The Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized Peer Seminar: Chapter IV on 17th October, 2023 at 3 pm. The speaker was Mr. Soumyajit Chandra; his paper was entitled Wild Basil and Dancing Lights: Ecofeminist Reconceptualisations of the Bengal Landscape in Select Short Stories by Narayan Gangyopadhyay. The seminar was attended by the faculty members and PG students of the Department of English.
In his paper, the speaker subjected two Bengali short stories composed by Narayan Gangyopadhyay, namely Bana-Tulsi (Wild Basil) and Aleyar Raat (The Night of Aleya) to an ecofeminist critique through a study of the author’s representation of the Bengal landscape.
Traditionally, the Bengal landscape has been represented as fertile, prosperous and maternal in nationalistic and early modern Bengali poetry alike. Gangyopadhyay displaces “Mother Nature” from her nurturing, maternal role, constructing a radically alterantive femininity which undermines patriarchal and essentialist understandings of nature as feminine. Gangopadhyay plays off male protagonists (harbouring varying degrees of patriarchal affiliation) with nature in some of its insidious manifestations, observed in the wild basil wilderness and the dancing lights on a rain-drenched field at night. With respect to critical works of Madelon Sprengnether and Donna J. Haraway, the paper attempted to reclaim Mother Earth imagery and utilize essentialist positions to assign autonomous, self-determining roles to Nature.
The session was conducted by Dr. Gargi Talapatra, Head of UG English. Peer Seminar has served to foster research interests and facilitate academic dialogue at all levels of the academic space at the Department of English, The BES College.
A special lecture on Rabindranath Tagore by Professor Radha Chakravarty was organized by the Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College on 10.07.2021 from 6.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. for the students of the Department of English. Professor Chakravarty teaches Comparative Literature & Translation Studies at Ambedkar University, Delhi. A renowned writer, critic and …
The Bhawanipur Education Society College recently organised a captivating event on 19th July 2023 from 12:00noon at The Society Hall on the topic “Shares Pe Charcha.” This session was part of the initiative of the Bull’s Eye collective of the college. The event aimed to enlighten students about the fascinating world of stock markets and …
Valia Hall. 7th March 2020. The most colorful and vibrant festival of India – Holi – is marked with much fun and fervor throughout the country. Celebrating the triumph of good over bad, this festival falls at the end of February or onset of March, when the harsh winters are bid adieu and nature bursts …
The Bhawanipur Education Society College, in collaboration with IMI (International Management Institute) Kolkata organized two masterclasses with two renowned speakers from IMI. Founded & established by RP- Sanjiv Goenka in 2010 to enable bright young minds to gain access to world-class management, IMI has been instrumental in preparing young minds for the world of management. …
Peer Seminar: Chapter IV
The Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized Peer Seminar: Chapter IV on 17th October, 2023 at 3 pm. The speaker was Mr. Soumyajit Chandra; his paper was entitled Wild Basil and Dancing Lights: Ecofeminist Reconceptualisations of the Bengal Landscape in Select Short Stories by Narayan Gangyopadhyay. The seminar was attended by the faculty members and PG students of the Department of English.
In his paper, the speaker subjected two Bengali short stories composed by Narayan Gangyopadhyay, namely Bana-Tulsi (Wild Basil) and Aleyar Raat (The Night of Aleya) to an ecofeminist critique through a study of the author’s representation of the Bengal landscape.
Traditionally, the Bengal landscape has been represented as fertile, prosperous and maternal in nationalistic and early modern Bengali poetry alike. Gangyopadhyay displaces “Mother Nature” from her nurturing, maternal role, constructing a radically alterantive femininity which undermines patriarchal and essentialist understandings of nature as feminine. Gangopadhyay plays off male protagonists (harbouring varying degrees of patriarchal affiliation) with nature in some of its insidious manifestations, observed in the wild basil wilderness and the dancing lights on a rain-drenched field at night. With respect to critical works of Madelon Sprengnether and Donna J. Haraway, the paper attempted to reclaim Mother Earth imagery and utilize essentialist positions to assign autonomous, self-determining roles to Nature.
The session was conducted by Dr. Gargi Talapatra, Head of UG English. Peer Seminar has served to foster research interests and facilitate academic dialogue at all levels of the academic space at the Department of English, The BES College.
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