Tradition And Modernity Changing The Images Of Women In Selected Fiction By Manju Kapur And Anita Nair

Along with a range of socio-cultural, political and economic concerns, the focus on ‘self’ has been an inevitable assertion of writers during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Individualistic in tone, the contemporary women novelists are trying to portray realistically the predicament of modern women torn between the forces of tradition and modernity, their sense of frustration and alienation, the emotional and psychological turmoil and complexities of man-women relationships and subtleties of feminine consciousness against the persistent patriarchal social set-up. Cognizant of the evils originating from patriarchy, a positive sense of feminine identity has been recognized by them and the result is the emergence of a new woman in Indian society and its concept in the Indian English novel which has assumed a strident posture in the contemporary writings by women. The shift from submission to assertion, acquiescence to resistance and obedience to rebellion, however, has not been abrupt and effortless. Women are still in the process of negotiation with different limiting factors and thresholds of patriarchy to claim their due space and affirm their identity. The present study is an attempt to critically investigate the negotiations with cultural norms by the women characters in the selected novels by the contemporary novelists, namely Manju Kapur and Anita Nair. Almost all the women characters, major and minor, from the selected novels have been considered and positioned as per their ideological leanings and convictions under two thematic chapters namely “Women in the Clutches of Traditional Norms,” and “Tradition to Modernity.” The major issues around which the novels move – education, marriage, gendered space and mother-daughter relationships – are taken up to put them within the contemporary social conditions in which women characters live. The present book is divided into five chapters to make a critical and analytical study of the select novels of these contemporary Indian women writers in English. The present work is focused on five selected novels: Manju Kapur’s “Difficult Daughters”, “Home” and “Custody” and Anita Nair’s “Ladies Coupé” and “Mistress”.

Global and cosmopolitan since the late nineteenth century, anglophone South Asian women's writing has flourished in many genres and locations, encompassing diverse works linked by issues of language, geography, history, culture, gender, and literary tradition. Whether writing in the homeland or in the diaspora, authors offer representations of social struggle and inequality while articulating possibilities for resistance. In this volume experienced instructors attend to the style and aesthetics of the texts as well as provide necessary background for students. Essays address historical and political contexts, including colonialism, partition, migration, ecological concerns, and evolving gender roles, and consider both traditional and contemporary genres such as graphic novels, chick lit, and Instapoetry. Presenting ideas for courses in Asian studies, women's studies, postcolonial literature, and world literature, this book asks broadly what it means to study anglophone South Asian women's writing in the United States, in Asia, and around the world.

In this scholarly book Dr. Rohidas Nitonde examines Manju Kapurs novels with a feminist perspective. The study offers an in depth analysis of all the five novels by Kapur. It is for the first time that all her works are illustrated with a single perspective. The focus of argument leads to conclude on Kapurs vision of Indian womanhood. The book explains Kapurs indubitable ability to explore the psyche of the present day urban, educated middle-class Indian woman who is trapped in the midway between tradition and modernity. It is an attempt to study Kapurs women protagonists, as portrayed by her in her novels, with a view to understand and appreciate their trials and tribulations under the impact of the conflicting influence of tradition and modernity and to critically analyze their response to the emerging situation in life so as to fit themselves in the contemporary society. It also probes deeply into the novelists conviction of what would serve as the ideal panacea for the different kinds of challenges faced by her female characters. It as well explores both the daring and desires of the Indian women in the fictional works of Kapur. The study is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is introductory in nature. The subsequent five chapters deal with the five women protagonists Virmati, Astha, Nisha, Nina and Ishita who, finding themselves trapped in the roles assigned to them by the society, attempt to assert their individuality. Sensitive to the changing times and situations, they revolt against the traditions in their search for freedom. The last chapter concludes the study by bringing out the general statement about Kapurs female protagonists. Its Bibliography and Webliography sections are exhaustive. This has turned the authoritative work into an indispensable resource for academicians and research scholars. It is an invaluable reference on Manju Kapur.

The Story Of A Woman'S Search For Strength And Independence Meet Akhilandeshwari, Akhila For Short: Forty-Five And Single, An Income Tax Clerk And A Woman Who Has Never Been Allowed To Live Her Own Life&Mdash;Always The Daughter, The Sister, The Aunt, The Provider. Until The Day She Gets Herself A One-Way Ticket To The Seaside Town Of Kanyakumari, Gloriously Alone For The First Time In Her Life And Determined To Break Free Of All That Her Conservative Tamil Brahmin Life Has Bound Her To. In The Intimate Atmosphere Of The Ladies Coupe Which She Shares With Five Other Women, Akhila Gets To Know Her Fellow Travellers: Janaki, Pampered Wife And Confused Mother; Margaret Shanti, A Chemistry Teacher Married To The Poetry Of Elements And An Insensitive Tyrant Too Self-Absorbed To Recognize Her Needs; Prabha Devi, The Perfect Daughter And Wife, Transformed For Life By A Glimpse Of A Swimming Pool; Fourteen-Year-Old Sheela, With Her Ability To Perceive What Others Cannot; And Marikolanthu, Whose Innocence Was Destroyed By One Night Of Lust. As She Listens To The Women'S Stories, Akhila Is Drawn Into The Most Private Moments Of Their Lives, Seeking In Them A Solution To The Question That Has Been With Her All Her Life: Can A Woman Stay Single And Be Happy, Or Does A Woman Need A Man To Feel Complete? &Lsquo;Articulate, Comic, Wise, Delicate, Melancholy, Exquisite...A Carefully-Pulsed Breath Of A Book With An Impact That Sneaks Into One&Rsquo;S Dreams&Rsquo; &Mdash;Independent In Turn Revelatory And Redeeming. Filled With The Incantatory Power To Burn Up The Tracks, To Seek A New Destination. Her Style Stands Out. &Mdash;The Pioneer, New Delhi Anita Nair Is A Fine Writer, With A Great Sense Of Character And Is A Compelling Teller Of Stories. &Mdash;The Hindu, New Delhi Each Of The Women Is Finely Drawn. &Mdash;The Hindustan Times, New Delhi 'The Novel Is About Making Choices And Living Life On One'S Own Terms. It Is This Strength And Resilience Of The Everyday Woman That Nair Brings Out As A Writer. Nair'S Women Are Fleshed Out To The Last Detail. You Can Visualize Them Clearly -Their Faces, Their Bones, Their Desires&Mdash;As They Talk Animatedly In The Train Discussing Their Lives.' &Mdash;The Telegraph, Calcutta &Nbsp;

When travel writer Christopher Stewart arrives at a riverside resort in Kerala, India to meet Koman, Radha's uncle and a famous dancer, he enters a world of masks and repressed emotions. From their first meeting, both Radha and her uncle are drawn to the enigmatic young man with his cello and his incessant questions about the past. The triangle quickly excludes Shyam, Radha's husband, who can only watch helplessly as she embraces Chris with a passion that he has never been able to draw from her. Also playing the role of observer-participant is Koman; his life story, as it unfolds, captures all the nuances and contradictions of the relationships being made—and unmade—in front of his eyes. Booklist calls Mistress "Tempestuously exotic, Nair's intricately woven multicultural and multigenerational saga pulsates with passion and desire."

Astha has everything an educated, middle-class Delhi woman could ask for - children, a dutiful loving husband, and comfortable surroundings. So why should she be consumed with a sense of unease and dissatisfaction? Astha finds herself embarking on a powerfully physical relationship with a much younger woman, Pipee, the widow of a political activist. But with this extra-marital affair is she foolishly jeopardizing everything - or is Astha at last throwing off the fear and timidity instilled in her by her parents, her husband, her social class? Manju Kapur, celebrated author of the prize-winning Difficult Daughters, has written a seductive and beautifully honest story of love and betrayal, set at a time of on-going political and religious upheaval. Told with great sympathy and intelligence, and without a shred of sentimentality, A Married Woman is a story for anyone who has felt trapped by life's responsibilities.

Winner Of The 1993 Commonwealth Writers&Rsquo; Prize For Best First Book What Makes A Dutiful Daughter, Wife, Mother? What Makes A Good Indian Woman? Devi Returns To Madras With An American Degree, Only To Be Sucked In By The Old Order Of Things&Mdash;A Demanding Mother&Rsquo;S Love, A Suitable But Hollow Marriage, An Unsuitable Lover Who Offers A Brief Escape. But The Women Of The Hoary Past Come Back To Claim Devi Through Myth And Story, Music And Memory. They Show Her What It Is To Stay And Endure, What It Is To Break Free And Move On.Sita Has Been The Ideal Daughter-In-Law, Wife And Mother. But Now That She Has Arranged A Marriage For Her Daughter She Has To Come To Terms With An Old Dream Of Her Own. Mayamma Knows How To Survive As The Old Family Retainer, Bending The Way The Wind Blows. But, Through Devi, She Too Can See A Different Life. A Subtle And Tender Tale Of Women'S Lives In India, This Award-Winning Novel Is Structured With The Delicacy And Precision Of A Piece Of Music. Fusing Myth, Tale And The Real Voices Of Different Women, The Thousand Faces Of Night Brings Alive The Underworld Of Indian Women&Rsquo;S Lives. &Lsquo;

Since there was hardly any book written on the concept of ‘New Woman’ compiling the works of Indian English writers, the author had long-felt desire to bring out a compact volume in this field. The present volume is like a dream come true as it prepares the solid ground for the long-cherished desire of the author. The book New Woman in Indian English Literature: From Covert to Overt is an attempt to combining the varied shapes of new emerging trend of womanhood in Indian English Literature into a single whole. The book covers twenty six well explored articles on this recent trend of writing which has been fast growing since last few decades. The contributing authors are very deep, sincere and reflective in the articulation of their original ideas and views. Authors are hopeful that the book will bring into focus many new things and ideas yet to be explored and thus will be useful to critical minds.