"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

Is the relationship between financial development and economic growth monotonic? evidence from a sample of middle income countries

We revisit the relationship between financial development and economic growth in a panel of 52 middle-income countries over the 1980-2008 period. Using pooled mean group estimations in a dynamic heterogeneous panel setting, we show that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between finance and growth in the long-run. In the short run, the relationship is insignificant. This suggests that too much finance can exert a negative influence on growth in middle-income countries. The finding of a non-monotonic effect of financial development on growth is confirmed by estimating a threshold model

A study on seasonal change in feeding habit, health status and reproductive biology of Indian Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta, Cuvier) in coastal water of West Bengal.

254-260In this study, seasonal change in feeding habit, health status and breeding season of Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta, Cuvier) have been observed in the coastal water of West Bengal. Gut contents were analyzed to check its feeding habit. Exponential value, condition factor and breeding habits were also examined. Study on feeding habit establishes Indian mackerel to be a selective plankton feeder. During pre-monsoon season; diatoms, copepods, rotifers and green algae were dominant, while blue green algae (BGA) and dinoflagellates had highest percentage of occurrence during the monsoon season. Feeding habit study of Indian mackerel in long term basis may further help in determining its trophic level position and locating its probable fishing ground

A Log Amplifier Based Linearization Scheme for Thermocouples

This paper presents a new analog linearization circuit for thermocouple temperature sensors. The proposed circuit employs the linearizing action inherent in logarithmic operation, as well as the ratiometric property of op-amp based logarithmic amplifier compensated against variation in ambient temperature. Numerical and PSPICE simulation studies have been carried out using the standard data for T, J and G type thermocouples. Encouraging results have been obtained