Indian Writings in English

Of late, there has been a spate of fictional works based upon Indian myths. Fictionalization or re-telling of myths has become a lucrative venture because of the ever-growing demand for new stories from the visual media. Moreover, a huge overseas market has emerged that demands more and more of such stuff with each passing day. The re-telling of myths, per se, is nothing new; after all, we have had so many versions of the Ramayana in our country, produced by poets like Kumbhan, Krittivas, Balramdas, Tulsidas et al. Similar is the case with stories from that sea of stories, Mahabharata. This re-representation of ancient epics and stories is in sync with the deconstructive approach to hierarchies as the contemporary re-tellings are found to be subversive, artistic interventions. And yet it seems politics is involved in the implementation of the postmodern project, what with the prevailing re-Orientalist mode of evaluation of native literary-cum-philosophical traditions. Besides these issues, the paper discusses the impact of these practices on the native culture since the indigenous milieu comes in conflict with the forces of globalization, with the former insisting on reverence to cultural icons and the latter going along with playful irreverence. As the corpus of texts re-told keeps on expanding with writers like Ashok Banker, Namita Gokhale, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Nilanjan Chowdhary, Krishna Udayshankar…the list is endless, it appears to be opportune time to debate the issues involved. Ashok Banker-We begin our study with the most voluminous of these writers, viz., Ashok Banker, who, at the age of 52, has written more than fifty books, most of these based upon Indian epics and folktales. He started his career as a journalist but soon turned to writing crime fiction before switching on to mythical novels, his international bestsellers .

Kashmir has become the perpetual battleground over the issue of possession between India and Pakistan. In the tug o war, both the sides have claimed the legal ownership on the land. People of Kashmir have become the citizens of 'no man's land'. Unrelenting violence, proxy war, terrorism, PoK, questions of Kashmiri Pundits, Kashmiri Muslims, and harsh realities of life in the heaven can be compared to Pandora's Box where people are just searching for their selves, their identity, peace in the valley; those who have migrated or were forcefully evacuated are in exile – physical and mental. Kashmir as a commodity is matter of debate. But those living human beings, the youth, the mothers, the fathers, sisters, brothers, children are dwelling in the country without 'post office', without any address, without any communication and any hopes of redemption. Agha Shahid Ali in his poetry and Vishal Bhardwaj in his feature film Haider have at length expressed their concerns for Kashmir from different perspectives. This paper is an attempt to compare these two different genres of artistic expression in respect of treatment given to Kashmir into their creative genius. These beautiful lines underscore the beauty and bounty of Kashmir in yester generations. But in course of continent's history, Kashmir has undergone many changes, political and religious phases. Kashmir was paradise on the earth in respect of its geographical picturesque landscape and communal harmony where Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims co-existed in strong bonds of brotherhood. The idyllic beauty and lyrical scenery of Kashmir has inspired poets, artists to sing praises for it in their creative works. Kashmiriyat is often a synonym used for the composite culture that was prevalent in Kashmir. Kashmiriyat has infused the admixture of Hindu and Islamic religious, cultural and musical traditions. It weaved the strong fabric of Hindu-Muslim bonding, communal harmony and socio-religious coexistence in Kashmir. But in course of time political greed and lust for power has paved discord in religious harmony. It disturbed the socio-cultural texture of Kashmir. Now, Kashmir has become the perpetual battleground over the issue of possession between India and Pakistan. In the tug o war, both the sides have claimed the legal ownership on the land. People of Kashmir have become the citizens of 'no man's land'. Unrelenting violence, proxy war, terrorism, PoK, questions of Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Muslims, and harsh realities of life in the heaven can be compared to Pandora's Box where people are just searching for their selves, their identity, peace in the valley; those who have migrated or were forcefully evacuated are in exile – physical and mental.

The eighth volume of Ars Artium offers research papers entitled "Gender Exploitation in Igboland: Exploring Stories from Lejja Omaba Chant and Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie” by Uchechukwu Evelyn MADU; "Hyphenated Identities in M. G. Vassanji’s The In-Between World of Vikram Lall” by Krupa Sophia Jeyachandran and Urvashi Kaushal; “Dealing with Monstrous Identities in Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad” by Somedutta Mukherjee; “The Conflict Between Traditional and Modern Awareness in Anita Desai’s Voices in the City” by Vinay Kumar Dubey; “Greek Oedipus’ ‘Story and the Ethiopian Skendes’ Story” by Chiramel Paul Jose; and “Ecofeminism in Indian Fiction: A Select Study” by V. Pala Prasada Rao, Palepu Srinivas and Ganta Srinivasulu.
There are also two book reviews by Toni Matthias Mey, and poems by Neal Whitman, Rachelly (Chelly) Abraham-Eitan, Sushri Sangita Mishra, Paramita Mukherjee Mullick, Rumki Basu, Rumna Mitra Lala, P. Malathy, and Ashok Bhargava.

In India, the prominent female prototype is the chaste, benevolent, virtuous, patient, self-denying, enduring, self-sacrificing and self-effacing woman. Indian women of the twentieth century have changed and the modern woman questions the prominent female prototype and androcentric hegemony. Patriarchy is the foundation of women's oppression, and neither of the phenomena can be understood without the other. Women's problems can never be discussed without discussing them in relation to men's interests. The analysis of patriarchal attitudes even now shows that, things haven't changed completely for Indian women, though there is a bit of amelioration when compared to the earlier generations. Moreover, the gender roles dictated by a patriarchal society stifle the real roles of men and women. Conflict of interests is seen in the lives of women on account of this suppression. Anita Desai has been selected amongst many other women writers for this paper as she is often considered to be the representative Indian Woman Novelist in English, who has made a considerable contribution to post independent Indian fiction. The women characters of Anita Desai's fiction are mentally and intellectually advanced people, who are in a constant quest for identity and freedom in a patriarchal society.

Exploration and mapping of Africa began around 1850 and continued intothe nineteenth century.S. K Pottekkatt, the Indian travel writer from Kerala State in India, set out to Africa. This study focusses on S. K Pottekkat as a travel writer who made Malayalis aware of the geography, life and culture of Africa. The Kappiri had no place in the land of his birth. Beira was a source of great relief for Indians travelling from other countries because Portuguese Africa was fairly free from racial discrimination. The Gujarati businessman was prominent. They had mastered the language of the natives and had in depth knowledge of their customs as well as their needs and so prospered well. Who had the greater right in Africa: the British or the Indians? Extensive developments took place in travel writing during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This phase in exploration and mapping of Africa began around 1850 and continued into the nineteenth century. It also paved the way for the Europeans to race and capture as much as land as possible and as a result of this, the map of colonial Africa was redrawn many times. The writers of those times found material for books with the rapid

The paper analyses Syed Amanuddin’s “Don’t Call Me Indo-Anglian” from the perspective of a cultural materialist. In an effort to understand Amanuddin’s contempt for the term, the matrix of identity, language and cultural ideology has been explored. The politics of the representation of the self and the other that creates a chasm among human beings has also been discussed. The impact of the British colonialism on the language and psyche of people has been taken into account. This is best visible in the seemingly innocent introduction of English in India as medium of instruction which has subsequently brought in a new kind of sensibility and culture unknown hitherto in India. Indians experienced them in the form of snobbery, racism, highbrow and religious bigotry. P C Ray and M K Gandhi resisted the introduction of English as the medium of instruction. However, a new class of Indo-Anglians has emerged after independence which is not different from the Anglo-Indians in their attitude towards India. The question of identity has become important for an Indian irrespective of the spatial or time location of a person.

This research paper focuses on analyzing the psychoanalytic theory and psychoanalysis method. Sigmund Freud is the father of modern psychology, which analyzes the human mind and claims that the unconscious mind, controls the conscious mind. The human mind has different layers like a conscious mind, preconscious mind, and unconscious mind. Ego, superego, and id are the apparatuses of the mind and functioning in person. The unconscious mind is a repository from which one's personality has emerged. Dreams are the indirect outlets of the unconscious mind. Therefore, in the psychoanalysis method, dreams are the royal roads to the unconscious mind. Freud's theory analyzes the life instinct and death instinct in human beings. Life strives for the dialectical synthesis of birth and death. Freud's two disciples expressed dissent against his libido theory and established their independent schools of psychology.

In Indian education system, learning English language is a second language (L2) which is unavoidable and undividable apart from their mother tongue (L1). An intellectual, physical and emotional contribution is necessary to learn a second language successfully and to communicate a linguistic message. Especially, the rural area of engineering students used L1 (Telugu) as a way of communication tool in some of the engineering colleges as they are facing many challenges while speaking English as a second language (L2). The present study would investigate the causes, problems and difficulties faced by the rural area students who came to study engineering courses in VIIT (A) College in Visakhapatnam, AP. The researcher has used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews for 40 students includeing 32 male and 8 female rural area students for data collection. The collected data analyzed statistically and graphically. In the data analysis, the results revealed the reasons for failure like due to less time to learn English in the classroom, inadequate encouragement from teachers, family and friends. It is also found that the Teaching of English language in bilingual method and late foundation of English medium studies in previous academics. This piece of writing also facilitates the researchers who aim to investigate similar problems in speaking skills for rural area engineering students. The study also presented some of the suggestions and recommendations to overcome the struggle for the language teachers and students.

Language and literature are a part of culture and the latter also gets influenced by the former. Culture perishes when language and literature are neglected. At the same time a specific language and literature also decline when culture itself suffers due to any reason materialistic or otherwise. Leading poet of Telugu Sri Sri"s master pieces Maha prasthanm and Maro Prasthanam reveal influences of the Western literature and indigenous imagery used. In the former, the language is mainly influenced by Sanskrit and Classical Telugu whereas in the latter the poet"s attempt to adopt dialect or people"s language is clearly visible. Some people downplay the language of Maroaprasthanam as it ideologically and linguistically to an extent leans towards the extreme left. Digambara poets used vulgar language to show their disgust towards the exploitative society in the late sixties and early 1970"s. While Dalit poets used language uninhibitedly, feminist poets found fault with vulgar expressions used by the Dalit poets as something objectionable and gender-insensitive. My paper studies the impact of language of resistance including the "vulgar" language in Telugu poetry from revolutionary poets such as Sri Sri and Alisetti Prabhakar and a few other representative poets from the movements of Digambara and Dalit movements. In fact one finds the language of resistance including vulgar language as a means to express the anger and frustration towards to the established order and shock the complacency of the community. Language and literature are a part of culture and the latter also gets influenced by the former. Culture perishes when language and literature are neglected. At the same time a specific language and literature also decline when culture itself suffers due to any reason

Jaydeep Sarangi is a bilingual writer, academic, editor, interviewer, translator and author of a number of significant publications on postcolonial issues, Indian writing in English, Australian literature, marginal literatures and creative writing, in journals and magazines both in India and abroad. He is on the editorial board of several refereed journals in different continents. Widely anthologised and reviewed as a poet and a critic on marginal writings, he has authored six poetry collections in English, the latest being Faithfully, I Wait (2017), and one in Bengali. About his poems Keki Daruwalla says, ‘Jaydeep Sarangi gives a fresh paint to everyday living. “Small rivers” near tribal villages are his haunts.

In India, the discriminatory attitude towards men and women has existed for generations and affects the lives of both genders. Although the constitution of India has granted men and women equal rights but gender disparity still remains. Gender discrimination not only violates human rights but also fundamental rights, which are equal given to all human beings men and women. There is specific research on gender discrimination mostly in favour of men over women and they are perceived to disadvantaged at work. Indian laws on rape, dowry and adultery have women's safety at heart, but these highly discriminatory practices are still taking place at an alarming rate. Gender discrimination in India refers to health, education, economic and political discriminatory between men and women in India. Here I selected the novel of Rohinton Mistry's-A Fine Balance (1995) for the study of gender discrimination. Female is born in to inequality in many places in India and considered as an inferior to male organ. On the basis of gender discrimination a person should receive more or less rights or be treated differently on their gender is preposterous. In Rohinton Mistry's socio-political and historical novel, A Fine Balance is about 1970s India , during the Internal Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister of India, gender is huge issue of this novel. Mistry is trying to communicate the theme that all people should be seen as equal, no matter their gender or social status. The main objective of this paper is to focus upon gender discrimination through Mistry's shortlisted Booker Prize novel, A Fine Balance.

The Partition of India-Pakistan was one of the most traumatic events experienced by people in the recent times. The massacre that followed the event was barbaric. The violence provoked by a handful of selfish and insensible people made Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs commit various inhuman crimes on each other. As the two countries were formed largely on the basis of religion, the people who were in minority in a region were forced to leave their homes and all their lifelong possessions. The partition resulted in creation of approximately ten million refugees and at least one million deaths. The literature that has been written about the partition has very realistically portrayed the violence and the killings on both the sides. It deals with a variety of themes woven around the event. While some writers have talked about the massacre during the refugee migration, others have written about the difficulties that people had to face during their rehabilitation in a new country. Short story 'Pali' by Bhisham Sahani deals with the trauma of a child named Pali, who gets separated from his parents during the partition. Pali finds himself bewildered when he is converted to different religions twice. Also, he finds himself at crossroads when he is expected to forget his past life and accept the new one immediately. He is not able to forget either of his parents. The present paper focuses on the chaos and the mental trauma that Pali goes through during his life in Pakistan and India. It also takes into consideration the issues related to religious bigotry. The Partition of India-Pakistan was one of the most traumatic events experienced by people in the recent times. The massacre that followed the event was barbaric. The violence provoked by a handful of selfish and insensible people made Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs commit various inhuman crimes on each other. As the two countries were formed largely on the basis of religion, the people who were in minority in a region were forced to leave their homes and all their lifelong possessions. The partition resulted in creation of approximately ten million refugees and at least one million deaths. The population which was beaten, tortured, raped and abducted remains unmeasured. Above all, the emotional pain and trauma, which people could not forget even after the decades of the tragedy, could never be estimated or narrated in its actual form. According to certain scholars like Ayesha Jalal and Sugata Bose, the Partition was " a cataclysmic event that impinged upon the lives of millions on the subcontinent, in a way that even two the world wars had not, in terms of the sheer brutality and damage that it inflicted upon a considerable portion of population, the mass exile and displacement that it caused and the new schism that it created among people. (Rituparna 132) The common man, who had nothing to do in deciding about the partition, had to pay a great price.

The selected Indian playwrights have questioned the modernity and its implications especially in context of the sanskritization, westernization and transformation of Indians due to the impeccable industrialized, material, secular, mechanized culture. In India, modernity has changed the concept of existence and it has driven Indians to the life of glamour and glitz of technology, gadgets, metropolis and enslavement to mechanics of machinery. Their day to day life is beset with a paradigm shift in their notions of being equipped at the best with techno-world. The playwrights’ concern is not just to expose the reality of developing people, but they are also a part of that same change. The plays sensitize the readers and spectators with the individual unhappiness, despite the breaking of their weak boundaries and the building of their self-capacity. On one hand there is self-reliance, while at the same time there is heart of ruin. The authors question the value-added Indian legacy of humanity, which is fallen to hypocrisy and usury. These authors poignantly examine human life within the man-made dimensional laws that has wrought human sense eco-critically to understand nature’s laws and human rights. Therefore these playwrights suggestively are self-critical to raise human intellect in order to do away with their cynical and skeptical concepts for the advancement of their lifestyle and life patterns. Metaphysically, they make aware Indians—how does their inner thought process relate their primary needs with the social milieu, external impressions, environmental issues and existential choices? How do Indians in contemporary reality of human existence correspond with free-will that is mostly in contradictory conflict due to greed, selfishness, and human need? How does their alliance with power, sex and religion trap them into the labyrinth of delusive aspirations?
Keywords: concept of existence, enslavement to mechanics of machinery, labyrinth of delusive aspirations

Though English does not find a place in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution yet the use of English has been allowed for various purposes under Articles 210, 343(2), 345, and 348(3)(iii). As the burden of history is too heavy to be overthrown, in at least five Indian states English enjoys the status of official language. Studies in English Literature continue to be promoted in a big way in all the universities of the country and graduating in English is considered socially valuable and prestigious. Gandhi used English and published in it prolifically in the heydays of nationalistic fervour. Nehru himself an exuberant user of English, argued for its inclusion in the list of languages to be patronised by Sahitya Akademi, the national body for Indian literature. Whether the literature written in this language in India is unique and if it deserves a special treatment in the country is a debatable issue as has been made out also by Salman Rushdie's assertion in his book, The Vintage Book of Indian Writing, -… the ironical proposition that India's best writing since independence may have been done in the language of the departed imperialists is simply too much for some folks to bear‖ (xiv) though Rushdie goes to correct himself in the very next sentence: -It ought not to be true, and must not be permitted to be true.‖ (Idem) If the awards given by Sahitya Akademi are any proof, the record of English is excellent as no book worthy of an award has been found only in twelve years (1961, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74, 95, 97 and 2008; 1960's may be treated as an exception as the anti-English movement was at its peak) since 1960 (the year English was included in the list). Therefore, Salman Rushdie's observation, -. . . the prose writingboth fiction and non-fiction-created in this period by Indian writers working in English, is proving to be a stronger and more important body of work than most of what has been produced in the 16 ‗official languages' of India, the socalled ‗vernacular languages', during the same time; and, indeed, this new, and still burgeoning, ‗Indo-Anglian' literature represents perhaps the most valuable contribution India has yet made to the world of books‖ (x) appears to be quite valid and genuine. However, there are others who refuse to accept anything written in this language as authentic Indian as -English is not the language in which most of the writers dream in.‖ However, there is no denying the fact that a vast literature in India exists in English despite the debate about the genuineness of the literature. ) provides the following information: -… Raja Rammohan Roy began publishing his work [in English] in 1816, and recent research has shown that Indians were contributing to English-language periodicals in India before the end of the eighteenth century. The first book so far known to have been published in English by an Indian was Sake Deen Mahomed's Travels (1794). Since English-language education started in India as early as 1717, it is possible that Indo-English literature was published even earlier. This needs concerted research which has simply not been done so far.‖ (312) B J Wadia is right when he writes: -… all that is written by Indians in the English language cannot be called ‗literature'.‖ (Iyengar 1945 ix) and therefore utmost care has to be taken in deciding the starting point of this literature.

Indian English Fiction has been impressive and has attracted attention widely. With the passage of time, it has witnessed a rapid change, from being deeply affected by the Raj to being Vernacular. It is, therefore, very important to know and realize such changes taken place in every field of Indian life and society and for that a brief history of Indian English Fiction might be one of the best media of its expression. These changes from socialism to individualism, from sharing to winning and from spiritualism to materialism reveal reflections of change from tradition to modernity in Indian society. Though this is a natural process as history changes with the passage of time, it is noticed that people are continuously losing their inner happiness and self-control in spite of having material comforts.

MLA Citation: Chauhan, Abnish Singh. “A Chronological Study of Indian English Fiction with Social Perspective.” Shodh Sanchayan, vol. 2, nos. 1-2 , July 2011, pp. 41-44

Cross cultural conflicts now have spread like organizational epidemic causing serious concern to the global organizations. The negative behavioral interplay of the rainbow workforce affects the overall efficiency. Cultural
conflicts arise because of the differences in values, norms, and behaviors. Such situation creates misunderstanding
and often leads to conflict. Cultural conflict can occur due to complicated dynamics including issues of disagreement. The present paper aims to focus on the potent sources causing cross culture conflicts in multicultural business sets including explorations on the effect of cross-cultural differences on conflict.

ABSTRACT


The migration within the territorial limits of India have made critics to observe that  to be a diasporic Indian its not mandatory that one has to take journey abroad .Through  inter-state migration it is possible to create the sphere of Indian diaspora within India. K.Sachidanand calls this space the ‘diaspora within’ which is referred to as Intranational diasporic pattern which is the newly accepted identity to the Transnational migration.

This Paper attempts to present the Diaspora dimensions of two Indian writers A.K.Ramanujan who emigrated from  India to United States of America and Temsula Ao who migrated from Indian state of Nagaland to Meghalaya. Both the writers narrate the loss of their homeland  due to migration and exhibit the resonances of the diasporic experience wherein  the Transnational and Intranational identities are taken for study.
In relation to the essay “Where Mirrors are Windows” of A.K.Ramanujan and the Short story “These Hills called Home: Stories from a War Zone” of  Temsula Ao are taken for study .

A.K.Ramanujan in his Essays have  the Transnational Diaspora identity and Temsula Ao’s, in her short stories  recaptures the pain following the struggle for self-determination launched by the Indian Union, present the Intranational Diaspora identity.

This Paper will trace how these writers articulate diasporic experience of exile, loss, pain and create Indian Diaspora in America and Naga Diaspora in India.