Report on Seminar “Everyday Ceremonial Praxes: Intimation, Imitation, Information In Late Modern Bengal”

We are pleased to inform you that a two-day seminar titled ” Everyday Ceremonial Praxes: Intimation, Imitation, Information In Late Modern Bengal” was organised by the Department of Sociology on 17th and 18th February, 2026. The theme of the seminar was to explore various influences which impacted the lifestyles and everyday realities of people in the 19th and 20th century Bengal. The seminar constituted of special lectures and paper presentations by students, faculty members and academicians across different colleges and universities.

The first day started with the keynote address by Prof. Prasanta Ray, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Presidency University. He gave his lecture on “Luxuries, Utilities and Etiquette: Advertising A New Normal in Late Modern Bengal.” It was followed by another special lecture by Prof. Dalia Chakrabarti, Professor of Sociology, Jadavpur University. She spoke on “Everyday in Jenana Phatok: Women in Colonial Prison”. After that, there were a number of paper presentations by various faculty members and students who highlighted the various themes of the seminar. This session was chaired by Prof. Basabi Chakraborty, Professor at Netaji Subhas Open University.

On 18th February, the session began with a keynote address by Prof.(Retd.) Ratnabali Chattapadhyay, Department of Islamic History, University of Calcutta. Her title was “The Changing Social Roles of Patrons and Artists in 19th Century Calcutta.” After that three sessions were held where students and faculty members presented their research papers. The first session was chaired by Prof. Anindya Sen, Associate Professor at the Department of History, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. The next session was chaired by Prof. Lopamudra Majumdar, senior faculty at the Department of Political Science, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. And the final session was chaired by Prof. Shreya Bhattacharya, HOD of the Department of Sociology, The Bhawanipur Education Society College.

The seminar ended with a vote of thanks. Overall, it was a very enlightening and enriching session for all the students and the faculties of the department. A few photographs are attached herewith.