Ahana Na Mitra

I grew up in Kolkata, the capital of colonial India; where artistic culture and intellectual learning went hand-in-hand, almost unquestioningly and history, wasn’t simply a subject one studied in school, but rather, a living reality that one could trace in the buildings and streets, that still bear the mark of our colonial past. From a very young age, I enjoyed combining independent research with creative outputs - one of my earliest projects was a self-written, dramatic retelling of the Indian epic ‘The Mahabharata’, which I completed at the age of 13. My research interests became more formalised when I got the opportunity to complete a research essay on the cultural contributions of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. I was able to develop this further in my undergraduate degree, studying History and Politics at the University of Warwick. For the past two successive years, I have applied for and received competitive funding from the university, in order to carry out summer research projects, focused on colonial and subaltern histories of Bengal and Bangladesh, which I have presented at ICUR (International Conference for Undergraduate Research) 2021 and 2022; and BCUR (British Conference for Undergraduate Research) 2023. My undergraduate dissertation looked at the gendered household in colonial Bengal and its links with nationalism, as theorised by Rabindranath Tagore. At Columbia, I hope to study the changing trajectory of queer politics in a post-colonial and increasingly globalised Indian context, through the lens of the commercial, mainstream Hindi-language cinematic experience; by tracing and analysing representations of queerness in Hindi films - starting with the quintessential Bollywood productions of the1960s to the present-day wave of socially conscious cinema which straddle the line between commercial and ‘art’ filmmaking styles.

I am also passionate about giving back to the student community, which led me to work in roles such as course representative, History Department Ambassador, attending the Education Committee and the Social Inclusivity and Diversity Committee for the History Department, etc. Apart from my academic interests, I am consistently involved in student theatre – my first leadership role was co-founder of a children’s theatre company, which I set up with my peers, in 2012. At university, I was elected as the Productions Manager for Shakespeare Society and Diversity and Outreach officer for Codpiece Theatre Society, which allowed me to help other students get involved in student theatre. My latest project is an ongoing, independent show, dealing with themes of queerness, as represented in non-western mythologies – I am co-directing this show, as part of my overall academic interests in decolonising, gender and sexuality. When I am not engaged academically or theatrically, I enjoy reading, listening to music, baking and exploring new cafes.