• English - Travel

    The Homecoming

    September 29, 2025 - By 

    Arvind Sen Part 1 – Boarding from the West October in New York is always sharper than one expects. The cold doesn’t announce itself in long winter winds but slips in with small betrayals—the sting in the air when you step out of the subway, the sudden bitterness of coffee that seemed warm enough just yesterday, the leaves crackling underfoot before their time. On the morning of my departure, I stood by my apartment window in Queens, suitcase zipped and waiting like an obedient child, and watched the early commuters hurry past in coats and scarves. Their world was turning…

  • English - Romance

    Durga Lights

    September 29, 2025 - By 

    Rhea Mukherjee Part 1 – Shashthi: The First Glimpse The city had begun to wear its annual costume, and Anirban felt as though he had walked into a memory painted brighter than life itself. College Street was strung with banners, fairy lights hung like constellations caught in the wires, and the air smelled of shiuli blossoms crushed underfoot, mixing with the sharp scent of incense and fried snacks. He hadn’t been here for Durga Puja in three years, not since he had taken that job in Bangalore and left behind everything familiar—his friends, his family, and Ishita. The cab he…

  • Bangla - রহস্য গল্প

    অষ্টমীর রাতের ছায়া

    September 19, 2025 - By 

    অরিত্র চক্রবর্তী পর্ব ১: আলোর ভেতরে অন্ধকার শহরের উত্তর কলকাতার সেই বনেদি বাড়িটা আসলে আজও এক ঐতিহাসিক চিহ্নের মতো দাঁড়িয়ে আছে। উনিশ শতকের গোড়ার দিকে জমিদারি টাকায় যে প্রাসাদ গড়ে উঠেছিল, তার সিংহদ্বার দিয়ে এখনো ঢুকলেই মনে হয় সময় যেন থমকে গেছে। বিশাল লোহার ফটক, ওপরে শ্বেতপাথরের মূর্তি, আর ভেতরে ঢুকলেই বিস্তৃত অঙ্গন—সব মিলিয়ে দুর্গাপুজোর সময়টা হয়ে ওঠে যেন এক স্বতন্ত্র জগৎ। চারদিক আলোয় ভেসে যায়, প্যান্ডেল সাজে গয়নার মতো, কিন্তু তার মাঝেই যেন লুকিয়ে থাকে অদ্ভুত এক ছায়া। অর্ক প্রথম দিনেই বাড়িটায় পা রাখল। পেশায় সে সাংবাদিক, কিন্তু আসলে উৎসবের পাগল। ছোটবেলা থেকেই দুর্গাপুজো নিয়ে তার এক অন্যরকম নেশা।…

  • English - Romance

    The City of Lights and Drums

    September 19, 2025 - By 

    Ria Mukherjee Episode 1: The First Beat of the Dhaak The city was already stirring with the rhythm of autumn. By late September, Kolkata had begun to smell different—air thick with the sweetness of shiuli blossoms, streets filling with bamboo scaffolds, and paints drying on vast clay structures that would soon transform into gods and goddesses. For Anirban, this season had always meant a sense of homecoming, even though he had never really left the city. Every lane seemed alive with anticipation, and every face carried a hint of secret joy. Durga Puja was not just a festival; it was…

  • English - Suspense

    The Missing Idol

    September 18, 2025 - By 

    Debayan Roy Part 1 – The Festival Begins The Chatterjee bari stood like an aging sentinel in the heart of north Kolkata, its moss-streaked pillars and wrought-iron balconies bearing the weight of two centuries. On any other day, it was a decaying mansion where pigeons nested in broken cornices and the smell of damp walls clung to the air like an old cough. But now, in the first week of autumn, the house seemed to breathe again. Lights hung from balconies, drums beat in the courtyard, and relatives filled the old rooms with chatter and anticipation. Durga Puja had arrived.…

  • English - Romance

    Letters Across the Sky

    September 1, 2025 - By 

    Maya Dutta Episode 1 – The Missed Train The evening air of Kolkata carried the smell of coal-dust and roasted peanuts, that particular mixture that only Howrah Station seemed capable of holding together. The great iron ribs of the terminal arched above rows of restless passengers, each waiting for their escape or return. Ananya clutched the strap of her canvas bag tighter and quickened her pace, weaving between porters balancing luggage on their heads and families herding sleepy children. The announcement blared across the platform—her train had begun moving. By the time she reached the edge, breathless, the coaches were…

  • English - Romance

    The Howrah Bridge Promise

    September 1, 2025 - By 

    Anwesha Roy Chapter 1 – When the Lights Went Out The night air of Kolkata was heavy with humidity, a restless monsoon evening when the clouds hung low over the city and the streets carried the smell of wet tram tracks, diesel, and frying telebhaja from small roadside stalls. Riddhi walked briskly, her umbrella folded and damp at her side, a canvas tote bag stuffed with manuscripts brushing her hip at each step. She had spent the entire afternoon at College Street, haggling with secondhand sellers for rare copies of novels long out of print, and then at her publishing…

  • English - Travel

    Clay Lamps of Joy

    August 27, 2025 - By 

     Part 1 – The Departure The train screeched out of Howrah station, its wheels clattering like a restless animal tugging at chains. Rhea pressed her forehead to the cool window glass and watched the sprawling iron bridge dissolve into a maze of warehouses, smoke, and rust-colored walls. Behind her, the compartments were thick with the smell of fried luchis, boiled eggs, thermos-tea, and the constant drone of people talking, bargaining, gossiping as if no one on the train was a stranger. She hugged her sling bag tight, inside which her camera and notebook waited. A photo-essay project, her professors had…

  • Crime - English - Suspense

    The Clay Idol Murders

    July 22, 2025 - By 

    Debasish Guha Chapter 1: The Cracked Clay The scent of wet earth and incense filled the narrow lanes of Kumartuli as the morning sun filtered through bamboo scaffolding and half-finished goddesses. It was five days before Mahalaya, and the air in Kolkata shimmered with anticipation. The idol-makers worked tirelessly, smearing layers of straw and clay onto skeletal bamboo frames, coaxing divine forms into being. But something had gone terribly wrong at Workshop No. 14. Apprentice boys stood frozen outside, whispering in hushed tones as their trembling eyes stayed locked on the massive figure of a half-finished Durga. The goddess’s eyes,…