চন্দননগরের রেজিস্ট্রি বাড়ি এবং চন্দননগর ফেস্টিভ্যাল (২০২৬)

এই বছর সেপ্টেম্বরের ১১ থেকে ১৩ তারিখ চন্দননগরে হয়ে গেল এক অভিনব উৎসব - দ্য চন্দননগর ফেস্টিভ্যাল। এই উৎসবের মূল বিষয়বস্তু ছিল ষ্ট্র্যাণ্ড রোডের ঊনবিংশ শতাব্দীর ঐতিহাসিক ‘রেজিস্ট্রি ভবন’-এর সংস্কার এবং উৎসবের প্রথম দিন ১১ই সেপ্টেম্বরের সন্ধ্যাটির নামকরণ করা হয় ‘দ্য রেজিস্ট্রি’ (The Registry) । 

ফরাসি আমলের একসময়ের জমকালো রেজিস্ট্রি অফিসটি এখন জরাজীর্ণ অবস্থায় পড়ে আছে। এর ভাঙা জানালা ও বেরিয়ে থাকা লাল ইটের দেয়ালগুলো বটগাছের ঘন ঝুরি ও শিকড়ে এতটাই ভরে গেছে যে মনে হয় পুরো কাঠামোটিই যেন বটগাছগুলোর ওপর ভর করে দাঁড়িয়ে আছে।

Registry Building, Chandannagar (2022)

চন্দননগরঃ হরিহর শেঠ

দেশশ্রী হরিহর শেঠ

হুগলী নদীর ধারে একসময় ছিল লিটল ইউরোপ আর সেই ইউরোপের ফ্রান্স ছিল চন্দননগর। মানে বুঝতেই পারছেন যে চন্দননগরে ফরাসীদের উপনিবেশ ছিল। আর কাছাকাছি শ্রীরামপুরে ড্যানিশরা, চুঁচুড়াতে ডাচেরা, ব্যাণ্ডেলে পর্তুগীজরা এবং হুগলীর উল্টো পাড়ে বারাকপুরে ইংরেজরা ঘাঁটি গেড়েছিল। আজ চন্দননগর বললেই সবার মাথায় ঘোরে জগদ্ধাত্রী পুজো আর তার আলোকসজ্জা (যাকে চলতি কথায় বলে লাইটিং), সূর্যকুমার মোদকের জলভরা আর নদীর ধারে স্ট্রাণ্ড। আজকের গল্প সেই চন্দননগর নিয়ে যখন এখানে ফরাসীদের উপনিবেশ এবং ১৯০০-শতকে এই শহরের উন্নতির পিছনে থাকা একজন মানুষকে নিয়ে। আজকের দিনে দাঁড়িয়ে ক'জন-ই বা মনে রেখেছেন হরিহর শেঠকে? সত্যি কথা বলতে চন্দননগর নিয়ে পড়াশুনা না করলে এঁনাকে আমি চিনতাম না।  

শ্রীরামপুর থেকে ডেন বা ড্যানিশরা চলে যায় ১৮৪৫-এ, তখন কলকাতার খ্যাতি গগনচুম্বী। ব্রিটিশরা সেভাবে আর এই পুরনো শহরের দিকে নজর দেয়নি। কিন্তু শ্রীরামপুরের বিখ্যাত গোস্বামী পরিবারের পরের পর প্রজন্মের এক-একটি মানুষ শহরের উন্নতিকল্পে দান করে গেছেন অকাতরে। গোস্বামীদের নাম সেই অর্থে আজকের প্রজন্ম মনে না রাখলেও শ্রীরামপুরের তথাকথিত রাজবাড়ি তো আসলে গোস্বামীদের-ই বাড়ি। সেই দিক থেকে দেখলে চন্দননগরের নব-রূপকার বা প্রাণপুরুষ হরিহর শেঠ (জন্ম: ১৪ ডিসেম্বর, ১৮৭৮ — মৃত্যু: ১০ মার্চ, ১৯৭২)-কে কিন্তু অনেকেই চেনেন না। 

NavIC - the Indian GPS Goes Limited, Needs New Satellites Soon

NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) or IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) has got a major setback, as it's services have became limited. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh said only three satellites in the NavIC constellation are presently capable of providing Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services. 

To provide basic positioning service, a minimum of 4 operational satellites are required in orbit. Hence, the NavIC constellation with 3 active satellites cannot provide standalone positioning service; however, timing service is functional. 

However Indian government said users are not facing operational vulnerabilities because NavIC is now used alongside other global satellite navigation systems in a multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) environment as receivers to combine signals from GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and NavIC for navigation. 

Chandannagar Heritage Trails: Nritya Gopal Smiti Mandir & Chandannagar Library

On the G.T. Road, Bagbazar (বাগবাজার)  of Chandannagar (yes like Kolkata, French colony Chandannagar also has a Bagbazar), just opposite to HP Petrol Pump there is a beautiful palace - now the once-white domes have became blackish with the time but you can't miss it. And if you observe it closely, you would find the name of the building - 'Nitya Gopal Smriti Mandir O Chandannagar Pustakagar' (নৃত্যগোপাল স্মৃতি মন্দির ও চন্দননগর পুস্তকাগার) is inscribed on the top of the building. Many locals call it as 'Old Library'. 

Chandannagore Heritage Trails: Chandannagar Rani Ghat

Today if I shout about Chandannagore (চন্দননগর), everyone would talk about the Jagadhatri Puja (জগদ্ধাত্রী পুজো) and the light decoration, Surya Modak's Jolbhora (সূর্য মোদকের জলভরা) and the Strand. For anytime the city's Strand by the riverside is most loved location in Chandannagore or Chandannagar. 

Well that's not all of Chandannagar - during the British Raj, it was a French Colony till 1st October, 1950 and therefore became the natural sanctuary of many of the Indian revolutionists, most famous is definitely Rishi Aurobindo. Earlier locals call the town as Forashdanga (ফরাসডাঙ্গা) - the land of the French. That's similar to old Danish colony Serampore's old local name - Dinemardanga (দিনেমারডাঙ্গা) - 'দিনেমার' the word was originated from 'Danskere'.

The Strand, the main attraction of the city today, is basically almost 2 km long riverside road. It will remind Pondicherry's promenade for sure. And most prominent colonial buildings are here. 

Airtel Unlimited 5G Prepaid Plans (June 2026)

New Delhi-HQed Bharti Airtel is the second largest mobile operator in India after Reliance Jio. Though it was originated from India, it had achieved its global status with over 650 million customers in 15 countries across Asia and Africa. Airtel holds a 37.89% market share of the wireless subscriber base in India, while top telco Jio holds 39.27% market share and remaining Vi (15.56%) and BSNL (7.28%) stand distant. 

Hyderabad Cuisine - A Complete Guide

Foods in Hyderabad (Image Credit: Gemini)

Hyderabad, the capital city of Telengana, a state in South India, is also a paradise for food lovers. It was the capital of Andra Pradesh since India's independence, and remains so till 2014 when the state of Andhra Pradesh was divided into Telengana and Andhra. Till 2024 Hyderabad remains the capital of both states, and later Andhra got its own capital - Amaravati. 

This story is all about the food of Hyderabad. At present Hyderabad has became of hub of IT indutries, but Hyderabadi cuisine is a major part of its culture. In fact Hyderabad was the first Indian city listed as a creative city of gastronomy by UNESCO in 2019. In 2025 Lucknow got the recognition as second Indian city. 

vivo x200T - Experience

I bought vivo x200T in May 2026. It is the first phone I bought from Oppo/vivo/realme/iQoo branding. The reason is simple - the camera! OnePlus is lost after its merger with Oppo, and Xiaomi is somehow messed up. Vivo did two things smart - first they introduced OriginOS and second they are serious with smartphone cameras. 

Airtel Launched Priority Postpaid - India's First Network Slicing AI Network

Airtel Priority Postpaid

Globally it is believed that odds of 'G' are not successful commercially, as 1G, 3G and now 5G - as investment did not give much pleasure to the revenue book. However as 6G is not coming til 2028-2030, I guess operators are looking ways to make money out of 5G. 

Earlier I explained how Jio leveraging their deployment of 5G-Standalone (5G-SA) technology to launch its Air Fiber services and has become world's largest operator on Fixed Wireless Access (5G-FWA) in July last year. Jio expanded its FWA services with UBR (unlicensed band radio) over 5GHz band. 

Interesting Apps and Websites [2026]

I am trying to list out those apps, for Windows and Android - are really impressive.

❖WINDOWS 

Browser: 

Opera, Vivaldi, Firefox, Edge

Opera was sold to a consortium lead by Chinese companies Kunlun Tech, Golden Brick Silk Road and Qihoo 360 in 2016 (July), while Opera's co-founder Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner launched Vivaldi, as a spiritual successor of Opera. 

Browser (Firefox forks): I prefer Floorp (on Windows). Others: LibreWolf, WaterFox

Photography Kits by the Smartphones - A New Level to Mobile Photography

I can't recall the date, but in 2023 Xiaomi first unveiled the photography kit for its Xiaomi 13 Ultra in China. (Ok now checked it was 18th April, 2023). This original release marked the first time a smartphone manufacturer offered a dedicated, branded eco-system package to transform a phone into a traditional camera body.

That first first-party Photography Kit introduced - Camera inspired Grip with Bluetooth connectivity to the smartphone, 67mm Filter Adapter Ring, Premium Nano-skin Case, Custom metal Lens Cap and Lanyard - and thus laid the groundwork for future photography kit for the smartphones. 

The evolution of Xiaomi’s first-party photography kits shows a clear shift from basic wireless controls to zero-latency, high-power modular systems.

Amazon Prime Plan Details (April 2026)

In India Amazon Prime was offered initially at Rs 999 for shopping & Prime Video. Later it was revised to Rs 1499 for a year (in 2021). In India, Prime Membership includes FREE same-day/1-day delivery on 40 lakh+ products, access to exclusive deals, early access to shopping events, exclusive access to our shopping event Prime Day; and unlimited access to award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Video, unlimited access to 100+ million songs, ad-free with Amazon Music, a free rotating selection of 3,000+ books, magazines and comics with Prime Reading, access to free in-game content and benefits with Prime Gaming.

Reference Sites for Anaesthesiology & Critical Care

There are several online learning hub for Anesthesiologists and Intensivists. Anesthesia as a branch of modern medicine has been expanded a lot - it now covers pain medicine, critical care medicine, perioperative medicine and what not, as most critically ill patients land on ICU. 

The list is not complete. 

This post also contains recommended books for Anesthesiology PG course. 

Jio, OneWeb & Starlink Granted Unified License for GMPCS

In the latest development of India's satcom market, country's Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued Unified License (UL) with authorisation for GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) service for national service area to 3 companies: OneWeb India Communications Private Limited, JIO Satellite Communications Limited, and Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited, as informed by Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in Rajya Sabha on 29th January, 2026. 

DoT is presenting examining application from Amazon Kuiper Services India Private Limited (presently Amazon LEO) while rejected application from Tata-backed Nelco Limited and Hiranandani Group-backed Yotta Network Services Private Limited whereas Connect4sure Technologies Private Limited has withdrawn its application. 

চুঁচুড়ার ঘণ্টাঘাট এবং ঘণ্টা গির্জার গল্প

আগেই বলেছি যে কলকাতা থেকে 25-50 কিলোমিটার দূরত্বে হুগলী নদীর ধার ঘেঁষে গড়ে উঠেছিল একাধিক ইউরোপীয় বাণিজ্যকেন্দ্র তথা উপনিবেশ - বারাকপুরে ব্রিটিশরা, উল্টোদিকে শ্রীরামপুরে ড্যানিশরা, তার উত্তরে চন্দননগরে ফরাসীরা, চুঁচুড়াতে ডাচ বা ওলন্দাজরা, এবং ব্যাণ্ডেলে পর্তুগীজরা। 

আজকের গল্প চুঁচুড়া ফেরিঘাটের একটু উত্তরে ঘণ্টাঘাট নিয়ে। এই ঘাটে কি ঘণ্টা ছিল? কোথায় গেল সেই ঘণ্টা? 

ISRO's 100th Orbital Launch Marks Highest Payload Lift with AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 6

Vodafone UK's satellite partner AST SpaceMobile has sent their BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite into its intended Low Earth Orbit with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s LVM3-M6 rocket on 24th December 2025. BlueBird Block-2 satellites, including BlueBird 6, feature a massive 2,400 square foot (223 m²) communication array, weighing in at 6,100 kilograms, was the heaviest payload that the LVM3 has ever launched into LEO. ISRO's commercial arm, New Space India Ltd (NSIL) facilitated the commercial agreement between ISRO and AST SpaceMobile. 

While ISRO firmly maintains its stand of global satellite launch market with 6th mission of LVM3, it also marks the completion of 100 orbital launches. The LVM3 launch vehicle (Launch Vehicle Mark-3, formerly GSLV MkIII), developed by ISRO, is a three-stage rocket comprising two solid strap-on motors (S200), a liquid core stage (L110) and a cryogenic upper stage (C25). With a lift-off mass of 640 tonnes and a height of 43.5 metres, the vehicle is capable of carrying up to 4,200 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

Why BSNL 4G Has So Much Issues?

From my last post on BSNL's official entry into 4G space, I am continuing here. Making it a brief, BSNL 4G is giving download speed of 20-30Mbps on 10/5MHz x 700/2100MHz band using LTE-FDD in 2025 while Airtel's initial 4G offering on 20MHz x 2300MHz on LTE-TDD was upto 40Mbps downlink. 

So BSNL's using lower bands with less bandwidth those should offer lower downlink speed, that's what I am getting. But BSNL 4G is having coverage issues, why?

Vi 5G Review: Speedtest Results in Kolkata

Vi, the third largest mobile operator of India, has launched 5G, and it is now in Kolkata too, but in a few pockets of the metro. Though it's not present at my home area, it is widely available in Salt Lake. 

To deploy 5G, Vi took a multi-vendor strategy - made deals with Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson for different circles. In Kolkata Nokia is the vendor of Vi 5G. 

BSNL 4G Officially Launched on 27th September 2025 - Discussions

BSNL, the state owned telecom service provider has officially launched its 4G-LTE services in India in an event at Jadsuguda, Orissa as India's prime minister Narendra Modi unveiled Swadeshi 4G network of BSNL on September 27, 2025. In fact, BSNL completed its 25 years of milestone of September 26, 2025. 

BSNL has deployed indigenous 4G stack, made by Tata backed Tejas Networks & TCS and C-DoT. Multiple Indian startups are also part of it. It is aligned with the government's strategy of Atmanirvar Bharat (Self reliant India). 

Jio Deploys 5G-NR Country-wide, Details of UBR based Jio AirFiber

From the very beginning of deployment of cellular technology, India had behaved like any 3rd world country - late deployment, poor services and poor adaption. However since 2015 the perception gradually has been changed, all thanks to Mukesh Ambani backed Reliance Industries' telecom arm - Jio. 

Now Jio has launched 5G-SA and brought 5G-FWA (fixed wireless access) to connect homes with wireless broadband. Initially Airtel with their 5G-NSA could not enter into 5G-FWA market as 5G core is very much essential for roll out 5G-FWA, but they now entered into 5G-FWA market with their limited 5G-SA deployment.