 With last year's publication of Calcutta Yoga by Jerome Armstrong, new light was shone on the history and progression of yoga and performance at Ghosh's College in Kolkata. We know so much more about men like Buddha Bose and Gouri Shankar Mukerji, and their contributions to the physical movements of Bengal throughout the 1900s. What is still missing, as is often the case with history, are the stories of the women.
Were there women practitioners? Yes! Have they mostly been forgotten? Yes! Is this about to change? Yes! I am headed to India to start the first leg of formal research into several of the female practitioners in Bengal. Working with me is a talented writer and researcher Chandrima Pal, who lives in Kolkata and has already uncovered information about these forgotten women and the context of their lives. As with any research project, we don't know where this will end up. Our goal is to publish a book about these women and boldly go where the stories take us. Stay tuned next week, especially on Instagram for updates about our findings. And stay tuned on this blog for longer form updates. As Chandrima said recently, "Wish us lots of luck and loads of leads!"
2 Comments
9/28/2019 12:20:41 pm
Lookig forward to updates. Very interested in this research and would love to be involved at some stage. I am based in the UK, researching the dmestic and working lives of South Asian working class women. My interests do, however stretch towards women in yoga, since I myself am a female South Asian yoga teacher, which has not been an easy journey in the modern era.
Anu Radha
6/9/2023 08:07:46 am
First of all, so glad I came across this page as your blogs and research resonate with what some I learned from my grandfather. I look forward to your research on women and my hope is that you will include some of the countless common women that have made yoga (asana, pranayama and meditation) an integral part of their daily lives without any fancy outfits, candles or props. I also hope your research will focus mainly on how women (have) achieve(ed), integrate(d) and embody(ied) the core principles of yoga and steer away from how they were prevented from practicing. The latter is fashionable unfortunately, but any meaningful research must consider the countless invasions that India encountered resulting in many of the gender and social disparities that exist today. Considering the quality of your blogs here, I remain hopeful you will strive to understand the intrinsic cultural snapshots of the various time periods across which women in India have continued to integrate yoga in their lives. Leave a Reply. |
AUTHORS
Scott & Ida are Yoga Acharyas (Masters of Yoga). They are scholars as well as practitioners of yogic postures, breath control and meditation. They are the head teachers of Ghosh Yoga.
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