Thirty-two thousand corpses are cremated in Varanasi every year and 200 tonnes of half-burnt flesh end up in the Ganges, according to a report published in a national English daily.Atul Gawande, an Indo-American surgeon and writer, in his book on ageing and death titled ‘Being Mortal’, des...
“How did they manage to pull this off!” – people often exclaim while watching movies. Well, those cinematic experiences can be best attributed to special effects (SFX), visual effects (VFX), and animation. Special effects do happen in reality and are achieved on sets during shooting in a...
According to the Confederation of the Indian Industries (CII), in FY21, India’s GDP growth could fall below 5% in the absence of an immediate policy action. The outbreak of the coronavirus that has brought Indian industries to a standstill is a major reason for this fall. Already the demand ...
In 1888, a French newspaper published an obituary titled ‘The Merchant of Death is Dead’. It also stated, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” However, in reality, it was Ludvig, Alfred’s brother who had died. Neve...
The Indian economy is going through a continuous slowdown and that’s reflected in its GDP growth rate. The latest figures indicate 4.5% growth (Q2, FY19-20). There have been some efforts to revive the economy but the global downside risks have had a detrimental impact on the domestic outlook. In a...
In many Indian households, mornings are incomplete without the 'garam chai'. Over the years, organic tea, green tea, and herbal tea have made their way into Indian households along with the more traditional varieties. According to the data providing portal, Statista, “The consumption volume of tea...
“This book is authored by me. Would you like to buy it?”, an old man with several copies of his self-published book walked around the Kolkata Book Fair and approached the visitors. This has been a common sight at the Kolkata Book Fair over the years. The fair has emerged as a cultural iden...
Every time, the colonel bought tickets from Mrinalini Cinema Hall on Jessore Road in Dum Dum, West Bengal, he paid an additional amount of Rs 25 to the officials at the ticket counter with one request – to reserve the G5 and G6 seats for him and his wife. This was especially so when there was a Sh...
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare recently released the Final Estimate of 2018-19 and first Advanced Estimate of 2019-20 of varioushorticultural crops. The report stated that the total horticulture production of 2018-19 was 310.74 MT and the first estimation of 2019-20 i...
Sikharpur in the Rajarhat block of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal has around 200 nurseries that employ 1500-2000 villagers from Sikharpur and adjoining villages. The village is flourishing floriculture hub. Flower plantation has been taking place here for more than 50 years, though initia...