Feminism

 “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.”

Feminism is both a political stance and a theory that focuses on gender as a subject of analysis when reading about cultural practices and as a platform to demand equality, rights, and justice. Feminism's key assumption is those gender roles are predetermined and that women are trained to fit into those roles. This means roles like 'daughter 'or 'Mother' are not natural but social because the women have to be trained to think, talk, and act in particular ways that suit the role.

The feminist literary and cultural theory draws a link between:

The representation of women in art and the real, material conditions in which they live.

The feminist theory argues that the representation of women as weak docile innocent seductive or irrational sentimental is rooted in and influences actual social conditions, where she does not have power is treated as a sex object, or procreating machine has fewer political and financial rights, and is abused. Feminism, therefore, is a worldview that refuses to delink art from existing social conditions and practices. It explores the cultural dimensions of women's material life. Feminist literary-cultural critics assume that cultural texts such as cinema, TV soap, opera music, and painting parallel, and duplicate real-life power struggles between genders. Cultural texts naturalize the oppression of women through their stereotypical representation of women as weak vulnerable, seductresses, obstacles, sexual objects, or procreating devices.

Gender Turn: Mary Wollstonecraft and The Rights of Women

The changing levels of literacy and cheaper publishing with the arrival of printing in early modern Europe meant that more women read about others' lives, and wrote about their own. However, European feminism as a theory might be traced back to the eighteenth-century writings of Mary Wollstonecraft.

In an age where the labour of men was privileged over that of women, Wollstonecraft provided the first major theoretical exploration of gender inequality.

In her vindication of the rights of women, Wollstonecraft rejected the established view that women are naturally weaker or inferior to men. The unequal nature of gender relations she proposed was because lack of education kept the women in a secondary position. she proposed women must be treated as equals because they play a crucial role in society, namely, bringing up children.

While Wollstonecraft was radical in seeking education as a means of improving women's position in society, she was hesitant to upset the gender hierarchies. Wollstonecraft for instance believed that men did have superior virtues . Education as Wollstonecraft saw it was about 'improvement'. But she did not see it as a means of overturning hierarchies of power. Thus, she believed that education should instill a love for domestic life. In effect, then Wollstonecraft was proposing a clear distinction between genders. 

Margaret Fuller: Women's Education and Reform 

In USA MargaretvFuller's activism and writings especially her WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY can be seen as a parallel origin for western feminism. Like Wollstonecraft, Fuller believed that education was the means of emancipation for women. Education, employment, and political rights were her key planks and she championed these throughout her life. She extended her concerns with gender roles and unequal power relations to classes. she supported prison reform and was one of the first to seek solidarity between African Americans and women seeing both as the victims of a racist-sexist social structure. She suggested that anyone who supported the cause of the Blacks would support the women's cause. 

Virginia Woolf: Authorship, Androgyny

In the twentieth century, the novelist Virginia Woolf provided the first critiques that we can recognize as marking feminism as we know it today. In words like A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN and THE THREE GUINEAS, Woolf explored gender relations . one of the first writers to develop a women-centric notion of reading and education Woolf argued that the patriarchal education systems and reading practices prevent women, readers, from reading as women. 

Wolf also argued that authorship itself is gendered. The language available to women is patriarchal and inherently sexist. But the woman author had no other language at her command is forced to use this sexist language that does not capture the women's experience. Diction, realism, and linearity order the literary modes that have been promoted as 'true' aesthetics are al male - generated.

Simone De Beauvoir and Existential Feminism 

De Beauvoir argues in her most famous work the second sex that man is able to mistify women his mystification and stereotyping argued was instrumental in creating patriarchy she argued that women in term of this stereotype were thus instrument of their own oppression. She further argued women were always the negative of the man. Where man was the ideal the norms and women is deviant or the other who sought perfection by trying to be as much like that man as possible. Women are measured by the standards of men and pound inferior. This is the process of othering where women will always be seen not as independent or unique but as variations and flawed versions of the male.

 Simone De Beauvoir's major insight was that there is no essence of women, a woman is constructed as such by men and society. 

As she puts it: One is not born sex and social gender are not accidental : Patriarchy makes use of sexual differences so as to maintain inequality between men and women 'Patriarchy' argues that biologically speaking women are unequal to men. An argument that naturalizes inequality as a pre-ordained condition of biology itself. De Beauvoir argues that while sexual differences are real and unalterable they can not be the grounds for injustice and inequality.

Sex and Gender 

Sex and gender do not mean the same thing within feminist studies the first moves in making this distinction were made in second-wave feminist thinking. This moves also marked a shift from the biology-based argument about male and female to a more socially centered one.

The Social Construction of Gender

The feminist cultural theory calls for distinguishing between sex and gender. As we have seen in the previous section, the french feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir was an early proponent of the social constructionist view of sex and gender.

Sex is biological and includes anatomy and physiology. The reproductive systems of men and women are biological but they are invested with particular meanings through a social process. 

Now take the values associated with the biological act of child-bearing :

♀Motherhood becomes a symbol of the true"Female".

♀It becomes a central role for women to perform.

♀Nurturing a child is the woman's natural job. 

Now as an example of Feminist Criticism I've chosen Wide Sargasso Sea written by Jean Eyre

“THE WIDE SARGASSO SEA”, a multi-layered and complex novella by the Caribbean writer Jean Rhys is specifically written from the perspective of a ‘creole’ woman, Set in wild, magical Jamaican scenery, in the aftermath of emancipation. Anoinette Mason, the woman in the novella is a small supporting character in “JANE EYRE” by Charlotte Bronte.

In Bronte’s novel, the above female character is named Bertha Mason is introduced to Jane Eyre the protagonist, in the latter half novel as a mad woman in the attic and remains as an undefined character till the end of the novel. Mr. Rochester, the main hero of the novel was dubiously married to a West Indian woman when he went to visit his estates in the Caribbean colonies when he was young.

Readers get the evidence of women’s voices being suppressed in the novella when Christophene is ordered to leave the house as she opens her mouth against Rochester’s oppressive behavior towards Bertha. The dominance of the colonizer country could also be seen as a patriarchal society whereby widow remarriages were not allowed. The woman is portrayed as a figure that constantly fights for her own independence but is forcibly pushed to follow the traditional roles delineated by societal norms. Rochester not only asserts his rights by dumping her sensuality but also her very identity, by changing her name to bertha. In addition, when he takes Antoinette to England, Thornfield Hall, the place where they put up after marriage symbolizes similar European cultural supremacy.

Rhys further celebrates the idea that a woman constrained within such a society can never break the set ties. Even if she wants to negate those objectifying views she has to negotiate the sufferings caused by such domination. Her psychological disintegration and descent towards madness is a journey that ultimately becomes the mirror opposite to that of the wholesome goodness of the innocent Jane Eyre, as depicted by Bronte.

Words : 1456

EcoCriticism

 EcoCriticism

“Much ecocriticism has taken for granted that its task is to overcome anthropocentrism, just as feminism seeks to overcome androcentrism. The metaphysical argument for biocentrism is meant to sustain moral claims about the intrinsic value of the natural world, which will, in turn, affect our attitudes and behavior towards nature.”

Ecocriticism is a broad way for literary and cultural scholars to investigate the global ecological crisis through the intersection of literature, culture, and the physical environment.

One of the main goals of ecocriticism is to study how individuals in society behave and react in relation to nature and ecological aspects. This form of criticism has gained a lot of attention in recent years due to higher social emphasis on environmental destruction and increased technology. Ecocriticism is a name that implies ecological literacy. ...

1) Ecocritic is "a person who judges the merits and faults of writings that depict 2) The effects of culture upon nature, with a view toward celebrating nature' berating its despoilers, and reversing their harm through political action.”

Ecocriticism was first defined by Cheryll Glotfelty in simple words making it clear to other critics and writers. Considering the definition, it can be called an “increasingly heterogeneous movement” that takes an entirely earth-centered approach. It is mainly about the literature on the environment.

Relatively, Ecocriticism focuses on the literary and artistic expression of human experience primarily in a natural, and consequently in a cultural world. Ecocriticism signifies that literature cannot be approached in a way that in which man and his environment stand against each other.

To read a text ecocritical then is to examine the specific role of nature, environment, and ecology in the text, and from that reading of the text to apply the observations to offer solutions and alternative ways of thinking for environmental and ecological problems that humanity faces.

We live in a world increasingly lost to pollution, contamination, and industry-sponsored bio-disaster. It is now a truism to say that mankind is efficiently committing ecocide, making the planet inhospitable for the life of any kind. In such a context does esoteric and text-oriented theory have any role to play? Does eco-logical disaster require a theory to recognize pollution or to warn students of the dangers of that plastic wrapper or electromagnetic radiation? 

What is the role of the theory in a time and context that demands praxis?  

Ecocriticism originates in a bio-social context of unrestrained capitalism, excessive exploitation of nature, worrying definitions and shapes of 'development', and environmental hazards. While it does not seek to alter the course of any of these very real factors, its task is to see how theoretically informed readings of cultural texts can contribute not only to consciousness-raising but also look into the politics of development and the construction of nature.

Opening Moves 

The Ecocritical turn 

Raymond Williams in his elegantly argued "The country and the city" showed how English literature contributed to specific notions of nature, the countryside, poverty, seasons, and the city. He was not trying to explore the environmental aspects of eighteenth-century literature. Rather he was trying to demonstrate how the age worked with particular notions of "Nature" and "Culture". In a sense, this is the starting point for an ecocritical theory.

Early writers on nature in the twentieth century Aldo leopard, John Muir, and Rachel Carson are the most famous- suggested different ways of looking at the environment. Their texts have become justly the inspirational moments of ecocriticism.

Ecocriticism is a critical mode that looks at the representation of nature and landscape in cultural texts, paying particular attention to attitudes towards nature and the rhetoric employed when speaking about it. It aligns itself with ecological activism and social theory with the assumption that the rhetoric of the cultural text reflects and informs material practices towards the environment while seeking to increase awareness about it and linking itself with the other ecological sciences and approaches. 

A basic definition of ecocriticism was provided by an early anthology, The Ecocriticism Reader which calls it 'the study of the relationship between literature and the environment. With its attempted links with activism, ecocriticism established itself as a more political approach to texts. 

Nature in Western Thought

Thomas Hobbes in the seventeenth century believed that the "State of nature" was a primitive one and that human community - formation constituted comfort and safety. John Locke suggested that humans must treat the land as their private property. He believed that the non-human world was valueless. Later thinkers, however, had a less instrumentalist perception of nature.

Jean Jacques Rousseau argued that the state of nature was the purest and best form of human existence. He was one of the first critics of the Enlightenment, arguing against the established notions of 'progress'. Rousseau believed that natural was innocent and that civilization was Artificial and corrupt.

“My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So, is it now I am a man”

William Wordsworth, in “the Muse of Poetry” is the greatest Poet of Nature of the Romantic Age and thereafter. He is widely known for his Nature poems ‘Tintern Abbey, ’Lucy Gray’, ‘I wandered Lonely As A Cloud’, ‘The Solitary Reaper, and many other remarkable pieces of Romantic poetry. Wordsworth is also considered to be the “Highest Priest of Nature’ for his spiritual admiration of mother Nature. He brought in a new era of poetry where nature was represented, appreciated, and colored with imagination. The poet went against the Neo-Classical style of poetry that stressed kings and princes, Lords and Ladies, and other contemporary topics. Wordsworth began writing about “low and rustic life’ and his poems were ‘incorporated with beautiful and permanent forms of nature.

In his poems, Wordsworth has shown numerous aspects of nature: from refreshing breeze to paddy fields; from floating clouds to twinkling stars; from dancing daffodils to “steep and lofty cliffs”, to pastoral farms, and more. The poet remarked once that he could hear “the still, sad music of humanity” in Nature. He urged his readers to let Nature be a teacher and Nurturer for all mankind. Wordsworth saw divinity in nature and considered it to be “the guardians of … all moral being”. The poet elaborated on the elemental Joys that came from the blooming of a flower and the tranquility of a lake. The poet was writing at a time when industrialization had started overtaking the world and cities had begun to be morphed into concrete jungles. By concluding the beauties of nature in his poems, Wordsworth introduced the masses to a new world of calm and peace.

William Wordsworth’s "Tintern Abbey" opens with the speaker's declaration that five years have passed since he last visited this location, encountered its tranquil, rustic scenery, and heard the murmuring waters of the river. He recites the objects he sees again, and describes their effect upon him: the "steep and lofty cliffs" impress upon him "thoughts of more deep seclusion"; he leans against the dark sycamore tree and looks at the cottage grounds and the orchard trees, whose fruit is still unripe. He sees the "wreaths of smoke" rising up from cottage chimneys between the trees, and imagines that they might rise from "vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods," or from the cave of a hermit in the deep forest.

The speaker then describes how his memory of these "beauteous forms" has worked upon him in his absence from them: when he was alone, or in crowded towns and cities, they provided him with "sensations sweet,  Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart." The memory of the woods and cottages offered "tranquil restoration" to his mind, and even affected him when he was not aware of the memory, influencing his deeds of kindness and love. He further credits the memory of the scene with offering him access to that mental and spiritual state in which the burden of the world is lightened, in which he becomes a "living soul" with a view into "the life of things." 

Words : 1340

Marxist Criticism

 

Marxist Criticism 

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it."

_Karl Marx

(These words are also inscribed upon his grave)

Writing in the nineteenth century Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels located all forms of "Culture"- music, painting, and literature - within a social context. Attempting to provide a theory of the industrialized society Marx and Engels also treated art as an essential component of human life. However, Their main contribution was to locate the so-called "aesthetic" realms such as art within the context of politics, economics, and history. The "Marxist " approach to questions of aesthetics often, therefore, links them with questions of class, economic conditions, and power.

Here is a brief introduction to Marxism

WHAT IS MARXISM

Marxism is a government structure, that was introduced by Karl Marx. Marxism can be labeled as a radical form of socialism and focuses on the class struggle that has always existed in human societies. Marx argued that the warring classes were divided into two groups: the "haves," and the "have-nots."

The Ultimate Goal of Marxism:  Marx believed that the worker's revolution would result in increasing power in the proletariat. This "power" includes seizing control of the factories and being capable of changing the means of production. This "dictatorship of the Proletariat," having felt the pains and anger of being exploited, would control the government and ways of production so that everyone produced what society need, and shared the profits, promoting economic equality. Eventually, in the final form of Marxism, all classes would slowly become nonexistent, and complete equality would be known as "Communism." In communism, the means of production are owned by the people, not by a dictator. Everyone would produce what they could, and in return would receive what they need; everyone is equal.

Some Most Famous MARXIST

• Georg Lukács.
  
  
  
• Karl Korsch.
  
  
  
• Antonio Gramsci.
  
  
  
• Herbert Marcuse.
  
  
  
• Jean-Paul Sartre.
  
  
  
• Louis Althusser
  
  
  

Example of Marxist

As an example, I've taken Paint it Yellow (Rang de Basanti) an Indian Drama film released in 2006 Directed and produced by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra.

It follows a British film student traveling to India to document the story of five freedom fighters of the Indian revolutionary movement. She befriends and casts five young men in the film, which inspires them to fight against the corruption of their own government.

Shot primarily in New Delhi, The film was released globally on 20 January 2006. Upon release, the film broke all opening box office records in India, becoming the country's highest-grossing film in its opening weekend and holding the highest opening-day collections for a Hindi movie. It received critical acclaim, winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film, and being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 BAFTA Awards.

Rang De Basanti was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, though it did not ultimately yield a nomination for either award. A. R. Rahman's soundtrack, which earned positive reviews, had two of its tracks considered for an Academy Award nomination.

Rang De Basanti had a noticeable impact on Indian society. A significant increase in public ire towards government and politicians for constantly being mired in corruption and bureaucracy and their inefficiency in providing basic amenities. Intense political discussions spurred on by the film's influence were observed in these patterns. While commenting on this, writer D'Silva said that the film "has struck a chord somewhere". Besides instigating political thought and discussions, it evoked a social awakening for many. Some discussions rallied on how citizens should support and contribute to non-governmental organizations and exercise simple citizen duties of paying taxes and voting, while others contemplated how to become more responsible towards the country. Unlike other Indian films with jingoistic overtones, many young Indians could relate well to the characters of this film.

1. Influencive scenes from the movie 

Rang De Basanti desh badlega scene

The setting of this scene is a bar where amir Siddharth Soha Sharman Kunal R.madhavan Atul and Alice are Discussing in that scene Alice says Hmare krantikari ke liye desh ki Azadi hi sabkuch hai. where Siddharth says Duniya Mein Jan van dene ke Liye Kuch Nahi hai adds that Bhagatsinh, Ashfaq and Azad inhone Jaan di thi  Desh Ke Liye Kuch Hua? also questions that aaj desh ki Halat dekhi hai is desh ki? aur padi bhi hai? 

Such questions raised by him are still unanswered and unresolved.

Resources

Kesharwani, Piyush. "Rang De Basanti desh badlega." uploaded by Piyush kesharwani, 19 Dec. 2013, youtu.be/BxXXVBA-R7k. 

Mehra, Rakesh omprakash, director. Rang de Basanti. 2006.

Words : 1171

Kamala Das

Hello Readers!!!

An Introduction by Kamala Das

Here is the link to a Poem by Kamala Das

Kamala Das, Malayalam pen name Madhavikutty, Muslim name Kamala Surayya, born March 31, 1934, Thrissur, Malabar Coast now in Kerala, British India—died May 31, 2009, Pune, India, Indian author who wrote openly and frankly about female sexual desire and the experience of being an Indian woman.

'An Introduction by Kamala Das describes the poet's own mental and emotional state as she aged and pushed back against patriarchal society. 'An Introduction begins with the speaker, Das, stating that she knows all the male leaders of India. Their names are a part of her, a tribute to their overwhelming power.

The poem is titled “An Introduction”, which means a formal presentation of oneself. The poem is a detailed account of Kamala Das' life and her conflicts starting from her childhood and early adolescence. She begins the poem with a reference to politics, as a domain beyond her knowledge and expertise.

The major theme of most of her poems is the quest for love and her failure to find fulfillment of love in life. Kamala Das is a confessional poet who displays feminist ethos in her poems. Her poems are the outcome of her intensely felt personal experience which she expresses honestly and with great conviction.

So as part of the Study Activity, we were asked to pick any one line/word/phrase and write our own version of poetry here's my version made out through this poem.

The line I've chosen is given below...

Dress in sarees, be girl

The thing I want you all to draw attention to is Two lines here it is...

1) Women Should not Speak

2) Men don't cry

Things like this are traditional stereotypes for Gender women should not do this this this and men have to be courageous, has to have fierce, and whatever not so I tried to explain what Masculinity and feminity are going through.

Be wife, they said. Be embroiderer, be cook,

Dress in sarees, be a girl Be a wife, they said.

Be embroiderer, be cook. Little they forgot to mention is to dress for yourself dress the way you want to dress, be a strong girl, and be one of the best working wives. Cause every time woman doesn't need to sacrifice her own choice for society. She has to have her own right to herself neither father, brother, or husband, and yes of course not even later on son.

Because the ideal image of women is centered on sacrifice, religion, and calmness, kind the short woman who is going through everything silently is the ideal woman of society. and the one speaking for herself is a sinner. There's a huge difference between masculinity and feminity there are traditional gender stereotypes where women are nurturing, gentle, and home- oriented whereas men are tough, blunt, and dominant.

Nowadays we find men are as gentle and polite as women but this mentally ill society cannot accept the emotional side of men. Same that they can't accept less sensitive women at all.

The Home and The World

Ghare-Baire

 Hello Readers📚

Today my blog is concerned with an activity related to Machine Translation Activity. As a part of our study, we have one wonderful Novel from the Great Rabindranath Tagore which is The Home and The World which is centered in Pre-Independence India Especially "Bang Bhang". 

So, as part of this novel today we are asked to Writeup a note and Translate it into the Bengali Language. Then we'll elaborate on it.

Translation Task

Walking... On white sand.Sea shore was full of mad-headed people who were destroying the sea view. An old woman came and sat beside me, she seem a little outraged by the way humans are playing around and destroying mother nature.

There I saw sona coming standing beside me and talking to me as no one was there. She kept gazing at me, a tired-eyed old woman. As if releasing all burden over her head she took a deep breath everything around her was sparkling and shining and their human existence passed from sight.

In Bengali

হাঁটছি...সাদা বালির উপর।সমুদ্রের তীরে উন্মাদ মাথার মানুষে পূর্ণ ছিল যারা সমুদ্রের দৃশ্য ধ্বংস করে দিচ্ছিল। একজন বৃদ্ধ মহিলা এসে আমার পাশে বসলেন, মানুষ যেভাবে চারপাশে খেলছে এবং মা প্রকৃতিকে ধ্বংস করছে সেভাবে সে কিছুটা ক্ষুব্ধ বলে মনে হচ্ছে।

সেখানে দেখলাম সোনা আমার পাশে এসে দাঁড়িয়ে আছে এবং কেউ নেই বলে আমার সাথে কথা বলছে। ক্লান্ত চোখে সে আমার দিকে তাকিয়ে রইল। যেন তার মাথার উপর থেকে সমস্ত বোঝা ছেড়ে দিয়ে সে একটি গভীর শ্বাস নিল এবং তার চারপাশের সমস্ত কিছু ঝকঝকে এবং উজ্জ্বল এবং সেখানে মানুষের অস্তিত্ব দৃষ্টির বাইরে চলে যায়।

Google Pronunciation

 

Hām̐ṭachi...Sādā bālira upara.Samudrēra tīrē unmāda māthāra mānuṣē pūrṇa chila yārā samudrēra dr̥śya dhbansa karē dicchila. Ēkajana br̥d'dha mahilā ēsē āmāra pāśē basalēna, mānuṣa yēbhābē cārapāśē khēlachē ēbaṁ mā prakr̥tikē dhbansa karachē sēbhābē sē kichuṭā kṣubdha balē manē hacchē.

Sēkhānē dēkhalāma sōnā āmāra pāśē ēsē dām̐ṛiẏē āchē ēbaṁ kē'u nē'i balē āmāra sāthē kathā balachē. Klānta cōkhē sē āmāra dikē tākiẏē ra'ila. Yēna tāra māthāra upara thēkē samasta bōjhā chēṛē diẏē sē ēkaṭi gabhīra śbāsa nila ēbaṁ tāra cārapāśēra samasta kichu jhakajhakē ēbaṁ ujjbala ēbaṁ sēkhānē mānuṣēra astitba dr̥ṣṭira bā'irē calē yāẏa.

Movie screening Task

As part of studying this novel, we watched a Film named Ghare-Baire in Bengali to study  Bimla, Nikhilesh, and  Sandip closely.

Some images from the movie explaining the clear situation during "Bang- Bhang" in Bangla.

Writing Names in Bengali

There's one more activity we did while studying this novel.

(Board work )

We wrote our names in Bengali here to experience the difficulties we face while adapting to different languages whether to read, write or speak. 

My Daughter Joined a cult - Docuseries by Discovery+

Nithyananda 

Chutiyananda

born on 1 January 1978 known among followers as Nithyananda Paramashivam or Paramahamsa Nithyananda, is an Indian Hindu guru and "godman". He is the subject of an Interpol Blue notice and a court-issued non-bailable warrant relating to allegations of rape.

He is the founder of the trust Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, which has temples, gurukulas, and ashrams in many countries.

Following accusations and charges of rape and abduction in Indian courts, Nithyananda fled India and went into hiding. He subsequently announced the founding of his own self-proclaimed island nation called Kailaasa.

 Godman or Conman?

Pray or Prey?

The docu-series, produced by VICE Studios, gives a story of the highs and lows of Nithyananda's life in the pursuit of the explanation for his great following despite being labeled a fugitive by the people who used to believe in him, with testimonials that are given from devotees, attorneys, journalists, and activists. The followers and ex-devotees share a personal perspective while giving vital information that assists us in better understanding the complete narrative, having lived the story themselves. 

Talking about the docu-series director Naman Saraiya said in a statement, “Such a comprehensive and complex investigation into Nithyananda and his religious movement would not have been possible without the trust and cooperation of each person we crossed paths with… be it former devotees, survivors, journalists, lawyers, and police officers. I hope the series resonates with audiences around the world and generates greater awareness of the events that led to his fall from grace and the indelible impact on those left in its wake.” He added, “My Daughter Joined A Cult has been one of the most challenging and rewarding projects of my career yet and I am incredibly proud of what the team and I have created with VICE Studios and Samira Kanwar.”

In the press statement, Samira Kanwar, VP of Content, VICE Studios, said, “My Daughter Joined A Cult is an uncompromising and unflinching docu-series about the internationally infamous figure of Swami Nithyananda. As is synonymous with VICE Studios, the series offers an authentic and compelling insight into a complex and controversial figure, using raw first-person testimonies and original production techniques. We are proud to be working with discovery+ to bring this series to a wide, global audience.”

Frame Study 

Brainwashed

1) Canadian Woman - Sarah Stephanie Landry

Sarah was brainwashed back then when she was under BABA NITHYANANDA. she talks about how they all were blind worshipping him. She added that children were asked to chant mantras and they made children believe that Nithyananda is himself, God.

2) Aarthi Rao

One of the key witnesses in the Nithyananda case, Aarthi Rao, approached Chennai city police on Friday seeking protection for her and her family members.

Speaking to reporters at the city police commissioner, Ms. Aarthi Rao alleged that her life was under threat and pointed out that two days back some unknown persons visited her residence in Teynampet, Chennai, one after the other posing unnecessary queries.

“An unidentified man was found lurking near my father’s car parked outside the house. I don’t think anyone but Nithyananda would try to threaten me as I am scheduled to attend a court hearing in Ram Nagar court, Karnataka, on Saturday and suspect his involvement,” she said after lodging a complaint with the Commissioner of Police.

It may be recalled that Aarthi Rao, an NRI residing in the US along with her husband, joined Nithyananda’s ashram there. Once, during a visit to Bengaluru, she met godman Nithyananda in his ashram. During her stay, she was allegedly raped by him. Following this incident, Aarthi Rao lodged a complaint with the police who booked a case against Nithyananda.

Why do people believe him even after the CD incident? 

“The video footage is genuine. It is untampered and there is no indication of alteration in the video. As far as image comparison is concerned, that is still to be done,” CID’s Deputy IGP Charan Reddy said. Asked about efforts to trace the actress, Reddy said, “She is not an accused in this case. She will definitely come. When she comes, we will examine her. “The CD was sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory Hyderabad for analysis where it was found to be authentic, he said. The case was entrusted to CID for investigation after the scandal broke out in March when some TV channels aired the purported video footage. Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court reserved for tomorrow its order on a bail plea by Nityananda, arrested on criminal charges, including rape, from Solan in Himachal Pradesh on April 21.

Public Prosecutor Satish R Girji told the court that the investigation was complete and since there was no material on record, they did not require Nityananda’s further custody.

Justice Subhash B. Adi then reserved orders for tomorrow.

The Madras High Court had stayed all criminal proceedings against Nityananda pending before a court at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu where a private complaint has been filed against the self-styled godman.

BIDADI: Self-styled `god man’ Nithyananda Swami was granted conditional bail by the Karnataka High Court on Friday after over 50 days in prison. However, the court has restrained him from conducting preaching sessions till the investigation against him is in progress.

Justice Subash B. Adi, while granting the bail, said there is no doubt that Nithyananda’s actions hurt religious sentiments but, as there is no evidence to prove his crime, he could not be denied bail. Nithyananda was given bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and two local sureties. The CID has taken possession of Nithyananda’s passport and he will have to appear before the Bidadi police once every fortnight.