Paper Title
The Colonial Curse and Rural Bengal: Reading Select Anticolonial Literary and Film Works of Satyajit Ray

Abstract
Rural Bengal was a site of colonial oppression during the two hundred years of the British Raj. The infamous indigo plantations represent one of the many mechanisms through which the British Raj inflicted unbearable suffering upon rural India, particularly in the provinces of Bengal and Bihar. Deemed to be a lucrative venture for the Britishers, the colonial government compelled impoverished native farmers into indigo cultivation, often resorting to physical torture and causing financial hardship. This paper examines Satyajit Ray’s film, “The Postmaster” (1961), and two of his short stories, “Neel Atanka” (“The Indigo,” 1968) and “Robersoner Ruby” (“Robertson’s Ruby,” 1992), to illustrate how the central characters transition from urban environment (Calcutta) to rural Bengal in post-independence India and confront the lingering legacy of the agonizing past of indigo farming under the colonial rule. Finally, the paper investigates how Ray’s texts reveal the traumatic colonial history of indigo planting and its repercussions, positioning rural Bengal as a sight of the colonial curse. Keywords - Satyajit Ray, British Raj, Indigo Farming, Colonial Oppression, Rural Bengal,