12-year-old girl to appear in Class 10 Bengal board exam
Kolkata, Oct 27: The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has allowed a 12-year-old girl -- who never enrolled in school, and instead, studied at home -- to sit for the Madhyamik Examination 2019 as an external candidate.
WBBSE president Kalyanmoy Ganguly said Saifa Khatun qualified the eligibility test conducted by the WBBSE for external candidates in August, and her case was "unprecedented" in the history of Madhyamik Examination (Class 10 board examination) in the past two decades.
The minimum age to appear in the examination is 14, Ganguly said.
Khatun, who hails from Howrah district, secured 52 per cent marks in the eligibility test, results of which were announced on October 11.
Another board official said the girl's father Mohammed Ainul had moved the WBBSE to allow her to sit for the Madhyamik Examination 2019.
The last such instance of an external candidate appearing in the board examination before the minimum age was in the early 90s, the official said.
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LPG supply disruption forces Kolkata's century-old Jewish bakery Nahoum's to shutter down briefly
Kolkata (PTI): In the heart of Kolkata stands Nahoum and Sons, which has withstood several headwinds, serving its customers with cakes and savouries for more than 120 years.
But the current West Asia crisis that disrupted energy supplies with the chocking of the Strait of Hormuz has dealt a body blow to the city's only Jewish bakery, forcing it to shutter its operations for five days.
A notice pasted outside the shop stated that the bakery would remain closed from March 18 to March 22 due to "unavoidable circumstances".
However, an official at the outlet in the New Market area told PTI on Thursday that the bakery had been struggling to cope with disruptions in cooking gas shortage for some time.
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"We were continuing operation despite limited commercial LPG cylinder supply, but production had to be scaled down significantly. Eventually, it became unfeasible to operate under such constraints, and a temporary shutdown was the only option," said Jagadish Haldar.
"We will open on March 23 and hope to resume full-fledged operation as early as we can," he said.
Maintaining its longstanding traditions, the bakery remains closed on Saturdays in observance of Jewish customs.
Barring the Covid-induced lockdown a few years ago, the temporary shuttering order, however, is unprecedented in recent memory. The bakery had earlier closed briefly in 2013, following the death of its owner, David Nahoum.
Regarded as a heritage landmark in Kolkata, the century-old confectionery continues to hold its place as a prominent destination for those seeking classic baked delicacies, even as it adapts to changing circumstances.
The menu had long been associated with a mix of traditional Jewish and Kolkata-style baked goods and continues to draw crowds for its signature offerings such as plum cakes, lemon tarts, brownies, almond kisses and fish pantras.
