Contemporary Literary Review India

1-20

Authors: Akriti Kanodia

Literature has existed since the time humans learnt to communicate. Authors having been presenting their views of on society for centuries and some works have become timeless and thus belong in the genre of classics. These timeless literatures are not only subjected to changing times but also to the contemporary competitors that take the stage as years pass. Their quality to mould according to the society is one of the reasons they have lasted and this mould has been used by many others to create more literature. A growing phenomenon is the use of written literature to be adapted for the screens. It has led to the exploration of the classics to understand and present to the society the evergreen realities of the human kind but it also brings up the question of whose vision is being presented; the original author or of the writer who has adapted it. The paper explores the relationship between the changing authorship and adaptation to understand how they impact each other using the work, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott that has been adapted multiple times through the years.

69-81

Authors: Debabarnine Bhattacharya

While humanity has eternally been foregrounded as the primary subject of fiction, the place of non-human characters has not necessarily dwindled into oblivion. Time and again they have resurfaced, have made their presence felt in an assortment of ways, and have waged a war to exert their dominion over the intricate workings of the reader’s consciousness. Their purpose in certain narratives, as this paper will attempt to elucidate, is two-fold. In that, while on the one hand, authors often employ these entities whose existence is rooted in the annals of folktales and legends, on the other their actual repercussions on any given text borders heavily on the domain of the psychological. In the course of such narratives these two strands---folkloric and psychological, merge inextricably as the non-human entity comes alive on the pages of literature with an almost preternatural vitality. In order to explicate this aspect of such characters, this paper will attempt to analyze certain works of Edgar Allan Poe from a folkloric and psychological perspective, works which bear testimony to the enduring lure of the supernatural that still remains in this modern world.

116-141

Authors: Radhika Aggarwal

This is a review of one of the earliest literatures from Independent India written on homosexuality. Mitrachi Goshta, a Marathi (a local language from the state of Maharashtra, India) play, is one of the few Indian literatures that does not portray homosexuality as a disease or as an object of comedy. The author, Vijay Tendulkar, has exhibited sensitivity while dealing with the subject, which is laudable, considering the time period when he wrote it. Even now, homosexuality is considered a taboo and something to be ashamed of in the Indian society. Although, things are changing for the better, there is a lot left to be desired, even in the present 21st century. The researcher, while reviewing the play, has also connected it with the present-day society, and checking if the situation today is any different from the one portrayed in the play.

171-180

Authors: Shamna Nasreen

This academic paper explores the portrayal of gender and sexuality in Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner. The novel is set in Afghanistan, a country where gender roles are clearly defined and homosexuality is taboo. Through the complex and multifaceted characters of Amir, Hassan, Assef, and Soraya, Hosseini challenges traditional ideas about gender and sexuality. The protagonist Amir is portrayed as a sensitive and emotional boy who does not fit neatly into traditional ideas of masculinity. In contrast, Hassan is portrayed as a strong and brave young boy who enjoys sewing and embroidery, traditionally feminine activities. The character of Assef challenges traditional ideas about sexuality by being attracted to other men, despite the severe punishment for homosexuality in Afghan society. The character of Soraya defies tradition by running away with a man before marrying Amir, portraying women as strong and independent. Hosseini's portrayal of gender and sexuality challenges traditional binary narratives and shows the complexities of gender and sexuality in a society heavily influenced by tradition and religion. This paper argues that The Kite Runner sheds light on the impact of societal expectations and cultural traditions on individuals and highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of gender.

202-215

Authors: Ateesh Kropha

Pablo, the Potato is a story by Ateesh Kropha.

225-234

Authors: Nagma Sinha

The Constant Shadow is a story by Nagma Sinha.

237-239

Authors: Ila Parag Railkar

We her daughters and For me are poems by Ila Railkar.

245-249

Authors: Dr. Ronny Noor

A Little Light, Last Time, and The Wild Deer: Homage to Hafiz are the poems by Dr. Ronny Noor.

261-267

Authors: Sonia Singh

Selves of the Concrete and Rise and Fall the poems by Sonia Singh.

278-283

Authors: Prasanta Kumar Panda

Book Review analyses the scope and literary values in Salman Rushdie’s Languages of Truth.

1-14

Authors: Arsha Junaid

There are many war narratives in literature especially after the terrifying Second World War. Along with discussing the horrors of war, writers popularized the concept of ‘trauma’ which is an after effect of all the brutalities the soldiers and the citizens witnessed as part of the war. Concepts like PTSD began to be discussed and there came several different types of trauma narratives. ‘Abandonment trauma’ is one such where we discuss the psychological after effects of abandonment on an individual. Abandonment can be from different sources. But a child who is neglected of parental care and love in their childhood is likely to exhibit certain severe psychological impacts even after he grows into an adult. This academic paper discusses a novel written by the Senegalese writer David Diop At Night All Blood is Black which is primarily a war narrative discussing the story of a soldier Alfa Ndiaye, who is continuously exposed to the brutalities of the war and his transformation from an innocent soldier to a monstrous one seeking revenge by the ritualistic enemy killings. Alfa was like all the rest of the soldiers who obeyed his captain without any second thought, until he witnessed the death of his friend Mademba Diop in the war field. After that night he started transforming into a blood thirsty human monster who starts to kill his blue- eyed German enemy soldiers each a day and returned to his trench with the severed hand of the dead. He does this each single day until he is sent to the military asylum after the eighth enemy hand. This violence in Alfa has something to do with his childhood. The paper delves deeper into his childhood and the parental abandonment which he experienced at the early age of 9 and how it has affected his actions in the adulthood. It thus makes use of abandonment trauma theory and its psychological implications upon an individual.

25-38

Authors: Bishnupada Ray

Arun Kolatkar’s Jejuri is a key text in Indian English Poetry and it has been subjected to various readings. One reading that is still possible is its politics of representation, that beneath its seemingly innocent surface of a journey poem involving a city-bred modern-day tourist visiting the temple town of Jejuri near Pune in Maharastra, it takes up the serious issue of the dynamics of cultural misrepresentation in the way of marginalization and displacement. The poem can be read as one classic example of how the centre perceives the margin and at what cost. And in the process it reveals its economy of subjection. By ‘economy of subjection’ one can mean, in Saidian sense, the Orientalist process of subjecting the Other or the Oriental, the member of a subject race, into subjection; because one can find here the same process of othering by using the patterns of a travel narrative. However, a sense of alienation from one’s own culture on the part of the observer-recorder also comes to the fore, rendering the master-slave narrative problematic. Other manifestation of the Orientalist representation is a sort of internalisation of the Western way of looking at the Oriental irrationality and chaos and viewing it from the perspective of rationality and imposition of a rational form over the irrational chaos. One thematic aspect of Indianness in the poem is the internal colonialism and the resistance of it, rather than the external one; the cultural markers of which are always found in the form of our attitude towards the womankind and the subaltern, and in the pervasive sense of hopelessness and guilt, as manifested in our overriding religious feelings.

51-62

Authors: Theorizing the Quasi-Private

The family has, for centuries, engaged the Latin American imagination, as a quasi-private sphere where the subject negotiates with the inner/private and outer/public realms of existence, in compliance with, and at times in discordance with the state. The rapidly changing contours of the Latin American socio-political scenario have made its presence felt in the depiction of the family in literature. The paper attempts to explore the family as a kinship unit as depicted in the works of Mario Vargas Llosa, with special reference to Conversation in the Cathedral (1969) and The Discreet Hero (2013). Llosa’s works are unique in their depiction of the family in that the rupture of the established unit marks the movement of the narrative in conspicuous ways. The family serves as an interface between the public and the private and serves as the link connecting the characters to the outside world-i.e., the politico-jural domain” (Goody 93). The paper would explore the family as depicted in Llosa’s works as a quasi-private site of rupture existing in a complementary relationship with the state.

79-95

Authors: Rishav Devrani, Poojan Bulani

Motherhood is a prominent theme in Toni Morrison's works that she has emphasized in her novels as well as her essays. Through the thematic exploration of her stories, Morrison philosophizes the power and the sacrifices that flow from motherhood and attempts to dismantle the patriarchal poster image of a mother and the experience of motherhood. Building upon the same, she beautifully sews together her political stance on black womanhood, her ideas on slavery, its aftermath in the United States vis-à-vis the infinite struggles of maternal identity. In the essay, the authors have tried to analyze and anatomize the paradigm of stereotypical notions associated with motherhood. By deconstructing Toni Morrison's 'Sula,' 'A Mercy,' and 'Beloved,' the authors have attempted to explain how Morrison rebukes the status quo and run-of-the-mill motherly standards and writes fearlessly on concepts that have been seldom evaded and diverted by her contemporaries. By making a comparative analysis of her works, the authors have illustrated how Morrison tackles different themes of black womanhood; developing them from day-to-day experiences to an evolution of a new resistance. She enables, through her characters, African American women to come forward, counter, and challenge the discourse on black womanhood. Different eras beget different expectations where women are romanticized, and their traditional roles are reaffirmed. It, therefore, becomes pivotal for voices like Morrison's to encourage women all around through her innocent portrayal of the complexities of societal affirmation. For example, she disregards the conventional understanding that biological mothers are the sole domain holder of motherhood. The authors have discussed Morrison’s background to understand why she writes the way she does. Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 and was one of the flagbearers of Black Feminist literature; due to her flair for dismantling complex and controversial subjects without stripping them off of reality. And as she always said, the power of changing the world for the better lies not in the great people we mourn, but with ourselves, the essay is an attempt to honor her unmatched legacy.

105-121

Authors: Suryendu Chanda Chaudhury

“Wuthering Heights” has intrigued the critics since its inception, even in the third decade of the 21st Century the novel still holds importance. Apart from its socio economic and psychological aspects, which have mostly been discussed upon, the novel is relevant in the context of life itself as can be perceived in the present situation. Although the plot seems to dwell on the personal problems involving two families and a stranger (Heathcliff), its reflective of the less spoken matters of life and society as well. The cruelty is indeed symbolic; the characters though bearing symbolic and allusive significance appear to be flesh and blood at least in the present context of time.

127-148

Authors: Ranjan Sen

The Edge of Violence is a story by Ranjan Sen.

157-166

Authors: Sudanthan Sudesamithiran

The Mural is a short story by Sudanthan Sudesamithiran.

170-171

Authors: Biswanath Dash

My old ink pen is a poem by Biswanath Dash.

174-177

Authors: Gary Beck

Dabbler, Blind to Emergencies, and Cure Needed are the poems by Gary Beck.

181-185

Authors: Raunak Kumar

An Unlikely Company During The Long Weekend is a poem written by Raunak Kumar.

186-192

Authors: Dr. Ronny Noor

Oh, Rohingyas, A Mother’s Lament, and Emerson: The Noble Sage are the poems by Dr. Ronny Noor.

196-202

Authors: Dian Parker

Obsession with Books is an essay by Dian Parker.

211-217

Authors: Dr. Anmol, Sumita Bose

Book Review of Sumita Bose’s Growing up Gracefully by Dr. Anmol.

1-12

Authors: Aaira Goswami

Despite having lived rather different lives, Karl Marx and Charles Dickens have worked on similar issues like class diversification, poor conditions of the working class, the consequences of the Industrial Revolution etc. They both advocated for better lives of the Proletariat. Where Dickens expressed his view through fictions, Marx came up with concepts like Marxism through works like the famous Communist Manifesto. In fact, Robert J Shiller, in his research on Narrative Economics, talks about the importance of fiction in propagating an idea, a philosophy and an ideology. Similarly, Charles Dickens was able to propagate Marxism with a vigour that Marx's Communist Manifesto could not. Even so, Marx himself spoke of how authors like Dickens helped him in spreading his new ideas. Though numerous reviews and analysis have been done on the works of both these exceedingly exceptional figures, this particular research paper explores the similarities between two of their major works, the Communist Manifesto and Great Expectations. Great Expectations, through its protagonist Pip, explores ideas found in the Communist Manifesto, whether it be the image of the working class as the social scum, the jealousy of the Proletariat, the standoffish attitude of the Bourgeoisie, or even the materialistic family relations of the Bourgeoisie. In conclusion, while the Communist Manifesto strongly communicated its ideas across nations, books like the Great Expectations conveyed those ideas in the form of a story.

28-49

Authors: Debabrata Sardar

This paper attempts to highlight the tension lying between the lived bodily experiences of women, and the predefined cultural entanglements which condition and shape those experiences. Unlike men, women suffer much particularly for and with their bodies. This raises a crucial question regarding the ontology of their sufferings. Body, the biological location of humans distinguishes between the sexes and appropriates the cultural inscriptions. But how does the corporeality facilitates the conflation of chromosomal sex with the categories of gender? How do women relate to these entanglements and make sense of their bodies? A critical study of Indian English novels, from the mid-19th century to the successive periods, demonstrates how female body has been imagined and represented under the trajectory of such difficulties, and how in course of time these representations have changed. Interestingly, despite the palpable changes, one thing remains static – the disagreement between the lived experiences of women about their bodies and the way it is perceived in a given cultural situation.

66-80

Authors: Mohana Das

Audre Lorde, popularly known for her speeches and commanding voice on women role, life, rights and revolutionary attitude, was also a great ‘autobiographer’. Apart from her excellency in the debatable position as a feminist, and civil rights activist, her works have paved a greater voice to the audience. Audre Lorde was self-described who was "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,"……..“dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia." Similarly, Zami (1982) became a receptacle for all her self-described thoughts. The autobiography fuses myth, history, personal thoughts and reminiscences into a flashback style that carries the readers to her informative-memory lane. Zami (1982) stands appropriate to the title “A New Spelling of My Name” as through her prolong quest in society both as a writer and as an activist, she had transformed her thoughts to a dignified freedom struggle. In Zami (1982), her new style (bio-mythography) and technical mastery has been successfully able to present reader a memory lane that is crooked, rough, unpolished, savaged, and bruised of emotional expressions. The unheard tales of society brings out anger and outrage in the her that is delt with positivism and good comprehension. In this particular work, Lorde, throughout her life, talks not only as an artist but as a random being who presents her life, raw, unheard and abled. The narration is filled with flashback, personal notes, pauses with stark delivery that makes the work more powerful. Zami presents through this powerful text, a voice that awakens readers, to identify and accept oneself as it is formed and improvise it with time. This can be justified by her words: “If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” The intricated narration through ‘acceptance’ and ‘remembrance’ makes this work a voice for ‘black feminist’, lesbian-feminist’, and feminist of her time, but lay everlasting influence on tradition of literature. Lorde and her Zami (1982) stood out in terms of style, emotional expression and conviction to all people in search of an identity.

88-91

Authors: Ashok Vinayak Kulthe

A Little Brown Cat: A story of a cat is a story by Ashok Vinayak Kulthe.

108-116

Authors: Madyanis Santiago Díaz

Tea Judgement is a story by Madyanis Santiago Díaz.

127-131

Authors: Paul Michael Melo e Castro

Half-Chewed Counsellors and Statesmen is a story translated by Paul Michael Melo e Castro. This story was originally written in Portuguese and published in 1923 by the Goan author José da Silva Coelho (1889-1944).

148-149

Authors: Ankit Mangal Singh

The air became smoke is a poem by Ankit Singh.

154-157

Authors: Dr. B.H.S. Thimmappa

Slices of Life is a poem by Dr. B.H.S. Thimmappa.

164-166

Authors: Danny Patrick Barbare

Caramel Apple Cider and Autumn's Leaf are two poems by Danny Patrick Barbare.

167-169

Authors: Natalie Bisso

Masters of Pen and Word, A Simple Weirdo, Blues Music, Paris for Me, and White Road are the poems by Natalie Bisso.

183-185

Authors: Saara Parijaat

Kindle my kindness is a poem by Saara Parijaat.

191-193

Authors: Shuvam Dewanjee

Victor Sen is a poem by Shuvam Dewanjee.

197-207

Authors: Ananya Dutta Gupta

Book Review of Kunal Basu’s Filmi Stories: The Return of the Storyteller by Ananya Dutta Gupta.

213-218

Authors: Subhajit Bhadra

Book Review of Dwipantarer Katha’s The Story of Deportation by Subhajit Bhadra.

1-8

Authors: Azra Minaz Mukadam

Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, and filmmaker Ismat Chughtai wrote comprehensively on themes of female sexuality and its unabashed expression. All of her short stories introduce the reader to a patriarchal world where women find their own unique way of expressing themselves dissimilar to that of the phallocentric expectation. French feminist writer, poet, playwright, philosopher and literary critic Hélène Cixous states in her essay The Laugh of the Medusa that when a woman is sexually liberated, she is able to express herself freely through her writing. This paper aims to study three of Chughtai’s major works from her short story collection The Quilt: Stories under Cixous’ critical lens and infers that Chughtai sexually liberates the female characters she writes in order to express them freely thereby breaking her writing away from the phallocentric ideals.

23-42

Authors: Indira Mondal

Myths and fantasy are two of the most indispensable and widely consumed literary genres for every civilisation. These two literary/cultural forms partake in a rather curious correlation with each other. While myths are a product of cultural authorship, that authorises certain cultural norms arising through its narrative; fantasy is a literature of desire that revels in the free play of imagination and expression that are often outrageously subversive. Yet, the universes constructed by myth and fantasy are conspicuously structured on similar strategies and modality. It is this structural similitude between myth and fantasy that this paper dissects, in order to illustrate that myths are not simply a product of cultural authorship but more importantly of cultural fantasy that is propagated as symbolic truths. This paper particularly examines Indian mythological system through the myths of Ahalya and Chitrangada and their cinematic renditions, to excavate the underlying fantasy embedded within its narrative and the import of its reception.

54-65

Authors: Dr. Kalyani Hazri

Present paper undertakes the textual analysis of Kalidasa’s play Abhijnanasakuntalam, translated in English by Chandra Rajan. To come up with new insights, the paper critically looks at the feminine and masculine virtues represented by the central characters to carefully analyze their interplay and imprinting on mutual relationship as well as the narrative structure. The paper concludes that both the characters exhibit masculine and feminine as different ways of behavior that embark their own individual trajectories towards complete realization. As long as these virtues are less developed, there are conflicts among the characters resulting from mutual dependency. At the point of maturation however, these virtues enable the characters to co-exist in harmony. The paper thereby concludes with the new insights into the reading of the most celebrated text.

75-95

Authors: Radhika Gupta

On one hand, Brontë’s Victorian Realist text, Jane Eyre, is miles apart from Woolf’s quintessential Modernist text, Mrs Dalloway. While, on the other hand, both texts are connected through a similar anxiety to portray madness: a dangerous antithesis to society itself. This paper attempts an analysis of both texts’ supposed mad characters, Bertha and Septimus, respectively, who posit as alter egos to the eponymous protagonists. Often declared as a radical other, or controlled through physical impositions, or perceived as a threatening force, madness has constantly been a victimised and ostracised entity in society. However, by bringing these two distinct texts in a conversation, this paper attempts to capture the crucial changes in the attitude towards madness as the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth.

106-113

Authors: Ripon Handique

In Beldam Etcetera, Dom Moraes organises his poems by employing juxtaposition as the technique through which perspectives, situations or reactions are contrasted in highlighting the differences naturally inherent in reality. This not only enriches the poems by depicting the complexity of reality but also envisages a poetry that is the opposite of subjective romanticising, which is a common refrain regarding his poetry in the first phase of his writing. By the technique of juxtaposition differences in the conception and articulation of reality in its entire complexity, depending on any individual, are explored without moralising or judging as that would entail the predominance of a single perspective over the multiple.

141-149

Authors: Shalini Attri

Theater, a medium of representation is a phenomenon interconnected with the production and formulation of meaning using the spatial arts. Folk narratives defined as people’s perception of their group identity, models of conduct and human endeavor, symbolic structures of history and mythology exist as ‘memory text’ in the minds of performers who consciously/unconsciously resonate ethics, values, identity, and culture of the region. The accounts on ethics, dharma, Karma are grounded in “folk-knowledge” and are transferred through folk performers establishing theatrical space as knowledge systems. In Indian context, many folk performances map the dominant belief of Dharma (righteousness) and Karma (action). Dharma is a signpost and Karma is our actions. Haryanvi folk theater exhibits the interplay of ‘little traditions’ through saang- a form of folk theater. Saang is the identity marker of Haryana having its locus in the ethical codes centering around Indian philosophical discourse. The paper will focus on saang as repository of culture and identity. The transmission of the cultural narratives through retellings and folk performances is an identity construct. The research will discuss saang as cultural heritage with a special reference to Lakhmichand’s saang of Raja Harishchander and would elaborate on Haryanvi folk theater as promoter of the ethics and values.

162-184

Authors: Dr. Trapti Joshi

The novel Lincoln in the Bardo revolves round the after-death experiences of various characters. According to Indian philosophy, the human body is made of three aspects. These are Gross body, Subtle body and Atman. After death, the gross body (human body) is eradicated but the subtle body and the Atman follow up their next after-death journey to get a new gross body or salvation. Their after-death course decides their next birth. But between death and the next life there is a place where one’s subtle body lingers due to the state of his consciousness. In the title of the novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, the word Bardo signifies after-death world in which a man lingers because of his ignorance, unfulfilled desires, resolutions etc. The theme of the novel shares an identical resemblance with the Indian philosophy. The Upniṣhad such as Praśna Upniṣhad and Chāndogya Upniṣhads throw light on the journey of life as well as of death. They describe how one’s karma decides his after-death course. At what extent, the consciousness of a man is stable, the more firmly, he accepts death. The characters of the novel show how due to their fluctuating consciousness, they linger in the after-death world. They do not accept their approaching end. They desire to go back to their own life. The present paper puts forth how these dead characters after realizing the truth, get salvation or a new life according to their states of consciousness.

209-217

Authors: Mayuresh V Belsare

Second Chance is a story by Mayuresh V. Belsare.

229-231

Authors: Alex K. O.

The Scholar and Wound are poems by Alex K.O.

238-242

Authors: John Grey

Pi for Example, Your Name, and I Predict the poems by John Grey.

253-259

Authors: Shilpa Nataraj

Valli is a debut novel by Sheela Tomy, published in Malayalam in 2019 and translated to English by Jayashree Kalathil in 2022. For this novel, Sheela Tomy was awarded the Cherukad Award for Malayalam Literature in 2020. As rightly put in the dedication page, "For forests ravaged by fires For people rendered voiceless For Languages without scripts", this story is multiscalar. It resonates with Arundathi Roy's famous rendition of one of her works, "To the Unconsoled." Valli is a story of a land and its people whose essence lures outsiders and ignites a revolution of minds. Set in the hilly region called 'Wayanad' in the South Indian state of Kerala, the story brings out place-specificity as one of the key features in accentuating the historical, socio-political, cultural and environmental disparity and justice through the characters' lives which spans across three generations.