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Dynamics
of `Cultural Universals': An
Approach to the Novels of John Steinbeck
-- S
S Prabhakar Rao
There
is a common tacit agreement about America as a nation
of hard-headed practicalists devoted to `bitch-goddess
success'. The excessive obsession of the typical American
adult with material success turned him into a worshipper
of the dollar. But the sensitive writer has run counter
to such obsession and argues for ethical values. John
Steinbeck, the Nobel Prize-winning American novelist,
aligns himself with the idealist tradition in American
imagination. In this idealist engagement, Steinbeck
has drawn on the Indian metaphysical explorations in
the Vedas and there are remarkable "cultural
universals" analogous with the thoughts of Adi
Sankara, and even, the advice of Vidura in the Mahabharata.
It is this concern of Steinbeck for the higher values
in human endeavor that endears him to the Indian readers
and ensures a durable niche for him.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Heart
of Indian History: Postcolonial Relevance of Arundhati
Roy's The God of Small Things
--
N Natarajan
The
"postcolonial relevance" of Postcolonialism,
in its ideology and methodology, to India is argued
in the paper with reference to Arundhati Roy's `critically'
much damaged novel, The God of Small Things.
Postcolonialists, after successfully deconstructing
the Western constructions of India, should now dismantle
India's constructions of itselfits past Varnashramite
stratification of Indian humanity. Arundhati Roy's novel
has this indigenous postcolonial project at its heart.
Her temporal-spatial dramatization of the cause and
consequence of the bio-ideological mix of the `untouchable'
Velutha and the `touchable' Ammu in the novel, is seen
against this backdrop of the remote Indian Hindu history
rather than its immediate Syrian Christian/Marxian background
with a view to neutralizing the hysterical `erotic'
cat calls against it.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
For
Us There is Only the Road: An Approach to Badal Sircar's
Evam Indrajit
--
T Nagamani
Badal
Sircar's Evam Indrajit, like Beckett's Waiting
for Godot, seeks to dramatize the disorganized and
fractured life of modern man. It is a tale of a playwright
who struggles in vain to write a play. The Writer is
unable to write a play because, as a conscientious and
an honest artist, he finds that modern life is too chaotic
and fragmentary to have any meaning. However, he becomes
hopeful of finding a hero for his play when he comes
across Indrajit who perseveres to know the meaning of
life by resisting to become a cog in the wheel unlike
his worldly-wise friendsAmal, Kamal and Vimal. But his
brief interaction with Indrajit proves that he is not
a fit subject for his play since he does not have a
core and a commitment. For Indrajit, the revolutionary,
has dwindled into a Nirmal, "just an ordinary man".
Moreover, he is too elusive to be contained within the
structured framework of the play. The play ends with
the Writer's assertion of his belief in a journey towards
no defined goal, knowing for certain that the road is
meaningless and the journey is irrational and futile.
Sircar, like T S Eliot in The Waste Land, offers
no hope for a meaningful personal and social life in
a predominantly existential modern world.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Towards
a Stylistics of Historical Writing
-- Salma Ahmed Farooqui
This
paper advocates the use of correct literary skills that
add flavor to the narrative in historical writings.
Historians, in their historical presentation of facts,
should endeavor to keep the reader engrossed and generate
an interest for reading further. This can be accomplished
through a variety of ways but, first and foremost, the
historian must be proficient in making the right choice
of words. It is not that the presentation of facts requires
sophisticated writing, but it definitely helps a working
historian to write clearly and persuasively. The sharpness
of arguments gets reinforced when expressed in a precise
language. Intelligent organization and sensitivity to
writing style breathe life and meaning into the narrative.
This aspect was well recognized by the ancient historians
who wrote historical accounts crafted in the exquisite
literary style in India and beyond. Thus, an effective
narration of history requires more than clear analysis.
It demands a good literary stylean awareness of a new
stylistics.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Muse
in Manacles : English
Poetry in the Indian Classroom
-- Pushpa
Vrinda Baxi
Once
upon a time, poetry was the central force to Indians,
formulating their attitude to the myriad forms of life
around them and the universe. It prospered through times
of oral poetry to the period when `word' acquired `print'
to its old `sound' structure. However, in recent times,
the old Indian tradition of poetry, as a force defining
the Indian face, has been replaced by its sad spectacle
of its reification and denunciation by the readers.
Regrettably, this attitude is evident not only in the
general reading public but also in the student community
who study English poetry formally as a process of academic
growth. Poetry forms an integral part of every educational
Board or University. Despite this exposure, they do
not respond positively to the form. What could be the
reasons for this attitudinal swerve? Is teaching the
culprit? What is the approach, method and technique
adopted by the teachers to teach English poetry to the
students? What can be done to improve the situation?
In order to arrive at reliable conclusions, the paper
draws on the research data collected from both the students
and the teachers. In this paper, an attempt is made
to study the teaching scene prevalent in the Indian
classroom of English poetry at the graduate level with
a view to introduce fresh optimism in teaching and responding
to poetry as a literary form. Muse will thus be hopefully
freed from the manacles restricting its growth in the
classroom and playing its rightful role in humanizing
humanity.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Contours
of the Confessional: Sylvia
Plath and Kamala Das : A Study of their Poems
-- Pradip
Kumar Patra
The
two women poetsSylvia Plath and Kamala Daswho come from
vastly different countries and climes, are remarkably
close in their confessional mode of poetic expression.
Both the poets vocalize their resistance to tradition,
based on male domination or construction. But what distinguishes
them is the style of their protest. Plath is daring
and her courageous protest finds expression through
arresting symbolic formulations. While the issues dealt
with by Plath are broad, the range of themes and concerns
of Kamala Das are comparatively narrower. The focal
points of Kamala Das are the body and her sexual discontent.
While Plath is more symbolic and gender representative,
Kamala is more personal and autobiographical. Both attempt
to cleanse their body through its own annihilation,
but Kamala is more successful in adapting herself later
to her role as "mother." Their poems reveal
their tremendously violent struggle to gain control
of their psyche as well as momentary ordering of their
selves. The paper analyzes the different contexts of
their poetic creativity and explores the interface of
similarities and dissimilarities of their sensitivities.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Translation,
Translations and
Literary Translation
-- V
V B Rama Rao
Translation
is an activity that is both simple and complex. It is
of various hues, practiced for a variety of purposes.
The language in which a text is first written is the
Source Language. The language into which the original
is transferred is the Target Language. This activity
is taken up with specific purposes varying from the
utilitarian and immediately useful, to the aesthetically
satisfying. At one end of the scale of purposes, there
is practicality and imaginative appreciation, leading
to indescribable joy at the other. Grammatical systems
and categories are unique to any single language but
elemental feelings and emotions are not unique to any
one language. Where factual translation can be made
into a science, literary rendering is not amenable to
a `theory', which per se is rigid, rigorous,
and for that reason, `scientific'. Hence, there could
be no universally applicable theory for creative translation,
which is a creative art more complex than writing itself.
The best way to excel is to cultivate this with imaginative
appreciation and then utilize the insights gleaned in
actual practice.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Roots
and Identity: Writing One's Way to Self-discovery
-- Hoshang Merchant
This
travelogue is an exploration into myself through a sensitive
appraisal of my experiences in America, the Middle East
and in India. My unpleasant and pleasant experiences
together helped me to rediscover myself, who is essentially
an outsider in my own country, on account of my Parsi
heritage and personal propensity. My exposure to the
world poets in translation in London, widened and deepened
my poetic consciousness and encouraged my poetic creativity.
The death of my father and my subsequent visit to Dharmasala,
is a journey inward and outward. To me travel is like
a seed that germinates in me and opens up fascinating
casements of realization.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Review
- Conference Proceedings
International
Steinbeck Congress: A Review
-- P
Balaswamy
One
of the heart-warming features of the Post-World War
II scenario is the policy of rapproachment followed
by the US and Japan, who had embarked on a suicidal
path. The spirit of mutual understanding and respect
between the two giant nations extends to the arena of
literature too. This is evident from the works of the
Japanese scholars, who exhibit immense respect for the
work of John Steinbeck, the Nobel Prize winner, and
the most read writer in Japan. The Land of Rising Sun
organized the first International Steinbeck Congress
in 1976 and the sixth International Congress in 2005,
which was attended by scholars from India, China, Korea,
Thailand, Slovenia, apart from a large contingent from
Japan. The theme was `Steinbeck and Global Dimensions'
and most of the keynote speeches and papers focused
on the continued global appeal of Steinbeck, the theme
of ethics and his philosophy and relationship with Quantum
Physics. The Congress thus provided an opportunity for
a meaningful evaluation of the work of one of the most
enduring novelists of America.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved. |
