Tag: The Fulbright Program

Jatra Shots – Godspeed, Rahul

Rahul as Ajit in Byomkesh Gotro, 2018

Ishan and I were saddened to hear of Bengali film star Rahul Banerjee’s tragic passing while shooting his TV series this week. I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with him when I lived in Kolkata in 2018. Durga Puja was in full swing, and I was researching contemporary jatra as part of my Fulbright work. The producers of the Subhalakshmi Opera jatra company, with whom I spent some time, were gracious enough to allow me to sit in on some early rehearsals for their new show, with the cast still in their street clothes. They explained to me that Rahul was a Bengali film star who would be headlining the production.

Here are some photos and video that I shot on the rehearsal stage at the Netaji Subhash Institute. Rahul, his costar Emili Chowdhury, and the rest of the cast and onstage musicians were kind in letting me creep around them onstage and click a few shots as they rehearsed. They were all terrific, and Rahul could sing! I never intended the photos or video for public consumption, they were just for my own reference, but I feel compelled to share them.

We’re big Byomkesh Bakshi fans (the original stories and the films/TV series), so when Byomkesh Gotro premiered in October, 2018, I was one of the first in line. In addition to my seeing Rahul on the big screen for the first time, the film marked my first time seeing a movie in an Indian (Kolkata) movie theater.

I had an absolute blast last week as a Legacy Fulbright Ambassador giving a Fulbright Talk to faculty and international education administrators at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, telling them about my own experiences and urging them to apply. You too, US faculty and admins! Applications for the ’26-’27 cycle are available.

Many thanks to Director of the Tisch Initiative for Creative Research Dana Whitco and Administrator Kristel Baldoz, and Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing Chair Joe Vinciguerra for arranging it.

Stand For Fulbright

Certain aspects of the Fulbright Program are currently “paused”. Today, many former Fulbrighters and their supporters #StandforFulbright on Capitol Hill and meet with Congress to ask for their continued bipartisan support for the Fulbright Program—a vital investment in U.S. diplomacy, security, and economic growth. Fulbright strengthens America’s leadership by fostering global partnerships, innovation, and opportunity.

We’re asking Congress to #StandForFulbright and support this program that builds a smarter, stronger, and more prosperous America for generations to come.

Get involved at: https://fulbright.org/advocacy/

#FACON23!

The Fulbright Association Conference schedule is live! I’m honored to be jetting to Denver later this month to rep my alma mater NYU Tisch School of the Arts where I also teach part-time, and grateful to have received a Tisch Adjunct Professional Development Grant to attend. I’ll be giving a 60-minute talk entitled “Happy Accidents: How a Mistakenly Published Play Forced Reforms in British India”.

My abstract: In 1860s India, Bengali playwright Dinabandhu Mitra wrote the play Nil Darpan (Indigo Mirror), an exposé of violent abuses committed against malnourished Indian farm workers by powerful British indigo dealers. With help from a Christian missionary the play was translated into English and shared with the office of Bengal’s Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Peter Grant. Grant approved a few copies to be printed to share with colleagues; instead, hundreds were mistakenly printed and distributed to Parliament members in England, outraging and embarrassing the British Raj. But would the amusing debacle help bring positive change and food security to Indian laborers? These events are well-known but have often been mythologized and misrepresented. Stanley will provide his own findings from Indian, UK and US newspapers of the day.