Join us for the book launch of Noorjahan Bose’s “Daughter of the Agunmukh
a” at Politics and Prose\, 5015 Connecticut Ave NW\, Washington DC\, on Su
nday\, October 29\, 2023 at 3 pm. Noorjahan Bose will be joined by local a
ctivists Sunu Chandy and Krittika Ghosh along with the book’s editor Monic
a Jahan Bose. Books will be available for purchase and signing. We hope yo
u will come and celebrate this major accomplishment with Noorjahan\, who t
urned 85 earlier this year.
\nAlso please support our wonderful local
bookstore\, which is hosting this official event.
How does a gi
rl from a tiny Bangladeshi island end up reading Tagore\, Marx\, and de Be
auvoir and become a leading feminist campaigner?
This is the riveting personal story o
f Noorjahan Bose\, born in 1938 in present-day Bangladesh to a farming fam
ily\, near the mouth of the ferocious River Agunmukha—Fire Mouth River. Ab
used by male relatives and raised by a mother who was herself a child brid
e\, Noorjahan struggled for her education and autonomy. Nurtured joyfully
and creatively by her mother\, and mentored by local activists\, she found
her way into the progressive movements that would one day take her around
the world. From the pain of partition to her husband’s death when she was
only 18 and pregnant\, to the devastating cyclones threatening her family
’s home and livelihood\, Noorjahan’s life has not been easy. Yet her coura
ge shines through the pages of her memoir\, whether she is promoting Bangl
a language rights\, enduring Bangladesh’s liberation war\, or marrying out
side her family’s faith. This moving\, gripping book tells a powerful stor
y of trauma\, loss\, resilience and empowerment.
Translated by
Rebecca Whittington and edited by Monica Jahan Bose.
Bios:
\nNOORJAHAN BOSE – Noorjahan Bos
e (she/her) is a feminist writer\, social worker\, and activist\, living b
etween the US and Bangladesh. She is the founder of two US-based organizat
ions to empower South Asian women\, ASHA (now Ashiyanaa) and Samhati. She
has a BA (Honors) in Bangla literature from Dhaka University and a Masters
in Social Work from Catholic University in Washington DC. She worked for
many years as a social worker with refugees and the elderly at Catholic Ch
arities\, with foster children for Prince Georges Country\, MD\, and with
ICU patients at DC General Hospital. She also founded the first Bangla Sch
ool in the DC area\, running it out of her home for more than 10 years.\n
Her first book
\, the autobiography Agunmukhar Meye\, was published in 2009 in Bangladesh
\, after coming out in serial form in the Janakantha newspaper. The book b
ecame a bestseller\, and in 2009 was named one of the top 10 books in Bang
ladesh. In 2010\, Noorjahan received the Anannya Prize for the book\, give
n to one woman writer every year in Bangladesh. The book has been the subj
ect of numerous reviews and panel discussions in Bangladesh and India. In
2011\, Ananda Publishers brought out a new edition of the book in India. I
n 2016\, the book won Bangladesh’s highest honor\, the Bangla Academy Lite
rary Award (autobiography). Noorjahan has also published several travelogu
es and other books. The translation “Daughter of the Agunmukha” was publis
hed in 2023 by Hurst Publishers in the U.K. with distribution in the US by
Oxford University Press.
\n
SUNU P. CHANDY- Sunu P. Chandy (she/her) is currently a Seni
or Advisor with Democracy Forward\, supporting work across the teams to de
fend and build measures towards a more inclusive democracy and to disrupt
the policies that oppose this goal. Sunu is also the author of an award-wi
nning collection of poems\, My Dear Comrades\, published by Regal House in
2023\, and has created a wide-ranging book tour alongside other authors\,
artists\, and activists. Sunu is also a proud member of the board of dire
ctors for the Transgender Law Center\, and was honored to be included as o
ne the 2021 Queer Women of Washington.
\n
Before joining Democracy Forward in September 2
023\, she served as the Legal Director of the National Women’s Law Center
for six years. She led the Center’s litigation efforts by expanding both t
he Center’s direct litigation and amicus brief program\, and there she coa
uthored several briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sunu provided guidance f
or the Center’s policy positions towards greater workplace justice\, and o
ften led the Center’s LGBTQ+ rights policy work including through testifyi
ng before the U.S. Congress. Before NWLC\, Sunu led civil rights work thro
ugh a range of government positions including as the Deputy Director for t
he Civil Rights Division with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Serv
ices\, as the General Counsel of the DC Office of Human Rights (OHR)\, and
for 15 years as a federal litigator with the U.S. Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) in the New York District Office. Sunu began her legal ca
reer as a law firm associate representing unions and individual workers in
New York City at Gladstein\, Reif and Megginniss\, LLP. Sunu is cited as
a legal expert on workplace civil rights laws\, gender justice and LGBTQ+
rights including by The New York Times\, The Washington Post\, LA Times\,
Ms. Magazine\, the Advocate\, CSPAN\, NBC\, ABC and NPR.
\n
Sunu earned her B.A. in Peace
and Global Studies/Women’s Studies from Earlham College in Richmond\, Ind
iana\, her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston
and later\, her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Queens College/The
City University of New York in 2013. Sunu’s creative work can also be foun
d in publications including Asian American Literary Review\, Beltway Poetr
y Quarterly\, Poets on Adoption\, Split this Rock’s online social justice
database\, The Quarry\, and in anthologies including The Penguin Book of I
ndian Poets\, The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood and This Bridge
We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation.
\n
KRITTIKA GHOSH – Krittika Ghosh (she
/her) is the Executive Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Vio
lence Resource Project (DVRP). She has extensive experience working on gen
der-based violencein the US and Canada for the past 21 years. Krittika’s e
xperience includes developing innovative programming on prevention of gend
er-based violence (GBV) in immigrant and refugee communities through trans
formative education and outreach campaigns such as the development of grap
hic novels and photo novels highlighting sexual violence\, development of
trauma art therapy workshops and peer engagement in responding to GBV. She
has deep experience in community engagement\, policy development and prog
ram management. Krittika was a founding member of Ontario’s Provincial Vio
lence against Women’s round-table and provided feedback to policies on the
government’s GBV related policies. Krittika is also a co-founder of the S
hakti Peer group\, a peer-based group responding to gender-based violence
in New York City.
\n
Krittika has been recognized for her work by the City of New York\,
The Filipino Women’s Network\, was one of Mother Board Magazine’s “Person
of the Year” in 2017 for her work in ending gender-based violence and is t
he recipient of the 2021 Imagene Stewart Surviving Sprit Award. She gradua
ted Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Women’s Stud
ies from Simmons University\, Boston\, and with a Master’s degree in Gende
r Studies from the London School of Economics & Political Science.
\n
MONICA JAHAN BOSE-
Monica Jahan Bose(she/her) is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate ac
tivist whose work spans painting\, printmaking\, film\, performance\, publ
ic art\, and writing. Her ongoing collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH
SARIS with women farmers from her mother’s ancestral village has travelled
to 11 US states and seven countries and engaged thousands of people. Her
work has appeared in the Miami Herald\, the Washington Post\, Art Asia Pac
ific\, the Milwaukee Sentinel\, the Honolulu Star Advertiser\, the Japan T
imes\, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. She is a board member of Sa
mhati and currently manages the Katakhali eco-empowerment project. She was
the editor of Daughter of the Agunmukha. She has a BA in the Practice of
Art (Painting) from Wesleyan University\, a post-graduate Diploma in Art f
rom Santiniketan\, India\, and a JD from Columbia Law School.
\n
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:ai1ec-4292@storytellingwithsaris.com
DTSTAMP:20260305T163838Z
CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:art\,climate\,earth day\,film\,gender
CONTACT:Monica Jahan Bose\; 2025096282\; monicajahanbose@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION:Join artist/filmmaker Monica Jahan Bose for the DC premiere of
“Darchira River\,” a new performance film. The film is based on a performa
nce about cimate change let by Monica in Katakhali Village\, Bangladesh\,
on the banks of the Darchira River\, which has been destroyed by climate c
hange. The stunning footage shows women farmers of the village engage in s
inging\, writing\, and rituals towards healing climate change. In this eco
feminist work\, the women reframe a Muslim ritual of writing wishes\, into
a feminist ritual of hope and renewal\, using writing\, turmeric and wate
r. The film features village women’s oral tradition songs along with an or
iginal score by DC musician and sound designer Sonia Herrero. Cinematograp
hy: Shefali Akhter Shetu. Editing: Shefali Akhter Shetu and Monica Jahan B
ose.\nJoin us at lunchtime on Friday for the DC premiere at Artomatic.\nRu
nning time 20 minutes\, followed by Q&A with artist\nArtomatic\, Friday\,
April 19 at 12:15 pm\, 6th floor\n2100 M St NW\, Washington\, DC (metro\;
Dupont Circle)
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240419T121500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240419T131500
LOCATION:Artomatic @ 2100 M St NW\, Washington DC 20037
SEQUENCE:0
SUMMARY:Darchira River film screening
URL:https://storytellingwithsaris.com/event/darchira-river-film-screening/
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\\n\\n
Join artist/filmmaker Monica Jahan Bose
for the DC premiere of “Darchira River\,” a new performance film. The
film is based on a performance about cimate change let by Monica in Katak
hali Village\, Bangladesh\, on the banks of the Darchira River\, which has
been destroyed by climate change. The stunning footage shows women farmer
s of the village engage in singing\, writing\, and rituals towards healing
climate change. In this ecofeminist work\, the women reframe a Muslim rit
ual of writing wishes\, into a feminist ritual of hope and renewal\, using
writing\, turmeric and water. The film features village women’s oral trad
ition songs along with an original score by DC musician and sound designer
Sonia Herrero. Cinematography: Shefali Akhter Shetu. Editing: Shefali Akh
ter Shetu and Monica Jahan Bose.
\n
Join us at lunchtime o
n Friday for the DC premiere at Artomatic.
\n
Running time
20 minutes\, followed by Q&A with artist
\n
Artomatic\, F
riday\, April 19 at 12:15 pm\, 6th floor
\n
2100 M St NW\,
Washington\, DC (metro\; Dupont Circle)
\n
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
