Cuckoo News

Tongues of Our Mothers “Ancestor” by Indian-American artist Bharti Kher. Central Park South, Manhattan. Photo by Koli Mitra. Today is Bishwa Matri Bhasha Dibosh, International Mother Language Day. For Bengali…

Minimalism: The Simple Life… or Renunciation Chic? A lifestyle trend that was much in vogue in the 2010s (before the pandemic era scarcity panic turned us all into preppers and packrats) was “minimalism”—the art of living with less—and it seems to …

Reflections How do beings communicate with the world? First and foremost through reflection. Reflection is the broadcasting and perceiving of the idea that one thing has, in some way, registered another. Here …

Old Years’ Eve The “New Year” thing is so old, isn’t it? Starting from the banal (resolutions to do what you wanted to do last year) to the quietly sublime (not being able to help contemplating the drowsy but ine…

Christmas Caravan Pro Palestine Caravan, FDR Drive, New York City. Christmas Eve 2023. Photo by Koli Mitra. I was out for a walk with my partner yesterday evening. It was unseasonably balmy for Christmas Eve. I had …

Whom to Elect, and Why? It’s pretty much axiomatic in any democratic society that voting is important, maybe even a civic duty. But how often do people look deeply—or at all—into their own mental process behind their choi…

Yellowstone, Part 4: North American Serengeti [continued from Yellowstone…] Cradled in the highlands of Roosevelt Country, lies Lamar Valley, nicknamed “Serengeti of Yellowstone” or “North American Serengeti” for its striking and diverse wildl…

Is America Full? Migrant Crisis Protests in NYC August 27, 2023. A massive protest took place outside of Gracie Mansion, the residence of the mayor of New York City, over the city’s plans to house a large influx of asylum seekers. Cuckoo News wa…

Editor’s Choice: https://cuckoo-news.com/2022/06/29/yellowstone-part-iii-forests-lakes-and-atm-machines/

Yellowstone, Part 3: Forests, Lakes, ATM Machines [continued from Yellowstone…] We reached Yellowstone National Park through the East Entrance and got our park passes and a map. Our hotel would be another hour’s drive through the Absaroka mo…

https://cuckoo-news.com/2021/12/20/the-living-legend-live/

The Living Legend Live In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival of a musical genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. That Time: Between Night and Daybreak. Photo: Koli …

https://cuckoo-news.com/2021/12/17/75-years-and-still-on-the-road-to-freedom/

75 Years and Still on the Road to Freedom On August 15, 2022, India will mark its 75th year of freedom after overthrowing a foreign colonial power. On November 26, 2021, India marked the 72nd year since the adoption of its Constitution, wh…

https://cuckoo-news.com/2021/09/26/moments-in-the-mountains/

Moments in the Mountains An entrepreneur with a deep and lasting love for the Himalayan hills, Mark Butterworth has made Himachal Pradesh his home. Living in a secluded farm, he hikes to remote regions high in the sky, fro…

Editor's Pick:
https://cuckoo-news.com/2021/10/04/yellowstone-part-i-flying-with-angels/

Yellowstone, Part I: Flying With Angels When we started Cuckoo News a couple of years ago, I had hoped to do lots of travel pieces. That was before the whole pandemic/lockdown thing, of course. Although most of the world is open(ish) for…

https://cuckoo-news.com/2021/08/09/for-love-or-lucre/

For Love or Lucre? What drives youth when choosing careers? Love of the profession or just lucre? Parental pressure or pure passion? Dilemmas always existed. But the Covid-19 pandemic which has wreaked havoc on lives…

https://cuckoo-news.com/2019/08/01/trial-fiction-piece/?fbclid=IwAR2aSycKRLPZH2uk1cTqJYbVdQbLAKV263i4bSK2pVKVcM9C6J1whB0NCQI

Haunted, Part 1 Written by Lekha Dey Photo by Lekha Dey. I live alone. In the two-story house under the moonlight. Silver beams, like liquid dreams, flood the balcony, bathe the window sills and wash the bed sprea…

https://cuckoo-news.com/2020/12/30/the-mind-behind-the-mask/

The Mind behind the Mask Stills from the documentary. Photo courtesy of Malay Dasgupta. The glassy waters of a gurgling brook reflect the changing colours of the day like a mirror.  Gray-blue in the cool morning air. …

Every Song Has Its Day In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the creation of a music genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. August 27, 2018. Exactly two years ago today. Kabir …

Voting Women, 100 A hundred years ago today, American women finally got a Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. Women Marching for Voting rights. Public domain photo.…

Brave New City Like most people, New Yorkers don’t go out very much anymore. We do it more than we did back in April or May, but still… it’s not the same city. You know, the “city that never sleeps” or the …

Khudiram’s Last Smile On August 15, India’s Independence Day, I was thinking about how long and laborious a march it had been to get to that day in 1947. A march on a path beaten by countless martyrs who didn’t live to …

Cuckoo-News organized by Koli Mitra My sister Dola and I started the C… Koli Mitra needs your support for Cuckoo-News

5Pointz: The Legacy of Ephemeral Art [Editor’s note: earlier this spring, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided an important case legally protecting works of art, even ephemeral ones. The issue is aga…

Bengal CM’s critics “would have gained more voter confidence” by supporting her, says O.P. Mishra In an interview to Cuckoo News editor Dola Mitra, Professor Om Prakash Mishra, core committee member,  Trinamool Congress, addresses charges that West Bengal bungled handling of the Covid-19 c…

Ongoing Challenges of China-India Relations By Brigadier Vinod Dutta The foreign policy of the Chinese is like their noodles: sticky, entangled and flavorful. We in India love the noodles, but the foreign policy can get sticky and entangled …

Luminous in Lockdown “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” as the saying goes. So how do the tough professionals men and women, accustomed to spending most of their time wheeling and dealing and …

India’s friendly gestures to neighbors “not reciprocated,” says BJP’s Chandra Kumar Bose Visit the post for more.

Rain Ragas in the Vernacular Visit the post for more.

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Cuckoo News chirpings on a wacky world

Do Not Enter, Dragon! By Brigadier Vinod Dutta In the past few days, following the Indo-China face-off in the Galwan River Valley, several TV channels approached me for my views on these developments as I have served in…