Enter Tracee Ellis]

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February 2017

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