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Indian Science Fiction
Bengali science fiction ( ''Bangla Bigyan Kalpakahini'') is a part of Bengali literature containing science fiction elements. It is called ''Kalpabigyan'' ( ), or stories of imaginative science, in Bengali literature. The term was first coined by Adrish Bardhan during his editorship years. Earliest writers Bengali literature, Bengali writers authored various science fiction works in the 19th and early 20th centuries during the British Raj, before the partition of India. Isaac Asimov's assertion that "true science fiction could not really exist until people understood the rationalism of science and began to use it with respect in their stories" is true for the earliest science fiction written in the Bengali language. The earliest notable Bengali science fiction was Jagadananda Roy's "Shukra Bhraman" ("Travels to Venus"). This story is of particular interest to literary history, literary historians, as it describes a journey to another planet; its description of the List o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengali Literature
Bengali literature () denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali has developed over the course of roughly 1,400 years. If the emergence of the Bengali literature supposes to date back to roughly 650 AD, the development of Bengali literature claims to be 1600 years old. The earliest extant work in Bengali literature is the ''Charyapada'', a collection of Buddhist mystic songs in Old Bengali dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The timeline of Bengali literature is divided into three periods: ancient (650–1200), medieval (1200–1800) and modern (after 1800). Medieval Bengali literature consists of various poetic genres, including Hindu religious scriptures (e.g. Mangalkavya), Islamic epics (e.g. works of Syed Sultan and Abdul Hakim (poet), Abdul Hakim), Vaishnava texts (e.g. biographies of Chaitan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagadish Chandra Bose
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (; ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a polymath with interests in biology, physics and writing science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contributions to botany, and was a major force behind the expansion of experimental science on the Indian subcontinent. Bose is considered the father of Bengali science fiction. Bose (crater), A crater on the Moon was named in his honour. He founded the Bose Institute, a premier research institute in India and also one of its oldest. Established in 1917, the institute was the first interdisciplinary research centre in Asia. He served as the Director of Bose Institute from its inception until his death. Born in Mymensingh, Bengal Presidency (present-day Bangladesh), during British Raj, British governance of India, Bose graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta (now Kolkata, West Bengal, India). Prior to his enrollment at St. Xavier's College, Calcut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary financial and commercial centre of eastern and northeastern India. Kolkata is the seventh most populous city in India with an estimated city proper population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore) while its metropolitan region Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the third most populous metropolitan region of India with a metro population of over 15 million (1.5 crore). Kolkata is regarded by many sources as the cultural capital of India and a historically and culturally significant city in the historic region of Bengal.————— The three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martian (The War Of The Worlds)
The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the main antagonists from the H.G. Wells 1898 novel ''The War of the Worlds''. Their efforts to exterminate the populace of the Earth and claim the planet for themselves drive the plot and present challenges for the novel's human characters. They are notable for their use of extraterrestrial weaponry far in advance of that of mankind at the time of the invasion. In the novel The Martians are described as octopus-like creatures: the "body" consisting of a disembodied head nearly across, having two eyes; a V-shaped, beak-like mouth; and two branches each of eight 'almost whip-like' tentacles, grouped around the mouth, referred to as the 'hands'. They reproduce asexually, by "budding" off from a parent. Internally, the Martians consist of a brain, lungs, heart, and blood vessels; they have no organs for digestion, and therefore sustain themselves on Earth by mechanically transfusing blood via pipettes from other animals, notably hum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemendra Kumar Ray
Hemendra Kumar Roy (2 September 1888 – 18 April 1963) was an Indian Bengali writer noted for his contribution to the early development of the genre of children's literature in the language. He was a noted contributor to the early development of Bengali detective fiction with his ' Jayanta-Manik' and adventurist ' Bimal-Kumar' stories, dealing with the exploits of Jayanta, his assistant Manik, and police inspector Sunderbabu. Roy also translated the '' Rubaiyat'' of Omar Khayyám into Bengali. Roy's 'Ajab Deshe Amala' is a well-known translation of Alice in Wonderland. Early life Son of Radhikaprasad Roy, Hemendrakumar was born in Kolkata in 1888, in an affluent family originally hailing from Pathuriaghata. Roy inherited a part of his artistic talent from his father who was a more than competent player of the Esraj (a string instrument) and regularly gave performance at the famed '' Star Theatre'' in North Kolkata. His first published work was a short-story ''Amar Kahini'' that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purdah
Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of sex segregation prevalent among some Muslim, Zoroastrian and Hindu communities. The purdah garment is the same as a burqa, or yashmak, i.e a veil to conceals the face. The practice generally takes two forms: social segregation of the sexes and the requirement that women cover their bodies, as well as traditionally the faces. A woman who practices purdah can be referred to as or . Practices that restricted women's mobility and behavior existed among religious groups in India and Zoroastrian Iran since ancient times and intensified with the arrival of Islam. By the 19th century, purdah became customary among Hindu elites. Purdah was not strictly observed by lower-class women. Physical segregation within buildings is achieved with judicious use of walls, curtains, and screens. A woman's withdrawal into purdah usually restricts her personal, social and economic activities outside he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Role Reversal
Role reversal is a psychotherapeutic technique in psychodrama that demonstrates a protagonist's intrapersonal conflicts deeply and explicitly on the stage. This technique is perhaps the single most important and effective technique in psychodrama.Greenberg, Ira A. (1974) Psychodrama: theory and Therapy, New York: Behavioral Publications. In the form of psychodrama, the protagonist is invited to move out of their own position or role into the significant other's position and enact that role.Moreno, J.L. (1952) Psychodramatic Production Techniques. Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama & Sociometry. (4):273-303. Therefore, the auxiliary ego can observe and learn how to play the role. For example, in a parent-child's session, a protagonist who is the child reverses role with one of their parents. This technique not only helps the protagonist get more insight of a specific role but also helps the director, the auxiliary egos, and the audience learn more about that specific role. Theory Psyc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictional island society in the New World. Hypothetical utopias focus on, among other things, equality in categories such as economics, government and justice, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying according to ideology. Lyman Tower Sargent argues that the nature of a utopia is inherently contradictory because societies are not homogeneous and have desires which conflict and therefore cannot simultaneously be satisfied. To quote: The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia. Utopian and dystopian fiction has become a popular literary category. Despite being common parlance for something imaginary, utopianism inspired and was inspired by some reality-based fields and concepts such as utopian architecture, architecture, Cyber-ut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feminist Science Fiction
Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on such feminist themes as: gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist SF is political because of its tendency to critique the dominant culture. Some of the most notable feminist science fiction works have illustrated these themes using utopias to explore a society in which gender differences or gender power imbalances do not exist, or dystopias to explore worlds in which gender inequalities are intensified, thus asserting a need for feminist work to continue. Definition Feminist science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction (SF for short) that focuses on theories that include feminist themes, for example gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics and reproduction. Feminist science fiction spans a wider range than science fiction itself, covering fantasy, utopia and dystopia, horror (such as Anne Rice's vampire stories). Marleen S. Barr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultana's Dream
''Sultana's Dream'' is a 1905 Bengali feminist utopian story in English, written by Begum Rokeya, also known as Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, a Muslim feminist, writer and social reformer from Bengal. It was published in the same year in Madras-based English periodical ''The Indian Ladies Magazine''. Plot It depicts a science fiction feminist utopia called Ladyland, in which women run everything and men are secluded, in a mirror-image of the traditional practice of '' purdah''. The women are aided by technology which enables laborless farming and flying cars; the women scientists have discovered how to trap solar power and control the weather. This results in "a sort of gender-based Planet of the Apes where the roles are reversed and the men are locked away in a technologically advanced future." There, traditional stereotypes such as “Men have bigger brains” and women are "naturally weak" are countered with logic such as "an elephant also has a bigger and heavier brain" and � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic Feminism
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement. Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the teachings of equality in the religion, and encourage a questioning of patriarchal interpretations of Islam by reinterpreting the Quran and Hadith. Prominent thinkers include Begum Rokeya, Amina Wadud, Leila Ahmed, Fatema Mernissi, Azizah al-Hibri, Riffat Hassan, Asma Lamrabet, and Asma Barlas. Definition and background Islamic feminists Since the mid-nineteenth century, Muslim women and men have been critica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roquia Sakhawat Hussain
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (9 December 1880 – 9 December 1932), commonly known as Begum Rokeya, was a prominent Bengali feminist thinker, writer, educator and political activist from British India. She is widely regarded as a pioneer of women's liberation in Bangladesh and India. She advocated for men and women to be treated equally as rational beings, noting that the lack of education for women was responsible for their inferior economic position. Her major works include ''Matichur'' (A String of Sweet Pearls, 1904 and 1922), a collection of essays in two volumes expressing her feminist thoughts; '' Sultana's Dream'' (1908), a feminist science fiction novella set in Ladyland ruled by women; ''Padmarag'' ("Essence of the Lotus", 1924) depicting the difficulties faced by Bengali wives; and ''Abarodhbasini'' (The Confined Women, 1931), a spirited attack on the extreme forms of purdah that endangered women's lives and self-image. Rokeya held education to be the central preconditi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
