kolkata

tram in Kolkata with dancers

India's tramway turned 150. But it’s on its last legs.

​​​​​​​Kolkata's 150-year-old tram system is limping along. It's down to just two lines and there is little political will, or room in the city's crowded streets, to bring the streetcars back to their former glory days. The tram does have a small but loyal band of supporters who want to keep it alive.

India's tramway turned 150. But it’s on its last legs.
Kolkata's artists had to burn the midnight oil to get their Durga pujas ready early for the special art preview for visiting dignitaries. 

Art and religion remix at this goddess festival in Kolkata

Art and religion remix at this goddess festival in Kolkata
A protester walks past the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

'The death of American exceptionalism’: Views from abroad on US Capitol attack 

'The death of American exceptionalism’: Views from abroad on US Capitol attack 
A group of children from the Shaktimaan group pose together in a slum in Kolkata, India, convincing child dropouts to go back to school.

Child 'superheroes' free children from child labor and marriage

Child 'superheroes' free children from child labor and marriage
Mother Teresa statue in Kolkata

Songs and celebrations in Kolkata for Mother Teresa's sainthood

Songs and celebrations in Kolkata for Mother Teresa's sainthood
An artist applies the finishing touches on an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga in preparation for a yearly festival for Bengali Hindus.

For Bengali Hindus, radio is an unchanging part of a religious tradition

Reporter Rhitu Chatterjee woke up yesterday in New Delhi to the sound of something she hasn’t heard in years — a radio broadcast heralding the start of the Hindu religious festival of Mahalaya. It turns out the program has been the exact same recording for decades, uniting generations of Bengalis.

For Bengali Hindus, radio is an unchanging part of a religious tradition

An American teacher in India enjoys the traditions of a Bengali wedding

In which city in West Bengal, India, would you find a traditional wedding ceremony where a bride covers her face with a betel leaf and where guests blow on a conch shell to celebrate the couple?

An American teacher in India enjoys the traditions of a Bengali wedding
Taxis, buses and other cars stuck in the honking traffic in Kolkata, India

Bicyclists in crowded Indian city fight to take back the streets

Can you name an Indian city where authorities recently banned bicycles, along with hand carts and other non-motorized vehicles, from key roads and streets during the day.

Bicyclists in crowded Indian city fight to take back the streets

Kids Improve Lives in Kolkata Slums

A community organization that aims to improve living conditions in the slums of Kolkata, India, takes an unusual approach. It relies on local children to hold elders and political leaders accountable.

Kids Improve Lives in Kolkata Slums
The World

Eleven Years Later, Osama Bin Laden's Evolving Image

Eleven years after the attacks of 9/11, PBS Frontline reporter Arun Rath looks at the evolving image of Bin Laden in parts of South Asia and the Middle East.

Eleven Years Later, Osama Bin Laden's Evolving Image
The World

Global Sex Workers Meet to Fight HIV

Anchor Aaron Schachter speaks with the BBC's Rahul Tandon in Calcutta about a meeting of sex workers there.

Global Sex Workers Meet to Fight HIV

BBC project saves endangered sounds

Save Our Sounds, a new BBC project, features an online map of sound clips uploaded by people all over the world.

BBC project saves endangered sounds