{"id":5653,"date":"2020-05-06T00:24:59","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T18:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=5653"},"modified":"2020-05-06T10:11:11","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T04:41:11","slug":"use-of-magic-and-supernaturalism-in-goopy-gyne-bagha-byne-and-hirak-rajar-deshe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/use-of-magic-and-supernaturalism-in-goopy-gyne-bagha-byne-and-hirak-rajar-deshe\/","title":{"rendered":"Use of Magic and Supernaturalism in Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne and Hirak Rajar Deshe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Poster

Poster of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne <\/em>(The Adventures of Goopy Bagha<\/em>) (1969) [henceforth Goopy Bagha<\/em>] and Hirak Rajar Deshe <\/em>(The Kingdom of Diamonds<\/em>) (1989) [henceforth Diamonds<\/em>] are the two films that Satyajit Ray made based on the characters Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne. He took inspiration from his grandfather, Upendrakishore Raychowdhury\u2019s tale Goopy Gyne o Bagha Byne <\/em>(Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne<\/em>) and his father, Sukumar Ray\u2019s \u201cword play and juggling of ideas.\u201d (Robinson 183) Upendrakishore infused in such tales for children a simple and colloquial language. He incorporated local myths that ghosts have magical properties, tales of village fools and change of their fortune, and, folklores that the good always wins over the evil. In its cinematic interpretations, Ray masterfully introduces many layers of complex narratives while still keeping the simple and colloquial language, the humour and the folk tropes of the original text. In the adventures of his cinematic duo Goopy and Bagha, Ray imbibes several undercurrents of complex thoughts involving power imbalances between the oppressor and the oppressed, the role and position of science in society and the plight of soldiers in war amongst others.<\/p>\n

\"Poster

Poster of Hirak Rajar Deshe<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Ray uses the tropes of magic and supernaturalism as primary instruments of narrative progress in Goopy Bagha <\/em>and Diamonds<\/em>. Magic and supernaturalism have no morality independently. It is the agency of the agents using them that can be termed as good or evil. While the Western concept of \u2018black\u2019 and \u2018white\u2019 magic gives agency to magic itself (\u201cMagic: Supernatural Phenomenon\u201d), I suggest that Ray instead uses the possible Proto-Indo European root meaning of the word magic, \u201cmagh-\u201d, i.e., \u201cto be able, to have power\u201d in these films (\u201cMagic\u201d). Hence, the magical powers endowed or forced upon become expressions of power relations, the discussion of which is beyond the scope of this article.<\/p>\n

To profess magic and supernaturalism as the same is an error of judgement. The concept of the supernatural as something beyond \u2018nature\u2019 originates from Latin roots (\u201cSupernatural\u201d). The supernatural necessarily implies a presence of an other-worldly being with powers beyond comprehension in the natural world. In contrast, magic is a democratic function. It can be available to anyone and can be mastered freely.<\/p>\n

The character of the Scientist and his Jontor-Montor Ghor<\/em> (the Mumbo-Jumbo Room) in Diamonds<\/em> however problematises the stark distinction between supernatural and magic. The Scientist produces things (a fragrant bunch of paper flowers, a telescope and the brain-wash machine) whose functioning is beyond the comprehension of the people of the kingdom of Hirak. This puts forth the question, does science inhabit the realm of magic or the supernatural? Discussing this issue is again beyond the capacity of this article.<\/p>\n

In this article, I focus on three combined aspects evident in the films to assess Ray\u2019s use of magic and supernaturalism in delineating the conflict between good and evil. Firstly, I briefly study the idea of class stratification as depicted in the Dance of the Ghosts and in the society in the kingdom of Diamonds and introduce the concept of knowledge as having magical potency. Secondly, I explore the characters of the King of Ghosts and Borfi<\/em> in Goopy Bagha<\/em> and the Scientist in Diamonds<\/em>. I also examine the potency of their magic and supernaturalism. Thirdly, I analyse how music can be magical, with or without supernatural intervention.<\/p>\n

The Dance of the Ghosts and the Stratification of Society in the Kingdom of Diamonds<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Expelled by their respective kings, Goopy and Bagha (in Goopy Bagha<\/em>) find themselves in a cane forest with the imminent danger of the presence of a tiger in the same forest. As they break into a cacophonous song and dance celebrating the tiger walking away, the cane forest transforms into pitch darkness. Ghosts appear dancing to Goopy-Bagha\u2019s tune. The King of Ghosts emerges in glistening black and gestures to the apparitions as they break into a dance.<\/p>\n

Dance of the Ghosts in Goopy Bagha<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n