It is a neat division and the first part of 70 pages is the Kotia-Ketaki memoir. In the second section, Chandana picks up the narrative and weaves the micro family history of the Jonas family with the macro events of the late 19th century and her grandmother's journey that brought her to Santiniketan in the 20th century.
Today, the tape-jama survives on the margins of a rapidly changing marketplace. It is still found in local bazaars, though no longer a default festive purchase for children. Yet its significance lies beyond its material presence. The garment endures as a symbol of memory—of simpler times, of long summer afternoons, and of a cultural ethos shaped by resourcefulness and tradition. Its soft cotton folds carry stories of Bengal’s textile heritage, its artisanal practices, and its ability to absorb and reinterpret external influences. In doing so, the pinny becomes more than a childhood dress—it is a living archive of history and identity.
According to the latest (2024) survey by the International Mother Language Institute, 45 languages have been identified as existing now in Bangladesh out of which there are 11 indigenous languages including Lushai (Mizo)—that have become critically endangered. Based on UNESCO data, a handful of languages which have made it to the endangered list in Bangladesh are in such a forlorn state that only 5-12 older folks from respective communities can still converse in them.
And perhaps the greatest truth is this: when veterinarians do their work properly, the world stays normal. People drink milk without fear. Farmers sleep without panic. Markets remain stable. Outbreaks do not explode into disasters. Children grow up safer. Communities remain healthier. The world continues smoothly, unaware of how close it often stands to crisis.
If war brings out the worst in people, it also brings to the fore humanity's nobler instincts when India evacuated a stranded Pakistani girl along with Indian students from war-hit Ukraine resulting in the Pakistan girl publicly thanking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Embassy
‘Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom’, a Bhutanese film, shot by just 35 local crew in a remote far western Bhutanese village, was among five films nominated for an Oscar award last month in the International Feature Film category—a first for the Himalayan country of 750,000 people
Tanzanian video blogger and content creator Kili Paul, whose song and dance videos lip-syncing Indian hits with his sister Neema are a huge hit with Indian audiences, and have been praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has said he was thrilled to bits by the Prime Minister's compliment and it has "inspired me a million times"
Despite years of efforts by the government, child marriages in Pakistan continue to remain a major challenge for authorities
A beating human heart travelled 350 km, from a man from Tamil Nadu in south India to a woman from the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, whose only hope of survival was early life-saving heart transplantation
The Indian High Commission in Tanzania honored internet sensation Kili Paul, the content creator from Tanzania in East Africa, who is famous on Instagram and other social platforms for lip-syncing and grooving to popular Indian hits
Love for cricket knows no boundaries. And when it comes to fan following, former Indian captain and star batsman Virat Kohli has plenty in Pakistan, despite the two nations sharing frosty relations
His "Kacha Badam" (raw, crunchy peanut) song has become a global hit over the internet with people from Asia to Africa to Europe grooving to its peppy rhythm
At the age of nine years and 220 days, an Indian boy set a Guinness World Record by becoming the world's youngest certified yoga instructor
Amid recurring incidents of midnight cattle smuggling and border killings of illegal "inflitrators", there are also occasional tales of fellow-feeling and human warmth like that of a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl, fleeing her abusive father, crossed the India-Bangla international border into India’s West Bengal and was rescued by the Border Security Force (BSF)
Pakistan awarded Bill Gates, billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, one of its top civilian honors in recognition of his service in the field of poverty alleviation and diseases like polio and tuberculosis control
Battling negative perceptions about its security role in Kashmir and its alleged involvement in human rights violations, the Indian Army has embarked on a series of measures that are earning the force the goodwill of the local population
Liton Bhumij, a 25-year-old Bangladeshi man, accidentally entered India in 2017. At the time little did he know that he would next meet his family four years later.
A Pakistani man, who was serving a life sentence for killing his sister Qandeel Baloch, a social media celebrity, in 2016, was acquitted of murder by the Lahore High Court
In an act of mass expiation, dozens of activists organized an event on Monday in Bangladesh, offering a mass apology to the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, for deforestation and other damages, in an attempt to raise awareness about the wanton destruction of the environment
