Books by Komalesha H S
"From the Blurb:
Kuvempu (1904-1994) is undoubtedly one of the distinguished writers of world li... more "From the Blurb:
Kuvempu (1904-1994) is undoubtedly one of the distinguished writers of world literature who fortunately wrote in Kannada. The nature-scope-depth of his literature is so vast, varied and immense that it can stand on equal footing with the writings of any great writer of any age in any part of the world. No doubt he was a major, Jnanpith award-winning poet who played a prominent role in silhouetting the contours of modern Kannada poetry; however, it is through his two epic-scale novels that he would be remembered in the atlas of world literature. In this succinct monograph, Prabhushankara, one of the finest students of Kuvempu and noted Kannada writer, neatly evokes the complex and multi-dimensional personality of Kuvempu – a preeminent maker of modern Indian literature.
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Rapid developments in the fields of trade, market, commerce and telecommunication technologies, t... more Rapid developments in the fields of trade, market, commerce and telecommunication technologies, together with cultural confrontations at the global level are creating a paradigmatic shift in people's understanding of selfhood and identity. This book makes a serious attempt to trace and map out the making of contemporary post-national identities within the subcontinental cultural production of India and in its English Fiction. One of the structural ventures of this study is that these newer identities, which are basically fragmented, ruptured, hyphenated, and palimpsestic in nature, require new descriptions and new elaborations within the field of creative literature and literary criticism. In order to pursue its research on these lines, the present work contrasts the notion of subjecthood and identity with the earlier phases of Indian cultural imagination as represented in some of the pioneering works of Indian English Fiction that have now attained a canonical status. By analysing some of the predominant concerns that work as leitmotif in most of the Indian English novels, the book brings together and reinterprets some problematic concepts such as history, culture, religion, nation and nationalism and creates a theoretical axis upon which it charts insightful and engaging aspects of selfhood and identity.
Anupama Niranjana (1934–1991) was one of the pioneers among the prominent literary women of Karna... more Anupama Niranjana (1934–1991) was one of the pioneers among the prominent literary women of Karnataka. Married to Niranjana – the noted Kannada litterateur – she wrote relentlessly and voluminously on contentious issues related to women such as gender, marriage, identity, empowerment, etc. A prolific writer that she was, Anupama has to her credit nine short story collections, twenty two novels, two plays, twelve volumes of children’s literature, two volumes of autobiography, two travelogues, five essay collections and more than ten books related to her profession, medicine.
Anupama’s writings deal not only with women’s world but also with the larger socio-political concerns of her times. Effectively employing different modes of discourse – medical counselling, literary writings, medical and scientific literature – Anupama sincerely attempted to lend her voice to the voiceless people living on the fringes of society.
In the backdrop of the Vachana Movement – a unique socio-religious revolution that took place in ... more In the backdrop of the Vachana Movement – a unique socio-religious revolution that took place in Karnataka (India) during the 12th century AD, the play unfolds various historical and economic pressures that operate behind any revolution. Basavanna, who was a proponent of the Movement wanted to bring about a radical change in society by removing the hierarchic caste structures that are prevalent even today. Therefore, it's a play in and about transition.
This play, no doubt is a major contribution to the world of Indian Drama/Theatre. In Kannada, three plays have come on Basavanna and the Vachana Movement: P Lankesh's Sankranti (The Summer Solstice), Girish Karnad's Tale-Danda and H S Shivaprakash's The Great Spring. In Kannada literary circles, Sankranti has already achieved the status of a contemporary classic.
Literature and Society by Komalesha H S
It is a short review of Vijay Seshadri's Pulitzer for Poetry (2014) award winning collection, 3 S... more It is a short review of Vijay Seshadri's Pulitzer for Poetry (2014) award winning collection, 3 Sections; and my Kannada translation of two of its poems.
Titled "Niraakarana" in Kannada, this poem by Roopa Hassan - one of the major contemporary Kannad... more Titled "Niraakarana" in Kannada, this poem by Roopa Hassan - one of the major contemporary Kannada women poets - beautifully voices the concerns and precepts of the subaltern whose source of compassion is born out of their suffering. Here "too much of a suffering makes gold of their hearts"!
This short note attempts to capture the beauty and magic of a classic, contemporary Kannada play,... more This short note attempts to capture the beauty and magic of a classic, contemporary Kannada play, Gunamukha written by P Lankesh, one of the most versatile writers of the Kannada world.
Kanupriya is an enchanting and eternal classic love poem written by the great Hindi writer, Dhara... more Kanupriya is an enchanting and eternal classic love poem written by the great Hindi writer, Dharamveer Bharti. The poem portrays the poet's vision of a metaphoric lifeboat that can, with all trials and tribulations, sail across a vast ocean of loneliness, human suffering and life. Through the strong and poignant character of Radha, the poet floats a new religion -
First published on these pages of Academia
A Blog entry, Apr 24, 2014
Chuang Tze (also called Zhuangzi; lived during 369 BC-286 BC) is a highly acclaimed Master of the... more Chuang Tze (also called Zhuangzi; lived during 369 BC-286 BC) is a highly acclaimed Master of the influential Chinese Tao School of thought. There are many who consider him as the greatest Taoist after Lao Tzu -the founder of Taoism (Daoism). There is an interesting anecdote connected with his now most-anthologized poem called "The Butterfly". One pleasant autumn evening, a friend of Chuang Tze went to meet him at his regular inn only to find him seated alone under a tree, sipping his drink. Chuang Tze who was lost in deep contemplation was happy to meet the friend. When the friend prodded him to know what was the thought he was so deeply engrossed in, Chuang Tze narrates him a dream that he had had the previous night that made him look afresh at many of the existential questions revolved around reality, consciousness and identity. The poem cum dream goes like this:
Research Articles by Komalesha H S
TAB: Journal of Poetry and Poetics (Chapman University Publication), Sep 2014
Sarpa Satra by Arun Kolatkar retells the opening story of the Mahabharata, the snake sacrifice co... more Sarpa Satra by Arun Kolatkar retells the opening story of the Mahabharata, the snake sacrifice conducted by Janamejaya. Although, the Mahabharata has been an inspiration for many great works in Modern Indian literature, Kolatkar’s poem stands out among them for the way the poet uses the epic to bring out the issues that are specific to our times. The article explores how the tale of snake sacrifice done to exterminate the entire species of Nagas becomes an allegory for the poet to disturbingly ruminate the realpolitik of communalism.
Orbis Litterarum - A Wiley-Blackwell Publication, vol.69, issue 3 (2014), Apr 10, 2014
Behind the making of a great work, in any language, there is a significant contribution from inte... more Behind the making of a great work, in any language, there is a significant contribution from intertextual elements. Textual dialectics – a result of the interplay of multiple texts within a text – plays a major role in converting an otherwise ordinary work into a canonical work. It is in this sense that Eliot wrote that appreciation of any art is invariably an appreciation of the entire artistic tradition in which the new art is situated. When a translator chooses to translate such works in which there is a rich interplay of intertextual elements, he is invariably left with no better option than to bring in these elements, lest he should run the risk of reducing classics to works of mediocrity. In this process of translating intertextual elements, what problems does a translator encounter and what strategies does he adopt to overcome them? This paper attempts to explore the intricate and organic relationship that exists between translation, tradition and intertextuality against the backdrop of my English translation of Sankranti, a classic Kannada play written by P. Lankesh, one of the gifted writers of the Kannada world.
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Books by Komalesha H S
Kuvempu (1904-1994) is undoubtedly one of the distinguished writers of world literature who fortunately wrote in Kannada. The nature-scope-depth of his literature is so vast, varied and immense that it can stand on equal footing with the writings of any great writer of any age in any part of the world. No doubt he was a major, Jnanpith award-winning poet who played a prominent role in silhouetting the contours of modern Kannada poetry; however, it is through his two epic-scale novels that he would be remembered in the atlas of world literature. In this succinct monograph, Prabhushankara, one of the finest students of Kuvempu and noted Kannada writer, neatly evokes the complex and multi-dimensional personality of Kuvempu – a preeminent maker of modern Indian literature.
"""""
Anupama’s writings deal not only with women’s world but also with the larger socio-political concerns of her times. Effectively employing different modes of discourse – medical counselling, literary writings, medical and scientific literature – Anupama sincerely attempted to lend her voice to the voiceless people living on the fringes of society.
This play, no doubt is a major contribution to the world of Indian Drama/Theatre. In Kannada, three plays have come on Basavanna and the Vachana Movement: P Lankesh's Sankranti (The Summer Solstice), Girish Karnad's Tale-Danda and H S Shivaprakash's The Great Spring. In Kannada literary circles, Sankranti has already achieved the status of a contemporary classic.
Literature and Society by Komalesha H S
Research Articles by Komalesha H S
Kuvempu (1904-1994) is undoubtedly one of the distinguished writers of world literature who fortunately wrote in Kannada. The nature-scope-depth of his literature is so vast, varied and immense that it can stand on equal footing with the writings of any great writer of any age in any part of the world. No doubt he was a major, Jnanpith award-winning poet who played a prominent role in silhouetting the contours of modern Kannada poetry; however, it is through his two epic-scale novels that he would be remembered in the atlas of world literature. In this succinct monograph, Prabhushankara, one of the finest students of Kuvempu and noted Kannada writer, neatly evokes the complex and multi-dimensional personality of Kuvempu – a preeminent maker of modern Indian literature.
"""""
Anupama’s writings deal not only with women’s world but also with the larger socio-political concerns of her times. Effectively employing different modes of discourse – medical counselling, literary writings, medical and scientific literature – Anupama sincerely attempted to lend her voice to the voiceless people living on the fringes of society.
This play, no doubt is a major contribution to the world of Indian Drama/Theatre. In Kannada, three plays have come on Basavanna and the Vachana Movement: P Lankesh's Sankranti (The Summer Solstice), Girish Karnad's Tale-Danda and H S Shivaprakash's The Great Spring. In Kannada literary circles, Sankranti has already achieved the status of a contemporary classic.
between M K Gandhi and B R Ambedkar occasioned by
Arundhati Roy’s essay, “The Doctor and the Saint.” It takes
note of Rajmohan Gandhi’s criticisms of Roy in “Independence and Social Justice: The Ambedkar–Gandhi Debate” (EPW, 11 April 2015) and Roy’s response, “All the World’s a Half-Built Dam” (EPW, 20 June 2015) to stress that the views of Gandhi and Ambedkar are not as conflicting as they are made out to be.
One of the pitfalls of our present day education system is its undue emphasis on cognitive modes of organising knowledge. Such a cognitive leaning and orientation towards knowledge runs the risk of destroying the imaginative and the creative roots of life as a result of which the student ceases to show interest in the formulation and exploration of life’s emotions and experiences. By focussing on Reading and Writing – the two advanced skills of language learning – and sprinkling upon these skills some colouring of imagination and creativity, the proposed winter school tries to redress the loophole present in our education system. By sensitizing teachers towards the magic potentials of Imaginative Reading and Creative Writing, this training programme aims at enabling them to appreciate, politically as well as aesthetically, the world of literature and culture. In this context it is prudent to remember the simple but a well-established axiom that language, in its literary manifestation, provides a vital and lively means for engaging teachers and students in transformative learning. It is in order to sensitise students and teacher towards this dimension of learning that this theme is proposed for the MHRD/AICTE sponsored winter school.
Course Content
• Literature and Literary Studies
1. Reading a Text: With Theory and Without Theory
2. Is there a Postcolonial Reading of Literature?
3. Feminism: Subversive Reading and Creative Writing
4. Reading a Text at the Expense of the Author: Revisiting Roland Barthes
5. Can You Write Creatively?: A Creative Writing Workshop
6. Translation, Tradition and Intertextuality: Reading a Classic in Translation
• Media Studies
1. Reading a Moving Text vis-à-vis the Frozen Text: Cinema and Novel
2. Teaching Jhumpa Lahiri through Mira Nair: Writer, Director and Teacher
3. Reading Reality & Portraying Life: Artistic Movies and Commercial Movies
4. Satyajit Ray: A Writers’ Dream
5. Writing Short Documentaries
• Performing Arts
1. Reading through Colours: Painting as Text
2. Rabindranath Tagore: Painter as Writer or Writer as Painter?
3. Smile Please: Language of Photography
4. Reading Shakespeare through Performance
5. Singing Text: Music and Poetry
This fully-sponsored course is designed for the use of both undergraduate and post graduate teachers of science and engineering colleges who use English in different settings and for different purposes. The fundamental aim of the course is to impart to the participants the skills and pedagogy required in their academic ventures and pursuits, which, they in turn can employ to train the science and engineering students.
Generally, every year many institutes churn out short term courses after short term courses, either on communication skills or on grammar and writing skills etc. However, since these courses are not comprehensive as they focus only a segment of English language learning/acquisition/training they prove to be almost ineffective. This has created a dire academic need to develop a comprehensive learning cum training course which takes into account the different contexts/situations where English has to be used, rather effectively. This is in fact the rationale behind the present course.
Course Content
The course offers training in four broad areas of Functional English:
1. Professional Skills:
• Group Discussion Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Personal Interviews
2. Language Skills:
• Grammar
• Listening Skills
• Speaking Skills
• Phonetics
• Stress, Rhythm and Intonation
3. Literary Skills:
• Postmodernism
• Feminism
• Postcolonialism
• Poststructuralism and Deconstruction
4. Writing Skills:
• Creative Writing
• Report Writing
• Job Application/Formal Letters
• Resume
• Common English Errors