The Creative Industries in Bangladesh: The Case of Coke Studio Bangla’s “Deora”

This article analyzes the case of Coke Studio Bangla's music and performance production titled "Deora.

Heterogeneity and Baul Spirituality: The Songs of Baul Taskir Ali in Bangladesh

This article briefly explores the contemporary heterogeneous song-texts of Taskir Ali (popularly known as Baul Taskir) from Sunamgonj, in the district of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Bauls are nomadic communities in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, and they express their profound spiritual philosophy and thoughts through their songs and performance. Taskir Ali belongs to the Baul school of thoughts in Sylhet known as the dhamail. His musical creations address, explore, satirize, investigate, and protest against many historical and contemporary social issues in Bangladesh. The short analysis of his songs in this paper present a variety of aesthetics addressing materialism, eco-centrism, secularism, patriotism, and son forth. Baul tradition and culture are the central features of folklore in Bangladesh, and Taskir Ali’s songs represent the fundamental aspects of diverse and inclusive spiritualties of South Asian oral literature and music

When the Subaltern Screams: Pedophilia and Patriarchy in Humayun Ahmed’s Pleasure Boy Kômola.

This paper aims to analyze the depiction of pedophilia in Humayun Ahmed's film 'Pleasure Boy Kômola.' It concentrates on the social and psychological reasons for this rarely existing sexual practice or perversion and the oppressive consequences it causes on the subalterns in Bangladesh during the colonial period

What binds us to a disaster-prone land? Climate adaptation and 'place obduracy' in southwestern Bangladesh

Abstract: This qualitative study explores the concept of ‘place obduracy’ in the southwestern region of Bangladesh, an area highly susceptible to extreme weather events such as flooding, waterlogging, droughts, and saline intrusion. We examine how environmental changes outpace the structural and cultural capacities of communities, affecting approximately one million residents in 144 villages in the Jashore-Khulna-Satkhira districts of Bangladesh. Despite significant environmental stressors and a shift from traditional agricultural to less profitable aquacultural livelihoods, these communities exhibit a strong resistance to migration. Through 15 household interviews, we document the lags in climate adaptation, the impact of extreme weather on livelihoods, and the resilience displayed by local populations. The study critiques the effectiveness of the Bangladesh Water Development Board's structural adaptation interventions and advocates for tidal river management as a more viable solution. The place obduracy concept raises questions for governmental organisations, donors, and aid agencies to reflect upon the effectiveness and temporality of adaptation practices and attitudes towards climate-induced migration

Media and Peeping Tom Culture: Violating Familial Privacy and Communal Responsibility in the Evolution of Voyeurism

In the name of visual pleasure, there are different entertainments in today’s media that instigate voyeurism among common viewers. In this study, the author intends to focus on two phases where the spectators are turning voyeurs without their consent. In the first phase, the study reveals the process where film influences voyeuristic behavior. The urge to explore others’ private matters starts through the way film reflects, reveals, and even plays on the straight, socially established interpretation of sexual difference which controls images, erotic ways of looking, and spectacle. Several voyeuristic means in films pursue set formation, and they all persuade the viewer to identify with the male character by allowing the viewer to see what he sees through different voyeuristic means. The use of devices as a telescope, magnifying glass, and keyholes is the motivation for the close-up shots. They turn the viewer into a participant and spectator and allow the viewer to look at previously unseen and hidden details, but they do not let the viewer become totally a part of the action. In this study, films like Peeping Tom and Sliver are analyzed to understand big screen voyeurism. In the second phase, this study presents the voyeurism initiated by television programs such as reality shows, “soap operas”, daytime television, talk shows, real life documentaries, and “docudramas”. At the pinnacle, there are the government, police, and the employers who are assisting to produce a new “watched” culture with the use of closed circuit TV devices

What binds us to a disaster-prone land? Climate adaptation and 'place obduracy' in southwestern Bangladesh

Abstract: This qualitative study explores the concept of ‘place obduracy’ in the southwestern region of Bangladesh, an area highly susceptible to extreme weather events such as flooding, waterlogging, droughts, and saline intrusion. We examine how environmental changes outpace the structural and cultural capacities of communities, affecting approximately one million residents in 144 villages in the Jashore-Khulna-Satkhira districts of Bangladesh. Despite significant environmental stressors and a shift from traditional agricultural to less profitable aquacultural livelihoods, these communities exhibit a strong resistance to migration. Through 15 household interviews, we document the lags in climate adaptation, the impact of extreme weather on livelihoods, and the resilience displayed by local populations. The study critiques the effectiveness of the Bangladesh Water Development Board's structural adaptation interventions and advocates for tidal river management as a more viable solution. The place obduracy concept raises questions for governmental organisations, donors, and aid agencies to reflect upon the effectiveness and temporality of adaptation practices and attitudes towards climate-induced migration