- Martin Scorsese
‘‘Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.’’
-
Akira Kurosawa
One is an American master and the maker of timeless Hollywood classics like ‘Taxi Driver’ or ‘Goodfellas,’ the other the Japanese auteur who is regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. The sense of respect and admiration for Ray, the man who was responsible for taking Indian cinema to the global audience, was one of the few factors they would have had in common.
It’s a pity that the Covid-19 pandemic, like so many other things in our lives, have deprived his family and Kolkata - his own city - from celebrating his 100th birth anniversary on Sunday (May 2). The fact that it’s also the day for counting of votes after a volatile, protracted assembly elections in West Bengal over March-April, means the opportunities for his retrospectives, appraisals in TV talk shows and what have you - will have
How long do I have to wait?
Day in day out like a swallow
I stare at the black moon
To become a devotee
Faraway into the thick fog, the musician clad in a dull mustard suit, vanishes into thin air. His followers with long beards, unkempt hair and hands swinging in the air, playing to the tunes of the
ektara follow him religiously into the oblivion.
Nobody dares to question their motive, religion or background. For these mythical beings, the followers of Lalon, swear they have none. All they seek in this world are the guidance of the
Murshid– Guru, reconnection with their missing soul, and sight of the One and Only– the Alif, the Kali, the Supernatural, the Creator.
How Enamul Haque smuggled cattle by the thousands into Bangladesh for years
Arrested in Delhi a couple of months ago, Enamul Haque’s operation has now been busted. This report traces his fascinating journey, from smuggling a single animal across the Bangladesh border, to ending up with a net worth of Rs 2,000 crore and acquiring and renting properties across Asia. January 16, 2021 / 09:39 AM IST
The first bovine Enamul Haque smuggled to Bangladesh was a calf. In the summer of 1994 he carried the animal in his arms and walked across the border into a village in Bangladesh in broad daylight.
A frail figure then, Haque was not checked or stopped by anyone, earned Rs 3,000 and did not share the spoils. It was his first income, a cent per cent profit he had stolen the calf from an Indian village. Haque was testing the waters, he had heard from his neighbours how cow smuggling was lucrative and buyers wanted more supplies.