West Bengal

October 03, 2014

The Durga festival is one of the biggest celebrations in the state of Bengal in India. For five days, people worship the goddess of strength and courage who slayed a demon who was going around killing everybody. It's equivalent to Christmas for us Bengalis.

Media

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

September 24, 2014

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.

Why the vast majority of middle-class Indians didn't protest after the latest gang rape and murder

June 06, 2014

Delhi-based reporter Rhitu Chatterjee says that protests after two teenagers were gang raped and murdered last week are nowhere near the scale of the movement in 2012, and the lack of public outrage is because of the victim's caste.

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

February 05, 2014

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?

Trafficking of young girls in India a growing problem amid gender imbalance

January 10, 2013

India has a growing problem with trafficking of young women. Oftentimes, though, these women aren't sold into prostitution, per se, but rather into forced marriages. It's a problem exacerbated by a culture that has allowed female fetuses to be aborted, leading to many more men than women.

The Trafficking of Girls in India

January 09, 2013

Every year tens of thousands of girls in India are sold into a life of violence and abuse. Many are sold to be brides. That has a lot to do with gender imbalances and the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses in northern India.

India Protects Its Most Valuable Tea

December 18, 2012

We're looking for the name of a town in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. This town in the foothills of the Himalayas gives its name to one of the world's most popular tea varieties.

India Protects Its Most Valuable Tea

December 18, 2012

We're looking for the name of a town in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. This town in the foothills of the Himalayas gives its name to one of the world's most popular tea varieties.

The Trafficking of Girls in India

January 09, 2013

Trafficking of young girls in India a growing problem amid gender imbalance

January 10, 2013

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

February 05, 2014

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?