Yajnaseni

Pratibha Ray makes a determined effort for a portrayal of the epic character and brings to the surface the broader and deeper aspects of Draupadi s mind that lay submerged in the majestic sweep of the grand Mahabharata. The novel won her the Bharatiya Jnanpith s prestigious ninth Moortidevi Award in 1993.

MOVES & COUNTERMOVES Animish, the disciple teetering between scepticism and awe around Krishna’s divinity, inherits his Master’s mantle as the latter proceeds to Badari to pursue his self-realisation goals. Asareer's belief solidifies, and divine anecdotes about Krishna continue to enthral him. While the chasm between the viewpoints of both friends keeps widening, Krishna attains a God-like stature and comes to be feared by his opponents and revered by his devotees and sages alike. Meanwhile, rivalries explode between cousins. Kauravas, led by the determined Duryodhana, manipulate the king to their advantage while Pandavas fight for survival. Draupadi's entrance, forging a solid alliance between Pandavas and the powerful Panchala kingdom, adds a new twist to the story. And, through it all, the enigmatic Krishna emerges as the central figure, unfolding his own fascinating tryst with destiny. The game of one-up-manship between Kauavas and Pandavas, which resembled the opening stage of a chess game to Animish during the graduation ceremony of princes, moves into the next stage, the middle game. Kauravas and Pandavas were entangled in a prolonged fight over the chessboard of fate, with advantage shifting back and forth like in a bitter middle game of chess that does not produce a clear winner. Find inside the dramatic events of Krishna’s battles with Jarasandha, the setting up of the Dwaraka kingdom, Draupadi’s Swayamvara and her unconventional polyandrous marriage, the rise and fall of Indraprastha Empire, multiple marriages and battles of Krishna, the fortune-turning dice game where a wife was put on stake, and a host of other exciting events. Join Animish and Asareer, two good friends who disagree on matters of faith, to watch the enthralling moves and countermoves in the intricate middle phase of the story and analyse for yourself which moves are blunders and which ones are brilliancies. What did destiny ordain for the kings who thought they were players but were mere pawns on fate’s chess board?

How different would mythological narratives be, if women voiced their perspectives? Amidst great wars, superhuman heroes and their ‘glorious’ victories, is there a place for women? Are ‘great wars’ limited to armed conflicts between armies of men on the battlefields? Do women have their own battles before, after and beyond the confines of wars in the epic narratives of India? Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have integrated into our social and cultural fabric, and permeated into the myriad layers of life across genres and media. It is a common practice to revisit mythological landscapes and realign the lenses to look at them afresh from different perspectives. Re-renderings often bring in multiple interpretations that are creative and critical, adding variety and currency to the original narratives. Vision and Re-vision traces the lives of seven marginalized women from revisionist works against the central motif of war. It follows the pursuits of Ganga, Surpanakha, Uruvi, Sita, Urmila, Satyavati and Draupadi to understand their struggles and victories as women. Analyzing textual spaces provided to women, it explores their marginalized voices and their resistance patterns. These, in turn, establish new narratives of subversion and reclaim the voices and identities of women from the margins. A sound theoretical framework enables a comprehensive understanding of feminism and its distinct Indo-centric identity.

The river was in high tide and the footprints of the Yadavas were more or less washed away. Big waves came rushing to the shore and wiped away some more footprints Suddenly Rukmini discovered a familiar footprint and sat beside it . Her eyes brimmed over with tears . These were the footprints her hair locks drooped over when she knelt at her Lord's feet every morning . These were the footprints she worshipped with chandan . the footprints of her Lord of Sri Krishna ! They were deeply immersed in the sand. the impression engraved in the sand was filled with water. Rukmini's streaming tears were making an offering in the water-filled footprints. Daruk arrived and stood beside her . He looked startled. He could not believe how the footprints filled to the brim with water could contain Rukmini's tears without spilling over. What was further surprising was that not a single tear had dropped out of the carved footprint .

As the outcome of an international conference held at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, this book provides a collection of productive texts on, and novel critical approaches to, comparative literature for young scholars. The wide range of analytical approaches employed here allow for the opening up of texts to new readings. The contributions here encompass readings of cinema, advertisements and literary representations, such as novels, poems and short stories, and are pertinent for scholars in media studies, cultural studies, gender studies, sociology and literature. As a commentary on contemporary representations of gender, the book is also relevant for all higher education institutions which seek to heighten gender sensitivity.

Rendezvous of Repertoire: An Anthology of Critical Essays by Women is a collection of essays on diverse topics penned by female academicians. More than an editorial work, this has been a collective journey for all of us where we have grown together. This work is our tribute to all the women academicians who have changed lives.

The Refugee Woman examines the Partition of 1947 by engaging with the cultural imagination of the ‘refugee woman’ in West Bengal, particularly in three significant texts of the Partition of Bengal—Ritwik Ghatak’s film Meghe Dhaka Tara; and two novels, Jyotirmoyee Devi’s Epar Ganga, Opar Ganga and Sabitri Roy’s Swaralipi. It shows that the figure of the refugee woman, animated by the history of the political left and refugee movements, and shaped by powerful cultural narratives, can contest and reconstitute the very political imagination of ‘woman’ that emerged through the long history of dominant cultural nationalisms. The reading it offers elucidates some of the complexities of nationalist, communal, and communist gender-politics of a key period in post-independence Bengal.

Are women safe in India? It is not just a million dollars question, it's a million daughters question. Silent: "The Unvoiced Women" depicts the sacrifices, a woman makes for her family and well being and how her freedom and opportunities are seized. The anthology revolves around women who have much to say but cannot. They are just silent or are made to shut their lips. They have much to speak but are denied. They have dumped every thought inside them. The book also focuses on some other major themes like rape and harassment, gender pay-gap period ,poverty and stigma. In short, the anthology is all about women and society. Every piece holds an emotion which are told and expressed through writing. The book is a result of the efforts of each and every co author involved in it. It has amazing writers and poets combined together from all around the world and has been compiled by Sejal Sondhi and initiated by Rosewood Publication.