Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen:

The Latent Contours of Caste

Authors

  • Ritu Sen Chaudhuri

Keywords:

Caste, Humiliation, Humour, Fantasy, Bengal

Abstract

In this paper I read a specific moment of GupiGayenBhaghaBayen (1968), a children’s fantasy film by Satyajit Ray, as an instance of everyday caste experiences. I imagine the contours of caste – lying somewhat covert yet significantly bearing on the diegesis of the film – through the structure of humiliation. The reading moves around few basic questions: how do we trace the real-discursive presence of caste in Bengal? How do we read the unassuming events of caste discrimination? This is a multi-layered film where Ray talks about the villages and people of Bengal depicting relationships, poverty, politics, kingship, war, magic and several other things. Caste based discriminations operate within this inter-sectional arrangement. It is never expressed in direct terms. I talk about the film as it hints at one of the ways caste has functioned in Bengal – inconspicuous-ordinary yet oppressive and humiliating.

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Author Biography

Ritu Sen Chaudhuri

Ritu Sen Chaudhuri teaches Sociology at the West Bengal State University. She did her doctoral research from the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. Her interest and expertise traverse the fields of feminist theories, sociological theories, post-modern thought, women in India, and the interfaces of sociology literature and film. She has delivered many lectures at a number of universities and research institutes in national and international conferences. Her publication includes articles on issues concerning women’s writing, women’s movement, feminist theory, Tagorian novels and film texts in academic journals and edited books. Currently, she is working on two book projects.

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Published

2021-11-10

How to Cite

Sen Chaudhuri, R. (2021). Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen:: The Latent Contours of Caste. Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry, 6(1), 88–98. Retrieved from https://sanglap-journal.in/index.php/sanglap/article/view/122