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Nov 18, 2025
Rinita Mazumdar

The Bengal Files: A Feminist and Psychoanalytical Analysis

According to Aristotle, tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and designed to evoke emotions of pity, fear, leading to catharsis of these feelings. The Bengal Files, through its vivid mimicry (imitation) of the events of 1946, evokes the rasas or moods of Bhayanak and Bibhatsay (horror and disgust); when the wave of emotions subsides, one questions: “Is this our future? If so, what next?” A feminist analysis always starts with the personal and slides over to the political, from the oikos or household to the greater polis. People in my extended family fled from what was then East Bengal and then again from East Pakistan in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1971. The stories of my family echoed in the dilapidated house of the elderly Maa Bharati. She lives partly in the present and partly in a world of memories, bruised, hurt, wounded with a thousand years of invasion, genocide, iconoclasts of her most sacred spaces and what remains is a caricature of her ancient civilisation. Those whose blood flows in my veins and who saw their beloved massacred and fled penniless, homeless, overnight, even some butchered on their way to fleeing, were haunted by memories of vultures flying over their waking and dreaming states. They lived in fear that those whom they left behind were severely tortured and butchered, and everything taken away from them. Their personal stories are fragmented yet quilted in the larger civilisation where inhabitants of an ancient land witnessed with horror the cutting off of Maa Bharat’s body into two. Like Madman Chatur, they were muted and silenced. Their speech, like their phallus, is cut off. This is a symptom of loss that they have no phallus, no ownership, no entitlement to claim the right to their own land and their own sacred spaces. Like Maa Bharati (Bharat), they carry memories of their past, of their civilisational past. A beautiful, bubbly Bharati returns in memory, who stands up to fight and who loses everything, witnesses the brutal killings of her parents and her beloved Amarjeet. Amarjeet, one whose jeet or victory is indeed eternal gave up his life many times before to lit the diya that was trampled upon by invaders and colonizers: In Gwalior in 1612 from the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, in Kashmir in 1675 from the wrath of Aurangzeb, and again in 1946 in Calcutta and Noakhali from a brutal pogrom, where the Bhayanak and Bibhatsya inflicted into a permanent wound and stamps it on Maa Bharati’s body. The vultures keep encircling the sky of Maa Bharati, trying to extract as much as they can of her blood and bone. Yet, at the end, one does gain strength when the wave of emotions slowly ebbs. A mimicry, an imitation of the Bhayanak and the Bibhatsya, The Bengal Files in a possibility, it is a reality. The civilisation is slowly realising its inner strength, and the entire blue sky and the shining sun are visible, for the sky is now free of vultures. Maa Bharati regains her strength in her recognition of her lost love, Amarjeet, as a new officer. She carries too many wounds, and yet there are signs of healing. In a civilisation that believes not in a straight linear time, not in a set of Commandments under one Supreme Being and his messenger, in a civilisation where the “secular” is the “sacred” and the “sacred” is the “secular”, where binaries have no place, where multiplicity and sacredness resides in the smallest dust to the mighty stars, and where time cycles back over and over and sees the birth of the Divine, a resurgence in imitation of the Bhayank, the Bibhatsya. The Bengal Files is about Vish poison, Pharmakon, the Amrit, against the holahal (poison, pharmakon) of thousands of years of brutality, a catharsis where the vultures disseminate and their feathers flow and transform into diyas after diyas. At the end of a celebration, the noise, the smell, the cacophony, haunts us for days. At the end of The Bengal Files, the audience is left with that haunting tune of the beautiful young girl, Bharati, our beloved Bharat, singing about that eternal lover, still kept a secret in our hearts, the joyful flute player whispering that the civilisation is healing, a thousand diyas are lit, let us take our ektaras and sing, “Kichudin mone mone, ghorer kone…”

Nov 17, 2025
Udit Shah

Empower Young Minds and Bodies Through Yoga

Background Across continents and cultures, countless individuals have transformed their lives through Yoga. Consider just three examples from entirely different backgrounds: • Nouf Marwaai — Saudi Arabia • Dr. Sara Lazar — United States • Wim Hof — Netherlands What unites these individuals? Each discovered within Yoga a powerful catalyst for healing, growth, and inner transformation. Nouf Marwaai Born a sickly child, Nouf was diagnosed with systemic lupus at age 17 and was told by doctors that there was little hope for recovery. During that difficult period, she found a Yoga book her father had brought home from his travels and began practising a few asanas. Over time, her health improved so remarkably that she completed university with high honours. In interviews, she has shared that after embracing Yoga and Ayurveda, she lived without medication and even overcame cancer. Yoga changed the trajectory of her life so dramatically that she went on to become a highly respected instructor and founded the Arab Yoga Foundation in Saudi Arabia. Nouf played a pivotal role in the legalisation and official recognition of Yoga in Saudi Arabia. Her belief is clear: “Yoga is the need of the hour because it is a costless holistic wellness.” She views Yoga as a tool that liberates individuals from psychological distress, enabling healthier and more harmonious societies. Dr. Sara Lazar While pursuing graduate studies in molecular biology, Dr Lazar suffered an over-training injury while preparing for the Boston Marathon. During her recovery, she turned to Yoga—unexpectedly discovering increased calmness, empathy, and emotional balance. Curious about these changes, she shifted the focus of her career to study Yoga’s scientific impact. Today, Dr. Lazar is an associate researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor in psychology at Harvard Medical School. For over 15 years, she and her team have studied how meditation and Yoga reshape the brain, becoming the first to demonstrate their link to cortical thickening and neuroplasticity. Her research—featured in major outlets—shows that the benefits of Yoga and meditation extend from clinical settings to healthy individuals, especially in the management of chronic pain and stress. Wim Hof Known worldwide as “The Iceman,” Wim Hof is a Dutch extreme athlete and motivational figure recognised for his extraordinary ability to withstand extreme cold. He has set several world records, including swimming under ice, prolonged full-body contact with ice, and running a barefoot half-marathon on snow. He credits these abilities to the Wim Hof Method—a blend of controlled breathing, cold exposure, Yoga, and meditation. For more information, you may watch the video and read here: What Connects These Individuals? Despite vastly different backgrounds, all three discovered within Yoga a set of tools that profoundly transformed their lives—and, in turn, enabled them to positively influence countless others. Their journeys reveal a powerful truth: Yoga contains hidden treasures capable of transforming individuals, societies, and potentially the world. A Global Opportunity: Yoga for All In 2015, the 21st of June every year was declared as an International Yoga Day by the United Nations Organisation in response to the appeal made by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was co-sponsored by 177 countries and the resolution was passed by 193 countries by consensus, without any opposition. Yoga had already been popular and was being practised by a large number of people all over the world. However, since 2015, it has become much more popular and a large number of people around the world have adopted it as part of their routine now. This is one of the most invaluable and ancient gifts of India to the world. And, amazingly, it’s at least 6000 years old. It is truly a philosophy of life, and it means the Union of Body, Mind and Spirit. This word is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj” meaning “to join”, “to yoke” or “to unite”. According to Yogic shastras (scriptures), the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness. And, according to modern researchers, everything in the universe is only a manifestation of the same quantum realm. Today, most people across the world know this word, and the general understanding is that it basically involves various kinds of difficult postures, which is true, but only partially. However, actually, that is just one of the most superficial aspects of this profound science that has an infinite potential for transforming the lives of people as well as our planet. Ashtanga Yoga (Eight Limbs of Yoga) According to one of the schools of Yoga, followed by most today, called Ashtanga Yoga, meaning eight-limb Yoga, compiled by ancient sage Patanjali sometime in 4th century, it involves eight limbs or steps such as Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyaan, Dharana, and Samadhi. Yama involves restraints, Niyama involves observances, asanas are postures, and pranayama involves breathing exercises. Pratyahara means the disassociation of one’s consciousness from the sense organs. Dharana is akin to concentration, Dhyana is contemplation or meditation and Samadhi is integration with the superconscious. The most important aspect of this philosophy is that Yama enjoins practitioners to observe the following: Ahimsa (Non-Violence) Asteya (Non-Stealing) Satya (Truthfulness) Aparigraha (Non-Possession) Brahmacharya (Control over sense organs) Niyama guides the practitioners to observe the following: Sauch (Cleanliness of Body and Mind) Swadhyaya (Self-Study) Santosh (Contentment) Tapas (Penance) Ishwar Pranidhan (Surrender to Divinity) According to Patanjali, Yoga is complete control over one’s personality. Medical research in recent years has uncovered many physical and mental benefits that Yoga offers, corroborating the experiences of millions of practitioners. Any individual practising yoga in the true sense will be content and will seek inner happiness. Practising yoga from early childhood helps in character building, which in turn will bring harmony in all walks of life. Yoga has a huge potential to completely turn around the lives of people and bring immense benefits to the whole world. Why Teach Yoga in Schools? If integrated early, Yoga can nurture healthier individuals and societies: • Reduces ADHD, bullying, childhood obesity, and drug abuse • Enhances physical and emotional well-being • Strengthens families and communities • Reduces healthcare costs and improves societal stability These benefits are well-documented and already experienced worldwide. Hence, introducing Yoga from the earliest grades in all schools and making it a required part of education can have extraordinary societal and financial benefits. Healthier citizens mean lower healthcare costs, stronger families, and more harmonious societies. References How yoga became a tool to beat cancer for Saudi Arabia’s Nouf Marwaai Nouf Marwaai Nouf Al-Marwaai, president of the Saudi Yoga Committee The Mayman Show Mindfulness Training Promotes Neuroplasticity In Young Adults with A History of Childhood Maltreatment How Meditation Changes the Structure of the Brain Wim Hof’s Yoga Manuscript & Meaning Behind It What is the Wim Hof Method History of Yoga Full Film English