Sandip Roy's Dispatches from Kolkata

Language is a loaded thing around the world these days. In the USA Spanish as a language has become a hot button political issue in some parts. But no one has it as bad as India.

When Sandip came to America on his student visa his biggest concern was weather or not to bring a pressure cooker. Today the concern is a bit more than that.

In a world preoccupied with exerting our rights over a patch of land, Sandip remembers he once I had a patch of sky as well and a clothesline strung across it where his stories could hang out to dry.

Trump's tariff war has left a very sweet and sought after casualty on the docks. Mangos.

As Indians celebrate the 140th birth anniversary of Satyajit Ray another story is coming to light. How a humble business man became his most ardent fan and producer.

In a world where we communicate more than ever across time zones and borders Sandip Roy considers the value of a handwritten letter.

We have become a country of food pop-ups and one where everyone's food sticks in someone else's craw. As the political row over the Chittaranjan Park fish market shows when someone is ready to fish in troubled waters even a red herring will do.

Happy New Year! April 15th was the Bengali New Year, but the LAST day of the year means the Charak Mela!

A group trying to save Kolkatas historic trams makes a case that the old streetcars actually benefit the mangroves of the Sundarbans.

Freedom fries, the Gulf of America and Cafe Canadiano. Sandip Roy explains.

A new approach at the Indian Museum in Kolkata is blending up some interesting pairings. Sandip Roy goes for a visit.

Social media was meant to bear witness to our daily lives. Now it might well become a witness for the prosecution.Sandip Roy explains.

We all love chocolate. And Sandip used to bring home little samples of the confection to share with his family and friends in India. But perhaps he didn't need to travel so far.

March 3rd was World Wildlife Day and Sandip remembers his very first literary autograph, from Gerald Durrell.

A lot of people think of Indians as the “model minority.” Hard working, paying taxes and fitting in. But Trump's focus on Indian immigrants has added another layer to their ‘American' story.

The Cadbury company wants to kill Valentine's Day, and they have released a powerful foe to do it. The Indian Uncle. Of which group Sandip Roy belongs to.

This year marks the 48th Kolkata Book Fair, a fair Sandip Roy has been going to his whole life. This year he ruminates on what makes this particular festival so special.

This week Sandip celebrates a deity that has always been a bit more personal, but also worries about how the modern world is remaking her influence.

An Indian CEO has caused a furor over dismissive statements concerning work hours. Sandip Roy considers the implications of a seven day work week.

The character of “Durga” has haunted film audiences the world over. The actress who portrayed her had something of a tragic life herself. Sandip remembers Uma, as she now, like her character Durga, has died.

At the beginning of what will inevitably be a year filled with conflict and stiff, it's a memorial service from the close of last year that reminds us how alike we all are.

Sandip Roy contrasts the Christmases of his childhood with the current revelry taking place in Kolkata.

“Music can't work miracles” Zakir Hussain once said, but he certainly was a miraculous musician and collaborator. Zakir Hussain passed away in San Francisco on Dec. 15th, 2024.

‘Ol Chiki' is a thousands year old language in Bengal, but has only been written down since 1925. Sandip Roy travels to an art biennial to find out more.

Salman Rushdie's book Satanic Verses could, perhaps, FiNALLY be available in India. But with so many verses under the bridge will it matter?

Due to illness Sandip is forced to consider the world in his own backyard.

When we go on vacation we visit the sights, try the local cuisine, and buy a few souvenirs. But on a trip to Dhenkanal in the eastern Indian state of Odisha recently Sandip Roy saw the hands that make the craft. His friend Milena led them into the home of a weaver.

The 2024 Presidential Election has marked an irreversible cultural change in the U.S. Sandip Roy sees the connection in an unlikely symbol, the Postage Stamp.

Royal past meets the tourist future at India's Palace Hotels. Sandip had a nostalgic visit to Dhenkanal in the Eastern state of Odisha.

Durga Puja, Kolkata's biggest festival comes face to face with the biggest protests the city has seen in recent years.

In a city chaotic with light and noise, the Goddess has come home and is calling out to us. Now if we could just cut through the static and be on the same wavelength.

Mahatma Gandhi is revered as the Father of the Nation in India. But how was he as Father of his own family? His grandson Gopal talks about the legacy of the Mahatma with Sandip.

This summer I went to Istanbul looking for melancholy. Or as they call it there hüzün.

Food is the way we often break down barriers between people AND food is also the way we “other” the other, as the recent presidential debate shows.

Durga Puja is a season of homecoming, but this year artists turned protesters in Kolkata cannot shake off the image of the Durga who did not get to go home.

We are trained from the beginning on how to win but no one teaches us how to lose even though life often comes with more losses than wins. To lose with grace is also the mark of true champions.

Sandip Roy attends a raucous protest about the recent rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College that brought out thousands of women who are tired of excuses.

As India celebrates it's 77th Independence Day people are telling the stories of the freedom fighters who didn't make the history books.

What used to be a wondrous event every year in India, has this year taken on a darker hue. Sandip Roy looks to the skies and considers this seasons monsoons.

The US presidential election is playing out in India as a big fight between the two southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

In an age where everyone can be a social media influencer, the recent attempt on former President Trump's life shows that experience still matters.

A five-month countdown to India's most expensive wedding ever ended last week with the big bash that saw celebrities from all over the world descend on Mumbai. Sandip did not have an invite but sends us a postcard nonetheless.