Debopriya Bhattacharya – Itisaras

REVIVAL OF SUFI TRADITION THROUGH MUSIC

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 2 Comments 18th century, 1947, A.R. Rahman, Allah Ke Bande, Baba Bulleh Shah, bass guitar, Bhakti, Bullah Ki Jaana, Coke Studio, contemporary fusion music, divine, drums, EDM, emotions, Farid Ayaz, gharana, hindu, Hindustani Classical music, Indian Ocean, Islam, Islamic civilization, Islamicate, Junoon, kafi, Kailash Kher, Kashmiri classical maestro, love, Music, Mystical, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistan, partition, Parvaaz, poet, pop, Qawwali, Rabbi Shergill, Rang, Religion Unplugged, rock, Rumi, saints, semi-folk, semi-Sufi, shrines, silisilas, social order, Sonam Kalra, Spirituality, sufi, Sufi Gospel Project, Sufi-rock, Sufiana, Sufism, The Local Train, the voice of faith, TheWire, tombs, trance, Ustad Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Vaishnav temples, waqfs, Yatra

Music lover or not, Sufi is one form we can’t shy away from. Find out more about this age-old form of music and how it is reviving a spiritual tradition in the modern world.

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Understanding and Living with Eco-Anxiety

October 10, 2020October 10, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 0 Comments Amphan, anxiety, balance, Celsius, century, Change, chronic, climate, contour, crisis, cyclone, damage, Disaster, Disaster Management, doom, eco-anxiety, Eco-psychology, environment, environmental issues, epidemic, Fahrenheit, Fani, fear, immunity, intellectual, Landfall, medical diagnosis, medicine, Mental health, mental illness, mental well-being, movement, Obama, pandemic, physician, precaution, professional help, Psychiatry, self-resiliency, social, temperature, therapy, threat multiplier, UN

Our planet is destabilizing and it is not difficult to notice with the extreme weather events, temperature drops, climate changes, and ongoing disasters across the world. People today are being diagnosed with Eco-anxiety – a newly recognized psychological disorder affecting those who are bothered by these environmental cataclysms. If you too are worrying about this impending doom, then rest assured, you are not alone.

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Culture Society

Revival of Kootiyattam Traditon and participation of women

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 0 Comments 1949, 1950s, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1986, All-India Radio, attam, audience, Bhasa, caste barrier, chakyar community, Chennai, Chintavishtayaya Sita, classicism, Coralie Casassas, cymbals, dramatist, gestures, hasta abhinaya, Hindu temples, Kalamandalam Girija, Kalamandalam Shailaja, Kalidasa, Kerala, Kerala Kalamandalam, KKM, kooti, Kootiyattam, Kuttampalams, language, Mandodari, Mani Madhava Chakyar, Margi Sathi, Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, nangyar, Nangyar Kuttu, netra abhinaya, Painkulam Rama Chakyar, pedagogy, poems, role model, Sanskrit, Satya Chaitanya, temple rituals, theatre, theatrical tradition, UNESCO, Usha Nangiar, Women

India’s rich cultural heritage consists of a variety of theatre forms, one of them being Kootiyattam. This unique article talks about this Sanskrit theatre, the challenges it faced and how they were overcome.

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Culture History

The Cult of Lord Jagannath

September 19, 2020September 19, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 6 Comments Aska, Baxi Jagabandhu, Belief, cast, Celebration, color, cult, cultural, Culture, Discrimination, distinction, diversification, diversity, ethnicity, faith, festival, Gajapati, hindu, icon, identity, Jagannath, Jagannath Dhama, linguistic, nationalism, Odisha, Odisha Festivals, Paika Rebellion, Polity, rashtra devta, rath, Rath Yatra, Religion, social, sovereign, spiritual, srikshetra, transhumanism, Unity

Lord Jagannath is a deity worshipped by people from various regional sections of the country. He is believed to be another form or avatar of Lord Vishnu himself. In a country like India, where we have people coming in from so many different backgrounds, we still find things to bind us together – be it in the name of faith or religion too.

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Culture History

Obscene Writing and Morality – A Closer Look at Manto’s Writings

August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 0 Comments artist, barbarism, Bishan Singh, brave, British India, Conflict, consequence, convicted, debate, discussion, fractured, freedom, future, homeland, humanity, identity, independence, india, internalization, Ismat Chughtai, Khol Do, maddening, marginalization, Maryam Mansoor, misogyny, nation, nationhood, obscene, obscenity, overwhelming, Pakistan, partition literature, Partition of India, post colonial, post-colonial, protagonist, psychological, rape, reality, reinforced, Society, Thanda Gosht, The Friday Times, Toba Tek Singh, tragedy, Trauma, trial, violence, Women, Zaheda Hina

Saadat Hasan Manto was a hawk eyed, fearless writer who dared to write about the ugly side of the partition, society, and the hard truth about things that nobody would otherwise discuss. He even faced trials for obscenity in his writings but that never stopped him from voicing his opinion. He was always ahead of his time.

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Culture Society

AMAR CHITRA KATHA- PROBLEMATIC REPRESENTATION OR MERE ILLUSTRATIONS?

July 14, 2020July 14, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 0 Comments 1967, ACK, Amar Chitra Katha, Ananda Math, Anant Pai, British rule, Caste, caste-based colourism, chastity, colourism, comics, community, Culture, dark colours, Devi Chaudhrani, Devotion, female, Feminist Perspective, Folk Tales, gender, goddess, History, india, Indian freedom fighters, Kannagi, Kovalan, light colours, literature, lower caste, Madhavi, Marvel, Melanin, Mythology, Padmini, Parameswaran, Parveen, Politics, protagonists, Rajesh, Ranak Devi, Reena Puri, sati, Silappatikaram, suicide, Tamil Nadu, The Atlantic, Tradition, upper caste, westernisation, Zamindar

Owing to its colourful depiction of history by means of illustrations, Amar Chitra Katha became widely read, gained the interest of the children and, in fact, became a household name. But the depiction of women and the portrayal of caste-based colourism is problematic. It is time we address some of these issues and the impact they may create on the young minds.

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Therigatha: An anthology by and about the first Buddhist women

July 5, 2020July 7, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 0 Comments Anthology, Arvind Sharma, ashtangika marg, bhikkhuni, Buddha, Buddhist, Buddhist nuns, childlessness, depression, dukkha, four noble truths, friendship, gatha, George-Therese Dickenson, growing old, india, intimacy, liberation, Mara, marginalisation of women, materialism, menopause, motherhood, nibbana, Norman 1991, Pali, poems, salvation, Sarah Clelland, Self-purification, sixth century C.E, social realities of women, Soma, spiritual, tanha, their, Theragatha, Theravada, Theravadin, Therigatha, Therigatha: Poems of the First Buddhist Women, Verses of the Elder Nuns, Voices from the Yore- Therigatha Writings of the Bikkunis, Women

The Therigatha literature is one of the most significant Buddhist literature, and is appreciated all over the world. This article aptly elaborates on why it is held with such high regard, and more.

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Culture History

Protest Art and Indian Freedom Struggle

June 4, 2020June 4, 2020 Debopriya Bhattacharya 1 Comment 1905, 1907, 1938, Aarti Khare, Abanindranath Tagore, Activism, Adolf Hitler, Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spits Tin, arts, Aurobindo Ghose, Banga Mata, Beauty is in the Street, Bengal, Bengal School of Art, Bharatmata, British Raj, dissent, Dr. Michael Shank, Father of Modern Indian Art, Guernica, Haripura Posters, Ideology of Swadeshi Art, india, Jamini Roy, John Heartfield, Kalighat, Lord Curzon, mother, Nandalal Bose, nationalism, Pahari, partition, Picasso, political and social issues, Protest art, Rajasthani, Redefining the Movement: Art Activism, social movements, Swadeshi Movement, Swaraj, The Shehnai Players, Viceroy of India, Western literature

Art isn’t always about peace. Sometimes, it’s about the struggle to find peace. This article talks about the art that was not just co-terminus with the Indian freedom struggle but also aided the same.

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