Papers by Soma Bandyopadhyay
LangLit: An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal, 2020
The first Indian novel was written in Bengali and amazingly by an English woman in Renaissance Be... more The first Indian novel was written in Bengali and amazingly by an English woman in Renaissance Bengal. Hannah Catherine Mullens, one of the missionary wives who supported the educative zeal of the Protestant missionaries during the Raj wrote Phulmani O Karunar Bibaran for the converted Christian women as a handbook to lead good Christian lives. Published in 1852 it became the first literary work written in prose in India.
LangLit:An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal Vol.5 Issue 4., 2019
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is one of the well-known women novelists of India. She belongs to a group of... more Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is one of the well-known women novelists of India. She belongs to a group of fiction-writers who could neither accept the country and its ways as her own nor get over her complicated, complex relationship with it. She visited and revisited India nostalgically in her fiction written in America. Set in India, Heat and Dust focuses on European women trudging through the process of adjusting to a foreign rhythm of life, of living through estrangement, alienation and painful misunderstanding. The story of Olivia Rivers(during the Raj) and the unnamed step-granddaughter, the Narrator (in the post-colonial period) underline the marginalisation women faced whenever they attempted to express their individuality. Jhabvala's inability to create radically self-reliant women characters that can confidently defy and contest patriarchal traditions does not declare her as an anti-feminist. Her stand is actually a compromise between patriarchy and feminism.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is one of the well-known women novelists of India. She belongs to a group of... more Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is one of the well-known women novelists of India. She belongs to a group of fiction-writers who could neither accept the country and its ways as her own nor get over her complicated, complex relationship with it. She visited and revisited India nostalgically in her fiction written in America.
Alienation: an inseparable part of an immigrant existence as seen in Mirror City by Chitrita Bane... more Alienation: an inseparable part of an immigrant existence as seen in Mirror City by Chitrita Banerji Abstract: Mirror City is a story of a young Indian Bengali girl married to a Bangladeshi Muslim University Professor trying to find her feet in the newly independent Bangladesh. Uma, the protagonist's trials and tribulations (based on her author's experiences in Bangladesh) make her feel rejected though her past home and her new one share many commonalities like language, history, culture and even food. Her life as an immigrant turns out to be miserable one in spite of her enthusiasm till she feels like a caged bird yearning for the flight of freedom. From the study of Uma's life we can conclude that the isolation and marginalization suffered by immigrants are not limited to the Western context. Difficulties in assimilation are an integral part of immigrant life and in most cases make an exile of the new comer.
Alienation: an inseparable part of an immigrant existence as seen in Mirror City by Chitrita Bane... more Alienation: an inseparable part of an immigrant existence as seen in Mirror City by Chitrita Banerji Abstract: Mirror City is a story of a young Indian Bengali girl married to a Bangladeshi Muslim University Professor trying to find her feet in the newly independent Bangladesh. Uma, the protagonist's trials and tribulations (based on her author's experiences in Bangladesh) make her feel rejected though her past home and her new one share many commonalities like language, history, culture and even food. Her life as an immigrant turns out to be miserable one in spite of her enthusiasm till she feels like a caged bird yearning for the flight of freedom. From the study of Uma's life we can conclude that the isolation and marginalization suffered by immigrants are not limited to the Western context. Difficulties in assimilation are an integral part of immigrant life and in most cases make an exile of the new comer.
Drafts by Soma Bandyopadhyay
Brick and mortar libraries are facing the onslaught of digitisation and the need for their very e... more Brick and mortar libraries are facing the onslaught of digitisation and the need for their very existence is being questioned in the 21st C. The death knell of libraries, however, cannot be rung in a hurry as they serve a greater purpose than just providing books. Libraries help us to fulfil our roles as active citizen by providing the ‘third place’ to congregate, exchange ideas and get exposure to different cultures. Innovative libraries of the digital age even allow their patrons a pulpit from which new era art, literature and technological creations can find audience and appreciation.
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Papers by Soma Bandyopadhyay
Drafts by Soma Bandyopadhyay