Admin,+ariel Vol. 27 No. 4 - 170-171

Book Reviews
Susie T h a r u a n d K. Lalita, eds. Women Writing in India: 600 B. C. to the

Present: Vol. 1: 600 B.C. to theEarly Twentieth Century. Vol. 2: The Twen-
tieth Century. N e w D e l h i : O x f o r d UP, 1995. Pp. 537 & 6 4 1 . Rs. 150 &
Rs. 175.
T h i s two-volume collection will find—if it has n o t already done s o —
an essential place o n curricula i n a n u m b e r o f disciplines. It is unusual
for such a t h i n g to be said about an anthology o f literature, but i n their
efforts to contextualize the texts meticulously a n d thoroughly, the edi-
tors have made some valuable contributions i n a n u m b e r o f academic
fields. In as m u c h as the songs, poetry, a n d short stories are expres-
sions o f women's experiences for more than two thousand years, the
work provides students a n d scholars o f women's studies, history , a n d
cultural anthropology with a valuable resource.
B e y o n d the detailed Preface, the two introductory essays "Literature
of the A n c i e n t a n d Medieval Periods: R e a d i n g Against the Orientalist
G r a i n " (Vol. 1, 41-64) a n d T h e Twentieth Century: W o m e n W r i t i n g
T h e N a t i o n " (Vol. 2, 43-116)) synthesize various political a n d socio-
logical theories into a literary context. T h e first o f these two impres-
sive essays places the writing o f I n d i a n w o m e n i n the contexts o f Euro-
A m e r i c a n feminist theory a n d o f E d w a r d Said's Orientalism (1978); it
juxtaposes antithetical perceptions o f I n d i a with M a x M u l l e r ' s India:
What It Can Teach Us (1892) a n d James M i l l ' s History of British India
( 1817). As a result, the reader's perceptions extend beyond the histor-
ical context o f ancient a n d medieval India. By weaving ancient a n d
contemporary history together, the editors allow the reader to under-
stand the relevance o f these literary pieces as we a p p r o a c h the mil-
l e n n i u m . T h i s is n o t to say that the editors have i m p o s e d modernist,
postmodernist theories o r other political theories o n ancient I n d i a n
literature. Instead, they have described a n d e x p l a i n e d the extent to
w h i c h the India o f the Rig Veda still persists i n the I n d i a o f today. They
describe the c o m p l e x evolution o f India's multi-dimensional culture,
a n d consequently contextualize the writing o f I n d i a n w o m e n i n a most
useful a n d meaningful way.
ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, 27:4, October 1996

B O O K REVIEWS 171
T h e second essay ("The Twentieth Century: W o m e n W r i t i n g T h e

N a t i o n " ) , 73 pages i n length, thoroughly examines women's writing i n
a twentieth-century colonial/postcolonial, nationalist context. T h e
sections entitled "1977: A T u r n i n g P o i n t " (48-49) a n d ' W h a t Is a Na-
tion?" (50-53) o u t l i n e the relationship between narrative, the creation
of a new n a t i o n , a n d the identity o f the i n d i v i d u a l . B o t h these pieces
explore the roles o f national a n d personal narratives i n accommodat-
ing ever-changing political winds. These short sub-essays provide a tho-
r o u g h a n d useful i n t r o d u c t i o n to these theoretical issues i n c o l o n i a l
and postcolonial literature a n d raise important issues i n the practices
of neocolonialism. In their entirety, both these introductory essays re-
flect the interdisciplinary nature o f literary analysis. They c o u l d a n d
should be p u b l i s h e d i n anthologies o f literary essays, as well as collec-
tions o n cultural a n d political theory.
Just as the editors wrote these two t h o r o u g h a n d detailed essays, the
contributions o f the Regional Language Editors are equally impressive
i n their attention to detail. In the Preface, the methodological discus-
sion includes one o n translation w h i c h is important to the reader a n d
helpful to students o f comparative literature. In "Siting Translation:
History, Post-Structuralism, a n d the C o l o n i a l Context," T. Niranjana
suggests that the translation o f any work means not only translation
from one language into another, but also f r o m one culture into an-
other. T h e discussion i n the Preface deals with these issues by estab-
lishing three worlds: the w o r l d o f the regional language, the w o r l d of
the E n g l i s h language (also the Western world), a n d the w o r l d o f the
reader. T h e reader is i m p l o r e d to read "slowly" a n d make his/her "way
into the writer's times a n d the writer's w o r l d . " T h e reader s h o u l d "live
a m o d e of life a n d not just read about i t " (xxii).
T h e i n d i v i d u a l pieces themselves are fluid. In fact, it is difficult to
tell that they are translations at all. T h i s is a critical issue i n the transla-
tion of any texts f r o m one language to another when the latter are so
utterly different f r o m the original. In fact, I am amazed to find pat-
terns o f rhyme, as i n an excerpt f r o m Chandrabati's Sundari Mualua,
Section 15, "After the Black N i g h t Comes the B r i g h t N i g h t " (r 05-07).
T h i s collection deserves to be widely read a n d discussed b o t h inside
a n d outside of academic institutions. Unfortunately, the title (though
appropriate) does not adequately reflect the breadth or range o f the
contents. I encourage any inquisitive reader to explore these volumes
and share them with others regardless o f disciplinary affiliation.
SURANJITA NINA DHAR
WORK CITED
Niranjana, T. Siting Translation: History, Post-Structuralism, and the Colo-
nial Context. Berkeley: U o f C a l i f o r n i a P, 1992.

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Book Reviews

Susie T h a r u a n d K. Lalita, eds. Women Writing in India: 600 B. C. to the

ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, 27:4, October 1996

T h e second essay ("The Twentieth Century: W o m e n W r i t i n g T h e

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