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 ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2020-2021)
MEG-14: Contemporary Indian Literature in English Translation
Attempt all the questions

Q1. Discuss the woman’s point of view by referring to texts written by women.

What are their themes and concerns?

Ans. Indian Women writing in English is being recognised as major contemporary

current in English language- Literature. The likes of Salman Rushdie, Amitav Gosh

and Anita Desai have won worldwide acclaim for the quality of their writing and

their imaginative use of English. These include the role of English as global lingua

franca: the position of English in India. The Indian writers in English are writing, not

in their native language but in a second language, and the resultant transcultural

character of their texts.

The origin of Indian writing in English by women can be traced back to the last

quarter of the 19th Century. This emergence is an important milestone for feminism

in India. Access to English education was one of the main reasons of modernisation

of the thinking of Indian women. The broad scope for higher education inspired

women to pursue English education, which made a visible impact on the status of

women. Indian women came in contact with the Western culture, ideas, philosophy,

literature and movements that were appealing and thought-provoking. They got an

opportunity to express their Indianness in the newly acquired English language.

Indian writing in English is now gaining ground rapidly. In the realm of fiction, it

has heralded a new era and has earned many laurels both at home and abroad.

Indian women writers have started questioning the prominent old patriarchal

domination. They are no longer puppets in the hands of man. They have shown their

worth in the field of literature both qualitatively and quantitatively and are showing

it even today without any hurdle.

the reader to have an insight into the female psyche and understand the feelings and

aspirations of women in the changing society.

Mahashweta Devi’s writings: Referring to Mahashweta Devi’s story ‘Salt’ the point

of view and concerns of women writers change along with the contemporary

situtaion. In her story ‘Salt’ Devi represents the plight of the tribals who were

deprived of the arable forest land by the Hindu traders who came there after the

Kole Revolt of 1831. Exploitation ¡s the major theme of this story, highlighting the

predicament of the innocent tribals who are taken advantage by everyonewho are in

a position of power. One of Mahasweta’s major concerns,in her fiction as well as in

her activist writings, is the denial of land rights to tribals. In her essay “The Slaves of

Palamau” (1983), she describes the disastrous effects of “development” ¡n the

Palamau area: “At one time the district boasted of great jungles. Today, the jungles

are largely destroyed and the district can be described as dry upland” (11). She

recounts the growth of the bonded labour system in the region, after the

downtrodden people’s revolt . . . .against the British and the jagirdars was crushed

in 1857.

Anita Desai’s Writings: Anita Desai, the other great novelist of the Indian English

fiction. She holds a unique place among the contemporary women novelists of India.

Desai’s women characters in her novels rebel against patriarchal community in order

to explore their own potential or to live on their own terms, regardless of the

consequences that such a rebellion may have on their lives. They take the position of

outsiders to fight and criticize those cultural ideologies that come in their way of

becoming free individuals, self – chosen withdrawal, for these women, takes on the

form a weapon for survival in a patriarchal community. Desai’s women, thus, want

freedom within the community of men and women , as it is the only way that will

succeed in fulfilling them In fact, Desai’s model of an emancipated woman , Bimala

in the novel Clear Light Of Day, is an unmarried

woman. Her married women characters like Maya in Cry, a Peacock, Monisha in
,The City, Nanda in Fire in the Mountain, and Sita in Where Shall We Go This

Summer? Become depressed, violent or self-destructive. They either lose their sanity

or kill others, or they kill or destroy themselves. The nemesis of these women is not a

private one but an outgrowth of the complex social context, immediate family

environments and the relationships with their men. Many of

Desai’s protagonists are portrayed as single women. Desai does not neglect the

institution of marriage or support alienation from society. Some of her women

characters, like Tara in ‘Clear Light of Day’, do achieve fulfilment in their marriages

Instead, through Bimala, Desai points to a kind of feminist emancipation that lies in

not limiting women to their traditional roles but in expanding and awakening them

to several other possibilities. Their kind of life, apart from being invigorating, also

frees them from dependence on men.

Arundhati Roy’s Writings: The other famous and renowned novelist under the study

is Arundhati Roy, born in 1961 in Bengal. Arundhati grew up in Kerala. She believes

that, “A feminist is a woman who negotiates herself into a position where she has

choices.’’ The International community knows Arundhati Roy as an artist with her

debut novel The God of Small Things.’ Roy’s major essays ‘The End of Imagination’

and ‘The Greater common good’ . Arundhati has never admitted that she is a

feminist but ‘The God of Small Things’, reveals at many places her feminist stance

and her protagonist represent feminine sensibility. Roy seems to be iconoclast in,’

The God of Small Things’. The stylistic innovations make the novel unique and bring

vitality and exuberance to the novel. The novel is unique in every aspect and it is a

linguistic experiment with the English language. The stylistic writings include the

use of words, phrases and even sentences from vernacular language, use of italics,

subject less sentences, faulty spellings ,topicalisation, deviation from normal word

order, single word ’sentences,’ change of word classes, clustering of word classes

and a variety of other techniques. She has given prominence to ecology and

subalternity as the major themes in the novel. Roy’s close observations and the

minute aspects in the creation of her literary skills are observed in her other works.
Her two important articles on the internet are’ The end of Imagination’ and ‘The

Greater Common Good.’ In the End of Imagination, Roy criticises nuclear policies of

the Government of India. Arundhati Roy foretells the harmful consequences of

nuclear weapons on human beings and ecology in the End of Imagination.

This shows that women writers have gone up from difficult to tribal and rural areas

too, but all of them have expressed their concern for women and their problems. The

variety of subjects, they have touched upon is a great contribution in creating

awareness for the modern women all over the globe. The variety of subjects handled

by them considering Indian environment needs an appreciation. Some of the writers

have not claimed that they belong to feminist’s movement yet their writings suggest

that their inner spirit and feelings are for the welfare of the women only.

Q2. Choose a Bhakti poet from your region and discuss a few of his/her poems,

illustrating how the Bhakti movement had an impact on Indian writing.

Ans. The term Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit root “Bhaj” which means to serve.

The term Bhakti is defined as “devotion” or passionate love for the Divine. Moksha

or liberation from rebirth was not in the following of rules, regulations or societal

ordering, but it was through simple devotion to the Divine. In the early beginning,

the word Bhakti is first mentioned in Rig-Veda as worship to Indra and Surya

Devata. The meaning of “movement” is the practice that influences a large section of

a society. Within the movement at large, useful distinctions have been made by

contemporary scholars between the poet saints who composed verses extolling God

with attributes or form, namely, “saguna” bhaktas, and,

Those extolling God without and beyond all attributes or form, “nirguna.” The great

epic Ramayana emphasized Pitra Bhakti and Guru Bhakti.

A Bhakti poet from our region that I would like to choose is Goswamy Tulsidas.

Tulsidas was a devotee of Rama. His work gives the story of Rama in Hindi. He was

the foremost in popularizing Rama cult. His other works in Hindi are Janaki Mangal

and Parvathi Mangal. In his writings he insists the duty of a son to his parent, duty

of a student to his teacher and duty of a king to his people.

losing luster of life. The foreign invaders, with a few exceptions, had found the land

suitable for making it their homeland and settle in India permanently. With the

mentality of a ruling class, they got engaged in converting people into their religion

of Islam to widen their support base. Hinduism was being challenged in its own

land.

Moreover there were inner challenges as well. The differences in sects and within

sects were weakening the grip of religion over the people. The Shaivites and the

Vaishnavites were at loggerheads and quarreled with and criticized each other. Even

the Shaiva sect was sub-divided into a number of sects, united in disagreeing with

and opposing one another. Rituals had become commercialized. Differences,

distortion of values, divisions, and sub-division in religion and society was sapping

its very vitality and the whole society was crumbling.

India needed a co-ordinator, integrator, and reformer and in Tulsidas, she found a

safe haven. He rose equal to the occasion and infused the Hindu life and religion

with vigor and freshness. He coordinated various sects and gods. He exposed real

religion in his epic ‘Ram Charit Manas’ for the understanding of common people. It

is important to glance at the political map of the time in order to valuate his

contribution. Tulsi wrote in conformity with different scriptures. He was a true

integrationist. He incorporated different groups as equals in society. He starts with

reverence to Vani (God of speech) and Vinayaka (God of welfare) as they are the

originators of sounds represented by alphabets, the meanings the sounds contain,

the objects they describe and the poetic sentiments they carry. Thereafter he greets

the goddess Parvati and her consort Shankar. He makes obeisance to Shankar as an

Eternal Preceptor. He pays homage to his Guru and all other pious souls in various

spheres of life. He acknowledges the gift of Valmiki, Narada and Agastya for

speaking out Rama’s story on various occasions.

He wrote for the common people and his Manas is read and sung by all people,

regardless of age, caste and sex. Thus he successfully embraces in his fold the
different sections of society and gives them hope. Ramcharit Manas is a world-class

voluminous work. It is divided into seven Kandas (chapters)-1- Balkand,2- Ayodhya

kand,3- Aranya Kand,4- Kishkindhya kand,5- Sunder Kand 6-Lanka kand, and 6-

Uttar Kand respectively. In this sacred work, he revives the religious and spiritual

message of Upanishads and Geeta. He describes the golden age of Rama and his

kingdom. He picks up almost every sphere of life and human behavior and inspires

us to act and behave in that ancestral way and according to the ethical code as laid

down by scriptures. As an adept integrator, Tulsi brought the different sects

together. In Manas Rama says, “Those who love me but dislike Shiva or love Shiva

and dislike me go to hell. My devotee if he dislikes Shiva can not reach me even in

dream.’( 6/1/4&6/2). Through such depictions Tulsi set aside the differences and

united the sects. He adopted both the prevalent dialects of the time, Braj and Avadhi,

though in his Manas, he predominantly uses Avadhi. He also adopts in his epic

Manas all the prevalent styles of expression like couplets, quadruplets, sestets and

quartets etc. He imbibes all the nine Rasas (Sentiments of poetry)—Srungar (Love),

Hasya (Humor), Karuna (Pathos), Veer(Valor), Bibhatsya (Disgust), Bhayanaka

(Terror) Adbhuta (Marvelous), and Santa (quietude) and Raudra (wrath, fury), He

was absolutely all inclusive and versatile.

Q3. Give a brief description of the trend towards social realism in Kannada

drama. Can you find equivalences in drama in other Indian languages? Give

examples.

Ans. Kannada is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various

dialects by close to 5 crore people. it is the state language of Karnataka. one of the

four southern states in India. The Kannada language has been spoken for about 2500

years ,with the Kannada writing system being in use for about the last 1900 years.

The initial development of the Kannada language is similar to that of other

Dravidian languages. notably Tamil and Telugu. During later centuries, Kannada,

along with Telugu, has been greatly influenced by Sanskrit vocabulary and literary
styles. Spoken Kannada tends to vary from region to region. The written form is

more or less constant throughout Karnataka, however. Linguists identify about 20

dialects of Kannada. The Kannada script itself is derived from Brahmi script.

Kannada is almost as old as Tamil, the truest of the Dravidian family. Initially the

area of the Kannada speech extended much further to the north than the present

Karnataka, but it was pushed back by the Indo-Aryan Marathi. The early (pre-800

AD) bits and pieces of Kannada literature that are available are insufficient to lay

claims to the literature’s origins.

The trend towards social realism in Kannada drama came post independence period

of India. Indian independence in 1947 brought with it the promise of freedom and a

new genre sprouted in Kannada writings. The torchbearer of this tradition was

Gopalakrishna Adiga. The Navya poets wrote for and like disillusioned intellectuals.

The sophistication in the use of language and the importance of technique to

literature reached new heights in this genre. U.R. Anantha Murthy, P. Lankesh, A.K.

Ramanujan, K.V. Tirumalesh, Shantinatha Desai, Subraya Chokkadi, Sumathindra

Nadig, H.M. Chennayya, GangadharaChittala, V.K. Gokak, K.S. Nisar Ahmed and

Vaidehi, are all leading writers of this movement. Navyoltara (Postmodemist)

Kannada literature in the last 50 years has been closely related to social aspects. The

oppressions of the caste system gave rise to the Bandaaya and Dalit genres of

Kannada literature. Feminist movements in Indian society gave rise to the Streevaadi

(Feminist) genre of poetry. Short stories have been very popular in the 20th century.

Siddalingayya, Devanuru Mahadeva, Amaresh Nugadoni, Mogalli Ganesh, Boluvar

Mahammad Kunhi and Sara Abubakar are all leading writers of this movement.

Q4. What do you understand by Dalit literature? Discuss Dalit writing from the

contrasting perspectives of privileged/disadvantaged.

Ans. Many critics have attempted to define Dalit Literature and a spectrum of

opinion has emerged. Dalit literature is one in which the Dalit himself expresses his

own anguish and depicts the essence of living life as one. It is not art for art's sake
but the literature of lived experience. It has variously been called Mass Literature

and Literature of Action.

It foregrounds human values and depicts resentment and the struggle born out of it

against structures of power. It raises questions about the status and situation of the

Dalits. Dalit literature is also considered to be a scientific, meaningful and sensitive

intervention in the world of letters. One critic goes as far as to say that all that is

scientific, polemical and free of the givens of tradition may be called Dalit literature.

It has been seen as the face of revolution, because it believes that one who has been,

on counts of religion or other causes, economically, socially and culturally exploited

is the only one who can bring about revolution. We see that regardless of how it has

been defined, Dalit literature puts a human at its centre, registers a strong protest

against the frames of caste, race and tribe and believes in human liberty. There are

many critics who trace a long history of Dalit literature. They see the seeds of a Dalit

consciousness in the poetry and songs of saints and devotional poets. The poem of

Hira Dom, the first Dalit piece of writing and Swami Achyutanand's social

movement and writings are considered revealing a given oppressive social structure.

After independence too, many Dalit poets wrote sensitively under the influence of

Gandhi. Harit, Mataprasad, Mansharam Vidrohi among them, deserve special

mention. Thinlung traditionally of the intellectual roots of Dalit Literature, we can

logically come up with the names of Raidas (a cobbler), Kabir (a weaver) and

Tukaram (a tanner), among others. Appropriated by the regional canons, these

names are associated with the Bhakti Movement that allowed for reforms at least in

thought if not in social organisation. Further, these poets sought personal

redemption in devotion to what are primarily Hindu gods and spirituality. The

contemporary Dalit position towards these figures is however ambivalent On the

one hand they are acknowledged as the first recorded voices of the lower castes, and

on the other, they are seen to have been co-opted into the dominant -hegemonic

vision of the prevailing religion that embrace Hindu deities.

India and abroad. Do you agree? Give reasons.

Ans. Translation is a process of conveying a source text into a target text which

should reflect the contents of the original text. Translation is a practice in which the

translator tries to find out the closest equivalent meaning of a source text into the

target text language. It involves interpretation of meaning of the source text and

producing the same meaning in another language.

I agree that Translation is the most effective means of accessing various writings not

only in India but throughout the world. Translation has been associated with the

existence of human being. However, before the evolution of language and literature,

the unwritten literature or orature, the human communication was undertaken

through the mode of translation. The very idea of conceiving the thought and ideas

has been co-related with the specific form of translation and that may be treated as

conception and construct of ideas, views and transmitting them from one person to

the other. As the father of Modern Western Philosophy Rene Descartes,

propounded the philosophy of rationalism with the statement ‘cogito-ergo-sum’

which means “I think therefore I am”. Translation is also communicated with these

perceptions which explore the communication and exchange of ideas and messages

from one language to the other, one person to the other. This crosses with all kinds

of boundaries relating to nation, identity, sex, caste and creed. Thus, it has become a

necessity for the very existence of human being. As there are thousands of

languages in the world and cultural and linguistic exchange is mandatory among the

people, therefore, as Susan Bassenett said that translation is a fundamental act of

human exchange. Translation is not meant to serve the purpose of linguistic exercise,

but act as a means of communication among educated and literate one but also acts

as a mode of communication among the common masses, even the uneducated ones.

The act of translation is associated with the extension and exchange of knowledge,

academic enrichment and contribution to the areas of translation by research and

other academic pursuits.