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.
Quad foreign ministers, at the end of their deliberations Friday, visited the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) where Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gifted his Australian counterpart Marise Payne with a cricket bat signed by former India skipper Virat Kohli and then taught cricket to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, both from non-cricket playing countries
India's newly-built over nine km long Atal Tunnel has officially been certified by the World Book of Records, as the 'World's Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet', said the Ministry of Defence
A young trekker, trapped between rocks on a hill in Kerala's Palakkad since Monday, was rescued this morning after a marathon effort by the Indian Army in a difficult and challenging operation
A youth, in his 20s, has been trapped on a hill between rocks in Malampuzha area of Palakkad in Kerala in southern India since Monday with rescuers unable to reach him or provide him with food or water
Last year, KP Sharma Oli, then Prime Minister of Nepal, and his wife had announced taking sponsorship of a one-horned rhino, living in the Central Zoo of Nepal, for a year and promised to pay NPR 1.5 million to cover the feed, care, and medication
The passing away of legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar has triggered an outpouring of grief not just in India, but in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives as well, showing that music has no boundaries and recognises no political divisions
After the Indian Premier League, the Nehru Trophy boat race, one of the famed annual events held in Alappuzha of Kerala, is slated to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year
Bangladesh’s Friendship Hospital, built in a remote part of the southern district of Satkhira, has won the world's best new building award by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for putting “care and humanity” at the heart of its design
Two more wetlands in India were declared as Ramsar sites, taking the total number of protected sites in the country to 49, India's Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Wednesday
The role of women is continuously expanding in a changing India, and women’s commissions should also work to promote and recognise women entrepreneurs
More than 1,000 people gathered at the Juman Park in King Abdullah Economic City as the country’s first yoga festival kicked off on January 29. The event will continue till February 1
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke in his monthly radio address of Indian culture was being spread in far-away Argentina and Latin America by a 90-year-old woman who had studied the Indian scriptures and was introduced to Indian culture when she came to India
“We are keeping our Kabul alive, at least virtually,” Habib Khan, an Afghan journalist, now in exile, tweeted, asking people to join him in a Twitter Space to listen to "live music from Afghan artists, enjoy Afghan poetry and Afghan talks".
The shunning of Pakistan as an international cricketing destination because of security fears is about to end with Australia announcing a tour of Pakistan, possibly in March, with a full-strength squad
Justice Ayesha Malik on Monday took oath as a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, becoming the first female judge in the country’s judicial history to reach the top court
