Midnight’s Third Child

Midnight’s Third Child is an anthology of essays by Naeem Mohaiemen on artists and art movements in Bangladesh–with a focus on cinema, literature, and visual arts. “Midnight’s third child” is inspired by the Bangla phrase: “chagol’er tritiyo baccha lafay beshi” (the goat’s third child jumps more). It is also Mohaiemen’s satirical response to the title of Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children (1981). The reference points to what was left out of postcolonial art history–the many fates of the geography of Bangladesh. Bangladesh existed under three signs– “East Bengal” under British India until 1947, “East Pakistan” under Two-Wing Pakistan until 1971, and “Bangladesh” after the liberation war of 1971. Given these movements, reversals, and renewals, the art history of Bangladesh remains contingent and fluid.

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