From fieldwork I woke up the morning of Mahalaya 2022 with a WhatsApp message, playing the video of sunrise on a sea beach, new age music in the background, and a couple performing salutation to the Sun god সূর্য নমস্কার (“Surjo nomoshkar”), their poses stretched to perfection. The message that went with the video invited the recipient of the video to open their Mahalaya mornings with “Surjo nomoshkar” (spelled as “Surya namaskar” in Hindi text in the video). A casual glimpse into the video interrupted my much-anticipated Mahalaya morning, replete with the anticipation of waking up to the sound of Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s “Rupang dehi” playing in the background. It took me a few minutes to rework myself into the Mahalaya mood as I turned to waking up the children so they can join in the experience of listening to the age-old Mahalaya performance, (Mahishashur Mardini). Now you might ask, what does receiving a WhatsApp invitation to a sun salutation have to do with interrupted
This blog offers Mohan Dutta's reflections on the theoretical framework of the culture-centered approach, examining the interplays among Structure, Culture, and Agency in shaping marginalisation and the ways in which communities at the margins challenge structures. Writings on the blog are continually being revised to reflect the organic analysis of structure and agency.