Studies In Indian English Fiction

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.

Cosmopolitanism in the Indian English Novel argues that select novels by Indian writers in English largely present a kind of micro-cosmopolitanism that preserves nation as a primary site for social and cultural formation while opening it up to critique. During colonial times, local cultural expression wrestled with the global as represented by the systems of empire. The ideal subject or literary work was one that could happily inhabit both ends of the center-periphery in a kind of cosmopolitan space determined by imperial metropolitan and local elite cultures. As colonies liberated themselves, new national formations had to negotiate a mix of local identity, residual colonial traits, and new forces of global power. New and more complex cosmopolitan identities had to be discovered, and writers and texts reflecting these became correspondingly more problematic to assess, as old centralisms gave way to new networks of cultural control. This book contends that novels written in the context of the postcolonial cultural politics after the successful attainment of national independence question how a nation is to be made while recognizing its relation to globalization. The strong waves of globalization enforce sociological, political, and economic values in developing countries that may not be readily acceptable in those societies. Cosmopolitanism in the Indian English Novel focuses on three novelists in particular: Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, and Aravind Adiga, all of whom have received the prestigious Man Booker Prize for their work. Despite the varied but broadly elite cosmopolitan positions of these writers, they all depict characters working toward a cosmopolitanism from the grassroots, rather than through a top-down practice. Furthermore, these writers and their works, to varying degrees, turn a suspicious eye to the effects (cultural, economic, or otherwise) of globalization as a phenomenon that can prevent possibilities for more fluid forms of belonging and border-crossing. Cosmopolitanism in the Indian English Novel should appeal to researchers in cultural studies interested in Indian English fiction and/or the form and function of cosmopolitanism in a rapidly globalizing postcolonial world.

Contributed articles.

The Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures series offers stimulating and accessible introductions to definitive topics and key genres and regions within the rapidly diversifying field of postcolonial literary studies in English. It is often claimed that unlike the British novel or the novel in indigenous Indian languages, Anglophone fiction in India has no genealogy of its own. Interrogating this received idea, Priyamvada Gopal shows how the English-language or Anglophone Indian novel is a heterogeneous body of fiction in which certain dominant trends and recurrent themes are, nevertheless, discernible. It is a genre that has been distinguished from its inception by a preoccupation with both history and nation as these come together to shape what scholars have termed 'the idea of India'. Structured around themes such as 'Gandhi and Fiction', 'The Bombay Novel', and 'The Novel of Partition', this study traces lines of influence across significant literary works and situates individual writers and texts in their historical context. Its emergence out of the colonial encounter and nation-formation has impelled the Anglophone novel to return repeatedly to the question: 'What is India?' In the most significant works of Anglophone fiction, 'India' emerges not just as a theme but as a point of debate, reflection, and contestation. Writers whose works are considered in their context include Rabindranath Tagore, Mulk Raj Anand, RK Narayan, Salman Rushdie, Nayantara Sahgal, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, and Vikram Seth.

The Making of Indian English Literature brings together seventeen well-researched essays of Subhendu Mund with a long introduction by the author historicising the development of the Indian writing in English while exploring its identity among the many appellations tagged to it. The volume demonstrates, contrary to popular perceptions, that before the official introduction of English education in India, Indians had already tried their hands in nearly all forms of literature: poetry, fiction, drama, essay, bio­graphy, autobiography, book review, literary criticism and travel writing. Besides translation activities, Indians had also started editing and publish­ing periodicals in English before 1835. Through archival research the author brings to discussion a number of unknown and less discussed texts which contributed to the development of the genre. The work includes exclusive essays on such early poets and writers as Kylas Chunder Dutt, Shoshee Chunder Dutt, Toru Dutt, Mirza Moorad Alee Beg, Krupabai Satthianadhan, Swami Vivekananda, H. Dutt, and Sita Chatterjee; and historiographical studies on the various aspects of the genre. The author also examines the strategies used by the early writers to indianise the western language and the form of the novel. The present volume also demonstrates how from the very beginning Indian writing in English had a subtle nationalist agenda and created a space for protest literature. The Making of Indian English Literature will prove an invaluable addition to the studies in Indian writing in English as a source of reference and motivation for further research. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The Essays In This Anthology Focus On Many Aspects Of Indian Fiction In English. It Seeks To Probe, Discuss And Analyse The Issues Arising Out Of The Novels And Offers Deep Insight To The Readers. Important Novelists Covered In The Volume Are : R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, Anita Desai, Geeta Mehta, Salman Rushdie, Kavery Nambisan, Nayantara Sahgal, Arun Joshi, Shobha De And Arundhati Roy.

This Book Presents A Reasonably Comprehensive Account Of The Development Of The Indian English Novel Since Independence. The Novel During The Colonial Period Has A Different Outlook And Was More Concerned With The Problems Of The Indian People Suffering Under The British Yoke. After Independence The Indian Writers Looked At The Indian Scene From The Postcolonial Point Of View. There Were New Hopes, No Doubt, But The Problems Social, Economic, Religious, Political And Familial That Were Submerged In The Flood Of The National Movement Emerged And Drew Attention Of The Creative Writers. The Partition, The Communal Riots After Partition, The Problem Of Casteism, The Subjugation Of Women, The Poverty Of The Illiterate Masses Became The Focal Points. Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, R.K. Narayan, Nayantara Sahgal And Kamala Markandaya In The Beginning Wrote Novels Of Social Realism In The Fifties.But After The Sixties, New Trends Emerged. Writers Like Anita Desai, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Bhabani Bhattacharya, G.V. Desani, Chaman Nahal, Manohar Malgonkar And B. Rajan Portrayed The Picture Of The Post-Independence Indian Society. The Stream Of The Early Fifties Now Turned Into A Broad River With New Currents And Cross Currents. The Old Traditional Method Of Novel Writing Gave Way To Modern Techniques.The Indian English Novel Took Further Strides In The Eighties And The Decades That Followed It. Salman Rushdie Can Be Said To Be The Leader Of The New Trend. Shashi Deshpande And Arundhati Roy Followed Suit.This Book Divided Into Six Chapters Surveys And Discusses The Major Trends In The Post- Independence Indian English Novel. The Major Writers Discussed Apart From The Trio, R.K. Narayan, Raja Rao And Mulk Raj Anand Are Bhabani Bhattacharya, Nayantara Sahgal, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Anita Desai, Arundhati Roy And Kamala Markandaya.This Book Will Be Of Immense Help To The Students Of Indian English Fiction And The General Reader.