Award-winning films, international magazines, literary works and research journals — all available at a click or a tap.
British Council has launched an online digital library service that can be accessed at an yearly membership fee of Rs 999. All one has to do is register and pay at www.library.britishcouncil.org.in to access a vast collection of e-books, journals and films. 

“One can download and use the library material for research, as long as the copyright allows it. The collection compares to the best of all libraries and is accessible from all corners of the nation. No wonder it has got such a huge response right from the day it was launched in January-end,” said Indrani Bhattacharya, the head librarian at British Council. The introductory fee is valid till March. 

An online member can enjoy unlimited access to an archive of award-winning movies, short feature films and documentaries from all over the world, international digital magazines, 90,000 full-text downloadable books for academic and research purposes, 7,000 e-journals on subjects such as engineering, IT, medical and social sciences and a library of over 3,50,000 works of English and American literature, including poetry, drama and prose.
Regular members of British Council can also enjoy online access at no extra charges.

Prolific at 91

K.G. Subramanyan, who turned 91 recently, was present at The Harrington Street Arts Centre, surrounded by sundry admirers, on Monday evening. The Seagull Foundation for the Arts had organised a huge exhibition of his works painted over the past one year to celebrate his birthday. It has already been seen at Baroda and Santiniketan. 
Subramanyan’s output is prodigious and he casually uttered the words: “I paint to keep myself awake.” So he paints for three hours early in the morning, and three hours more in the afternoon. 

The artist is happy that he has moved to Baroda, and he is gifting his house in Santiniketan to Kala Bhavana with which he has been associated for decades, first as a student and then as teacher. He says he does not “feel energetic enough to come to Santiniketan” and it is no longer an attractive enough place. So he is negotiating with Visva-Bharati to turn his house into the Benode Behari Mukherjee Art Archive & Research Centre. The vice-chancellor has already visited the house and has agreed to the proposal. It will be handed over in about six months’ time in August during Rabindra Week.    

Spring in the air

Spring is here, and even in our brick and concrete city with few trees to speak of, we can feel it in the air if we are perceptive enough. To begin with, one can hear the koel singing its head off at all hours of the day and night. Then there are bursts of red at the most unlikely places as the coral trees are in blossom — in front of Currency Building in Dalhousie Square and Metropolitan Building in Chowringhee and not to speak of the Maidan. Within a few days their showy red flowers start drying up and they begin to fall off branches, carpeting the streets and pavements below. Many trees which had bare branches after they had shed their leaves are almost overnight covered with the pods of leaves. Then almost overnight again, they burst into new life, and green leaves like tiny silk pennants flutter all over their skeletal arms. The trees again gain back their canopy of leaves.

Mango trees have survived on many streets and now that they are laden with their yellowish flowers it is a pleasure to behold them. Their presence is betrayed by their scent. The sweet musky scent suddenly tickles your olfactory senses and you wander what its source is. Then you notice the mango tree decked out in flowers like a beautiful bride. These are some of the sensual pleasures the city still affords. You can almost feel the presence of Kalidasa in our city.     

Colours of Benaras

Benaras captured in its myriad moods by a man in love with India and travelling. Hitesh Toolsidass’s photography exhibition at Studio SometimesY was the result of a seven-day soul-searching trip to the city of ghats.
“I am in love with India, its colours and diversity, but Benaras made me heady. I discovered a part of myself in those seven days and decided to capture the heart and soul of the city and its everyday life through my lenses,” said Toolsidass. The result: 25 frames of vibrant life and rituals. From the steps of a ghat to temple rituals, stray dogs to portraits of people the photographer came across, the exhibition captured the heritage of the city rather than its modern face. “I love clicking portraits, but in Benaras, I wanted to capture its essence,” he said. 

Entrepreneurs’ meet

Camellia Institute of Technology, in association with National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), Nasscom and IIM Calcutta, hosted an entrepreneurship week recently. 

The event was inaugurated by Pradip Kumar Chopra, chairman of the PS group. Among those present were N.R. Datta, chairman and managing director of the Camellia Group, Subhrangshu Sanyal, the CEO of Innovation Park at IIM Calcutta, and Asgar Ahmed, the group manager of NEN.

“There were three different themes — leadership, social entrepreneurship and the startup ventures. Students also participated in business quiz and poster exhibition,” said Avijit Das, the director 
of Camellia Institute of Technology.

The students discussed the feasibility of start-up ventures and the need for a business plan. “There is always a risk but then that is necessary to go ahead in life,” Das said.