At Dr. B. A. M. University, Aurangabad… for a Ph. D. Viva voce in English

Just came back from Dr. B. A. M. University, Aurangabad after conducting a Ph. D. Viva-voce as an external referee. Enjoyed a very healthy and scholarly discussion generated during Viva. Prof. Dr. S.B. Deshpande (Chair), Prof. Dr. K.G.Ranveer, my friends Dr. Mustajib Khan, Mrs. Mehrunnisa Pathan, Mr. Anand Ubale, Balali Navale actively participated in discussion. Researcher Mr. Rajpankhe’s defense was wonderful. Mr. Rajpankhe (Now Dr. Mukund Rajpankhe) and Principal Dr. Samad Shaikh (Research supervisor) deserve a big congratulation. Felt very happy to meet and interact with Prof. Dr. Deshpande, Prof. Dr. Ranveer, Dr. Bharat Handibag (Dean, Arts Faculty), Principal Dr. F. A. Siddiqui, Dr. Mustajib, Mrs. Mehrunnisa and my student Vishnu Patil and few more friends and students. 

(These snaps are taken by my friend Mr. Jogdand and my student Vishnu Patil)

Inaugural Function of English Literary Association-2012-13 held on 9th October, 2012

Snaps of Inaugural Function of English Literary Association-2012-13

Held on 9th October, 2012 at Auditorium of Shivaji Mahavidyalaya, Udgir

Chairperson

Dr. S. T. Patil

(Principal, Shivaji Mahavidyalaya, Udgir)

Inaugurator

Dr. L.S. Deshpande

(Former Head, Department of English

P.N College, Nanded)

Chief Guest

Dr. Shailaja Wadikar

(Faculty, Department of English,

School of Language, Litrature & Cultural Studies

S.R.T.M.University , Nanded

Invitee

Dr. Arvind Nawale, Head,  Department of English & Faculty   

Release of my 3 more books at Solapur university.

Photos of official  release of my 3  books i) Nation with Discrimination: Literary Voices from the Subalterns ii) Rhyming with Reasons and iii) Global Responses to Literature in English published by Authorspress and ACCESS,  New Delhi  at the auspicious hands of  Hon'ble  Vice-Chancellor Dr. Babasaheb Bandagar, Hon'ble Registrar Capt.,Dr. Nitin Sonje, Hon'ble Director, BCUD, Dr. R. N. Shendage, and in presence of Dr. T.N. Kolekar, Dr. Smt. Annie John, Dr. Deepak Nanaware & Dr. S. V. Shinde of Solapur university.

My New Critical Book is released....

Nation with Discriminations: Literary Voices from the Subalterns

ISBN 978-81-921254-5-9

 Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network. The book is also available online on flipkart, infibeam, alibris,  amazon, snapdeal,  ebay, Southasiabooks and so on

First Published in 2013 by GNOSIS, New Delhi-110  016

ABOUT BOOK

Exploitation and subordination are innate human tendencies. From times immemorial, there has been hegemony of power, culture and gender in the universe. Discriminatory treatment of a vast global population has been justified on the basis of caste and colour. In most parts of Asia and Africa, this is the root for discrimination. According to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, caste discrimination affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide. Discrimination is the detrimental treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors toward groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. They have been treated just like third-grade citizens. This bias and discriminatory treatments towards Marginal and subaltern groups affect growth of individuals, society and Nation as well.

The term ‘subaltern’ is used in postcolonial theory. Some thinkers use it in a general sense, to refer to marginalized groups and the lower classes, a person rendered without agency by his or her social status. Others, such as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak use it in a more specific sense. She argues that:

“….subaltern is not just a classy word for oppressed, for Other, for somebody who's not getting a piece of the pie....In postcolonial terms, everything that has limited or no access to the cultural imperialism is subaltern- a space of difference. Now who would say that's just the oppressed? The working class is oppressed. It's not subaltern....Many people want to claim subalternity. They are the least interesting and the most dangerous. I mean, just by being a discriminated-against minority on the university campus, they don't need the word 'subaltern'...They should see what the mechanics of the discrimination are. They're within the hegemonic discourse wanting a piece of the pie and not being allowed, so let them speak, use the hegemonic discourse. They should not call themselves subaltern” (Spivak.1994).

Dalit Literature, Subaltern Literature or Marginal Literature are complex and controversial terms to explain. But commonly it may be called as ‘Literature of Oppressed’ as it is a literature of pain, suffering, agony and protest.  It has emerged as a thought provoking, ever widening branch of literature in recent days. It deals with the oppression, suffering, psychological turmoil, ambers to overcome the indignities, shed off the backwardness, encompassing the world canvass comprising of the human values of love, aspirations, fulfillment of human needs and appeal to be treated as human being.

The words dalit, subaltern and marginal though complex and different terms refer commonly to the people who are oppressed and discriminated  because of their caste, creed, culture, race, colour, gender or religion. So the literature dealing with such oppressed people should not be categorized as literature produced by those who belong to such category. It is not ‘castiest’ literature but human literature. It can be produced by anyone who believes in human values and dignities. This ‘Literature of Oppressed’ reflected the striving of such people to gain their self-respect, dignity as a human being. Even today in the 21st century they encounter the twin tragedy of social exclusion and violence. Even the most educated emit the venom of untouchability and treat them in a prejudiced way.

The question of subalterns made a host of literary scholars restless and compelled them to ponder over this. Many writers and scholars postulated their views in their own retrospective and tried to unearth the latent concept. This anthology Nation with Discrimination: Literary Voices from the Subalterns echoes this world ridden hegemony through the diverse intellectual and analytical studies of literature across the nation at the hands of multifaceted voices from the various colleges and universities.

The volume is an endeavour to bring before its readers the vast area that Dalit, Subaltern and Marginal Literature has traveled in its journey since beginning. The contributors seriously contemplated on the problems of the outcaste, downtrodden, enslaved and untouchables and urged to make them suitable equivalent with others so that they can join in mainstream of the socio-economic, cultural, modern and civilized society. The shackles of the social evils even in 21st century have not been broken. On paper we can remove untouchablity but the centuries old disgust is still practiced in the society. In order to remove all these shackles, the present intellectual and analytical studies of this literature across the nation at the hands of various colleges and universities scholars will surely help.

New Book...

The present Anthology contains thirty critical papers and one interview dealing with the poems of Toru Dutt, Sarojini Naidu, Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, A.K.Ramanujan, K.N.Daruwala, R.Parthasarthy , Jayant Mahapatra, Chitra Divakaruni, Sanjukta Dasgupta, Mamta Kalia, Eunice de Souza, Agha Shahid Ali,  D.C. Chambial, Syed Ameeruddin, Rajbanshi, lmtiaz Dharker, Dr. A.P. J Abdul Kalam and Dr. A. Padmanaban, Chitra Banerjee   Divakaruni, Shiv K. Kumar, Vikram Seth   and a few others, names both familiar and unfamiliar, writings both explored and unexplored, and in all fairness these papers reflect the perceptions, preferences, prejudices and evaluations of the respective scholars. A proper reading of these critical presentations makes this amply clear that the topics are quite diverse and comprehensive and the manner in which they have been considered brings out the authors’ point of view with dexterity and conviction. It is indeed highly pertinent to discuss contemporary Indo-English Poetry in terms of Ethics and Identity, for this kind of approach does bring out new areas of thought and exploration.

The problem of ‘identity’ in relation to the Indian writing in English has been debated upon for quite a long time now, and yet all this debate leaves something palpably wanting, for the concept of identity takes us straightway to our understanding of Indian Sensibility and of Indianness in Indo-English literature. It is true that this problem springs basically from the use of the so-called ‘alien’ language that is English, in Indian Literature. However, the matter is not as simple as it looks. We may dismiss the flippant charge that English is an ‘alien’ language by stating with due firmness that the erstwhile Colonial or Imperial language is by now one of the accepted Indian languages. Nevertheless, we have to probe deeper and discover the implications of Indian sensibility or Indianness as it finds expression in Indian writing in English. ‘identity’ ‘sensibility’ and ‘Indianness’ are very subtle ,elusive and comprehensive terms,   for they partake not merely of the vehicle of expression  but also of Ethnicity and community, culture, religion, philosophy, history , sociology and anthropology. It is in the light of these vast- ranging disciplines that we may at best try to understand and explain the connotative value of these terms, concepts or ideas. Along with the Indian identity and ethos reflected in Indo-English poetry,  few scholars responded to theme of identity crisis, alienation, rootlessness, existential longing of poets and so on. Such papers are also considered in present anthology.

The term ‘ethics’, as we find it in the title of the book, does have its own significance and meaningfulness. A casual or perfunctory approach to the problem of ethics would not serve our purpose. In a changed and changing world and society, ethics, like tradition, can never remain a static proposition, and naturally so it has to undergo suitable modifications or transformations from time to time. Once again, at this point we come to a continuum of historicity with alterations. What was ethical earlier is not so in the contemporary times and likewise what was unethical in the past has come to acquire new dimensions and perspectives. In the present age of globalization which may be defined also as a living manifestation of East-West encounter, ethical values and standards cannot and should not remain fixed. In the world of literature, whether in Indian writing in English or in regional literatures, these problems are bound to have their necessary impact on the literary creation of our authors, be they poets, novelists, playwrights, or the tellers of short stories. Contemporary Indo-English poetry, luckily enough, is a living and vibrant phenomenon, and an equally living and dynamic assessment of this particular kind of literary creation has been tried to be made in the papers collected, with due and prolonged consideration, in the present anthology.

Present book covers several writers and involves several minds. It is our firm and ardent belief that the readers of this book will enjoy and benefit from these essays, and the book itself will prove to be a substantial contribution to the study of contemporary Indian Poetry in English.   

On the Fringes: Marginalised Voices in English Literature

On the Fringes:

Marginalised Voices in English Literature

ISBN 978-81-7273-657-6

AuthorsPress, New Delhi

 Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network. The book is also available online on flipkart, infibeam, alibris,  amazon, snapdeal,  ebay, Southasiabooks and so on
First Published in 2012 by Authorspress, New Delhi-110  016

As stated in the Post-Colonial Studies Reader, “Literary Resistance (LR) . . . can be seen as a form of contractual understanding between the text and the reader . . . buttressed by a political and cultural aesthetic at work in the culture. And Resistance Literature (RL) . . . can be seen as that category of literary writing which emerges as an integral part of an organised struggle or resistance for national liberation.”

With both the categories of LR and RL as the backbone of the Postcolonial theory, we know that domination is the mother of resistance and the forces of power-play. Resistance is very much conditioned by those very socio-political forces that it seeks to challenge. The birth of the Post-Colonial theory, underlines two important points:

1) Domination and resistance are mutually interdependent;

2) The Will to Power is central to both.

The difference between LR and RL is subtle and important.  If Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak explores the issue of the “subaltern voice” in one of the foundational texts of Postcolonial Studies: “Can the Subaltern Speak?” and notes that any attempt to recover the voices, perspectives and subjectivities of the socially outcaste is heavily compromised. We also have Frantz Fanon and of course, Homi Bhabha who argue in favour of the pathos of ‘cultural confusion’ so that it can be used as a strategy of political subversion. Notions of the orient “Other” and European “Self” throughout the world- and questions of identity back home and the world over have been effectively tackled by writers like Bhisham Sahni, Shashi Tharoor, Amrinder Kaur, Taslima Nasreen, Manjushree Thapa, Mahasweta Devi and of course, writers of the Dalit literature in India.  Whether it be an analysis of Tawfiq Awwad or Mongane Serote, or our very own Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao, their writing put forth the marginalised subjectivity in literature. How far have the marginalised voices reached? Can they still not speak? Do other social/cultural theories offer a way out of this silence/confusion? How have the marginalised been portrayed in Literature? The present anthology On the Fringes: Marginalised Voices in English Literature attempts to explore such marginalize voices and the problem involved in crushing or establishing the “oppressive power structures”.  

From Bondages to Emancipation: Women in English Literature

From Bondages to Emancipation:

Women in English Literature

ISBN 978-81-7273-656-9

 Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network. The book is also available online on flipkart, infibeam, alibris,  amazon, snapdeal,  ebay, Southasiabooks and so on

First Published in 2012 by AUTHORSPRESS, New Delhi-110  016



ABOUT BOOK

For all we know, we inhabit the ‘postmodern’ society, where voices clash, react and converge only to split into a cacophonic harmony of new and emerging trends that influence lives as well as cultures. Yet, when it comes to the audibility of women’s voices in the amalgam of sounds, the volume is rather low---is it that they still do not have a voice?...or is it that they speak and we fail to hear them?

Working for women through various platforms gave us both these experiences and it was while ruminating on such issues, the idea of this book From Bondages to Emancipation: Women in English Literature germinated. The experiences of women reflected in literature and the myriad interpretations of those reflections by both men and women readers, seemed to be an interesting opening towards the unlocking of their urges and longings for emancipation through the media of pen and paper. Whether it be the discussion of literary theories or an analysis of literary characters, this book has made an effort to catalogue the power of women’s expressions---both reading and writing. This analysis purports to break the stereotypical belief systems that convince us that the burdens of power are too great to seek and the happiness of powerlessness is too great to leave. The prisons of predictions are broken through efforts that seek to enhance and glorify the individual destinies of women through literature.

If writing in one’s mothertongue can be alternatively deciphered as the continuatin of the idea of a female linguistic/literary heritage; a discussion of alternate models of sexuality seems to openly threaten the ideal of heteronormativism (the idea/belief that heterosexuality is the norm from which any sexual behaviour deviant is condemned as un-natural, immoral and “queer”.) In all forms there registers a strong sense of what Adrienne Rich called the “Lesbian Continuum”, which is nothing but an all-encompassing space wherein all relationships between women, sexual and non-sexual, find articulation and strength. Well, at all levels (and dealing with all forms of feminist articulations) the one thing that perpetually haunted our minds was the defining of women’s creativity as resistance and art...defining it so that the “newly found feminist” thinker in our women readers ( and to quiet an extent in the males as well) would not feel guilty...guilty of being a bad cook, guilty of being a bad mother...or the guilt of being a writer in the first place...when the vegetables were waiting to be washed in the kitchen! Writing is therapeutic, for the researcher as well as the author...and this volume aims to present in a coherent form the pressures of both various bondages  and resistance, both through a reading of the presented texts and their analysis...so that we might once again be able to possibly find a way to women’s voices...women’s emancipation! This was our attempt and we hope this volume turns out to be as such!!

Dr. Arvind M. Nawale

                                              -Dr. Sheeba Rakesh 

Feminine Fragrance: Reflections on Women’s Writing in English

Feminine Fragrance: Reflections on Women’s Writing in English

ISBN 978-93-81030-28-8.

GNOSIS, New Delhi

Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network. The book is also available online on flipkart, infibeam, alibris,  amazon, snapdeal,  ebay, Southasiabooks and so on
First Published in 2012 by GNOSIS, New Delhi

Indian writing in English has been acclaimed around the world for its innovation, radical new approaches to the art of storytelling and reworking of language. While the older generation continues to produce literary masterworks, a newer generation of writing talent has emerged, ensuring that the fount of imagination in the country has not run dry. Women writers in India are moving forward with their strong and sure strides, matching the pace of the world. We see them bursting out in full bloom spreading their own individual fragrances. They are recognized for their originality, versatility and the indigenous flavor of the soil that they bring to their work. The works of women novelists in English mirror the exact realistic picture of contemporary world where innocence is suffocating in the ‘blood- dimmed tide’ of corruption, where women are supposed to be just a doll in the hands of men, where there is a prevailing sense of gender discrimination in an average house of India, where the helpless women have to bear the brunt of patriarchal domination.

One evident trait among all the contemporary women writers in Indian writing in English is the revolutionary spirit with which they strive to write. Indian women English writers have quietly and confidently gone about putting to shape their literary endeavors letting the product do the talking, which it has done most eloquently, establishing Indian English Literature as an inextricable part of Indian literature. Kamala Markandaya, Ruth Prawar Jhabvala, Anita Desai, Arundhati Roy, Nayantara Sahgal, Shobha De, Manju Kapur , Shashi Deshpande, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Bapsi Sidewa, Anjana Appachana, Sumathi Sudhakar, Suniti Namjoshi, Jhumpa Lahiri, Veena Paintal and Nargis Dalal have added new dimensions and depth to Indian fiction in English. In the exploration of the consciousness or the psychological state of human mind, Anita Desai has been appropriately compared to the powerful British fiction writer, Virginia Woolf. These women writers particularly shared experiences of Indian women in general and presented them into fictional form. Women’s inner-self, their agonies, their pleasures are better and more truly depicted by the women novelists. The reason may be the flowering of the educated women who began to feel an increasing urge to voice their feelings.

The present volume Feminine Fragrance: Reflections on Women’s Writing in English, is intended to focus on some of the latest perspectives on noted Indian Women Novelists. This volume comprising twenty-four scholarly papers offer a critical appraisal of some of the outstanding Indian women writers works and gives varied and analytic interpretation of their work. Above all the volume provides the whole critical and historical perspectives that have made it a commendable scholarly engagement. It marks a significant contribution to academic research on both women’s writing and Indian English literature.

New Book Panorama of World Literature

Panorama of World Literature

ISBN 978-81-7273-653-8

AuthorsPress, New Delhi      

Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network. The book is also available online on flipkart, infibeam, alibris,  amazon, snapdeal,  ebay, Southasiabooks and so on

First Published in 2012.

Blurb

If World literature is the sum total of the whole thing ever written, we have to pact not only with an never-ending array of texts but also with a plethora of local histories and competing literary cultures, which may not have anything bordering on an overall history even if such a mass of literary bits and pieces could be mastered and presented.World literature refers to literature from all over the globe, including African literature, American literature, Arabic literature, Asian literature, Australasian literature, Caribbean Literature, English literature, European literature, Indian literature, Latin American literature, Persian literature, Russian literature and so on. Although anthologies on "World Literature" have often used the term to market a largely European canon, the past three decades have given rise to a much more expansive conception of literary interest and value. Recent books such as David Damrosch's What Is World Literature?, for instance, define world literature as a category of literary production, publication and circulation, rather than using the term evaluatively. A multitude of scholars wrote on writers across the World and contributed to bring out this anthology. Though it cannot present the entire treasure of World literature, it will become successful in archieving the desired goal of the research scholars.

The present anthology Panorama of World Literature puts together incisive and highly rated articles on almost all the important writers of literature across the world. It includes perceptive and analytical interpretations of literary scholars.

Global Responses to Literature in English ISBN 978-81-7273-652-1

 My New Book Global Responses to Literature in English with Dr. Amrendra Sharma, Dhofar University, Oman

ISBN 978-81-7273-652-1

Editors
Capt. Dr. Arvind M. Nawale
Department of English,Shivaji Mahavidyalaya, Udgir, Dist: Latur (M.S.) India
Dr. Amrendra K. Sharma
Department of Languages & Transaltion,Dhofar University,
 Salalah, Sultanate of Oman.

New book Insights into Indian English Fiction and Drama

New book

Insights into Indian English Fiction and Drama

ISBN 978-81-921254-3-5

ACCESS, New Delhi

English literature is an established genre in India with about a 150 years’ history, and recently, along with the global migration of Indian people as the result of the economic liberalization, we see not only the domestic writers but also a great many NRI  writers publishing their work in their countries of residence. Their works are very useful in promoting the interest in and the understanding of Indian culture by English-speaking people. Indian English literature originated as a necessary outcome of the introduction of English education in India under colonial rule. In recent years it has attracted widespread interest, both in India and abroad. It is now recognized that Indian English literature is not only a part of Commonwealth literature, but also occupies a great significance in the World literature. Today, a number of Indian writers in English have contributed substantially to modern English literature.

It is generally agreed that the fiction and drama are the most suitable literary form for the exploration of experiences and ideas in the context of our time, and Indian English fiction and drama occupies its proper place in the World literature. There are critics and commentators in England and America who appreciate Indian English novels and dramas. Indian writers of fiction and drama discovered a whole new world. Indian English novelists and dramatists defined the area, and brought the Indo-Anglian novel and drama within hailing distance of the latest novels and dramas of the West. They established the suppositions, the manner, the concept of character, and the nature of the themes which were to give the Indian novel and drama its particular distinctiveness.

The present anthology puts together incisive and highly rated articles on almost all the important Indian novelists and dramatists in English. It goes on to include  perceptive and analytical articles on the renowned novelists and playwrights  such as Arundhati Roy, R.K Narayan, Salman Rushdie, Bhabani Bhattacharya, Arun Joshi, Arvind Adiga, Anita Desai, Makarand Paranjape, Shashi Despandey, Rohinton Mistry, Shobha De, Chetan Bhagat, Amitav Ghosh, Badal Sircar, Tendulkar, Indra Parthasarathy, Girish Karnad,  Mahesh Dattani, Mohan Rakesh and so on

National Conference on Peace and Harmony in Literature held at Nehru College, Hubli during 7-8 Feb 2012

National Conference on 'Peace and Harmony in Literature' 

held at Nehru College, Hubli during 7-8 Feb 2012

GCC Banglore International Conference on "Recent Trends in Literature: A Global perspective" 27-28 Jan 2012, Banglore

GCC Banglore International Conference on "Recent Trends in Literature: A Global perspective" 27-28 Jan 2011, Banglore

At releasing of first issue of Thematics Journal of Commomnwealth Literature, A Peer-Reviewed International journal, (ISSN 2250-3803) with Professor Dr Avadesh Kumar Singh, Dr Ashok Hunbadi (Dharwad University), Ramesh Chavhan (Chief Editor),  Prof. Dr D. T. Angedi (Chief Editor, Deccan International Peer-Reviewed Journal For English Literary Studies, )  , Dr. P. Kannan (Dharwad University) and Prof Dr Payel Dutta Chowdhary (GCC, Banglore)