Bhabani Bhattacharya Is One Of The Remarkable Novelists In The Realm Of Indo-English Fiction. This Anthology Containing Twenty Articles By Dedicated Indian Scholars Deals With Almost All The Significant Aspects Of Bhattacharya S Fictional World. All The Six Novels Focussed Upon Are : So Many Hungers!, Music Of Mohini, He Who Rides A Tiger, A Goddess Named Gold, Shadow From Ladakh, A Dream In Hawaii. It Is Hoped That Present Critical Study Will Be Helpful To The Teachers, Research Scholars And Students For Recent Studies On Bhabani Bhattacharya.
The Book Provides A General Survey Of The Indo-Anglian Fiction And A Detailed Analysis Of The Prominent Political Fictions And The Fiction Of Bhabani Bhattacharya. Showing Bhattacharya S Position And Achievement In The Domain Of Indian Fiction, The Book Studies His Art Of Writing Novels For Political And Social Value.The Book Also Dwells On The Indo-Anglian Fiction Of Varied Themes Social, Political, Nationalistic, Diplomatic, Cultural, Etc., Of Pre-And Post-Independence Periods And Shows The Significant Place Of The Indian Political Novels And Those Of Bhabani Bhattacharya. The Indian Content Of These Political Novels Has Created A Context For The Study Of Bhattacharya S Novels.The Book Also Makes A Critique On Bhattacharya S Six Novels Depicting Contemporary Social, Political, Economic And Religious Realities Of India Before And After Independence. It Also Highlights His Plea For The Social And Moral Function Of Art And For Reality And Truth In Literature And Also His Defending Of The Use Of Contemporary Events As Worthy Subjects For Writing Novels.The Author Presents A Perspective On Bhattacharya As An Innovator And A Free User Of English Language In An Indianised Style. His Authentic Tone And Indianness Are Also Shown Through The Common Theme, Traditional Technique And Typical Indian Language Of His Novels.
A quiet, unassuming novel of lyrical charm and infectious humour! The story could not be simpler. A girl marries and in course of time produces a child. The girl is city bred — her husband, a Sanskrit scholar, who has his heart in a remote village and where he takes her after marriage. That is all. Young, playful and mischievous Mohini dreams of a husband but her education and upbringing and the ideas of liberal professor father are unacceptable to her Brahmin traditioned grandmother. Marriage for love is discarded, matrimonial advertisements in the newspapers bring only embarrassment, and it is through a fortune teller that a match is made. Finally charming Mohini is wed and brought to grip with a different reality, a responsibility and a way of life to which she would gladly succumb if only her husband was closer. The unusual cast of characters include a passionate and romantic snake charmer, and a matriarch whose worship of tradition leads her to amorality. ‘Here is a quiet, unassuming novel that has moments of true lyric charm and infections humour. The writer has such a real feeling for people that his characters transcend national barriers and a western reader soon feels comfortable with the unusual cart — including the passionate and romantic snake charmer, the lovely girl whom none will marry because her horoscope is accursed, and the matriarch whose worship of tradition leads her to a amorality. We see the best of India – the best of any civilisation for that matter – in Mohini.' — The New York Times 'The customs of old and the ideas of a modern age clash in this fictional account of the marriage of a young girl and a country scholar.' —Saturday Review, New York 'A splendid novel that may take rank with Pearl Buck's The Good Earth.' — Chicago Tribune 'The story of evolution of seventeen year old, day dreaming girl filled with romantic notions into an emotionally and intellectually mature woman. Bhabani Bhattacharya, as ever, gives a perfectly round female character and paints Mohini’s every emotion with ease and dexterity of the seasoned artiste.' — Nagpur Times
Endeavouring To Accomplish An Intract-Able Tight Rope Walking, Indian English Literature Seeks To Incorporate Indian Themes And Experience In A Blend Of Indian And Western Aesthetics. What The Diverse Dimensions Of The Indian Experience And The Evolving Literary Form Are And Whether The Former Reconciles With The Latter Or Not Is Sought To Be Examined In The Present Volume Of This Anthology. A Strikingly Fresh Perspective On The Hitherto Unexplored Areas Of Old Works. A Bold And Incisive Critique Of New Works.
Indian Research In English Studies Has A Long And Rich Tradition But, Unfortunately, It Has Failed To Make Any Notable Impact On The Academic World. This Is Largely Due To The Fact That Most Of The Indian Doctoral Dissertations In English Studies Lie Buried In University Libraries And Are Inaccessible To Aspiring Researchers. No Attempt Has Been Made So Far To Establish Any Link Or Co-Ordination Between Research Activities Of Different Universities/Institutes. This Has Resulted In A Total Neglect Of Earlier Research And Unnecessary Duplication.The Present Volume Is Designed To End This Unhappy Situation By Providing A Complete And Authentic Account Of Research Carried Out In Indian Universities Not Only In British, American, Commonwealth And Indian English Literature But Also In Comparative Studies, Translation Studies, Language, Linguistics And Elt. Entries On The Above Mentioned Are Arranged Subject-Wise In Chronological Sequence And Are Followed By A Separate Section On Individual Authors In Alphabetical Order. Thus It Provides A Consolidated View Of Indian Research In English And Serves As An Invaluable Reference Manual. It Is A Step Towards Orientation And Systematisation Of Indian Research In English Studies And Will Help To Make Research A Well-Informed, Well-Planned And Meaningful Exercise.
The Study Is A Painstaking Probe Into The Unfolding Of A Hitherto Ignored Thematic And Stylistic Dimension Of Modern Indian English Fiction. Beginning With An In-Depth Analysis Of The Political Underpinnings In The Early Phase, The Study Moves To A Scholarly Critique Of The Same In The Post-Independence Context. Indian English Novel Has Been Appraised As A Human Document, Chronicling Most Credibly The Political Vicissitudes Of The People In General. The Crippling Nature Of The Popular Creed Has Been Isolated As The Cause Of The Personal As Well As The Political Tragedy. The Critique Discovers In Gandhism A Liberating Panacea Which Later Got Ossified Into A Myth. The Differing Perceptions In Novels Of The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Forms Part Of The Next Stage Of The Scholarly Argument. Last But Not The Least, The Book Examines The Artistic Modes Of Projection Of The Political Motif.A Refreshing Insight Into Indian English Fiction, Indian Socio-Political Psyche, The Sociology Of Faith As Well As The Artistic Amalgam Of Aesthetics And Ideology In Indian Literature.An Invaluable Source Book For Researchers, Teachers And Students Of Literature, Politics, Sociology And Philosophy.
R.K. Narayan S Career As A Novelist And Short Story Writer Spans Almost Eight Decades From Swami And Friends (1935) To Grandmother S Tale (1992) Until His Death On 13 May 2001 At The Ripe Age Of 95. His Distinctive Sense Of Humour, His Trade Mark Irony, His Bemused, Knowing, Overseeing Perspective, His Rootedness In Religion And Family Values And His Inescapable Capturing Of The Essence Of Indian Sensibility All Have Been Looked At From A Refreshingly New Perspective, Hitherto Only Partly Touched Or Left Unexplored And Unattempted. New Insights Into The Guide, The Maneater Of Malgudi, A Tiger For Malgudi, Waiting For The Mahatma, The Dark Room Exploit Freshly-Forged Tools Of Critical Analysis Comparative, Structural, New Historical , Feminist, Bakhtinian, Post-Colonial And Socio-Cultural And Ethical.A Welcome Addition To The Extant Critical Scholarship On R.K. Narayan S Ouevre.A Lucid Discussion Of New Dimensions In Literary Theory Through Well-Argued, Illustrative Analysis Of Popular Texts.A Scholarly Elucidation Of The Sociology Of Hinduism As Reflected In Popular Fiction.An Indispensable Source-Book For Students, Researchers, Teachers, Scholars In Inter-Related Fields Like Literary Criticism, Theory Of Literature, Indian Philosophy, Customs And Thought-Patterns, Besides Social Anthropology And Sociology.
