Indian English Fiction: Postmodern Literary Sensibility

Indian English Fiction

 Postmodern Literary Sensibility

Editor

Dr. Vishwanath Bite

Assistant Professor,

Department of English,

Bharati Vidyapeeth's

MBSK Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Kadegaon,

Dist. Sangli, (M.S.)

Publisher

AuthorsPress, New Delhi

BLURB

Indian English Fiction: Postmodern Considerations consists of essays by distinguished academicics and scholars on variety of topics covering Indian English Fiction. The book introduces the contemporary debates comprising the vast aspects of the canon. Indian English Novelists have proved themselves unique and widely read winning booker prizes in past few years. IWE has become a powerful literature and holds a place of its own in world literature and appears perfectly as indigenous literature. As a result of multiculturalism literatures are the manifestations of hybrid cultures, the globalization has beeb affecting the literary scene for the centuries. Authors discussed in the book are Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Deshpande, Gita Mehta, Nayantara Sahgal, Anita Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri, Bharati Mukharjee, Sunetra Gupta, Mahashweta Devi, Nargis Dalal, Poile Sengupta, R. K. Narayan, Manjul Bajaj, Chetan Bhagat, etc. The present anthology edited by Dr. Vishwanath Bite consists twenty well researched articles throwing flood of light on variety of aspects.

          The present volume will prove an ideal reference book to students, researchers and teachers of Indian Writing in English.

   

About Author

Dr. Vishwanath Bite, (b. 19th April 1983) is working as Assistant Professor in English in MBSK Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Kadegaon, Dist. Sangli. (M.S.). He is Editor-In-Chief and publisher of The Criterion: An International Journal in English, ISSN (0976-8165). He is on the editorial board of Lapis Lazuli and Thematics Journal of Indian English Literature. He has delievered lectures in many seminars and conferences and presented papers. He has published dozens of qualitative research articles in national, international journals and books. He has completed his Ph.D in 2009 from by Shivaji University, Kolhapur. His published books are Indian Writing in English: Critical Perspectives and Booker Prize Winner Indian English Novels: A Kaleidoscopic Study and Some of his forthcoming books are Basavraj Naikar: Critical Perspectives, Indian English Historical Drama, Critical Response to Mahesh Dattani, Shashi Deshpande’s Fiction: A Study, Indian English Drama: Thematic Reflections and  Indian English Poetry: An Appraisal.

Dedicated to my father

Shri K. S. Bite

Who taught me to Rise…

Who taught me to Shine…

And

Who taught me to FLY high in the Sky.

-        Dr. Vishwanath Bite

C O N T E N T S

1.      Beyond the national allegory: Shashi Deshpande and Sunetra Gupta

Dr. Vishwanath Bite

2.      Imagery of Goddess in Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra: A Feminist Approach

Mrs. Madhuri Bite

3.      An Eco-critical reading of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide

Sophia Jaychandran

4.      Women’s Empowerment and Personal Mobility in the Novels of Shashi Deshpande and Nayantara Sahgal

Grishma Manikrao Khobragade

5.      Individuality and Space in Salman Rushdie’s Fiction: A Postmodern Perspective

Mohamed Hamoud Kassim Al-Mahfedi

Abdulmonim Ali Ben Ali

6.      Interpreting Anita Desai’s In Custody in the Light of Susan Sontag’s critical essay Against Interpretation

Kirti B. Vitthani

7.      Postmodern Diasporic Sensibility: Rereading Jhumpa Lahiri’s Oeuvre

Pinaki Roy

8.      Salman Rushdie’s Grimus as an Alternative History

Abdulmonim Ali Ben Ali

9.      The Spiritual Sense of Alienation in Diasporic Life: Reading Anita Desai, Bharati Mukherjee, Sunetra Gupta and Jhumpa Lahiri

Dr. Amit Shankar Saha

10.  Trimetric of Land, Culture and Identity in Indian English Fiction

Dr. G.A. Ghanshyam

11.  Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich like Us: A Thematic Analysis

Dr.Kiranjeet Kaur Bedi

12.  Postmodern Feminism in The Fiction of Indian Women Writers

Dr Vimmie Manoj

13.  Sociological Status of Women in Geeta Mehta’s A River Sutra

Dr. D. G. Thakor

14.  The World of Marginalised in Mahasweta Devi’s Play Mother of 1084

G. Gulam Tariq

15.  Nergis Dalal’s Skin Deep: Sister- Knot In Conflict?

Mrs. G. Sundari and Dr. K. Sandhya

16.  Poile Sengupta’s Thus Spake Shoorpanakha, So Said Shakuni As A Postmodern Text

Dr.L.V.Padmarani Rao

17.  Soul-Body Concept in The Selected Novels Of R.K.Narayan

Jothilakshmi.R & Dr.G.Meenakshi Sundaram

18.  East- West Encounter in R.K.Narayan’s The Bachelor of Arts

Dr. Kapil Dev Sharma & Dr. Pradeep Kumar Talan

19.  Theme of Love in Manjul Bajaj’s Come, Before Evening Falls

Dr. K.K.Sunalini

20.  Shiv K Kumar’s A River With Three Banks: Revisiting Partition

Dr. P.R. Shewale

21.  From Routes to Roots: Diaspora in the Novels of Salman Rushdie.

Janmejay Kumar Tiwari

22.  Salman Rushdie As A Children’s Writer: Reading Haroun And The Sea Of Stories And Luka And The Fire Of Life

Ved Mitra Shukla

23.  Interrogating The Metanarratives On Indian Independence With Reference To Partition Narratives

Raj Sree

24.  Theorizing The Saga of Lost Dreams From The Perspective Of Post Modernism

Nancy S. Rethinam

25.  Culture of Consumerism as Reflected in Chetan Bhagat’s One Night @ Call Center

Yatri D. Dave

26.  The Avante-Garde Experience of Silence in Ambai’s Yellow Fish

Dr. Paula Hayes

CONTRIBUTORS

1.      Dr. Vishwanath Bite

Assistant Professor in English, MBSK Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Kadegaon. Tal. Kadegaon, Dist. Sangli. MS. 415304

2.      Mrs. Madhuri Bite

Research Scholar, Department of English, Shivaji University, Kolhapur.

3.      Ms. Sophia Jaychandran

Assistant Professor in English, Vanita Vishram Women’s College of Commerce, Athwa Gate, Surat, Gujarat.

4.      Grishma Manikrao Khobragade,

Assist. Prof. Dept of English, Birla College, Kalyan

5.      Mohamed Hamoud Kassim Al-Mahfedi &

Abdulmonim Ali Ben Ali

Department of Studies in English, University of Mysore, Mysore.

6.      Mr. Kirti B. Vitthani

Assistant Professor in English, R. K. Shah Women’s Arts College, Saraswati Shaikshanik Sankul, Chhapra-bhatha Road, Amroli, Surat – 394107, Gujarat.

7.      Pinaki Roy

Assistant Professor Of English, Malda College, Rabindra Avenue, Rathbari More, Post Office + District: Malda – 732 101 (West Bengal)

8.      Abdulmonim Ali Ben Ali

Research scholar, Department of Studies in English, University of Mysore, Mysore, India.

9.      Dr. Amit Shankar Saha

Kolkata, India.

10.  Dr. G.A. Ghanshyam

Professor of English, Govt. Arts College, Seepat, Bilaspur (C.G.) India

11.  Dr.Kiranjeet Kaur Bedi

Asstt.Prof. [English], Dept.of Humanities & So. Sciences, NIT Raipur  

12.  Dr Vimmie Manoj

C/o Manoj Argal, I.F.S., D.F.O. Neemuch, Neemuch (M.P.),  458441

13.  Dr. D. G. Thakor

Associate professor in English, Shah N. H. Commerce College, Valsad, Gujarat.

14.  Dr. G. Gulam Tariq

Associate Professor & Head, Department of English,   Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa.(A.P)

15.  Mrs. G. Sundari

 Assistant Prof.of English, Vijaya Institute of Technology for Women, Enikepadu,  Vijayawada. Andhra Pradesh   INDIA

&

Dr. K. Sandhya

Associate Prof. of English, Dept. of English, Maris Stella College, Vijayawada – 520 008

16.  Dr.L.V.Padmarani Rao

Assistant Professor, Department of English, Yeshwant Mahavidyalaya, Nanded- 431602 (MS)

17.  Jothilakshmi.R & Dr.G.Meenakshi Sundaram

Department of English, CSI College of Engineering, Ketti Post
Ketti - 643 215, The Nilgirs District, Tamil Nadu, India

18.  Dr. Kapil Dev Sharma & Dr. Pradeep Kumar Talan

Asst. Professor, AIMT, Greater Noida.

19.  Dr. K.K.Sunalini

Asst. Prof. of .English, Ramappa  Engineering College Warangal

20.  Dr. P.R. Shewale

             Associate Professor & Head, Department Of English, Shri Shahaji Chh. Mahavidyalaya,

             Kolhapur (Maharashtra).

21.  Janmejay Kumar Tiwari

22.  Ved Mitra Shukla

Assistant Professor, Department Of English, Rajdhani College, University Of Delhi

New Delhi – 15 (India)

23.  Raj Sree

Ross Mount, Kunnapuzha, Aramada P.O. Trivandrum 695032

24.  Nancy S. Rethinam

Noah’s Ark, TC 18/1573(3), Kunnapuzha, Aramada P.O. Trivandrum,       

Pincode:695032

25.  Yatri D. Dave

Lecturer in English, Nirma Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad

26.  Dr. Paula Hayes

Strayer University, Memphis, Tennessee.

PREFACE

The present volume is compiled of twenty-six well researched articles on Indian English Fiction. These articles contributed by scholars, teachers, academicians and critics of repute, study in depth Indian English Fiction exploring variety of themes and aspects.

            Dr. Vishwanath Bite in his insightful article Beyond the National Allegory: Shashi Deshpande and Sunetra Gupta discusses the fiction of two Anglophone women writers from India, Shashi Deshpande and Sunetra Gupta. He explores his idea that the novels of both Deshpande and Gupta are rich with distinctive modernist characteristics. He further argues that within this feminist tradition of postcolonial modernist fiction lie the unique power of its epiphanies, its ineluctable modality of otherness. Mrs. Madhuri Bite in her article regarding Imagery of Goddess in Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra: A Feminist Approach explains the Narmada River is the first introduction of Goddess imagery in the novel. Throughout the novel an imagery of goddess is considered as a driving force in various forms. She concludes that the use of Goddess imagery with A River Sutra is used as a cultural agent and as a form of analysis. Sophia Jaychandran in her well researched article about An Eco-critical reading of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide states ecocriticism has emerged as a contemporary trend in the world of literary criticism. Her paper investigates how unrefined environmental preservation policies, ignoring the material reality of a landscape are disadvantageous to the socially and economically backward classes like indigenous people, forest dwellers, tribals and nomads.

Grishma Khobragade in her article Women’s Empowerment and Personal Mobility in the Novels of Shashi Deshpande and Nayantara Sahgal makes an attempt to read certain selected novels of Shashi Deshpande and Nayantara Sahagal with an objective of locating the class and community structures embedded in them. She concludes that Shashi Deshpande and Nayantara Sahagal have used class of women and their empowerment of Indian society effectively in their novels. Mohamed Hamoud Kassim Al-Mahfedi and Abdulmonim Ali Ben Ali in their research article, Individuality and Space in Salman Rushdie’s Fiction: A Postmodern Perspective explore Rushdie’s novels revolve around two strands or visions of human space: political domain and humane domain. They further state that through telling stories about imaginary realms and creatures freely entering the “painfully established” and systematized world order Rushdie wants to establish a new imaginary world without cultural pains. In the article, Interpreting Anita Desai’s In Custody in the Light of Susan Sontag’s critical essay Against Interpretation, Kirti B. Vitthani studies In Custody by Anita Desai and Susan Sontag’s theory of interpreting any work of art comparatively. She states Anita Desai insightfully narrates the aesthetics of art versus modern tools of comprehension. Pinaki Roy in her insightful article Postmodern Diasporic Sensibility: Rereading Jhumpa Lahiri’s Oeuvre states that Lahiri’s novel and short stories are mostly read for their precise presentation of the sentiments and disillusionments of Indians settled especially in the United States. Further she explains that Lahiri presents strong female characters, but she has never have been an outright feminist.

Abdulmonim Ali Ben Ali’s insightful article Salman Rushdie’s Grimus as an Alternative History aims to question the efficacy of historical truth as factual knowledge in the light of Rushdie’s concept of history. Further he states that Rushdie’s concern in this particular novel is the desire to offer an alternative version of history of the subcontinent and the postcolonial history in general by reworking the authorial view of historical experience and factual knowledge, and by simultaneously creating a fanciful image of historical realities similar to the postcolonial subcontinental history. Dr. Amit Shankar Saha studies Anita Desai, Bharati Mukherjee, Sunetra Gupta and Jhumpa Lahiri comparatively in his research article The Spiritual Sense of Alienation in Diasporic Life: Reading Anita Desai, Bharati Mukherjee, Sunetra Gupta and Jhumpa Lahiri. In the article he also expresses his views on the concept of exile and how it reflects in the works of the selected writers. Dr. G.A. Ghanshyam in his well researched article, Trimetric of Land, Culture and Identity in Indian English Fiction studies Indian English Fiction with a new perspective. He concludes that land, culture and identity are fused together to give a definite form and shape to the edifice of Indian English Fiction, which characterizes it as a unique expression of the life, culture and ethos of India and its people.

Dr.Kiranjeet Kaur Bedi in her article analyses Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich like Us with a thematic perspective. She further includes that the novels of Nayantara Sahgal deal with a wise gamut of themes ranging from personal dilemma and problems, joys and sorrows fulfillment and frustrations of female protagonists to the political upheavals that India has experienced since Independence. Dr. Vimmie Manoj in her insightful article examines the fiction of Indian Women Writers with a postmodern feministic perspective. According to her, Postmodern Indian women writers expose the root cause of inequality is sexuality that is constantly controlled to highlight women’s subordinate position. Dr. D. G. Thakor evaluates sociological status of women in Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra. He further states that Geeta Mehta’s A River Sutra reflects contemporary society by describing six stories and through which people’s money minded attitude, indifference to the poor or low profile people, jealousy, anti-socialness, in-safety of women, optimism, kind full nature, women empowerment, metaphysis, etc. G. Gulam Tariq expresses his views in the article The World of Marginalised in Mahasweta Devi’s Play Mother of 1084. In his article he examines and compares the status of woman in male-dominated society through the role of Sujata who has been relegated to the position of a neglected, suppressed, ill-treated, mechanical and marginalized in all forms in the male dominated society who consider woman as an object of sex, only to reproduce, bring money when needed and does not possess even a voice to express her own concerns.

Mrs. G. Sundari and Dr. K. Sandhya in their contributing article about Nergis Dalal’s Skin Deep: Sister- Knot in Conflict? explain the role of women writers in Indian English Literature through the work of Nergis Dalal. They analyse the novel with a psychological point of view and portray the relationship between two sisters. In her article, Poile Sengupta’s Thus Spake Shoorpanakha, So Said Shakuni As A Postmodern Text, Dr.L.V.Padmarani Rao comprises the dramatic technique of the play. She further discusses that boththe characters, Shakuni and Shoorpanakha played an important role in the respective epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata but are not given due importance in the epics; on the contrary they are portrayed as vicious, villainous and neglected. Jothilakshmi.R. and Dr.G.Meenakshi Sundaram in their article explain the Soul-Body Concept in The Selected Novels Of R.K.Narayan. According to them R. K. Narayan points out that the human body is perishable, whereas the soul is eternal. The novels The English Teacher, A Tiger for Malgudi, The Man-Eater of Malgudi and Mr. Sampath become all the more popular among the Indian readers for this philosophy of life which is a part of the mass consciousness of the Indian people. In their article, Dr. Kapil Dev Sharma and Dr. Pradeep Kumar Talan explore the theme of east-west encounter in Narayan’s The Bachelor of Arts. Their paper focuses the East-West Conflict and portrays the dilemma and social inequality, economic and racial exploitation due to the East-West encounter.

Dr. K.K.Sunalini in her well-researched article, Theme of Love in Manjul Bajaj’s Come, Before Evening Falls points out that Manjul Bajaj makes difference in the portrayal of the theme of love. She further says that the writer deals with the theme of love in a pragmatic way and discriminate the men and women’s attitude towards love. In his insightful article about Shiv K Kumar’s A River with Three Banks: Revisiting Partition, Dr. P.R. Shewale discusses the tragic consequences of the partition. The merciless killing and blood shading in the wake of communal violence, the abduction of young girls, the loss of faith, and the migration of a large number of people from both sides of the border are some of them. He further says that Shiv K Kumar is deeply explored the theme of partition in his novel, A River with Three Banks. Janmejay Kumar Tiwari in his article, From Routes to Roots: Diaspora in the Novels of Salman Rushdie, comprises that Salman Rushdie is the author who inaugurated the field of postcolonial diasporism with his debut novel Grimus. He deeply studies all the novels of Salman Rushdie from the diasporic point of view. Ved Mitra Shukla in his research article states that Salman Rushdie is a children’s writer and he proves his statement with the help of Rushdie’s selected novels, Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Luka and the Fire of Life. Further he examines that in both these novels there are also some common themes which has been popular in the world of children’s literature.

In the article, Interrogating the Metanarratives on Indian Independence with Reference to Partition Narratives, Raj Sree foregrounds the incoherence of Partition narratives which very well express and interpret the cataclysmic event. He observes that typical of postmodernist fiction, partition narratives too seem to reflect the fact that the writer has become tired of trying to explain a disjointed and godless universe. Nancy S. Rethinam’s article, Theorizing the Saga of Lost Dreams from the Perspective of Post Modernism, attempts to place The God of Small Things in perspective within the larger framework of Post Modernism and Indian Literature in English. She concludes that others allege The God of Small Things is simply a story about love, caste, and sexuality in India. But it is above these things. It is a counter discourse on the metanarratives of caste, gender, patriarchy and sexuality. Yatri D. Dave in her insightful article, Culture of Consumerism as Reflected in Chetan Bhagat’s One Night @ Call Center, focuses the trends and techniques of modern world. She examines that the novel deals with Consumerism which shows how to attract customers for their selling of products. Paula Hayes in her scholarly article observes the avant-garde experience of silence in Ambai’s short story Yellow Fish. Yellow Fish is positively simplistic, elegant, and shorn of any unnecessary words; as a minimalist narrative it could easily be classified as avant-garde.  The narrative vision of the story is driven forward primarily by images, not action.

The Present anthology has strictly followed blind peer-review procedure while selecting the papers. I am thankful to Dr. Pradnya Ghorpade, Associate Professor in English, K. R. P. Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Islampur. (M. S. ), Dr. Lata Mishra, Editor, Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal of Postmodern Studies.(Gwalior), Dr. Ashok Babar, Principal, PVP, Mahavidyalaya, Kavathemahankal, (M.S.), Dr. Dinesh Panwar, Chief Editor, Lapis Lazuli: An International Literary Journal, (Ghaziabad) for reviewing, selecting papers, making suggestions and sharing with me critical arguments.

I must record my deep sense of indebtedness to Mr. Sudarshan Kcherry, Managind Director, and the whole team of Authorspress, New Delhi for pursuing me to edit present volume. I must not forget to express my deep sense of gratitude to my respected father Shri. K. S. Bite, My beloved wife, Madhuri Bite for her help in editing and her constant support in my literary activities. I must thank My Brother Ramdas Bite for his love, affection and constant support.

-- Dr. Vishwanath Bite