Published Online:December 2025
Product Name:The IUP Journal of English Studies
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJES021225
DOI:10.71329/IUPJES/2025.20.4.15-27
Author Name:Ritu Sharma
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Arts and Humanities
Download Format:PDF
Pages:15-27
The paper analyzes Vijaydan Detha’s short story, “The Thakur’s Ghost” in the light of magical realist aspect. It explores the idea of subversion and transgression in the light of the concepts of marginalization and the center. The study anchors its lens on a philosophical aspect through which magical realism can be perceived as interpreting plurality. Central to the idea is the discovery of the phenomenon of space not only as a physical realization but also in terms of its psychological bearing. The study also focuses on the use of magical realism as a narrative device in the story, wherein readers witness interactions between the dead and the living, and the subversion of the social hierarchy through role reversal.
The Thakur’s Ghost” is a translated version of the Hindi short story “Thakur ka bhoot”, by Vijaydan Detha. Detha has compiled different Rajasthani oral narratives in the regional language, which were later translated into English by Christi A Merrill and Kailash Kabir. Detha is popular by his pen name Bijji.