8:00 pm, November 9th, 2012. Hurricane Sandy has just battered the US Eastern Seaboard. New Jersey and its neighboring states are still trying to recover from the massive destruction all around. Several thousand households still without power, and gasoline shortages all around causing long lines at the gas stations.  Amongst all this pandemonium, lights go up on a small theatre stage in Edison New Jersey. A young man, dressed in US Army fatigue, rise up from a corner and says, “Hi! I’m Ron. Captain Ron Mitra. Talking to you from Bagdad Iraq.” The show starts, because the show must go on.

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by Amitava Sen

That was a Sunday afternoon not long after I came to this country; I was traveling to Kansas City on a Sunday to attend a conference in our corporate head quarter with my boss and a few other co-workers.  Although the road to the airport had light traffic, I missed the flight.  I panicked at first, but then realized that no harm had been caused.  The meeting was for Monday morning and I had the whole night to make up for the delay. Those were the days when Pan-Am and TWA were still flying; you could change your flights without paying a penalty or even could transfer your flight to another airline. I rebooked in a flight touching St.Louis, Missouri in between and reached my destination later in the evening. Other than my boss, Stanley Simon no one noticed that I had been missing.  He seemed visibly upset. I offered some kind of excuse and he in turn did not make any attempt to hide his incredulity. Continue reading →

Sankhadeep, Ujjaini and Shiladitya

The first day of Kallol Durga Puja 2012 concluded just couple of hours ago. This is a unique feature of Kallol, to celebrate Durga Puja for three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not too many Bengali clubs of North America can boast of this feature. It is more homely and informal in nature and the crowd is manageable. People walked in leisurely, picked up their passes and parking tickets and strolled into the hall while greeting friends on their way.  Pretty ladies dressed in designer saris busy complementing each other and posing in front of eager camera men,  men in colorful kurtas hanging around with tea and cigarrettes,  and children in cute dresses running around the hall made the festive mood just perfect.   Continue reading →

Ron Postcard

After a gap of more than six years, my play Ron is being staged again in New Jersey. Although this time it is produced by a mainstream American community theater company, Edison Valley Playhouse, a question may naturally arise – why now? The Iraq war, which forms the background of the play, is officially over.  America  still does have a presence in Afganistan, but its size is nowhere comparable to that in Iraq during the peak of the war, and withdrawal from Afganistan is almost imminent. America’s primary enemy, Al-Queda has been all but destroyed. Bin Laden is dead.  Although the possibility of another war is not out of question, the American people are not going through the  same levels of stress as they were during the Iraq war. Under these circumstances, is Ron still relevant?

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Ron: The Play

After a long gap of more than six years,  the internationally acclaimed play “Ron” is coming to NJ Stage once again. This time in English. The play, produced by Edison Valley Playhouse, will make its Tri-State premiere on Nov 9, 2012 and will have limited run till Nov 24th for 7 shows only. Show times are at 8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2:00pm on Sunday Nov 18th. Tickets are $15.00 each ($12 for seniors and students).

The play is written and directed by Sudipta Bhawmik, and produced by Bill Seesselberg.

The cast includes, Amitabh Chowdhury, Sankar Ghoshal, Nupur Lahiri, Apurva Bhalerao, Roni Mazumdar, Subhodev Das and Vidula Mungekar. Continue reading →

New Jersey Independent South Asian CineFest 2012 (NJISACF)

NJISACF 2012 will be held at the Big Cinemas in Edison New Jersey from October 5 to 7, 2012. This year the festival will kick off with Mangesh Hadawale’s film “Dekh Indian Circus” to be presented by the hit film maker Imitiaz Ali. The following two days will show case some of the best of contemporary and classic South Asian cinema including a selection of children’s films. Visit njisacf.org website for details.

Durga Puja is just round the corner and New Jersey Bengali Clubs are gearing themselves up for the great event. The clubs are trying to attract the Bengalis of New Jersey with a wide range of star studded cultural programmes along with domestic shows, not to mention the sumptuous dinner to be served each evening. On line registrations have started and soon they will all be sold out. So act fast to ensure your attendance.

Here is a sneak peek into what to expect at the major Pujos of New Jersey. Continue reading →

BANGAMANCHA 2012

Algos International of Kolkata India presents Bangamancha 2012. Bangamancha’2012 is an effort to bring together a package of entertainment to the NRI Bengalis, in the form of New Bengali Movies (World Premiere ) and  high energy performance by Anupam Roy and Raghab Chattopadhyay.

nynjbengali.com/events/tarpan/