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Maya Ghosh who mesmerized the theatre lovers of Calcutta in 1960s through her extraordinary acting prowess passed away in Kolkata on Saturday virtually unsung. She was79 and ailing for quite some time. Those of us who were witness to the surge of the group theatres in Calcutta in the second half of last century, still remember the thrill and excitement over the production of Nandikar’s Bengali adaptation of Italian writerLuigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author”Maya showed her mettle first as an actor in this adapted play by portraying the character of the mother.

With the Christian community across the country raising its voice against the rightist forces perpetrating torture and victimising the community members and planning the strategy to expose the Hindutva bigots, the RSS, which like its earlier imitative to win over the trust of the Muslims, is scheming to reach out to the Christians for forming a new association ‘Save our Nation India’ with their cooperation.

It is now to wait for the counting of votes. In between, there are the exit polls and people will get a glimpse of what’s in store. A couple of opinion polls have been generous to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving the BJP 130-plus seats in Gujarat. Winning Gujarat is crucial for Modi if he wants to be a third-termer PM. December 4, the streets of Delhi voted. So did the burgeoning landfills. If the AAP captures the MCD, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have nobody else to blame but garbage, and 15 years of doing nothing but sit and watch the landfills turn to stinking hills.

Chief minister, Mamata Banerjee's sharp reprimand to district magistrate of North 24 Parganas, Sharad Kumar Dwivedi and other officials down the hierarchy when she found that the winter garments brought for distribution at a public meeting at a Hingalgunj yet to arrive certainly shook them up but also refurbished her image when it is being enveloped in shadows of successive scams. Indeed she badly needed to brush it up as it being tarnished have become a ongoing process with an Opposition strident in its criticism of cash for teaching jobs scam, central probe agencies swooping down on some her party leaders and of course at stinging observations of Calcutta High Court.

It was as clear as a crystal even during the pre-budget consultations of the Union Ministry of Finance for the fiscal 2023-24 on November 25 that the fiscal positions of most of the sates were in dire situation, and now, when the budget exercise has begun in right earnest, Modi government is finding the issue trickier that it has presumed.

Politics and political parties seem to be playing a dangerous game over the controversy on housing an increasing number of illegal immigrants in India. The country is set to overtake China as the world’s most populous state within another two months or so as projected by the population division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Officially, India is the home of the world’s second most popular destination for illegal immigrants, after the United States. While the US data on illegal immigrants is mostly reliable, the actual number of illegal immigrants in India, which rises almost every day, remains rather unknown or, at best, a poor guess work. India’s Citizenship Act of 1955 has failed to control illegal immigration and fake citizenship. Political parties and local fixers have been working together to help provide documents such as ration cards, voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards and even passports to illegal immigrants for political benefits during municipal, state or national elections. They all seem to ignore the fact that illegal immigrants pose a threat to the country’s economy and security.

New Delhi: Gold eluded India as top seed Unnati Hooda, Anish Thoppani and doubles pair of Arsh Mohammad and Sanskar Saraswat failed to cross the final hurdle and finished silver medals at Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Nonthaburi, Thailand on Sunday.

New Delhi: Top seed Unnati Hooda, Anish Thoppani and doubles pair of Arsh Mohammad /Sanskar Saraswat posted brilliant victories to move into finals of the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Nothaburi, Thailand on Saturday.

With Narendra Modi‘s archetypal Hindutva political edifice developing cracks and the party device finding it incapable to withstand the onslaught of Congress Party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, the BJP top leaders have preferred to adopt a more virulent and belligerent posture against Rahul Gandhi. Adopting aggressive stance is the best mechanism for both the leaders to save their political future and survive the onslaught.

Actor Paresh Rawal might be mistaken for a pomfret. Rawal’s wisecrack about ‘Fish & Bengali’ has landed him in shark-infested waters. He should have stuck to ‘Fish & Chips’. And, if Rawal ever strays into the Bengali hemisphere, (Bangladesh included), he had better look out for Hilsa; it will not bite him! The actor was caught fishing in troubled waters, trying to do one better than Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who loves his fish as much as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does hers. Rawal is the sort who flows with the current, and he is now caught in a viral controversy with his remarks on Bengalis and fish.