Book I : Background Studies

Book II : Samskara: U.R. Anantha Muthy

Book III : Tamas: Bhisham Sahni

Book IV : Short Story-I

Book V : Short Story-II

Book VI : Poetry

Book VII : Tughlaq : Grish Karand

Book VIII : Non-Fictional Prose

Book 1

Introduction

The first Block called Background Studies aims to prepare you to study the course Contemporary Indian Literature in English Translation. Unit 1 Concept of Indian Literature evokes your interest in what unites literatures written in various Indian Languages. Thereafter, in Unit 2 we have delineated how the concept of Indian Literature was reinvigorated during the colonial period and further how it shaped up after independence Unit 3 Comparative Studies in Indian Literatures shows the relevance of the comparative method to study Indian Literatures. Finally, Unit 4 English Translation of Indian Literatures touches upon various issues related to translation from the source language to the target language.

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Book 2

Introduction

This Block deals with U.R. Anantha Murthy's epoch making Kannada novel Samskara (1965) translated by the doyen of translators, A.K. Ramanujan. It discusses modern man's quest of his true se1f in terms of themes like asceticism and eroticism, and Brahminism and Anti Brahmanism, which are cast in the form of an allegory.

Unit 1 gives you background information about Kannada language and literature, and Kannada novel in particular and converges on U.R. Anantha Murthy as a writer. Unit 2 offers help with the narrative in detail. Unit 3 discusses the allegorical form of the novel and its themes. The final Unit deals with characters and with the information on the critical attention the novel has received and closes with a discussion on the contemporary relevance- of the novel.

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Book 3

Introduction

The course Contemporary Indian Literature in English Translation exposes you to the literatures written in Regional Languages and available in English translation. In Block 3 we are discussing Tamas, one of the greatest novel ever written in Hindi on the theme of partition. Partition, as you know has been a cataclysmic event in the destiny of India with far reaching consequences that continue to affect our lives even today.

Five units make up Block 3. In the first unit we introduce you to the author Bhisham Sahni and Tamas as a partition novel. The second unit provides you chapter wise summaries of Part I, 2 and 3. The third unit contains aspects of the narrative and the theme and language of Tamas. The fourth unit is on characters and characterization and finally the fifth unit overviews the novel also high lighting literary criticism on Tamas and Tamas as a TV serial.

You must however get hold of a copy of the novel and read it. You could then come to this Block and read the novel again with the help of summaries.

Here is a typical conversation that a teacher often has with students.

Teacher: Have you read the novel? Student: Yes, sir, I have read it.

Teacher: You mean you have read a summary of the novel? Student: Yes, sir, I have read only a summary of it. Teacher: And you have read the summary of it in Hindi? Student: Yes, sir, I have read the summary in Hindi.

Teacher: And you have not read the summary of it in English? Student: No, sir, I haven't.

This is how the conversation usually goes. Some students tend to assume that reading a summary of the novel is equivalent to reading the novel itself. This of course is fallacious. There is no other way but to read the novel.

We hope that having read the novel you find reading the Block enjoyable and an interesting experience. We have also provided you with a list of novels and short stories in Hindi and Punjabi in English translation dealing with the theme of partition. We hope that this will further motivate you to read more on partition literature.

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Book 4

Introduction

Short Stories come to you in two Blocks. Block 4 and Block 5. In this Block we introduce you to five of the best short story writers in the field. Each of them is a great writer with an established reputation.

Unit  deals with Mahaswta Devi's Bengali story, Salt. The next Unit is concerned with Basheer's Malayalam story, Birthday. Nirmal Verma's Hindi story. Birds forms the subject of the third unit. The next unit deals with Ismat Chaughtai's Urdu story, Tiny's Granny. The last unit studies Gopinath Mohantys Oriya story, Tadpa.

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Book 5

Introduction

In this second Block on short stories, we present four well-known writers Indira Goswami from Assamese, Motilal Jotwani from Sindhi whom we unfortunately lost only in January this year, Afsar Ahmad from Bengali and Vijaya Dan Detha from Rajasthani.

Unit I deals with Indira Goswami's Assammese story, The Empty Chest. The second unit discusses Motilal Jotwani's Sindhi story, Very Lonely, She. Unit three is concerned with Afsar Ahmad's Bengali story, Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur. And the last unit deals with Vijaydan Detha's The Compromise which is the cast in the form of the allegory. Together these stories give us an idea of the important concerns that press upon the consciousness of our writers.

"Writing is in my blood, in my veins. If I stop writing I will die of suffocation." Dr Goswami.

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Book 6

Introduction

Block 6 is a comprehensive block that introduces you to Indian Poetry from the Northeast to Gujarati poetry in the west and Kashmiri poetry from the north to Malayalam poetry in the south.

Unit 1 discusses Nongkynrih's Requiem (Khasi), Chandra Kanta Murasingh's The Stone Speaks in the Forest (Kokborok) and Yumlembam Ibomcha's The Last Dream (Manipuri).

Unit 2 deals with excerpts from Haribhajan Singh's Tree and the Sage (Panjabi) and Raghuvir Sahay's The Stare (Hindi).

Unit 3 is concerned with Dina Nath Nadim's The Moon (Kashrniri) and Padrna . Sachdev's The Moment of Courage (Dogri).

Unit 4 discusses K. Nirmala's Mother Serious and Vimala's Kitchen, both feminist poems in Telugu and K. Ayyappa Paniker's I Met Wait Whitman Yesterday: An Interview (Malayalam).

Unit 5 is concerned with excerpts from Ramakanta Rath's long poem Sri Radha (Oriya) and Shakti Chattopadhyay's Just Once Try (Bengal i).

Unit 6 discusses Sitanshu Yashashchandra's Orpheus (Gujarati) and Namdeo Dhasal's A Notebook of Poems and Autobiography (Marathi).

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Book 7

Introduction

'The past isn't gone. It's here inside me'.

The Fire and the Rain (1994)

This Block will introduce you to Girish Kamad's play Tughlaq, an acknowledged classic of modern Indian drama and through this play to the fascinating world of post-independence Indian drama and theatre. Girish Kamad is one of the top contemporary Indian playwrights who along with other dramatists like Dharma Vir Bharati , Mohan Rakesh and Vijay Tendulkar has been in the forefront of the effort to bring a modern Indian theatre into being.

The Block will contain four Units as follows:

Unit 1 Introducing Contemporary Indian Theatre is meant to provide you with background information on post-independence drama in India that will enable you to place the plays of Girish Kamad in their context and also enable you to read Tughlaq with understanding and enjoyment.

Unit 2 Introducing the Author and the Play will focus on the multi-faceted achievements of Girish Kamad and then converge on Tughlaq and help you to come to grips with the play with the help of a scene-by-scene commentary on it.

Unit 3 Structure, Theme and Motifs will carry forward the discussion of Tughlaq and pay. particular attention to the structure, theme of power and the motifs used in the play.

Unit 4 Characters and Critical Opinions on Tughlaq as Text and in Performance will deal with characters and wind up the discussion with some attention to critical assessment of the play as a written text and in performance over the years

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Book 8

Introduction

This Block will introduce you to important varieties of non-fictional prose in contemporary Indian writing in translation. The varieties represented here are: biography, autobiography, pen-sketch and travel writing.

The pieces chosen for your study are: Amrit Rai's biography of Munshi Premchand entitled: Premchand: Kalam ka Sipahi (Hindi), Bama's autobiography called Karukku (Tamil), aadat Hasan Manto's pen-sketch of Ismat Chughtai called Ismat (Urdu), and Umaprasad Mukhopadhyaya's account of his travels to the lake and peak of Manimahesh in Chamba District in Himachal Pradesh.

Amrit Rai's biography, though written by a on, gives an objective account of one of the greatest writers of modern India and is highly readable. The autobiography by Bama disturbs us deeply as it reveals what it means to be a poor Dalit woman even today. Manto's Ismat is a delightful piece in which one great writer writes intimately about another both as a person and a writer. Finally, Umaprasad Mukhopadhyaya's travel account tells u of the treasures that lie waiting to be explored in our own country.

The excerpts from the longer texts have been kept conveniently short so that you can read them with enjoyment and also have time to reflect on what you have read.

The different genres of non-fictional prose on offer here have always been popular and are increasingly coming to be seen to be a legitimate part of literature. They are all excellent examples of the creative use of the written word and they all come to you in first-rate translations. So happy reading!

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