Kolkata is often called the city of ‘bhadralok’, or ‘noble people’ – a city that has been home to educational elites for more than a century. Remarkably, it is also the city that has bred five Nobel laureates. Sir Ronald Ross, an Indian-born British doctor, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1902. While working…
The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards at the international level. The award honours academic, cultural and/or scientific advances. Literature was one of the five categories established according to the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish polymath, in 1895. The other four categories were physics, chemistry, peace and medicine. The first in the world to receive the…
Tagore started painting in 1924, at the age of 63. He was surrounded by exponents of visual arts, and so he always wanted to be a painter. The doodles in his various manuscripts and corrections made in an artistic way bear testimony to his intention and efforts. His first exhibition of paintings in Paris was…
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes in 1887 and the fictional detective became a phenomenon. When Doyle attempted to kill Holmes in 1893 in the story The Final Problem, there was a public outrage. In 1903 Doyle was forced to bring Holmes to life through his story The Adventure of the Empty House.
Oscar Wilde had sent a telegram to his publisher to know how his book was doing in the market. He sent – ‘?’ The publisher replied – ‘!’
