scholarly journals Torn between Cultures: Reading Shashi Tharoor’s Riot

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-66
Author(s):  
Athira M
Keyword(s):  
Indian Society ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Indian Literature ◽  
The West ◽  
Indian English ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Indian Identity ◽  
Politics And Culture

Shashi Tharoor is a distinctivevoice in the Postcolonial Indian literature in English with his remarkable contribution of more than 16 works of fiction and non-fiction. Postcolonialism refers to a set of theoretical concepts, approaches and interventions which deals with the diverse effects of the interaction between the colonizer and the colonized. History, politics and culture have always been a dominant preoccupation of the Indian English novelists. The compulsive obsession was perhaps inevitable since the genre originated and developed concurrently with the climatic phase of colonial rule. As a diplomat and writer, Shashi Tharoor has explored the diversity of culture in his native country. He has made his point in many of his interviews that the novel is full of collisions of various sorts- personal, political, cultural, emotional and violent. Riot is a novel about the ownership of history, about love, hate, cultural collision, religious fanaticism and the impossibility of knowing the truth. The novel chronicles the mystery of an American 24-year old lady, Priscilla Hart. The intention of this paper is to explore the cultural conflict between the East and the West and an attempt is made to examine Shashi Tharoor’s Riot as a conveyor of the various distinguishable features to the divergent cultures. The characters of Riot are facing problems and striving to achieve their identities as Indians and as individuals in Indian society. Lakshman, though an educated Indian, cannot share his intellectual ideas with any fellow Indians, but feels quite comfortable with Priscilla, an American lady. Yet, he cannot completely forego his Indian identity and is aware of their irreconcilable gap between their culture, values and outlook towards life.  

Chronicle of Dream in Amitav Ghosh’s Novel “Sea of Poppies”

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Ashok Kumar Malviya ◽  
Dr. Ajay Bhargava
Keyword(s):  
British Empire ◽  
Historical Novel ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Opium War ◽  
History Of ◽  
Indian Village ◽  
Village Woman

Sea of Poppies is a historical novel based on human being's survive and fulfilment of dream. The novel is divided into three main parts, first one is land, second one is river and third one is sea, in which the whole novel is chronologically weave with the fulfilment of dream. The chief character in this novel is Deeti, a village married woman of India, who dreamed to travel in an ample vessel, quenched her desire in an unprecedented situation. One day, she saw a big ship sailing on the ocean, which she had never seen earlier even in her dream.       Sea of Poppies is a meditation in the guise of a novel, but such is the author's meticulousness in matters of research, and so firm is his grasp of the unexplored underbelly of the British Empire. Ghosh is the author of ten highly acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction which include the booker- prize shortlisted Sea of Poppies. The novel, Sea of Poppies, told the history of Indian society, opened in 1838, on the eve of first opium war, the novel divided into three parts, Land, Water and Sea. The first part narrated the condition of the protagonist that made able to reach near the ship. The first part also described the economic and social states of the Indian society. The second part invited the characters to join the ship and being ready for their voyage to abroad. The third part, allowed the characters to sail for their new life in Mauritius.        Sea of Poppies, shows the chronicle of dreams through the eyes of an Indian village woman, named Deeti, in a different circumstances. The novel depicted the nascent desire of female protagonist, to fulfill her dream. She lived her life as a common Indian house lady, and left her village in an unpredicted situation that visualized the 19th and 20th century’s condition of Indian society. The novel, breaks the doors of caste description and colonialism, and reveals the new way of life, seeking freedom in a different condition.

A Caribbean Visionary and His Literary Collection, Karlene Saundria Nelson

2022 ◽  
pp. 095574902110604
Author(s):  
Karlene Saundria Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
West Indies ◽  
Political History ◽  
West Indian ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Indian Literature ◽  
The West ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Indian History

The voices of West Indian writers in the 1950s changed the landscape for Literature emerging out of the West Indies. These powerful literary voices were a means of creating and recording a facet of West Indian history and cultural heritage. West Indian writers wrote their stories through their own eyes. John Hearne was one of the most eloquent voices among them. He became a known voice in the West Indian literary world, using his recognition to facilitate the indigenous West Indian Literature genre’s development. He was also a prominent Jamaican political and social commentator. The John Hearne archive not only produced an important historical picture of the development of the West Indian Literature genre, but West Indian political history, and changes in the cultural and social fabric of the West Indian society, with special emphasis on Jamaica. This paper aims to present this archive as a fundamental body of primary resources for historical research.

Writing Style of R. K. Narayan

2021 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Arti Sinha ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Society ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
The West ◽  
Indian English ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Structures ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right ◽  
Better Than

R. K. Narayan was among the first Indian English writers to be taken note of the West. With a clever use of just the right amount of humour, Narayan was able to transform his seemingly ordinary characters into larger-than-lite individuals, who brought a change in the existing social and political structures of Malgudi, a microcosmic representation of our nation. And, with this, he inspired us to think, dream and write differently to delive into a magical reality for better than the one we know. His works are often considered synonymous with the innocence of childhood, and even today the social undertones of his writing echo the complexities of the Indian society.

Virginia Woolf

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Sellers
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Virginia Woolf ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Three Guineas ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
Room Of One's Own

This chapter traces Virginia Woolf’s development as a writer of non-fiction, focusing on her prolific output as an essayist. It sees close links between her ongoing experimentation with the novel form and the evolving form of her essays, and argues that her alterations in style were an integral aspect of her attempt to articulate a response to her largely Victorian inheritance, to the seismic shifts taking place in society and understanding in the early decades of the twentieth century, and to the politics and culture of the 1930s dominated by the rise of fascism. While the chapter ranges across all of Woolf’s essays, there is particular discussion of her 1920 A Room of One’s Own and her 1938 Three Guineas.

Minorities in the Contemporary Egyptian Novel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Youssef
Keyword(s):  
Literary History ◽  
First Century ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Robust Analysis ◽  
Specific Approach ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Historical Moment

This book examines questions of identity, nationalism, and marginalization in the contemporary Egyptian novel from a postcolonial lens. Under colonial rule, the Egyptian novel invoked a sovereign nation-state by basking in its perceived unity. After independence, the novel professed disenchantment with state practices and unequal class and gender relations, without disrupting the nation’s imagined racial and ethno-religious homogeneity. This book identifies a trend in the twenty-first-century Egyptian novel that shatters this singular view, with the rise of a new consciousness that presents Egypt as fundamentally heterogeneous. Through a robust analysis of “new-consciousness” novels by authors like Idris ᶜAli, Bahaᵓ Tahir, Miral al-Tahawi, and Yusuf Zaydan, the author argues that this new consciousness does not only respond to predominant discourses of difference and practices of differentiation along the axes of race, ethno-religion, class, and gender by bringing the experiences of Nubian, Amazigh, Bedouin, Coptic, Jewish, and women minorities to the fore of Egypt’s literary imaginary, but also heralds the cacophony of voices that collectively cried for social justice from Tahrir Square in Egypt’s 2011-uprising. This study responds to the changing iconographic, semiotic, and formal features of the Egyptian novel. It fulfills the critical task of identifying an emergent novelistic genre and develops historically reflexive methodologies that interpret new-consciousness novels and their mediatory role in formalizing and articulating their historical moment. By adopting this context-specific approach to studying novelistic evolution, this book locates some of the strands that have been missing from the complex whole of Egypt’s culture and literary history.

Colonial Rule and Modernization in Ballari

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Asra Afrin
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Native People ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Indian Literature ◽  
Indian History ◽  
British Rule

Colonialism is one of the most important aspects of Indian history and Indian literature. The colonial rule has left its impression in both positive and negative ways. The paper looks at the positive aspects of the British rule in Ballari a District in Karnataka. The paper/article deals with the development that took place during the colonial rule in Ballari. It explores the adoption of modern technology and science and opening of missionary schools at Ballari and its positive impact on the region and regional/native people. The paper shows how the modernization and Westernization made its way in Ballari.

A Complete Replica of Contemporary Indian Society in the Fictional Works of Chetan Bhagat: A Detailed Literary Analysis of his Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center and The Three Mistake of My

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Vikram Patel
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Call Center ◽  
English Literature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Indian English ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Middle Class Family ◽  
Fiction Writers

hetan Bhagat is one of the most influential fiction writers of contemporary Indian English literature. Postmodern subjects like youth aspirations, love, sex, marriage, urban middle class sensibilities, and issues related to corruption, politics, education and their impact on the contemporary Indian society are recurrently reflected thematic concerns in his fictions. In all his fictions, he has mostly depicted the contemporary urban social milieu of Indian society. Though the fictions of Chetan Bhagat are romantic in nature, contemporary Indian society and its major issues are the chief of the concerns of all his fictions. He has focused on the contemporary issues of middle class family in his fictional works. All of the chief protagonists of his works are sensitive youth and they do not compromise with the prevalent situations of society. Most of the characters are like caricatures that represent one or the other vice or virtue of the contemporary Indian society. The author has a mastery to convince the reader about the prevalent condition of society so that one can easily reproduce in mind, a clear cut image of contemporary Indian society. The present article is a sincere endeavor to present the detailed literary analysis of the select fictions of Chetan Bhagat keeping in mind how the contemporary Indian society has been replicated in the fictions.

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger: A Socio –Political Study of Poverty and Injustice

IJOHMN ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 11-19
Author(s):  
RASHMI Ahlawat
Keyword(s):  
Indian Society ◽  
Poor People ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Social ◽  
White Tiger

Aravind Adiga’s Man Booker Prize winning debut novel The White Tiger is sharp, fascinating, attacks poverty and injustice. The White Tiger is a ground breaking Indian novel. Aravind Adiga speaks of suppression and exploitation of various sections of Indian society. Mainly a story of Balram, a young boy’s journey from  rags to riches, Darkness to Light transforming from a village teashop boy into a Bangalore entrepreneur. This paper deals with poverty and injustice. The paper analyses Balram’s capability to overcome the adversities and cruel realities. The pathetic condition of poor people try to make both ends meet. The novel mirrors the lives of  poor in a realistic mode. The White Tiger is a story about a man’s journey for freedom. The protagonist   Balram in this novel is a victim of injustice, inequality and poverty. He worked hard inspite   of his low caste and overcame the social hindrance and become a successful entrepreneur. Through this novel Adiga portrays realistic and painful image of modern India. The novel exposes the anxieties of the oppressed.

СТАЛИНДИК БИЙЛИК Ч.АЙТМАТОВДУН КӨРКӨМ ОЙ ЖҮГҮРТҮҮСҮНДӨ

2020 ◽  
pp. 85-87
Author(s):  
Б. Ниясалиева ◽  
Н. Алтыкеева
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Good Luck ◽  
The West ◽  
Innocent People ◽  
The Government

Аннотация. Ч.Айтматов “Кылым карытар бир күн” романында ачыктап бере албаган бийлик маселеси кийинки демократиянын учурунда романдын уландысы катары берилген “Чынгызхандын ак булуту “ аттуу чыгармасында таама көрсөтүлдү. Аталган чыгарма сталиндик бийликти сынга алуу менен бийликтин курмандыктары болгон күнөөсүз адамдардын оор тагдырын чагылдырат. Сталиндин образын ачуу максатында элдик легендага кайрылып, Чынгызхандын образы аркылуу Сталиндин образын чагылдырган. Чыгармадагы Тансыкбаевдин образы мансапка манчыркап, адам тагдыры менен ойногон наадан адамдардын образын ачууда колдонулган. Абуталип, Эрдене, Догуланг – булар бийликтин курмандыктары. Алар алдыда өлүм күтүп турса да, өз көз караштарынан тайышпады, өлүмгө тике кароо менен жеңиш дайыма алар тарапта экендигин аныктай алышты. Ырас, Тансыкбаев да өз максатына жете алган жок, Чынгызхан болсо батышты багынтам деген тилегине жетпеди, ал эбегейсиз күчүн жоготту, мындан ары анын жолу болбоду. Түйүндүү сөздөр: образ, демократия, каарман, легенда, идея, көркөм ой жүгүртүү. Аннотация. Проблема правительства, которую Ч.Айтматов не смог раскрыть в романе “И дольше века длится день, ярко показаны в произведении “Белое облако Чингизхана” созданное во время демократии как продолжение названного произведения. В данном произведений критикуется и отражается тяжелая судьба безвинного народа, которые стали жертвами сталинского режима. Писатель обратился к народной легенде для раскрытия образа Сталина, через образ Чингизхана. В произведений образ Тансыкбаева применятся для раскрытия образов людей, которые ради собственного нажива использовали судьбы народа. Абуталип, Эрдене, Догуланг – они жертвы правительства. Несмотря ни на что, они не отреклись от своих убеждений, стояли на смерть ради справедливости. В статье говорится о не достижении своей цели Тансыкбаева, о не покорении Чингизханом Запада, о том, что Чингизхан потерял всю свою силу и удача его покидает. Ключевые слова: власть, образ, демократия, герой, легенда, идея, художественное размышление.. Annotation. The problem of the government, which Ch. Aitmatov could not reveal in the novel “And the day lasts more than a century”is clearly shown in the works “White cloud of Genghis Khan” created during the democracy as a continuation of the title work. In this work criticized and reflected the heavy fate of innocent people who were the victims of the Stalinist regime. The writer appealed to the folk legend to reveal the image of Genghis Khan the writer conveys the image of Stalin. In the work (composition) the image of Tansykbaev will be used to reveal the images of people who used the people’s destinies for their own profit . Abutalip, Erdene, Doulan-they are the victims of government. No matter what, they didn’t renounce their beliefs, stood to death for justice . The article says about not achieving the goal of Tansykbaeva, about not conguering the West by Genghis Khan and that Genghis Khan lost all his strength and good luck leaves him. Key words: power, image, democracy, hero, legend, idea, artistic reflection.

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