West Bengal

THE LAST FOSSILS

PR Ramesh

How the Left lost the fight against inequality to the Right

The last General Secretary

Ullekh NP

Why India should be indebted to Prakash Karat

Didi is singing alone this time

Sohini Chattopadhyay

As Mamata Banerjee rides a wave of triumphalism, Sohini Chattopadhyay in West Bengal says all is not as funny as the Trinamool leader’s limericks

Maa, Maati, Megalomania

Rahul Pandita

Mamata Banerjee has pushed West Bengal to a new low

School for All

Anirban Bandopadhyay

Kanailal Saha, who sells snacks to train passengers, is also principal of a primary school

Cosy With Serpents

Nidhi Dugar Kundalia

A village crawling with snakes that are revered by humans

No Money? Have a Bank

Dhirendra K Jha

In the last three years, an unnatural number of bank branches have opened in former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s constituency in West Bengal

Bengal 1, Kerala 0

Dhirendra K Jha

The outcome of Prakash Karat’s casting vote in favour of Pranab Mukherjee

Durga puja pandals have clay figurines of Tagore. As do Saraswati puja ceremonies. Parents buy their kids Tagore dolls. In a state where the Left dismissed him as too elitist, Sumana Roy observes the canonisation of the poet-educationist

The Madness in Her Method

Jay Mazoomdaar

A desperate Bengal ousted the Left, seeking ‘poribarton’. Six months on, Mamata Banerjee is as vocal as she was while lavishing poll promises, yet ‘change’ looks elusive as ever. So, what’s holding back poribarton?