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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.
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