I was in Kolkata last fall and this past February. Those trips were largely for the Women of Yoga research so I was able to devote a lot of time to it. During these visits I met with family of some of the women that I’m researching, and many people who worked with these women or knew of them. I found the school Reba Rakshit attended, a center where she worked and two apartments she lived in. If you’re wondering how this goes, it’s a little like this:
“Hi, Please excuse me barging in. I’m wondering, do you have any records of a student who attended your school….about 70 years ago?”
Because this is a miraculous process the answer is yes. (However, there is one person who has a key to the room with the record books and they are not in. The person with the key is pretty much never in, but that adds to the fun of it.)
I have hemmed and hawed over how to approach this project. Should it be about one woman at a time or many? Should it be scholarly or more accessible? Book? Media? As that was all churning this spring, I was extremely close to a publishing deal. Then came covid. The pitch has not been abandoned but it will depend on the state of things throughout the rest of the year.
I’ve been doing archival work lately. I have also been learning Bengali since last September. The combination is illuminating beyond belief. I have found endless articles written by women about yoga from the twentieth century. I wasn’t sure this really existed. It does and it will be compiled in some way and shared with you.
Scott and I wrap up our dissertations for our work at SOAS this month. After that, I plan to focus my effort more completely on this project. Stay tuned for more.
