india author m 1- a-nan - University of Wollongong
india author m 1- a-nan - University of Wollongong
india author m 1- a-nan - University of Wollongong
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Bibliography <strong>of</strong> Criticism <strong>of</strong> Indian Literature in English (1970-<br />
1990)<br />
This is a working document still not complete. It is <strong>of</strong>fered as a research<br />
tool and corrections, additions etc. are welcome. Please contact the<br />
coordinator paul_sharrad@uow.edu.au<br />
Arranged by Writers’ Names, then alphabetically by critics’ names.<br />
Document one <strong>of</strong> two: writers A to Nan...<br />
Compilers: Paul Sharrad<br />
Shyamala Narayan<br />
Marvin Gilman<br />
Kerry Lyon<br />
Richard Lever<br />
Contact: A/Pr<strong>of</strong>. Paul Sharrad<br />
English Studies,<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Wollongong</strong>,<br />
Northfields Avenue, <strong>Wollongong</strong>,<br />
Australia 2522<br />
Phone: (61-2) 42214 757<br />
Fax: (61-2) 42214471<br />
email: paul_sharrad@uow.edu.au<br />
This is a project in process. It will be <strong>of</strong> use as a preliminary research tool. Feedback is<br />
welcome. Additional annotations can be submitted for inclusion (<strong>author</strong>s will be<br />
acknowledged at the end <strong>of</strong> entries).
INDIA<br />
Author<br />
to be clarified<br />
MUKHERJEE, SUJIT. "Man, Poet and Critic" Indian Literature 14.2(1971): 5-11. [who?]<br />
WALSH, W. "Two Indian Poets" The Literary Criterion 11.3 (1974):1-16. [who?]<br />
KARVE, IRAWATI. "Karna's Search for Identity" Vagartha 5 (1974):22-37. (drama?: either<br />
Kailasam or S. Raman)<br />
MAJUMDAR, A.K. "Portrait <strong>of</strong> an Indian Intellectual" Quest 91 (1974):21-32. check who<br />
and whether in English<br />
MUKHERJEE, M. "Form in The Puppet's Tale" Literary Criterion 12.2-3 The Literary<br />
Criterion 22.1 (1987):76-8.?? review?<br />
CHANDRAN, RAMESH. "The Maverick Master" India Today (November 30, 1987):174-<br />
9. [??who?]<br />
RAMACHANDRAIAH, P. "The Submerged Valley and Other Stories" The Literary<br />
Criterion 22.2 (1987):65-6. review?<br />
GOKAK, V.K. "Meet the Author I: Towards the Integrated Man as the Ideal" Indian<br />
Literature 31.1 (January February 1988):87-102. who? what?<br />
PARASURAM, LAXMI. "Mountain: A New Dimension <strong>of</strong> Feminine Self-Perception"<br />
Literary Criterion 16.3 (1981):58-64.[<strong>author</strong>? genre?]<br />
Abbas, Khwaja Ahmad<br />
HASIB, AHMAD. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Khwaja Ahmad Abbas: A Study in His Art and Vision<br />
Delhi: Seema Publications, 1987, x + 159 pp.<br />
Aiyar, Rajam<br />
ASHOKAMITRAN. "B.R. Rajam Aiyar and His Kamalambal Charitrans" The Literary<br />
Criterion 21.1&2 (1986):86-92.[????]<br />
PARAMESWARAN, UMA. "Rajam Aiyar's Vasudeva Sastry" The Literary Endeavour 6.1<br />
(1985):55-67.<br />
Alexander, Meena<br />
SRIVASTAVA, K.G. "Meena Alexander" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary<br />
English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse: A<br />
Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1985:<br />
175-81.<br />
Ali, Ahmed<br />
ALI, AHMED. "The Progressive Writer's Movement and Its historical Perspective" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
South Asian Literature 13.1-4 (1977-78):91-7.
Corrects and contests the statements <strong>of</strong> N. M. Rashed about the origins and motives<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Progressive Writers Movement. Exposes Rashed's lack <strong>of</strong> historical and literary validity<br />
and questions his purpose in distorting facts about the progressives. Establishes the non-<br />
Marxist practice and intention <strong>of</strong> the Angare writers group which preceded the PWA.<br />
COPPOLA, CARLO. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Ahmed Ali" JIWE 8.1-2 (1980):63-76. Reprinted in<br />
SINGH, KIRPAL ed. Through Different Eyes: Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English<br />
Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1984: 87-105.<br />
Best known for his fiction, Ali “feels that he best expresses himself” though his poetry<br />
in English. Biographical survey noting his Urdu short stories and 1938 disillusionment with the<br />
prescriptive politicisation <strong>of</strong> the Progressive Writers Association and the impact on poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
his trips to China (Purple Gold Mountain, 1960). Early work <strong>of</strong> “naked emotion” drew on<br />
Persian rubai but China and translation work gave the model for “impersonalising personal<br />
experience”. Themes cover loss <strong>of</strong> friends, memories <strong>of</strong> love and youth, unfulfilled hopes, life’s<br />
evanescence. Illustrative commentary focusing on imagery. Poems grouped as “Exile” divide<br />
into early political didacticism and later working <strong>of</strong> political and historical critique into<br />
allegorical reference and symbol. Takes “Having been attacked for speaking the truth...” as his<br />
finest poem <strong>of</strong> this type. Generally, his work blends English Romantic, Chinese lyric and Urdu<br />
traditions, the last most deeply influential and its derivative quality makes it less than his<br />
fictional achievement, but there are individual poetic successes.<br />
GOWDA, H.H. ANNIAH. “Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi and Chinua Achebe’s Things<br />
Fall Apart” The Literary Half-Yearly 21.1 (1980): 11-18.<br />
Comparison <strong>of</strong> two treatments <strong>of</strong> societies disappearing under colonial rule, both<br />
grounded in historical detail and locality (Delhi <strong>of</strong> 1900-1910 and Iboland 1850-1900) and<br />
embodying the respective cultures in a central hero (Mir Nihal and Okonkwo), following the<br />
Victorian “linear bourgeois familial novel”. Ali alludes to “farangi” incursion but attributes<br />
change to fate, while Achebe shows socio-historical forces at work. Notes the escalating<br />
impact <strong>of</strong> missions probing the weak points <strong>of</strong> traditional African society. Both books show<br />
civilisations that “collapse from within and are overwhelmed from without, and what replaces<br />
them appears most opposite to themselves, being built on what they had overlooked”. Lyric<br />
and humour apply to the “ceremonies <strong>of</strong> innocence” before the Yeatsian tragic collapse. The<br />
<strong>author</strong>s both step in to explicate material but avoid anthropologising by being part <strong>of</strong> what they<br />
observe and by concentrating on the human drama.<br />
KING, BRUCE. “From Twilight to Midnight” in HASHMI, ALAMGIR ed. Worlds <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Muslim Imagination details???<br />
Reads Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Ali’s Twilight in Delhi and Ocean <strong>of</strong> Night,<br />
Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column and Zulfikar Ghose’s The Murder <strong>of</strong> Aziz Khan<br />
as a collective history <strong>of</strong> Muslim society from the Moguls to colonial decadence and Partition;<br />
a story <strong>of</strong> loss, exile, displacement. Ali began with naturalistic Urdu stories moving to a<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> poetic evocation and social realism carrying an early modernist view <strong>of</strong><br />
decadence awaiting cleansing but capitulating to Western ideas. Hosain focusses<br />
impressionistically on the intersections <strong>of</strong> personal, political and religious independence within<br />
a woman’s love story. Ghose depicts the deleterious effects on Punjab peasantry <strong>of</strong><br />
modernising muslim immigrants from Bombay after Partition. Ghose and Rushdie evince a<br />
more complete modernism, separation <strong>of</strong> heart and mind reflected in expatriation and<br />
Rushdie’s carnivalistic metafictional allegory substituting for loss <strong>of</strong> faith.
NIVEN, ALISTAIR. "Historical Imagination in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Ahmed Ali" JIWE 8.1-2<br />
(January-July 1980):3-13. Reprinted in SINGH, KIRPAL ed. Through Different Eyes:<br />
Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1984: 1-15.<br />
Unlike much Third World fiction recording the disappearing past, Ali’s novels<br />
Twilight in Delhi and Ocean <strong>of</strong> Night are not rural, but celebrate two centres <strong>of</strong> urban<br />
civilisation: Delhi and Lucknow, fatalistically hymning the fading glories <strong>of</strong> <strong>india</strong>n islamic culture<br />
and the plight <strong>of</strong> individuals cut <strong>of</strong>f from tradition. The novels were both written in the late<br />
thirties (though Ocean only appeared in 1964) still in an Indian context (notes metaphysical<br />
simliarities between Rao and Ali in Ocean and engagé echoes <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d) . Later poetry<br />
conventionally reproduces a muslim theme <strong>of</strong> mortal transience and death. Images <strong>of</strong> darkness<br />
envelop the novels but are related to linked private and public events and reistered in Asghar’s<br />
swings between fantasy, self-pity and nostalgia, and Mir Nihal’s growing old. The mass <strong>of</strong><br />
humanity lives on in unaltered rhythm <strong>of</strong> rise and fall, reflecting LAi’s essentially classical<br />
outlook. Notes a “kinship <strong>of</strong> mood” to Eliot, especially in Ocean with its images <strong>of</strong> time as<br />
dance. Ali’s writing in English threatens to become part <strong>of</strong> the cultural decline from Urdu<br />
classical culture into modernity, just as its prose can become slack and its elegiac tone<br />
bathetic. Ocean moves to symbolism and dreams but is not altogether the lesser work; both<br />
novels are saved by the affirmation <strong>of</strong> God’s constancy and human nobility in endurance and<br />
the dignity <strong>of</strong> Biblical-Koranic cadence.<br />
SHANKAR, D.A. "Ahmed Ali's Twilight in Delhi" Literary Criterion 15.1 (1980):73-80.<br />
Descriptive appreciation <strong>of</strong> Ali’s detailing <strong>of</strong> the texture <strong>of</strong> a lost way <strong>of</strong> life. A classic<br />
relies on provincial rootedness, grounding ideas in individual sensibility as well as collective<br />
social history. Details <strong>of</strong> pigeons show the personalities <strong>of</strong> people around them and the values<br />
<strong>of</strong> a class and period now crumbling under foreign intrusion. The novel remains a minor classic<br />
limited by its closeness to its central family: it needs irony, humour and “comprehensiveness <strong>of</strong><br />
understanding”.<br />
STILZ, GERHARD. “‘Live in Fragments No Longer’: A Conciliatory Analysis <strong>of</strong> Ahmed<br />
Ali’s Twilight in Delhi” in DAVIS, GEOFFREY & MAES-JELINEK, HENA eds. Crisis and<br />
Creativity in the New Literatures in English Amsterdam’Atlanta: Rodopi, 1990: 369-387.<br />
Bio-bibliographic survey <strong>of</strong> contradictions in Ali’s life (India/Pakistan, Urdu/English,<br />
politics/Art) including his espousing both modern change and nostalgia for romantic beauty.<br />
His twilight metaphor corresponds to an “existential ambivalence” that reconciles opposites<br />
Narrative modes derive from the psychological novel <strong>of</strong>fset by repetetive emphasis <strong>of</strong> a<br />
message and swinging from realism to romantic pathos. Twilight shows “the decline <strong>of</strong> a world<br />
that places art above reality”.<br />
Alkazi, Roshen<br />
DUBEY, SURESH CHANDRA. "Roshen Alkazi and Mamta Kalia" in DWIVEDI, A.N.<br />
"Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-<br />
English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1985: 201-16.<br />
Amanuddin, [Syed? or Urdu? Pakistan?]<br />
AMANUDDIN, SYED. "The Image <strong>of</strong> Woman in My Poetry" SARev (July 1979): 36-42.<br />
DIESENDORF, MARGARET. "Early Love Poems <strong>of</strong> Amanuddin" Creative Moment 3.1<br />
(1974):35-41.
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Re-creating 'The Living Scenes <strong>of</strong> Contemporary Life": The Poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
Syed Amanuddin" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse<br />
Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:349-68.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Poetry <strong>of</strong> Syed Amanuddin: A Study in Diction and Versification" Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 13.2 (1985):56-67.<br />
Amanuddim follows the Modernist (especially American) turning to anti-sentimentalist<br />
colloquial language, innovative coinings and abbreviations and free form, varying his output<br />
across a wide range <strong>of</strong> topics from love to science. His most figurative language accurs in<br />
poems <strong>of</strong> spiritual adventure likened to Browning’s dramatic monologues and Pound’s<br />
Cantos.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. Syed Amanuddin: His Mind and Art New Delhi: Sterling, 1988, 160 pp.<br />
Ameeruddin, Syed<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Imagery in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Syed Ameeruddin" in RAM, ATMA. ed.<br />
Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 136-48.<br />
YASEEN, MOHAMMED. "Syed Ameeruddin's Poetry: A Critical Appraisal" in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1984:369-78.
A<strong>nan</strong>d, Mulk Raj<br />
ABIDI, S.Z.H. 'Coolie': A Critical Study Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1978.<br />
Repeats the generalised opinion on A<strong>nan</strong>d's fiction as based on his beliefs in<br />
humanism, socialism and bhakti-yoga. Covers all aspects <strong>of</strong> critical perspectives in an<br />
extensive appraisal <strong>of</strong> 'Coolie'.Confirms accepted analysis <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's work as social critique.<br />
AGNIHOTRI, H.L. “Gandhian Ethos in Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d” Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature and<br />
Aesthetics 3.1 (1083):43-53.<br />
Interested in economic and material reforms, A<strong>nan</strong>d was not inclined to Gandhi’s spiritual and<br />
moral programme but could not be indifferent to him as a nationalist leader. Details the<br />
biographical connections between the two and surveys Untouchable(Gandhi’s appeal is<br />
through human warmth and popular myth but A<strong>nan</strong>d allows practical questioning <strong>of</strong> his ideals),<br />
Coolie (shows the effect <strong>of</strong> the Left on the Union movement to be better than that <strong>of</strong> Gandhi’s<br />
following), Two Leaves and a Bud (Gandhi wallahs try to imporve conditions on tea estates)<br />
and The Sword and the Sickle (Gandhi warped by revolutionary assimilation <strong>of</strong> his<br />
reputation, and as someone demanding personal reverence despite ideological difference).<br />
The last work fails to integrate its material into its aartistic structure.<br />
ANAND, MULK RAJ. Author to Critic: The Letters <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d, with introduction<br />
and notes by S. Cowasjee. Calcutta: Writers Worshop, 1973, 125 pp.<br />
A self-confessed erratic editing <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's letters, useful for finding views <strong>of</strong> the<br />
writer's sense <strong>of</strong> his own commitment to causes, his critique <strong>of</strong> "Vedantist" obfuscation over<br />
Indian cultural identity and social change, his position within Indian politics. Expresses real<br />
sympathy for the Indian peasant without putting aside some rather unfavourable traits. Totally<br />
rejects any easy us/them, East/West oppositions in embracing wholehearted support for an<br />
unconquerable humanism still occupying the centre <strong>of</strong> his worldview.<br />
ANAND, MULK RAJ. "Roots and Flowers: Content and Form in Untouchable and<br />
Kanthapura" Littcrit 8.1 (1982):47-60.<br />
see under Rao, Raja<br />
ANAND, MULK RAJ. "The Sources <strong>of</strong> Protest in my Novels" The Literary Criterion 18.4<br />
(1983):1-12.<br />
Argument: Expresses his concerns as a novelist based on commitment to the common<br />
folk and his writing as the articulation <strong>of</strong> holy anger against the dehumanization <strong>of</strong> lower class<br />
Indians by the powerful elite few. Critical Focus: Provides context to overall assessment by<br />
differentiating himself from western critical categorization in pleading for special treatment<br />
within an Indian perspective. Critical Mode: Sociological analysis <strong>of</strong> Indian society as a site <strong>of</strong><br />
struggle between the traditional force <strong>of</strong> the powerful and the emergin groups seeking change<br />
and improvement for the masses. 4) Not Applicable! [MG>RL]<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM M. "Untouchability and Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Untouchable" Banasthali<br />
Patrika 6.16 (1971):31-6.<br />
Argues that untouchability is really not an honourable Hindu belief and its continuing<br />
hold on the religious impairs any attempt to eradicate the problem and its unjustifiable<br />
suffering. Thematic critique <strong>of</strong> Hinduism itself and the rigid intolerance that the higher castes<br />
continue to hold. Moral valuation based on Brahminical investigation <strong>of</strong> Hindu holy books<br />
denies traditional religious support to untouchability as a tenet <strong>of</strong> Hinduism.
ASNANI, SHYAM. "Socio-Political Concerns in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" Triveni 45<br />
.1 (1976):38-50.<br />
Praises A<strong>nan</strong>d as a champion <strong>of</strong> the underprivileged lower castes <strong>of</strong> India but does<br />
not assert any political motivation for this stance. Thematic unity established in the so-called<br />
early trilogy, Untouchable, Coolie, and Two Leaves and a Bud. Attempts sociological analysis<br />
<strong>of</strong> the caste system and its effect on India's millions <strong>of</strong> underprivileged.<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "The Theme <strong>of</strong> East-West Encounter in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d"<br />
Littcrit 7 (1978):11-19.<br />
Reiterates previous commentary by Cowasjee, Naik and Sinha on the 1930s novels.<br />
‘East-West encounter’ is between culture <strong>of</strong> birth and culture <strong>of</strong> education operating at<br />
personal (social), racial (cultural) and philosophic (religious) levels. A<strong>nan</strong>d espouses an Indian<br />
modernity but in revolting against negative aspects <strong>of</strong> tradition neglects nobler elements <strong>of</strong><br />
Eastern heritage and favours Western materialism. Thematic criticism focussed on Coolie,<br />
Two leaves and a Bud and The Big Heart..<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "A Critique <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Literary Creed" Commonwealth Quarterly<br />
4.15 (1980):64-85.<br />
Assembles A<strong>nan</strong>d’s views on the novel to argue a “steadfast consistency” across his<br />
work. The artist is a heroic striver for all-encompassing comprehension <strong>of</strong> human experience<br />
within prohetic vision. The novel manages contrasts <strong>of</strong> inner emotion and outer reality,<br />
Western modern and Eastern traditional narrative forms, passion and reason, not as didactic<br />
moralising but as a dialectic tension introducing new areas <strong>of</strong> human experience to Indian<br />
writing in English. Notes A<strong>nan</strong>d’s oppositio to Rao’s preachy abstraction, the modernist use<br />
<strong>of</strong> detached first-person veiwpoint and stream <strong>of</strong> consciousness. Basically a novelist <strong>of</strong><br />
character, A<strong>nan</strong>d mixes realism with dream and memory and creates his ‘Pigeon English’ as a<br />
way <strong>of</strong> conveying localised speech and thinking.<br />
BALD, SURESH RENJEN. "Politics <strong>of</strong> a Revolutionary Elite: A Study <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's<br />
Novels" Modern Asian Studies 8(1974):473-89.<br />
Offers incisive evidence <strong>of</strong> the basic conflicts debilitating the aggressive Marxist<br />
revolutionary position present in A<strong>nan</strong>d's pre-1945 fiction. Focuses on the theme <strong>of</strong> revolution<br />
as the only way to real social change for the underprivileged Indian masses. Selects elitism,<br />
paternalism, industrialism and collectivism as the major components in the totality <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's<br />
revolutionary stance. Bald's critical perceptions are <strong>of</strong> primary importance in thorough analysis<br />
<strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's politics.<br />
BANERJEE, SURABI. "Irony as a Stylistic Device: A Note on the Opening Chapter <strong>of</strong><br />
Across the Black Waters" Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature and Aesthetics 2. 2&3 (1982):63-6.<br />
Criticism concentrates on A<strong>nan</strong>d’s social and historical, though he himself emphasises<br />
“how one says it”. Study <strong>of</strong> the narrative stance <strong>of</strong> the opening <strong>of</strong> Across the Black Waters<br />
(1940) reveals shifts from omniscient narration to Lalu’s thoughts to dialogue. These are<br />
echoed in the plotlessness and reflect ironically the general confusion in the uneducated Indian<br />
troops set down in Europe and in the war itself.<br />
BERRY, MARGARET. Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: The Man and the Novelist Amsterdam: Oriental<br />
Press, 1971, 114 pp.<br />
Probes the question <strong>of</strong> values in A<strong>nan</strong>d himself and in his writing and seeks to<br />
determine whether they have been transmitted through his fiction. Examines the details <strong>of</strong> the
novels in pursuit <strong>of</strong> the messages <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's non-fictional views and theories. Finds A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
failed to achieve detachment, disinterestedness and freedom from commitment to causes.<br />
Universalist standards upheld as basis <strong>of</strong> critical assessments.<br />
CARTER, D. "Probing Identities: Untouchable, Things Fall Apart, and This Earth My<br />
Brother" The Literary Criterion 14.3 (1979):14-29.<br />
Correlates individual identity and national identity as primary concern for fictions from<br />
within the New Literatures in English. Focuses on individual's quest as a microcosm for the<br />
national identity under the stress <strong>of</strong> imperialism. Examines the similarities <strong>of</strong> sociological and<br />
psychological traits <strong>of</strong> African and Indian fictional representations.<br />
CHAUDHURY, JASBIR. "Images <strong>of</strong> Women in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" PURBA<br />
16.2 (October 1985):47-56.<br />
CHELLAPPAN, K. "The Child Archetype in the Commonwealth Short Stories: Katherine<br />
Mansfield, Janet Frame and Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" The Commonwealth Review 1.1 (1989): 60-<br />
68.<br />
CHINESWARARAO, G.J. “A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Private Life and Malgonkar’s Princes’Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 4.1 (1976): 15-20.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d <strong>of</strong>fers a study <strong>of</strong> lonely, troubles character; Malgonkar is distant from his more<br />
confident character, commenting on events <strong>of</strong> the time.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: The Early Struggles <strong>of</strong> a Novelist" The Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Commonwealth Literature 7.1(1972):49-56.<br />
Asserts commitment as primary motivation for A<strong>nan</strong>d's writing. Presents background<br />
material on A<strong>nan</strong>d's attempt to locate a publisher, especially for 'Untouchable', from factual<br />
evidence contained in letters by E.M. Forster, Bonamy Dobree and others.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "A<strong>nan</strong>d's Literary Creed" The Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
1.1(1973):66-70.<br />
Cowasjee claims no development in theory or attitude throughout A<strong>nan</strong>d's writing.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d's principles about fiction owe much to Flaubert and his readings <strong>of</strong> Marxist dialectics.<br />
Analysis centred on A<strong>nan</strong>d as a committed political writer and his contribution to the evolving<br />
nationalism <strong>of</strong> India under the domi<strong>nan</strong>ce <strong>of</strong> British colonialism.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Untouchable: An Appraisal" Literature East and<br />
West 17.2-4 (December 1973):199-211.<br />
Examines the three solutions pr<strong>of</strong>fered by A<strong>nan</strong>d's text to the problem <strong>of</strong> the<br />
untouchable. Character study based on the situation <strong>of</strong> the untouchable and the choice <strong>of</strong><br />
possibilities which may alleviate the problem. Includes an evaluation <strong>of</strong> Hindu morality with the<br />
Mahatma's teachings praised as <strong>of</strong>fering guidelines to the eventual resolution <strong>of</strong> the<br />
untouchable situation.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "A<strong>nan</strong>d's Two Leaves and a Bud" Indian Literature<br />
16.3&4(1973):134-47.<br />
A discussion <strong>of</strong> fiction as propaganda with a comparison to Orwell's 'Burmese Days'<br />
(1934) used as example. In vestigates A<strong>nan</strong>d's writing style, especially his choice <strong>of</strong> language,
dismissing any criticism <strong>of</strong> it as "babu-like". Analyses the morality <strong>of</strong> British and Indian<br />
characters built upon biblical concepts <strong>of</strong> good and evil.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Coolie: an Appraisal" Banasthali Patrika 8.19<br />
(1972; pub. 1974):8-19.<br />
Cowasjee continues his assessment <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's fiction as propaganda with nationalistic<br />
overtones. Examines colonialism as a system <strong>of</strong> repression and exploitation. Offers<br />
sociological analysis <strong>of</strong> the effects <strong>of</strong> British rule on the caste system.<br />
COWASJEE, S. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's The Sword and the Sickle" in RAO, K.S.<br />
NARAYANA. ed. World Literature Written in English 14.2 (1975): 267-277.<br />
1) Seeks to clarify earlier misreadings by insisting on the <strong>author</strong>’s considerable<br />
achievement in using thoroughly accurate historical material to remarkable effect. 2) Perceives<br />
lalu, the main character, represents A<strong>nan</strong>d’s sounding board to test various revolutionary<br />
approaches to the Indian problem. 3) Focuses on the nationalist perspective by asserting the<br />
novel’s factual correctness based on Nehru’s “An Autobiography” (1936) and Svetlana (?)<br />
Alliluyeva’s “Only One Year” (1969).<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's The Big Heart: A New Perspective" ACLALS<br />
Bulletin 4th Series, No. 2 (1975):83-6.<br />
1) Reiterates previous treatments <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s work as dominated by concern for the<br />
poor and underprivileged trapped by India’s class and caste systems. 2) closely examines the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>ta and finds him a victim <strong>of</strong> rage and insanity, not <strong>of</strong> religious or political<br />
creed, and his sacrifice is the sacrifice <strong>of</strong> the unselfish man for humanity. 3) sociological<br />
analysis based on economic determinism as fundamental principle in a capitalist society. 4)<br />
See also Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies volume 11 (II?) no.1 Spring 1977, 85-92.<br />
COWASJEE, S. Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d, Coolie, An Assessment Delhi: OUP, 1976, 62 pp.<br />
(NB. annotation says An Appraisal, not ‘assessment’]. Continuing assessment <strong>of</strong><br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s fiction as propaganda with nationalistic overtones. 2) Examines colonization as a<br />
system <strong>of</strong> repression and exploitation. 3) Sociological analysis <strong>of</strong> the effects <strong>of</strong> British rule in<br />
the caste system.<br />
COWASJEE, S. So Many Freedoms: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Major Fiction <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
New Delhi: OUP, 1977, x + 205 pp.<br />
Suggests the social impulse conditioned by Marxist dialectics occupies the centre <strong>of</strong><br />
meaning in A<strong>nan</strong>d's writing. Categorises A<strong>nan</strong>d as a political novelist, connecting his fiction to<br />
the social, economic and political events <strong>of</strong> his time. Claims the <strong>author</strong>'s extensive use <strong>of</strong> irony<br />
destroys the mythic romanticisation <strong>of</strong> India by Western writers. Follows no particular school<br />
<strong>of</strong> criticism by utilising many approaches in an eclectic mix <strong>of</strong> critical strategies.<br />
COWASJEE, S. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Confession <strong>of</strong> a Lover" International Fiction Review 4<br />
(1977):18-22.<br />
Contextualises autobiographical details in this third volume <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's mammoth<br />
project in seven volumes, Seven Ages <strong>of</strong> Man.Extremely detailed <strong>author</strong>ial examination <strong>of</strong><br />
himself as debilitated by self-praise and self-deception. Psychological analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>author</strong>'s<br />
character hindered by simplistic interpretation.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: The Hard Road to Fiction": 82-96.
in DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad: Kitab<br />
Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
DAS, G.K. "Between Two Heritages: A Note on Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Confession <strong>of</strong> a Lover"<br />
The Indian Literary Review I.2 (1978):6-14.<br />
DHAR, T.N. "The Big Heart" The Indian Literary Review 5.3 (1987):33-8.<br />
DHAWAN, R.K. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: Coolie" in PRADHAN, N.S. ed. Major Indian Novels:<br />
An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986: 1-21. Also Atlantic Highlands, New<br />
Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
DOMMERGUES, A. "An Interpretation <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Untouchable" Commonwealth<br />
8.1 (1985):14-23.<br />
1) Reiterates previously expressed opinions without <strong>of</strong>fering any new considerations.<br />
2) Discusses the character <strong>of</strong> Bakha (?) and the gradual shift in his perspective due to the<br />
experiences undergone during the time frame <strong>of</strong> the novel to a probable breakthrough based<br />
on shattering the codes <strong>of</strong> silence and submission surrounding untouchability. 3) Places great<br />
emphasis on language, especially the spoken word and its potentialities to liberate, as a vital<br />
component in coming to grips with the <strong>author</strong>’s implied suggestion that education is the most<br />
powerful force available to counteract the vicious cycle <strong>of</strong> untouchability.<br />
FISHER, M. "Interview with Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" WLWE 13 (1974):109-22.<br />
Discusses A<strong>nan</strong>d's ideas about literature as organicist and motivated by passion for<br />
writing and a commitment to life. Provides context by the <strong>author</strong> himself into various aspects<br />
<strong>of</strong> influence, politics and personalities which have played significant roles in shaping his writing<br />
career.<br />
FISHER, M. "The Shape <strong>of</strong> Lostness: Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Short Stories" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 2.2 (1974):1-11.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d's short stories exhibit variety and control <strong>of</strong> form and tone. They reinterpret old<br />
myths by recreating new ones suitable to contemporary experience. The theme <strong>of</strong> inner<br />
lostness has genuinely universal significance. Close reading <strong>of</strong> selected short stories establishes<br />
comparative aspects relating to moral condition <strong>of</strong> fictive subjects.<br />
FISHER, MARLENE. The Wisdom <strong>of</strong> the Heart: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Works <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
New Delhi: Sterling, 1985, xi + 207.<br />
1) Again points to humanism as the driving force for A<strong>nan</strong>d’s work centred on the<br />
need for social justice. 2) An in-depth investigation based on expansive (?) personal<br />
interviews with the <strong>author</strong>. Devotes considerable attention to A<strong>nan</strong>d’s preoccupation with<br />
Indian art.3) Establishes interrelatedness <strong>of</strong> <strong>author</strong>’s biodata with strategic developments in<br />
content and control <strong>of</strong> his works <strong>of</strong> fiction.<br />
FISHER, MARLENE. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: A Study in his Confessional Novels":97-106. in<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad: Kitab<br />
Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
GUPTA, G.S. "Dr Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Prose-poems" Contemporary Indian Literature 3<br />
(1971):13-15.
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: A Study <strong>of</strong> his Fiction in Humanist<br />
Perspective Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1973, xi + 163 pp.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "Towards A Closer Understanding <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d" in SHARMA,<br />
K.K. ed. Indo-English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, Ghaziabad: Vimal<br />
Prakashan, 1977: 113-20.<br />
1) Claims “comprehensive historical humanism” has been the principle position behind<br />
his literary efforts. 2) Investigates the responses to questions put in correspondence with the<br />
<strong>author</strong>. 3) Reprinted from Sharma, K. K. ed. Indo-English Literature: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical<br />
Essays (Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977): 113-20.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Untouchable: The Dialectics <strong>of</strong> Self-<br />
Affirmation" in NAIK, M.K. Perspectives on Indian Fiction in English New Delhi: Abhinav<br />
Publications, 1985: 13-20.<br />
HARREX, S.C. "Western Ideology and Eastern Forms <strong>of</strong> Fiction: The Case <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d" in AMIRTHANAYAGAM, GUY. ed. Asian and Western Writers in Dialogue: New<br />
Cultural Identities London: Macmillan, 1982: 142-58.<br />
Argues a correlation between A<strong>nan</strong>d’s quest for ideological structure and fictional form.<br />
Labelling his novels “socio-political messianic”, Harrex finds Untouchable a successful<br />
expression <strong>of</strong> commitment that avoids diatribe arising from a combination <strong>of</strong> factors including<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s “self-projection” whereby objective social realism includes subjective felt experience<br />
and the quest “to fuse Western realist tradition [with] the Indian tradition <strong>of</strong> the moral fable”.<br />
Reads Apology for Heroism for details <strong>of</strong> the <strong>author</strong>’s search for an adequate form to<br />
convey the life <strong>of</strong> common people. A<strong>nan</strong>d rejects the ‘dead myth’ <strong>of</strong> Vedantic Absolutism and<br />
turns to the Western novel, but increasingly attempts to assert an Indian modification <strong>of</strong><br />
realism in a reflection <strong>of</strong> his own ambivalence about East and West, tradition and modernity.<br />
He moves to a more Romantic position in expounding his idea <strong>of</strong> “body-soul drama”. Defends<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d against charges <strong>of</strong> communist propagandising. Charts A<strong>nan</strong>d’s struggle to shape<br />
novelistic amorphousness and autobiography into a moral fable <strong>of</strong> awakening consciousness in<br />
Untouchable, seeing its success in The Big Heart. Private Life <strong>of</strong> an Indian Prince<br />
changes the viewpoint to achieve more detachment. The ‘Lalu trilogy’ comprehensively<br />
attempts an allegorical representation <strong>of</strong> “the meaning for India <strong>of</strong> the modern historical<br />
process.”<br />
IYENGAR, K.R. SRINIVASA. "The Bubble: A Novel by Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 14.38 (1989): 57-62.<br />
1) Claims impresive achievement for this fourth part <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s seven-part<br />
autobiographical novel. 2) Character’s self-discovery as novel records coming <strong>of</strong> age in<br />
hothouse atmosphere <strong>of</strong> international artistic world. 3) Psychological analysis correlates the<br />
bubble <strong>of</strong> the title to individual’s ego and its development and growth. 4) Doesn’t break any<br />
new ground here.<br />
KAKATIYA Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 2.1 (1977) special issue. Ed Satyanarain Singh. See<br />
individual entries: Chatterjee, Fisher, Gupta,<br />
Afterword: “Why I Write” by A<strong>nan</strong>d, chronology, bibliography.
BHATTACHARYA, B.K. "Two Leaves and a Bud: Truth and Fiction": 39-47.<br />
1) Traces the purported real life incidents in Assam on which A<strong>nan</strong>d probably based<br />
his fiction. 2) Expands on the white planters’ methods <strong>of</strong> dealing with opposition to their<br />
exploitation. 3) Locates this novel within the nationalist phase dedicated to a political<br />
change for India.<br />
CHATTERJEE, D. "Gandhi's Influence on A<strong>nan</strong>d and his Fiction":149-62.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s commitment is to ‘Man’ as a humantist, though he refers to himself as a<br />
‘pseudo-Gandhian’. He admired Gandhi because <strong>of</strong> his love for the underprivileged but<br />
departd from his Hindu orthodoxy. Gandhi’s influence is most seen in Untouchable<br />
(1935) The Sword and the Sickle (1942) and the biographical Confession <strong>of</strong> Love<br />
(1976).<br />
COWASJEE, S. "The Big Heart: A New Perspective":85-92. Repeat <strong>of</strong> ACLALS<br />
Bulletin 4th Series No. 2 (1975): 83-6. See Cowasjee entry.<br />
COWASJEE, SAROS. ”The Princes in Indian Fiction”: 48-70.<br />
FISHER, M. "Confession <strong>of</strong> a Lover":107-18.<br />
The third book <strong>of</strong> the biographical “Seven Ages <strong>of</strong> Man’ series, this looks at young<br />
Krishan Chander’s rites <strong>of</strong> passage, experiencing different facets <strong>of</strong> love as spiritual<br />
education and experimenting with poetic images to find his voice. Each <strong>of</strong> the three<br />
novels ends with hopeful moving on to a new phase <strong>of</strong> life; this first-person narrative<br />
starts top blend the other voices <strong>of</strong> its forerunners.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "A<strong>nan</strong>d in Letters":210-18.<br />
Assembles excerpts from correspondence 1968-73, showing the importance <strong>of</strong><br />
‘karuna’ (compassion) to A<strong>nan</strong>d’s humanism and supporting the idea that he believed<br />
unsystematically in ‘the wisdom <strong>of</strong> the heart’ rather than in Marxism.<br />
KOHLI, S. "The Road":232-4. a note.<br />
IYENGAR, K.R.SRINIVASA. "Morning Face":239-43. a note.<br />
LINDSAY, J. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d":1-4.<br />
Seeks to provide a basis for A<strong>nan</strong>d's place in world literature. Contextualises A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
within the 1930s group <strong>of</strong> writers who made up an international avant-garde concerned<br />
with protest against the debilitating effects <strong>of</strong> imperialism and fascism. Notes his vital<br />
connections to Rabindranath Tagore and the Indian working class milieu.<br />
MELWANI, M.D. "Approaches to A<strong>nan</strong>d's Short Stories":119-24.<br />
1) Provides an overview <strong>of</strong> various critical approaches utilized on A<strong>nan</strong>d’s short<br />
fiction. 2) Looks at critical practices and the differing conclusions they <strong>of</strong>fer about his<br />
short stories. 3) Seeks to deconstruct any system <strong>of</strong> critical inquiry previously applied<br />
by pleading for an evaluative scheme based on an individuated study <strong>of</strong> each story.<br />
MURTHY, S. LAXMANA. "Bakha: An Existential Analysis" :163-75.<br />
1) Perceives A<strong>nan</strong>d is not a humanist or Marxist but closely involved with<br />
existentialism, especially in his portrayal <strong>of</strong> Bakha’s alienation in Untouchable (1935). 2)
Character study <strong>of</strong> Bakha based on Camus’s The Rebel (1950), although tradition<br />
prevents any actual rebellion. 3) Grapples with existentialist doctrine in trying to reveal<br />
another approach to Untouchable (1935).<br />
MURTI, K.V.SURYANARAYANA. "Seven Summers: A<strong>nan</strong>d's Fictional Matrix"<br />
:71-84.<br />
Considers Seven Summers (1951) to be the prologue to A<strong>nan</strong>d’s oeuvre, containing<br />
all his themes and techniques, images and symbols as the microcosm <strong>of</strong> his fictional<br />
world, the seven volume series, Seven Ages <strong>of</strong> Man. 2) Offers the quest motif as the<br />
guiding form behind the novel’s construction. 3) claims A<strong>nan</strong>d has adopted Aldous<br />
huxley’s theory <strong>of</strong> “musicalization <strong>of</strong> fiction” to his writing.<br />
NIVEN, A. "Myth into Moral: Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's The Old Woman and the Cow":93-<br />
106. Repeat <strong>of</strong> ACLALS Bulletin 4th Series No. 3(1975):30-6. See Niven entry.<br />
NIVEN, A. "The 'Lalu' Trilogy <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d":17-38. Repeat <strong>of</strong> The Literary<br />
Half-Yearly 13.1 (1972):31-49. See Niven entry.<br />
RAMAKRISHNA, D. "A<strong>nan</strong>d's Idea <strong>of</strong> the Novel":190-9.<br />
1) Reveals A<strong>nan</strong>d’s regard for Proust’s Remembrance <strong>of</strong> Things Past (19??) fostered<br />
his his utilization <strong>of</strong> stream <strong>of</strong> consciousness technique. 2) Finds A<strong>nan</strong>d’s novelistic form<br />
determined by his main character’s evolution into an awakened consciousness. 3)<br />
Applies Northrop Frye’s definition <strong>of</strong> form to A<strong>nan</strong>d’s case. Compares A<strong>nan</strong>d’s<br />
fictional aesthetics with Henry James’ views in The Art <strong>of</strong> Fiction (1884).<br />
RAO, E. NAGESWARA. "Dialogue in Forster and A<strong>nan</strong>d: A Contrastive<br />
Analysis":176-89.<br />
1) Analyses discourse by pinpointing the problem <strong>of</strong> transcribing Indian speech<br />
paterns into English. 2) Contrastive analysis <strong>of</strong> dialogue in A Passage to India (1924)<br />
and Untouchable (1935) based on their similarity in linguistic, geographical and cultural<br />
backgrounds. 3) Linguistic structures are intensely examined. Finds Forster and A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
did not make attempts to alter English syntax and grammar by transferring the<br />
grammatical and syntactic deviations <strong>of</strong> Hindi, Urdu or Punjabi into English.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, D. "Death <strong>of</strong> a Hero":235-8. a note.<br />
ROBERTSON, R.T. "Untouchable as an Archetypal Novel":5-16. See also World<br />
Literature Written in English Vol. 14 No. 2 November 1975 The <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Texas,Arlington:339-346. [See Item, Robertson]<br />
SHARMA, A.R. "Folk Elements in A<strong>nan</strong>d's Novels":200-9.<br />
1) Considers the incorporation <strong>of</strong> Punjabi folklore within A<strong>nan</strong>d’s fiction, especially<br />
the Lalu trilogy. 2) Describes Punjabi folk motifs and A<strong>nan</strong>d’s utilization <strong>of</strong> them. This<br />
enables him to accurately represent the spirit <strong>of</strong> the peasant character. 3) Claims A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
unites the negative and positive aspects <strong>of</strong> the folk tradition in his imaginitive extension<br />
<strong>of</strong> folk heros into modern anti-heros.<br />
SINGH, SATYANARAIN. "Yoke <strong>of</strong> Pity: The Poet in A<strong>nan</strong>d's Novels" :125-48.
1) Examines the poet figure as representative <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s spiritual vision <strong>of</strong> life in<br />
Untouchable (1935), Death <strong>of</strong> A Hero (1964), and Confession <strong>of</strong> a Lover (1976). 2)<br />
Character study <strong>of</strong> the poet figure as integrative force in A<strong>nan</strong>d’s fiction representing the<br />
‘conscience’ <strong>of</strong> the novel. 3) Applies Brahminical concept <strong>of</strong> Karuna or pity as the<br />
basic underpinning to A<strong>nan</strong>d’s work.<br />
KAUSHIK, R.K. "From potter's Wheel to Dragon's Teeth: Character Delineation in Mulk<br />
Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Novels" Mahfil 6.4 (1970):17-31.<br />
Attacks A<strong>nan</strong>d's characters for lack <strong>of</strong> sophisticated development as A<strong>nan</strong>d's Marxist<br />
ideology overrode his <strong>author</strong>ial integrity. Makes an extensive investigation <strong>of</strong> characterisation<br />
considered as deliberately driven by ideological commitment. Capitalist/Marxist dichotomy<br />
explored as major premise.<br />
KAUSHIK, ASHA & IQBAL NARRAIN. "The Democratic Experiment and Social Change<br />
in India: Some Perceptions from Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" 61-77 in Narain, Iqbal & Lutze, Lothar,<br />
eds. Literature, Social Consciousness and Polity New Delhi: Manohar, 1987, xv + 131 pp.<br />
KAUSHIK, R.K. "Red, Brown and Gray: Ideological Commitment in Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's<br />
Novels" in SHARMA, K.K. ed. Indo-English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays,<br />
Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977: 101-12. 1) Perceives A<strong>nan</strong>d’s prose (sp?)<br />
masquerades as ideological warfare and classifies it as fanatic dogmatism. 2) attacks his<br />
writing style saturated by pervasive pessimism but Kaushik’s suggested alternative demands<br />
an acceptance og God on the writer’s part. Reprinted from Sharma, K. K. ed Indo-English<br />
Literature: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays (Ghaziabad: Vimal Prahashan, 1977): 101-12.<br />
KHER, INDER NATH. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: Encounter with Dark Passion" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 11.2 (1983):3-8.<br />
Psychological analysis <strong>of</strong> Private Life <strong>of</strong> an Indian Prince (1953), concluding that the<br />
Mahararja’s mind has totally disintegrated into madness because <strong>of</strong> his inability to contend<br />
with his uncontrolled sexuality. Acknowledges a major debt to Krishna Nandan Sinha (sp?)<br />
for this analysis. 2) A character study based on psychological guidelines. Comparison to<br />
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby made. 3) Psycho-sexual analysis. 4) NA.<br />
KLAUS, GUSTAV, H. "Zum Beispiel Coolie" Germanisch-romanische Monatsschriften<br />
28.4 (1978):453-67.<br />
KULSHRESTHA, CHIRANTAN. "The Hero as Survivor: Reflections on A<strong>nan</strong>d's<br />
Untouchable" WLWE 19.1 (1980):84-91.<br />
By introducing the concept <strong>of</strong> the survivor, Kulshrestha extends existing claims that<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d's fiction has an overall aesthetic unity as well as notable political and sociological<br />
commentary. The image <strong>of</strong> the survivor studied in comparison to Solzhenitsyn's One Day in<br />
the Life <strong>of</strong> Ivan Denisovich and Malamud's The Fixer. Morally evaluates the image <strong>of</strong> the<br />
survivor as superior to the conventional tragic hero in respect to higher ethical principles and<br />
an unwavering sense <strong>of</strong> duty.<br />
MATHUR, O.P. "Two Modern Versions <strong>of</strong> the Sita Myth: Narayan and A<strong>nan</strong>d" JCL 21.1<br />
(1986):16-25.<br />
1) Mathur establishes an Indain mythis basis for Narayan’s and A<strong>nan</strong>d’s modern<br />
interpretations. 2) Mathur focuses on myth as structure which is received and reinterpreted on
the writer’s ‘own terms’. 3) Comparative approach concerns issues <strong>of</strong> similarity and<br />
difference between mythic basis and individual talent’s treatment <strong>of</strong> mythic structure on his<br />
‘own terms’. 4) Nothing new here.<br />
MATHUR, O. P. “Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Untouchables [sic] and Richard Wright’s Bigger<br />
Thomas: A comparative Study in Social Protest and Affirmation.” LHY 19.2 (1978). 115-28.<br />
1) Identifies these fictions as examples <strong>of</strong> “revolutionary romanticism” motivated by<br />
the “socialist” humanism <strong>of</strong> their <strong>author</strong>s. Reiteration <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s socialist principles. 2)<br />
Distinguishes some notable differences between the black American and the untouchable<br />
Hindu, although both are marginalised by their societies as dispossed minorities. 3)<br />
Investigation <strong>of</strong> religious credos based on Gandhian Hinduism and renewed Christianity found<br />
to have similar solutions to societal problems. 4) Nothing new here.<br />
MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. "The Tractor and the Plough: The Contrasted Visions <strong>of</strong><br />
Sudhin Ghose and Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" in MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. ed. Considerations:<br />
Twelve Studies <strong>of</strong> Indo-Anglian Writing New Delhi: Allied, 1977: 111-21.<br />
1) Analyses four contrasts in the writing <strong>of</strong> Sudhin Ghose and Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: I)<br />
Realism and Myth ii) Reason and Faith iii) Attitude towards the Past iv) Concept <strong>of</strong> Art.<br />
Claims progress to be A<strong>nan</strong>d’s key belief in his fiction. A<strong>nan</strong>d values dynamism and active<br />
participation in changing social conditions. 2) Investigates technical aspects dealing with<br />
resources used to generate material. 3) Contrasts formalism <strong>of</strong> Ghose with realism <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d.<br />
4) Critical mode to historical development: Nothing new here.<br />
MURTI, K.V. SURYANARAYANA. The Sword and the Sickle: A Study <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d's Novels Mysore: Geetha Book House, 1983, 162 pp.<br />
NAIK, M.K. Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1973, 199pp.<br />
Pursues the complex <strong>of</strong> issues arising from the clash between Indian tradition and<br />
Western modernity as it applies to A<strong>nan</strong>d's writing. Opposes the openly positive assessments<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>author</strong> by expressing agreement with highly critical comments by K. R. Srinivasa<br />
Iyengar. Adopts a formalist/sociological approach to A<strong>nan</strong>d's oeuvre locating his best efforts<br />
as reliant upon traditional Hindu material enlightened by judicious use <strong>of</strong> Western modernist<br />
concepts.<br />
NAIK, M.K. “Introduction” Selected Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d New Delhi: Arnold-<br />
Heinemann. 1977: 9-31.<br />
Cites A<strong>nan</strong>d’s debt to Indian traditional tales and his mother’s storytelling, to Tolstoy,<br />
Gorky, Turgenev and Powys. Notes his social satire, comic touches andpsychological<br />
perception. Divides the stories into ‘lyric awareness’, animal fabels, the pathos <strong>of</strong> the<br />
oppressed and overt satire. Stories cover a wide range <strong>of</strong> settings and characters, all with a<br />
strong narrative drive, though occasionally with drawn-out beginnings and ‘poeticising’. They<br />
have the ‘galloping tempo’ and ‘opulent’ idiom <strong>of</strong> Indian speech.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "The Achievement <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 1.1<br />
(1973):41-50.<br />
Naik argues that A<strong>nan</strong>d is a committed writer attached to conscious humanist<br />
convictions and humanitarian compassion. A defence <strong>of</strong> formalist conventions as lacking in<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d's work. Lack <strong>of</strong> formalist orthodoxy evidenced in three distinct ways: a) character
development fixed by his social commitment, b) overstatement <strong>of</strong> commitment tends to<br />
produce melodrama or farce, c) intrusive <strong>author</strong>ial comment corrupts character delineation.<br />
NASIMI, REZA AHMAD. The Language <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d, Raja Rao and R.K. Narayan<br />
Delhi: Capital Publishing House, 1989, vi+88 pp.<br />
NIRANJAN, SHIVA. “The Nature and Extent <strong>of</strong> Gandhi’s Impact on the Early Novels <strong>of</strong><br />
Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d and Raja Rao” Commonwealth Quarterly 3.11 (1979): 36-46.<br />
The Gandhian movement gave Indian English writers a way <strong>of</strong> connecting with Indian feeling<br />
and national commitment. Narayan’s Waiting for the Mahatma is a controversial exception<br />
to fiction dealing with Gandhi. A<strong>nan</strong>d, though personally affected by him, and allowing him as<br />
a character in Untouchable to move Bakha towards a hopeful future, does not give Gandhi a<br />
central or definitive role: emotional solace is not matched by practical outcomes. The Sword<br />
and the Sickle differentiates between Gandhi and his less pure followers. Lalu’s respects<br />
Gandhi but his reservations about his ideas (on non-violence, for example) reflect A<strong>nan</strong>d’s<br />
own. Raja Rao makes a village’s realisation <strong>of</strong> Gandhian thought a pervasive force in<br />
Kanthapura and Gandhi more a mythic, divine figure. He does not appear in the novel. Notes<br />
the disappearance <strong>of</strong> Gandhi novels after Independence.<br />
NIVEN, ALASTAIR. "The 'Lalu Trilogy' <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" The Literary Half-Yearly 13.1<br />
(1972):31-49.<br />
Offers support for A<strong>nan</strong>d's central character as a microcosm <strong>of</strong> Indian peasantry in<br />
the crucial period <strong>of</strong> the First World War and its aftermath. Concentrates totally on character<br />
development and its wider implications. Sociological analysis founded on understanding<br />
conditions <strong>of</strong> poverty which exacerbate political issues and require political solutions. Niven<br />
introduces some concepts <strong>of</strong> Frantz Fanon's work into his conclusion but does not exploit<br />
Fanon's theories in detail.<br />
See also Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies Vol. 11 No. 1 Spring 1977: 17-38.<br />
NIVEN, A. "Myth into Moral: Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's The Old Woman and the Cow" ACLALS<br />
Bulletin 4th Series, No. 3 (1975):30-36.<br />
Asserts that The Old Woman and The Cow(1960) surpasses A<strong>nan</strong>d's other novels <strong>of</strong><br />
the 1960s in quality and remains one <strong>of</strong> his strongest works, comparable to<br />
Untouchable(1935). A<strong>nan</strong>d handles his first female protagonist with understanding and insight<br />
and places her story <strong>of</strong> domestic insignificance into a national and mythic context. Notes the<br />
overtly classical framework taken from The Ramayana. Offers the view that A<strong>nan</strong>d has<br />
transformed this epic tale to express a basic tenet <strong>of</strong> his own beliefs: that men and women do<br />
not repeat the mistakes <strong>of</strong> their past but are saved from this repetition by cutting loose from<br />
tradition and grasping the new.<br />
See also Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies Vol. 11 No. 1 Spring 1977:93-106.<br />
NIVEN, ALISTAIR. The Yoke <strong>of</strong> Pity: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Fictional Writings <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980, 144pp. reissued 1984.<br />
NIVEN, ALASTAIR. The Yoke <strong>of</strong> Pity A Study in the Fictional Writings <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, 1978.<br />
Niven asserts that A<strong>nan</strong>d seeks a regenerated social order for India rather than merely<br />
advocating a single political strategy for change. Recontextualises his fiction as important<br />
contributions to humanist themes common to many writers, such as D. H. Lawrence and
Chinua Achebe. The fundamental guideline to comprehending all his work is understanding the<br />
individual’s freedom to act undergoes constant compromise by collective social forces.<br />
NIVEN, ALISTAIR. The Yoke <strong>of</strong> Pity: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Fictional Writings <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d<br />
New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980, 144pp. reissued 1984. [check year: 78?]<br />
Niven asserts that A<strong>nan</strong>d seeks a regenerated social order for India rather than<br />
advocating a single political strategy for change. Recontextualises A<strong>nan</strong>d's fiction as important<br />
contributions to humanist themes common to many writers, such as D. H. Lawrence and<br />
Chinua Achebe. Assesses the individual's freedom to act constantly compromised by<br />
collective social forces as the fundamental guideline to comprehending A<strong>nan</strong>d's entire<br />
production.<br />
PACHORI, SATYA S. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Untouchable: A Study in Search <strong>of</strong> Selfhood"<br />
Commonwealth Novel In English 2.2 (July 1983):41-9.<br />
Aligns A<strong>nan</strong>d with Modernist self-consciousness and close-up probing <strong>of</strong> inner life in<br />
realtion to society. bakha’s sensory intuitive understanding follows A<strong>nan</strong>d’s study <strong>of</strong> Hume,<br />
Locke and Berkely (his feel <strong>of</strong> British clothes helps to shift his mind towards broader<br />
realisations manifested in the Brahmin-touching incident, and his withdrawal to sleep and sun<br />
figures a rebirth into new awareness). A<strong>nan</strong>d finally rejects Hume’s passive receptor model,<br />
but is caught in a Modernist focus on ‘heroism <strong>of</strong> consciousness’ rather than definite social<br />
action.<br />
PACKHAM, GILLIAN. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's New Myth" New Literature Review 8<br />
(1980):45-53.<br />
Locates a workable pattern operating beneath the surface <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's entire oeuvre.<br />
The pattern is as follows: the protagonist observes injustice and contradictions in society and is<br />
driven to reform it, in doing so he asserts his individuality and finds himself isolated from<br />
society. By searching for ways out <strong>of</strong> his isolation, he develops intellectually and morally until,<br />
by the close <strong>of</strong> the novel, he has achieved definite personal values. Claims that A<strong>nan</strong>d calls this<br />
pattern which shows the individual struggling to understand his situation and to achieve new<br />
values based on love his "New Myth". A<strong>nan</strong>d's "New Myth" is a conscious reinterpretation <strong>of</strong><br />
traditional myths. A cornerstone <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's literary theory states that ancient literature always<br />
found man struggling against an all-powerful fate, but that the fate which is confronted in<br />
modern literature is the power for good and evil which lies within the individual. His "New<br />
Myth" is a myth <strong>of</strong> struggle for personal integration founded on the achievement <strong>of</strong> new values.<br />
Psychological probe <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's oeuvre discovers this recurring pattern in his work. Relates<br />
this pattern to A<strong>nan</strong>d's own life and perceives it again in his autobiographical magnum opus,<br />
Seven Ages <strong>of</strong> Man, and for a third time in his fictional novels.<br />
PALLAN, RAJESH K. "Encounter with the Self: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Confessional Mode in Mulk<br />
Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's The Bubble" in KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in<br />
English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 11-23.<br />
PAUL, PREMILA. "A<strong>nan</strong>d's Lament on the Death <strong>of</strong> a Master <strong>of</strong> Arts: A Thematic Analysis"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 6.2 (1978):70-77.<br />
PAUL, PREMILA. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: A Thematic Study New Delhi: Sterling,<br />
1983, 183 pp.
1) Identifies A<strong>nan</strong>d’s pervasive themes as the caste system, the class structure,<br />
religion, education and the status <strong>of</strong> women. 2) Concentrates entirely on these five themes as<br />
they are expanded upon in most fictions. 3) Concerned with existentialist issues such as loss <strong>of</strong><br />
identity, rootlessness and isolation and A<strong>nan</strong>d’s empirical approach to these social realities.<br />
PONTES, HILDA. "A Select Checklist <strong>of</strong> Critical Responses to Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's<br />
Untouchable" Journal <strong>of</strong> Commonwealth Literature 23.1 (1988): 189-98.<br />
Brief introduction notes origins in the autobiographical 2000-page ‘confessional’; social<br />
radicalism presented through the “body-soul drama <strong>of</strong> Bakha”, a blend <strong>of</strong> folk-tale fabulism<br />
and western realist short story plus Joycean stream <strong>of</strong> consciousness. Approximately 80<br />
entries with rudimentary annotation.<br />
PONTES, HILDA. "The Education <strong>of</strong> a Rebel: Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" Literary Half-Yearly 27.2<br />
(July 1986):105-22.<br />
1) Suggests British imperialism forced English language education and values on<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d and his generation. 2) Biographical details concerning A<strong>nan</strong>d’s schooling and its<br />
ramifications on his personal educational attainments. 3) Sociological investigation <strong>of</strong> British<br />
influence and control on Indian educational system.<br />
PONTES, HILDA. "Untouchable: A Classic in Experimentation <strong>of</strong> Theme and Technique" in<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA., ed. Studies in Indian Fiction in English Gulbarga: JIWE<br />
Publications, 1987: 128-41.<br />
PRASAD, R. NARENDA. "Pollution in Untouchable and Scavenger's Son" Littcrit 6.2<br />
(1980):32-8.<br />
Compares A<strong>nan</strong>d to Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Both focus on the idea <strong>of</strong> ritual<br />
pollution as the basis for untouchability, but Pillai broadens his scope, surveying three<br />
generations to show “the workers’ fight against all exploitation”. A<strong>nan</strong>d individualises Bakha<br />
and moves him to a visionary promise, whereas Pillai’s Chudalamuthu climbs materially to a<br />
better future and alienates himself from his fellows. Pillai wrote after Independence and the<br />
outlawing <strong>of</strong> untouchability in Kerala; for A<strong>nan</strong>d the problem was still religious beliefs, hence<br />
Gandhi’s importance. Bakha is a limited seeker after enlightenment rather than a workingclass<br />
hero, and yearns for human touch and the warmth <strong>of</strong> nature; Pillai’s story is more<br />
external and melodramatic.<br />
RAJAN, P.K. "Conflict and Resolution in The Tractor and the Corn Goddess" Littcrit 9.2<br />
(1983):15-19.<br />
This “satirical commentary on the social life <strong>of</strong> precapitalist India” expresses A<strong>nan</strong>d’s<br />
consistent theme <strong>of</strong> industrialised modernity contending with tradition. Ambivalent symbolism<br />
and resolution shows A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Gandhian ambivalence towards social issues. A village narrator<br />
‘storytells’ a modern short story in which the triumph <strong>of</strong> the tractor rests in its not affecting<br />
ancient beliefs, and the comic victory <strong>of</strong> the villagers is stage-managed by the landowning elite<br />
ushering in ‘progress’.<br />
RAJAN, P.K. Studies in Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1986, viii +<br />
122pp.<br />
RAO, E. NAGESWARA. "The Dialogue Is the Thing: A Contrastive Analysis <strong>of</strong> Fictional<br />
Speech in Forster and A<strong>nan</strong>d" 138-47 in Shahane, Vasant A., ed. Approaches to E.M.
Forster: A Centenary Volume New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1981; Atlanbtic Highlands:<br />
Humanities, 1981, 177pp. [See Rao entry under KAKATIYA]<br />
REDDY, K.V. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Lament on the Death <strong>of</strong> a Master <strong>of</strong> Arts" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 5.2 (1977):28-36.<br />
Questions rejection <strong>of</strong> this work by Naik and others. As character study and satire it<br />
arouses compassion and outrage. Focuses on the stress <strong>of</strong> an orphan's upbringing in the<br />
development <strong>of</strong> Nur's life. He fails to succeed because he lacks conventionally sedirable ethnic<br />
origin, parental occupation and connections to influential persons.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, D. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Confession <strong>of</strong> a Lover" WLWE 16.1: 105-9;<br />
and Indian Author 2.1 (1977):73-6.<br />
Probes the interrelatedness <strong>of</strong> autobiographical details and fictitious renderings <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>author</strong>ial search for truth. Analyses the thematic cohesion <strong>of</strong> Indian writing in English centred<br />
upon a quest for identity. Grapples with the concept <strong>of</strong> alienation from traditional Hindu<br />
society and values as the fundamental motivation for Indian intellectual's pursuit <strong>of</strong> the meaning<br />
<strong>of</strong> self.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, D. "Saros Cowasjee's So Many Freedoms: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Major<br />
Fiction <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" Journal <strong>of</strong> the School <strong>of</strong> Languages 7.1&2 (1978-9):150-5.<br />
Offers praise for Cowasjee's erudite and expansive treatment <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's oeuvre but<br />
admonishes him for not separating textual criticism from <strong>author</strong>ial intent. Cowasjee resources a<br />
range <strong>of</strong> critical approaches in an eclectic mix <strong>of</strong> criticism.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, DIETER. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: Coolie; The Old Woman and the Cow;<br />
Untouchable" Kindlers Neues Literatur-Lexicon Bd. 1 Munchen (1988):407-09, 410-11.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, DIETER. "The Function <strong>of</strong> Labour in Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Novels"<br />
JSL 4.1 (1976):1-20.<br />
Assesses the problem <strong>of</strong> human labour as a probe into the ideological messages<br />
transmitted through his fiction. Employs the Marxist theory <strong>of</strong> labour as the principle guideline<br />
<strong>of</strong> his investigation.<br />
ROBERTSON, R.T. "Untouchable as an Archetypal Novel" World Literature Written in<br />
English (K.S. NARAYANA RAO ed.) Vol. 14 No. 2 November 1975:339-346. The<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Texas,Arlington.<br />
Perceives Untouchable(1935) deserves canonical status within the new literatures area<br />
as the archetype <strong>of</strong> the isolation <strong>of</strong> the individual expressed as the concept <strong>of</strong> "untouchability".<br />
Contextualises this novel as the archetypal presentation <strong>of</strong> the classic colonial situation and its<br />
resolution in a reharmonising <strong>of</strong> the rebellious individual into his own culture. Builds a<br />
structuralist perspective into Untouchable(1935) and applies it to the entire new literatures<br />
fictional field. Provides an extremely perceptive and far-ranging analysis that serves to open up<br />
the complexity <strong>of</strong> colonialism and its expression in fiction.<br />
See also Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies Vol. 11 No. 1 Spring 1977: 5-15.<br />
SETHI, VIJAY MOHAN. Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d: the Short Story Writer, New Delhi: Ashish<br />
Publishing House, 1990, 114pp.
SHARMA, K.K. ed. Perspectives on Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d. Vimal Prakashan Ghaziabad India,<br />
1978, 188pp.<br />
1) Reappraisal <strong>of</strong> thematic and technical aspects <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s fiction. Comprehension<br />
<strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s stance demands close atention to the ‘thirties movement in England. 2)<br />
Contextualises all facets <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s work in a collection <strong>of</strong> major contributions, mostly<br />
sociological and universalist in approach.<br />
check gaps<br />
GUPTA, RAMESHWAR. “The Gandhi in A<strong>nan</strong>d.”: 77-83.<br />
Finds Untouchable (1935) reflects and echoes Gandhi. Claims A<strong>nan</strong>d is a Gandhian<br />
because <strong>of</strong> his cleanliness, his concern with the dispossessed and the weak and for his<br />
humanism.<br />
HARREX, S. C. “Quest for Structures: Form, Fable and Technique in the Fiction <strong>of</strong><br />
Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d.”: 153-168.<br />
Offers the theory that A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Marxist-Socialist quest for a humanist society and his<br />
fictional pursuit <strong>of</strong> an appropriate verbal structure are complementary components <strong>of</strong> his<br />
overall purpose. Labels his fiction the socio-political messianic novel and analyses his<br />
“poetic realism”. Concludes that his fictional forms are allegorical representations <strong>of</strong> his<br />
soul theories and philosophic ideas.<br />
MATHUR, O.P. “An Approach to the Problem <strong>of</strong> National Integration in the Novels <strong>of</strong><br />
Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d.”: 64-76.<br />
Probes the main characters’ rejection <strong>of</strong> outmoded beliefs, customs, and rituals.<br />
Interprets a call for national integration as the object <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s writing in its attempt to<br />
overcome the divisive force <strong>of</strong> religious intolerance.<br />
Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d. “Why I Write?”: 1-8.<br />
NAIK, M. K. “Infinite Variety: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d.”: 39-<br />
51.<br />
Proclaims the quality <strong>of</strong> his short stories based on variety <strong>of</strong> theme, mood, tone, and<br />
technique. Demonstrates how A<strong>nan</strong>d’s best work reveals a thorough apprehension <strong>of</strong><br />
what is enduring in the Indian folk tale tradition.<br />
NATH, SURESH. “The Element <strong>of</strong> Protest in Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Fiction.”:129-38.<br />
Considers this <strong>author</strong>’s work as spontaneous expression <strong>of</strong> protest against the painful<br />
spectacle <strong>of</strong> human misery. Focuses on protest elements in Untouchable (1935) and<br />
Coolie (1936).<br />
RAIZADA, HARISH. “Ethics and Aesthetics <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d.”: 115-28.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s ethics are founded on comprehensive historical humanism. Aesthetics are<br />
based on his innovative techniques <strong>of</strong> “poetic realism”.<br />
RAM, ATMA. “A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Prose Style: An Analysis.”: 169-76.<br />
Probes into his prose style on the basis <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s own comments. Traces his<br />
aggressive incorporation <strong>of</strong> Punjabi peasant idiom into English.<br />
SHEPHERD, RON. “Alienated Being: A Reappraisal <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Alienated Hero.”:<br />
139-52.
Reveals the later and more complex heroe’s struggle with past traditions while<br />
concerned with social change and its impact. Character study formulated around a<br />
crisis <strong>of</strong> identity.<br />
SHIVPURI, JAGDISH. “Tagore and A<strong>nan</strong>d.”: 84-93.<br />
Comments on A<strong>nan</strong>d’s lectures about Tagore. Discloses their common commitment to<br />
universal brotherhood.<br />
WALSH, WILLIAM. “Some Observations on Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Fiction”: 177-180.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s earliest works are his best: his socially engaged passion is his power and<br />
weakness (when the moral becomes separated from its imaginative embodiment). He<br />
belongs to a nineteenth-century tradtion <strong>of</strong> character, circumstance and the picaresque<br />
(Dickens, William Morris and the Russians).<br />
SHARMA, AMBUJ KUMAR. The Theme <strong>of</strong> Exploitation in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d,<br />
New Delhi: D.K. Publishers and Distributors, 1990, 162pp.<br />
Traces eight elements <strong>of</strong> Marxist theory in A<strong>nan</strong>d’s fiction: a) class in itself b) class for<br />
itself c) transformation <strong>of</strong> class in itself into class for itself d) class conflict involving violence e)<br />
religion as the opium <strong>of</strong> the masses f) economic factor as the root <strong>of</strong> exploitation g)<br />
exploitation as a worldwide phenomenon and h) contradictions in capitalism and its<br />
overthrow. Relies on the autobiographical novels <strong>of</strong> the Seven Ages <strong>of</strong> Man series and<br />
Apology for Heroism (1975) to support his argument concerning exploitation. Probes the<br />
social agencies responsible for aiding exploitation <strong>of</strong> the poor and underprivileged. A thematic<br />
approach links the centrality <strong>of</strong> exploitation to A<strong>nan</strong>d’s writing.<br />
SHARMA, GOVIND N. "A<strong>nan</strong>d's Englishmen: The British Presence in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk<br />
Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" WLWE 21.2 (Summer 1982):336-41.<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s youthful experience in the Punjab and hisn love <strong>of</strong> unmasking pretention result<br />
in a pervasive satirising <strong>of</strong> British claims to bring peace and justice to India. Outlines the<br />
exposé <strong>of</strong> exploitation in Two Leaves and a Bud. A<strong>nan</strong>d also shows (in Untouchable’s<br />
Bakha, and the Krishan <strong>of</strong> Seven Summers and Morning Face) the split in Indian<br />
consciousness between cultural rootedness and admiration for sahibs’ modern efficiency.<br />
British in his work are catalysts for Indians’ quest to recover their souls by sorting lifeaffirming<br />
values from life-denying ones.<br />
SHIVPURI, JAGDISH. “Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s The Road: An Interpretation” Littcrit 22&23,<br />
12. 1&2 (1986):19-26.<br />
Diffuse descriptive commentary.<br />
SINGH, AMARJIT. “Why are A<strong>nan</strong>d’s later Novels Unsuccessful?” Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 4.13 (1979): 60-67.<br />
Considers Untouchable, Seven Summers and Morning Face as examples <strong>of</strong> early,<br />
middle and late works to show increasing lack <strong>of</strong> attention to style (repetitious scenes,<br />
language unsuited to the narrator).<br />
SINGH, AMARJIT. "Private Life <strong>of</strong> an Indian Prince as a Novel <strong>of</strong> Protest" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 37 (1988):1-16.<br />
1) Identifies A<strong>nan</strong>d’s real purpose in writing this fiction as pointing toward the<br />
necessary revolutionary struggle still to come in India to redress the people’s oppression by
the disintegrating feudalism <strong>of</strong> the Maharajas and the bourgeois interests <strong>of</strong> the Praja Mandal<br />
(Congress Party in the Native States). 2) Concentrates on the theme <strong>of</strong> protest as unifying<br />
element in A<strong>nan</strong>d’s fictional treatment <strong>of</strong> political machinations in the rapidly changing India <strong>of</strong><br />
1947. 3) Ofers a Marxist approach centred on continuing class struggle as A<strong>nan</strong>d’s message<br />
conveyed through his fiction. 4) Marxist critique in 1988 seems hardly new in historical<br />
development <strong>of</strong> Indian English criticism.<br />
SINGH, SATYANARAIN ed. Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies special issue 11.1<br />
(1977)<br />
see KAKATIYA<br />
SINGH, SUNAINA. "Protest in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English<br />
Studies 17 (1981):123-33.<br />
SINHA, K.N. Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d New York: Twayne, 1973, 154 pp.<br />
SIVADASAN, C.P. "Two Proletarian Novels: Similarities in A<strong>nan</strong>d's Untouchable and<br />
Thakazhi's Thottiyude makan" Indian Literature 30.3 (May-June 1987):119-24.<br />
1) Both novels concerned with the issue <strong>of</strong> discrimination and its consequences on the<br />
lower caste untouchables. 2) Articulates similarities in character, setting, narrative technique<br />
and social commitment between A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Untouchable (1935) and Thakazhi’s The<br />
Scavenger’s Son (1947). 3) Comparative approach links fictions by similarity and difference.<br />
4) NA.<br />
SOOD. S.C. “The Return <strong>of</strong> the Prodigal: A Reading <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Untouchable”<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly 14.39 (1989):34-49.<br />
Argument founded on Gandhian Hinduism and rejection <strong>of</strong> British influence as viable<br />
way forward for Indian untouchables. Extensive character study <strong>of</strong> Bakha and his dilemma.<br />
Sociological analysis <strong>of</strong> untouchability and its denial <strong>of</strong> humanity.<br />
STEINVORTH, KLAUS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Private Life <strong>of</strong> an Indian Prince and Manohar<br />
Malgonkar's The Princes" The Literary Half-Yearly 14.1 (1973):76-91.<br />
Offers the suggestion that the maharajas aligned themselves with the British<br />
establishment and thereby alienated themselves from the Indian nationalist and proindependence<br />
forces. Analyses the role <strong>of</strong> the maharaja as a pivotal character in Western<br />
conceptions <strong>of</strong> the Indian way <strong>of</strong> life. Sociological study <strong>of</strong> the relationship between the<br />
maharajas and their subjects. Concludes with superficial psychological assessment <strong>of</strong> the<br />
maharajas suffering from the Oedipal Complex.<br />
STILZ, GERHARD. “Indian Autobiographies in English: Nehru and A<strong>nan</strong>d, for Instance” in<br />
MCDERMOTT, DOIREANN ed. Autobiographical and Biographical Writing in<br />
Commonwealth Literature Barcelona: Sabadell, 1984:209-213.<br />
Figures autobiography as an ellipse around locating the self and describing experience.<br />
Self is what resists absorption into description <strong>of</strong> the world, the private “changeability behind<br />
the continuity <strong>of</strong> imposed social roles”. Nehru’s Autobiography (1936) <strong>of</strong>fers mostly external<br />
reflections, fleeting introspective moments explained away as his “inclination to escape into<br />
action”. A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Apology for Heroism (1946) alludes to Gandhi but works with<br />
Hegelian/Marxist ideas. His concept <strong>of</strong> evolving belief/spiritual development allows an openended<br />
narration <strong>of</strong> self-correction.
SUDHAKAR, PREMILA PAUL. "Major Themes in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d" in<br />
NAIK, M.K. Perspectives on Indian Fiction in English New Delhi: Abhinav Publications,<br />
1985 1-12.<br />
THARU, SUSIE. “Reading against the Imperial Grain: Intertextuality, Narrative Structure and<br />
Liberal Humanism in Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Untouchable” Jadavpur Journal <strong>of</strong> Comparative<br />
Literature 24 (1986): 60-71.<br />
Works from Guha’s inspection <strong>of</strong> “significatory apparatus” to critique the production <strong>of</strong><br />
untouchability as ‘social problem’ under colonialism, using his three-part model <strong>of</strong> counter -<br />
insurgent history: actual record, British historiographic reatiling <strong>of</strong> it and <strong>india</strong>n nationalist<br />
absorbption <strong>of</strong> peasant rebellions into a continuous history <strong>of</strong> bourgeois freedom struggle.<br />
How does a nationalist social reformer like A<strong>nan</strong>d “become accomplice to a programme in<br />
which the oppressed, waiting for civilization to be brought to them [as a water closet],<br />
continue to be a source <strong>of</strong> cheap, but proud labour?” Apparently breaking with the<br />
traditionalist revivialism <strong>of</strong> nationalism, and locating the question <strong>of</strong> untouchability in the<br />
common person rather than elite debate, A<strong>nan</strong>d creates a Lukacs individualised-typical hero<br />
worthy <strong>of</strong> human consideration, but as a human defined by liberal values infused with<br />
imperialist ideology: he is instinctive and childlike and isolated from collective action as he<br />
approaches individualised consciousness. Bhaka’s eye is really the narrating eye <strong>of</strong> the<br />
anthropological outsider objectifying and orientalising Indian society and its primitive subgroup.<br />
Close reading and deconstructive discoure analysis.<br />
VARALAKSHMI, P. "Lament on the Death <strong>of</strong> a Master <strong>of</strong> Arts: An Analysis" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 7.2 (1980):82-7.<br />
Mixes concepts <strong>of</strong> existentialism, Greek tragedy and the Miltonic hero. in a structural<br />
study. Exploits Aristotleian concepts as basic structures for A<strong>nan</strong>d's writing scheme.<br />
VENUGOPAL, C.V. "Bakha's Deliverance: A Consideration <strong>of</strong> the Last Part <strong>of</strong><br />
Untouchable" Journal <strong>of</strong> the Karnatak <strong>University</strong>: Humanities 21 (1977):106-110.<br />
VENUGOPAL, C.V. "Munoo and Mrs Mainwaring: A Note on the Last Chapter <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's<br />
Coolie" Journal <strong>of</strong> the Karnatak <strong>University</strong>: Humanities 19 (1975):110-16.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE. Studies in Modern Indian Fiction in English 2 Vols.<br />
Calcutta: Writers' Workshop, 1973.
A<strong>nan</strong>tanaraya<strong>nan</strong>, M.<br />
RAMACHANDRA, R. "The Silver Pilgrimage: A Belated Response" The Literary Criterion<br />
14.1 (1980):73-8.<br />
Arora, V.N.<br />
TRIKHA, M. "V.N. Arora's Sons and Fathers: A Brief Study" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 13.1 (1985):59-63.<br />
Aurobindo, Sri<br />
BHATNAGAR, K.C. "Aurobindo's Savitri as 'The Future <strong>of</strong> Poetry'" PURBA 3.2<br />
(1972):87-96.<br />
BHATTA, S. KRISHNA. "Sri Aurobindo's Vasavadutta." In Aspects <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English, edited by M. K. Naik, 248-61. New Delhi: Macmillan, 1979.<br />
Aurobindo <strong>of</strong>ten deviates from the original story in Kathasaritsagara which he<br />
mentions as his source. He highlights the romantic aspect, using the hero Vuthsa to symbolize<br />
the patriotic urges <strong>of</strong> a subjugated nation. Aurobindo casts a purely Indian legend into the<br />
Elizabethan five-act mould. The play would have been more effective and stageworthy if he<br />
had followed the rich dramatic tradition <strong>of</strong> India.<br />
CHATTERJEE, KALIKA RANJAN. "The Philosophical Themes in Sri Aurobindo's Perseus<br />
the Deliverer." in Indian Writing in English, edited by Krishna Nandan Sinha, 147-55. New<br />
Delhi: Heritage Publishers, 1979.<br />
Aurobindo wrote five verse plays during the Baroda period, when philosophical ideas<br />
were crystallising in his mind. The legend <strong>of</strong> Perseus takes on a universal character, and is<br />
used to express Aurobindo's view <strong>of</strong> life. By presenting the old god Poseidon as a foil to<br />
Athene, Aurobindo shows the evolution <strong>of</strong> the idea <strong>of</strong> God from a vindictive deity to a humane<br />
one. From the philosophic point <strong>of</strong> view, Perseus is the representative <strong>of</strong> the high god on<br />
earth; his mission is to save mankind. Perseus and Andromeda stand for the creative principle<br />
<strong>of</strong> life; they are associated with light, while animal imagery is used for Poseidon. The worship<br />
<strong>of</strong> Poseidon symbolizes the Asuric (dark and violent) life forces, which are mastered and<br />
transformed by the redeeming power <strong>of</strong> love, represented by Perseus and Andromeda.<br />
DESHPANDE, P.S. "Sri Aurobindo's Savitri: a Key to Integral Perfection" in AMUR, G.S.,<br />
PRASAD, V.R.N., NEMADE, B.V. & NIHALANI, N.H., eds. Indian Readings in<br />
Commonwealth Literature New York: Apt; 1985: New Delhi: Sterling, 1985: 59-70.<br />
DESHPANDE, R.Y. "'Sathyavan Must Die': A Discourse apropos <strong>of</strong> a Phrase in Sri<br />
Aurobindo's Savithri" Mother India, no.? (1990): 413-415, 624-627, 682-686, 768-771,<br />
813-816,<br />
DESHPANDE, R.Y. "Savitri's House <strong>of</strong> Meditation" Mother India 42.1 (1989): 61-7; 41.2<br />
(1989): 135-41.<br />
DESHPANDE, R.Y. "The Message <strong>of</strong> Vyasa's Savitri" Mother India 42.3 (1989): 205-9;<br />
42.4 (1989): 273-80.
DEVY, G.M. "Sri Aurobindo's 'Sources <strong>of</strong> Poetry' and Indian Poetry in English" The Literary<br />
Criterion 19.2 (1984):25-36.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. A Study <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo's 'Savitri' and Other Select Poems Bareilly:<br />
Prakash, 1989.<br />
GHATAK, NIRMALYA. Sri Aurobindo: The Poet and Thinker Howrah: Privately published,<br />
1898, 285pp.<br />
GHOSE, S.K. "Shelley and Sri Aurobindo: Two Poetics or One?' ACLALS Bulletin 4th<br />
Series 5 (1977):76-9.<br />
GHOSE, SISIR KUMAR. "Sri Aurobindo's Gita: A Short Survey" 174-80 in Sharma, T.R.,<br />
ed. Influence <strong>of</strong> Bhagavadgita on Literature Written in English Meerut: Shalabh, 1988, xxxiv +<br />
277 pp.<br />
GHOSE, SISIR KUMAR. "The Basic Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo" in SHARMA, K.K. ed.<br />
Indo-English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977:<br />
47-59.<br />
HEEHS, PETER. Sri Aurobindo, A Brief Biography Delhi & New York: Oxford <strong>University</strong><br />
Press, 1989, x+172pp.<br />
HICKS, RAND. A Savitri Dictionary Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1984, 55 pp.<br />
INDRA__, C.T. "The Use <strong>of</strong> the Andromeda Myth in Perseus the Deliverer." Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
South Asian Literature. 24, no.1 (1989): 50-66.<br />
Aurobindo's literary works are so complex that no consensus <strong>of</strong> critical opinion is<br />
possible. Use <strong>of</strong> the Greek myth <strong>of</strong>fers a complement as well as a contrast to Hopkins' sonnet<br />
"Andromeda". Indra considers structure, imagery, characterization, and language. Perseus and<br />
Andromeda are associated with light, while animal imagery expresses the regressive forces <strong>of</strong><br />
the monster and Polydaon. Aurobindo's characterization is demonstrated with help <strong>of</strong> a chart;<br />
the principle <strong>of</strong> transformation is important. The character <strong>of</strong> Perissus the butcher provides<br />
comic relief. Aurobindo follows the conventional Elizabethan alteration <strong>of</strong> prose and verse in<br />
drama, and his language has vitality.<br />
IYENGAR, K.R. SRINIVASA. Dawn to Greater Dawn: Six Lectures on 'Savitri' (??)<br />
IYENGAR, K.R. SRINIVASA. "Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine" in NAIK, M.K. ed.<br />
Perspectives on Indian Prose in English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 104-23. Also Atlantic<br />
Highlands: Humanities, 1982.<br />
JACOB, G. Guide to Sri Aurobindo's Epic, 'Savitri' Vol. 1, Pondicherry: Dipti Pblns, 1973.<br />
JIT, LILLE MADAN. “Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri—A Vista Beyond Faith” PURBA 17.2<br />
(1986):3-16.<br />
Surveys critical assessement <strong>of</strong> Aurobindo to show how it is warped by critics being mostly<br />
devotees who attribute ambiguity to spiritual pr<strong>of</strong>undity, Aurobindo having claimed<br />
transcendental inspiration for his verse. Savitri however, is not a traditional Indian epic, being
written in English and in a combination <strong>of</strong> epical form and intuitive gush. Images lack a<br />
material base with which to grip the reader and arguing that the text speaks to the soul without<br />
addressing the intellect is no defense, especially when the poem is replete with didactic<br />
philosophy. The syntax is artificial and the material unsuited to an epic drama, though<br />
occasionally we hear a personal anguish as the poet struggles to answer imponderable<br />
questions.<br />
KALAMANI, N. & RAMAMURTHY, K.S. "Sri Aurobindo's 'Songs to Myrtilla'"<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly 28 (1984):32-42.<br />
KALLURY, SYAMALA. Symbolism in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo New Delhi: Abhinav<br />
PUblications, 1989, 122pp.<br />
KULKARNI, S.S. "The Plays <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo." In Perspectives on Indian Drama in English<br />
edited by Naik, M.K. & S. Mokashi-Punekar, 1-15. Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Aurobindo's indifference to having his plays staged has led to their being treated as closet<br />
dramas.<br />
KULKARNI, S.S. The Plays <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo: A Study. Goa: Rajhans Publishers, 1990,<br />
146pp.<br />
After analysing the plays (mainly thematically and in terms <strong>of</strong> stagecraft), concludes<br />
that they are closet drama not because <strong>of</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> stageability but because <strong>of</strong> changed times<br />
and circumstances. Appendix (pp. 125-43) contains outlines <strong>of</strong> the plots <strong>of</strong> The Viziers <strong>of</strong><br />
Bassora, Rodogune, Perseus the Deliverer, and Eric.<br />
KUMARI, SHYAM. "'Suddenness' in Savitri" Mother India 39.8 (1986):502-8.<br />
KUMARI, SHYAM. "Humour in the Plays <strong>of</strong> Aurobindo" Mother India 6.4 (1987):220-6 &<br />
6.5 (1987):286-92; Mother India 40.7 (1987):433-8, 40.8 (1987):497-507, 40.9<br />
(1987):582-7, 40.10 (1987):644-9, 40.11 (1987):718-24 & 40.12 (1987):810-14.<br />
KUMARI, SHYAM. "Humour in the Plays <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo"; "Perseus the Deliverer"<br />
Mother India 41 (1988):45-51; 128-34; 183-9; "The Prince <strong>of</strong> Edur" Mother India 41<br />
(1988):261-5; 411-16; 469-74.<br />
KUMARI, SHYAM. "Spirituality in the Early Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo" Mother India 39.11<br />
(1986):683-89 and 39.12 (1986):765-72.<br />
KUMARI, SHYAM. "The Spirit <strong>of</strong> Indian Nationalism in Sri Aurobindo's Earliest Poems"<br />
Mother India 39.6 (1986):354-63.<br />
KUMARI, SHYAM. "Two Short Poems <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo: A Comparison" Mother India<br />
39.4 (1986): 222-25.<br />
LALITHA, K.S. "Sri Aurobindo's Perseus the Deliverer: An Approach." Mother India 23,<br />
no.8 (1970): 427-31; no.9: 518-21; no.10: 694-96.<br />
Aurobindo widens the implications <strong>of</strong> the Greek myth to present an Indian insight into<br />
life. The characters are developed as individuals. Andromeda is not a helpless puppet, she is<br />
an awe-inspiring figure with a will <strong>of</strong> her own, reminding one <strong>of</strong> Indian heroines like Savitri.
Perseus is primarily an instrument <strong>of</strong> the gods, but he is motivated by love for his fellow human<br />
beings. The play can be seen as a romantic love story, as a tragedy <strong>of</strong> Polydaon the evil priest,<br />
or as a depiction <strong>of</strong> the struggle between good and evil. Aurobindo has woven the idea <strong>of</strong> the<br />
evolution <strong>of</strong> consciousness into the play.<br />
LALITHA, K.S. “Aurobindo’s views on poetry” Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 1.1<br />
(1973): 81-85.<br />
Summary <strong>of</strong> three elements <strong>of</strong> creativity (source <strong>of</strong> inspiration, force <strong>of</strong> beauty and transmitting<br />
agent) and three levels <strong>of</strong> creation (feeling, mind, soul). Art mediates between the concrete<br />
and the immaterial. The true critic must be fully attuned to the work through the ‘overmind’<br />
and mystic poetry is the highest achievement.<br />
MENON, K.P.K. A.S.P. Ayyar Madras: Macmillan, 1980, 30 pp.<br />
MISHRA, D.S. Poetry and Philosophy in Sri Aurobindo's 'Savitri' New Delhi: Harman<br />
Publishing House, 1989, 131pp.<br />
MISHRA, D.S. "Savitri as an Epic <strong>of</strong> the Soul" PURBA 15.2 (October 1984):13-23.<br />
MISHRA, NANDA KISHORE. "French Symbolist Aesthetics and SriAurobindo's Poetics"<br />
Mother India 41.12 (1988):842-8.<br />
NADKARNI, MANGESH. Savitri: A Brief Introduction Four Talks Pondicherry: Sri<br />
Aurobindo Society, 1985.<br />
NAIK, M.K. “Idylls <strong>of</strong> the Occult: The Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Aurobindo” the <strong>india</strong>n literary<br />
review 1.5-6 (1978): 17-25.<br />
Unlike other literary forms, the story in Aurobindo’s output began with two in Bengali. Four in<br />
English (only one a fully-fledged short story) appeared attempting to use the occult in<br />
narrative. Summarises the stories, finding influences <strong>of</strong> Poe, Hawthorne and Co<strong>nan</strong> Doyle and<br />
a control <strong>of</strong> suspense, atmospherics and swift pace leading to climax. Characters combine<br />
unusual sensitivity with scepticism. The stories are glimpses <strong>of</strong> “tantalising artistic possibilities”<br />
unrealised.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. “Sri Aurobindo’s Eric: A Dramatic Romance” Littcrit 3, 2.2<br />
(1976):22-25.<br />
Aurobindo was influenced by Shakespearean verse drama, adding in his own vision <strong>of</strong><br />
deliverance from conflict and ascent to higher consciousness. In a tale <strong>of</strong> warriors and revenge<br />
from Scandinavia, Eric sets up a struggle between love and hate, raw power and spiritual<br />
wisdom. Allegorical connections are drawn with the independence movement: freedom by the<br />
sword is not sufficient; moral liberation and persuasion will be more productive, reflectin<br />
Aurobindo’s own shift from political to spiritual action.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. "Perseus the Deliverer." in Perspectives on Indian Drama in<br />
English edited by Naik, M.K. & S. Mokashi-Punekar, 16-40. Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Sri Aurobindo wrote this play when caught up in the freedom movement. The appearance <strong>of</strong> a<br />
hero and the deliverance <strong>of</strong> a captive nation were recurrent subjects. This five-act play <strong>of</strong><br />
absorbing dramatic interest projects Aurobindo's favourite theme <strong>of</strong> earth's evolutionary<br />
progress.
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. A Comparative Study <strong>of</strong> The Divine Comedy and Savitri<br />
Madras: Affiliated East-West Press, 1981, 160 pp.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. "Savitri and The Divine Comedy." The Humanties Review 3,<br />
no.2 (1981):24-5.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. "Sri Aurobindo: The Prose Canon." In Perspectives on Indian<br />
Prose in English edited by M.K. Naik, 72-103. New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982. Also Atlantic<br />
Highlands: Humanities, 1982.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. Sri Aurobindo: A Critical Introduction New Delhi: Sterling,<br />
1988, 128 pp.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. "Sri Aurobindo as a Writer <strong>of</strong> English Prose" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English. 17, no.2 (1989): 1-7.<br />
NARASIMHAIAH, C.D. "Aurobindo: Inaugurator <strong>of</strong> Modern Indian Criticism" Literary<br />
Criterion 15.2 (1980):13-31.<br />
PANDIT, M.P. Essays on 'Savitri' 5 vols.[??]<br />
PANDIT, M.P. Introducing 'Savitri' Pondicherry: Dipti Publications, 1982, 79 pp.<br />
PANDIT, M.P. Readings in Savithri Part X Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1977, 741<br />
pp.<br />
PANDIT, M.P. The Book <strong>of</strong> Beginnings: Talks on Sri Aurobindo's Savitri Book One<br />
Pondicherry: Dipti Publications, 1983.<br />
PHILLIPS, STEPHEN H. "The Central Argument <strong>of</strong> Aurobindo's The Life Divine" PE&W<br />
35.3 (July 1985):271-84.<br />
PRASAD, S.K. The Literary Criticism <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo with Special Reference to Poetry<br />
Patna, Bharati Bhavan, 1973, 487 pp.<br />
RAJNATH, "Sri Aurobindo and T.S. Eliot as Critics" ACLALS Bulletin 4th Series 5<br />
(1977):52-7.<br />
RAM, ATMA & BINDRA, D. “Sri Aurobindo’s Sonnets: A Thematic Study” Triveni 56.1<br />
(1987):11-18.<br />
Most criticism deals with the epics; considers 58 dated sonnets <strong>of</strong> the collected 77, arguing<br />
that Aurobindo’s intellectual and spiritual powers “crystallised” rather than declined. Some<br />
poems show the “struggle for release from... material bonds” while most “embody concrete<br />
experiences in the metaphysical plane”, the soul suffused with blissful glimpses <strong>of</strong> divine<br />
harmony. Notes a humorous touch in “A Dream <strong>of</strong> Surreal Science” and contrasts Whitman’s<br />
“adventures with the Self” to Aurobindo’s more spiritual soul journey.
RAMAMURTI, K.S. & KAMALANI N. “Sri Aurobindo’s ‘Songs to Myrtilla—A<br />
Note”Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28 (1984): 32-42.<br />
Early poems have a greater English and Greek classical flavour than later, more Indian verse<br />
and are more youthfully sensuous. Makes comparison to Milton’s poetic development.<br />
RANCHAN, SOM P. "The Aesthetics <strong>of</strong> Aurobindo" in PRASAD, R.C. & SHARMA,<br />
R.K., eds. Modern Studies and Other Essays in Honour <strong>of</strong> Dr R.K. Sinha New Delhi: Vikas,<br />
1987: 224-38.<br />
RANCHAN, SOM P. & BINDRA, DAVINDAR. “Savitri-Satyavan-Coniunctio on Sri<br />
Aurobindo’s Savitri”Ken: a Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies and Creative Writing 2.<br />
(1986):13-24.<br />
Concentrates on Books 4 and 5, <strong>of</strong>fering descriptive commentary centred on the love theme<br />
and its translation <strong>of</strong> the physical-emotional to the spiritual-cosmic level.<br />
RAO, V. MADHUSUDAN. Savitri: Epic <strong>of</strong> the Eternal Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram,<br />
1984, 150 pp.<br />
ROARKE, JESSE. Sri Aurobindo Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1973, xv + 189 pp.<br />
SARMA, S. KRISHNA. Seeds <strong>of</strong> Grandeur: Commentary on Some Poems <strong>of</strong> Sri<br />
Aurobindo Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1982, 96 pp.<br />
SETHNA, K.D. Sri Aurobindo - The Poet<br />
SETHNA, K.D. "The Biggest Puzzle in the Text <strong>of</strong> Savithri" Mother India, 11, (1990): 745-<br />
54.<br />
SINGH, R.K. "The Poet <strong>of</strong> Savitri: A Study in Romantic Strain" The Literary Endeavour<br />
4.1&2 (1982):39-50.<br />
Plcaes Aurobindo as a Romantic visionary <strong>of</strong> sipritual fulfilment. His theory <strong>of</strong> the Imagination<br />
expresses kant’s and Novalis’s ideas on intuition in an <strong>india</strong>n context, where inner vision<br />
serves universal spiritual evolution as the soul is an aspect <strong>of</strong> cosmic reality. Compares<br />
Aurobindo’s work to The Prelude, looking to archetypal patterns beneath perception to<br />
convey the spiritual significance <strong>of</strong> phenomena, and also to In Memoriam where the deeper<br />
transpersonal love <strong>of</strong> the conclusion is likened to the archetypal love <strong>of</strong> Savithri for Satyavan.<br />
Browning also dramatised “the quest for self knowledge” through symbols <strong>of</strong> inner experience<br />
but without Aurobindo’s mythopoeic grounding.<br />
SINGH, R.K. “Emily Dickinson and Sri Aurobindo: An ‘Overhead’ Confluence <strong>of</strong> Love, Life<br />
and Death” Littcrit 17, 9.2 (1983): 40-52.<br />
Reads Dickinson through Aurobindo’s ideas about poetry and spiritual evolution, finding a<br />
mystic visionary core in Dickinson’s “poetic sadhana” similar to his. Commentary on Savitri.<br />
SINGH, R.K. Savitri: A Spiritual Epic Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984, iv + 164 pp.<br />
SINGH, R.K. Savitri: A Spritual Epic bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1989, 150pp.
SINGH, R.K. "Some Reflections on the Mythical Construction <strong>of</strong> Death in Sri Aurobindo's<br />
Savitri" Littcrit 7.2 (1981):27-35.<br />
SINGH, R.K. “Isis-Osiris: A Deconstruction in Savitri” Ken: a Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies<br />
and Creative Writing 1. (1982-3):25-29.<br />
Puts Savitri in an archetypal context <strong>of</strong> muse-primal Mother whose task is to lead man to<br />
enlightenment. Satyavan’s death and resurrection figures the shift from lower to higher spiritual<br />
states, and instead <strong>of</strong> living happily ever after, as in the traditional tale, he must help Savitri<br />
lead humanity towards the divine. The text is multiform, asking for active reader collaboration<br />
in porbing deeper levels <strong>of</strong> significiance. Draws a parallel with the Isis-Osiris myth. (Nothing<br />
to do with deconstruction).<br />
SINGH, SATYA PRAKASH. Sri Aurobindo and Jung Aligarh: Madhucchandas<br />
Publications, 1986, 239 pp.<br />
SINHA, A.K. The Dramatic Art <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo. New Delhi: Chand, 1980.<br />
THARU, SUSIE J. "Savitri's Pedigree" New Quest 40 (1983):213-20.<br />
TYAGI, PREM. Sri Aurobindo: His Poetry and Poetic Theory Saharanpur: Ashir Prakashan,<br />
1988, 214 pp.<br />
VAN DIJK, ALPHONS. European Influences on Sri Aurobindo's Thought The Indian<br />
P.E.N. 46.1&2 (1984):8-18.<br />
VARALAKSHMI, B. "Mothers in Sri Aurobindo's Plays and Savitri" Mother India 38.12<br />
(1985):810-19.<br />
Ayyar, A.S.P<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA, "Drama with a Message: A.S.P. Ayyar's Sita's Choice" in Studies in<br />
Indian Writing in English with a Focus on Indian English Drama, New Delhi: Prestige Books,<br />
1990:7-12.<br />
Aziz, Nasima<br />
ABIDI, S.Z.H. "Mary Ann Dasgupta and Nasima Aziz - Two Alien Voices" in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary<br />
Indo-English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash<br />
Book Depot, 1985:164-73.<br />
DASGUPTA, MARY ANN. “Nasima Aziz” Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28 (1984): 53-<br />
56.<br />
Compares her directness to Kamala Das and looks for a shift from telling us what she thinks<br />
and does to communication what it means to the poet. Records her protests at the confined<br />
lives <strong>of</strong> women and praises her immediate and unusual images.<br />
Bandyopadhyaya, Pranab<br />
BANDYOPADYHAY,ARNAB.Pranab Bandyopadhyaya:Interpretations Calcutta: United<br />
Writers, 1980.
BHATNAGAR, O.P. "Urbanity and Ruralism in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Pranab Bandyopadhyay" in<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1986:134-45.<br />
CHOWDHURY, KABIR. "Pranab Bandyopadhyay" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:243-50.<br />
MACHWE, PRABHAKAR. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Pranab Bandyopadhyay" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 6 (1978):28-38.<br />
Basu, Romen<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY. "Harivansh Batra's Quest Beyond Matter: A Study <strong>of</strong> Sunrise in Fiji" in<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New<br />
Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 45-55.<br />
RAO, D.S.. "Portrait on the Ro<strong>of</strong>: A Novel by Romen Basu" Indian Literature 24.4 (July-<br />
August 1981):156-62.<br />
Bharati<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. Bharati (Subramania or the Classical writer or the poet?)<br />
SATCHIDANANDAM, V. Whitman and Bharati (the poet? classical?)<br />
VIJAYA, BHARATI S. "The Other Harmony: A Study <strong>of</strong> Bharati's Prose Writings" [F 129]<br />
2 (1972):116-21. [??]<br />
Bhatnagar, O.P.<br />
BAGHMAR, B.S., ed. The Vision and the Voice: Studies in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> O.P. Bhatnager<br />
Vol. I 183pp Vol II 161pp Vol III 98pp Nagpur: Vishwa Bharati Prakashan, 1987.<br />
BARCHE, G.D. "A Stylistic Analysis <strong>of</strong> O.P. Bhatnagar's Poem: 'Man is Lived'" in SINGH,<br />
R.K. ed. Indian English Writing 1981-1985: Experiments with Expression New Delhi: Bahri<br />
Publications, 1987: 126-32.<br />
CHAR, SHREE RAMA. "Symbols <strong>of</strong> Road and Journey in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> O.P. Bhatnagar" in<br />
RAM, ATMA. ed. Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989:<br />
149-57.<br />
KASTURE, P.S. "Symbolism in O.P. Bhatnagar's Poetry" WLWE 27.1 (Spring 1987):131-<br />
38.<br />
KASTURI, P.S. "O.P. Bhatnagar: The Poet <strong>of</strong> Integral Existence" Poetry 12 (1986):21-36.<br />
Loose discussion <strong>of</strong> Bhatnagar’s links to existentialism, quoting his dicta on poetry, religion,<br />
the centrality <strong>of</strong> human experience. Bhatnagar writes <strong>of</strong> the suffering <strong>of</strong> disbelief but is not<br />
despairing, showing a “gaiety <strong>of</strong> anguish” and reconciling himself to fallen humanity.
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. "O.P. Bhatnagar's Poetry: The Meaningful Glance" in<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1984:216-33.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. “HERE AND NOW A Study in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> O.P. Bhatnagar”<br />
New Literary Horizons 3.1 (1988): 79-84.<br />
Bhatnagar insists on present reality while protesting its inequities and conflicts and human<br />
suffering.<br />
PATHAK, R.S. "The Nativization <strong>of</strong> English in India: O.P. Bhatnagar's Exploitation <strong>of</strong> Lexical<br />
Resources" in SINGH, R.K. ed. Indian English Writing 1981-1985: Experiments with<br />
Expression New Delhi: Bahri Publications, 1987: 99-124.<br />
SAHU, N.S. "Metaphor and Symbol in O.P. Bhatnagar's Poetry" in DAS, BIJAY KUMAR<br />
ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1986: 111-23.<br />
SINGH, R.K. "O.P. Bhatnagar's Poetry: Average is Large" World Literature Today 59.1<br />
(Winter 1985):44-6.<br />
Bhatt, Sujata<br />
EHLING, HOLGER G. "Autorinnenportrait: Sujata Bhatt (Indien)" Literaturnachrichten<br />
Afrika-Asien-Lateinamerika 23 (1989):14-16. lang? genre?<br />
Bhattacharya, Bhabani<br />
AMEERUDDIN, SYED. "Social Commitment in Bhattacharya's Novels" Littcrit 7<br />
(1978):20-30.<br />
Perceives political protest against social evils afflicting India as the underlying message<br />
in the <strong>author</strong>'s novels. Commitment to humanist values permeates these fictions. The <strong>author</strong>'s<br />
work calls for a realignment <strong>of</strong> social forces as the only practical possibility for change in the<br />
country's future.<br />
ARULANDRAM, H.G.S. "Bhabani Bhattacharya's Novels" Triveni 46.3 (1980):68-73.<br />
Bhattacharya is a novelist concerned with changing social reality and ameliorating the<br />
conditions <strong>of</strong> the poor. Lists the various themes in his oeuvre. Advocates the responsibility <strong>of</strong><br />
the artist to plead for a better world.<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM M. “ Form, Technique and Style in Bhabani Bhattacharya’s Novels”<br />
Littcrit 8, 5.1 (1979): 29-37.<br />
All his work uses social realist technique: omniscient narrator moving an ideal character<br />
through a socio-historical backdrop (Quit India, the Bengal famine, the Chinese invasion).<br />
Exposing social evils, Bhattacharya always shows the innate goodness <strong>of</strong> man. He has<br />
rounded characters but sometimes reverts to types in order to portray mass upheaval. Music<br />
for Mohini is less successful than the more concentrated So Many Hungers. He Who Rides<br />
a Tiger balances satire with entertainment. A Goddess Named Gold and Shadow from<br />
Ladakh lack intensity and depth. Charts the characteristic use <strong>of</strong> irony (both Socratic and<br />
dramatic) and notes the use <strong>of</strong> Indian proverbs, interrogative formations and composite<br />
adjectives, finding naturalness sacrificed to local colour. Portraying rural India is a strength.
BHATT, P.N. "The Impact <strong>of</strong> Gandhi on Bhabani Bhattacharya's Novels"Triveni 54.3<br />
(1985): 83-85.<br />
Traces the <strong>author</strong>’s commitment to Gandhi’s beliefs and practices. Claims Shadow<br />
from Ladakh (1966) based on Gandhian philosophy and values. Character study <strong>of</strong> Satyajit.<br />
BHATTACHARYA, BHABANI. "Women in my Stories." Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 3.2 (1975): 1-6.<br />
Identifies "human richness" as the key factor in his women figures. Claims women have<br />
an innate capacity for value adaptation. Traces the importance <strong>of</strong> the images <strong>of</strong> the<br />
grandmother in the short story,"Steel Hawk", and the destitute girl in So Many Hungers<br />
(1947). Moral evaluation <strong>of</strong> women characters finds more depth in them than the male<br />
characters.<br />
CHANDRASEKHARAN, K. R. Bhabani Bhattacharya New Delhi:<br />
Arnold-Heinemann, 1974, 180pp.<br />
Perceives the <strong>author</strong> advocating a synthesis <strong>of</strong> Gandhi’s asceticism and Tagore’s<br />
aestheticism producing a philosophy <strong>of</strong> compromise and reconciliation. Examines the <strong>author</strong>’s<br />
purpose in depicting truth as he see it. Focuses on the transformation <strong>of</strong> character operating<br />
within a formulation <strong>of</strong> synthesis which eventuates in equilibrium and harmony.<br />
DESAI, S.K. "Bhabani Bhattacharya: The Writer Who Rides a Tiger" in NAIK, M.K.<br />
Perspectives on Indian Fiction in English New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1985: 119-34.<br />
DHAR, T.N. "Bhabani Bhattacharya's He Who Rides a Tiger: The Role-Playing Matrix" in<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA., ed. Studies in Indian Fiction in English Gulbarga: JIWE<br />
Publications, 1987: 93-103.<br />
FISHER, MARLENE. "Personal and Social change in Bhattacharya's Novels" World<br />
Literature Written in English 12 (1973):288-96.<br />
Finds Bhattacharya's oeuvre implies that inner personal growth and outer social<br />
change are inextricably interrelated and must keep pace with one another. Reveals the central<br />
motifs in his work as 1) the need for reform, 2) reconciliation <strong>of</strong> the two conflicting means to<br />
improvement, 3) removal <strong>of</strong> British imperialism is connected to radically transforming native<br />
greed and selfishness into a better India for all. Traces universalist values in his work.<br />
FISHER, MARLENE. "The Women in Bhattacharya's Novels" World Literature Written in<br />
English 11.1 (1972):95-108.<br />
The <strong>author</strong>’s representation <strong>of</strong> women stems from his linking them to the Hindu<br />
worship <strong>of</strong> the Sacred Cow, Gaumata, and to the Hindu concept <strong>of</strong> Shakti. Offers character<br />
studies <strong>of</strong> Chandra Lekha, Kajoli, Mohini, Meera and Suruchi as examples <strong>of</strong> Shakti in<br />
action. Finds his depiction <strong>of</strong> women sensitive, sympathetic and successful because they are<br />
able to take on a life <strong>of</strong> their own beyond the context <strong>of</strong> their novels.<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. "Coming to Terms with Gandhi: Shadow From Ladakh" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 3.2 (1975):20-23.<br />
Considers Shadow From Ladakh (1966) as a probe <strong>of</strong> the validity and relevance <strong>of</strong><br />
Gandian ethics to postindependence India. Perceives the character <strong>of</strong> Satyajit as the<br />
representative <strong>of</strong> the form and Bhaskar, the content, <strong>of</strong> Gandhi. Gandian moral evaluation<br />
differentiates between the form and content <strong>of</strong> the guru's message.
PANDIA, MAHENDRA N. "Relevance <strong>of</strong> Bhattacharya's Fiction" The Indian PEN 50.10-<br />
12 (1989): 6-10.<br />
Sociological accuracy contributes social realistic impulse to the <strong>author</strong>'s work. Notes<br />
Bhattacharya's sensitivity to humankind's mistreatment <strong>of</strong> their fellow human beings.<br />
RAMACHANDRA, P. “The Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Bhabani Bhattacharya” The Literary<br />
Endeavour 6.1-4 (1985): 68-82.<br />
Takes issue with Dorothy Blair Shimer over the status <strong>of</strong> the short stories. Bhattacharya<br />
creates spontaneously and destroys unsatisfactory work. The 15 stories available show a<br />
range <strong>of</strong> human experiences and “puncture... pomposities with a good-humoured sympathy”.<br />
The occasional exaggerated situation is part <strong>of</strong> comic caricature and there is psychological<br />
insight into character.<br />
RAO, A.V. KRISHNA.”Shadow from Ladakh: A Critical Viewpoint” The Literary<br />
Endeavour 1.2 (1979): 77-80.<br />
Distinguishes Bhattachaya’s naturalism from A<strong>nan</strong>d, Abbas, Premchand and Tagore. The<br />
Chinese invasion takes him away from Gandhian values into modern Realpolitik. In a framing<br />
drama <strong>of</strong> tradition versus modernity, economic determinism is the primary force for change.<br />
RAO, B. SYAMALA. Bhabani Bhattacharya Madras: Blackie & Son, 1988, 167 pp.<br />
RAO, B. SYAMALA. "Dr. Bhabani Bhattacharya as a Novelist" Triveni 40.1 (1971):35-40.<br />
Assesses Bhattacharya's writing as entirely socially purposeful. Focuses on the<br />
themes <strong>of</strong> poverty and hunger and their effect on human degradation. Seeks to confirm him as<br />
a social realist in the style <strong>of</strong> Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d.<br />
SARMA, S. KRISHNA & RANGAN, V. "What is in Dream — A Critical Appraisal <strong>of</strong><br />
Bhabhabi Bhattacharya's A Dream in Hawaii" The Literary Endeavour 1.3 (1980): 85-96.<br />
The book fails to advance Bhattacharya's art, although it canvasses the themes <strong>of</strong><br />
East-West encounter, the sickness <strong>of</strong> modern society and the the search for the self.<br />
Persuaded to renunciation by a beloved student Devjani, Pr<strong>of</strong> Neeloy turns ascetic and is<br />
persuaded to teach vedanta in Hawaii by a Fulbright scholar Stella. Exploited and<br />
compromised by academics there, he returns to India, leaving a circle <strong>of</strong> characters variously<br />
affected: Jennifer, a rich widow finds solace; the opportunistic Dr Swift assumes a fake<br />
orientalism; Walt, Stella's estranged husband, loses some <strong>of</strong> his scepticism and hedonism;<br />
Devjani has developed her intellect and accepted physicality and sex in the West. Devjani's<br />
character is complex but not clearly delineated and her final confirmtion <strong>of</strong> Neeloy as<br />
Yoga<strong>nan</strong>da is not altogether convincing. Neeloy is also a person <strong>of</strong> dualities, an ordinary<br />
person pushed into a role that he both fails in and fulfils, but his growth occurs only in the final<br />
moments <strong>of</strong> the novel and there is no fabric <strong>of</strong> irony as there is in Narayan's The Guide<br />
(though the article cites several ironic reversals). Bhattacharya loads the dice against western<br />
decadence but fails to create a basis for a serious vedantic alternative.<br />
SHARMA, K.K. "Bhabani Bhattacharya's So Many Hungers! An Affirmative Vision <strong>of</strong> Life"<br />
in SHARMA, K.K. ed. Indo-English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, Ghaziabad:<br />
Vimal Prakashan, 1977: 201-14.
SHARMA, K. K.Bhabani Bhattacharya: His Vision and Themes New Delhi: Abhinav<br />
Publications, 1979.<br />
Perceives two basic themes, hunger for food and political freedom, pervade this<br />
<strong>author</strong>'s fiction. Reveals a synthesis <strong>of</strong> opposites as Bhattacharya's expression <strong>of</strong> the Indian<br />
ideal <strong>of</strong> unity in diversity. Focuses on the need for economic and social freedom in the<br />
aftermath <strong>of</strong> political sovereignty.<br />
SHARMA, K.K. "The Everlasting Yea: Bhabani Bhattacharya's View <strong>of</strong> Life": 191-212. in<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad:<br />
Kitab Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
SHIMER, D.B. Bhabani Bhattacharya Boston: Twayne, 1975, 151 pp. Finds his fictions<br />
address the question <strong>of</strong> technological progress on a rural-based economy tied to ancient<br />
cultural values. Offers three basic components to his writing,1) expands social awareness and<br />
concern,2) confirms human commonality, 3) reflects a “dynamic equilibrium” in the social<br />
structure through a reconciliation <strong>of</strong> opposites. Adheres to universalist values.<br />
SHIMER, DOROTHY BLAIR."Bhabani Bhattacharya-Gandhi Biographer" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English Vol. 2 No. 2 (1974): 14-19. Assesses Gandhi the Writer: The<br />
Image As It Grew (1969) and its relevance to Bhattacharya's own work. Traces the impact<br />
on Gandhi <strong>of</strong> Romain Rolland and Leo Tolstoy. Notes the interrelatedness <strong>of</strong> various writers<br />
to Gandhi's philosophy <strong>of</strong> passive resistance. (Could be deleted, if necessary)<br />
SHIMER, DOROTHY BLAIR. "Gandhian Influence on the Writing <strong>of</strong> Bhabani Bhattacharya"<br />
SARev 5.2 (July 1981):74-81.<br />
SIRCAR, ARJYA. "Duplicity in Saffron Robes: Contrastive Study <strong>of</strong> The Guide, He Who<br />
Rides a Tiger and Putul Nacher Itikatha" New Quest 33 (1982):163-8.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. "Bhabani Bhattacharya: Shadow From Ladakh" in<br />
PRADHAN, N.S. ed. Major Indian Novels: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann,<br />
1986:155-73. Also Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K., ed. Perspectives on Bhabani Bhattacharya Ghaziabad: Vimal<br />
Prakashan (Indo-English Writers Series No. 4), 1982, xiv + 251 pp.<br />
TAMILARASAN, C. “Bhattacharya’s Music for Mohini: A Study” The Literary<br />
Endeavour 2.2 (1982): 35-43.<br />
Likens Bhattacharya to A<strong>nan</strong>d in his ideal <strong>of</strong> ‘social purpose’ fiction, but his work lacks the<br />
amplitude and pr<strong>of</strong>undity <strong>of</strong> ‘the big three’. Music for Mohini contrasts urban and rural<br />
values, setting voiced ideals against behaviour and suggesting understanding, selflessness and<br />
adaption as ways to harmony. While approving <strong>of</strong> Mohini’s accommodating to tradition,<br />
Bhattacharya also shows tradition’s absurdities.<br />
TARINAYYA, M. "Two Novels" Indian Literature Vol 13 No. 1 Jan-Feb (1970) 113-121<br />
Offers cursory readings <strong>of</strong> Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan (1956) and Bhattacharya's<br />
So Many Hungers (1947). Finds remarkable detachment in the former and deep sensitivity to<br />
peasant life in Bengal in the latter. Centres on tragedy <strong>of</strong> Indian experience Mainly plot<br />
summary with romantic overtones. [Worth keeping?]
Brata, Sasthi<br />
LAL, P. “Sexy Brata” Littcrit 5. 3.2 (1977): 31-34.<br />
Finds the sexual voraciousness a ridiculous “literary lust”, slick in style with slapped-on<br />
existentialist philosophising and basically commercial porn.<br />
Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra<br />
CHAKRAVORTY, DILIP K. "An Approach to Bankim Chandra's Novel Rajmohan's Wife"<br />
The Quest 1.1 (1987):1-6.<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER. "Romanticism and the Woman: A Comparative View <strong>of</strong><br />
Hawthorne's Hester Prynne, Hardy's Sue Bridehead, Chatterjee's Rohini and Hesse's<br />
Kamala" Literary Half-Yearly 27.1 (January 1986):78-88. check<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S. "Bankim Chandra and The Indian Novel in English" Chandrabhaga 4<br />
(1978):37-45.<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S. "Bankim Chandra and the Indian Novel in English" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 6.2 (1978):37-45.<br />
Chatterjee, Margaret<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Margaret Chatterjee" in DAS, BIJAY KUMAR ed.<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1986: 124-33.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Between Two Worlds: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Margaret Chatterjee" Indian<br />
Literature 25.5 (September-October 1982):72-85.<br />
SAXENA, H.S. “Margaret Chatterjee” The Literary Endeavour 2.2 (1982): 45-51.<br />
Biographical notes on her interest in philosophy and music. Finds Indian women’s poetry in<br />
english “decadently romantic”, shockingly carnal or mechanically releasing the unconscious.<br />
Chatterjee shows greater control and balance <strong>of</strong> idea with concrete detail, plus a “rare sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> the significance <strong>of</strong> historical processes”. Though British born, she conveys an Indian spirit in<br />
her work.<br />
SAXENA, H.S. "Margaret Chatterjee" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary<br />
English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse: A Collection<br />
<strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1985: 157-63.<br />
Chatterjee, Upamanyu<br />
KUMAR, T. VIJAY. "I Can't Get No Satisfaction: Upamanyu Chatterjee's English, August"<br />
in KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s<br />
New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 169-78.<br />
LAL, VINAY. "Enjoyable Reading" Indian Literature 137, (1990): 155-62. review? (English<br />
August)
Chattopadhyaya, Harindranath<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "Harindranath's Saint: A Farce." The Century 11, no.2 (1973):<br />
11-12. Reprinted in Essays on Indian Writing in English (1975): 31-32.<br />
The Saint is quite different from Harindranath's earlier plays based on the life <strong>of</strong> the<br />
legendary Indian holy men. it is a short farce with a single scene, which satirizes the gullibility<br />
<strong>of</strong> the religious villagers who take a lean opium addict to be a saint emaciated because <strong>of</strong><br />
austerities. The play shows Chattopadhyaya as a satirist.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "The Devotional Plays <strong>of</strong> Harindranath Chattopadhyaya."<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> the Karnatak <strong>University</strong>: Humanities, 15 (1973): 116-26. Reprinted in Essays on<br />
Indian Writing in English (1975): 19-30.<br />
In the nineteen-twenties Chattopadhyaya wrote a dozen plays about the Indian saints.<br />
most <strong>of</strong> these verse plays are quite short, and it is the poetry, not the dramatic action, which<br />
predominates. Tukaram is the exception, with its stageability and humour; it has a tight<br />
structure, and the poetry is functional, not decorative.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "A Note on Siddhartha: Man <strong>of</strong> Peace." In Essays on Indian<br />
Writing in English, 1975: 33-37.<br />
Chattopadhyaya's most ambitious play, in eight acts, Siddartha is a straightforward<br />
enactment <strong>of</strong> the Buddha's life and message written with a foreign audience in mind. The<br />
language seldom glows with passion, and the dramatic structure is loose. The play is significant<br />
only in the context <strong>of</strong> the paucity <strong>of</strong> Indian drama in English.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "The Plays <strong>of</strong> Harindranath Chattopadhyaya." In Perspectives<br />
on Indian Drama in English, edited by M.K. Naik & S. Mokashi-Punekar, 115-23.(114-24)<br />
Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Chattopadhyaya wrote a variety <strong>of</strong> plays, in prose and in verse: devotional plays<br />
based on the lives <strong>of</strong> the Indian saints (<strong>of</strong> which Tukaram is the best), social plays, and<br />
historical plays (<strong>of</strong> which Siddhartha: Man <strong>of</strong> Peace, based on the life <strong>of</strong> the Buddha, is the<br />
most impressive).<br />
REDDY, K. VENKATA & SUNANDA, K. "Harindranath Chattopadhyaya's The Parrot."<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 11, no.2 (1983): 37-43.<br />
Expository analysis <strong>of</strong> The Parrot to show that it is too short to develop characters<br />
fully, though it is well structured. The parrot is a good symbol for the helpless bondage <strong>of</strong><br />
women in India.<br />
REDDY, K. VENKATA. & SUNANDA, K. "Harindranath Chattopadhyaya's The Parrot:<br />
A Study" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 11.2 (1984): 37-43. which year?<br />
YARAVINTHELIMATH, C.R. "Pundalik." In Perspectives on Indian Drama in English,<br />
edited by M.K. Naik & S. Mokashi-Punekar, 124-35. Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Chattopadhyaya's one-act-play in verse about a renowned sage makes effective use<br />
<strong>of</strong> symbols to present the Hindu glorification <strong>of</strong> parent-worship.<br />
Chaudhuri, Nirad<br />
DEVI, P. LAKSHMI. "Adverse Awareness: A Study <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's The Autobiography <strong>of</strong><br />
an Unknown Indian" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 17.2 (1989): 55-59.
Considers The Autobiography's value lies in the rendering <strong>of</strong> a unique and unusual<br />
personality. Claims Chaudhuri's importance rests on his ability to test some comfortable<br />
illusions concerning Indian tradition. Psychological probing <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's autobiography<br />
lacks any psychoanalytical depth.<br />
JUMAR, S. Nirad C. Chaudhuri: The Man and Writer Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984,<br />
84 pp.<br />
KARNANI, CHETAN. Nirad C. Chaudhuri New York: Twayne (World Authors Series),<br />
1980, 140 pp.<br />
MISHRA, GANESWAR. see entry under Mohanti, Prafulla.<br />
MISHRA, SUDESH. "The Two Chaudhuris: Historical Witness and Pseudo-Historian" JCL<br />
1 (1988):7-15.<br />
Confirms Chaudhuri's authenticity in passages "where social, political or religious<br />
dilemmas take precedence over personal traumas." His pseudo-historical side appears in<br />
sections full <strong>of</strong> gossip, name-calling and malice best described as imaginative history.<br />
Questions the veracity <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's claim to recording history as an objective, value-free,<br />
disinterested chronicler. Traces the twin pillars <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's thought to Darwinian evolution<br />
and Jungian collective unconscious.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Nirad C. Chaudhuri's First Publication" Journal <strong>of</strong> Commonwealth Literature<br />
19.1(1984):98-107.<br />
An introduction to "Defence <strong>of</strong> India or Nationalization <strong>of</strong> Indian Army" (1935), a<br />
seventy-three page essay. Finds the structure divided into four sections, 1) "The Problem<br />
Stated", 2) "Function", 3) "Man Power", 4) "Command and Control". Notes the<br />
perceptiveness <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's analysis and the strength <strong>of</strong> British imperialism under which the<br />
Indian army was subsumed.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "The Autobiography <strong>of</strong> an Unknown Indian: A Note" WLWE 21.1 (Spring<br />
1982):160-6.<br />
"Unbridled egoism" gives Chaudhuri's autobiography a distinctive quality. Asserts the<br />
autobiography's value as an important social document. Compares Chaudhuri to Jawaharlal<br />
Nehru's Autobiography (1962) and reveals a "radical contrast" between them based on the<br />
issue <strong>of</strong> motivation for the writing itself, Nehru declaring his purpose to be knowledge <strong>of</strong> the<br />
self while Chaudhuri consciously set out to record a "national. . . history".<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Pride and Prejudice Unabated" Indian Literature, 135, (1990): 131-8.<br />
Discusses three basic elements in this second part <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's autobiography, a)<br />
the disclosure <strong>of</strong> the <strong>author</strong>'s personality, b) the men he knew and observed, c) the political<br />
and cultural milieu <strong>of</strong> his time. Examines the details <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's purported factuality and<br />
finds some inconsistencies based on political opposition to his worldview. Specifically<br />
questions his portrait <strong>of</strong> Mahatma Gandhi. Claims Chaudhuri's interpretation <strong>of</strong> recent Indian<br />
history biased by anglophilia and Indian-baiting.<br />
NAIKAR, BASAVARAJ S. Critical Articles on Nirad C. Chaudhuri Dharwad: Sivaranjani<br />
Publications, 1986, viii + 115 pp.
An appreciative close reading arranged with separate but unconnected chapters for<br />
each work:<br />
Chap 1 perceives The Autobiography <strong>of</strong> an Unknown Indian (1972) as an exercise in<br />
descriptive ethnology.<br />
Chap 2 Reveals Hindu philosophic search for inner knowledge works against external worldly<br />
awareness practised by travel writing.<br />
Chap 3 designates The Continent <strong>of</strong> Circe (1974) as a descriptive-analytical, satirical work.<br />
Chap 4 finds bureaucratisation the defining factor in To Live or Not to Live (1970).<br />
Chap 5 <strong>of</strong>fers the view that the Hindu pursuit <strong>of</strong> knowledge was never rational but rather<br />
supranational in The Intellectual in India (1967).<br />
Chap 6 refers to his work as an expository prose style based on:<br />
a) concreteness <strong>of</strong> diction<br />
b) realistic detail<br />
c) extensive use <strong>of</strong> non-English words<br />
d) encyclopaedic knowledge<br />
e) unhibited boldness<br />
f) personal anecdotes.<br />
Attends to structural concerns. Formalist analysis.<br />
C. D. NARASIMHAIAH. "Nirad C. Chaudhuri: The Autobiography <strong>of</strong> an Unknown Indian"<br />
The Indian Critical Scene: Controversial Essays 1990 Chap 8 85-95<br />
Attacks Chaudhuri for his colonial cringe, egoism and pedantry. Compares<br />
Chaudhuri's work to Nehru's Autobiography (1962) and find the latter well-written and a rare<br />
achievement in the genre. Formalist analysis.<br />
NIVEN, Alastair. "Crossing the Black Waters: Nirad C. Chaudhuri's A Passage to<br />
England and V. S. Naipaul's An Area <strong>of</strong> Darkness" Ariel (Calgary, Canada) Vol. 9 July<br />
1978 21-36<br />
Compares Chaudhuri's and Naipaul's travel writing books and finds them exercises in<br />
self-discovery obsessed with the history <strong>of</strong> imperialism. Examines their colonised usage <strong>of</strong> the<br />
imposed English language and reveals it as the central concern <strong>of</strong> these writers. Traces the<br />
nexus <strong>of</strong> colonialism and imperialism and its consequences for Indian society.<br />
NIVEN, ALASTAIR. "Nirad Chaudhuri and Modern Indian Literature" in Individual and<br />
Community in Commonwealth Literature ed Daniel Massa, Malta: Old <strong>University</strong> Press,<br />
1979: 196-201.<br />
Examines Chaudhuri's oeuvre and its encounter with the complexity <strong>of</strong> imperialism.<br />
Questions the differing reception <strong>of</strong> Chaudhuri's work in India, where few critics esteem him,<br />
and Britian, where his prose is highly praised. Analyses Chaudhuri's contention that the<br />
history <strong>of</strong> India has been a culture in decline brought about by the stultifying conservatism <strong>of</strong><br />
Hindu ethics.<br />
NIVEN, ALASTAIR. :Contrasts in the Autobiography <strong>of</strong> Childhood: Nirad Chaudhuri, Janet<br />
Frame and Wole Soyinka” in MCDERMOTT, DOIREANN ed. Autobiographical and<br />
Biographical Writing in Commonwealth Literature Barcelona: Sabadell, 1984:175-180.<br />
Many auto/biographies rush through childhood, selecting only details indicating<br />
predestined adult greatness. Better works capture the present-tense fantasy <strong>of</strong> childhood.<br />
Chaudhuri differs from Frame and Soyinka in representing himself as an already adult infant.<br />
“Indian autobiographies ... have a public aspect and a sense <strong>of</strong> history” and Chaudhuri links
his story to India’s emergence, detailing childhood only to document values eroded by<br />
modernity. Frame and Soyinka create children with vital lives less connected to future<br />
adulthood and differently linked to consciousness <strong>of</strong> an outside, historical world.<br />
PHILIP, DAVID SCOTT. Perceiving India Through the Works <strong>of</strong> Nirad C. Chaudhuri, R.K.<br />
Narayan and Ved Mehta New Delhi: Sterling, 1986, vi + 184 pp.<br />
SINHA, TARA. "A Stylistic Treatment <strong>of</strong> a Few Traits <strong>of</strong> Nirad C. Chaudhuri's Writings<br />
Along Modern Linguistic Lines" The Quest 1.2 (1988):38-50.<br />
SINHA, TARA. Nirad C. Chaudhuri: A Sociological and Stylistic Study <strong>of</strong> his Writings<br />
During the Period 1951-72 Patna: Prakashan, 1981, xii + 256 pp.<br />
SINHA, TARA. Nirad C. Chaudhuri: A Sociological Study <strong>of</strong> His Writings: 1951-72 (1981)<br />
VENUGOPAL, C.V. "Growing to Manhood: The Autobiography <strong>of</strong> an Unknown Indian" in<br />
NAIK, M.K. ed. Perspectives on Indian Prose in English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 213-<br />
31. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1982.<br />
VERGHESE, C. Paul. "Nirad C. Chauduri: An Assessment" Littcrit 6 (1978):4-14.<br />
VERGHESE, C.PAUL. "Nirad C. Chaudhuri: An Assessment" in NAIK, M.K. ed.<br />
Perspectives on Indian Prose in English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 200-12. Also Atlantic<br />
Highlands: Humanities, 1982.<br />
WALSH, W. "On Nirad Chaudhuri" in MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. ed. Considerations:<br />
Twelve Studies <strong>of</strong> Indo-Anglian Writing New Delhi: Allied, 1977: 132-6.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN M. "The Insider and the Outsider: The India <strong>of</strong> V.S. Naipaul and<br />
Nirad Chaudhuri" in NANDAN, SATENDRA. ed. Language and Literature in Multicultural<br />
Contexts, Suva: <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> the South Pacific, 1983: 353-361.<br />
Likens Naipaul’s An Area <strong>of</strong> Darkness (1965) and Chaudhuri’s The Continent <strong>of</strong><br />
Circe (1965) to Old Testament prophecy: visionay criticism, moral dissection, expressions <strong>of</strong><br />
anguished concern. Both honestly reveal their view <strong>of</strong> the damaging truth, though Naipaul has<br />
an air <strong>of</strong> Camus and Chaudhuri more <strong>of</strong> Spengler and Toynbee. Contrasts their styles and<br />
different presentations <strong>of</strong> self.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE. "The Plight <strong>of</strong> the Aryans and the Nightmare <strong>of</strong> history:<br />
Nirad Chaudhuri's Alternative View" SPAN 24 (April 1987):190-207.<br />
Reveals Chaudhuri's major influence has been the Brahmoism or Brahmo Samjay <strong>of</strong><br />
Rammohan Roy. Perceives Chaudhuri's theory <strong>of</strong> history based on three traumatic epochs <strong>of</strong><br />
contact between the indigenous peoples and their successive waves <strong>of</strong> conquerors, the<br />
Aryans, the Moguls and the British and the aftermath. Idiosyncratic interpreation <strong>of</strong> history<br />
shaped by the confluence <strong>of</strong> Brahminical and nationalist perceptions, which challenge myths<br />
about the Raj perpetuated by E. M. Forster or Paul Scott and shatter illusions such as the<br />
Hindu tradition <strong>of</strong> pacifism.
Chinmoy, Sri<br />
BENNET, MEREDITH. "The Poet as Language-Maker: Sri Chinmoy" New Literature<br />
Review 10 (May 1982):61-6.<br />
BENNET, VIDAGDHA MEREDITH. "Forging a New Language: Sri Chinmoy's 'Ten<br />
Thousand Flower-Flames'" Westerly 28.4 (December 1983):81-6.<br />
Coomaraswamy, A<strong>nan</strong>da K.<br />
BALASUBRAHMANYA, N. “A<strong>nan</strong>da Kentish Coomaraswamy — A Centenary Tribute”<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly 1.1 (1976): 1-9.<br />
Biographical outline and tribute to his role as nationalist promoter <strong>of</strong> cultural pride. Admits he<br />
was “more doctrinaire and metaphysical in his criticism than aesthetic and technical” beceause<br />
<strong>of</strong> the spirit <strong>of</strong> the times. His view <strong>of</strong> good art as impersonal prevented him from appreciating<br />
post-Renaissance work and he disliked science for its anti-creative materialist aspects, looking<br />
for an organic relation between art and life.<br />
DESAI, S.K. "The Dance <strong>of</strong> Shiva" in NAIK, M.K. ed. Perspectives on Indian Prose in<br />
English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 139-53. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1982.<br />
KAMALIAH, K.C. "A<strong>nan</strong>da K. Coomaraswamy's Universalism" Triveni 45.2 (1976):32-8.<br />
RAGANATHAN, A. "Coomaraswamy: A Tribute" Indian Horizons 26.1 (1977):11-15.<br />
RAGHAVAN, V. The Aesthetics <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>da Coomaraswamy Bangalore: Indian Institute <strong>of</strong><br />
World Culture, 1983, 6 pp.<br />
RANGANATHAN, A. "A<strong>nan</strong>da Coomaraswamy: Exponent <strong>of</strong> Perennial Philosophy" I&FR<br />
14.22 (1977):17, 19.<br />
SASTRI, P.S. "Coomaraswamy and Indian Renaissance" in NAIK, M.K. ed. Perspectives<br />
on Indian Prose in English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 124-38. Also Atlantic Highlands:<br />
Humanities, 1982.<br />
Currimbhoy, Asif<br />
BANHAM, MARTIN. "Indian Theatrical Craftmanship." Journal <strong>of</strong> Commonwealth<br />
Literature 9, no.3 (1975): 86-87.<br />
Reviewing six plays <strong>of</strong> Currimbhoy, concludes that they are distinguished by careful<br />
craftsmanship. Considerable theatrical impact from the experience <strong>of</strong> contemporary political<br />
events in works like Inquilab and Sonar Bangla, though Sonar Bangla with its semidocumentary<br />
form needs a multi-media presentation. Goa is an allegory relating to the Indian<br />
takeover <strong>of</strong> the Portuguese enclave. In The Doldrummers, the characters are dropouts, the<br />
kind <strong>of</strong> people familiar in all cultures.<br />
BHATT, A.K. "A Theatre <strong>of</strong> Journalism.' The Indian P.E.N. 40, no.12 (1974): 1-4.<br />
Currimbhoy writes hurriedly about events which are in the news, so his language tends<br />
to be journalistic. After analysing the language, Bhatt concludes that Currimbhoy "does not<br />
seem ever to have cared to blot a single line."
NAIK, M. K. "Half-God's Plenty: The Drama <strong>of</strong> Asif Currimbhoy." In Studies in Indian<br />
Literature, 121-35. New Delhi: Sterling,1987.<br />
Naik analyses all the plays in terms <strong>of</strong> theme, characterisation, dialogue, and<br />
stagecraft, and concludes that though there are many scenes which show keen dramatic sense,<br />
and the dialogue too is lifted to a higher level, Currimbhoy fails to sustain a genuine drama.<br />
Many <strong>of</strong> his plays deal with recent historical and political events; plays like An Experiment<br />
with truth and Goa fail to transmute events into art. The same inability is evident in plays<br />
dealing with social concerns like The Doledrummers, where Currimbhoy lays stress on sex,<br />
drunkenness, and violence, not on the forces which have brought the characters to destitution.<br />
The Miracle Seed fails because the city-bred playwright knows nothing <strong>of</strong> the Indian village.<br />
Plays on East-West encounter such as The Tourist Mecca and The Hungry Ones lack clarity,<br />
while Darjeeling Tea? has too many themes. Plays <strong>of</strong> psychological portrayal, such as The<br />
Clock and The Dumb Dancer are more promising. Lack <strong>of</strong> live performance has had a bad<br />
effect on Currimbhoy's plays, and later works, such as Sonar Bangla are unstageable.<br />
NAZARETH, PETER. "Asif Currimbhoy: Dramatist <strong>of</strong> the Pulic Event." JIWE 4, no.2<br />
(1976): 13-19.<br />
Currimbhoy needs a public event to catalyse his writings. His best plays are Goa<br />
(about the liberation <strong>of</strong> the Portuguese colony), Inquilab which deals with the Naxalite<br />
movement, and Sonar Bangla which describes events surrounding the birth <strong>of</strong> Bangladesh.<br />
Currimbhoy interweaves the public event with private, to create exciting drama which raises<br />
moral questions.<br />
PAN, DAPHNE. "Asif Currimbhoy's Goa: A Consideration." Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 8, nos. 1 & 2 (1980): 77-97. Reprinted in Through Different Eyes: Foreign Responses<br />
to Indian Writing in English, edited by Singh, Kirpal, 106-36. Calcutta: Writers Workshop,<br />
1984.<br />
Currimbhoy's plays are meant for the stage, they are not mrely vehicles for expressing<br />
his thought. Goa is geographically a meeting place for different cultures, religions and attitudes,<br />
and the play displays continuous conflicts and contradictions. Pan examines different<br />
characters in the play and concludes that the play is capable <strong>of</strong> a variety <strong>of</strong> meanings. Goa is a<br />
finely balanced and structured play, with dialogues in the last act echoing earlier passages. The<br />
Appendix sets out the parallel passages in tabular form.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA. "Asif Currimbhoy's The Refugees: A Study." JIWE 10, nos. 1 & 2<br />
(1982): 63-70.<br />
The play dramatises the exodus <strong>of</strong> ten million refugees from East Pakistan into India in<br />
1971. Sengupta, himself a refugee who came over in 1947, helps Yassin, his childhood friend,<br />
a Muslim from East Pakistan. The well-knit play shows the conflict between ideas and actions.<br />
The dialogue is very effective: it furthers the plot, reveals character, and sometimes has ironic<br />
dimensions.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA. "Asif Currimbhoy's Goa: A Study." in Kher, Inder Nath and<br />
Christopher Wiseman eds. Ariel 14, no.4 (1983): 77-86.(1984: 77-85)<br />
Through the story <strong>of</strong> an Indian boy Krishna's love for a Goan girl, Currimbhoy<br />
highlights colonialism and colour prejudice in a light ironic vein. Goa has some <strong>of</strong> Currimbhoy's<br />
most psychologically complex characters, and his handling <strong>of</strong> the element <strong>of</strong> conflict is<br />
effective. It is a finely balanced and tautly knit play notable for its poetic value and<br />
demonstrates Currimbhoy's fine sense <strong>of</strong> theater.
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA. "Asif Currimbhoy's An Experiment with Truth: A Thematic Study."<br />
Littcrit 9, no.1 (1983): 25-30.<br />
Thematic study. The only other earlier plays to dramatise Gandhiji's life and ideals are<br />
Bharati Sarabhai's The Well <strong>of</strong> the People (1943) and K. S. Rangappa's Gandhiji's Sadhana<br />
(1969). In An Experiment with Truth, the internal conflict in Gandhiji regarding his sexual<br />
abstinence is more important than the external conflict between the Indians and the British.<br />
This three-act play is episodic in structure. The first act is set just before Mahatma Gandhi's<br />
assassination in 1948, the second shows the Salt March <strong>of</strong> 1931, while the third shows him<br />
being gunned down. The character <strong>of</strong> Vincent Sheean, the journalist, provides unity and choric<br />
commentary. There are historical as well as symbolic characters, and stagecraft is complex,<br />
with musical effects.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA. The Plays <strong>of</strong> Asif Currimbhoy. Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1986,<br />
194pp.<br />
Reddy's approach is thematic and descriptive. He categorizes the plays into romantic,<br />
political, social, religious, etc. and proceeds to give summaries <strong>of</strong> the plays with brief critical<br />
comments. There is a useful introductory chapter on the origins and development <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
theater. Has a comprehensive bibliography.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA, "Reflections on Asif Currimbhoy's Plays" and "The Clock Symbol in<br />
Asif Currimbhoy's The Clock." In Studies in Indian Writing in English with a Focus on Indian<br />
English Drama, 35-40; 41-43, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990.<br />
SAHA, SUBHAS. C. "Currimbhoy's Study <strong>of</strong> Love and Hate in Goa and Monsoon." The<br />
Literary Half-Yearly 15, no.2 (1974): 96-105.<br />
Currimbhoy combines the methods <strong>of</strong> realism, expressionism, and surrealism; conflict<br />
is shown on the physical plane to project the conflict within. Goa (1964) and Monsoon<br />
(1965) are his most intense plays because they have no light scenes. Goa shows the evil <strong>of</strong><br />
possessive love through the lives <strong>of</strong> Krish<strong>nan</strong>, the young and innocent girl whom he loves but<br />
rapes, her promiscuous mother Miranda, and Alphonso who hankers after Portugal. The<br />
period is December 1961 when India invaded Goa, but the political symbolism is not very<br />
effective. Monsoon is not as brisk as Goa; the chief emotion is hate and the protagonist,<br />
Andrew, is a megalomaniac. The play is reminiscent <strong>of</strong> Jacobean drama, with its lurid<br />
atmosphere, ghosts, murder, and suicide.<br />
VENUGOPAL, C.V. "Asif Currimbhoy's The Doledrummers: A Glimpse into the Bombay<br />
Shacks." In Aspects <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English, edited by M. K. Naik, 262-67. New Delhi:<br />
Macmillan, 1979.<br />
Viewed as a whole, his achievement is impressive. The Doledrummers reveals the<br />
mature artist. The stagecraft is superb, and the dialogue, true to the shack, is raw and physical.<br />
The play is a sympathetic study <strong>of</strong> the shackdwellers, successfully portraying their basic<br />
humanity.<br />
Dalal, Nergis<br />
BHATNAGAR, O.P. “Playing the Role in The Guide and The Inner Door”<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly 4.13 (1979): 71-79.
Both works have individuals playing roles under pressure <strong>of</strong> collective expectation, but<br />
outcomes differ (Narayan’s external forces mock the hero, but Dalal’s hero mocks external<br />
forces) and the hero <strong>of</strong> the The Inner Door is not as introspective as Raju.<br />
BHATNAGAR, O.P. “A Study <strong>of</strong> Nergis Dalal as a Novelist” Commonwealth Quarterly<br />
9.28 (1984): 57-72.<br />
Dalal neither strains to be overtly Indian nor affects a Western style. Dalal avoids mass social<br />
movements in favour <strong>of</strong> individual emotions. Surveys Minari (1967), The Sisters (1973) and<br />
The Inner Door (1973). Dalal seems not to reward virtue and punish vice: withdrawal,<br />
substitutes or compromise are solutions <strong>of</strong>fered to life’s frustrations. Sensitive characters show<br />
the possible merging <strong>of</strong> sensuousness with spiritual wisdom, though they are not saintly<br />
renouncers <strong>of</strong> life and are victims to situational ironies. Briefly traces ironies through the short<br />
story collections. Compares Dalal to Anita Desai.<br />
SHARMA, D.R. "The Creative Art <strong>of</strong> Nergis Dalal" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 5.1<br />
(1977):17-23.<br />
Dalmiya, Rita<br />
SAHA, SUBHAS C. "Rita Dalmiya, Renu Roy and Zahida Zaidi" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves'<br />
Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1985: 194-200.<br />
Daniels, Shouri<br />
DANIELS, SHOURI. "Daniels, Shouri: The Salt Doll" Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 17<br />
(1981):135-7. [review?]<br />
KANTAMBLE, V.D. "The Salt Doll: An Experimentation with Existentialist Writing in Indo-<br />
Anglian Fiction" Littcrit 9.2 (1983):32-39.<br />
Daruwalla, Keki N.<br />
CHAR, M. SREE RAMA. "Secularization <strong>of</strong> the Religious Concepts and Idiom in Keki N.<br />
Daruwalla's Bombay Prayer's" Poetry 12.1 (1987):19-31.<br />
CHAR, M. SREERAMA. Prayer Motif in Indian Poetry in English Calcutta: Writers<br />
Workshop, 1988, 135 pp.<br />
Concentrates on A.K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar, Nissim Ezekiel & Keki N.<br />
Daruwalla.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. “K.N. Daruwalla: The Painter <strong>of</strong> Rural Landscape” Rajasthan <strong>University</strong><br />
Studies in English 16 (1984): 86-95.<br />
Descriptive survey <strong>of</strong> verse in first four volumes dealing with nature (especially rivers)<br />
and rural life, noting mythic and narrative elements in “Crossing <strong>of</strong> Rivers” and occasional<br />
lapses into rhetoric and sentimentality.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "K.N. Daruwalla's Poetry: An Assessment" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies<br />
in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:163-76.
INAMDAR, F.A. "K.N. Daruwalla's Poems: Individual Response" in RAM, ATMA. ed.<br />
Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 86-92.<br />
KING, BRUCE. “Daruwalla’s Oxford Revisions” Littcrit 19, 10.2 (1984): 37-56.<br />
In contrast to earlier printings, the Oxford editions left-justify margins, italicise and footnote<br />
Indian terms and regulate usage <strong>of</strong> capitals and punctuation. Close reading <strong>of</strong> texts noting a<br />
general tightening <strong>of</strong> diction, less ambiguity, fewer excess similes, more regular linebreaks and<br />
a general shift to “vigorous realistic speech” , all as evidence <strong>of</strong> Daruwalla’s continuing<br />
attention to poetic craft.<br />
KING, BRUCE. "Keki Daruwalla: Outsider, Skeptic and Poet" The Indian Literary Review<br />
4.2 (1986):47-59.<br />
MOKASHI-PUNEKAR, SHANKAR. “????” [Daruwalla]Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 4.1 (1976): 24-?.<br />
Daruwalla as a police <strong>of</strong>ficer engages with real life and is naturally Indian in his “aliveness to<br />
the environment”. Finds his debunking irony more amusing than Ezekiel’s play with Indian<br />
English. Under Orion is more controlled than Apparitions in April. Contrasts to Santhi’s<br />
verse and compares with Rajendranath Seal.<br />
MUKHERJEE, PRASENJIT. "Relating the Subjective: An Approach to the Recent Poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
Keki N. Daruwalla" Chandrabhaga 4 (1980):51-8.<br />
NABAR, VRINDA. "Keki N. Daruwalla: Poetry and a National Culture" in SHAHANE,<br />
VASANT A. and SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A Critical<br />
Assessment Madras: Macmillan, 1980: 28-40. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
NAIK, M.K. “‘Drama Talk’: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> K. N. Daruwalla” in Naik Studies in Indian<br />
English Literature New Delhi: Sterling, 1987: 93-104.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Landscapes and Inscapes" Kavya Bharati 1 (1988): 65-71.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Keki N. Daruwalla: Poet as Critic <strong>of</strong> His Age" Literary Half-<br />
Yearly 28.1 (January 1987):17-38.<br />
SREERMACHER, M. "The River's Argot in Three Indo-English Poets: A.K. Ramanujan,<br />
K.N. Daruwalla and Nissim Ezekiel" Poetry 10 (1986):11-13.<br />
SREERMACHER, M. "The River's Argot in Three Indo-English Poets: A.K. Ramanujan,<br />
K.N. Daruwalla and Nissim Ezekiel" Poetry 10 (1986):11-13.<br />
VENKATACHARI, K."The Idiom <strong>of</strong> Autochthon: A Note on the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Keki N.<br />
Daruwalla" in KHER, INDER NATH and CHRISTOPHER WISEMAN eds. Ariel 14.4<br />
(1983): 72-76. Reprinted in Madhusudan Prasad (ed) Living Indian English Poets New<br />
Delhi: Sterling, 1989: 66-72.<br />
Without recourse to religion, Daruwalla’s work patterns an “apprehension <strong>of</strong> man in<br />
relation to nature and his identity” as the fulfilment <strong>of</strong> historical development, and requires<br />
exploration <strong>of</strong> “the singular power <strong>of</strong> the place” (autocthon) which generates a distinctive life.<br />
Hence his ‘documentary’ cataloguing <strong>of</strong> India’s stark realities, the “dialectic <strong>of</strong> decadence and
egression” and the “re-enactment ... <strong>of</strong> the terms <strong>of</strong> the mind ... to awaken the Indian to the<br />
disgrace <strong>of</strong> his condition”. Wanting to write “intensely personal poems”, Daruwalla<br />
nonetheless downplays art in favour <strong>of</strong> experience. He uses open form with variable lines and<br />
employs laconic wit shocking in its frankness.<br />
Das, Deb Kumar<br />
BHATNAGAR, O.P. "The 'Candle that Discovered Darkness': The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Deb Kumar<br />
Das" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash<br />
Book Depot, 1984:62-71.<br />
Das, Gurcharan<br />
NAIK, M. K. "The Three Avatars <strong>of</strong> Henry Lawrence: A Study <strong>of</strong> Gurcharan Das's Larins<br />
Sahib." The Literary Criterion 12, nos.2 & 3 (1976): 29-36.<br />
Total artistic confusion vitiates the play, because Des allows his protagonist to enact<br />
three incompatible roles alternately: Lawrence the enlightened empire-builder who admires<br />
what is good in Indian life and character; Lawrence the "Lion <strong>of</strong> the Punjab" who<br />
unconsciously identifies himself with Ranjit Singh, the last Sikh king; and Lawrence the little<br />
cog in the wheels <strong>of</strong> the East India Company machine, who meekly accepts his transfer out <strong>of</strong><br />
the Punjab. The play has many minor virtues--the speech <strong>of</strong> the Indian characters has a<br />
realistic regional flavour, and the minor characters are quite convincing.<br />
VENUGOPAL, C.V. "Larins Sahib." In Perspectives on Indian Drama in English, edited by<br />
Naik, M.K. & S. Mokashi-Punekar, 165-79. Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Gurcharan Das's first published play may not be a perfect drama, but it has elements<br />
which ensure stage success--a fine grip over dramatic technique, effective dialogue, exotic<br />
historical settings, and plenty <strong>of</strong> action.<br />
Das, J.P.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, K.G. "J.P. Das: An Appraisal" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:123-28.<br />
Das, Kamala<br />
AGRAWAL, ISHWAR NATH. “The Language and the Limits <strong>of</strong> the Self in the Poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
Kamala Das” in SINHA, KRISHNA NANDAN Indian Writing in English 1979:138-146. xref<br />
Asks why we should respond to Das’s isolated self “shouting in a hall <strong>of</strong> mirrors”. Focuses on<br />
“the man-woman relationship” (best dealt with in The Old Playhouse) but is unsympathetic to<br />
“Women’s lib crusaders” and sees ‘Das’ and her lovers as “unable to rise above their ego”.<br />
Whitmanesque technique lacks breadth <strong>of</strong> vision and fails to rise above prose. When they<br />
“escape from the surface-self” (as in “Lines addressed to a Devadasi”), poems are more<br />
successful.<br />
BREWSTER, ANNE. "The Freedom to Decompose: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 7.1&2 (1980):98-107. Reprinted in SINGH, KIRPAL ed. Through<br />
Different Eyes: Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English Calcutta: Writers Workshop,<br />
1984: 137-150.<br />
The poems <strong>of</strong> a woman defined in her personal relationships, sensitive to “inadequacy,<br />
mistrust or lack <strong>of</strong> communication” and expressed through “the tactile world <strong>of</strong> sense<br />
experience.” They become, too, a vehicle for exploring “the interaction <strong>of</strong> consciousness with
the external world <strong>of</strong> phenomena” constellated in imagery <strong>of</strong> house and body. Traces moods<br />
from celebration <strong>of</strong> senses to existential angst, the house as positive tradition and prison, the<br />
image <strong>of</strong> spontaneous exposure to the cover <strong>of</strong> role-playing, sex as grotesque spectacle and<br />
vehicle for union, noting that static structures are oppressive while the dynamic changes <strong>of</strong><br />
history reinvigorate moral and cultural tradition. Illustrative commentary on “Composition” in<br />
which emotional intensity counterpoints blunt description and paradoxes <strong>of</strong> flesh and spirit<br />
wherein “the strength <strong>of</strong> desire” provokes cruelty and exhaustion but also life-informing drives<br />
to resurrection <strong>of</strong> purified soul.<br />
DARUWALLA, K.N. "Confessional Poetry as Social Commentary: A View <strong>of</strong> English<br />
Poetry by Indian Women" in RAM, ATMA. ed. Contemporary Indian-English Poetry<br />
Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 13-20.<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR. "Kamala Das and the Making <strong>of</strong> the Indian English Idiom" in<br />
SINGH, R.K. ed. Indian English Writing 1981-1985: Experiments with Expression New<br />
Delhi: Bahri Publications, 1987: 91-8.<br />
DE SOUZA, EUNICE. "Kamala Das" in SHAHANE, V.A. & M. SIVARAMAKRISHNA,<br />
eds. "Contemporary Indian Poetry in English Special Number" Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English<br />
Studies 13.1 (1977):19-27.<br />
DE SOUZA, EUNICE. "Kamala Das" in SHAHANE, VASANT A. and<br />
SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A Critical Assessment Madras:<br />
Macmillan, 1980: 41-7. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
DHAR, T.N. "Eros Denied: Love in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das" i RAM, ATMA. ed.<br />
Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 21-31.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. Kamala Das and Her Poetry Delhi: Doaba House, 1983, 148 pp.<br />
ELIAS, M. "Kamala Das and Nayar Heritage" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 6.2<br />
(1978):15-24.<br />
ELIAS, MOHAMED. "The Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das" WLWE (Autumn 1985):307-12.<br />
ELIAS, MOHAMED. “Aubrey Menen and Kamala Das: Angli-Dravidian Revolt against<br />
Aryan Myths”Jadavpur Journal <strong>of</strong> Comparative Literature 24 (1986): 124-133..<br />
Menen in his Rama Retold and Das in her My Story and verse recreate traditional Hindu<br />
myths to focus on outlaws and adultresses. Both South Indian (and related), they create a<br />
pure Dravidian space (crossed in Das with Whitman and western writing and in both cases by<br />
a sense <strong>of</strong> racial alienation) opposed to the corrupt urban North and its Aryan hierarchised<br />
aggression. Das’s ambivalent relations with Krishna indicate both fear <strong>of</strong> male and Aryan<br />
domination and confidence that Dravidian/Nayar blood can contain their conquests.<br />
Biographical, cultural and thematic approach.<br />
GOWDA, H. H. ANNIAH. “Perfected Passions: The Love Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das and Judith<br />
Wright.” Literary half-Yearly 20:1 (1979)
GREWAL, OMPRAKASH. “The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das — A Critical Assessment” in<br />
SINHA, KRISHNA NANDAN ed. Indian Writing in English 1979: 128-137. x ref<br />
Aligns Das with P. Lal’s break from Romantic tradition.Social unconventionality and<br />
heightened self-awareness before a threatening world supposedly accompany clarity, intensity<br />
and subtlety. the brittle decay <strong>of</strong> the social scene expresses the poet’s “restless turmoil”.<br />
Rejects the ‘alien language/alien sensibility’ claims against IWE but sees Das as a minor figure<br />
because she eschews public themes, providing only external superficial treatment <strong>of</strong> the poor<br />
etc. and much hollow bourgeois futility.<br />
JUSSAWALLA, FEROZA. "Kamala Das: The Evolution <strong>of</strong> the Self" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing In English 10.1&2 (1982):54-61.<br />
KOHLI, DEVENDRA. "Kamala Das" in KULSHRESHTHA, CHIRANTAN., ed<br />
Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980,<br />
270 pp. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981: 187-200. Reissued, New Delhi: Arnold-<br />
Heinemann, 1982.<br />
KOHLI, DEVINDRA. Kamala Das New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1975, 128 pp.<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA. “A Note on Kamala Das’s My Story” Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 9.28 (1984): 148-153.<br />
Das writes her poetry in English and her stories in Malayalam (with the less successful<br />
exception <strong>of</strong> A Doll for the Chile Prostitute). My Story is the only work to appear in both<br />
languages, but disappoints in providing only surface events and inconsistencies rather than<br />
insights into the life and times or creative process <strong>of</strong> the writer. Written for serialisation to pay<br />
her hospital bills and <strong>of</strong>fload personal burdens, the text needed<br />
extensive editing.<br />
O'SULLIVAN, VINCENT. "Whose Voice is Where? On Listening to Kamala Das"<br />
ACLALS Bulletin 7th series No. 2 (1985):51-66.<br />
RADHA, K. "Common Ground Between the Poems <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das and Her Other Works in<br />
English" ACLALS Bulletin 7th series No. 6 (1986):66-76; also in Littcrit 22 & 23, 12. 1&2<br />
(1986):44-55.<br />
Traces the autobiographical material in the poetry back through My Story, noting the almost<br />
exact transfer <strong>of</strong> lines from prose to verse.<br />
RADHA, K. Kamala Das Madras: Macmillan India (Kerala Writers in English Series), 1987,<br />
64pp.<br />
RAGHUNANDAN, LAKSHMI, Contemporary Indian Poetry in English: with Special<br />
Emphasis on Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, R. Parthasarathy and A.K. Ramanujan, New<br />
Delhi: Reliance Publishing House, 1990, 295pp.<br />
RAHMAN, ANISUR. Expressive Form in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das New Delhi: Abhinav<br />
Publications, 1981, xii + 92 pp.<br />
RAMAKRISHNAN, E.V. "Kamala Das as a Confessional Poet" in KULSHRESHTHA,<br />
CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-
Heinemann, 1980: 201-07. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981, 314pp. Reissued,<br />
New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1982.<br />
RAMAKRISHNAN, E.V. "Kamala Das as a Confessional Poet" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 5.1 (1977):29-34.<br />
RAO, P. MALLIKARJUNA. “Love Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das.” Triveni (sp.?) April-June,<br />
1989, 51-56. Her love poems combine the indigenous traditions <strong>of</strong> Abhisarika and Sahaja<br />
and the confessional mode <strong>of</strong> the West. Divides her work into two phases, 1) obsessive<br />
concern with physical love, 2) focus on ideal love. Contrasts Das’ treatment <strong>of</strong> the Krishna<br />
motif with that <strong>of</strong> Sarajini Naidu.<br />
RAO, VIMALA. "Kamala Das - The Limits <strong>of</strong> Over-Exposure" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves'<br />
Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1985: 87-96.<br />
RAO, VIMALA. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das: Limits to Overexposure" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 17 (1980):17-28.<br />
RAVINDRAN, SANKARAN. "National and Regional Elements in Poetic Structure: "The<br />
Dream Flower", "Old House" and Structuralism" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 18.2<br />
(1990):103-112.<br />
SHARMA, I.K. "Mary and Mira: A Study <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das" Commonwealth Quarterly 10<br />
(1980):36-47.<br />
SHARMA, I.K. "The Irony <strong>of</strong> Sex: A Study <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das's Poetry" in DAS, BIJAY<br />
KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1986: 41-9.<br />
SHARMA, MOHAN LAL. "The Road to Brindaban: The Theme <strong>of</strong> Love in Kamala Das'<br />
Poetry" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women"<br />
Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female<br />
Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1985: 97-111.<br />
SINGH, KIRPAL. "Kamala Das and the Problem with 'Composition'" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 7.1 (1980):1-9.<br />
SYAL, PUSHPINDER. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Kamala Das" PURBA 8.1-2 (April-October<br />
1977):61-73.<br />
VENUGOPAL, C.V. “Kamala Das: The Seeker After Truth” in PRASAD,<br />
MADHUSUDHAN ed. Living Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling (1989): 143-47.<br />
Stresses Das’s blatant honesty and conversational intimacy. Her limited thematic range<br />
and stylistic flair are overshadowed by the shock value <strong>of</strong> refusing conventional attitudes to<br />
sex and gender. but there is a deeper questioning <strong>of</strong> unpalatable truths.<br />
Das, Manoj
RAJA, P. "Fusion <strong>of</strong> Vision and Technique in the Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Manoj Das" The Literary<br />
Endeavour 2. 2&3 (1981): 15-20.<br />
Descriptive appreciation <strong>of</strong> Das's blending <strong>of</strong> realism and the supernatural, satire and<br />
fantasy.<br />
RAJA, P. "The Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Manoj Das" Indian Literature 25.5 (September-October<br />
1982):56-62.<br />
RAJA, P. "Indian Sensibility and the Fiction <strong>of</strong> Manoj Das" in SINGH, R.K. ed. Indian<br />
English Writing 1981-1985: Experiments with Expression New Delhi: Bahri Publications,<br />
1987: 133-46.<br />
Dasgupta, Mary Ann<br />
ABIDI, S.Z.H. "Mary Ann Dasgupta and Nasima Aziz - Two Alien Voices" in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary<br />
Indo-English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash<br />
Book Depot, 1985:164-73.<br />
Day<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S. “Lal Behari Day: Govinda Samanta.” The Literary Half-Yearly 15.1<br />
(1974): 96-105.<br />
De, Ira<br />
JAIN, SUNITA. "Leela Dharmaraj, Ira De and Tapati Mookerji" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves'<br />
Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1985: 132-40.<br />
Deb, Lakhan<br />
BHATNAGER, O.P. "Lakhan Deb's Murder at the Prayer Meeting and T.S. Eliot's Murder<br />
in the Cathedral : A Comparative Study in Human Values" MJCL&L 1.2 (October 1988):63-<br />
74.<br />
Derozio, Henry<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. Powre Above Powres:6:The Colonial Encounter: Henry Derozio Mysore:<br />
The Centre <strong>of</strong> Commonwealth Literature and Research, 1981, 68 pp.<br />
MADGE, ELIOT WALTER. Henry Derozio: The Eurasian Poet and Reformer Calcutta:<br />
Naya Prakash, 1982.<br />
NAIR, K.R. RAMACHANDRAN. Three Indo-Anglian Poets: Henry Derozio, Toru Dutt<br />
and Sarojini Naidu New Delhi: Sterling, 1987, 122 pp.<br />
Desai, Anita<br />
ACHARYA, SHANTA. "Problems <strong>of</strong> the Self in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" in DHAWAN,<br />
R.K. ed. Explorations in Modern Indo-English Fiction Bahri Publishers,1982: ??.
AFZAL-KHAN, FAWZIA. "Genre and Ideology in the novels <strong>of</strong> Four contemporary Indo-<br />
Anglian novelists: R.K. Narayan, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya and Salman Rushdie"<br />
DAI 47.4 (October 1986):1328A.<br />
AITHAL, S. KRISHNAMOORTHY. "Interracial and Intercultural Relationships in Anita<br />
Desai's Bye-Bye Blackbird" CNIE 3.1 (Spring-Summer 1984):101-08.<br />
ALCOCK, PETER. "Distancing the Maya <strong>of</strong> the West" in SINGH, KIRPAL ed. Through<br />
Different Eyes: Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English Calcutta: Writers Workshop,<br />
1984: 255-69. includes some comments on Desai: see entry under SINGH in General section.<br />
ALCOCK, PETER. "Rope, Serpent, Fire: The Recent Fiction <strong>of</strong> Anita __Desai" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 9.1 (1981):15-34. Reworked as "Rope, Serpent, Fire: Recent<br />
Fiction <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" in NANDAN, SATENDRA. ed. Language and Literature in<br />
Multicultural Contexts, Suva: <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> the South Pacific, 1983:11-22. (Proceedings <strong>of</strong> the<br />
5th Triennial ACLALS Conference, Suva, January 1980.)<br />
Traces Shakespeare’s The Tempest through Where Shall we go this<br />
Summer?(1975), Fire on the Mountain (1977) and Games at Twilight (1978). Finds<br />
continuing thematic dualities such as individual/group, art/life and illusion/reality. Grounds<br />
argument on Desai’s interview with Atma Ram (WLWE 16.1, 1977:95-103).<br />
AMIN, AMINA. "Imagery as a Mode <strong>of</strong> Apprehension in Anita Desai's Novels" Littcrit 10.1<br />
(1984):36-45.<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "Anita Desai: The Novelist with Unique Personal Vision" Contemporary<br />
Indian Thought 14.1 (Jan-March 1974):6-9, 16-21.<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM A. "Anita Desai's Fiction: A New Dimension" Indian Literature 24.2<br />
(March-April 1981):44-54.<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM A. "The Theme <strong>of</strong> Withdrawal and Loneliness in Anita Desai's Fire on<br />
the Mountain" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 9.1 (1981):81-92.<br />
BANDE, USHA & RAM, ATMA. "Symbolism in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain"<br />
WLWE 24.2 (Autumn 1984):422-27.<br />
BANDE, USHA. "Is Sita Mad?" Indian Literature, 139, 33.5 (1990): 179-84.<br />
While the “rhetoric” <strong>of</strong> Where Shall we go this Summer points to Sita’s madness, its<br />
“mimesis” reveals oppressive domestic routine facing an educated Indian woman and<br />
producing discontent, identity crisis and revolt.Neither Raman nor Moses comprehend Sita’s<br />
bitterness: that <strong>of</strong> the New Woman who can see social shortcomings but no way to overcome<br />
them, no self-affirmation save escape to recovery <strong>of</strong> childhood. It is more than the<br />
incompatibility <strong>of</strong> husband and wife personalities and less than a mythic allegory with<br />
triumphant heroine. Sita is an ordinary person combining modern traits with traditional respect<br />
for marriage and motherhood. Her achievement is her awakening; perhaps fulfilment will come<br />
for her daughter Menaka.<br />
BANDE, USHA. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai: A Study in Character and conflict New Delhi:<br />
Prestige Books, 1988, 191 pp.
BANDE, USHA. “Baumgartner’s Bombay—An Assessment” PURBA 20.2 (1989): 131-<br />
134.<br />
Character study, noting the theme <strong>of</strong> “random evil” in post-war modernity. Desai’s output<br />
moves from poetic style to stark realism.<br />
BELLIAPPA, MEENA. Anita Desai: A Study <strong>of</strong> Her Fiction Calcutta: Writers Workshop,<br />
1971, 165 pp.<br />
DHAWAN, R.K. ed. The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai Delhi: Bahri Publications, 1989, 164pp.<br />
GANGULI, CHANDRA. "Fire on the Mountain: An Analysis" Commonwealth Quarterly<br />
11.32 (1986):51-6.<br />
Descriptive commentary.<br />
GANGULI, CHANDRA. "Fire on the Mountain: An Analysis" Commonwealth Quarterly<br />
21 (1981):40-4.[Repeated?]<br />
GOEL, KUNJ BALA. Language and Theme in Anita Desai's Fiction Jaipur: Classic<br />
Publishing House, 1989, iii+190pp.<br />
HASHMI, ALAMGIR. "A Reading <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai's Clear Light <strong>of</strong> Day" Explorations 8 &<br />
9.3&4 (1981-82):72-9.<br />
HASHMI, ALAMGIR. "Clear Light <strong>of</strong> Day Between India and Pakistan" in KIRPAL,<br />
VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New Delhi:<br />
Allied Publishers, 1990: 65-71.<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. "Airing the Family Ghosts: Anita Desai's Clear Light <strong>of</strong> Day" WLWE 24.2<br />
(Autumn 1984):416-22.<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. "Anita Desai" in PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. ed. Indian English Novelists<br />
New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1982:23-50.<br />
JASBIR JAIN, "In Pursuit <strong>of</strong> Wholeness: Transcendence <strong>of</strong> the Self in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita<br />
Desai": 298-308. in DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English,<br />
Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. "Use <strong>of</strong> Fantasy in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" in DHAWAN, R.K. ed.<br />
Explorations in Modern Indo-English Fiction Bahri Publishers,1982: ??<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. Stairs to the Attic: The Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai Jaipur: Printwell Publishers,<br />
1986, xii + 176 pp.<br />
JENA, SEEMA. Voice and Vision <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai New Delhi" Ashish Publishing House,<br />
1989, ix+88pp.<br />
KANWAR, ASHA. Virginia Woolf and Anita Desai: A Contemporary Study New Delhi:<br />
Prestige Books, 1989, 75pp.
KIRPAL, VINEY. "An Image <strong>of</strong> India: A Study <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai's In Custody" Ariel 17.4<br />
(1986):127-38.<br />
KNAPP, BETTINA L. "Anita Desai: Fire on the Mountain - A Rite <strong>of</strong> Exit" JEP 8.3-4<br />
(August 1987):223-37.<br />
KNAPP, BETTINA. "Rite <strong>of</strong> Exit: A Jungian Approach to Anita Desai's Fire on the<br />
Mountain" The Indian Literary Review VI.1-3 (1989): 27-34.<br />
KRISHNA, FRANCINE E. " Anita Desai: Fire on the Mountain" Indian Literature 25.5<br />
(Sept-Oct. 1982): 58-69.<br />
KRISHNA, SHIV K. "The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai: Another View" The Humanist Review<br />
(DATE?) 3.2:43-6.<br />
KUMAR, SHIV K. "Art and Experience: A Note on Anita Desai as Short-Story Writer" in<br />
RIZVI, S.N.A. ed. The Tw<strong>of</strong>old Voice: Essays in Honor <strong>of</strong> Ramesh Mohan Salzburg: Inst.<br />
für Anglistik & Amerikanistik, <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Salzburg, 1982: 190-4.<br />
KUMAR, SHIV K. "The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai: Another View" The Humanities Review 3.2<br />
(1981):43-6.<br />
LAL, MALASHRI. "Anita Desai: Fire On the Mountain" in PRADHAN, N.S. ed. Major<br />
Indian Novels: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986: 242-62. Also Atlantic<br />
Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
LAL, MALASHRI. "The Shift from female Centred to Male Centred Narrative in the Novels<br />
<strong>of</strong> the 1980s: A Study <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai and Nayantara Sahgal" in KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. &<br />
introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New Delhi: Allied Publishers,<br />
1990: 279-86.<br />
LINDBLAD, ISHRAT. "Colour Symbolism and the Rebirth Archetype in Anita Desai's Clear<br />
Light <strong>of</strong> Day" 256-63 in Backman, Sven & Kjellmer, Goran, eds. Papers on Language and<br />
Literature: Presented to Alvar Ellegard and Erik Frykman Goteborg: ACTA <strong>University</strong><br />
Gothoburgensis, 1985, viii + 399.<br />
MAINI, DARSIN SINGH. "The Achievement <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" in SHARMA, K.K. ed. Indo-<br />
English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977: 215-<br />
30.<br />
MAINI, IRMA. “Anita Desai and the Feminine Sensibility” Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28<br />
(1984): 1-12.<br />
Splits the novel into two interlinked strands: ‘masculine’ (ideas, action and choice) and<br />
‘feminine’ (feeling, intuition, epiphany). Desai belongs in the second grouping, exploring the<br />
nuances <strong>of</strong> a psyche under stress, exteme characters in stifling worlds <strong>of</strong> existential emotional<br />
struggles. Study <strong>of</strong> Maya in Cry the Peacock and “the poetry <strong>of</strong> disjointed emotions”. Voices<br />
in the City expands its focus to include external social factors reflecting the states <strong>of</strong> mind <strong>of</strong> a<br />
range <strong>of</strong> characters, though depiction <strong>of</strong> inner life is less well orchestrated. Sides with<br />
Ramachandra Rao in finding Nirode not always convincing and his crises reported rather than
dramatised. Monisha’s case is more akin to Maya’s. Unlike Monisha, Sita in Where shall we<br />
go this Summer? rejects her meaningless life, but finds that escape carries dangers too. Her<br />
decision to return to Bombay is unconvincing.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. "Sombre the Shadows and Sudden the Lights: A Study <strong>of</strong><br />
Anita Desai's Novels" in NAIK, M.K. Perspectives on Indian Fiction in English New Delhi:<br />
Abhinav Publications, 1985: 174-99.<br />
NARASIMHAN, RAJI. “Desai versus Desani: Norms <strong>of</strong> Appreciation.” Indian Literature 16.<br />
nos. 3&4 (1973): 180-4.<br />
Indo-English writing counters colonialist denigration <strong>of</strong> ‘the native’, so Desani’s verbose<br />
metaphysical intensities are valued for supporting the underdog, as is Desai’s Bye Bye<br />
Blackbird. Voices in the City has a more “robust domestic relevance” but is overrated<br />
because it sets Western acculturation above local experience. Such a ‘nationalist’ criticism<br />
allows disregard <strong>of</strong> Desani’s hybridised binary <strong>of</strong> brown and white in which Hatterr<br />
experiences “rockbottom” vairagya that resists religiosity and despair alike. His language is<br />
lively and spontaneous, lying beyond the clichés <strong>of</strong> Indo-English writing.<br />
PANDEY, LAL UDAI BHAN. "Art and Vision <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" The Quest, 4.2, (1990): 18-<br />
28.<br />
PANDEY, LALU U.B. “Seething Cauldron <strong>of</strong> Existence: A Thematic Study <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai’s<br />
‘In Custody’” New Literary Horizons 3.1 (1988): 85-90.<br />
The novel depicts the bewildering fluctuations in life governed by time and change. Compares<br />
the work to Camus’ Sisyphus and sees it as denying sublime ideals in the face <strong>of</strong> failure and<br />
frustration.<br />
PANIGRAHI, BIPIN B. & KIRPAL, VINEY. "The Dangling Man: Deven in Anita Desai's<br />
In Custody" in KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong><br />
the 80s New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 271-8.<br />
PANIGRAHI, BIPIN B. "Self-Apprehension and Self-Identity in Clear Light <strong>of</strong> Day" in<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New<br />
Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 73-81.<br />
PARASURAM, LAXMI. "Fire on the Mountain: A New Dimension <strong>of</strong> Feminine Self-<br />
Perception" The Literary Criterion 16.3 (1981):58-64.<br />
The criticism focuses on the growth <strong>of</strong> independence <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai's heroines.<br />
PATIL, UJWALA. "Sexual Violence and Death in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain" in<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA., ed. Studies in Indian Fiction in English Gulbarga: JIWE<br />
Publications, 1987: 61-7.<br />
PETERSEN, KIRSTEN HOLST. "Anita Desai" Kunapipi 6.3 (1984):83-5. interview?<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. Anita Desai the Novelist Allahabad: New Horizon, 1982, 148<br />
pp.
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Anita Desai's Voices in the City: A Critical Study" Littcrit 2<br />
(1981):46-58.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. Anita Desai: The Novelist Allahabad: Anil K. Srivastava,<br />
1981.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Imagery in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai: A Critical Study"<br />
World Literature Today 58.3 (Summer 1984):363-9.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Where Shall We Go This Summer? A Critical Study."<br />
Rajasthan Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 9.1 (January 1981):51-66.<br />
PRASAD, V.V.N. RAJENDRA, “Anita Desai and the wounded Self” in The Self, Family<br />
and Society in Five Indian Novelists, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990: 130-149.<br />
RAI, G. "The Soil and the Roots: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" in SINHA, R.K. &<br />
SINHA, RAVI NANDAN., eds. The Indian Novel in English: Essays in Criticism Ranchi:<br />
Ankit Publishers, 1987: 93-107.<br />
RAM, ATMA & USHA BANDE. "Symbolism in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain" World<br />
Literature Written in English 24.2 (Autumn 1984):422-7.<br />
RAM, ATMA. “Anita Desai, the Novelist who Writes for Herself” Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 5.2 (1977): 39-42.<br />
Biographical.<br />
RAMAKRISHNAN, E.V. "The Politics <strong>of</strong> Language and the Language <strong>of</strong> Politics" Littcrit<br />
16.1&2 (1990): 54-69.<br />
A study <strong>of</strong> In Custody with comparative recourse to Shashi Tharoor's The Great<br />
Indian Novel and O.V. Vijayan's The Saga <strong>of</strong> Dharmapuri to determine the ideology behind<br />
the Indian English novelist's ironic mode.<br />
RAO, A. RAMAKRISHNA. “Anita Desai’s Modernist Novel”The Literary Endeavour<br />
2.2&3 (1982): 11-14.<br />
In Voices in the City, Nirode’s void, similar to Baudelaire’s, is a personal wound relating to<br />
his mother. Camus and literary pretensions are thin bandages for it. Desai fails to prepare us<br />
for his change <strong>of</strong> attitude upon Monisha’s suicide and for his seeing the Divine Mother in his<br />
own mother. The “exoskeletal structure” doesn’t fit completely with the elements it holds; like<br />
other modernists, Desai is “hostile to the reality they represent”.<br />
RAO, B. RAMACHANDRA. Anita Desai: Themes and Variations in the Novels and Short<br />
Stories <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature and Aesthetics 2.2&3 (1982):74-9.<br />
RAO, B. RAMACHANDRA. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Mrs Anita Desai Delhi: Kalyani Publications,<br />
1977.<br />
RAO, B. RAMACHANDRA. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Mrs Anita Desai [???]
RAO, VIMALA. “Anita Desai’s Where shall we go this Summer?—An Analysis”<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28 (1984): 44-50. (removed)<br />
RAO, VIMLA. "Where Shall We Go This Summer? An Analysis." Commonwealth Quarterly<br />
3.9(December 1978):<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, DIETER. "History and the Individual in Anita Desai's Clear Light <strong>of</strong><br />
Day and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children" World Literature Written in English 23.1<br />
(Winter 1984):196-207. Reprinted in KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian<br />
Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 187-99.<br />
SAMARTH, MANINI MAYAR. The Internalized Narrative: A Study <strong>of</strong> Lyricism and Irony<br />
in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai and Anita Brookner" DAI 49.3 (September 1988):513A.<br />
SHARMA, ATMA RAM. "Anita Desai's Novels: An Exploration <strong>of</strong> Inner Sensibility"<br />
Perspective 1.12 (July 1978):64-83.<br />
SHARMA, R.S. "Alienation, Accommodation and Locale in Anita Desai's Bye-Bye<br />
Blackbird" Literary Criterion 14.4 (1979):31-49.<br />
SHARMA, R.S. Anita Desai New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, 1981.<br />
SHARMA, R.S. Anita Desai New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980, 166 pp.<br />
SHARMA, R.S. "Mother and the City: Archetypes in Anita Desai's Voices in the City"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Literary Studies 2.2 (December 1979):57-77.<br />
SHARMA, R.S. "Movement and Stillness in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain" Littcrit 7<br />
(1978):1-6.<br />
SHARMA, R.S. "Where Shall We Go This Summer: An Analysis" Commonwealth Quarterly<br />
10 (1980):50-69.<br />
SHASTRI, N.R. "Where Shall We Go This Summer?: A Critical Study" Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Literary Studies 17 (1981):83-103.<br />
SINGH, BRIJRAJ. "The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai" The Humanities Review 3.2 (1981):40-3.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K, ed. Perspectives on Anita Desai Ghaziabad: Vimal<br />
Prakashan, 1985. xlvii + 239pp.<br />
AITHAL, S. KRISHNAMOORTHY. "The Ballad <strong>of</strong> East and West Updated: Anita Desai's<br />
Bye Bye Blackbird": 156-61.<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM M. "Desai's Theory and Practice <strong>of</strong> the Novel": 5-16.<br />
AWASTHAI, KAMAL N. & SHARMA, SOM P. "Anita Desai's Cry, the Peacock: A<br />
Vindication <strong>of</strong> the Feminine": 138-49.<br />
DUDT, CHARMAZEL. "A Sense <strong>of</strong> Disappointment: A Journey to the Self in Where Shall<br />
We Go This Summer?": 179-84.<br />
GULATI, VINOD BHUSHAN. "Structure in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai": 104-17.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain: A Fictional Metaphor <strong>of</strong><br />
Existentialist Philosophy": 185-88.<br />
INAMDAR, F.A. "Anita Desai's Prose Style": 91-103.
KUMAR, SHIV K. "Desai's Games at Twilight: A View": 203-207.<br />
MAINI, DARSHAN SINGH. "Anita Desai's Novels: An Evaluation": 118-137.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai: A Study in Imagery": 54-77.<br />
RAO, A.V. KRISHNA. "Voices in the City: A Study": 162-178.<br />
RAO, RAMACHANDRA B. "Technique in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai": 78-90.<br />
SINGH, BRIJRAJ. "Desai's Clear Light <strong>of</strong> Day: A Study": 156-161.<br />
VARADY, EVELYN DAMASHEK. "The West Views Anita Desai: American and British<br />
Criticism <strong>of</strong> Games <strong>of</strong> Twilight and Other Stories": 194-202.<br />
WEIR, ANN LOWRY. "The Illusions <strong>of</strong> Maya: Feminine Consciousness in Anita Desai's<br />
Cry, the Peacock": 150-155.<br />
SIVARAMAKRISHNA, M. "From Alienation to Mythic Acceptance: The Ordeal <strong>of</strong><br />
Consciousness in Anita Desai's Fiction": 17-30.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. "Anita Desai at Work: An Interview": 208-26<br />
check pages<br />
TRIPATHI, J.P. The Mind and Art <strong>of</strong> Anita Desai Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1987,<br />
162pp.<br />
UMA, ALLADI. "'I Have Had my Vision': Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse and Anita<br />
Desai's Where Shall We Go This Summer" The Literary Criterion 22.3 (1987):73-7.<br />
Examines the search for self realisation by the heroines <strong>of</strong> these two novels. Although written<br />
50 years apart, their quests and resolutions are the same.<br />
VARADY, EVELYN. "American and British Responses to Anita Desai's Games at Twilight"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 8.1&2 (1980):27-34. Reprinted in SINGH, KIRPAL<br />
ed. Through Different Eyes: Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English Calcutta:<br />
Writers Workshop, 1984: 34-45.<br />
Short stories do not get the critical attention given to novels. Desai is little known in the<br />
US and her stories less so. Offers a US response to Games at Twilight assessing mostly<br />
favourable British reviews. Notes repeat <strong>of</strong> material in :Private Tuition by Mr Bose” and<br />
“Sale”. Suggests British resistance to and American lack <strong>of</strong> familiarity with Indian writing.<br />
Foreign critics can assess treatments <strong>of</strong> non-Indian characters, and Desai’s American dialogue<br />
fails. Strong on “vivid backdrop” and sensory images, some stories “lacked unified structure<br />
or a well-developed conflict”. “Games at Twilight”, “Studies in the Park” and “Sale” are<br />
emotionally moving. Looks for work that bridges “the gap between Indianness and<br />
universality”.<br />
WEIR, ANN LOWRY. "Anita Desai: Fire on the Mountain" WLWE 3.2 (November<br />
1978):548-50. [review?]<br />
JAMKHANDI, S.R. ed. "Anita Desai: The Woman and the Novelist" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 9.1 (January 1981).<br />
JAMKHANDI, S.R. "The Artistic Effects <strong>of</strong> the Shifts in Points <strong>of</strong> View in Anita Desai's Cry<br />
the Peacock":35-46.<br />
PRASAD, HARI MOHAN. "Sound or Sense: A Study in Anita Desai's Bye Bye<br />
Blackbird":58-66.<br />
RAM, ATMA. "A View <strong>of</strong> Where Shall We Go This Summer" :74-80.<br />
SHARMA, ATMA RAM. "A View <strong>of</strong> Where Shall We Go this Summer?":74-80.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, R.K. "Voices <strong>of</strong> Artists in the City": 47-57.
Desani, G.V.<br />
ARORA, SHANKAR MOAHN. "The Meaning Behind the 'Gesture': A Study <strong>of</strong> G.V.<br />
Desani's All About H. Hatterr" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English, 18.2, (1990): 19-30.<br />
Locates the book’s meaning in two interrelated issues, 1) the business <strong>of</strong> living one’s life, 2)<br />
the matter <strong>of</strong> intercultural identity. Perceives its primary message is the joy <strong>of</strong> family life<br />
unattained by Hatterr. Examines the basis for survival in this world contrasted by the continual<br />
struggle between good and evil.<br />
BARDOLPH, J. "Language Madness in Desani's All About H. Hatterr" Commonwealth 8.1<br />
(1985):1-13. Analyses various modes <strong>of</strong> rhetorical formation and defines their function.<br />
Locates his melange <strong>of</strong> language in Indianisms, collage, code switching and orality. Asserts<br />
three purposes for Desani’s unique language mix, 1)entertainment, 2) expresses the writer’s<br />
voice, 3) self-referentiality.<br />
BURJOREE, D.M. "The Dialogue in G.V. Desani's All About H. Hatterr" WLWE 13<br />
(1974):191-224. Identifies this work as a dialogue novel whose conversations are pivotal to<br />
its structural integrity. Observes that the problem <strong>of</strong> the Eurasian is primarily cultural, not<br />
biological. Offers the perspective that language can not perform its communicative function.<br />
DESANI, G.V. "Difficulties <strong>of</strong> Communicating an Oriental to a Western Audience"<br />
(REPRINTED IN Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature and Aesthetics 2.2&3 (1982):9-16.) in<br />
NARASIMHAIAH, C.D. ed. Awakened Conscience: Studies in Commonwealth Literature,<br />
New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1978 (also Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1978): 401-407.<br />
HARREX, S.C. "The Novel as Gesture" in NARASIMHAIAH, C.D. ed. Awakened<br />
Conscience: Studies in Commonwealth Literature, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1978 (also<br />
Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1978): 73-85.<br />
MOORTHY, P. RAMA. “Culture as Tale: An Examination <strong>of</strong> Tangi and Hali “ The Literary<br />
Criterion Vol. 14.1 (1980): 20-32.<br />
Contrasts the Western masculine interpretation <strong>of</strong> death with the Indian feminine sensibility <strong>of</strong><br />
it. Indian concept <strong>of</strong> karuna compared to the Maori concept <strong>of</strong> aroha. Finds the thirty-three<br />
chapters <strong>of</strong> Witi Ihimaera’s Tangi (1973) and the fifteen sections <strong>of</strong> Desani’s Hali (1950) to<br />
be lamentations ending in a very similar state <strong>of</strong> aroha or karuna.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Colonial Experience in All About H. Hatterr" The Humanities Review 2.3&4<br />
(1980):41-5. Employing both realism and symbolism, this novel explores several aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
colonialism. Beliram, Banerrji and Hatterr are only variations on the archetype <strong>of</strong> the colonial.<br />
Probes the personality patterns constructed by the complex psychological disruption <strong>of</strong> the<br />
colonial experience.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Colonial Experience in All about H. Hatterr" Commonwealth Novel in English<br />
1.1 (January 1982):37-49. CHECK NO & YEAR (1&2? 1984?)<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Form and Style in All About H. Hatterr" Karnatak <strong>University</strong> Journal:<br />
Humanities 29 (1985-86):1-17.
NAIK, M.K. "The Method in His Madness: A Thematic Analysis <strong>of</strong> All About H. Hatterr"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 13.1 (1985):1-14. ALSO IN NAIK, M.K. Perspectives<br />
on Indian Fiction in English New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1985:1-14 and NAIK,M.K.<br />
Studies in Indian English Literature New Delhi:: Sterling, 1987: 1-33. Asserts the central<br />
theme is the search for truth in this world. Correlates various themes and motifs. Finds a crazy,<br />
surrealistic narrative based on comedy and situation.<br />
NAIKAR, BASAVARAJ S. "All About H. Hatterr: A Philosophical Comedy" IN GUPTA,<br />
G.S. BALARAMA., ed. Studies in Indian Fiction in English Gulbarga: JIWE Publications,<br />
1987: 25-35.<br />
NARASIMHAN, RAJI. “Desai versus Desani: Norms <strong>of</strong> Appreciation.” Indian Literature 16.<br />
nos. 3&4 (1973): 180-4.<br />
Indo-English writing counters colonialist denigration <strong>of</strong> ‘the native’, so Desani’s verbose<br />
metaphysical intensities are valued for supporting the underdog, as is Desai’s Bye Bye<br />
Blackbird. Voices in the City has a more “robust domestic relevance” but is overrated<br />
because it sets Western acculturation above local experience. Such a ‘nationalist’ criticism<br />
allows disregard <strong>of</strong> Desani’s hybridised binary <strong>of</strong> brown and white in which Hatterr<br />
experiences “rockbottom” vairagya that resists religiosity and despair alike. His language is<br />
lively and spontaneous, lying beyond the clichés <strong>of</strong> Indo-English writing.<br />
NARASIMHAN, R. "The Strangeness <strong>of</strong> G.V. Desani" in Meenakshi Mukherjee, ed.<br />
Considerations (1977): 102-10 and adapted from Narasimhan's Sensibility under Stress<br />
(1976).<br />
Interprets strangeness as enigma. Desani’s utilisation <strong>of</strong> the mock-comic mode has not been<br />
appreciated by the modern Indian sensibility. Compares Hatterr to Ramaswamy as exact<br />
opposites in style and approach.<br />
The Indian sensibility finds it difficult to respond to Desani's irreverence. His linguistic virtuosity<br />
frightens because <strong>of</strong> its wild, darting quality and its pr<strong>of</strong>use allusions to both Eastern and<br />
Western traditions. All About H. Hatterr covers the same metaphysical conundrums as Raja<br />
Rao's The Serpent and the Rope, but goes beyond the usual 'East-West encounter' novels,<br />
depicting unlettered racist whites and transcending nationalism. Desani anticipates the world <strong>of</strong><br />
psychedelia.<br />
RAMAMOORTHY, P. "Culture as Tale: An Examination <strong>of</strong> Witi Ihimaera's Tangi and G.V.<br />
Desani's Hali." The Literary Criterion 14, no.1 (1980): 20-32.<br />
Compares Eastern and Western attitudes towards death. Western tragedy fights death<br />
bravely while Eastern sensibility yields to death and sorrow, and karuna (compassion, pathos)<br />
is the highest rasa. Eastern literature celebrates life by enduring sorrow. Tangi (meaning<br />
funeral), a pionering novel by Witi Ihimaera, a Maori writer, celebrates aroha, an inclusive<br />
love through uninhibited mourning. Hali, by G. V. Desani, a short poetic play, is highly<br />
symbolic, yet pr<strong>of</strong>oundly human in coming to terms with dukkha, cosmic sorrow. The thirtythree<br />
chapters <strong>of</strong> Tangi and the fifteen sections <strong>of</strong> Hali are lamentations, each repetitive lament<br />
a progressive discovery and realization <strong>of</strong> life. Both bend the English language to the native<br />
sensibility.<br />
RAMANUJAN, MOLLY. G.V. Desani: Writer and Worldview New Delhi: Arnold-<br />
Heinemann, 1980, 166 pp.; 1984, 172 pp.<br />
The only full-length study by someone who has met Desani a number <strong>of</strong> times over the<br />
years (the <strong>author</strong> <strong>of</strong> The Salt Doll as Shouri Daniels). Interesting biographical note, followed
y discussion <strong>of</strong> links between All About H. Hatterr (1948) and Forster, philsophy and the<br />
Absurd, Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, Camus, Sartre and Beckett.<br />
Concentrates on ‘The Song to Ganga’ in Hatterr as crucial expression <strong>of</strong> visionary experience.<br />
Desani's minor works are dealt with in the chapters "Kipling's Mother and Hali's Women" and<br />
"Goan, meet a Samoan". Determines the writing to be entirely self-reflexive. Comprehensive<br />
bibliography.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, DIETER. "All About H. Hatterr and the Problem <strong>of</strong> Cultural<br />
Alienation" The Literary Criterion 20.2 (1985):23-35. The problem <strong>of</strong> alienation is intensified<br />
by the numerous expressions <strong>of</strong> a lack <strong>of</strong> communication in the text. Perceives the structure <strong>of</strong><br />
the book coheres in translating “the message <strong>of</strong> the practical East” into a comprehensible<br />
statement. Claims an existential analysis answers the central quandary <strong>of</strong> the narrator’s quest.<br />
SHARRAD, PAUL. "Musings on the Hats <strong>of</strong> Hatterr" ACLALS Bulletin 7th Series No. 4<br />
(1986):79-87.<br />
Suggests two contexts for reading Desani’s masterpiece: literature <strong>of</strong> Anglo-India,<br />
meaning both colonial and racially mixed; and literary “Indianness”, grounded in classical<br />
Sanskrit literature. Compares All about H. Hatterr (1948) to Rudyard Kipling’s Kim (1901)<br />
and to Dandin’s Dasakumaracarita as an originary Sanskrit source. Desani simultaneously<br />
confirms and undermines the <strong>author</strong>ity <strong>of</strong> both Christian and Hindu dogma.<br />
SRINATH, C.N. "G.V. Desani: All about H. Hatterr" Literary Criterion 9.3 (1970): 40-56.<br />
Reissued in The Literary Landscape Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1986: 12-30.<br />
Character study identifying the distinctive message <strong>of</strong> Hatterr in the description <strong>of</strong> a<br />
metaphysical attitude to life as leela or play. Hatterr shows both zest for life and passive<br />
acceptance <strong>of</strong> its contrasts. Makes comparison to Raja Rao’s The Cat and Shakespeare and<br />
notes the importance <strong>of</strong> the ‘hymn’ to Ganga section. Reveals the <strong>author</strong>’s fusing <strong>of</strong> technique<br />
and tone to express Hatterr’s attitude to life: a blend <strong>of</strong> the humourous, the grotesque and the<br />
serious.<br />
Deshpande, Gauri<br />
VERMA, MONIKA. "Gauri Deshpande" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary<br />
English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse: A Collection<br />
<strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1985: 65-75.<br />
VARMA, MONIKA. “Gauri Deshpande” Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28 (1984): 15-28.<br />
Between Births works in two styles: delicate lyricism and assertive sincerity. Praises restraint<br />
and attention to Indian reality, noting lapses into poeticising, dramatic excess, careless<br />
punctuation and “feminine mushiness”. Evaluative critique favouring tight craft, “poetic<br />
seriousness”, correspondence to reality, and repression <strong>of</strong> physical detail: generally wanting <strong>of</strong><br />
women poets less <strong>of</strong> “sights and thighs”.<br />
Deshpande, Shashi<br />
KING, ADELE. "Shashi Deshpande: Portraits <strong>of</strong> an Indian Woman" in KIRPAL, VINEY,<br />
ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New Delhi: Allied<br />
Publishers, 1990: 159-67.<br />
DeSouza, Eunice<br />
JUSSAWALLA, ADIL. “One Woman’s Poetry” JSAL 18.1 (1983):88-90.
Response to de Souza’s poetry fixates on Goa and the entertainment value <strong>of</strong> her satires on<br />
Catholicism and Hindu beliefs. A dynamic <strong>of</strong> rejecting and wanting to belong to her sociocultural<br />
community obscures the central issue <strong>of</strong> the gender struggle. The poems wage war<br />
with men to be accepted by them and also against the terms on which such acceptance would<br />
be accorded. Their success lies in creating a “near terrible poetic persona” with elements <strong>of</strong><br />
the tragic stage, that wins respect if not liking.<br />
SHARMA, S.P. "Eunice de Souza's Satire" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 10.1&2<br />
(1982):17-20.<br />
Devi, Chitra<br />
"Introducing...Chitrita Devi" The Indian Pen 48.4-6 (1987):9-10. lang? genre? <strong>author</strong>?<br />
Dharmaraj, Lila<br />
JAIN, SUNITA. "Leela Dharmaraj, Ira De and Tapati Mookerji" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves'<br />
Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1985: 132-40.<br />
Dutt, Michael Madhusudan<br />
BOSE, AMALENDU. Michael Madhusudan Dutt New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi,1982, 94<br />
pp.<br />
Dutt, Toru<br />
BOSE, AMALENDU. “Evaluation <strong>of</strong> Toru Dutt: A Starting Point” Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 3.12 (1979): 4-17.<br />
Assessment <strong>of</strong> Dutt cannot rely on biographical material, only the image <strong>of</strong> the poet from the<br />
poetry. Cites responses to P. Lal’s questionnaire to show her decline in popularity. Suggests<br />
looking at her work in the frame <strong>of</strong> Taine’s race, milieu, moment.<br />
Provides a bio-bibliography. Asks what experience Toru had <strong>of</strong> love and considers one poem<br />
and her reading <strong>of</strong> Meredith without arriving at any real conclusion.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. Toru Dutt New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1974.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Toru Dutt and Her Poetry" in RAO, K.S. NARAYANA. ed. World<br />
Literature Written in English 14.2 (1975):278-90.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. Toru Dutt New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, 1977, 168 pp. [same as 1974?<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. “Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu: A Comparative Approach” Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 3.9 (1978): 82-94.<br />
Bio-bibliographic appreciation. Both are Romantic lyricists despite Naidu’s later work<br />
being contemporary with Modernism. Notes dismissal <strong>of</strong> them by the Writers Workshop<br />
critics. Naidu’s crafted “jewelled phrases” and Sapphic passion contrast with Dutt’s simple<br />
style but remain limited and subordinate to her nationalist activity. Dutt had a wider range,<br />
including narrative skills, but “wooden” blank verse.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. “Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu” Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28 (1984):<br />
82-94.
Bio-bibliographical outlines <strong>of</strong> each, locating Toru’s strength in her ballads and Sarojini’s in<br />
perfecting her narrow lyric range. Both romantics, Sarojini swung more towards the Decadent<br />
period. Toru showed promise <strong>of</strong> a wider talent. Looks at “Gold-mulched Hours” and “Green<br />
leaves are Gold” as evidence <strong>of</strong> striking imagery<br />
GOWDA, H.H.A. "Homage to Toru Dutt" The Indian P.E.N. 43. 9&10 (1977):6-10.<br />
IYER, UMA. "Toru Dutt: A Major Indo-Anglian Poet" Siddha 13 (1979):38-47.<br />
NAIR, K.R. RAMACHANDRAN. Three Indo-Anglian Poets: Henry Derozio, Toru Dutt<br />
and Sarojini Naidu New Delhi: Sterling, 1987, 122 pp.<br />
SETHNA, K.D. "A Word for Toru Dutt" Mother India 40.9 (1987):567-70.<br />
SHARMA, I.K. "The Lotus: Toru's Testament <strong>of</strong> Faith" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
16.1 (1988):14-19.<br />
Ezekiel, Nissim<br />
BLACKWELL, FRITZ. "Four Plays <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 11,<br />
no.3/4 (1976): 265-72.<br />
Attempts a critical appraisal <strong>of</strong> the plays, which compare favourably with other Indian<br />
plays available in English. Ezekiel's stylistic approach in Three Plays and Song <strong>of</strong> Deprivation<br />
frankly admits itself as theater. Each play is an effective exposé <strong>of</strong> the hollowness people<br />
contrive for themselves. Song <strong>of</strong> Deprivation is not as stageable as the earlier plays. Ezekiel's<br />
characters are ditinct types, not individuals; the situation is domi<strong>nan</strong>t. The Sleepwalkers is his<br />
best play; a ritualistic style is used to satirize the Indians who worship all things American.<br />
CHAR, M. SREERAMA. Prayer Motif in Indian Poetry in English Calcutta: Writers<br />
Workshop, 1988, 135 pp.<br />
CHARI, JAGANMOHANA. "Poetics <strong>of</strong> the City: A Study <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel's Poetry"<br />
Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 17 (1981):105-21.<br />
CHINDHADE, SIRISH. "Rootedness in Ezekiel's Poetry: A Point <strong>of</strong> View" Poetry 12<br />
(1986):37-54.<br />
COPPOLA, CARLO. "Nissim Ezekiel: The Most Recent Poems" The Commonwealth in<br />
Canada ed. Uma Parameswaran, Calcutta: The Writers Workshop, 1984, pp 158-73.<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR. "Critical Perspectives on Relationship and Latter-Day Psalms"<br />
Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1987, vi + 55pp. check: ed? title? contents?<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel" in DAS, BIJAY KUMAR ed.<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1986: 28-40.<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR. "The Search after Reality: A Study <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's Poems" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 10.1&2 (1982):10-14.
DWIVEDI, SURESH CHANDRA. ed. Perspectives on Nissim Ezekiel: Esays in Honour <strong>of</strong><br />
Rosemary C. Wilkinson New Delhi: K.M. Agencies, 1989, 280pp.<br />
GARMAN, MICHAEL. "Nissim Ezekiel - Pilgrimage and Myth" Visvabharati Quarterly<br />
38.1-2 (1972-3):93-111.<br />
GOWDA, H.H. ANNIAH. "Nissim Ezekiel's Plays." Literary Half-Yearly 14, no.1 (1973):<br />
11-15.<br />
Ezekiel, primarily a poet, is a good dramatist as well, as is shown by Three Plays.<br />
Nalini is the best, distinguished by the intensity <strong>of</strong> the dialogue; the final act <strong>of</strong> this three-act<br />
play is in the nature <strong>of</strong> a choric commentary. The Sleepwalkers, though a farce, is tautly<br />
constructed, and criticises Indian and American society, while Mariage Poem, a tragi-comedy<br />
about marital breakdown, is true <strong>of</strong> a large number <strong>of</strong> families. [From Full Annots:A basic<br />
retelling (in fractured English) <strong>of</strong> the plot-line <strong>of</strong> Nalini: A Comedy, with short summations <strong>of</strong><br />
Marriage Poem and The Sleepwalkers.<br />
JOURNAL <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 14.2 (1986) Special issue<br />
ACHARYA, N.P. "Achievement and Failure in Nissim Ezekiel's Poetry" :73-90. Acharya<br />
draws on previous critical works in his chronological analysis <strong>of</strong> the technique and styles to be<br />
found in Ezekiel's body <strong>of</strong> work.<br />
ANKLESARIA, HAVOVI. "On the Fringes <strong>of</strong> Journalism: The Prose <strong>of</strong> Nissim<br />
Ezekiel":101-8. This approving critique <strong>of</strong> a less well known aspect <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's writing<br />
examines his literary and art reviews and concludes that Ezekiel displays a 'characteristic sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> balance' in prose which has no pretensions to research and is free <strong>of</strong> rationalization.<br />
ANKLESARIA, ZERIN. "Wit in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel":41-8.<br />
Anklesaria concentrates primarily on the structure <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's 'Sixty Poems' with an<br />
examination <strong>of</strong> his use <strong>of</strong> metephor and analogy. [OK KJL]<br />
BHAGWAT, CHARU. "Poet-Rascal-Clown <strong>of</strong> Hymns in Darkness":91-100. A caustic<br />
critique <strong>of</strong> Hymns in Darkness which draws on English classicism in general and T. S. Eliot in<br />
particular in contrast to what Bhagwat sees as Ezeliel's lack sincerity and self-exploration as<br />
well as his inappropriate use <strong>of</strong> wit.<br />
CHACKO, P.M. "Ezekiel's Family Poems":24-40.<br />
Comments upon the confessional and intimate domestic nature <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's family poems.<br />
Chacko also examines Ezekiels journey <strong>of</strong> self-discovery through his poetry.<br />
DAMODAR, G. "Search for Identity: An Estimate <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's Poetry":58-64. In complete<br />
contrast to Naik's article, Damodar finds that Ezekiel's poetry reveals a theme <strong>of</strong> a deep and<br />
abiding commitment to both India and the city <strong>of</strong> Bombay.<br />
DANI, N.D. "An Interview with Nissim Ezekiel":117-21.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Modernity in Nissim Ezekiel's Poetry":65-72. A relatively unfocussed<br />
examination <strong>of</strong> the technique and motifs used in Ezekiel's poems as evidence <strong>of</strong> 'modernity'.<br />
GUHA, A.S. "Nissim Ezekiel's India":17-23.<br />
Guha's article looks at the theme <strong>of</strong> an Indian reality in Ezekiel's poems in the context <strong>of</strong> his<br />
awareness <strong>of</strong> both the human and social aspects <strong>of</strong> Indian society.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Nissim Ezekiel and Alienation":49-57. A not completely convincing argument<br />
on the role <strong>of</strong> alienation in Ezekiel's poetry which seems to get caught up more in Ezekiel's use<br />
<strong>of</strong> irony than any evidence <strong>of</strong> the struggle which the <strong>author</strong> feels should be taking place.<br />
PATEL, TONI. "Is It Pleasant to Meet Mr. Ezekiel!":109-16.<br />
PRASAD, B. N. "Latter-Day Psalms": 131-136
Prasad looks with approval at the metrical and mythical patterns in Ezekiel's poetry.<br />
RAMAKRISHNA, D. "Ezekiel's Credo":1-16.<br />
Ramakrishna examines a number <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's letters, critical essays and interviews to gain an<br />
insight into the creed behind his poetry. He concludes that Ezekiel's quest for the proper<br />
communication <strong>of</strong> the meaning <strong>of</strong> life is based on his convictions <strong>of</strong> the extrinsic and intrinsic<br />
aspects <strong>of</strong> literature.<br />
RODRIGUES, SANTAN. "The Plays <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel":122-30.<br />
Ezekiel is an excellent craftsman whose characters are caricatures. Description and direct<br />
quotes. Evaluate Three Plays and Song <strong>of</strong> Deprivation, written during Ezekiel's peak period as<br />
a poet. Ezekiel is a better poet than playwright; the plays depict only the banality <strong>of</strong> life, while<br />
the poems grapple with the its big questions.<br />
KARNANI, CHETAN. Nissim Ezekiel New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1973, 192 pp.<br />
KHER, INDER NATH. "'That Message From Another Shore': The Esthetic Vision <strong>of</strong> Nissim<br />
Ezekiel" Mahfil 8.4 (1972):17-28.<br />
KHER, INDER NATH. "'That Message from Another Shore': The Esthetic Vision <strong>of</strong> Nissim<br />
Ezekiel" in KULSHRESHTHA, CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An<br />
Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980: 150-64. Also Atlantic Highlands:<br />
Humanities, 1981.<br />
KHER, INDER NATH. "A Time to Change: The Early Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel" South<br />
Asian Review 2 (1978):41-55.<br />
KHULLAR, AJIT. "Old Psalms for New Times" Indian Literature 27.5 (1984):219-27.<br />
KUMAR, SHIV K. "Poster Plays <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 11.3-<br />
4 (1976):263-4.<br />
KUMAR, VINODA & SHIV KUMAR. "The Indianness <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's 'Indian English Poems':<br />
An Analysis" Kunapipi 9.1 (1987):21-9.<br />
MEHTA, P.P. "Nissim Ezekiel" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-<br />
English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984: 210-15.<br />
NABAR, VRINDA. "Domesticity and Drama: An Analysis <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel's Marriage-<br />
Poem and Don't Call it Suicide." In Contemporary Indian Drama, edited by Pandey (1990),<br />
75-81.<br />
Ezekiel's contribution to Indian English drama is modest. Marriage Poem, in the<br />
conventional theatriacl mode, with clear stage directions, is very stageable. The view <strong>of</strong><br />
marriage is equally dismal in Don't Call it Suicide, which shows the sham security <strong>of</strong> middle<br />
class respectability. Nabar is unsatisfied with the dialogue, into which Indianisms intrude<br />
without any justification, and the women characters, uniformly drab, stereotyped, and<br />
unimaginative.<br />
NAIR, K. R. RAMACHANDRAN. “Nissim Ezekiel’s ‘Bombay Poems’.” Triveni 59, no.3<br />
(1990):65-74.
Claims his poetry attempts to harmonise the diverse and contradictory images <strong>of</strong><br />
contemporary urban culture. Lists the themes common to the Bombay poems. Reveals the<br />
poet on a perpetual quest for identity and commitment in an urbanised milieu characterised by<br />
dehumanisation and mass confusion.<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. "Nissim Ezekiel's Latter Day Psalms: A Study" in DAS,<br />
BIJAY KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1986: ??? reprint?<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. "Nissim Ezekiel's Latter-Day Psalms" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 13.1 (1985):31-38.<br />
Looks appreciatively at the techniques, structures and themes employed by Ezekiel in Latter-<br />
Day Psalms.<br />
[Lever: The annotation is incomplete because the article is lacking - no argument, no claim, no<br />
nothing except Look at this poem: it uses such and such rhyme scheme; it conveys his idea <strong>of</strong><br />
xyz; the next poem uses a completely different rhyme scheme.... Rhyme is the main technique<br />
the critic refers to. The critic says: “Nissim Ezekiel ceaselessly experiments with technique;<br />
‘Latter-Day Psalms’ is something new in his versification, as he has consciously modelled the<br />
movement <strong>of</strong> his verse on the biblical psalms.” Uses irony in them. The poems in ‘Psalms’<br />
show: “Ezekiel advocates involement in life, with all its good and evil.” Psalms “are<br />
representative examples <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel’s art, with its wide-ranging experiments in form and<br />
technique.” The ‘Psalms’ show Ezekiel’s attempts to come to terms with his complex heritage,<br />
born a Jew in <strong>india</strong> with its cultural variety.” (statements with no expansion on them).<br />
NARAYAN, SYAMALA A. "Ezekiel as Book Reviewer" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature<br />
11.3-4 (1976):273-82.<br />
NARULA, S.C. "Negative Affirmation in Nissim Ezekiel's Hymns and Psalms" in KHER,<br />
INDER NATH and CHRISTOPHER WISEMAN eds. Ariel 14.4 (1983): 57-76.<br />
Follows Linda Hess and Inder Nath Kher in noting Ezekiel’s attention to “the here and now”,<br />
looking indirectly through the “‘fever’ <strong>of</strong> the mind caused by the outrage <strong>of</strong> the world” to<br />
“intimations <strong>of</strong> a vision <strong>of</strong> God” registered as existential quest and in terms <strong>of</strong> the paradox and<br />
irony <strong>of</strong> human limitation and endless striving to go beyond. Faith (leavening a basically<br />
humanist view) is approached out <strong>of</strong> unfaith, and the ego is propitiated and critiqued as both<br />
power and obstacle.Thematic commentary framed by Old Testament Psalms<br />
PAL, K.S. Ezekiel and Ramanujan: A Comparative Study Astha Prakashan, 1981.<br />
PARANJAPE, MAKARANDA. “Nissim Ezekiel as Mystical Poet” Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 13.34 (1986-7) 1-6.<br />
While not overtly spiritual, Ezekiel expresses an underlying but unresolved spiritual quest in his<br />
work. Later work ironically exposes “the self-deceptions <strong>of</strong> a modern-day seeker”; early<br />
poems catalogue obstacles in the poet’s way to self-realisation. “Declaration” and<br />
“Encounter” (A Time to Change and Other Poems)<br />
mark a transformation in understanding.<br />
PARTHASARATHY, R. "Foregrounding as an Interpretative Device in Nissim Ezekiel's<br />
'Night <strong>of</strong> the Scorpion'" The Literary Criterion 11.3 (1974):38-44.
RAGHUNANDAN, LAKSHMI, Contemporary Indian Poetry in English: with Special<br />
Emphasis on Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, R. Parthasarathy and A.K. Ramanujan, New<br />
Delhi: Reliance Publishing House, 1990, 295pp.<br />
RAHMAN, ANISUR. Form and Value in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel New Delhi: Abhinav<br />
Publications, 1981, viii + 94 pp.<br />
RAIZADA, HARISH. “Nissim Ezekiel’s Poetry <strong>of</strong> Love and Sex” in Madhusudan Prasad<br />
(ed) Living Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling, 1989: 73-106.<br />
Follows Iyengar in seeing Ezekiel as focussed on exploring all aspects <strong>of</strong> the bodymind<br />
exprience <strong>of</strong> sexuality. Both physical drive and sacramental celebration <strong>of</strong> beauty, sexual<br />
love is a bulwark against the existential void, though the poet resists commitments because <strong>of</strong><br />
personal guilts or perceived insincerity in his lovers. Married love carries inherent limitations<br />
because <strong>of</strong> different expectations<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA, Studies in Indian Writing in English with a Focus on Indian English<br />
Drama, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990, 94pp.<br />
"The Poet as Dramatist: Nissim Ezekiel Interviewed":13-19.<br />
"Minor Joys and Sorrows: Ezekiel's Marriage Poem": 20-27.<br />
RAO, R. RAJ. "Theme <strong>of</strong> Alienation in Nissim Ezekiel's Plays." In Contemporary Indian<br />
Drama, edited by Pandey (1990), 82-91.<br />
Alienation is a unifying theme running through all <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel's plays, whose intellectual<br />
content surpasses their dramatic value. Rao examines Three Plays and the unpublished Who<br />
Needs No Introduction and Song <strong>of</strong> Deprivation. Dress and language are recurring<br />
instruments <strong>of</strong> alienation. Something inherent in our natures culminates in alienation from<br />
society and each other. Ezekiel's characters are not round; they are types, who reveal why we<br />
fail.<br />
SAHA, SUBHAS CHANDRA. "The Indian Milieu and Ethos in Nissim Ezekiel's Poetry."<br />
Literary Half Yearly 29.1 (1988) 84-91<br />
Focusses on the motif <strong>of</strong> what it means for Ezekiel to be Indian with the contrasting and<br />
conflicting realities which this encompasses.<br />
SHAHANE, V.A. The Religious-Philosophical Strain in Nissim Ezekiel's Poetry" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
South Asian Literature 11.3-4 (1976):253-61.<br />
SINGH, S. "Journey into Self: Nissim Ezekiel's Recent Poetry" in SHAHANE, V.A. & M.<br />
SIVARAMAKRISHNA, eds. "Contemporary Indian Poetry in English Special Number"<br />
Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 13.1 (1977):29-43.<br />
SINGH, SATYANARAIN. "Journey into Self: Nissim Ezekiel's Recent Poetry" in<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A. and SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A<br />
Critical Assessment Madras: Macmillan, 1980: 48-60. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities,<br />
1981.<br />
SINGH, SATYANARAIN. "Ramanujan and Ezekiel" in KULSHRESHTHA,<br />
CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-<br />
Heinemann, 1980: 165-74. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.
SREENIVASAN, S. "The Self and Its Enchanted Circle: A Perspective on the Poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
Nissim Ezekiel" Littcrit 16.1&2 (1990): 81-87.<br />
SREERMACHER, M. "The River's Argot in Three Indo-English Poets: A.K. Ramanujan,<br />
K.N. Daruwalla and Nissim Ezekiel" Poetry 10 (1986):11-13.<br />
TARANATH, RAJEEV. "Ezekiel's Nalini." In Indian Drama edited by Gowda, (1974), 117-<br />
26.<br />
A poet moving into playwriting is an interesting phenomenon, especially when he has<br />
to face the peculiar problems <strong>of</strong> Indian-English theater. His material is seriously attenuated, as<br />
he deals with English-speaking Indians, a very small class. Nalini is tightly knit. The two male<br />
characters, Bharat and Raj, reveal different kinds <strong>of</strong> alienation--Raj's alienation touches<br />
tragedy, while Bharat's is merely cerebral. Nalini is not an ordinary character, she is a dream<br />
and a reality, an agent <strong>of</strong> evaluation. Ezekiel makes clever use <strong>of</strong> the bell; at the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
play, it acquires a kind <strong>of</strong> symbolism which is typical <strong>of</strong> the poet Ezekiel.<br />
VAIDYANATHAN, RAMA. "Nissim Ezekiel on Indo-Anglian Fiction" Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature<br />
and Aesthetics 2.2&3 (1982):17-19.<br />
VERGHESE, C. PAUL. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel." Indian Literature 15, no.1<br />
(1972):63-75.<br />
Close reading matching form and content (“Night <strong>of</strong> the Scorpion”, Poet, Lover,<br />
Birdwatcher”). Primary concern is “man and his mind”, the meditative quest for self-integration<br />
balanced by “sensory commitment to life”, aphoristic bareness by modulations <strong>of</strong> tone and<br />
technical control. Probes illusion and desire for truth, aphoristic qualities moving to ironically<br />
juxtaposed images. Simpler, more terse than Moraes.<br />
WIELAND, JAMES. ""'Making Light <strong>of</strong> the Process': Nissim Ezekiel's Poetic Fictions"<br />
Kunapipi 2.2 (1980):91-103.<br />
WISEMAN, C. "The Development <strong>of</strong> Technique in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim Ezekiel: From<br />
Formality to Informality" in MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. ed. Considerations: Twelve<br />
Studies <strong>of</strong> Indo-Anglian Writing New Delhi: Allied, 1977: 137-50. Perceives The Exact<br />
Name (1965) is the key text in expanding his technical skills. Locates ‘In India’ as the<br />
transitional poem and ‘Two Images’ and ‘In Retrospect’ as examples <strong>of</strong> his new free style<br />
form. The Exact Name (1965) records the revolutionary change in his formal expertise.<br />
WISEMAN, CHRISTOPHER. "The Development <strong>of</strong> Technique in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nissim<br />
Ezekiel" in KULSHRESHTHA, CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An<br />
Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980: 133-49. Also Atlantic Highlands:<br />
Humanities, 1981.Reprinted from MUKHERJEE,MEENAKSHI ed.Considerations: Twelve<br />
Stidies <strong>of</strong> Indo-Anglian Writing New Delhi: Allied, 1977: 137-50.<br />
Furtado, Joseph<br />
AMANUDDIN, SYED. "Social Realism in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Joseph Furtado" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 7.2 (1978):46-9.
FURTADO, PHILLIP. "Poet Joseph Furtado" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 18.1<br />
(1983):68-70.<br />
Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand<br />
CASAMADA, PILAR. “The Autobiography <strong>of</strong> Mahatma Gandhi” in MCDERMOTT,<br />
DOIREANN ed. Autobiographical and Biographical Writing in Commonwealth Literature<br />
Barcelona: Sabadell, 1984:45-48.<br />
Notes the Hindu emphasis on transcendental philosophy rather than history and Gandhi’s<br />
reading <strong>of</strong> the Gita as outward figure for an inner duel, plus his attribution <strong>of</strong> autobiography to<br />
Western thought. Biographical survey, noting contradictory aspects <strong>of</strong> Gandhi’s treatment <strong>of</strong><br />
his family and Koestler’s critique <strong>of</strong> satyagraha.<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "Gandhi, the Writer" in NAIK, M.K. ed. Perspectives on<br />
Indian Prose in English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 51-60. Also Atlantic Highlands:<br />
Humanities, 1982.<br />
RAO, K. RAGHAVENDRA. "Communication and Content in Gandhi's Hind Swaraj" in<br />
NAIK, M.K. ed. Perspectives on Indian Prose in English New Delhi: Abhinav, 1982: 61-71.<br />
Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1982.<br />
SASTRY, L.S.R. "Gandhi as a Writer" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 17.2 (1989): 35-<br />
41.<br />
VENKATESWARULU, I. "Gandhi and the Indo-English Novel: A Study in Influence" in<br />
AMUR, G.S., PRASAD, V.R.N., NEMADE, B.V. & NIHALANI, N.H., eds. Indian<br />
Readings in Commonwealth Literature New York: Apt; 1985: New Delhi: Sterling, 1985:52-<br />
56.
Ghose, Sudin N.<br />
KATAMBLE, V.D. "Village and City in the Balaram Tetralogy <strong>of</strong> Sudhin Ghose" The<br />
Literary Half-yearly 23, no.1 (1982): 128-38.<br />
Many Indian novels deal with the theme <strong>of</strong> village-city encounter; Ghose presents the<br />
most revealing picture <strong>of</strong> the seamy side <strong>of</strong> city life, especially in the last two novels <strong>of</strong> his<br />
tetralogy, where the narrator comes <strong>of</strong> age. The theme figures in the earlier novels, too. And<br />
Gazelles Leaping has the child studying in a kindergarten in a rural pocket near Calcutta, but<br />
the city intrudes in the shape <strong>of</strong> wounded refugees from the riots in Calcutta. In The Cradle <strong>of</strong><br />
the Clouds, which has a rural setting, the scales are weighted in favour <strong>of</strong> the traditional<br />
Panditji as opposed to the modern city-dweller, though there are evil forces in the village too.<br />
Ghose tends to simplify the village-city encounter in terms <strong>of</strong> innocence versus experience or<br />
good versus evil.<br />
MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. "The Tractor and the Plough: The Contrasted Visions <strong>of</strong><br />
Sudhin Ghose and Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d," Indian Literature 13, no.1 (1970): 88-101. Rept. in<br />
Indian Literature <strong>of</strong> the Past Fifty Years, edited by C. D. Narasimhaiah. 1970: 121-32.<br />
Details? Rept. in Considerations: Twelve Studies <strong>of</strong> Indo-Anglian Writing, edited by<br />
Meenakshi Mukherjee. New Delhi: Allied, 1977: 111-21.<br />
Compares Sudhin N. Ghose’s tetralogy <strong>of</strong> novels about a Bengali orphan with Mulk<br />
Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d’s trilogy about Lalu, a Punjabi peasant boy. Analyses the novels in terms <strong>of</strong><br />
language and structure. Both novelists deal with the theme <strong>of</strong> growth, but they represent two<br />
opposite poles <strong>of</strong> Indian English fiction in their technique, attitudes towards the past, and use<br />
<strong>of</strong> myth, and have diametrically opposed views <strong>of</strong> art. Ghose values tradition, myth and the<br />
past; he is sceptical about progress and sc<strong>of</strong>fs at the idea <strong>of</strong> India rivalling America or Russia;<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d believes in progress with a capital ‘P’. Ghose builds his novels around myths, while<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d’s use is confined to giving a new ending to the traditional story <strong>of</strong> Sita in Gauri. Ghose<br />
uses fantasy and elements <strong>of</strong> Sanskrit storytelling (like Raja Rao), while A<strong>nan</strong>d is realistic.<br />
MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. The Twice-Born Fiction: Themes and Techniques <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Indian Novel in English. New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, 1971. pp?<br />
Ghose is one <strong>of</strong> the novelists analysed. [cross index]<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. Sudhin N. Ghose. “Indian Writers” Series, vol. 5. New Delhi:<br />
Arnold-Heinemann, 1973, 156pp.<br />
First full-length study <strong>of</strong> Ghose, who used Indain methods <strong>of</strong> storytelling a decade<br />
before Raja Rao’s The Serpent and the Rope. Ghose uses digressions, quotations from<br />
Sanskrit and other Indian languages, songs, folk tales and legends to enrich the texture <strong>of</strong> his<br />
fiction. Following an introductory, mainly biographical chapter, Narayan devotes a chapter<br />
each to the four novels, “Other Works” and “Ghose and Indian Storytelling”. Contains a<br />
bibliography, which lists Ghose’s unpublished works also.<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. “Reality and Fantasy in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Sudhin N. ghose.” In<br />
Aspects <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English, edited by M. K. Naik (1979): 162-71.<br />
Fantasy is an integral part <strong>of</strong> Ghose’s fiction, giving rise to the impression that it is not<br />
realistic. By comparing his tetralogy with The Autobiography <strong>of</strong> an Unknown Indian by Nirad
C. Chaudhuri, Narayan shows that most <strong>of</strong> his descriptions <strong>of</strong> life in Calcutta are based on<br />
fact. Ghose’s primary intention is not realistic, but his portrait <strong>of</strong> life in India is authentic.<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. “Sudhin N. Ghose.” In Perspectives on Indian Fiction in<br />
English, edited by M. K. Naik. (1985): pp?<br />
Ghose introduced the literary heritage <strong>of</strong> India into the Indian English novel a decade<br />
before Raja Rao. His tetralogy <strong>of</strong> novels employs traditional Indian methods <strong>of</strong> storytelling,<br />
replete with verse ranging from classical sanskrit poetry to folk songs and Tagore’s lyrics. The<br />
primary expository essay pleads for greater attention being devoted to Ghose.<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. Sudhin N. Ghose. Makers <strong>of</strong> Indian Literature. Series Delhi:<br />
Sahitya Akademi, 1989, 83pp.<br />
Study aimed at the general reader.
Ghosh, Amitav<br />
KAPADIA, NOVY. "Imagination and Politics in Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines" in<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New<br />
Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: ?.<br />
KAUL, A.N. "Who is Afraid <strong>of</strong> Shadow Lines?" Indian Literature, 139, (1990): 88-93.<br />
review?<br />
NARAYAN, SHYAMALA A. "The Structure <strong>of</strong> Amitav Ghosh's The Circle <strong>of</strong> Reason"<br />
Littcrit 614.1&2 (1989):43-54.<br />
PRASAD, G.J.V. "The Unfolding <strong>of</strong> a Raga: Narrative Structure in The Circle <strong>of</strong> Reason" in<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New<br />
Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 101-07.<br />
Gokak, V.K.<br />
SAJJAN, G.B. "Pr<strong>of</strong>. V.K. Gokak as a Poet: A Tentative Assessment" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 3.11 (1979):61-5.<br />
Gokhale, Namita<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER. "Semiotics <strong>of</strong> Feminine Ideology and the Adaptation <strong>of</strong> Zola's<br />
Naturalism in Namita Gokhale's Paro" in KIRPAL, VINEY, ed. & introd. The New Indian<br />
Novel in English: A Study <strong>of</strong> the 80s New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990: 131-46.<br />
Gorwala, A. D.<br />
MELWANI, M.D. "A.D. Gorwala's Short Fiction" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 2.2<br />
(1974):62-7.<br />
Gupta, Rohini<br />
RAIZADA, HARISH. "Chitra Pershad, Rohini Gupta and Dorothy Sinha" in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary<br />
Indo-English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash<br />
Book Depot, 1985:217-26.<br />
Honnalgere, Gopal<br />
SRIDHAR, S.N. "A Note on Honnalgere's Zen Tree and Wild Innocents" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 3.2 (1975):32-4.<br />
Hossain, Attia<br />
ANAND, MULK RAJ. “Pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> Attia Hosain” Commonwealth Quarterly 3.9 (1978): 1-<br />
12.<br />
Personal account <strong>of</strong> her social background and literary formation with an appreciation <strong>of</strong><br />
Sunlight on a Broken Column.<br />
Isvaran, Manjeri<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "A Note on Isvaran's No Anklet Bells for Her" Journal <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Karnatak <strong>University</strong>: Humanities, 18 (1974):111-14.
GUPTA, G.S.B. "Just a Pot <strong>of</strong> Ashes: A Note on Isvaran's Immersion" The Rajasthan Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> English Studies: 1.1 (1975):29-32.<br />
GUPTA, G.S.B. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Manjeri S. Isvaran" Journal <strong>of</strong> the Karnatak <strong>University</strong>:<br />
Humanities 19 (1975):100-09.<br />
GUPTA, G.S.BALARAMA. "A Little Sheaf <strong>of</strong> Letters from Venkataramani to Isvaran"<br />
Littcrit 3.1 (1977):36-41.<br />
NAIK, M.K. “Finding ‘The Mind’s Construction’: The Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Manerji Isvaran” in<br />
NAIK, Studies in Indian English Literature New Delhi: Sterling, 1987: 55-67.<br />
PANIKER, K. AYYAPPA. Manjeri S. Isvaran Madras: Macmillan India (Kerala Writers in<br />
English Series), 1984.<br />
Iyengar, K.R. Srinivasa<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Leaves From a Log: K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar" Indian Literature 24.1<br />
(January-February 1981):133-5.<br />
KANTAK, V.Y. "A Sitayana for Today" Indian Literature 129 (1989): 101-27. poetry?<br />
Iyer, Rajam<br />
VISWANATHAN, S. "Rajam Iyer's Vasudeva Sastry or True Greatness: Apologue or<br />
Religious Novel?" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 2.1: 49-53.[check year]<br />
Jain, Sunita<br />
JAIDKA, MANJU. "The Whimper and the Dream: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sunita Jain" Littcrit<br />
14.1&2 (1989): 56-63. Also in Atma RAM ed. Contemporary Indian-English Poetry<br />
Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 32-39.<br />
Jaggi, Satya Dev<br />
SHARMA, URMILA. "From Chimney to Sky: Satya Dev Jaggi's Poetry" in DWIVEDI, A.N<br />
ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:289-<br />
300.
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer<br />
AGARWAL, R. "Forster, Jhabvala and Readers" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 3.2<br />
(1975):25-7.<br />
Argues that Jhabvala's fictional portrayal <strong>of</strong> India is superior to the much admired<br />
perspective displayed in Forster's 'A Passage to India'. Forster's Dr. Aziz lacks any familial<br />
connection and this distinction allows Jhabvala's totally "authentic picture" <strong>of</strong> Indian family life<br />
to produce a more discerning representation <strong>of</strong> India for her readers. Primarily concerned with<br />
upholding family life as key factor in sociological accuracy <strong>of</strong> fictional treatments <strong>of</strong> Indian life.<br />
AGARWAL, R. "Two Approaches to Jhabvala" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 5.1<br />
(1977):24-7.<br />
Seeks to bring into perspective the rift between Indian and Western critical<br />
perceptions <strong>of</strong> the value <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's writing. Points to lack <strong>of</strong> discernment <strong>of</strong> <strong>author</strong>'s<br />
purpose as possible underlying factor for Indian criticism having little regard for Jhabvala.<br />
Questions the noticeable difference in critical reception between Western and Indian<br />
reviewers and critics.<br />
AGARWAL, R.C. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: A Study <strong>of</strong> Her Fiction New Delhi: Sterling, 1990,<br />
126pp.<br />
AGARWAL, R.G. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: A Study <strong>of</strong> her Fiction New Delhi: Sterling, 1989,<br />
132pp.<br />
AGARWAL, RAMLAL. "A Critical Study <strong>of</strong> Heat and Dust" in GUPTA, G.S.<br />
BALARAMA., ed. Studies in Indian Fiction in English Gulbarga: JIWE Publications, 1987:<br />
53-60.<br />
ALBERTAZZI, S. "R.P. Jhabvala's 'Mythology <strong>of</strong> Captivity'" Commonwealth 8.1 (1985):31-<br />
44.<br />
AMUR, G.S. "Marriage as Symbolic Strategy in Seeta, Esmond in India and The Serpent and<br />
the Rope" Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature and Aesthetics 1.3 (1981):5- [who wrote Seeta?]<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "Jhabvala's Novels: A Thematic Study" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
2.1 (1974):38-47.<br />
Asserts Jhabvala's early fictions contain acutely accurate insights into Indian life full <strong>of</strong><br />
paradoxes and contradictions accelerated by East-West tension. Elaborates on family life as<br />
the central focus <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's writing. Questions the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> sociological aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
fictions in respect <strong>of</strong> certain character types, especially grandmotherly figures and servants.<br />
Often makes use <strong>of</strong> comparison to Jane Austen.<br />
BAWER, BRUCE. "Passage to India: The Career <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala" NewC 6.4<br />
(December 1987):5-19.<br />
BLACKWELL, F. "Perception <strong>of</strong> the Guru in the Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala" Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 5.2 (1977):6-13.<br />
Traces the image <strong>of</strong> the guru through various treatments in several novels and short<br />
stories. Analyses the character <strong>of</strong> the guru as it is reflected in the Western students
encountering the Eastern holy man. Pays particular attention to the sexual patterns common to<br />
Jhabvala's fiction, characterised as skeptical and sardonic, about the swami figure.<br />
BRADBURY, NICOLA. "Filming James" Essays in Criticism 29.4 (October 1979):293-301.<br />
[Jhabvala?]<br />
CHADHA, RAMESH. Cross-Cultural Interaction in Indian English Fiction: An Analysis <strong>of</strong><br />
the Novels <strong>of</strong> Ruth Jhabvala and Kamala Markandaya New Delhi: National Book<br />
Organisation, 1988, xii + 166 pp.<br />
CHADHA, RAMESH. "Heat and Dust and The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams: A Comparative Study" Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> Indian writing in English 10.1&2 (1982):24-30.<br />
Correlates many similarities in her examination <strong>of</strong> two novels by women writers based<br />
on the breakdown <strong>of</strong> Western marriages in India and the woman's subsequent relationship<br />
with an Indian male. Establishes the women characters as unfulfilled in conventional married<br />
life due to differing outlooks and lack <strong>of</strong> mutual understanding. Reads as proto-feminist<br />
criticism as yet not fully conversant with the theory and terminology now applied by that<br />
critical practice.<br />
CRANE, RALPH J. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: A Checklist <strong>of</strong> Primary and Secondary Sources"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Commonwealth Literature 20.1 (1985):171-203.<br />
CRANE, RALPH S. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Sky: Escape from the Heat and Dust?" Span<br />
24 (1987):178-89.<br />
CRONIN, RICHARD. "The Hill <strong>of</strong> Devi and Heat and Dust" EIC (April 1986):142-59.<br />
DAVE, JAGDISH V. “Ruth Jhabvala’s Two-Stream Technique in ‘Heat and Dust ‘ “ Triveni<br />
57.2 (1988): 75-80.<br />
The two-stream technique combines the separate stories <strong>of</strong> Olivia and the narrator<br />
into a single narrative frame centred on place. Discusses the question <strong>of</strong> the correct approach<br />
to India by Europeans. Perceives Mrs. Jhabvala advocates a European love India from a<br />
distance to maintain its romance.<br />
DE SOUZA, EUNICE. "The Blinds Drawn and the Airconditioner On: The Novels <strong>of</strong> Ruth<br />
Prawer Jhabvala" WLWE 17.1 (1978):219-24.<br />
Accuses Jhabvala <strong>of</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> development in her writing skills noting a sameness <strong>of</strong><br />
style and stereotyping <strong>of</strong> characters. Asserts all Jhabvala's characters are reduced to onedimensionality<br />
without depth or objectivity in their depictions. Claims the <strong>author</strong> has evaded<br />
any attempt at analysis <strong>of</strong> East/West differences and conflicts in values, philosophy and life<br />
styles. Jhabvala's lack <strong>of</strong> sociological insight compared to more perceptive writing in Angus<br />
Wilson's As If By Magic and Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea.<br />
DE SOUZA, EUNICE. "The Expatriate Experience" in NARASIMHAIAH, C.D. ed.<br />
Awakened Conscience: Studies in Commonwealth Literature, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers,<br />
1978 (also Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1978: 339-345
DUDT, CHARMAZEL. "Jhabvala's Fiction: The Passage From India" 159-64 in Kessler-<br />
Harris, Alice & McBrien, William., eds Faith <strong>of</strong> a (Woman) Writer Westport CT:<br />
Greenwood, 1988, ix + 350 pp.<br />
EZEKIEL, NISSIM. "Cross-Cultural Encounter in Literature" Indian PEN 43.11-12<br />
(1977):4-8.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "'Traditional' Elements in the fiction <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya,<br />
R.K. Narayan and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala" WLWE 15.1 (April 1976):121-34.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Irony as an Instrument <strong>of</strong> Social and Self-analysis in Ruth<br />
Prawer Jhabvala's Heat and Dust" New Literature Review 4 (1978):41-50.<br />
Focuses on narrative strategy and questions whether the intense honesty and reliability<br />
<strong>of</strong> the narrator shifts into a growing psychological imbalance causing total disintegration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
personality in the novel's final pages. Examines the narrator's character concerned with<br />
psychological investigation as an exercise in self-analysis or, in another approach,forms the<br />
basis <strong>of</strong> an archetypal quest-figure. Deems this fiction entirely psychologically relevant to the<br />
<strong>author</strong>'s own mental condition and completely unsatiric in intent. Finds "Heat and Dust" boldly<br />
self-reflexive and dominated by an ironic detachment.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Ruth Jhabvala: Generating Heat and Light" Kunapipi 1<br />
(1978): 115-29.<br />
Takes the Indian literary community to task for their refusal to grant Mrs. Jhabvala the<br />
serious critical treatment she deserves. The award <strong>of</strong> the Booker Prize in l975 has engendered<br />
resentment rather than opened up substantive critical assessment. Extends earlier<br />
considerations in thematic criticism by noting a deliberate change from early fiction based on<br />
social satire to a new concern with loneliness and isolation as expressed in Heat and Dust and<br />
the short story volume, How I Became a Holy Mother and Other Stories. Offers a humanistic<br />
universalist approach extending the <strong>author</strong>'s focus on 'India' to a wider context beyond<br />
nationalism and regionalism.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Film into Fiction: The Influence upon Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's<br />
Fiction <strong>of</strong> Her Work for the Cinema, 1960-76" WLWE 18.2 (November 1979):368-86.<br />
Suggests an extremely close interaction between the <strong>author</strong>'s writing in novels, short<br />
stories and film scripts during this decade and a half. Observes that Jhabvala's technical<br />
improvements in fiction writing correlate to learned cinematic techniques. Specifically applies<br />
the subjective camera technique to A New Dominion, especially its division into scenes rather<br />
than chapters. Details the strict control <strong>of</strong> flashbacks as integral to the portraits <strong>of</strong> Olivia and<br />
Ms. Rivers in Heat and Dust. Psychological critique centred on people's deliberate editing <strong>of</strong><br />
historical fact in such a way as to present a finished fiction to themselves acceptable as<br />
sanctioned "historical truth".<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Satirical Semi-Colon: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Screenplay for<br />
Bombay Talkie" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing 8.1&2 (1980):78-81. Reprinted in SINGH,<br />
KIRPAL ed. Through Different Eyes: Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English<br />
Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1984: 248-254.<br />
Examines Jhabvala's scriptwriting abilities and locates her talent in pr<strong>of</strong>fering a selfreflexive<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> the Bombay film industry. Contends that satire <strong>of</strong> the stock incidents <strong>of</strong><br />
the popular film works as the <strong>author</strong>'s operative principle in 'Bombay Talkie'. Notices
structural similarities in 'Bombay Talkie'(1970) and the fiction <strong>of</strong> 'A New Dominion'(1972).<br />
Also traces connections between Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey' and the 'Bombay Talkie'<br />
script.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Literary Influences on the Writing <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala"<br />
in NANDAN, SATENDRA. ed. Language and Literature in Multicultural Contexts, Suva:<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> the South Pacific, 1983:141-168.<br />
Analyses the adaptation <strong>of</strong> eighteenth-century British literary modes to Jhabvala’s<br />
style. Austen, Sheridan and Goldsmith are detected behind early work (Amrita or To Whom<br />
she Will, 1955; The Nature <strong>of</strong> Passion, 1956). Detailed character study <strong>of</strong> Amrita and Lalaji<br />
in The Nature <strong>of</strong> Passion.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Contemporary India in the Writing <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala"<br />
Westerly 28.4 (December 1983):73-80.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. Silence, Exile and Cunning: The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer<br />
Jhabvala London: Sangam Books, 1983, 325 pp.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "Apollo, Krishna, Superman: The Image <strong>of</strong> India in Ruth<br />
Prawer Jhabvala's Ninth Novel" Ariel 15.2 (1984):109-117.<br />
Reasserts the primacy <strong>of</strong> the <strong>author</strong>'s "three backgrounds" as the focus to interpreting<br />
the intent <strong>of</strong> In Search <strong>of</strong> Love and Beauty (1983). Connects the main character <strong>of</strong> Leo<br />
Kellerman to previous representatives <strong>of</strong> the guru figure. Adopts a number <strong>of</strong> "victim"<br />
positions for penetrating the psychological conditions <strong>of</strong> the major characters.<br />
HAYBALL, CONNIE. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's India" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
9.2 (1981):42-54.<br />
Recapitulates earlier considerations <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's fiction as <strong>of</strong>fering satire <strong>of</strong> the Indian<br />
middle class family.Finds many stock figures such as the Westernised Indian woman, the idle,<br />
dilettantish artistic man and the swami common to much <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's work. Contends<br />
Jhabvala's fiction advertises a modern style Indian capitalism as the only possibility <strong>of</strong>fering<br />
change to the old India.<br />
JHA, REKHA. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya and Ruth Jhabvala: A Study in East-<br />
West Encounter, New Delhi: Prestige Publishers, 1990, 176pp.<br />
JOSEPH, MARGARET, P. "Cinematic Technique in Heat and Dust" Journal <strong>of</strong> Literature<br />
and Aesthetics 2.2&3 (1982):88-93.<br />
KOHLI, D. "More Talking <strong>of</strong> Heat and Dust" The Indian Literary Review I.2 (1978):35-9.<br />
MENON, K.P.K. "Parallel Plots in Heat and Dust" Littcrit 10.1 (1984):46-51.<br />
MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. "Inside the Outsider" in NARASIMHAIAH, C.D. ed.<br />
Awakened Conscience: Studies in Commonwealth Literature, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers,<br />
1978 (also Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1978): 86-91.
MUKHERJEE, MEENAKSHI. "Journey's End for Jhabvala" in DHAWAN, R.K. ed.<br />
Explorations in Modern Indo-English Fiction ed. R.K. Dhawan, Bahri Publishers,1982: 208-<br />
13.<br />
MUKHERJEE, NIRMAL. "Heat and Dust: A Tale <strong>of</strong> Two Women" Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
English Studies 8.1 (1978):120-39.<br />
PRADHAN, N.S. "The Problem <strong>of</strong> Focus in Jhabvala's Heat and Dust" The Indian Literary<br />
Review I.1 (1978):15-20.<br />
RAGHAVAN, ELLEN WEAVER. "Irony in the Works <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala" DAI 45.9<br />
(March 1985):2871A.<br />
RANI, K.N. "A Note on Mrs. Jhabvala's Latest Novel Heat and Dust" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 1.4 (1977):34-41.<br />
ROY, EVANGELINE SHANTI. "The Nature <strong>of</strong> Passion as a Social Comedy" Littcrit<br />
16.1&2 (1990): 70-80.<br />
RUBIN, DAVID. "Ruth Jhabvala in India" Modern Fiction Studies 30.4 (Winter 1984):669-<br />
83.<br />
Disputes accepted opinions <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala as an Indian writer and a comic novelist <strong>of</strong><br />
manners. Classifies her as a non-Indian writer in the mainstream <strong>of</strong> English novelists such as<br />
Paul Scott, John Masters and M. M. Kaye. Considers her a rather limited writer constrained<br />
by flatness <strong>of</strong> tone, cynicism and pervasive desolation. Isolates the centre <strong>of</strong> her work in her<br />
own status as a refugee based on the American title Travellers (1973), called A New<br />
Dominion in England. Debates the appropriateness <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's status in the circumstances <strong>of</strong><br />
her actual triple displacement, having been born in Germany (1927), then living in England<br />
(1939-51), India(1951-75) and now resident in the USA (1975- ).<br />
RUTHERFORD, A. & PETERSEN, K.H. "Heat and Dust: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's<br />
Experience <strong>of</strong> India" WLWE 15.2 (November 1976):373-78.<br />
Repeats the standard critical commentary surrounding Jhabvala's fiction. Details<br />
technical aspects, especially lack <strong>of</strong> social concern, recurring character types and the use <strong>of</strong> a<br />
cut and splice technique borrowed from cinematic scriptwriting. Assesses structural forms and<br />
devices as the domi<strong>nan</strong>t factor in the <strong>author</strong>'s work.<br />
RUTHERFORD, A. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Window on India" ACLALS Bulletin 4th<br />
Series, No. 2 (1975):27-9.<br />
Based on an interview with the <strong>author</strong>, recapitulates received opinion on Jhabvala's<br />
fiction. Considers that Jhabvala basically examines the dilemma <strong>of</strong> people caught between<br />
cultures,Westerners in India and Westernised Indians. Sociological analysis <strong>of</strong> women's<br />
position has the <strong>author</strong> declaring that bourgeois values are overwhelmingly supported by the<br />
majority <strong>of</strong> Indian women.<br />
SAINI, RUPINDERJIT. "Economic Entrapment: A Study <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's Householder" Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 15.2 (1987):1-9.
SARMA, M.N. "Of Emigrants and Exiles: Changed Perspectives in Jhabvala's Fiction" Littcrit<br />
3.2 (1977):36-41.<br />
SAXENA, O.P. & SOLANKI, RAJINI. Geography <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala's Novels New Delhi:<br />
Jainsons Publications, 1985, 165 pp.<br />
SHAHANE, V.A. "An Artist's Experience <strong>of</strong> India: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Fiction" The<br />
Literary Criterion 12.2-3 (1976):47-62. Reprinted in MANUEL, M. & PANIKER,<br />
AYYAPPA., eds. English and India: Essays Presented to Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Samuel Mathai on his<br />
Seventieth Birthday. Madras: Macmillan, 1978: 1-15.<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and the Indian Scene" The Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 4.2 (1976) 21-4.<br />
Claims Jhabvala's intense perceptions <strong>of</strong> India superior to any other European<br />
perspective. Autobiographical details construct the <strong>author</strong>'s awareness <strong>of</strong> India. Believes<br />
Jhabvala's literary power exists because <strong>of</strong> her love for India.<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1976.<br />
SHAHANE, V.A. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's A New Dominion" JCL 12.1 (1977):45-55.<br />
Offers the view that Jhabvala is talented but limited and uses 'A New Dominion' to<br />
explicate his perspective on her work. The guru figure and its interaction with Western<br />
students emerges as the basis for coming to terms with the complexity <strong>of</strong> the East-West<br />
encounter. Asserts a radical change in technique apparent in 'A New Dominion' compared to<br />
earlier fictions based on a comedy <strong>of</strong> manners formula. Finds the <strong>author</strong> intent on the realism<br />
<strong>of</strong> contemporary India in its social, cultural, religious, political and spiritual contexts.<br />
V.A. SHAHANE, "An Artist's Experience <strong>of</strong> India: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Fiction": 252-<br />
268. Reprinted from The Literary Criterion in DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in<br />
Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
SINGH, BRIJRAJ. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Heat and Dust" in PRADHAN, N.S. ed. Major<br />
Indian Novels: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986: 192-222. Also Atlantic<br />
Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
SOHI, HARINDER. "Ruth Jhabvala's Passage to India" PURBA 16.1 (April 1985):3-15.<br />
STILES, PETER. "India and the Western Sensibility in the Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala",<br />
unpublished MA dissertation, Macquarie <strong>University</strong>, 1979.<br />
SUCHER, LAURA ELIZABETH. "Quest and Dis-Illusion: The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer<br />
Jhabvala" DAI 46.6 (December 1985):1624A<br />
SUCHER, LAURIE. The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: The Politics <strong>of</strong> Passion London:<br />
Macmillan, 1989, 251pp.<br />
SUMMERFIELD, H. "Holy Women and Unholy Men: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Confronts the<br />
Non-Rational" Ariel 17.3 (1986):85-101.
VARMA, P.N. "A Note on the Novels <strong>of</strong> R. Prawer Jhabvala" RUSEng 5 (1971):87-96.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN M. "Mad Seekers, Doomed Lovers and Cemeteries in India: On R.P.<br />
Jhabvala's Heat and Dust and A New Dominion" New Literature Review 15 (1988):11-20.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE. "R.K. Narayan and R. Prawer Jhabvala: Two Interpreters<br />
<strong>of</strong> Modern India" Literature East and West 16.4 (April 1975):1136-54.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN. "Reactions to Entrapment in 'Backward Places' V.S. Naipaul's<br />
Miguel Street and Ruth Jhabvala's A BAckward Place." In A Sense <strong>of</strong> Place in the New<br />
Literatures in English edited by Peggy Nightingale, 68-84. St Lucia: U Queensland, 1986<br />
"Colonial history does not make for stability <strong>of</strong> residence." Comparision <strong>of</strong> two emigré<br />
writers, Naipaul 'returning' to his birthplace, Jhabvala 'adopting' a new country but depicting<br />
displaced characters seeking return to some elusive 'home'. Miguel Street can be read as a<br />
Joycean bildungsroman <strong>of</strong> escape (death and birth) and change (war and decolonization), a<br />
comic treatment <strong>of</strong> madness and violence not unlike Under Milkwood in which Hat serves as<br />
a Christ-like liberator for the disillusioned boy-writer. Jhabvala's figures escape to<br />
responsibilities (Judy and Sudhir) or remain trapped in a sterile retreat from life (Etta and<br />
Clarissa). The three women are seen as aspects <strong>of</strong> Jhabvala herself. Naipaul also charts the<br />
shift from colourful squalor to shabby trap, though Jhabvala remains ironic about her<br />
'backward place'. Text-based argument, with recourse to autobiographical works by both<br />
writers. [From ‘Full Anotations: Assesses both works as preoccupied with exile and the<br />
psychological connections to images and perceptions <strong>of</strong> 'home'. Claims these fictions meet in<br />
a common theme <strong>of</strong> escape. Perceives textual meaning generated by the <strong>author</strong>s' focus on<br />
psychological self-reflexivity.]<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE. "Strangers in a Backward Place: Modern India in the<br />
Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala" The Journal <strong>of</strong> Commonwealth Literature 6.1 (1971):53-64.<br />
Investigates Jhabvala's early fictions within the context <strong>of</strong> the Hindu concept <strong>of</strong> the<br />
four ashramas. Attempts to place the major characters <strong>of</strong> 'Get Ready for Battle', 'The Nature<br />
<strong>of</strong> Passion', 'The Householder', 'A Backward Place', within a particular phase <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ashramas. Brahminical moral evaluation serves as the testing material in the background <strong>of</strong><br />
Jhabvala's realistic portrayals <strong>of</strong> the complexity and universality <strong>of</strong> the Indian urban family<br />
situation.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE. The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Calcutta: Writers'<br />
Workshop, 1973.<br />
WINEGARTEN, RENEE. "Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: A Jewish Passage to India" Midstream<br />
(March 1974):72-9.<br />
Reiterates previous treatments <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d's work as dominated by concern for the poor<br />
and underprivileged trapped by India's class and caste systems. Closely examines the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>ta and finds him a victim <strong>of</strong> rage and insanity, not <strong>of</strong> religious or political<br />
creed, and his sacrifice is that <strong>of</strong> the unselfish man for humanity. Sociological analysis based on<br />
economic determinism as fundamental principle in a capitalist society.<br />
See also Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studues Vol. 11 No. 1 Spring 1977:85-92.<br />
WINTERBERG, INGE. "'An Experience <strong>of</strong> India': Zu den IndienRomanen von Ruth Prawer<br />
Jhabvala" Arcadia 17.2 (1982):171-94.
Arun Joshi (1939-1993)<br />
Most studies <strong>of</strong> Joshi's novels concentrate on his themes. Devinder Mohan is not far <strong>of</strong>f the<br />
mark when he observes that The Foreigner, like the rest <strong>of</strong> Joshi's novels, suffers at the hands<br />
<strong>of</strong> critics from abstract generalisations <strong>of</strong> themes which have no bearing on the form <strong>of</strong> the<br />
novel, ... They talk about alienation, self-delusion, mode <strong>of</strong> anxiety, detachment solutions, the<br />
interior "I" and the reflective insiders." Devinder Mohar himself has written about Joshi’s first<br />
four novels, but his criticism has too much <strong>of</strong> Foucalt and Said for comfort. Tina Shettigara's<br />
article on The Foreigner is one <strong>of</strong> the best studies <strong>of</strong> the novel, while A. Ramakrishna Rao and<br />
Ramesh Shrivastava have presented fine analyses <strong>of</strong> Joshi's fourth novel, The Last Labyrinth.<br />
BHATNAGAR, O. P. "Arun Joshi's The Foreigner: A Critique <strong>of</strong> East and West." WLWE 1,<br />
no.2 (1973): 9-14.<br />
The Foreigner presents a new way <strong>of</strong> looking at East-West confrontation.The working<br />
out <strong>of</strong> personal problems against the background <strong>of</strong> cultures follows the pattern <strong>of</strong> Henry<br />
James Born <strong>of</strong> a British mother and an Indian father, the orphaned Sindi, the hero, is brought<br />
up in Kenya, and does not belong to any culture So he has the ideal perspective to view<br />
problems from a human angle He presents a clear picture <strong>of</strong> the drawbacks <strong>of</strong> life in America,<br />
as also the evils in Indian soceity<br />
CHANDAR, K. M. "The Quest for Faith in Arun Joshi's The Last Labyrinth." In The Indian<br />
Novel in English: Essays in Criticism, edited by Ravi Nandan Sinha and R. K. Sinha (Ranchi:<br />
Ankit Publisher, 1987): 56-62.<br />
Thematic study. The quest for a definite meaning in life has been Joshi's primary<br />
preoccupation in all his novels. The protagonists <strong>of</strong> the first three novels attained some degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> success. Som Bhaskar in The Last Labyrinth realises the need for something more than<br />
material prosperity but completely fails to attain it. The novelist makes good symbolic use <strong>of</strong><br />
Aftab's house, with its labyrinths.<br />
CHANDRA, SURESH. "The High Culture Fiction <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi and Uma Vasudev," in<br />
Culture and Criticism (Delhi: B. R. Publishing Corporation, 1987): 99-109.<br />
Arun Joshi and Uma Vasudev deal with a class <strong>of</strong> people generally neglected by other<br />
Indian-English novelists: the privileged executives in independent India who are next only to<br />
the rulers and top industrialists. Suresh Chand makes no distinction between the characters <strong>of</strong><br />
Joshi--Rat Rathor <strong>of</strong> The Apprentice, Khemka in The Foreigner, and Billy Biswas <strong>of</strong> The<br />
Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas, and the people depicted in Aruna Vasudev's The Song <strong>of</strong><br />
Anasuya. They all believe in "enjoying" life, which means staying in five-star hotels, drinking<br />
expensive brands, and sleeping around.<br />
DHAWAN, R.K. The Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi New Delhi: Classical Publishing Co,<br />
1986, 255 pp.<br />
DHAWAN, R. K. ed. The Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi. New Delhi: Classical Publishing<br />
Company, 1986, 247pp.<br />
Essays by 15 critics. Chapter 1 on "Writer and His Writing", Chapter 2 "Introduction",<br />
Chapters 3-7, "Themes and Techniques", and Chapters 8-15 on individual novels. Contents:<br />
(l) JOSHI, ARUN. "Towards Finding an Expression": 15-16. (2) DHAWAN, R. K. "The<br />
Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi": 17-48. Explicatory, with summaries <strong>of</strong> his novels and short<br />
stories. (3) BHATNAGAR, O. P. "The Art and Vision <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi": 49-68. (4)
RAIZADA, HARISH. "Double Vision <strong>of</strong> Fantasy and Reality in Arun Joshi's Novels": 69-<br />
103. (5) PATHAK, R. S. "Human Predicament and Meaninglessless in Arun Joshi's Novels":<br />
104-142. Amplified version <strong>of</strong> "Arun Joshi's Novels: An Indeterminate Search for Meaning in<br />
Life," in Arun Joshi: A Study <strong>of</strong> His Fiction, edited by N. Radhakrish<strong>nan</strong><br />
(Gandhigram,Tamilnadu: Gandhigram Rural Institute, 1984): 44-63 (6) MATHUR, O. P. and<br />
G. RAI, "Arun Joshi and the Labyrinth <strong>of</strong> Life": 143-54. (7) GURUPRASAD, THAKUR.<br />
"The Lost Lonely Questers <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's Fiction": 155-67. (8) JHA, MOHAN. "The<br />
Foreigner: A Study in Innocence and Experience": 168-75. (9) RADHA, K. "From<br />
Detachment to Involvement: The Case <strong>of</strong> Sindi Oberoi": 176-85. Reprinted as "From<br />
Detachment to Involvement: The Career <strong>of</strong> the Chief Protagonist <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's The<br />
Foreigner." In Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, edited by K. Ayyappa Paniker<br />
(Trivandrum: <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Kerala, 1987): 81-90. Traces the development in the character <strong>of</strong><br />
Sindi, who begins with no attachment to parents or country. His relationship with June marks a<br />
breaking down <strong>of</strong> the barriers <strong>of</strong> detachment. It is the impassioned plea <strong>of</strong> Muthu, a poor man<br />
in Bombay, which makes Sindi give up his indifference. Briefly compares Sindi with the<br />
protagonists <strong>of</strong> The Outsider by Camus and Kamala Markandaya's The Nowhere Man. (10)<br />
PREMPATI, D. "The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas: A Serious Response to a Big Challenge":<br />
186-93. (ll) MOHAN, DEVINDER. "The Image <strong>of</strong> Fire in The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy<br />
Biswas": 194-209. See MOHAN above. (12) ABRAHAM, JOY. "Vision and Technique in<br />
The Appprentice": 210-22. Novelists like Joshi and Anita Desai are trying new paths,<br />
testifying to the vitality <strong>of</strong> Indian English fiction. Abraham analyses the narrative pattern <strong>of</strong> The<br />
Aprentice in tabular form. (13) REDDY, V. GOPAL. "The Apprentice: An Existential Study":<br />
223-30. Thematic approach. Ratan's alienation is two-fold; he is alienated from society, and<br />
later from his true self when he conforms to the false values <strong>of</strong> the marketplace. Opines that<br />
The Apprentice is influenced by Camus's The Fall. (14) PRASAD, HARI MOHAN. "The<br />
Crisis <strong>of</strong> Consciousness: The Last Labyrinth": 231-39. (15) SHARMA, SHAM SUNDER.<br />
"The Two Worlds in The Last Labyrinth": 240-48.<br />
A.N. DWIVEDI, "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi: A Critical Study": 309-318. in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1987,<br />
pp.358<br />
DUTTA, PADMA. "Problems <strong>of</strong> Individuation: A Critique <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's Use <strong>of</strong> Symbols<br />
and Archetypes in The Last Labyrinth" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English, 18.1, (1990): 31-<br />
40.<br />
HEGDE, M.G. "Arun Joshi's Lala Shri Ram: A Study" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
17.2 (1989): 18-22.<br />
IYENGAR, K.R.SRINIVASA. "The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi" The Humanities Review 3.2:<br />
(1981):39-40.<br />
JAIN, J. "Foreigners and Strangers: Arun Joshi's Heroes" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
5.1 (1977):52-7.<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. "Foreigners and Strangers: Arun Joshi's Heroes." JIWE 5, no.1 (1977): 53-<br />
57.<br />
Joshi's heroes are lonely men in search <strong>of</strong> a meaning in life. None <strong>of</strong> them is religious,<br />
but they are humble in learning the lessons life teaches them. Ratan Rathor, <strong>of</strong> The Apprentice,
embodies the world <strong>of</strong> material values which his predecessors Sindi Oberoi (The Foreigner)<br />
and Billy Biswas (The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas) reject, but he is engaged in the same<br />
quest.<br />
JAMKHANDI, SUDHAKAR R. "Arun Joshi: An Emerging Voice in Indian English<br />
Literature" Literature East & West 6.1-4 (1985):36-44.<br />
JAMKHANDI, SUDHAKAR R. "Arun Joshi: An Emerging Voice in Indian English<br />
Literature" The Literary Endeavour 6.1-4 (1986):36-44.<br />
JAMKHANDI, SUDHAKAR R. "Arun Joshi: An Emerging Voice in Indian English<br />
Literature." The Literary Endeavour 6, no.1 (1986): 37-44.<br />
Brief survey <strong>of</strong> Joshi's four novels. All have well-educated, alienated heroes. The<br />
Foreigner is about involvement and detachment. The Stranee Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas reads like a<br />
suspense novel, with Romesh Sahai tracing the whereabouts <strong>of</strong> Billy, who disappears,<br />
rejecting urban society. The Apprentice, a confessional novel, can be read as a<br />
bildungsroman. The Last Labyrinth is a love story, the labyrinth mirrors the hero's mental<br />
tribulations in his pursuit <strong>of</strong> Anuradha.<br />
MATHUR, O.P. and RAI, G. "The Existential Note in Arun Joshi's The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy<br />
Biswas and The Apprentice" Commonwealth Quarterly 17 (1980):30-41.<br />
MATHUR, O.P. "From Existentialism to Karmayog: A Study <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's The Foreigner"<br />
in SRIVASTAVA, AVADESH K. ed. Alien Voice: Perspectives on Commonwealth<br />
Literature Lucknow: Print House, 1981: 107-15. Also Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey:<br />
Humanities, 1982.<br />
MATHUR, O. P. and G. RAI. "The Existential Note in Arun Joshi's The Strange Case <strong>of</strong><br />
Billy Biswas and The Apprentice." Commonwealth Quarterly no.17 (1980): 30-41.<br />
MATHUR, O. P. and G. RAI. "From Existentialism to Karmayog: A Study <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's<br />
The Foreigner." In Alien Voice (1981), edited by Srivastava: 107-115.<br />
Sindi Oberoi, the hero <strong>of</strong> The Foreigner, begins as an existentialist hero, in the<br />
tradition <strong>of</strong> Sartre. But later on, his experience <strong>of</strong> India changes him; he realises that his<br />
salvation lies in following the Bhagavad-Gita, the Hindu text advocating karmayoga, that is,<br />
disinterested action. The Foreigner is a study <strong>of</strong> a soul working towards liberation.<br />
MEITEI, MANI. "The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas: Awareness <strong>of</strong> Worlds Within Worlds"<br />
New Quest, 2.2, (1990): 9-20.<br />
MEITEI, M. MANI. "The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas: Awareness <strong>of</strong> Worlds within<br />
Worlds." The Quest 4, no.2 (1990): 9-20.<br />
Advocates an "archetypal criticism" to discover the underlying mythological patterns.<br />
Through the experiences <strong>of</strong> Billy, Joshi shows that there is something in the world beyond<br />
human knowledge.The ideas <strong>of</strong> Jung and Freud are employed to make Billy's psychology<br />
credible. The tribal girl Bilasia is the essence <strong>of</strong> the primitive force, and when Billy gives up his<br />
parents and wife to live with her in the forest, he is fulfilling his inner urge for the primitive life.<br />
Billy should not be seen as a Western alienated hero; he is in touch with the root <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
culture.
MOHAN, DEVINDER. "Arun Joshi: The Foreigner" in PRADHAN, N.S. ed. Major Indian<br />
Novels: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986: 174-91. Also Atlantic<br />
Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER. "The Language <strong>of</strong> the Splintered Mirror: The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi."<br />
Ariel 14, no.4 (1983): 20-33.<br />
Structuralist approach. Joshi's fictional voice maintains a dialogue betweeen what<br />
Edward Said calls "molestation and <strong>author</strong>ity". Mohan invokes Foucalt to show that Joshi's<br />
language seeks the "extremity <strong>of</strong> silence, the silence <strong>of</strong> void, vacancy and death." Death and<br />
madness are recurring presentational images in his work. The narrator finds himself in the<br />
shattered mirror, looking deformed and distorted in each fragmented piece.<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER. "Arun Joshi: The Foreigner." In Major Indian Novels, edited by N.<br />
S. Pradhan (New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann,1985): 174-91.<br />
Uses the critical formulations <strong>of</strong> Michel Foucalt in The Order <strong>of</strong> Things and The<br />
Archeologv <strong>of</strong> Knowledge to analyse The Foreigner. Joshi presents an image <strong>of</strong> Death by<br />
making it a fictional object as well as the manifestation <strong>of</strong> the presence which manipulates the<br />
events and the characters. The protagonist, Sindi Oberoi, is both the object and metaphor <strong>of</strong><br />
man's unnameable madness, who maintains what Foucalt calls "finitude". He is also the signifier<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>author</strong>'s structural point <strong>of</strong> view. The novel starts with Babu Khemka's death, and<br />
Death as event is transformed as an aesthetic sign <strong>of</strong> its "presentational presence" (Susanne<br />
Langer's phrase).<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER. "The Image <strong>of</strong> Fire in The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas." In The<br />
Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshie, edited by R. K. Dhawan (New Delhi: Classical Publishing<br />
Company,1986): 194-209.<br />
Structurali analysis. Joshi is concerned with creating an aesthetic sign <strong>of</strong> man' s search<br />
for a spiritual fulcrum. The image <strong>of</strong> the glow <strong>of</strong> fire on the top <strong>of</strong> a distant rock, Chandtola,<br />
becomes the central signifying sign <strong>of</strong> the network <strong>of</strong> various signifiers represented by the<br />
characters <strong>of</strong> binary nature and culture, tribal world and Western civilization, and the Jungian<br />
signifiers <strong>of</strong> anima and animus integrated within the Hindu taxonomy <strong>of</strong> rituals and rites. The<br />
narrator, Romesh Sahai, is like Melville's Ishmael in revealing the sustained balance <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fictional discourse by experiencing and interpreting it.<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER."Beyond the Litany <strong>of</strong> Wants: Contexts <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's Fiction<br />
towards The Last Labyrinth." In The New Indian Novel in English, edited by Viney Kirpal<br />
(New Delhi:Allied Publishers, 1990): 83-90.<br />
Arun Joshi's fictional voice is the voice <strong>of</strong> the "molestation" (Edward Said's phrase) <strong>of</strong><br />
the modern historical consciousness <strong>of</strong> Indianism. As in his other novels, Joshi presents an<br />
authentic vision <strong>of</strong> contemporary Indian man in a multicultural society, his economic needs<br />
clashing with traditional values. Som Bhaskar, the hero <strong>of</strong> The Last Labyrinth, cannot get out<br />
<strong>of</strong> the labyrinth <strong>of</strong> the self; even his love for Anuradha, who embodies the Jungian anima, fails<br />
to help him.<br />
NARASIMHAIAH, SANJAY. "Arun Joshi: The Last Labyrinth" The Literary Criterion 16.2<br />
(1981):81-9.
NARASIMHAIAH, SANJAY. "Arun Joshi's The Last Labyrinth." The Literary Criterion 16,<br />
no.2 (1981): 81-89.<br />
Close reading <strong>of</strong> the novel, concentrating on the protagonist Som Bhaskar, a<br />
contemporary Western educated affluent Indian searching for meaning in life. Bhaskar does<br />
not fall into the conventional pattern <strong>of</strong> the hero, with different phases, one being an<br />
improvement on the other. The spirit <strong>of</strong> place is conspicuous by its absence. The symbolic<br />
dimension is responsible for the novel's success.<br />
PADMA. T. "Problems <strong>of</strong> Individuation: A Critique <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi's Use <strong>of</strong> Symbols and<br />
Archetypes in The Last Labyrinth." JIWE 18, no.1 (1990): 31-39.<br />
Psychological approach. In Joshi's novels, incidents are gauged more as traumas in the<br />
psyche than as agents for social change. The protagonist Som Bhaskar's career in The Last<br />
labyrinth is a masterly blending <strong>of</strong> the Jungian concepts individuation, Shadow, Persona, and<br />
Anima. Archetypes (Anurad saving him from spiritual death, matched by Geeta's saving him<br />
from physical death, for intance) and symbols (the labyrinth) provide useful interpretative<br />
clues.<br />
PATNAIK, BIBUDHENDRA N. "What is Strange in The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas."<br />
Graybook no.3 (1973): 17-24.<br />
Examines the character <strong>of</strong> Billy. The narrator, his friend Romi, introduces him as a<br />
"unique" man. Joshi prepares us for his abrupt disappearance from civilized urban life by<br />
recounting his earlier visions <strong>of</strong> a different lifestyle. When Billy is just fourteen, he watches a<br />
dance by tribals, and has a vision <strong>of</strong> a girl in his arms. This image, symbolic <strong>of</strong> the primal force,<br />
returns to him again and again, though he grows up to lead a conventional life as a pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong><br />
anthropology at Delhi. The break in his life comes when he visits an old temple dedicated to<br />
Fate. The novelist shows that this other world is not simply a hallucination <strong>of</strong> Billy’s mind by<br />
making the narrator feel the "other presence" in the temple <strong>of</strong> Fate, as he sits talking to Billy,<br />
now living with the tribals in the forest. The novelist establishes a relationship between Billy,<br />
the legendary sculptor-king, the glowing <strong>of</strong> a mountain peak Chandtola and the "presence", to<br />
make Billy a credible but unusual character.<br />
PRASAD, H.M. Arun Joshi New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986, 118 pp.<br />
PRASAD, H. M. Arun Joshi. New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986. Indian Writers Series.<br />
118pp.<br />
Prasad's study <strong>of</strong> Joshi's novels (four had been published to date) reveals that the<br />
central experience <strong>of</strong> his fiction is crisis and quest his leit motif. All his heroes are picaroes and<br />
pilgrims. Prasad devotes a chapter to each novel: "From Alienation to Arrival: The Foreigner",<br />
"The Primitive Pilgrim: The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas", "Innocence, Experience and<br />
Expiation: The Apprentice", and "The Pilgrim's Progress: The Last Labyrinth".<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Arun Joshi: The Novelist." Indian Literature 24, no.4 (1981):<br />
103-114. Reprinted "Arun Joshi," in Indian English Novelists, edited by Prasad (1982): 51-<br />
61.<br />
The technically superb novels <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi handle serious themes dexterously.<br />
Prasad's study is primarily thematic, with a few comments about language thrown in: The<br />
Foreigner reminds one <strong>of</strong> Camus's The Outsider, but thematically the two novels do not have<br />
anything in common; The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billv Biswas explores the significance <strong>of</strong> the
primitive life; and The Apprentice, inspired by Camus's novel The Fall, is a study <strong>of</strong> belief in<br />
karma and the purification <strong>of</strong> the soul.<br />
PRASAD, V. V. N. RAJENDRA. "Arun Joshi: Self as Labyrinth." The Self, the Family and<br />
Society in Five Indian Novelists (New Delh Prestige Books, 1990): 108-29.<br />
Prasad's analysis follows Rame K. Srivastava and A. Ramakrishna Rao's. The<br />
exploration <strong>of</strong> the self, likened to a labyrinth, is the main theme <strong>of</strong> Joshi's novels. The usual<br />
themes <strong>of</strong> Indian-English fiction, such as East-West encounter or rural India, do not appear.<br />
The word "labyrinth" and its analogues occur frequently in Joshi's texts. Reminiscence is the<br />
major fictional device. In The Foreigner, the word "foreign", and its substantive forms, provide<br />
an inclusive metaphor that governs the narrative. Joshi's novels present an authentic picture <strong>of</strong><br />
life in India, and the crisis <strong>of</strong> character faced by modern man.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Arun Joshi: The Novelist" Indian Literature 24.4 (July-August<br />
1981):103-14.<br />
PRASAD, V.V.N. RAJENDRA, “Arun Joshi: Self as Labyrinth” in The Self, Family and<br />
Society in Five Indian Novelists, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990:108-129.<br />
RADHAKRISHNAN, N. ed. Arun Joshi: A Study <strong>of</strong> His Fiction Gandhigram: Gandhigram<br />
Royal Institute, 1984, 79 pp.<br />
RADHAKRISHNAN, N. ed. Arun Joshi: A Study <strong>of</strong> His Fiction. Gandhigram (Tamilnadu,<br />
India): Gandhigram Rural Institute, 1984. 79pp. First published as a special issue <strong>of</strong> Scholar<br />
Critic.<br />
Contents: (1) "T. S. Eliot's Shadow on The Foreigner," S. Rangachari: 1-8. (2)<br />
"Cornering Arun Joshi: A Critical Perspective on The Last Labyrinth," Madhusudan Prasad:<br />
9-19. (3) "The Crisis <strong>of</strong> Conscience: A Thematic Analysis <strong>of</strong> The Last Labyrinth," Hari<br />
Mohan Prasad: 20-29. (4) "The Art and Vision <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi," O. P. Bhatnagar: 30-43. (5)<br />
"Arun Joshi's Novels: An Indeterminate Search for Meaning Life," R. S. Pathak: 44-63. (6)<br />
"The Apprentice: An Overview," M. S. Prabhakaran: 64-67. (7) "The Short Stories <strong>of</strong> Arun<br />
Joshi," M. G. Gopalakrish<strong>nan</strong>: 68-73. (8) "The Women Characters <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi," N.<br />
Radhakrish<strong>nan</strong>: 74-79.<br />
RAO, A. RAMAKRISHNA. “Arun Joshi’s Voids and Labyrinths”The Literary Endeavour<br />
2.2 (1982): 11-17.<br />
Joshi creates an aesthetic pattern <strong>of</strong> dreams and visions rather than working in realism. The<br />
Last Labyrinth continues the “great therapeutic process” <strong>of</strong> soul scraping/healing <strong>of</strong> earlier<br />
books. Short thematic reading.<br />
RAO, A.RAMAKRISHNA. "The Image <strong>of</strong> Labyrinth in Borges, Durrell and Joshi." Glimpses<br />
<strong>of</strong> Indo-English Fiction, edited by O. P .Saxena (1985) vol.3: 17-28.<br />
According to Gabriel Josipovici, "From the cunning passages, contrived corridors and<br />
issues <strong>of</strong> Gerontion, through the mazes <strong>of</strong> Kafka, Proust, Beckett, Borges and RobbeGrillet,<br />
the labyrinth has been the favourite image <strong>of</strong> modern literature." Rao points out that in<br />
Borges's Labyrinths and Lawrence Durrell's The Dark Labyrinth, labyrinths are voids<br />
emerging out <strong>of</strong> the human thirst to know and vindicate oneself. In Joshi's The Last Labyrinth,<br />
the image <strong>of</strong> labyrinth is juxtaposed with the image <strong>of</strong> void, and both images are used
frequently. The labyrinth is associated with the mysterious Anuradha, "a labyrinthine woman,<br />
at once young and old."<br />
ROSS, ROBERT. "The Clash <strong>of</strong> Opposites in Arun Joshi's The Last Labvrinth." The Literary<br />
Criterion 25.2 (1990): 1-9.<br />
In each <strong>of</strong> novels, Joshi creates an anti-hero who, like his Western counterpart, stands<br />
overlooking the abyss <strong>of</strong> his time and place. But his protagonists have to come to terms not<br />
only with the native heritage, but also the Western influence on it, the clash <strong>of</strong> opposing<br />
traditions. Joshi's achievement in The Last Labyrinth lies in bringing together the disparate<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> the hero's experiences. This clash <strong>of</strong> opposites finally imprisons Som Bhaskar in the<br />
labyrinth <strong>of</strong> his own mind.<br />
SHARMA, D.R. "Arun Joshi and his Reflective Insiders" Literature East and West 21.1-4<br />
(1977):100-111.<br />
SHARMA, D.R. "The Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi" The Indian P.E.N. 43.9&10 (1977):1-<br />
5.<br />
SHARMA, D. R. "The Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi." The Indian P.E.N. 43, no.9/10<br />
(September-October 1977): 1-5.<br />
It is not correct to treat Joshi's heroes as the Indian kinsmen <strong>of</strong> the Western<br />
existentialist "outsiders". In their persistent quest for decent alternatives in an amoral world,<br />
Joshi's protagonists are reflective insiders. Joshi resembles Manohar Malgonkar in his social<br />
satire and fictional technique, the major difference being that Malgonkar's action is "out there",<br />
while the action in Joshi is primarily in the psychic arena <strong>of</strong> his characters. Joshi's protagonists<br />
strive for an enduring dialogue with life. Sindi <strong>of</strong> The Foreigner realises that detachment<br />
"consisted in getting involved with the world." In The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas, Billy opts<br />
out <strong>of</strong> the prevailing social order when he finds it impossible to change it. Joshi's third novel,<br />
The Apprentice, is a confessional novel, which explores the evil in the protagonist as well as<br />
the horror <strong>of</strong> an imperfect social order.<br />
SHARMA, D R. "Arun Joshi and His Reflective Insiders." Literature East and West no. 21<br />
(1977): 100-109.<br />
Somewhat amplified version <strong>of</strong> "The Fictional World <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi" (see item).<br />
SHETTIGARA, TINA. "Arun Joshi's The Foreigner: The Protagonist in Search <strong>of</strong> Meaning."<br />
In Cultural Reflections, edited by Paul Sharrad, Honolulu: East West Centre, 1981: pp.50-58.<br />
The central characters <strong>of</strong> Joshi's novels are all individuals in some way alienated from<br />
the world around them. The protagonist <strong>of</strong> The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas is the most<br />
extraordinary <strong>of</strong> Joshi's heroes; Billy, an anthropologist, is overcome by his primordial urge to<br />
be free <strong>of</strong> the veneer <strong>of</strong> urban society, and disappears. Ratan Rathor, <strong>of</strong> The Apprentice, is<br />
"Mr Ordinary" who is corrupted by the material world. Som Bhaskar, a rich businessman, the<br />
protagonist <strong>of</strong> Joshi's fourth novel, The Last Labyrinth, is subject to the craving <strong>of</strong> a nameless<br />
desire. He is obsessed by Anuradha, a mysterious character in this novel <strong>of</strong> enigmas. The<br />
novel's structure is as labyrinthine as the processes <strong>of</strong> Som Bhaskar's mind. Though the<br />
treatment is growingly sophisticated, Joshi's interest has always been the alienated individual,<br />
present as Sindi Oberoi, the protagonist-narrator <strong>of</strong> his first novel, The Foreigner. The<br />
Foreigner is constructed on two cross-cutting time spans, in America and in New Delhi. Sindi<br />
observes with objectivity the culture <strong>of</strong> both societies, but the novel should not be treatbd as
one <strong>of</strong> "East West encounter"; Sindi's quest is for peace and the meaning <strong>of</strong> life, not for<br />
cultural roots. The thematic concerns <strong>of</strong> this novel indicate that Joshi is interested in more<br />
deeply universal human problems than the East-West theme, as his later novels show.<br />
SRINATH, C.N. "Crisis <strong>of</strong> Identity: Assertion and Withdrawal in Naipaul and Arun Joshi"<br />
The Literary Criterion 14.1 (1980):33-41. Reprinted in The Literary Landscape Delhi:<br />
Mittal Publications, 1986: 60-69.<br />
SRINATH, C. N. "The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Arun Joshi: The Novel <strong>of</strong> Interior Landscape." The<br />
Literary Criterion 12, nos.2-3 (1976): 115-33. Reprinted in The Literary Landscape<br />
(Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1986): 40-59.<br />
Leavisite. Presents evaluations <strong>of</strong> Joshi’s first three novels in terms <strong>of</strong> theme and<br />
treatment. Srinath examines various aspects--characterization, structure, and language. The<br />
Foreigner shows a remarkable degree <strong>of</strong> maturity and technical competence in its original<br />
treatment <strong>of</strong> the theme <strong>of</strong> east-west encounter. The protagonist <strong>of</strong> The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy<br />
Biswas, Joshi's second novel, is aware <strong>of</strong> a region beyond the frontiers <strong>of</strong> ordinary human<br />
consciousness. Joshi's craftsmanship is excellent. Billy realizes that the price <strong>of</strong> making the<br />
choice (he disappears from civilized urban society) is terrible, but the price <strong>of</strong> not making it is<br />
even more terrible. Ratan Rathor, in The Apprentice, shows the price paid for not choosing-moral<br />
corruption. Joshi's sense <strong>of</strong> the concrete, and his eye on situation a character, enable<br />
him to avoid the pitfalls <strong>of</strong> a thesis novel. Rathor is Everyman, and his story reveals the utter<br />
degeneration <strong>of</strong> modern Indian society.<br />
SRINATH, C. N. "Crisis <strong>of</strong> Identity: Assertion and Withdrawal in Naipaul and Arun Joshi."<br />
The Literary Criterion 14, no.1 (1980): 33-41. Reprinted in The Literarv Landscape (New<br />
Delhi: Mitt Publishers, 1986): 60-69.<br />
Compares V.S. Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas and Arun Joshi's The Strange<br />
Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas. The central theme <strong>of</strong> both novels is the crisis <strong>of</strong> identity; in Naipaul, the<br />
crisis is one <strong>of</strong> assertion, the supreme manifestation <strong>of</strong> which is Mr Biswas wanting to acquire<br />
a house. Naipaul successfully presents a protagonist who is detestable but dignified and gains<br />
our sympathy. In Joshi's novel, the crisis manifests itself in surrender to primitive forces. Billy<br />
Biswas, a Ph.D in anthropology from an American university, son <strong>of</strong> a Supreme Court judge,<br />
renounces his entire past, his parents, wife and child, to lead the life <strong>of</strong> a tribal in the forest.<br />
Joshi makes Billy's action credible by showing us his seemingly eccentric but inwardly rich life<br />
through his letters to his girl friend Tuula, and the way he argues with his father about judging<br />
people who act under extraordinary circumstances. Both novels are distinguished by the<br />
appropriateness <strong>of</strong> their styles that suit the nature <strong>of</strong> the tensions <strong>of</strong> their central characters.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. "The Theme <strong>of</strong> Alienation in Arun Joshi' Novels." Ken:<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies and Creative Writing 1 (1982-3): 13-24. Reprinted in Six Indian<br />
Novelists in English (Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev <strong>University</strong>, 1987): 311-25.<br />
Shows how Joshi’s protagonists are alienated from society, family and self. Sindi Oberoi<br />
learns the need for right action as well as detachment through the deaths <strong>of</strong> his friends; Billy<br />
Biswas finds his true self in primitive nature; Ratan Rathor compromises with society and<br />
realises the futility <strong>of</strong> inauthentic life. Joshi uses animal images to show disaffected inner states.<br />
He is not necessarily detached from society, since his depiction <strong>of</strong> its evils is a sign <strong>of</strong> social<br />
concern.
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. "Intricate Alleys in Arun Joshi's The Last Labyrinth." The<br />
Indian Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies no.28 (1989): 5-12.<br />
Srivastava analyses the various levels on which the title can be operative. On the<br />
surface, it alludes to the last <strong>of</strong> the labyrinths in Lal Haveli, a crumbling mansion in Benares.<br />
The sacred city <strong>of</strong> Benares itself is like a labyrinth, so is the protagonist Bhaskar's life.<br />
Srivastava shows that even the structure <strong>of</strong> the novel is labyrinthine, in his fine analysis <strong>of</strong> the<br />
connotations <strong>of</strong> "labyrinth" in this novel. Joshi has used the word metaphorically in earlier<br />
novels like The Foreigner and The Strange Case <strong>of</strong> Billy Biswas also.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. "Intricate Alleys in Arun Joshi's The Last Labyrinth" The<br />
Indian Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 27 (1989): 5-12.<br />
WALTER, INNA. "Arun Joshi's Vision <strong>of</strong> Life, Love, God and Death in The Last Labyrinth."<br />
Studies in Indian Fiction in English, edited by G. S. Balarama Gupta (Gulbarga: JIWE<br />
Publications, 1987): 46-52.<br />
Joshi's fiction is concerned with deep philosophical questions. In The Last rabyrinth,<br />
Joshi uses the persona <strong>of</strong> Som Bhaskar, a thirty-five-year-old millionaire. Walters describes<br />
the various experiences <strong>of</strong> Bhaskar, and his attempts to comprehend love, religious belief, and<br />
death.<br />
WALTER, INNA. "Arun Joshi's Vision <strong>of</strong> Life, Love, God and Death in The Last Labyrinth"<br />
in SINHA, R.K. & SINHA, RAVI NANDAN., eds. The Indian Novel in English: Essays in<br />
Criticism Ranchi: Ankit Publishers, 1987: 56-62.<br />
Joshi, Shiv Kumar<br />
BHATTA, S.K. "Shiv Kumar Joshi's English Play He Never Slept So Long." Littcrit 3, no.2<br />
(1977): 43-45.<br />
The play is like a pageant without much suspense or a climax. The main characters are<br />
imaginary--Jay and Vijay (doorkeepers <strong>of</strong> God Vishnu condemned to human birth) and<br />
Mahakal--Time. They witness various incidents from the life <strong>of</strong> Mahatma Gandhi. The third<br />
act is an imaginary trial <strong>of</strong> Gandhi; Jay and Vijay are told that they can be released from<br />
earthly existence if someone else is willing to take their place, and they appeal to Gandhiji and<br />
Martin Luther King. Bhatta feels that with its good English and modern theatrical techniques,<br />
the play can be a success on stage.<br />
Jussawalla, Adil<br />
AMUR, G.S. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Exile: An Introduction to Adil Jussawalla" Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
English Studies 13 (1977) reprinted in SHAHANE, VASANT A. and<br />
SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A Critical Assessment Madras:<br />
Macmillan, 1980: 61-71. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
ANKLESARIA, HAVOVI. "Exile and Disintegration in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Adil Jussawalla" in<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1986: 91-101.<br />
RAO, N.M. “The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Adil Jussawalla” in PRASAD, MADHUSUDHAN ed. Living<br />
Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling, 1989: 148-62.<br />
Jussawalla concentrates on personal experience, drawing on education in both India<br />
and England. early work (Land’s End, 1962) is imagist with ironic notes, introduces mythic
eso<strong>nan</strong>ce into ‘still life’ descriptions and deals anti-romantically, like the Movement poets,<br />
with the poor. “Land’s End” presents the primeval power <strong>of</strong> the sea and the mystery <strong>of</strong> life.<br />
Surveys poems about cities and time, noting the despairing insignificance <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> lovers before<br />
such immensities. Missing Person (1975) sketches an identity crisis <strong>of</strong> Kafkaesque quality<br />
with Confessional touches, echoes <strong>of</strong> a colonial problematic and the modern bourgeois<br />
dilemma set against a return to India.<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Adil Jussawala" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:23-28.<br />
Kailasam. T.P.<br />
BHATTA, S.K. "Kailasam's English Plays" in Perspectives on Indian Drama in English, edited<br />
by NAIK, M.K. & S. MOKASHI-PUNEKAR, 86-97. Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Kailasam's six published plays in English make an important contribution to Indian<br />
English drama, though this language is marred by excessive rhetoric and alliteration, and his<br />
blank verse is not consistently effective.<br />
MALAGI, R.A. "The Curse or Karna." In Perspectives on Indian Drama in English, edited by<br />
NAIK, M.K. & S. MOKASHI-PUNEKAR, 98-114. Madras: OUP, 1977.<br />
Almost all Kailasam's Kannada plays are social comedies, but his English plays are<br />
tragedies with mythological heroes. Kailasam wanders far from the Mahabharata in his best<br />
play, Karna, which reveals a supreme sense <strong>of</strong> dramatic form.<br />
Kalia, Mamta<br />
DUBEY, SURESH CHANDRA. "Roshen Alkazi and Mamta Kalia" in DWIVEDI, A.N.<br />
"Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-<br />
English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1985: 201-16.<br />
Kan<strong>nan</strong>, Lakshmi<br />
RAY, LILA. "Lakshmi Kan<strong>nan</strong>" Commonwealth Quarterly 13 (1980):89-97.<br />
RAY, LILA. "Lakshmi Kan<strong>nan</strong>" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves' Song: Contemporary English<br />
Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong><br />
Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1985: 112-19.<br />
Karnad, Girish<br />
GOWDA, H.H. ANNIAH. "Indian Plays and Poems in English: Karnad's Tughlaq and<br />
Ramanujan's Relations" Literary Half-Yearly 14.1 (1973):3-10.<br />
NAIK, M.K. “The Limits <strong>of</strong> Human Power: A Comparative Study <strong>of</strong> Tughlaq and Caligula”<br />
in Studies in Indian English Literature New Delhi: Sterling, 1987: 136-145.<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S. "Indian Drama in English with Special Reference to Tughlaq" Littcrit 8<br />
(1980):9-22.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA, "The Theatrical Representation <strong>of</strong> History: Girish Karnad's<br />
Tughlaq", Studies in Indian Writing in English with a Focus on Indian English Drama, New<br />
Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990: 44-51.
Katrak,K.D.<br />
RAIZADA, HARISH. "'Poetry for Itself': The Poetry <strong>of</strong> K.D. Katrak" in DWIVEDI, A.N<br />
ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:35-44.<br />
Kolatkar, Arun<br />
AMIRTHANAYAGAM, GUY. "Kolatkar's Jejuri: A Pilgrimage into the Past and the<br />
Present" 177-85 in Amirthanayagam, Guy & Harrex, Syd C., eds. Only Connect: Literary<br />
Perspectives East & West Adelaide: Centre for Research in the New Literatures in English,<br />
1981: Honolulu: East-West Center, 1981, xiii + 335.<br />
CHAR, M. SREERAMA. Prayer Motif in Indian Poetry in English Calcutta: Writers<br />
Workshop, 1988, 135 pp.<br />
Concentrates on A.K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar, Nissim Ezekiel & Keki N. Daruwalla.<br />
DESAI, S.K. "Arun Kolatkar's Jejuri: A House <strong>of</strong> God" LCrit 15.1 (1980):47-59.<br />
KANADEY, V.R. "Arun Kolatkar's Poetry: An Exile's Pilgrimage" in PRASAD, R.C. &<br />
SHARMA, R.K., eds. Modern Studies and Other Essays in Honour <strong>of</strong> Dr R.K. Sinha New<br />
Delhi: Vikas, 1987: 141-6.<br />
NABAR, V. "Kolatkar: A Bilingual Poet" ACLALS Bulletin 4th Series 5: 80-4.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Arun Kolatkar and the Three Value Systems" Littcrit 7.1 (1981):31-9.<br />
NAIK, M.K. "Arun Kolatkar and the Three Value-Systems" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies<br />
in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:35-44.<br />
NEMADE, BALCHANDRA. "Arun Kolatkar and Bilingual Poetry" in AMUR, G.S.,<br />
PRASAD, V.R.N., NEMADE, B.V. & NIHALANI, N.H., eds. Indian Readings in<br />
Commonwealth Literature New York: Apt; 1985: New Delhi: Sterling, 1985: 71-86.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "Correspondence through Gestures: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Arun<br />
Kolatkar" The Literary Half-Yearly 24.1 (1983):88-111. Reissued in WLWE 28.2 (Autumn<br />
1988):134-44. Reprinted in PRASAD, Madhusudhan (ed.) Living Indian English Poets<br />
New Delhi: Sterling (1989): 119-42.<br />
Kolatkar’s small output shows variety <strong>of</strong> tone, colloquial language and hard imagistic<br />
concision. “The Boatride”, an early uncollected poem, is contrasted to Daruwalla’s “Boat<br />
Ride along the Ganges”. Sides with Naik’s and Harrex’s readings against criticism <strong>of</strong> “Jejuri”,<br />
asserting its valid engagement with modern scepticism about jaded religious faith and “what is<br />
dead but yet alive in Indian society.” Notes importance <strong>of</strong> the protagonist’s ironically<br />
observing voice and acceptance <strong>of</strong> the banal thing for what it is free <strong>of</strong> idealisation. The<br />
desacralised temple visit contrasts to the sacralised railway station, suugesting the detached<br />
irreverence has, after all, been affected by the pilgrimage.<br />
RAMAKRISHNAN, E.V. "Jejuri: The Search For Place" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 6.1 (1978):16-20.
SATYANARAYANA, M.R. "Jejuri: Arun Kolatkar's Waste Land" in SHAHANE,<br />
VASANT A. and SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A Critical<br />
Assessment Madras: Macmillan, 1980: 99-115. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
SINHA, PRASHANTA K. "A Vision <strong>of</strong> Disintegration: A Glance at Some <strong>of</strong> Kolatkar's<br />
Translations <strong>of</strong> His Poems" Poetry 12 (1986):16-20.<br />
SIVARAMAKRISHNA, M. “Arun Kolatkar’s ‘Jejuri’: An Appreciation” Triveni 48.1<br />
(1979): 53-57.<br />
The poem, while base in material detail <strong>of</strong> Indian life, deals with the universal contemporary<br />
problem : “the decline <strong>of</strong> myth and the inevitable sterility <strong>of</strong> mond and spirit which is the<br />
immediate consequence”. The secular attitude <strong>of</strong> the work sets up ironic tensions with the<br />
religious material, showing decadence in priests and harsh reality amongst the poor. Although<br />
debunking, it is not finally irreverent, balancing temple and station/ mythic and historical time.<br />
SMITH, KAREN. “A Study <strong>of</strong> Arun Kolatkar’s Jejuri” Commonwealth Quarterly 3.12<br />
(1979): 20-32.<br />
Close reading <strong>of</strong> the poem, considering the creative process from opening impersonality,<br />
drawing the reader into the poetic situation, generating a sense <strong>of</strong> movement and the quest<br />
motif, with quick cinematic fixes on images and a move into ambiguity mixing animate and<br />
i<strong>nan</strong>imate, time and timelessness in playful ironies. The sceptic narrator is identified as<br />
Manohar and his failure to find answers in the ‘demonic’ landscape/temple could also be his<br />
own failing as modern seeker. Sliding from the portentous mythic into fleeting moments <strong>of</strong><br />
potential epiphany (the butterfly), the sequence move from dry stones to silent stone gods to<br />
stones as building blocks <strong>of</strong> happiness, and Chaitanya serves as a linking figure <strong>of</strong> enigmatic<br />
promise. Notes the pairing <strong>of</strong> temple and railway station “immersed in a stupour <strong>of</strong><br />
timelessness” and the contrastive play <strong>of</strong> materialism and spirituality and a tendency to surreal<br />
images.<br />
Krishnamurti<br />
RAMAMOORTHY, P. "J. Krishnamurti's Commentaries on Living: The Classic as a Vision<br />
<strong>of</strong> Clarity" Literary Criterion 15.2 (1980):1-11.<br />
TARINAYYA, M. "Krishnamurti's Beyond Violence: A Utopian Dream Vision" in<br />
SRIVASTAVA, AVADESH K. ed. Alien Voice: Perspectives on Commonwealth Literature<br />
Lucknow: Print House, 1981: 116-27. Also Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities,<br />
1982.<br />
Kumar, Shiv<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv Kumar: A Critical Study" in RAM, ATMA. ed.<br />
Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 64-78.<br />
BIRJE-PATIL, J. "Reso<strong>nan</strong>t Bones: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv K. Kumar" World Literature Today<br />
51, no.4 (1977):543-48. Reprinted in Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation<br />
edited by Chirantan Kulshreshtha, 227-42. New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980. Also<br />
Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. “Shiv K. Kumar’s Poetry: A Thematic Study” Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies<br />
15.1 (1984): 6-12.
Critics praise Kumar’s “finished form, the tense diction and the arresting imagery”.<br />
While the sensuality may irritate some, the irony and wit is compelling, and head and heart are<br />
balanced in treating a limited range <strong>of</strong> themes: love, sex, marriage, family, death as an<br />
alternative to unfulfilled desire. Sex and religion seem to fuse as substitute for traditional<br />
religious morality. Kumar has a Western rationalist outlook reliant on contrast.<br />
MATHUR, O.P. "'The Same Route as My Ancestors Took': a Study <strong>of</strong> the Indian sensibility<br />
in Shiv K. Kumar's Works" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:35-44.<br />
PARANJAPE, MAKARAND. "Nude Before God" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 15.2<br />
(1987):49-51. review?<br />
RAO, G.J. CHINNESWARA. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv K. Kumar: an Adventure in Irony."<br />
Chandrabhaga 2 (Winter 1979):44-50.<br />
Good poetry engages with both language and experience. Kumar's verse rises above<br />
Indian English poetic pastiche in its wit and irony, but lacks "moral awareness". Sharp<br />
naturalism is accepting rather than satiric <strong>of</strong> banality. Reviews Woodpeckers with reference to<br />
Subterfuges.<br />
RAO, K.R. "Masks and Subterfuges: A Study <strong>of</strong> Shiv K. Kumar's Poetry" Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 21 (1981):47-51.<br />
SHARMA, K. GODABARI. "The Scholar as a Poet: Some Reflections on the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv<br />
K. Kumar" in DAS, BIJAY KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly:<br />
Prakash Book Depot, 1986: 50-56.<br />
SIVARAMAKRISHNA, M. "'Beyond the Empiric Point': The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv K. Kumar" in<br />
RAO, K.S. NARAYANA. ed. World Literature Written in English 14.2 (1975):371-84.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, N. "Articulating the Silent: the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv K. Kumar" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 6.2 (1978):1-12.<br />
VAIDYANATHAN, T.G. "Between Kali and Cordelia: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Shiv K. Kumar." In<br />
"Contemporary Indian Poetry in English Special Number" edited by V.A.Shahane & M.<br />
Sivaramakrishna, Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 13, no.1 (1977): 61-83. Reprinted in<br />
Indian Poetry in English: A Critical Assessment, edited by V.A.Shahane & M.<br />
Sivaramakrishna, 99-115. Madras: Macmillan, 1980: Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities,<br />
1981.<br />
Kumar moves from early narcissism ("Suicide," "Nerves") to "troubled maturity"<br />
("Lear to Cordelia", "An Indian Mango Vendor"), figuring a quest for fulfilling love faced by its<br />
death or perversion in modern life. Marriage and infidelity alike fail to provide the ideal.<br />
Despite their darkness, the poems echo Lowell more than Plath, with moments <strong>of</strong> Lawrentian<br />
sensuality set against "a deeply Indo-English religious nostalgia". Kumar's struggling fusion <strong>of</strong><br />
cynicism and celebration, religion and sexuality (attaining atypical tranquility in "The Sun<br />
Temple at Konarak") is read against Fanon's view <strong>of</strong> the alienated 'native intellectual' and<br />
Larkin's "agnostic piety". Women are reduced to elemental sexuality and divinised, "abolishing<br />
the need for reciprocity in human relationships" and prompting then deadening sexual drive
(comparsion is made between "Kali" and K.D. Katrak's "The Kitchen Door"). Kumar is<br />
caught between cold Cordelia and distant Kali.<br />
VENKATACHARI, K. "Trapfalls in the Sky" Indian Literature 177 (1988): 91-9.<br />
Lakshmi, Vijay<br />
GUPTA, G.S. BALARAMA. "Vijay Lakshmi's Distances: An Appreciatory Note" The Quest<br />
1.1 (1987):66-9. genre?<br />
Lal, P.<br />
KUMAR, P. SHIV. “On the Verge <strong>of</strong> the Numinous: Some Notes <strong>of</strong> P.Lal’s Poetry” in<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDHAN ed. Living Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling,<br />
1989:107-118.<br />
Lal’s poetry has been eclipsed by his critical and promotional work. It <strong>of</strong>fers “a sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> the numinous, concretised through a sensuous apprehension <strong>of</strong> the physical surroundings”.<br />
Criticises Lal for castigating early romantic writing while himself producing romantic lyricism,<br />
though his is different from Aurobindo’s in seeking the moment <strong>of</strong> immediate passionate<br />
engagement with life, at which poetry takes on the aura <strong>of</strong> prayer.<br />
KWAN-TERRY, JOHN. "The Silence <strong>of</strong> Truth: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> P. Lal" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 8.1&2 (1980):167-77. Reprinted in SINGH, KIRPAL ed. Through<br />
Different Eyes: Foreign Responses to Indian Writing in English Calcutta: Writers<br />
Workshop, 1984: 234-247.<br />
Explication <strong>of</strong> theme by close commentary. Love is “the definition <strong>of</strong> being” and the<br />
“com-passion” <strong>of</strong> love for God, nature or another person is Lal’s source for poetry. Man’s<br />
struggle against time and self via contact with other creatures gives limited satisfaction and<br />
intimation <strong>of</strong> higher solace. Though satirising modern man’s imperfections, Lal is not cynical,<br />
showing tendencies to mysticism and a “cultivated toleration and detachment”, perhaps<br />
because he does not suffer the pangs <strong>of</strong> his subjects, relying rather on a refined Eliotian poetic<br />
attitude.<br />
MURTHY, P.V.S.N. "Nature, Myth and Love in P. Lal's Poetry" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in<br />
English 10. 1&2 (1982):1-6.<br />
NATH, SURESH. "P. Lal's Poetry: The Holy Trinity <strong>of</strong> Nature, Love and Man" in<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1984:234-42.<br />
RIEMENSCHNEIDER, DIETER. “Modern Indo-English Poetry and P; Lal’s ‘Manifesto’”<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly 1.5 (1977): 3-16.<br />
Outlines the critical debate around Lal’s declared break with romanticism and public<br />
preaching in verse and his favouring <strong>of</strong> concrete experience and a private lyric voice, modern<br />
but resisting mass popularity. Checks the validity <strong>of</strong> Lal’s prescription with samples from<br />
Ezekiel, Das, Erulkar and Lal. Ezekiel uses familiar<br />
SHARMA, LALIT M. "The Man and the Metropolis: P. Lal's Calcutta" in RAM, ATMA. ed.<br />
Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 93-102.
SINGH, KIRPAL. "The Dialectics <strong>of</strong> Grace: Some Notes on the Poetry <strong>of</strong> P. Lal" in<br />
KULSHRESHTHA, CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation<br />
New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980: 243-9. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
Laxman, R.K.<br />
RAO, R. RAJ. "The Hotel Riviera: An Indian Novel" new Quest 74 (1989): 117-22.<br />
Madhaviah, A.<br />
PARAMESWARAN, UMA. "A. Madhaviah 1872-1925: An Assessment" JCL 21.1<br />
(1986):222-39.<br />
Mahapatra, Jayanta<br />
ALEXANDER, MEENA. "Jayanta Mahapatra: A Poetry <strong>of</strong> Decreation" JCL 18.1<br />
(1983):42-47.<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR. "Critical Perspectives on Relationship and Latter-Day Psalms"<br />
Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1987, vi + 55pp. check: ed? title? contents?<br />
DAS, BIJOY KUMAR. "Journey Into the Unknown: Jayanta Mahapatra's Relationship" The<br />
Humanities Review 5.1&2 (1983):5-7.<br />
DEVY, G.N. “Rites and Signs: A Note on Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poetic Sensibility” in<br />
Madhusudan Prasad (ed) Living Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling, 1989: 1-12.<br />
Mahapatra’s copious work resisted critical response until relationship (1980). Critics<br />
still praise or deprecate his indefinable reso<strong>nan</strong>ces/obscurity. Cites Devy’s 1986 focus on<br />
decentred identity (in Prasad, below) and notes key motifs (nature, seasons, women, temples,<br />
myht, history, time, suffering) and a “sad, serene, wisely ironic” voice that emerges more<br />
clearly when speculation replaces narrative (“Hunger”). The ironic imagination alternates and<br />
blends with symbolic romanticism (“A Rain <strong>of</strong> Rites”) suggesting both artistic elevation and the<br />
fragmentary limits <strong>of</strong> enunciation through an evocative “Poetry <strong>of</strong> communion” rather than <strong>of</strong><br />
communication. Notes a tradition <strong>of</strong> IWE poems on parents and ancestors and Mahapatra’s<br />
exploration <strong>of</strong> the theme <strong>of</strong> growing old.<br />
MISRA, SOUBHAGYA K. “The Largest Circle: A Reading <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra’s<br />
Relationship” The Literary Endeavour 9.1-4 (1987-8): 30-48.<br />
Notes lack <strong>of</strong> critical reponse to his difficult symbolist style “deriving unique effects from an<br />
almost dream-like association <strong>of</strong> images and motifs drawn from Indian history, myth and folklore”.<br />
Relationship extends Mahapatra’s work from individual human concerns to<br />
philosophising in “tragic somlemnity” on Time and Death, envisioning a possible transformation<br />
<strong>of</strong> life through love to build a new society. Compares the pilgrimage form to Whitman, Eliot’s ‘<br />
Four Quartets’ and Neruda’s epic. Traces the stages <strong>of</strong> the poem from facing the inevitability<br />
<strong>of</strong> ‘stony’ death to finding more fluid ways <strong>of</strong> conceiving it. Sections 4, 5 and 6 explore<br />
entering dream to envision a beyond, while 7 looks towards ideal love through acceptance <strong>of</strong><br />
bodily existence in time, the temple serving as an indicator <strong>of</strong> beatific vision. Textual<br />
commentary groujnded in theme and imagery.<br />
MOHAN, DEVINDER. Jayanta Mahapatra New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1987, 97 pp.
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN, "Patterns <strong>of</strong> Awareness: A Study in 'Relationship'," Littcrit,<br />
15.1&2 (1989): 44-56.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. "Patterns <strong>of</strong> Awareness: A Study <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra's<br />
Relationships" Littcrit, 15.1, (1990): 44-56.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. "Recollection as Redemption: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra"<br />
Poetry 10 (1985):24-40.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. "Relationship: A Study" Poetry 12.1 (1987):1-18.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. "Sex, Power and Beyond: A Study in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta<br />
Mahapatra" The Quest 1.1 (1987): 36-54.<br />
Values Mahapatra for taking sexuality beyond sex to "life giving force" via indirection<br />
<strong>author</strong>ised by A<strong>nan</strong>davardhana as auchitya (propriety) and obliqueness. Poems mix romantic<br />
redemption through recollection with modern awareness <strong>of</strong> death and inadequacy. Love<br />
entails abhiman, combining ecstasy <strong>of</strong> union with fear <strong>of</strong> separation and projecting a<br />
transcendant bliss. Passing reference to Sidney, Marvell and the saint-poets, Tagore and<br />
Jiba<strong>nan</strong>da Das and extended commentary on imagery.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN. "The Theme-Song <strong>of</strong> Life: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra" in<br />
DAS, BIJAY KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1986: 64-86.<br />
PANIKER, K. AYAPPA. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra" in SHAHANE, VASANT A.<br />
and SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A Critical Assessment Madras:<br />
Macmillan, 1980, 184 pp. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981: 84-98.<br />
PANIKER, K. AYYAPPA. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra" in SHAHANE, V.A. & M.<br />
SIVARAMAKRISHNA, eds. "Contemporary Indian Poetry in English Special Number"<br />
Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 13.1 (1977):117-38<br />
PERRY, JOHN OLIVER. "Neither Alien nor Postmodern; Jayanta Mahapatra's Poetry from<br />
India" KR 8.4 (Fall 1986):55-66.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN ed. The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra New Delhi: Sterling<br />
Publishers, 1986, viii + 303 pp.<br />
KING, BRUCE.<br />
SIMMS, NORMAN.<br />
PERRY, JOHN OLIVER.<br />
KENNEDY, ALAN.<br />
NAIK, M.K.<br />
DESAI, S.K.<br />
ALEXANDER, MEENA.<br />
DEVY, G.N.<br />
SUNDARI, G.<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S.<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A.<br />
CORSERI, GARY.<br />
KHULLAR, AJIT.
SYAL, PUSHPINDER.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN.<br />
MOHANTY, NIRANJAN.<br />
DAVID, P.C.<br />
INAMDAR, F.A.<br />
SWAIN, RABINDRA K.<br />
DUTTA, UJJAL.<br />
Interview with Norman Simms.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "'Caught in the Currents <strong>of</strong> Time': A Study in the Poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
Jayanta Mahapatra" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse<br />
Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:89-122.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. '"Echoes <strong>of</strong> a Bruised Presence": Images <strong>of</strong> Women in the<br />
Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra" WLWE 28.2 (Autumn 1988):367-78.<br />
PRASAD, S.M. "Quest for Roots in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 17.1 (1989): 22-32.<br />
RAMAKRISHNAN, E.V. "Landscape as Destiny: Jayanta Mahapatra's Poetry" in DAS,<br />
BIJAY KUMAR ed. Contemporary Indo-English Poetry Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1986: 102-10.<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S. & SUNDARI, G. "Song <strong>of</strong> the Past: An Interpretation <strong>of</strong> the Poetry <strong>of</strong><br />
Jayanta Mahapatra" Littcrit 10.1 (1984):15-27.<br />
RAO, A.V. KRISHNA. "The Recent Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahpatra: An Assessment"<br />
ACLALS Bulletin 7th Series No. 2 (1986):67-76.<br />
STACHNIEWSKI, JOHN. "Life Signs in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Jayanta Mahapatra" The Indian<br />
Literary Review 4.2 (1986):79-84.<br />
SWAIN, RABINDRA K. "Life Signs: An Essay-Review" The Literary Endeavour 6.1-4<br />
(1986):133-42. (check date)<br />
TARINAYYA, M. "Jayanta Mahapatra's A Letter to Kazuko Shiraishi in Tokyo: An<br />
Analysis" The Literary Criterion 20.3 (1985): 60-69.<br />
Criticism should move toward the writer’s “conscience” - “the honest desire to be true<br />
to one’s experience <strong>of</strong> the complexities and challenges <strong>of</strong> life”. Mahapatra’s idea <strong>of</strong> the poem<br />
as “testament” has it “breaking forth an experience into a relationship with the reader”. The<br />
reader has difficulty overcoming the initial impression <strong>of</strong> commonness and can find the<br />
language <strong>of</strong> subjective rendering hard too. The private colloquial voice <strong>of</strong> a letter is<br />
transformed by “deautomatizing” image links (rain-hunger) that move us from literal and social<br />
detail to symbolic or metaphysical levels <strong>of</strong> meaning. Spiralling moralising commentary starting<br />
in close reading, seeing the poem as reflecting on civilisation and religion in modern India<br />
(objectified through the eyes <strong>of</strong> the Tokyo addressee) and the poet’s isolation and<br />
responsibility arising from the death by tetanus <strong>of</strong> Mahapatra’s servant girl.<br />
Mahapatra, Laxmi Narayan.
RUSSELL, A. "Poetry is Experience Imaged: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Laxmi Narayan<br />
Mahapatra" The Quest 1.2 (1988):51-60.<br />
SINGH, R.K. "L.N. Mahapatra: Attuned to a Different Interval", The Quest 1.1 (1987):30-5.<br />
Malgonkar, Manohar<br />
ABIDI, S.Z.H. Manohar Malgonkar's 'A Bend in the Ganges' Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1984, 84 pp.<br />
ABIDI, S.Z.H. “Call <strong>of</strong> Blood: Theme <strong>of</strong> Revenge in Manohar Malgonkar’s A BEND IN<br />
THE GANGES” PURBA 14.1 (1983):71-79.<br />
Counters G.S. Amur’s claim that the revenge element is a failing in Bend, arguing its thematic<br />
and structural centrality. Analyses different kinds <strong>of</strong> revenge, showing how some serve to<br />
move the plot and others reveal character change and give unity to the whole.<br />
AITHAL, S. KRISHNAMOORTHY & RASMI AITHAL. "The British and Anglo-Indian<br />
Encounter in Malgonkar's Combat <strong>of</strong> Shadows" Italia Francescana 9.1 (Winter 1982):54-7.<br />
AMUR, G.S. "Manohar Malgonkar and the Problems <strong>of</strong> the Indian Novelist in English" in<br />
MOHAN, RAMESH, ed. Indian Writing in English Bombay: Orient Longman, 1978: 37-46.<br />
AMUR, G.S. Manohar Malgonkar New York: Humanities, 1973, 155 pp.<br />
ARULANDRAM, H.G.S. "A Bend in the Ganges: A Study in Violence" Rajasthan Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
English Studies 6 (1977):12-16.<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "A Study <strong>of</strong> the Novels <strong>of</strong> Manohar Malgonkar" The Literary Half-yearly<br />
16.2 (1975):71-89<br />
P.D. CHATURVEDI, "Manohar Malgonkar: The Novelist and his Point <strong>of</strong> View": 279-297.<br />
in DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad: Kitab<br />
Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
COWASJEE, S. "The Princes in Indian Fiction" Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 2.1<br />
(1977):48-70. 1) Offers extensive political-historical documentation to the situation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
princely (sp?) ruling class and their states and traces their fictional literary history. 2)<br />
Compares the thematic concerns <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d’s Private Life <strong>of</strong> an Indian Prince (1953) with<br />
Malgonkar’s The Princes (1963). Valorizes A<strong>nan</strong>d’s work as the finest achievement <strong>of</strong> his<br />
writing career and claims that “Malgonkar gives evidence <strong>of</strong> having been influenced by<br />
A<strong>nan</strong>d”. 3) Finds A<strong>nan</strong>d’s portrayal <strong>of</strong> princely character dominated by his emotional life<br />
allows the focus to fall upon the individual and the predicament whereas Malgonkar permits<br />
the historical to intrude upon the individual’s fictional development.<br />
DAYANADA, JAMES Y. Manohar Malgonkar New York: Twayne, 1975.<br />
DAYANADA, JAMES Y. "The Image <strong>of</strong> Women in Manohar Malgonkar's Novels" Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 12.3-4 (1977):109-13.<br />
DAYANANDA, J.Y. Manohar Malgonkar ?? (1974?)
DAYANANDA, Y.J. "Manohar Malgonkar on his Novel The Princes: An Interview" JCL<br />
9.3 (1975):21-8. [interview?]<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. The Historian as Novelist: Manohar Malgonkar" in NAIK, M.K.<br />
Perspectives on Indian Fiction in English New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1985: 136-49.<br />
JAIN, JASBIR. “Vishnu and Shiva: Symbols <strong>of</strong> Dualtiy in A Bend in the Ganges” Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Indian Writing in English 3.1 (1975): 21-32.<br />
Substitution <strong>of</strong> Vishnu and Shiva as household gods indicates not only the father-son rift but<br />
the interpenetrating duality <strong>of</strong> human life. Hari (Vishnu) worships Shiva and is killed by<br />
Vishnudutt (though Shiva is ‘the destroyer’). Gandhi is presented as both saint and traitor.<br />
Traces other paradoxes.<br />
JANAKIRAM, ALUR. “Social Reality in the Short Stories <strong>of</strong> R.K.Narayan and Manohar<br />
Malgonkar” PURBA 19.2 (1988): 45-58.<br />
The IWE short story is mostly a post-Independence phenomenon. Considers Narayan’s 35year<br />
output up to Malgudi Days (1982) and Malgonkar’s more concentrated publications to<br />
Rumble Tumble (1977). Cite Narayan’s view <strong>of</strong> stories as a diversion from the hard work <strong>of</strong><br />
novels and arising our <strong>of</strong> characters undergoing a crisis <strong>of</strong> spirit, noting the variety <strong>of</strong><br />
characters, ironic turns <strong>of</strong> events and ordinary everyday situations in which comedy arises<br />
from people being unable to adapt to social change, even though there is an underlying<br />
impression that traditional wisdom will continue to inform Indian life. Malgonkar deals in war,<br />
jungles and mining, using more dramatic action and opportunistic chicanery, cinematic<br />
montage and a sharper irony.<br />
JAYASHRI, I. "Women Versus Tradition in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Manohar Malgonkar" Triveni 45.2<br />
(1976):73-80.<br />
JHA, MOHAN, "Malgonkar's Female Characters: A Study" The Quest 1.2 (1988): 6-22.<br />
JHA, MOHAN. "Malgonkar's Open Season: A Critique" in PRASAD, R.C. & SHARMA,<br />
R.K., eds. Modern Studies and Other Essays in Honour <strong>of</strong> Dr R.K. Sinha New Delhi: Vikas,<br />
1987: 239-46.<br />
MATHUR, P.S. "A Touch <strong>of</strong> Tar: Anglo-Indian Encounter in Malgonkar's Combat <strong>of</strong><br />
Shadows" The Indian Literary Review I.12 & II.1 (1980):22-9.<br />
PANDEYA, VIJAYANAND. "R.K. Narayan and Manohar Malgonkar: A Comparative<br />
Appraisal" The Quest 1.1 (1987):7-10.<br />
PARAMESWARAN, UMA. "Manohar Malgonkar as a Historical Novelist" in RAO, K.S.<br />
NARAYANA. ed. World Literature Written in English 14.2 (1975):329-38.<br />
PRADHAN, N.S. "Manohar Malgonkar: A Bend in the Ganges" in PRADHAN, N.S. ed.<br />
Major Indian Novels: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986: 135-54. Also<br />
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
RAJAGOPALACHARY,M. “Malgonkar’s Meditation on History: “The Devil’s Wind”<br />
Triveni 55.2 (1986): 53-8. Claims The Devil’s Wind (1972) reassesses the history <strong>of</strong> the
Sepoy Revolt <strong>of</strong> 1857 and the role <strong>of</strong> Nana Saheb. Probes the psychological state <strong>of</strong> Saheb.<br />
Compares it to John Masters’ Nightrunners <strong>of</strong> Bengal (1969).<br />
RAJAGOPALACHARY, M. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Manohar Malgonkar: A Study in the Quest for<br />
Fulfilment New Delhi: Prestige, 1989, 102pp.<br />
RAO, D.S. "Open Season: Manohar Malgonkar" Indian Literature 24.1 (January February<br />
1981):142-7.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA, "The Novelist as Short Story Writer: Manohar Malgonkar" in<br />
Studies in Indian Writing in English with a Focus on Indian English Drama, New Delhi:<br />
Prestige Books, 1990: 52-60.<br />
ROTHFORK, JOHN. "Gandhi and Non-Violence in Manohar Malgonkar's A Bend in the<br />
Ganges" Chandrabhaga 12 (1984):41-70.<br />
SIRCAR, ARJYA. “Symbolism in Manohar Malgonkar’s The Princes” Commonwealth<br />
Quarterly 13.34 (1986-7) 40-45..<br />
Claims Malgonkar’s use <strong>of</strong> symbols is more integral than A<strong>nan</strong>d’s and others’. In The<br />
Princes symbolic moments <strong>of</strong> choice show the apparent separation <strong>of</strong> father and son to be<br />
illusory. The episodes concerning the maharani and Kamala are, however, not successful.<br />
STEINVORTH, KLAUS. "Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d's Private Life <strong>of</strong> an Indian Prince and Manohar<br />
Malgonkar's The Princes" LHY 14.1 (1973):76-91.<br />
WILLIAMS, H.M. "Manohar Malgonkar's The Captains and the Kings'" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English 8.1&2 (1980):35-44.<br />
Malik, Keshav<br />
BANDOPADHYAY, M. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Keshav Malik" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
2.1 (1974):58-60.<br />
IYENGAR, K.R.SRINIVASA. ""Vibrant Intensity" Indian Literature, 135, (1990): 161-64.<br />
On The Cut-<strong>of</strong>f Point review?<br />
KANNAN, LAKSHMI. "Keshav Malik: The Total Poet" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:152-62.<br />
RAJA, P. "All Eyes, All Ears: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Keshav Malik" The Literary Endeavour 4.1&2<br />
(1982):51-57.<br />
Samples poems mostly from Rippled Shadow to assemble Malik’s views <strong>of</strong> poetic art as a<br />
pessimistic but unavoidable struggle to find order and understanding in chaotic life. The<br />
suffering rationalist is accompanied by the activist and the ascetic for whom poetry is an<br />
individual, direct, unpolished free-verse response to life’s variety.<br />
RAJA, P. “The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Keshav Malik” Triveni 52.1 (1983): 55-61.<br />
Quotes Malik’s views on poetry, noting his variety <strong>of</strong> subjects and viewpoints and the poems’<br />
sincerity. His poetry is an agonistic, pessimistic struggle to make sense <strong>of</strong> life, accepting<br />
mortality and advocating activist resistance to social evils and freedom <strong>of</strong> artistic expression.
He uses a direct, natural voice and clinical imagery. Comparison to Subramanya Bharati and<br />
Tamil siddha poets.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, NARSINGH. “The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Keshav Malik: A Critical introduction” in<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDHAN ed. Living Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling, 1989:<br />
241-49.<br />
Praised for his sense <strong>of</strong> sound and design, Malik is characterised by his concern for<br />
the inner self rather than society or nature. Surveys The Lake Surface and Other Poems<br />
(1961), noting influences from Shelley and Stephen Spender and the visionary search beyond<br />
surfaces. Rippled Shadow (1961) <strong>of</strong>fers “mood pieces” tending to the cerebral but with<br />
compelling rhythms. Storm Warning ( takes up larger themes with ideas anchored in painterly<br />
shapes. Poems (1971) continues Malik’s romantic strain (Rimbaud and Yeats) but <strong>of</strong>ten fails<br />
to strike a balance between objective control and subjective introspection.<br />
Marath, S. Menon<br />
ELIAS, MOHAMED. "Landscape <strong>of</strong> Nostalgia in Menon Marath's The Wound <strong>of</strong> Spring"<br />
The Indian Literary Review I.9 (1980):21-5.<br />
ELIAS, MOHAMMED. Menon Marath Madras: Macmillan (India) Kerala Writers in English<br />
Series, 1984.<br />
ONEMEM, SUSAN. "Janu: Marath's Rhetoric <strong>of</strong> Possibility" The Literary Criterion, 25.4,<br />
(1990): 22-30.<br />
Markandaya, Kamala (b.1924)<br />
Some good studies <strong>of</strong> Markandaya appeared even before 1970: Uma Parameswaran's "India<br />
for the Western Reader: A Study <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya's Novels," The Texas Quarterly<br />
no.11 (1968): 231-47; Shiv K. Kumar's "Tradition and Change in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala<br />
Markandaya," Books Abroad 43, no.4 (1969): 508-13, reprinted in Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
English Studies 3, no.1 (1978): 85-96; K. R. Chandrasekharan's "East and West in the<br />
Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya," Critical Essays on Indian Writing in English, edited by M.<br />
K. Naik et al (Dharwar, 1968, second edition Madras Macmillan, 1977): 62-85; K. S.<br />
Narayana Rao has written extensively on the earlier novels <strong>of</strong> Markandaya; his doctoral thesis<br />
(Pennsylvania State <strong>University</strong>, 1968) was on "The New Harvest: Indian Novel in English in<br />
the Post-Independence Era, Woman at Work: Kamala Markandaya." There seems to be a<br />
consensus <strong>of</strong> critical opinion regarding the literary merit <strong>of</strong> her first novel, Nectar in A Sieve,<br />
regarded as her best. Her tenth novel, Pleasure City (1982), which reveals a new direction in<br />
theme and linguistic style, has received very little attention. Reactions to Two Virgins show the<br />
cultural divide in literary evaluation: non-Indian critics, like Alice Drum, Roberta Rubinst, and<br />
H M Williams (see below), value it highly, while Indian critics generally condemn it outright.<br />
Nissim Ezekiel's review labelled the characters "puppets, manufactured for those who know<br />
nothing about India", Uma Parameswaran declares, "It is not a convincing novel", Margaret P.<br />
Joseph finds it "a disappointing book", Srivastava finds the style uninteresting, while M. K.<br />
Naik feels that "the theme <strong>of</strong> the adolescent's loss <strong>of</strong> innocence could not perhaps be handled<br />
more crudely than here."<br />
Bibliography<br />
"Kamala Markandaya: A Bibliography," comp. SUSHEELA N. RAO World Literature<br />
Written in English 20, no.2 (Autumn lg81): 344-50.
Criticism<br />
ABIDI, S.Z.H. Kamala Markandaya's 'Nectar in a Sieve' Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1977, 127 pp.<br />
ADKINS, J.F. "Kamala Markandaya: Indo-Anglian Conflict as Unity" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian<br />
Literature 10.1 (1974):89-102.<br />
AFZAL-KHAN, FAWZIA. "Genre and Ideology in the novels <strong>of</strong> Four contemporary Indo-<br />
Anglian novelists: R.K. Narayan, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya and Salman Rushdie"<br />
DAI 47.4 (October 1986):1328A.<br />
APPASWAMY, S. P. "The Golden Honeycomb: A Saga <strong>of</strong> Princely Life in India." JIWE<br />
6,no.2 (1978): 56-63.<br />
Mainly descriptive, with a paragraph analysing the linguistic style. The novel presents a<br />
more truthful picture <strong>of</strong> the Raj's dealings with princely India than A<strong>nan</strong>d's Private Life <strong>of</strong> an<br />
Indian Prince or Malgonkar's The Princes. Markandaya brings out the shrewdness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
British policy, which would give a prince the kind <strong>of</strong> education calculated to make him an<br />
English country gentleman, out <strong>of</strong> touch with the Indian reality. Events, such as the Delhi<br />
Durbar, are presented from a multiple point <strong>of</strong> view. Women did not have a place in public<br />
life, but their overpowering influence is presented well by Markandaya.<br />
ARGYLE, BARRY. "Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve." Ariel 4, no.1 (1973): 35-45.<br />
Reprinted in The Literarv Half-Yearly 15, no.1 (1974): 73-84.<br />
Reading Nectar in a Sieve as a sociological document diverts attention from its<br />
organisation as a novel, the sensibility that informs it, and the moral intelligence that controls<br />
the sensibility, aspects which are brought out well in Argyle's close reading <strong>of</strong> the text. The<br />
fact that life is circular, not linear, controls the organisation <strong>of</strong> this story <strong>of</strong> a simple woman.<br />
The novel begins with Rukmani, the narrator, an old woman recalling her experiences <strong>of</strong> the<br />
night. Eighteen <strong>of</strong> the novel's thirty chapters contain in their first sentence a reference to time;<br />
in the first sentence <strong>of</strong> the other twelve chapters, there is a reference to journeys, that is,<br />
movement in time. Argyle pays great attention to the words on the page, and demonstrates<br />
how carefully crafted the novel is.<br />
AITHAL, S KRISHNAMOORTHY and RASHMI AITHAL. "East-West Encounter in Four<br />
Indo-English Novels." In Alien Voice: Perspectives on Commonwealth Literature, edited by<br />
Avadhesh K. Srivastava (Lucknow: Print House, 1981): 84-100. ACLALS Bulletin Sixth<br />
Series, no.1 (1982): 1-16.<br />
Examines the variety <strong>of</strong> treatment <strong>of</strong> the theme in Kamala Markandaya's Some Inner<br />
Fury (1955), Manohar Malgonkar's Combat <strong>of</strong> Shadows (1962), Raja Rao's The Serpent<br />
and the Rope (1960) and Anita Desai's Bye-Bve Blackbird (1971). In Some Inner Furv, the<br />
encounter is between a Hindu girl Mira and an Englishman in the nineteen-forties. Despite<br />
wide differences in race and culture, they love each other deeply, but are wrenched apart by<br />
political forces.<br />
AITHAL, S. K. "Indo-British Encounter in Kamala Markandaya's Novels." Journal <strong>of</strong> South<br />
Asian Literature 22, no.2 (1987): 49-59.<br />
Thematic study. Markandaya examines Indo-British encounter through various<br />
characters, situations, settings and points <strong>of</strong> view, people face insurmountable difficulties in
mutual understanding and love. Aithal examines four novels: Some Inner Fury, set in preindependence<br />
India, Possession which shows that the Englishwoman Caroline Bell has not<br />
given up her possessive attitude towards India even after independence, The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams<br />
where the contact is based on Indian importation <strong>of</strong> Western science and technology to build<br />
a huge dam, and The Nowhere Man which is set in England and shows the racial<br />
discrimination faced by an Indian immigrant there.<br />
ASNANI, SHYAM M. "Quest for Identity Theme in Three Commonwealth Novels." Alien<br />
Voice, edited by Srivastava (1981): 128-36.<br />
The three novels, Achebe's No Loneer at Ease, Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas<br />
and Kamala Markandaya's The Nowhere Man depict the tragic world <strong>of</strong> the assimilé, and<br />
each <strong>of</strong> the three protagonists is equally helpless before the inexorable demands <strong>of</strong> the world<br />
around him, though the first two novels are set in the colonial world, while the eponymous<br />
hero <strong>of</strong> the third is an Indian emmigrant in England.<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "Character and Technique in Kamala Markandaya's Novels" RUSEng 11<br />
(1978):66-74.<br />
BADAL, R.K. Kamala Markandaya (??)<br />
BALASWAMY, P. "The Distorted and Distortive Mirror <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya" Criticle<br />
(October 1977):20-28.<br />
BANERJI, NIROJ. Kamala Markandaya: A Critical Study. Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1990,<br />
168pp.<br />
Generally repeats received opinion, so most <strong>of</strong> the leading critics on Markandaya are<br />
quoted. Contains a bibliography <strong>of</strong> secondary sources, and a letter from Markandaya, where<br />
she states, "I do not think <strong>of</strong> myself as--I do not think I am--an expatriate writer."<br />
CHADHA, RAMESH. "Heat and Dust and The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams: A Comparative Study."<br />
WLWE 10, no.1/2 (1982): 24-30.<br />
Jhabvala's and Markandaya's novels have similar stories, and deal with man-woman<br />
relationships. The heroes <strong>of</strong> both novels are work conscious; they take their wives for granted,<br />
and treat them as objects. In the beginning, both Olivia (Heat and Dust) and Helen Clinton<br />
(The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams) are devoted wives. But they are non-conformists, and are attracted by<br />
India, and take Indian lovers.<br />
CHADHA, RAMESH. "Heat and Dust and The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams: A Comparative Study" Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> Indian writing in English 10.1&2 (1982):24-30. [check if same]<br />
CHADHA, RAMESH. Cross-Cultural Interaction in Indian English Fiction: An Analysis <strong>of</strong><br />
the Novels <strong>of</strong> Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Kamala Markandaya. New Delhi: National Book<br />
Organization, 1988, xii +166pp.<br />
Based on a doctoral thesis. Examines cross cultural interaction in the two novelists by<br />
comparing novels with similar themes. Thus the second chapter, "The Interplay" examines<br />
Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve and Some Inner Fury and Jhabvala's Esmond in India.<br />
Chapter 3, "Getting Ready for Battle", deals with Markandaya's The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams and The<br />
Nowhere Man and Jhabvala's A Backward Place while the next chapter, "And Never the<br />
Twain Shall Meet" (Kipling misquoted) compares Jhabvala's New Dominion and Heat and
Dust with Markandaya's Possession. The bibliography lists critical articles on Jhabvala and<br />
Markandaya.<br />
CHADHA, RAMESH. "Cross-Cultural Interaction in Markandaya's Pleasure City." The<br />
New Indian Novel in Enelish, edited by Viney Kirpal (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990):<br />
57-64.<br />
Cross-Cultural interaction is the major theme <strong>of</strong> the novel, and the novelist reveals her<br />
absolute integrity as an artist by not taking sides. Markandaya employs a new style and<br />
narrative technique, first used in The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, which also presented Indo-British<br />
encounter at a construction site. There are Forsterian echoes in Pleasure City in the picnic to<br />
the caves, but the conclusion is quite different.<br />
CHATTERJEE, ARUNDHATI. "Rukmani, The Mother Figure in Nectar in a Sieve." Studies<br />
in Indian Fiction in English, edited by G. S. Balarama Gupta (Gulbarga: JIWE Publication,<br />
1987): 85-92.<br />
Rukmani is the axis around whom all the other characters revolve. She has<br />
transcended limited physical identities to represent the universal mother figure. Chatterjee<br />
presents a panegyric, she does not question the value <strong>of</strong> "the spirit <strong>of</strong> acceptance".<br />
CHAUHAN, P. S. "Kamala Markandaya: Sense and Sensibility." The Literary Criterion 12,<br />
no.2/3 (1976): 134-47.<br />
Chauhan feels that Markandaya suffers from critical apathy. (He does not seem to be<br />
aware <strong>of</strong> any criticism other than S. C. Harrex's study <strong>of</strong> the sense <strong>of</strong> identity in the novels <strong>of</strong><br />
Markandaya, which, he feels, ignores the multiple variety <strong>of</strong> the life <strong>of</strong> her fiction.) Chauahan<br />
attempts a rapid survey <strong>of</strong> the eight novels published to date, and praises her creative moral<br />
vision. The chief appeal <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's fiction lies in its fable. She portrays man as a victim,<br />
but he is never an inconsequential person. She writes <strong>of</strong> modern India with a marvellous<br />
historical vision <strong>of</strong> the Western influences at work. Chauhan devotes much attention to The<br />
C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, her "finest portrayal <strong>of</strong> cultural contrasts."<br />
DALE, JAMES. "Kamala Markandaya and the Outsider." In Individual and Community in<br />
Comnmonwealth Literature, edited by Daniel Massa (Malta:Old <strong>University</strong> Press, 1979):<br />
188-95.<br />
The fundamental pattern in many <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's novels is that <strong>of</strong> conflict between<br />
England and India, studied in terms <strong>of</strong> human relationship. In Nectar in a Sieve, the alien figure<br />
is the white doctor, Kenny. In Some Inner Fury, the outsider is Roshan Merchant, a Parsee,<br />
who moves with equal ease in both East and West. Possession shows East-West encounter <strong>of</strong><br />
a very unusual kind, and Anasuya, the detached narrator, is the "permanent outsider" as she<br />
calls herself. In The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, Helen Clinton is not like the other British wives; she<br />
identifies herself increasingly with the exploited tribals who have been thrust aside by both<br />
British and Indians in the name <strong>of</strong> the great dam. She is drawn into the action, and is not a<br />
mere observer. In The Nowhere Man, Srinivas stands and suffers alone, the quintessential<br />
outsider, despite the support <strong>of</strong> his friend Mrs Pickering.<br />
DALE, JAMES. "Sexual Politics in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya" WLWE 21.2<br />
(Summer 1982):336-41.<br />
DRUM, ALICE. "Kamala Markandaya’s Modern Quest Tale." WLWE 22, no.2 (1983):<br />
323-32.
Markandaya uses the changing world <strong>of</strong> a modern Indian village to give fresh<br />
treatment to a familiar literary theme--coming <strong>of</strong> age. In its presentation <strong>of</strong> the initiation theme,<br />
Two Virgins follows the structural pattern <strong>of</strong> the quest tale with its three divisions: the going<br />
forth, the adventure, the return. The journey to the city, and the broadened perspective it<br />
provides on home and self enable the heroine Saroja to win her battle against fear and<br />
immaturity. Saroja has to face societal and personal problems. The distinction <strong>of</strong> Two Virgins<br />
lies in the <strong>author</strong>'s use <strong>of</strong> language and the wit and humour with which she presents the<br />
characters and their society. The style is particularly suited to the young heroine.<br />
Markandaya's particular stress is on Saroja's developing awareness <strong>of</strong> sexuality, a theme that<br />
has rarely been treated with the understanding and sensitivity that Markandaya employs.<br />
EZEKIEL, NISSIM. "Two Virgins by Kamala Markandaya." Illustrated Weekly <strong>of</strong> India, 15<br />
June, 1975. Reprinted NISSIM EZEKIEL, Selected Prose (Delhi: Oxford <strong>University</strong> Pres,<br />
1992): 144-46.<br />
A book review, condemning it as "an Indian novel for non-Indian readers". The<br />
language is generally simple, but is "a starved, dessicated simplicity." Stereotypes <strong>of</strong> character<br />
and situation fill the novel. All the characters are "puppets manufactured for the entertainment<br />
<strong>of</strong> those who know nothing about India. A puppet show satisfies them. Particularly if a little bit<br />
<strong>of</strong> sex is thrown in from time to time."<br />
GEETHA, P. "Kamala Markandaya: An Interpretation." Commonwealth Quarterly no.9<br />
(1978): 96-109.<br />
Markandaya's novels generally deal with the modernisation <strong>of</strong> India. Geetha briefly<br />
surveys the leading images in some <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's novels. The paddy fields and Rukmani's<br />
garden reflect the fluctuations <strong>of</strong> Rukmani's own life in Nectar in a Sieve. In A Handful <strong>of</strong><br />
Rice,the city is referred to as a "black god" and Apu's house there becomes a symbol <strong>of</strong> town<br />
life. In The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, the conflict is between primitive man and the modern machine, and<br />
the dam has symbolic overtones. The image <strong>of</strong> a house is at the centre <strong>of</strong> the narrative pattern<br />
<strong>of</strong> The Nowhere Man.<br />
GOONERATNE, YASMINE. "'Traditional' Elements in the fiction <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya,<br />
R.K. Narayan and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala" WLWE 15.1 (April 1976):121-34.<br />
HARREX, S. C. "A Sense <strong>of</strong> Identity: The Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya." Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Commonwealth Literature 6, no.1 (1971): 65-78. Reprinted as "A Sense <strong>of</strong> Identity: The<br />
Early Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya," in The Fire and the Offering: The EnElish-Language<br />
Novel <strong>of</strong> India, 1935-1970. (Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1977) Vol.I, pp.245-261.<br />
Kamala Markandaya's first five novels deal with different predicaments <strong>of</strong> identity.<br />
Two main directions are discernible in the literary quest for identity, the philosophical (Raja<br />
Rao) and the sociological (A<strong>nan</strong>d). In A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire and Possession, the quest is in<br />
philosophical terms. An enigmatic swami symbolizes an alternative to the modern materialistic<br />
way <strong>of</strong> life. A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire shows a marriage where the husband feels his identity<br />
threatened by his wife's devotion to a swami. Possession is an allegory <strong>of</strong> imperialism, where<br />
the frames <strong>of</strong> reference are traditional contemplative India and the active, possessive West.<br />
Markandaya's other three novels stress the social, economic, and political determi<strong>nan</strong>ts <strong>of</strong><br />
human identity. In Nectar in a Sieve, the identity <strong>of</strong> the peasant is threatened because <strong>of</strong><br />
industrialization and the loss <strong>of</strong> his land. In A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice, the quest for identity is seen in<br />
terms <strong>of</strong> urban poverty. In Some Inner Fury, the dilemma <strong>of</strong> identity is due to the political<br />
background, as the struggle for independence enters a violent phase. K A. Abbas explores
this theme skilfully in his short story,"The Man Who Did Not Want to Remember". The sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> identity in Markandaya's novels is more affirmative in the philosophical rather than the<br />
sociological context.<br />
JAIN, JASBIR "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya." Indian Literature 18, no.2 (1975): 36-<br />
43.<br />
In the novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya, two sets <strong>of</strong> values exist side by side. There are<br />
some characters who travel both worlds, absorbing the human and elemental in both. Valmiki<br />
in Possession is divided between two worlds: Caroline's material ome and the Swamy's<br />
spiritual one. By the end <strong>of</strong> the novel, he has become strong and independent, helped by the<br />
Swamy's visit to the West. Kenny in Nectar in a Sieve and Helen in The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams are<br />
other characters who can go across the racial divide to the world <strong>of</strong> Indian labourers. In The<br />
Nowhere Man, there are two worlds, one <strong>of</strong> white superiority and racial hatred represented<br />
by Fred Fletcher, and the other <strong>of</strong> abject integration with British society represented by<br />
Laxman. But there is also a third world, inhabited by human beings, frail and fallible; Srinivas,<br />
his wife Vasantha and Mrs Pickering belong to this world. In Two Virgins, the two worlds <strong>of</strong><br />
Lalitha and Saroja do not meet to give rise to a third world, it is Saroja's world which<br />
metamorphoses into a new force<br />
JAIN, N. K. "Kamala Markandaya: Nectar in a Sieve." Major Indian Novels, edited by N.<br />
S. Pradhan (New Delhi:Arnold-Heinemann, 1985):74-89. Also Atlantic Highlands, New<br />
Jersey: Humanities, 1986, xii + 266<br />
Examines the narrative technique <strong>of</strong> the novel in relation to its theme and style. A large<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the success <strong>of</strong> the novel is due to the choice <strong>of</strong> Rukmani, a literate peasant woman, as<br />
protagonist and narrator. The simple, unadorned prose accords with the nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
narrator. Nectar in a Sieve presents an authentic picture <strong>of</strong> village life in transition. Kenny, the<br />
white doctor, provides the spokesman for modernity.<br />
JAMEELA BEGUM, A. "Glimpses <strong>of</strong> Indian Women in Kamala Markadaya's Novels."<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly no.36 (1987): 17-23.<br />
In exploring the female consciousness <strong>of</strong> Indian women, Markandaya fuses her own<br />
imaginative conception <strong>of</strong> traditional images with the changing realities <strong>of</strong> existence. Begum<br />
declares that it is unfair to dismiss Markandaya as a writer "reacting not to a specific village in<br />
India but to the Western audience's image <strong>of</strong> an Indian village" (Shyamala Venkateswaran's<br />
words). Markandaya writes about rural women in Nectar in a Sieve and Two Virgins, and the<br />
economically independent urban woman in Some Inner Fury and Possession. Her spirituality is<br />
stressed in The Nowhere Man.<br />
JHA, RAMA. "Kamala Markandaya: An Overview" Perspectives <strong>of</strong> Indian Fiction in English,<br />
edited by M. K. Naik (1985): 161-73.<br />
Expository, tracing Markandaya's development as a novelist by analysing he novels<br />
chronologically. The novels focus on the changinging socio economic scene in India. Her<br />
characters are memorable, especially women like Rukmini and Sarojini, whose strength lies in<br />
acceptance.<br />
JHA, REKHA. The Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya and Ruth Jhabvala: A Study in East-<br />
West Encounter, New Delhi: Prestige Publishers, 1990, 176pp.
JOSEPH, MARGARET P. Kamala Markandaya. Indian Writers Series. New Delhi: Arnold<br />
Heinemann, 1980, 224pp.<br />
Best book length study <strong>of</strong> various aspects <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya's fictional art. After<br />
general evaluations <strong>of</strong> the novels (pp l5-106), Joseph examines Markandaya's art <strong>of</strong><br />
characterization (pp.107-156), and her use <strong>of</strong> language (pp.157-210),with a fine analysis <strong>of</strong><br />
Markandaya's imagery. She also examines Markandaya's attempts to write "the literature <strong>of</strong><br />
concern".<br />
KATAMBLE, V. D. "Kamala Markandaya's The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams: An Apology for Technoindustrialization<br />
<strong>of</strong> Rural India." Littcrit no.20/21 (1985): 54-62. [11.1&2 check]<br />
Thematic study. The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams is a fine presentation <strong>of</strong> the theme <strong>of</strong> conflict and<br />
reconciliation between man and machine; East-West encounter is ancillary to the main theme.<br />
Building a huge dam entails displacing the simple tribals. The old tribal chief initially opposes<br />
the dam, for it means the loss <strong>of</strong> a traditional way <strong>of</strong> life. But the new generation represented<br />
by Bashiam, an educated tribal, welcomes technological progress. The novelist clearly shows<br />
the complexity <strong>of</strong> labour problems, and the ruthlessness <strong>of</strong> the powerful dam builders, but<br />
ends on a note <strong>of</strong> optimism.<br />
KRUPAKAR, B. "Race Relations and The Nowhere Man." The Literary Endeavour 2,<br />
no.2/3 (1981): 21-25.<br />
The novel is not a study <strong>of</strong> being rootless, it is the human drama <strong>of</strong> an individual<br />
shaped and identified within a community. Srinivas is not faced by the cultural or metaphysical<br />
problems experienced by Rama in the Serpent and the Rope. The aged Indian immigrant has<br />
no ties left in India, but British racists cannot accept his presence in England, which he has<br />
made his home for 50 years. The racism <strong>of</strong> Fred Fletcher is <strong>of</strong>fset by the humane conduct <strong>of</strong><br />
Mrs Pickering and Dr Radcliffe.<br />
KUMAR, PREM. "Conflict and Resolution in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya." World<br />
Literature Today 60, no.1 (1986): 22-27.<br />
The clash <strong>of</strong> values is a distinctive characteristic <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's novels. In her first<br />
novel, Nectar in a Sieve, it is rural-agricultural versus industrial-commercial. In Some Inner<br />
Fury the clash is political, imperialism versus self rule, rather than racial. In A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire<br />
the clash between tradition and modernity takes the form <strong>of</strong> a conflict between spiritual faith<br />
and scientific reason. Possession presents the East-West conflict in an original way. In A<br />
Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice, the conflict is social and economic; Ravi finds it impossible to provide for his<br />
family by honorable means. In The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, the tension between traditional life and<br />
technological progress runs parallel to the theme <strong>of</strong> racial tension. In The Nowhere Man,<br />
Srinivas finds himself cut <strong>of</strong>f from both cultures--British and Indian. In Two Virgins, the clash<br />
between traditional/rural and modern/urban values is part <strong>of</strong> young Saroja's maturation. The<br />
Golden Honeycomb shows East-west encounter during the Raj. In her latest novel Shalimar<br />
(published in Britain as Pleasure City) the collision between primitive innocence and<br />
technological progress has none <strong>of</strong> the racial tension <strong>of</strong> The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams.<br />
KUMAR, PREM. "From Confrontation to Reconciliation: Kamala Markandaya's Evolution<br />
as a Novelist" IFR 14.2 (Summer 1987):84-8.<br />
KUMAR, S.K. "Tradition and Change in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya" Kakatiya<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 8.1 (1978):85-97.
MACDERMOTT, DOIREANN. "An Indian in England: Markandaya's The Nowhere Man,"<br />
in A Passage to Nowhere, edited by Doireann MacDermott and Susan Ballyn (1986).<br />
MACDERMOTT, DOIREANN. "Variations on a Princely Theme: Kamala Markandaya's<br />
The Golden Honeycomb," in Crisis and Creativity in the New Literatures in English, edted by<br />
Ge<strong>of</strong>frey Davis and Hena Maes-Jelinek (1990).<br />
MARKANDAYA, KAMALA,"One Pair <strong>of</strong> Eyes: Some Random Reflections" IN NIVEN,<br />
ALASTAIR (ed) The Commonwealth Writer Overseas Brussels: Didier, 1976:23-32.<br />
MARKANDAYA, KAMALA. "Why Do We Write in English?" Adam 355-60 (1971):42-3.<br />
MENON, K. MADHAVI. "The Vision in Kamala Markandaya's The Nowhere Man."<br />
Commonwealth Quarterly no.34 (1986): 24-37.<br />
Markandaya's primary concern has been with the individual in the matrix <strong>of</strong> a given<br />
culture. The Nowhere Man reveals Markandaya's concern with cultural values in the context<br />
<strong>of</strong> racial hatred in Britain, after the fall <strong>of</strong> the empire. Markandaya highlights the strength <strong>of</strong><br />
human commitment and love even in the midst <strong>of</strong> racial hatred. Menon briefly compares<br />
Srinivas, an expatriate, with Biswas (Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas) and Cross Damon<br />
(Richard Wright's The Outsider).<br />
MUKHERJEE, DHURJATI. "Jiba<strong>nan</strong>da: A Wish, edited by K. Ayyappa Paniker<br />
(Trivandrum: <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Kerala, 1987): 76-80.<br />
Considers The Nowhere Man to be Markandaya's best novel. The hero, Srinivas, is<br />
capable <strong>of</strong> infinite adaptation. The "nowhere man" is also everyman, the aging loner.<br />
Markandaya makes Srinivas's battle with loneliness sufficiently dramatic without lapsing into<br />
surrealistic presentation, as in Samuel Beckett. Nandakumar feels that Willie and Winnie <strong>of</strong><br />
Beckett's Happy Days are the distant inspiration for Srinivas and Mrs Pickering. The<br />
Nowhere Man has the same tinge <strong>of</strong> black humour as Beckett's play about age and loneliness.<br />
NANDAKUMAR, PREMA. "Swim Against the Tide: Srinivas in The Nowhere Man."<br />
Contemporary Indian Fiction in Engl (1976): 87-97.<br />
NEDELJKOVIC, MARYVONNE. "The Role <strong>of</strong> Women in Kamala Markandaya's Novel,<br />
Nectar in a Sieve." Commonwealth 8, no.1 (1985): 31-44.<br />
Kamala Markandaya's novels show that she would like Indian women to free<br />
themselves from oppressive tradition and acquire new dignity based on Indian culure.<br />
Rukmani, a poor though literate peasant woman, is the narrator and protagonist <strong>of</strong> Nectar in a<br />
Sieve. Though she believes in traditional values like Dativratya (devotion to husband) she<br />
wants society to change its treatment <strong>of</strong> women. Her relationship with Kenny, the English<br />
doctor, is complex; village gossip believes they are having an affair. Rukmani is not unfaithful,<br />
but she feels vaguely guilty; for her friendship with Kenny is only the manifestation <strong>of</strong> her<br />
craving for a change in the Indian woman's condition.<br />
PARAMESWARAN, UMA. "Native-Aliens and Expatriates--Kamala Markandaya and<br />
Balachandra Rajan." A Study <strong>of</strong> Representative Indo-English Novelists. (New Delhi: Vikas,<br />
1976): 85-140.<br />
Parameswaran notes three stages in the growth <strong>of</strong> the Indian English novel. The third<br />
stage produced writers who are so anglicised in their outlook that they lose touch with their
oots. Both novelists have been overpraised by non-Indian critics and over-denounced by<br />
Indian critics. Parameswaran rigorously examines Markandaya's first eight novels with regard<br />
to structure, dialogue, sociological verity and use <strong>of</strong> symbols; this critic is particularly good at<br />
analysing characterisation. In terms <strong>of</strong> style, the first five novels are remarkable for their simple<br />
and effective language, while a note <strong>of</strong> experimentation with prose style is present in The<br />
C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams (1969) and later novels. Parameswaran discerns a pattern--as long as one has<br />
roots, one survives, and the delineation <strong>of</strong> the roots <strong>of</strong> different classes <strong>of</strong> society is<br />
Markandaya's continuing theme. The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams and The Nowhere Man are powerful<br />
novels which deal with the problems <strong>of</strong> expatriation, in different contexts.<br />
POLLARD, ARTHUR. "Kamala Markandaya's The Golden Honeycomb." JIWE 8, no.1/2<br />
(1980): 22-26. Reprinted in Through Different Eyes,edited by Kirpal Singh. (Calcutta: Writers<br />
Workshop, 1984): 27-33.<br />
Markandaya's novel shows British-Indian relations from the Indian angle, just as Paul<br />
Scott's Raj Quartet presented it from the British angle. Another important theme is princely<br />
India. Markandaya brings a greater subtlety to this theme than A<strong>nan</strong>d (Private Life <strong>of</strong> an<br />
Indian Prince) or Malgonkar (The Princes). A leading concern <strong>of</strong> the novel is with the failure<br />
to show understanding, and one <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's strengths is that she can create sympathy for<br />
characters like the Maharajah and Sir Arthur Copeland, while never concealing her real<br />
condemnation <strong>of</strong> them for lack <strong>of</strong> sensitivity. Markandaya is on the whole succcessful in<br />
presenting the richness and contrasts that are India. Though the novel is the tale <strong>of</strong> Bawajiraj<br />
and his son Rabi, it is dominated by women<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. ed. Perspectives on Kamala Markandaya. Ghaziabad:Vimal<br />
Prakashan, 1984, xxxiv-269pp.<br />
Contains eighteen essays on various aspects <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's work.<br />
1. Introduction MADHUSUDAN PRASAD i-xxxiv. Detailed introduction to the first nine<br />
novels, taking due note <strong>of</strong> the comments <strong>of</strong> various critics. Examines Markandaya's tragic<br />
vision, her humanism and social concern, craftsmanship, plot structure, narrative technique,<br />
and prose style. Though she uses imagery and symbolism, she is not an imagist novelist like<br />
Anita Desai. Prasad praises her gift for characterization, and points out a weakness in her<br />
work--she is too conscious <strong>of</strong> a Western audience, and her detailed explanations and<br />
descriptions can be irritating for the Indian reader.<br />
2. Continuity and Change in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya A.V. KRISHNA RAO. 1-<br />
27. See RAO, A.V KRISHNA above, p.l.<br />
3. Victims and Virgins: Some Characters in Kamala Markandaya's Novels. HAYDN M<br />
WILLIAMS: 28-36. Reprinted in WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE, Galaxy <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
Writing in English (Delhi: Akshat Publications, 1987):30-38. Williams analyses the first eight<br />
novels. The most memorable characters are victims. Markandaya takes her characters from a<br />
wide spectrum: Indian peasants, students, film producers, Indian emigrés in England, English<br />
engineers and their wives on contract service in India, English working class types from pubs.<br />
Her women are peculiarly memorable. There is little humour in Markandaya. Williams<br />
considers the movement from the tragic despair <strong>of</strong> Nectar in a Sieve to the angry satire <strong>of</strong> The<br />
Nowhere Man a decline. The Nowhere Man is a cry <strong>of</strong> protest against the inhumanity <strong>of</strong><br />
racism, she does not attempt to analyse the causes <strong>of</strong> racial conflict. The portrayal <strong>of</strong> Srinivas,<br />
the protagonist, a victim, is quite successful, but all the other characters, including Mrs
Pickering, are two-dimensional. Williams reserves special praise for Two Virgins, and its<br />
heroine Saroja.<br />
4. East-West Confrontation in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya. HARISH RAIZADA. 37-<br />
70.<br />
5. Kamala Markandaya's Style. RAMESH K.SRIVASTAVA. 71-92. See SRIVASTAVA,<br />
Six Indian Novelists. (1987) above.<br />
6. The Mask That Does Not Hide: A Perspective on Nectar in a Sieve, P.SHIV KUMAR.<br />
93-97.<br />
7. The Fictional Epic on Indian Life: A Study in Theme and Technique <strong>of</strong> Nectar in a Sieve,<br />
HARI MOHAN PRASAD. 98-104.<br />
8. Some Inner Fury: A Critical Perspective, S.KRISHNA SHARMA. 105-118.<br />
9. A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire: A Closer View. EDWIN THUMBOO. 119-149. See THUMBOO,<br />
"A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire" JIWE no.8 (1980) above.<br />
10. Possession: A Consideration, C. V. VENUGOPAL. 150-53.<br />
11. A Tryst with Conscience: A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice K.VENKATA REDDY. 154-62. See<br />
REDDY, Major Indian Novelists (1990) below.<br />
12. The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams: A Critical Study. K.MADHAVI MENON AND A.V.KRISHNA<br />
RAO. 163-85.<br />
13. The Nowhere Man: An Analysis. V.RANGAN. 186-97.<br />
14. Two Virgins: A Problem Novel. K. S. RAMAMURTI. 198-207. See RAMAMURTI,<br />
"Two Virgins" Littcrit 7, no.2 (1981) above.<br />
15 The Golden Honeycomb: A Critcal Appraisal. A. N. DWIVEDI. 208-220.<br />
16. Image and Symbol Pattern in Kamala Markandaya's Novels. F. A. INAMDAR. 221-<br />
239. Inamdar discerns a common image pattern underlying all <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's novels: house<br />
imagery (which branches into images <strong>of</strong> the tannery in Nectar in a Sieve), city imagery, jungle<br />
imagery, imagery <strong>of</strong> animals and insects, and imagery <strong>of</strong> darkness and light which merges into<br />
colour imagery. Isolated images occur in later novels, like cycle imagery (A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice),<br />
the mask (The Golden Honeycomb), and characters as images (The Nowhere Man).<br />
17. Kamala Markandaya's Narrative Technique. S.Z.H.ABIDI. 240-47. Kamala<br />
Markandaya employs the first person narrative in Nectar in a Sieve and Some Inner Fury,with<br />
the central character as narrator. Possession, too, is in the first person, but the narrator<br />
Anasuya is only a minor participant in the action. The later six novels all employ the omniscient<br />
<strong>author</strong> techniaque, but differ in subtle manipulations <strong>of</strong> the point <strong>of</strong> view. Markandaya's novels<br />
generally follow a chronological narrative, though there are occasional flashbacks
18. Structure in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya. V. B. GUBATI. 248-62. Studies the<br />
structure <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's novels in terms <strong>of</strong> the motifs, dynamic and static, and the leitmotifs.<br />
The majority <strong>of</strong> the motifs in Nectar in a Sieve are static; the leitmotif "nothing" conveys the<br />
idea <strong>of</strong> the futility <strong>of</strong> the poor man's struggle, and links up with the title. In Some Inner Fury,<br />
the leitmotif is violence, "fury". A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire has a well knit structure dominated by<br />
static motifs. The structure <strong>of</strong> Possession is weak because <strong>of</strong> the choice <strong>of</strong> narrator, though<br />
the leitmotif "possession" throws light on all relationships in the novel. Unity <strong>of</strong> structure is<br />
achieved in A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice through the leitmotif "rice". Static motifs underlying the plot and<br />
characterisation make The Nowhere Man an organic whole. Gulati feels that the structure <strong>of</strong><br />
the next three novels is loose.<br />
Bibliography. 263-66.<br />
PRASAD, HARI MOHAN. "The Quintessence <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya's Art."<br />
Commonwealth Quarterlv no.9 (1978): 173-85.<br />
Overview <strong>of</strong> her novels, in terms <strong>of</strong> theme and language. Nectar in a Sieve presents a<br />
ruthlessly realistic picture <strong>of</strong> rural poverty. A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice is another variant <strong>of</strong> this theme <strong>of</strong><br />
hunger, in an urban setting. Two Virgins is about the growing up <strong>of</strong> Saroja. Possession, The<br />
C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, and The Nowhere Man are explications <strong>of</strong> East-West encounter In narration or<br />
language, Markandaya has little proneness to experimentation.<br />
RAMAMURTI. K. S "Kamala MarkandayaJs Two Virgins: A Problem Novel." Litcrit 7,<br />
no.2 (1981): 36-45.<br />
Two Virgins does not live up to the standards set by Markandaya's earlier novels. It<br />
has no well-defined central theme, and the language is dull and monotonous. The action <strong>of</strong> this<br />
picaresque novel is linear, little dependent on character or environment. There is no sharp<br />
differentiation in character between the narrator Saroja and her elder sister Lalitha. The<br />
vagueness <strong>of</strong> the location and the strange names detract from the realism <strong>of</strong> the narrative. It<br />
reveals the <strong>author</strong>'s excessive preoccupation with sex in its coarsest form. Two Virgins is an<br />
interesting study on the themes <strong>of</strong> escape and initiation. Another merit <strong>of</strong> the novel is its use <strong>of</strong><br />
symbols.<br />
RAO, A V. KRISHNA. "Kamala Markandaya and the Novel <strong>of</strong> Sensibility." The Indo-<br />
Anglian Novel and the Changing Tradition. (Mysore: Rao and Raghavan, 1972): 50-67.<br />
Rao presents an analysis <strong>of</strong> the way the first four novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya<br />
reflect the consciousness <strong>of</strong> change, and the strange and inescapable ways it has come to<br />
shape the character <strong>of</strong> individuals. Markandaya has evolved a fictional technique which keeps<br />
in perfect balance the reality <strong>of</strong> the world outside and that <strong>of</strong> the individual within. Unlike Mulk<br />
Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d, she lets her characters grow into society. She presents a complex pattern <strong>of</strong><br />
interaction between the individual and the aggregate <strong>of</strong> humanity in terms <strong>of</strong> symbols,<br />
especially in A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire and possession.<br />
RAO, A. V. KRISHNA. "Continuity and Change in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya."<br />
Perspectives on Kamala Markandava, edited by Madhusudhan Prasad (Ghaziabad: Vimal<br />
Prakashan, 1984): 1-25.<br />
Primarily thematic study, though Rao pays attention to linguistic style and plot<br />
structure. Markandaya's accent is on the drama <strong>of</strong> life, not ideology. She explores the impact<br />
<strong>of</strong> change in terms <strong>of</strong> human psychology. Her fiction reveals cultural continuity in the midst <strong>of</strong><br />
social, economic and political change in modern India. The first three novels are preoccupied<br />
with the national self-image in various foci. Possession, the fourth novel, probes an alien
onslaught on the autochthonic cultural matrix. The Nowhere Man (like The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams) also<br />
deals with racial relations. Markandaya's narrative technigue in this novel set in England is<br />
much more impressive than in Some Inner Fury. Rao considers The Golden Honeycomb, her<br />
ninth novel, her best. It is a fine exploration <strong>of</strong> the "predicament <strong>of</strong> identity" (an aspect<br />
examined by S. C. HARREX (see item?)).<br />
RAO, A.V. KRISHNA. "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya: A Study": 213-251. in<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad: Kitab<br />
Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
RAO, A V. KRISHNA. "The Golden Honeycomb: A Brief Study." Studies in Indian Fiction<br />
in English, edited by G. S. Balarama Gupta (Gulbarga: JIWE Publications, 1987): 77-84.<br />
Feels that the lack <strong>of</strong> ideological commitment in Markandaya's fiction makes it more<br />
authentic as a mirror <strong>of</strong> society. Considers The Golden Honeycomb (1977) her magnum<br />
opus. Rao praises its structure (it has two subplots addition to the mainplot), its language, and<br />
the thorough research <strong>of</strong> history that has gone into this tale <strong>of</strong> princely India.<br />
RAO, K. S. NARAYANA. "Some Notes on the Plots <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markanday Novels."<br />
Indian Literature 13, no.1 (1970): 102-12.<br />
Rao draws up a chronological table <strong>of</strong> the first five novels, in the sequence <strong>of</strong> their<br />
actions (specific references to the time period can be found in all except Nectar in a Sieve)<br />
and the likely order <strong>of</strong> their writing (Nectar in a Sieve, the third novel she wrote, was the first<br />
to be published). Rao identifies some common characteristics <strong>of</strong> plot and character. All novels<br />
feature single stars, or, at the most, two leading characters. The central character is trapped in<br />
a situation. The ending is not conclusive and has a tantalizing quality. Each novel has at least<br />
one "alien" character, and, with the exception <strong>of</strong> Some Inner Furv, a "freak", such as an<br />
albino, a dwarf, or a cripple.<br />
RAO, K. S. NARAYANA. "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya: A Contemporary Indo-<br />
Anglian Novelist." Literature East and West 15, no.2 (1971): 209-218.<br />
Survey <strong>of</strong> her first five novels , in terms <strong>of</strong> the themes, plot, and structure. East-West<br />
relations is a domi<strong>nan</strong>t theme, so is the conflict between the rich and the poor. Other important<br />
themes are those <strong>of</strong> love, marriage and sex, and the triumph <strong>of</strong> the spirit over suffering and<br />
death. The characters tend to be types rather than individuals, though they show a greater<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> individuality in her fifth novel, A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice. The novels generally have a<br />
circular structure; Markandaya handles first person narration and the omniscient <strong>author</strong><br />
technique with equal facility.<br />
RAO, K. S. NARAYANA. "Love, Sex, Marriage and Morality in Kamala Markandaya's<br />
Novels" Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies no.10 (1973): 69-77.<br />
There is a steady increase <strong>of</strong> emphasis on love, marriage, and sex as we go from the<br />
first novel to the fifth. India is shown in a state <strong>of</strong> flux, and Markandaya's tone is never<br />
didactic. Nectar in a Sieve shows the love between the partners in an arranged marriage,<br />
while Some Inner Fury is a study <strong>of</strong> romantic passion. A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire shows a stable<br />
marriage threatened by the lack <strong>of</strong> communication between Dandekar and his wife. Thoughts<br />
and metaphors <strong>of</strong> sex brood over Possession, a novel without marriage, or love. A Handful <strong>of</strong><br />
Rice has many explicit passages, and libido is an active force in the story.
RAO, K. S. NARAYANA. "Religious Elements in Kamala Markandaya's Novels." Ariel 8,<br />
no.1 (1977): 35-43.<br />
Self-exiled writers like Raja Rao and Kamala Markandaya take great pride in India's<br />
spiritual heritage. Markandaya is basically a secular writer, but two <strong>of</strong> her novels contain the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> a Hindu holy man, symbolizing the ancient spiritual wisdom <strong>of</strong> India. A Silence <strong>of</strong><br />
Desire is the story <strong>of</strong> Dandekar who puts his carnal pleasures and personal comforts above<br />
spiritual values; the tulasi plant is an apt symbol. Possession affirms the supremacy <strong>of</strong> spiritual<br />
powers over material forces. Valmiki, the hero, gives up his life <strong>of</strong> fame and money in the<br />
West and returns to the Swamy, his spiritual guru. Islam is mentioned only marginally in her<br />
novels. Some Inner Fury, A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice, and Two Virgins deal briefly with Christians, but<br />
religion is not a major theme in these novels.<br />
RAO, SUSHEELA N. "A Bibliography <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya" World Literature Written in<br />
English 20.2 (Autumn 1981):344-50.<br />
RAO, SUSHEELA N. "England in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya." JIWE 15, no.1<br />
(1987): 1-10.<br />
Markandaya's portrayal <strong>of</strong> England is generally unfavourable. Rao looks at four later<br />
novels. In The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams, the British, building a dam, are shown as unsympathetic and<br />
insensitive to Indians. The Nowhere Man shows that the British do not tolerate the cultural<br />
and religious heritage <strong>of</strong> the Indian immigrant in England. In Two Virgins, British influence is<br />
represented by two characters, the Christian headmistress <strong>of</strong> the missionary school, and the<br />
English-educated film maker Gupta, and both are instrumental in ruining Lalitha. The Golden<br />
Honeycomb goes back in time to reveal the political and economic exploitation <strong>of</strong> India during<br />
the Raj.<br />
REDDY, P. BAYAPPA, "Rural Life Shaken to its Roots: Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a<br />
Sieve"" IN Studies in Indian Writing in English with a Focus on Indian English Drama, New<br />
Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990: 61-69.<br />
REDDY. K. VENKATA. "A Classic <strong>of</strong> the Hunger theme: Nectar in a Sieve." Major Indian<br />
Novelists: Mulk Raj A<strong>nan</strong>d, R. K. Narayan, Raja Rao, Bhabani Bhattacharva, Kamala<br />
Markandaya. (New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1990): 78-86.<br />
Thematic. Hunger is presented in its most gruesome form, it eats into the vitals <strong>of</strong><br />
human moral values. Reddy states, without any sustained analysis, that Markandaya's<br />
portrayal is better than Bhattacharya's in So Many Hungers!.<br />
REDDY, K. VENKATA. "A Tryst with Conscience: A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice." Major Indian<br />
Novelists (1990): 87-96. First published in Perspectives on Kamala Markandaya, edited by<br />
Madhusudan Prasad (Ghaziababd: Vimal Prakashan, 1984): 154-62.<br />
Thematic. A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice is also concerned chiefly with hunger. Ravi, the<br />
protagonist, finds it difficult to earn a living by honest means. Markandaya's language in this<br />
novel has simplicity and precision, the word "rice" recurs like a motif throughout the novel.<br />
RUBENSTEIN, ROBERTA. "Kamala Markandaya's Two Virgins." WLWE no.13 (1974):<br />
225-30.<br />
Analyses the novel in terms <strong>of</strong> theme, language, and structure, and values it very<br />
highly, "it satisfies one aesthetic, emotional and intellectual yearnings." Considers it an authentic<br />
picture <strong>of</strong> life in a traditional post-Gandhi Indian village, with the archetypal theme <strong>of</strong> the
journey from innocence to experience <strong>of</strong> not only the narrator Saroja, but also her old sister<br />
Lalitha. Praises Markandaya's "unfailing eye for detail both physical and psychological", and<br />
the remarkable quality <strong>of</strong> the tone <strong>of</strong> the novel, a gentle, compassionate irony.<br />
SARMA, S. KRISHNA. "Two Recent novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya" Triveni 45.3<br />
(1976):28-35.<br />
SHIMER,DOROTHY BLAIR."Sociological Imagery in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya."<br />
WLWE 14, no.2 (1975): 357-70.<br />
In a seminar paper, "On Images" (East-West Centre, Honolulu, August 1973),<br />
Markandaya talked about images in the sociological sense, the conceptions one class or<br />
culture has formed about the other, and called for the literature <strong>of</strong> concern to break down<br />
these distorted images. Shimer shows that the conscious use <strong>of</strong> sociological imagery increases<br />
as Markandaya's writing matures. The major emphases are on socio-economic (class/caste),<br />
East-West relations and concepts, and race and colour and sexual stereotypes. Markandaya<br />
utiizes imagery with mastery in both the sociological and literary sense; especialy in the later<br />
novels, imagery is used to attack social injustice.<br />
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. Six Indian Novelists in English. Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev<br />
<strong>University</strong>, 1987, 359pp.<br />
Essays, many <strong>of</strong> them first published in 1980, on Raja Rao, R. K. Narayan, Kamala<br />
Markandaya, Bhabani Bhattacharya, Anita Desai and Arun Joshi. The biggest section <strong>of</strong> the<br />
book is devoted to Kamala Markandaya, and Nectar in a Sieve receives a lot <strong>of</strong> attention,<br />
from various perspectives.<br />
"Significance <strong>of</strong> the Title: Nectar in a Sieve." Six Indian Novelists: 89-93.<br />
The title <strong>of</strong> the novel, taken from Coleridge, is significant because the protagonist<br />
Rukmani and her husband continue to work ceaselessly with alternating hope and fear. The<br />
title is suggestive <strong>of</strong> Western materialistic philosophy, where it is not possible to work without<br />
hope. But Rukmani is sustained by her faith; she is like a karmayogi, following the precepts <strong>of</strong><br />
the Gita, living without "nectar", the hope <strong>of</strong> the fruit <strong>of</strong> action.<br />
"A Village in Transition in Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve": 94-110.<br />
First published in Punjab Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies, (1986): 101-14.<br />
Nectar in a Sieve is a genuine novel <strong>of</strong> rural life delineating the miserable plight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
landless farmer. Some critics (Hari Mohan Prasad, N. K. Jain, Uma Parameswaran, and S. I.<br />
Hemenways) give it more praise than it deserves, while M. K. Naik feels convinced that<br />
"Rukmani's village exists only in the expatriate imagination <strong>of</strong> her creator". Srivastava examines<br />
various incidents and characters, and concludes that Markandaya's picture is comprehensive,<br />
though some details are inaccurate because <strong>of</strong> the city-bred novelist's poor knowledge <strong>of</strong> rural<br />
life.<br />
"Symbolism in Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve": 111-22. First published in Indian Scholar 2,<br />
no.1 (1980): 1-14.<br />
Symbolism in Markandaya is not something consciously superimposed, she handles it<br />
with great sophistication; words and images are transformed into symbols by a process <strong>of</strong><br />
crystallization. Srivastava examines the various symbols (the light and the dark, the tannery,<br />
the rain, garden and snake, stone and the lingam, symbol <strong>of</strong> fertility) which build up the
domi<strong>nan</strong>t and antithetical concepts <strong>of</strong> "home and not home". Compares rain symbolism with<br />
Hemingway's, and light and dark with Hawthorne's in The Scarlet Letter.<br />
"The Pattern <strong>of</strong> Hope and Fear in Markandaya~s Nectar in a Sieve": 123-33. First published<br />
in Indian Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies no.20 (1980): 125-32.<br />
Coleridge's quotation, from which the title is derived, points to a basic pattern <strong>of</strong> hope<br />
and fear which by its rhythmic movement unites all the incidents <strong>of</strong> the novel. The pattern<br />
begins with Rukmani's parental home, and is evident within chapters, and sometimes within the<br />
same paragraph. It is operative in Markandaya's depiction <strong>of</strong> nature, and also in characters.<br />
"Markandaya's Nectar in a Seive as a Tragedy": 134-44. First published in Indian Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
English Studies, no. 23 (1983): 103-112.<br />
Nectar in a Sieve does not conform to the Aristotlean concept <strong>of</strong> tragedy. It is, in the<br />
words <strong>of</strong> Northrop Frye, "low-mimetic tragedy" or domestic tragedy, which evokes pathos,<br />
and has an elegiac mood. Nathan's endurance is not without dignity. Markandaya conveys the<br />
helpnessness <strong>of</strong> human beings before divine forces.<br />
"Limitations <strong>of</strong> Markandaya in Nectar in a Sieve": 145-54.<br />
Markandaya's depiction <strong>of</strong> rural life is, on the whole, impressive, though she has<br />
grossly mismanaged details at a number <strong>of</strong> places. Srivastava points out many instances <strong>of</strong><br />
misrepresentation, such as her description <strong>of</strong> Diwali (which has many elements <strong>of</strong> the north<br />
Indian festival Holi), the village's easy acceptance <strong>of</strong> Ira's illegitimate baby, or the unrealistic<br />
description <strong>of</strong> Nathan breaking stones at the quarry.<br />
"Markandaya's A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice: A Study": 155-80.<br />
Analyses various aspects <strong>of</strong> the novel--the theme and title, the structure,and the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> the protagonist Ravi. Srivastava takes cognizance <strong>of</strong> the views <strong>of</strong> earlier critics,<br />
like Margaret Joseph, A. V. Krishna Rao, Uma Parameswaran, and K. Venkata Reddy,<br />
though he does not always agree with them.<br />
"Symbolic Triumvirate: Bicycle Chain, Sari and Tin Trunk in Markandaya's A Handful <strong>of</strong><br />
Rice": 180-94.<br />
When the protagonist Ravi breaks into Apu's house at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the novel, they<br />
fasten his anklen with a bicycle chain; his arms are bound in a woman's sari and tied to a tin<br />
trunk. These three symbolize the controlling factors <strong>of</strong> Ravi's life. The bicycle chain symbolizes<br />
the obstacles in Ravi's way, and is associated with images <strong>of</strong> the iron bars <strong>of</strong> Apu's house, the<br />
grilles <strong>of</strong> the rice godown, and the police whistle. The sari is associated with Nalini,<br />
symbolizing family and contentment. The tin trunk, the traditional repository <strong>of</strong> precious<br />
household possessions, suggests economic wellbeing, including rice, shortage <strong>of</strong> which is a<br />
potent symbol <strong>of</strong> poverty in the novel.<br />
"Markandaya's Style": 195-220. First published in Perspectives on Kamala Markandava,<br />
edited by Madhusudan Prasad (Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1984): 71-92.<br />
Srivastava presents a comprehensive analysis <strong>of</strong> Markandaya's style, with illustrations,<br />
most <strong>of</strong> them from the first six novels. Markandaya has a perfect command over English, and<br />
uses it with grace and pliability. She sometimes uses "the technigue <strong>of</strong> objective epitome" to<br />
convey the subjective condition <strong>of</strong> a character through a few objective details. She is good at<br />
descriptions, recreating not just the sights, but also the sounds and smells. Similes and<br />
metaphors abound in her work, with imagery drawn from various walks <strong>of</strong> life. Symbols are
widely used. Light humnour is almost nonexistent, but she makes good use <strong>of</strong> irony.<br />
Markandaya never uses Indian proverbs and idioms. Occasionally her style becomes bookish<br />
and mannered. Srivastava takes note <strong>of</strong> the changes in Markandaya's style from her first<br />
novel, Nectar in a Sieve (1954), to her ninth The Golden Honeycomb (1977) which reveals<br />
the maturity born <strong>of</strong> twenty years <strong>of</strong> writing. The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams marks a major shift in her style<br />
(PARAMESWARAN has also commented on this, (see item?)). Srivastava finds the style <strong>of</strong><br />
Two Virgins (1973) uninteresting, "sensationalism and sexual overtones do not add to the<br />
credit <strong>of</strong> the <strong>author</strong>".<br />
SINGH, R. S. "Soulful East and Ratiocinative West: Kamala Markandaya." Indian Novel in<br />
English: A Critical Study (1977): 136-48.<br />
Thematic study. Markandaya is above all concerned with the impact <strong>of</strong> the West.<br />
Three novels, Nectar in a Sieve, Some Inner Fury, and Possession have women narrators and<br />
circular plots. Singh discerns an autobiographical element in Possession and Some Inner Fury.<br />
Markandaya is a novelist <strong>of</strong> "average emotion" who avoids the depiction <strong>of</strong> violence.<br />
THUMBOO, EDWIN. "Kamala Markandaya's A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire." JIWE 8, no.1/2<br />
(1980): 108-36. Reprinted in Through Different Eves, edited by Kirpal Singh (Calcutta:<br />
Writers Workshop, 1984): 151-91.<br />
A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire is built around issues relating to tradition and change, faith and a<br />
scepticism attached to a modern, Western-derived attitude. The theme is introduced as a<br />
domestic problem. The tension in A Silence <strong>of</strong> Desire is between the deeply held faith <strong>of</strong><br />
Sarojini, and the rational explanation and behaviour <strong>of</strong> her husband Dandekar. Markandaya is<br />
too mature a novelist to <strong>of</strong>fer a bald disquisition between "faith and reason". By the judicious<br />
employment <strong>of</strong> description, summary and scene--almost all <strong>of</strong> which involve Dandekar--she<br />
succeeds in translating the set <strong>of</strong> ideas into the action and consciousness <strong>of</strong> her characters.<br />
The novelist does not depict the pressures on Sarojini, Thumboo assumes that their nondramatisation<br />
accords with her image as a traditional wife.<br />
VARMA, R. M. "The Bi-Cultural World <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya's Novels." Some Aspects<br />
<strong>of</strong> Indo-English Fiction (New Delhi: Jainsons Publishers, 1985): 32-66.<br />
Two cultural worlds, belonging to two distinct races, are set in opposition to each<br />
other. Varma describes various aspects (such as "overlordship and serfdom" "changing India",<br />
"the Indian in England") <strong>of</strong> this love-hate relationship delineated in the nine novels <strong>of</strong><br />
Markandaya.<br />
VENKATESWARAN, SHYAMALA. "The Language <strong>of</strong> Kamala Markandaya's Novels."<br />
The Literary Criterion 9, no.3 (1970): 57-67.<br />
Novelists like Raja Rao, A<strong>nan</strong>d, and Bhattacharya translate the idiom <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
languages while depicting rural India. Markandaya makes no attempt to do so, probably<br />
because her Indian village is not particularised, her peasants do not speak any specific Indian<br />
language. The sophisticated English used by Rukmani, the village woman in Nectar in a Sieve,<br />
or by the poor Ravi in A Handful <strong>of</strong> Rice, cannot reflect their sensibility. Her descriptions<br />
betray Markandaya's ignorance <strong>of</strong> village India. She gets many details <strong>of</strong> village life wrong,<br />
suggesting that she is reacting not to a specific village in India but to the Western audience's<br />
image <strong>of</strong> an Indian village.<br />
WALI, S.K. Kamala Markandaya: 'Nectar in a Sieve', A Stylistic Study Jaipur: Printwell<br />
Publishers, 1987, x + 136 pp.
WEIR, ANN LOWRY. "Worlds Apart?--Feminine Consciousness in Markandaya's Nectar<br />
in a Sieve and The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams." CIEFL Bulletin 13, no.2 (1977): 71-85.<br />
Analyses the characters <strong>of</strong> Rukmani and Helen to show how these two, so different<br />
from each other in terms <strong>of</strong> race and class, project the same feminine consciousness. Both<br />
realize that the incursion <strong>of</strong> technology (the tannery and the dam) will completely alter the local<br />
people's lives, and not necessarily for the better. Nectar in a Sieve, a chronicle <strong>of</strong> village life,<br />
revolves around the narrator Rukmani, a literate peasant woman; we get few insights into the<br />
mentalities <strong>of</strong> other characters. Markandaya <strong>of</strong>ten incorporates elements <strong>of</strong> her own thought<br />
and background into the village setting, and sometimes Rukmani's credibilty as a character is<br />
adversely affected. The centre <strong>of</strong> The C<strong>of</strong>fer Dams is the construction <strong>of</strong> the dam, and Helen<br />
is one <strong>of</strong> four leading characters. For the first time in her fiction, Markandaya attempts to give<br />
characterization <strong>of</strong> Westerners "from the inside". Both novels have a tragic tone: Rukmani<br />
suffers physically, from lack <strong>of</strong> food and shelter, while Helen, and her Indian lover Bashiam<br />
suffer emotionally and psychologically.<br />
WILLIAMS, HAYDN MOORE. Studies in Modern Indian Fiction in English 2 Vols.<br />
Calcutta: Writers' Workshop, 1973. Volume 2: Govind Desani and Others [ Markandaya,<br />
Malgonkar]<br />
Mehrotra, Arvind Krishna<br />
DA GAMA ROSE, R. "Inside the Enclosures <strong>of</strong> Arvind Krishna Mehrotra" Kavi 5<br />
(1977):36-8.<br />
PADHI, BIBHU PRASAD. “Looking into the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Arvind Krishna Mehrotra” in<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDHAN. ed. Living Indian English Poets New Delhi: Sterling, 1989:<br />
163-74.<br />
Even in their most fantastic moods, the poems are “an arranged set <strong>of</strong> gestures”,<br />
precisely ordered. Intellect blends with playful riddles, pain with detachment. There is a<br />
general movement from “passionate metaphorising” to statement. Mehrotra is troubled by<br />
limitations <strong>of</strong> time and failure to invent strategies for forgetting or creating new possibilities; his<br />
experiment is a protest against the hallucinatory domination <strong>of</strong> facts/things that are his means <strong>of</strong><br />
apprehending life. Notes the recurrent map images and charges his obscurity with overtaxing<br />
readers’ intelligence and sympathy. Poems leap and run in a play <strong>of</strong> images rather than<br />
connecting into a sense <strong>of</strong> direction.<br />
PRASAD, MADHUSUDAN. "A Clearer Picture <strong>of</strong> Time: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Arvind Krishna<br />
Mehrotra" Literary Half-Yearly 23.1(January 1982):17-35.<br />
RAMACHAR, M. “Arvind Krishna Mehrotra’s ‘The Sale’: Imagery and Movement” The<br />
Literary Endeavour 2.2 (1982): 27-33.<br />
The salesman’s urgent monologue contains “sharply incoherent” images that cohere into a<br />
symbol <strong>of</strong> the world. Descriptive explication.<br />
SHASTRI, N.P. "Image as an Immoderate Drug: The Poetry <strong>of</strong> A.K. Mehrotra" Osmania<br />
Journal 13.1 (1977): 139-147 reprinted in SHAHANE, VASANT A. and<br />
SIVARAMKRISHNA, M. eds Indian Poetry in English: A Critical Assessment Madras:<br />
Macmillan, 1980, 184 pp. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981: 116-24.
Close readings from The Nine Enclosures (1976) noting ironic contrasts between<br />
commercialism and cultural decline, sterility and renewal as part <strong>of</strong> Mehrotra’s quest for “a<br />
metaphor which embodies the contemporary predicament” <strong>of</strong> secularised society. Images <strong>of</strong><br />
fragmentation surround a hint <strong>of</strong> mysticism (caves). The collection is uneven in tone and lapses<br />
into obscurity, a cataloguing <strong>of</strong> sensory impressions, “imagistic novelty” substituting for mythic<br />
or intellectual depth.<br />
Mehta, Ved<br />
PHILIP, DAVID SCOTT. Perceiving India Through the Works <strong>of</strong> Nirad C. Chaudhuri, R.K.<br />
Narayan and Ved Mehta New Delhi: Sterling, 1986, vi + 184 pp.<br />
PHILIP, DAVID SCOTT. Perceiving India Through the Works <strong>of</strong> Nirad C. Chaudhuri, R.K.<br />
Narayan and Ved Mehta New Delhi: Sterling, 1986, vi + 184 pp.<br />
SONTAG, FREDERICK. "The Self-Centered Author" New Quest 76 (1989): 29-33.<br />
A note on The Stolen Light by a teacher at Pomona College.<br />
Menen, Aubrey<br />
ELIAS, MOHAMED. "The Poetics <strong>of</strong> Aubrey Menen's Genesis" The Literary Criterion 20.3<br />
(1985):17-25.<br />
ELIAS, MOHAMED. “Aubrey Menen and Kamala Das: Angli-Dravidian Revolt against<br />
Aryan Myths”Jadavpur Journal <strong>of</strong> Comparative Literature 24 (1986): 124-133..<br />
Menen in his Rama Retold and Das in her My Story and verse recreate traditional Hindu<br />
myths to focus on outlaws and adultresses. Both South Indian (and related), they create a<br />
pure Dravidian space (crossed in Das with Whitman and western writing and in both cases by<br />
a sense <strong>of</strong> racial alienation) opposed to the corrupt urban North and its Aryan hierarchised<br />
aggression. Das’s ambivalent relations with Krishna indicate both fear <strong>of</strong> male and Aryan<br />
domination and confidence that Dravidian/Nayar blood can contain their conquests.<br />
Biographical, cultural and thematic approach.<br />
Menezes, Armando<br />
BHASKER, W.W.S. "Armando Menezes the Writer" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 18.1<br />
(1983):71-81.<br />
[BHASKER or BHASKAR?]<br />
Menon, R. Ravindranath<br />
SHARMA, G.V.L.N. "R. Ravindranath Menon's Poetry" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed. Studies in<br />
Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:275-88.<br />
Modayil, Anna Sujatha<br />
RAO, G. NAGESWARA. "Anna Sujatha Modayil" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves' Song:<br />
Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1985: 31-39.<br />
Mohanti, Prafulla<br />
MISHRA, GANESHWAR. “How does and Indian Village Speak: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Form <strong>of</strong><br />
Prafulla Mohanti’s My Village, My Life” in MCDERMOTT, DOIREANN ed.
Autobiographical and Biographical Writing in Commonwealth Literature Barcelona: Sabadell,<br />
1984:157-162.<br />
Chaudhuri’s autobiography is for a European audience and out <strong>of</strong> touch with village life<br />
(especially family relationships). Mohanti’s translated conversations with Orissa villagers<br />
produce amore authentic picture echoing episodic and dialogue forms <strong>of</strong> puranic and folk<br />
traditions.<br />
Mohanty, Niranjan<br />
SHARMA, GHANSHIAM. "Niranjan Mohanty's Bloody Game: A Deconstructive Analysis"<br />
Poetry 13.1 (1988):33-48.<br />
Mokashi-Punekar, Shankar<br />
LAL, ANANDA. "Shankar Mokashi-Punekar: Some Notes on His Poetry" in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1984:301-14.<br />
Mookerji, Tapati<br />
JAIN, SUNITA. "Leela Dharmaraj, Ira De and Tapati Mookerji" in DWIVEDI, A.N. "Eves'<br />
Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-English<br />
Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1985: 132-40.<br />
Moraes, Dom<br />
DE SOUZA, EUNICE. "The Expatriate Experience" in NARASIMHAIAH, C.D. ed.<br />
Awakened Conscience: Studies in Commonwealth Literature, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers,<br />
1978: 339-345 (also Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1978).<br />
KHULLAR, AJIT. "Willed Alienation" Indian Literature 131 (1989): 137-45.<br />
MOLLINGER, ROBERT N. "Dom Moraes' Vision: From Dream to Nightmare" Creative<br />
Moment 3.2 (1974):5-11.<br />
MOLLINGER, ROBERT N. "Psychic Images and Poetic Technique in Dom Moraes'<br />
Poetry" in RAO, K.S. NARAYANA. ed. World Literature Written in English 14.2<br />
(1975):322-8.<br />
RAO, R. RAJ. "Dom Moraes: A Craftsman to his Bones" New Quest, 83, (1990): 314-316.<br />
review?<br />
SAHA, SUBHAS. "Dom Moraes: A Re-Assessment <strong>of</strong> His Poetry" in DWIVEDI, A.N ed.<br />
Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1984:72-81.<br />
Mukherjee, Bharati<br />
PARAMESWARAN, UMA. "Foreignness <strong>of</strong> Spirit: The World <strong>of</strong> Bharati Mukherjee's<br />
Novels" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 13.2 (1985):7-11.<br />
Murti, K.V.S.
RANI, K. NIRUPA. "Inflash and Orchestra: A Note on K.V.S. Murti's Muse" in DWIVEDI,<br />
A.N ed. Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,<br />
1984:191-209.<br />
Nagarajan, K.<br />
JAGADISAN, S. "Chidambaram: A Vision." JIWE 4, no.2 (1976): 29-31.<br />
Chidambaram: A Chronicle Play (1955) was written for the silver jubilee celebrations<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Annamalai <strong>University</strong>, and is ideally suited for the occasion. The play falls into fourteen<br />
episodes, each highlighting a significant event in the history <strong>of</strong> the town <strong>of</strong> Chidambaram. The<br />
time Spirit guides a modern student on a journey through the ages, and a host <strong>of</strong> characters,<br />
legendary and historical, put in brief appearances. There is no conflict or action in the usual<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> the term. The focal figure <strong>of</strong> Siva (Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer) lends unity <strong>of</strong> tone<br />
and action to the play.<br />
KRISHNAMURTHI, M.G. "The Chronicles <strong>of</strong> Kedaram: A Question <strong>of</strong> Form"Indian<br />
Writing Today 4 (1970):27-31.<br />
MENON, K.P.K. Nagarajan's Writings: An Introduction Madras: Emerald Publishers, 1985,<br />
52 pp.<br />
PARAMESWARAN, UMA. "K. Nagarajan's Athawar House: A Study" in GUPTA, G.S.<br />
BALARAMA., ed. Studies in Indian Fiction in English Gulbarga: JIWE Publications, 1987:<br />
142-51.<br />
RAMACHANDRAIAH, P. "The Uses <strong>of</strong> Chronicle: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Narrative Method <strong>of</strong> K.<br />
Nagarajan's Chronicles <strong>of</strong> Kedaram" The Literary Criterion 22.1 (1987):18-22<br />
Nagpal B.R.<br />
NAIR N. RAMACHANDRAN. "Varied Textures" Littcrit 14.1&2 (1989): 84-7. genre?<br />
review?<br />
Nahal, Chaman<br />
BELLIAPPA, K.C. "The Elusive Classic: Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and Chaman<br />
Nahal's Azadi," The Literary Criterion 15, no.2 (1980): 62-73.<br />
Modern writing tends to produce only minor classics by T.S. Eliot's definitions; we<br />
need Kermode's "plurality <strong>of</strong> interpretations" plus ideals <strong>of</strong> <strong>author</strong>itative evocation <strong>of</strong> setting<br />
and comprehensiveness <strong>of</strong> vision as criteria. Train to Pakistan and Azadi are potential classics.<br />
The former, however, is a sociological period-piece with romantic interest in which only Iqbal<br />
is credibly portrayed. Sides with Kulshrestha in downgrading the novel. Nahal, however,<br />
achieves "comprehensiveness <strong>of</strong> vision" and dramatizes the meaning <strong>of</strong> azadi in complex and<br />
human terms (Lala Kanshi Ram provides the focus) that transcend journalistic documentary.<br />
The novel points the irony that azadi, though it produces heroism and kindness, results in<br />
anything but freedom for the suffering people. Nahal avoids simplistic bias, <strong>of</strong>fering multiple<br />
perspectives lamenting the violence but noting a new national dignity. There are flaws in<br />
"loose" passages, unrealized structural potential and unconvincing scenes <strong>of</strong> intimacy, but the<br />
book meets the criteria <strong>of</strong> a regional classic.<br />
DEV, JAI. "Form in the Novels <strong>of</strong> Chaman Nahal" PURBA 16.1 (April 1985):25-9.
DHAWAN, R.K. ed. Three Contemporary Novelists: Khushwant Singh, Chaman Nahal ,<br />
Salman Rushdie New Delhi: Classical Publishing Co, 1986, x + 230 pp.<br />
JHA, MOHAN. "Azadi: A Search for Identity": 117-127.<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY. "The Indian Exile and The English Queens": 139-47.<br />
RADHA, K. "The English in Azadi and The Crown and the Loincloth": 148-71.<br />
RAMAMURTI, K.S. "Azadi: Point <strong>of</strong> View as Technique": 128-38.<br />
GUPTA, SUBHADRA SEN. "Chaman Nahal: From Tragedy to Satire" IndH 29.2<br />
(1980):19-24.<br />
IYENGAR, K.R. SRINIVASA. "The Crown and the Loincloth" The Literary Criterion 16.3<br />
(1981):76-9.<br />
JHA, MOHAN. "Chaman Nahal's Azadi: A Search for Identity." in Studies in Indian Fiction<br />
in English edited by G.S. Balarama Gupta, 36-45. Gulbarga: JIWE, 1987.<br />
Appreciation <strong>of</strong> "this chronicle novel" whise "grisly macabre atmosphere...has its own<br />
sharp appeal." Outlines plot, characters and structure (dense blocks <strong>of</strong> detail and slow-paced<br />
moves between present and past sometimes disorient the reader), stressing its dramatic vigour<br />
and its vision <strong>of</strong> the "urge for survival", though Arun us found to withdraw into disillusionment<br />
and his father into frustrated anonymity, Despite lifes' bleak prospects, examples <strong>of</strong> kindness<br />
and tolerance and allusions to Kurukshtra and Tagore underline the worth <strong>of</strong> commitment to<br />
truth and reason and the ideal <strong>of</strong> freedom as a condition <strong>of</strong> human dignity.<br />
JHA, RAMA. "The Fiction <strong>of</strong> Chaman Nahal" The Humanities Review 3.2(1981):33-9.<br />
KIRPAL, VINEY. "The Uncommitted Indian Middle Classes: An Analysis <strong>of</strong> Nahal's The<br />
English Queen's" in PRASAD, R.C. & SHARMA, R.K., eds. Modern Studies and Other<br />
Essays in Honour <strong>of</strong> Dr R.K. Sinha New Delhi: Vikas, 1987: 247-51.<br />
MATHUR, O.P. "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Chaman Nahal: A Penultimate View": 319-333. in<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. (ed) Studies in Contemporary Indian Fiction in English, Allahabad:<br />
Kitab Mahal, 1987, pp.358<br />
Nahal repeatedly denied that a first-rate Indian work could be written in English but<br />
modified his claim over twenty years. Surveys output, from stories (The Weird Dance, 1965)<br />
to The Crown and the Loincloth 1981). Nahal is a consistent affirmer <strong>of</strong> human potential<br />
and is informed by the Gita. The satiric exception is The English Queens (1979) though this<br />
still favours authenticity over artificiality. In The Crown and the Loincloth Nahal attempts a<br />
panoramic treatment <strong>of</strong> Gandhi as both man and symbol but the focus slips across this wide<br />
cast <strong>of</strong> characters, some individually memorable. In his work "It is the individual's grasping for<br />
understanding and fulfilment that vivifies the social and political"<br />
RADHA, K. "The English in Chaman Nahal's Azadi." Littcrit 9, no.1 (1983):31-36.<br />
Nahal appears to make no direct comment on the British in India. He distances his<br />
characters from his own voice. Lala Kanshi Ram is ambivalent towards the Raj, admiring its<br />
impartial order but criticizing its abandonment <strong>of</strong> the people to Partition violence. Baljit<br />
Raizada is altogether hostile, and Sergeant Davidson criticizes both imperialism and its hasty<br />
withdrawal. The consistency <strong>of</strong> negative response implies <strong>author</strong>ial sanction.
RAO, PARVATI N. "Curate's Egg: Chaman Nahal's Azadi" Indian Literary Review VI.1-3<br />
(1989): 48-51.<br />
SHARMA, D.R. "The Novels <strong>of</strong> Chaman Nahal" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 7.1<br />
1979: 13-18. Also in The Indian P.E.N. 45.1&2: 1-5.<br />
Evaluative synopsis <strong>of</strong> My True Faces (1973), Azadi (1975) and Into Another Dawn<br />
(1977). The first contrives a happy ending to a 'Mahabharata' <strong>of</strong> marital conflict with a moral<br />
about abandoning tradition for rootless westernisation. The second is Nahal's magnum opus,<br />
its vision reaching further historically than other Partition novels, its humanism transcending<br />
sectarian views as the central character learns to see suffering in a wider perspective. The third<br />
work is flawed by a pontificating tone and overly neat contrasts <strong>of</strong> India and America. Nahal<br />
uses the Punjabi colloquialisms <strong>of</strong> A<strong>nan</strong>d and Khushwant Singh and presents naturalistic<br />
details but also captures the rhythm <strong>of</strong> Indian life within affirmation <strong>of</strong> human freedoms.<br />
SINGH, LAKHMIR. "Chaman Nahal: Azadi" in PRADHAN, N.S. ed. Major Indian Novels:<br />
An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1986: 223-41. Also Atlantic Highlands, New<br />
Jersey: Humanities, 1986.<br />
Brief survey <strong>of</strong> writing in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and English demonstrating the lasting<br />
impact <strong>of</strong> Partition. Chaman Nahal's Azadi best approaches the epical scope <strong>of</strong> that time,<br />
blending historical events with a wide range <strong>of</strong> complex human perspectives on them. Outlines<br />
the plot and structure, its developing <strong>of</strong> tension ("The Lull") followed by violent relocation<br />
conflict ("The Storm") and the humiliations <strong>of</strong> resettlement ("The Aftermath"). Nahal does not<br />
romanticize communal brutality or bureaucratic indifference; naturalistic detail is impartially<br />
presented, including occasional humane gestures. Everyone is a victim <strong>of</strong> the upheavals <strong>of</strong><br />
freedom (azadi). Young Arun's self-discovery through two romances doesn't sit well against<br />
the historical tragedy, which focusses overall on the breakup <strong>of</strong> composite Punjabi culture and<br />
identity.<br />
SRINATH, C.N. "The Writer as Historical Witness: Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and<br />
Chaman Nahal's Azadi" The Literary Criterion, 25.2, (1990): 58-66.<br />
Historical reportage requires imaginative colouring in fiction. Singh’s novel errs on the<br />
side <strong>of</strong> objective panorama and the rhetorical, whereas Azadi’s focus on Lala Kanshi Ram<br />
connects character closely to place and humanises the suffering through sympathetic portrayal.<br />
Singh’s train, as “time and consciousness” allows both sensationalism and the detachment<br />
necssary to comptemplate horror. Contrasts the tender and bestial love affairs between Hindu<br />
and Muslim in the two books, Juggat Singh’s tough shallowness not preparing us for his selfsacrifice.<br />
Both works are free <strong>of</strong> political bias, but one looks at ghastly events and the other at<br />
emotional consequences <strong>of</strong> loss.<br />
TALTY, JACK. "Chaman Nahal's Azadi" 65-78 in Goodwin, K.L., ed. Commonwealth<br />
Literature in the Curriculum St Lucia: SPACLALS, 1980, 140 pp.<br />
Notes to guide classroom teaching <strong>of</strong> the text in an Australian setting: historical<br />
background, characterisation, relevance to contemporary migrations/wars etc. A key thread is<br />
locating the tone in relation to the complexities <strong>of</strong> character and survival.<br />
Naidu, Sarojini (1879-1949)<br />
Sarojini Naidu enjoyed a high poetic reputation in her lifetime, but seems to have fallen out <strong>of</strong><br />
favour. Almost all the poets in Modern Indian Poetry in English: An Anthology and a Credo<br />
by P. Lal and Raghavendra Rao (Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1969) condemn her. Some
good studies had appeared before 1970; these include P. E. Dustoor's Sarojini Naidu<br />
(Mysore: Rao and Raghavan, 1961,54pp.) which gives a balanced evalauation <strong>of</strong> her poetry<br />
("Her talent was strictly limited and her output smnall") and a bibliography <strong>of</strong> more than a<br />
dozen books and articles on Naidu; C. D Narasimhaiah's The Swan and the Eagle: Essays on<br />
Indian English Literature (Simla: Indian Institute <strong>of</strong> Advanced Studies, 1969); and Sarojini<br />
Naidu: A Biography by Padmini Sengupta (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1966).<br />
ABBAS, K.A.Sarojini Naidu Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1980, 114 pp.<br />
ALEXANDER, MEENA. "Sarojini Naidu: Romanticism and Resistance." Ariel 17.4 (1986):<br />
49-61.<br />
Dramatic staging <strong>of</strong> Naidu’s life and work highlighting the “radical cleft” between the<br />
aristocratic Hyderabad she was born into and the colonial culture <strong>of</strong> British India, between<br />
Indian political activism and poetical passionate passivity picked up from turn-<strong>of</strong>-the-century<br />
English verse (Dowson, Symons). Notes images <strong>of</strong> confinement (childhood punishment,<br />
political imprisonment, poems <strong>of</strong> purdah). “Ode to India” reverses the patriarchal dualism <strong>of</strong><br />
“suttee” by figuring India as Mother. Analyses "The Temple", a long sequence <strong>of</strong> masochistic<br />
eroticism sublimated as mysticism published in Naidu's last book <strong>of</strong> poems when she was 38.<br />
ANSARI, ASLOOB AHMAD. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu" in SHARMA, K.K. ed.<br />
Indo-English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977:<br />
71-86.<br />
ANSARI, ASLOOB AHMAD. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu." Indo-English Literature: A<br />
Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, edited by K. K. Sharma (Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977):<br />
71-86.<br />
Examines Sarojini Naidu's own evaluation <strong>of</strong> her poetry,"I am not a poet really. . . I<br />
sing just as the birds do, and my songs are as ephemeral." She was basically a lyric poet, and<br />
her poems have the light-hearted ease and gusto <strong>of</strong> birdsong. Her second collection, The Bird<br />
<strong>of</strong> Time is more sombre, has less vivacity than her first, The Golden Threshold. Patriotism is<br />
an important theme running through The Broken Wing (1917), which also contains some<br />
remarkable love poems; perhaps political activities dried up the Springs <strong>of</strong> her creative energy,<br />
for she wrote hardly any poetry after this. She is a flawless craftsman; a certain ornateness in<br />
her poetry is in conformity with the practice <strong>of</strong> Persian and Urdu poets. She successfully<br />
expresses the Indian sensibility in a foreign tongue.<br />
BAIG, TARA ALI. Sarojini Naidu. New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry <strong>of</strong> Information<br />
and Broadcasting, Govt <strong>of</strong> India, 1974."Builders <strong>of</strong> Modern India" Series, concentrates on<br />
her public life, as a Gandhian freedom fighter and in the struggle for the rights <strong>of</strong> women.<br />
BLACKWELL, FRITZ. "Krishna Motifs in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu and Kamala Das."<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 13, no.1-4 (1977-78): 9-14.Compares Naidu's "Song <strong>of</strong><br />
Radha the Milkmaid" and "The Fluteplayer <strong>of</strong> Brindavan" with two poems by Kamala Das,<br />
"The Maggots" and "Radha". The two poets, fifty years apart, use the favourite motif <strong>of</strong> the<br />
medieval bhakti poets <strong>of</strong> India with startlingly different attitudes and results.<br />
BOSE, AMALENDU. "Regal Ground: Sarojini Naidu's Poetry." The Other Harmony.<br />
(Calcutta: United Writers, 1977): 63-72.Bose begins with his personal experience <strong>of</strong> Naidu's<br />
oratory when he was a student <strong>of</strong> Dacca <strong>University</strong>. At the end <strong>of</strong> her speech on the glories <strong>of</strong>
poetry, "the audience, enveloped in the enchantment <strong>of</strong> her words, sat motionless, forgetting to<br />
clap." Bose praises the inspiring effectiveness, the imaginative sweep, the easeful and<br />
cadenced eloquence <strong>of</strong> her oratory which expressed her personality ever so more richly than<br />
her poetry, which is "competent and sometimes charming but <strong>of</strong> a very limited range and<br />
intensity." Bose speculates on the reasons for her giving up poetry, whether it was because <strong>of</strong><br />
the artificiality <strong>of</strong> adopting English, rather than a native language like Bengali or Urdu, or<br />
because <strong>of</strong> Sarojini's consciousness <strong>of</strong> the inadequacy <strong>of</strong> her style shaped by the Rhymer's<br />
Club. There is a basic incompatibility between poetry and oratory, and her energies went into<br />
public speaking; the loser is posterity, for there is no adequate record <strong>of</strong> her wonderful<br />
speeches.<br />
BAIG, TARA ALI. Sarojini Naidu New Delhi: Ministry <strong>of</strong> Information, 1980.<br />
BOSE, AMALENDU, "Regal Ground: Sarojini Naidu's Poetry" in The Other Harmony,<br />
Calcutta: United Writers, 1977:??.<br />
CHAVAN,SUNANDA P. "The Romantics: Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naid," in The Fair Voice:<br />
A Study <strong>of</strong> Indian Women Poets in English (N Delhi: Sterling, 1984): 15-28.<br />
An overview. Toru Dutt and Saroji Naidu belonged to families which cherished the<br />
western ideal <strong>of</strong> free womanhood. Dutt was a faithful translator <strong>of</strong> the original text in the first<br />
stage <strong>of</strong> her poetic career; the translator grew into a creative one in poems like "Savitri", and<br />
finally matured into an original poet in "Jogadhya Uma" and "Sita". She wrote just eight original<br />
poems. Sarojini Naidu's poetry can be classified thematically into three main groups--poems<br />
<strong>of</strong> personal experience (love poems predominate), poems about Indian life, and nature poems<br />
devoted to the pleasant aspects <strong>of</strong> nature. Her poetry seldom expresses her social<br />
consciousness. She stopped writing poetry after she turned to nationalist activities; she may be<br />
supposed to have reached poetic maturity in her public speeches.<br />
DWIVEDI, A. N. "Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu." Commonwealth Quarterly no.9 (1978):<br />
82-94.<br />
General introductions to the life and works <strong>of</strong> Dutt and Naidu. Compares and<br />
contrasts them. Both Indian women were encouraged by Edmund Gosse; they were<br />
influenced by the Romantic school <strong>of</strong> poetry, and wrote traditional verse. Sarojini had stopped<br />
writing poetry by the time the modernist movement started. Toru was something more than the<br />
instinctive lyricist Sarojini was, she was an impressive translator and novelist whose career<br />
was cut short by death.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. “Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu” Commonwealth Quarterly 9.28 (1984):<br />
82-94.<br />
Bio-bibliographical outlines <strong>of</strong> each, locating Toru’s strength in her ballads and Sarojini’s in<br />
perfecting her narrow lyric range. Both romantics, Sarojini swung more towards the Decadent<br />
period. Toru showed promise <strong>of</strong> a wider talent. Looks at “Gold-mulched Hours” and “Green<br />
leaves are Gold” as evidence <strong>of</strong> striking imagery<br />
DWIVEDI, A. N. Sarojini Naidu and Her Poetry. Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1981,<br />
xii+164pp.<br />
Various aspects <strong>of</strong> her poetry discussed, generally following received opinion.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. “Sarojini the Poet.” Indian literature 22, no.3 (1979): 115-26.
Notes Sarojini’s English influences (the Rhymers’ Club, Keats, Shelley) and praises<br />
her lyric celebration <strong>of</strong> life’s variety. More ‘native’ than Toru Dutt, her work shows empathy<br />
with nature, sympathy for the poor and understanding <strong>of</strong> Indian Muslims. Vivid description<br />
accompanies subjective emotion and intimations <strong>of</strong> spirituality. Nature poetry is more<br />
Tennysonian than Wordsworthian and love poetry echoes medieval devotional verse.<br />
Sexuality and the modern industrial world are absent. Lists critical reactions (ornateness,<br />
stridency, nostalgia) but is adulatory overall.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. Sarojini Naidu and Her Poetry Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1981, xii + 164<br />
pp.<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Sarojini Naidu's Poetic Technique" Poetry 12.1 (1987): 47-57.<br />
GHOSE, SISIRKUMAR. "Sarojini Naidu: Towards a Revaluation." Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
English Studies 16, no.1 (1980): 23-36. Reprinted as "Salaam for Sarojini: Towards a<br />
Revaluation," Perspectives on Sarojini Naidu (Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1989): 206-217.<br />
The kind <strong>of</strong> romantic poetry Sarojini Naidu wrote is no longer in fashion. Ghose<br />
concentrates on her wit and humour (she referred to Mahatma Gandhi as "Mickey Mouse"),<br />
so obvious in her speeches and letters. Ghose feels that she is not rooted in her poems, the<br />
whole person is seldom involved, "the gulmohars, champaks, kokilas run riot in a touristy,<br />
picture postcard dreamland." The love poems are not deeply felt. She was the first to deal<br />
with humbler folk, like weavers and fishermen, but "it is all from the outside". She herself<br />
confessed "I am not a poet really", which explains her devoting herself totally to the freedom<br />
struggle, without giving up her sensitivity; she refused to follow Gandhiji in giving up good food<br />
or clothes, and persisted in wearing silk instead <strong>of</strong> handspun khadi.<br />
GUPTA, RAMESHWAR. "Sarojini Naidu: Her Poetic Achievement." The Rajasthan Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> English Studies 1, no.1 (1974): 1-5.<br />
Critically evaluates her overall poetic achievement. Sarojini Naidu wrote 184 short<br />
poems, no epic, dramatic or narrative poetry. She is essentially a lyricist, without much<br />
growth. Her work is characterized by delicate fancy and haunting melody. There is no<br />
intellectual content in her poetry. Her canvas is limited, many <strong>of</strong> her poems are on romantic<br />
love. Nature poems deal mainly with Basant (spring). Her achievment lies in finding metrical<br />
rhythms for Indian folk tunes; she succeeded in recreating the colour and pageantry, the<br />
sensuous aspect, <strong>of</strong> Indian life, rather than the mystical or the spiritual.<br />
GUPTA, RAMESHWAR. "Sarojini Naidu: The Flouter <strong>of</strong> the Metaphysical Tradition."<br />
Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 16, no.1 (1980):37-49.<br />
Sarojini's creative years spanned the Hulme-Pound-Eliot period, and she would have<br />
known about the new trends in poetry. Gupta feels that she rejected it, just as she rejected<br />
Gandhian austere living. She remained steeped in Elizabethan romanticism, taking joy in colour<br />
and beauty. Gupta defends Sarojini's poetry against the strictures laid on it by modern poets in<br />
P. Lal and Raghavendra Rao's Modern Indo-Anglian Poetry (1959). He admits the charge <strong>of</strong><br />
verbosity, but points out that there are many poems (such as the folk songs) in which every<br />
word is inevitable, and cannot be removed or changed without loss. She is said to ignore<br />
reality; Gupta observes that the pleasant aspects <strong>of</strong> life she writes about, spring and youth and<br />
love, are also part <strong>of</strong> life. As for being ephemeral, she herself was aware that her poetry was<br />
ephemeral. She was free and spontaneous and mellifluous like a bird in her lyrics. Modern<br />
poets cannot equal the melody <strong>of</strong> her diction.
GUPTA, R. Sarojini, the Poetess Delhi: Doaba House, 1975, vii + 142 pp.<br />
GUPTA, RAMESHWAR. "Sarojini Naidu: The Flouter <strong>of</strong> the Metaphysical Tradition."<br />
Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 16, no.1 (1980): 37-49.See GUPTA ~1974) above.<br />
GUPTA, RAMESHWAR. Sarojini: The Poetess. Delhi: Doaba House, 1975, vii+142pp.<br />
Critically evaluates her poetic achievement, taking note <strong>of</strong> the different periods <strong>of</strong> her<br />
poetic composition.<br />
KHAN, IZZAT YAR. Sarojini Naidur: The Poet. New Delhi: S.Chand, 1983, 276pp.<br />
Mainly explicatory; considers Sarojini Naidu's works in the order in which they were<br />
published, devoting a chapter to each volume <strong>of</strong> verse, including the final The Feather <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Dawn published posthumously in 1966. The appendix contains a useful note on the "lost"<br />
poems (juvenile work by "Miss S. Chattopadhyaya" and unpublished poems), a bibliography,<br />
and Sarojini's letters to Edmund Gosse and Arthur Symons.<br />
KHAN, IZZAT YAR. Sarojini Naidu: The Poet New Delhi: S. Chand, 1983, 276 pp.<br />
list contents<br />
MATHUR, B. S. "Sarojini Naidu: A Poet <strong>of</strong> Sweetness and Light." Indo-English Literature: A<br />
Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, edited by K. K. Sharma (1977): 61-70.<br />
Naidu is a singer <strong>of</strong> beautiful songs which delight and instruct. Mathur analyses poems<br />
like "Palanquir Bearers", "Indian Weavers" and "Coromandal Fishers" to show that it is<br />
justified to call her poetry a "criticism <strong>of</strong> life."<br />
MIRZA, TAQI ALI. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu: An Apology." Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
EnElish Studies 16, no.1 (1980):50-55.<br />
For Naidu, poetry was not an intellectual exercise, but a spontaneous response to a<br />
compulsive urge to sing. From the beginning, her poetry has Indian themes, and imagery<br />
drawn from the Indian landscape. Her poetry displays an amazing mastery <strong>of</strong> English prosody.<br />
Many <strong>of</strong> her poems, such as "Coromandal Fishers", show her skill in building medial rhyme<br />
into the texture <strong>of</strong> her verse, as a necessary concomitant <strong>of</strong> its movement. Some <strong>of</strong> her poems<br />
successfully convey the rhythms <strong>of</strong> Indian folk songs.<br />
MURTI, K. V. SURYANARAYANA. "Hyderabad in the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojin Naidu." In<br />
Kohinoor in the Crown: Critical Studies in Indian-English Literature. (New Delhi: Sterling,<br />
1987): 48-64.<br />
Murti feels that Hyderabad is the generative matrix <strong>of</strong> Saroiini Naidu's poetry. She<br />
was born and brought up in Hyderabad. After marrying D. Naidu, she moved into "The<br />
Golden Threshold" where she fulfilled herself in the triple role <strong>of</strong> "housewife and poetess and<br />
patriot." Murti catalogues the many poems she has written about the city, heaping praise on<br />
them. According to Murti, the influence <strong>of</strong> the city can be felt indirectly in most <strong>of</strong> her poems.<br />
There is little close reading <strong>of</strong> the text, Murti accepts the "warm tributes" paid by foreign critics<br />
like Edmund Gosse and Arthur Symons and Indian critics like Srinivasa Iyengar and C. D.<br />
Narasimhaiah.<br />
MATHUR, B.S. "Sarojini Naidu: A Poetess <strong>of</strong> Sweetness and Light" in SHARMA, K.K. ed.<br />
Indo-English Literature: a Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays, Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan, 1977:<br />
61-70.
NAGARAJAN, S. "Sarojini Naidu and the Dilemma <strong>of</strong> English in India" Kavya Bharati 1<br />
(1988):23-43.<br />
NAIR, K.R. RAMACHANDRAN. Three Indo-Anglian Poets: Henry Derozio, Toru Dutt<br />
and Sarojini Naidu New Delhi: Sterling, 1987, 122 pp.<br />
NARAVANE, V.S. Sarojini Naidu: An Introduction to Her Life, Work and Poetry Madras:<br />
Orient Longman, 1981, 160 pp.<br />
NAGARAJAN, S. "Sarojini Naidu and the Dilemma <strong>of</strong> English in India." Kavya Bharati no.1<br />
(1988): 23-43.<br />
Naidu’s verse lacks depth <strong>of</strong> thought but is melodious, though she fails to expoit Indian myth.<br />
Makes contrastive reference to Eliot and Yeats. Cites Rao’s preface to Kanthapura to show<br />
Naidu not departing from standard English and thereby carrying over echoes <strong>of</strong> Shelley and<br />
Swinburne rather than generating an Indian rhythm, or a sense <strong>of</strong> local cultural problematic as<br />
in Ezekiel, Mahapatra or Ramanujan.<br />
Sarojini Naidu will be remembered as a great fighter for India's freedom and the rights<br />
<strong>of</strong> women. It is doubtful whether she herself considered her poetry the most important aspect<br />
<strong>of</strong> her achievement, she wrote hardly any in the last three decades <strong>of</strong> her life. Nevertheless,<br />
many <strong>of</strong> her poems continue to be read and enjoyed, and no anthology <strong>of</strong> Indian Enlish poetry<br />
is complete without a few <strong>of</strong> her poems, such as "Bangle-Sellers" or "Coromandal Fishers",<br />
notable for their rhythm, metrical dexterity, and exquisite phrasing. Sarojin Naidu's poems<br />
show no development. She did not take sufficient pains to exploit the thematic possibilities <strong>of</strong><br />
her subjects as Nagarajan shows by comparing her poem on the Indian soldiers who __died<br />
in the First World War, "The Gift <strong>of</strong> India", with T. S. Eliot's "To the Indians Who Died in<br />
Africa". Naidu does not exploit the resources <strong>of</strong> Hindu myth and legend as fully as she could<br />
have. Nagarajan interprets the poetry <strong>of</strong> Naidu in terms <strong>of</strong> the distinction that T. S. Eliot<br />
draws between the early Yeats and the later Yeats, the early poems are pieces fit for an<br />
anthology, they give complete satisfaction and delight in themselves, the later poems carry the<br />
stamp <strong>of</strong> a unique personality. Sarojini's poems never reflect her public experiences; in her<br />
political speeches, she spoke out boldly for the need to make women equal partners <strong>of</strong> men in<br />
the national struggle, but in her poetry she presented women as "panting doves." Nagarajan<br />
considers the dilemma <strong>of</strong> English in India, quoting Raja Rao's preface to Kanthapura, where<br />
he stressed the necessity to forge a new idiom. Sarojini Naidu could not avoid the echoes <strong>of</strong><br />
the rhythms <strong>of</strong> earlier English poetry. Nagarajan quotes poems by A. R Ramanujan and<br />
Jayanta Mahapatra, who have forged individual rhythms based on semantics, not English<br />
prosody. It was felt that English education was necessary for the progress <strong>of</strong> India, but it<br />
tended to create an elite, bringing about individual and social maladjustment. This dilemma,<br />
which is one <strong>of</strong> the major preoccupations <strong>of</strong> modern Indian English poets (Nagarajan quotes<br />
Ramanujan and R. Parthasarathy) did not concern Sarojini Naidu. The absence <strong>of</strong> this cultural<br />
dilemma as a theme, and the outdated poetic style, are responsible for making much <strong>of</strong> her<br />
poetry rather irrelevant today.<br />
NAIR, K. R. RAMACHANDRAN. Three Indo-Anglian Poets: Henry Derozio, Toru Dutt<br />
and Sarojini Naidu. New Delhi: Sterling, 1987, 122pp. See under DEROZIO above.
NARAVANE, VISHWANATH S. Sarojini Naidu: An Introduction to her Life, Work and<br />
Poetry. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1981, 160pp.<br />
Naravane begins with "Recollections"; he first met Sarojini Devi (as she was<br />
commonly addressed in public life) in 1938 when he was an undergraduate student at the<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Allahabad. A. N. Jha, Vice Chancellor <strong>of</strong> Allahabad <strong>University</strong>, was one <strong>of</strong><br />
Sarojini's earliest editors. Naravane (who rose to be Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Philosophy at the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> Poona) concentrates on the personality <strong>of</strong> Sarojini. There are chapters on "Background and<br />
Preparation", "Promise and Fulfilment", "Friendships: Gokhale, Gandhi, Nehru", "Vision <strong>of</strong><br />
India", "Sarojini and the Women <strong>of</strong> India", and "Poetry <strong>of</strong> Nature". The "Assessment"<br />
(pp.128-53) presents a balanced evaluation <strong>of</strong> her poetry. Naravane's book is important for<br />
the first hand account <strong>of</strong> an unforgettable personality, whose most precious gift was humour.<br />
He observs that "there was absolutely nothing in common between her humour and her<br />
poetry." Her conversation was very witty, and she was always ready to poke fun at herself<br />
and others. Naravane presents a selection <strong>of</strong> such stories.<br />
Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 16.1 (1980).Special Naidu issue.<br />
GHOSE, SISIRKUMAR. "Sarojini Naidu: Towards a Revaluation":23-36.<br />
MIRZA, TAQI ALI. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu: An Apology":50-5. [check others]<br />
PRASAD, DEOBRATA. Sarojini Naidu and Her Art <strong>of</strong> Poetry 1988, xvi + 216 pp.<br />
publisher?<br />
PRASAD, DEOBRATA. Sarojini Naidu and Her Art <strong>of</strong> Poetry. Delhi Capital Publishing<br />
House, 1988, 216pp.<br />
Prasad has unreserve praise for Naidu as "a mature artist who can manipulat<br />
language". He considers the poems thematically, with chapters on "Nature's Ecstasy", "Indian<br />
Flavours" (covering poems like "Coromandal Fishers" and "Indian Weavers"), "Patriotic<br />
Urges", "Lyric Bloom", "Colour Values", and "Mystic Urge."<br />
PRASAD, VEENA RANI. "Sarojini Naidu's Lyrical Mode." Indian Writing in English, edited<br />
by Krishna Nandan Sinha (Delhi: Heritage Publishers, 1979): 99-108.<br />
Sarojini Naidu's sensibility is essentially Romantic. She is a lyricist, and many <strong>of</strong> her<br />
poems show her fascination with the beauty <strong>of</strong> nature. Like Emily Dickinson, she has a<br />
partiality for colour and perfume, and flowers, especially the lotus, have a symbolic value for<br />
her. She is good at recreating the rural scene. Prasad compares Sarojini's love poems with<br />
Emily Dickinson's.<br />
RAJYALAKSHMI, P. V. The Lyric Spring. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1977. 221pp.<br />
Based on a doctoral thesis submitted to Andhra <strong>University</strong>. Thematic study, which<br />
attempts to show that Naidu's poetry may be outmoded, but not outdated. Concluding<br />
chapter, "The Sceptred Flute" (pp. 179-221) contains a good survey <strong>of</strong> other critics' views on<br />
the poet. Has a comprehensive bibliography (pp 211-216).<br />
RANGAN, V. "Sarojini Naidu's 'Song <strong>of</strong> Radha, a Milkmaid'." The Literary Endeavour 2,<br />
no.1 (1981): 53-59.A short sloka (Sanskrit verse) by Lilasuka is wrought into a long lyric by<br />
Naidu. Radha's devotion to the lord is in the tradition <strong>of</strong> madhurabhakti. Rangan shows the<br />
influence <strong>of</strong> the azhwars (old Tamil mystic poets) on Naidu's presentation. The three stanzas<br />
<strong>of</strong> Naidu's poems descri Radha at the fair, then going to the river to get water, and finally at<br />
the temple; "fair" and "water" have their symbol value in Srivaishnava philosophy.
RAJYALAKSHMI, P.V. A Pilgrimage <strong>of</strong> Love: A Commentary on Sarojini Naidu's 'The<br />
Temple'" Guntur: Saradhi Publications, 1983, 61 pp.<br />
RAJYALAKSHMI, P.V. The Lyric Spring: A Study <strong>of</strong> the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu New<br />
Delhi: Abhinave Pblns., 1977, vi + 221 pp.<br />
RAMAKRISHNAN, E.V. "The Sacred and the Pr<strong>of</strong>ane" Poetry Chronicle, 2.4&5, (1990):<br />
126-34.<br />
RANGAN, V. “Saojini Naidu’s ‘Song <strong>of</strong> Radha, a Milkmaid’”The Literary Endeavour 2.1<br />
(1982):53-59<br />
The poem works a sloka from Lilasuka’s ‘Sri Krishnakarnamritam’ into a lyric. Explicates<br />
bhakti worldly absent-mindedness and spritual single-mindedness. Sarojini adds a lilting<br />
descriptive setting, breaking the fragment into three parts <strong>of</strong> a narrative and moving from<br />
externals to inner state.<br />
SARMA, M.N. & SHAHANE, V.A. eds. The Flute and the Drum - Studies in Sarojini<br />
Naidu's Poetry and Politics Hyderabad: Osmania U, 1980, 104 pp.<br />
SAXENA, SANJAY. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu: A Revaluation" Poetry 10 (1985):14-<br />
23.<br />
SHARMA, K. K. ed. Perspectives on Sarojini Naidu. Ghaziabad: Vimal Prakashan,1989,<br />
xv+222pp.<br />
Contents: "Introduction." K K.SHARMA 1-xv.<br />
"Sarojini Naidu: A Sketch" HARINDRANATH CHATTOPADHYAYA 1-4. By<br />
her younger brother, who is a poet and playwright.<br />
"Conversations with Sarojini Naidu" MULK RAJ ANAND 5-10.<br />
"Sarojini Naidu: An Estimate" P.P.SHARMA 11-15<br />
"Sarojini Naidu: Formative Influences" A.N.GUPTA and SATISH GUPTA 16-<br />
33.<br />
"Challenge to Fate in Sarojini Naidu's Poetry" K K SHARMA 34-42.<br />
"Sarojini Naidu's Love Poems" INDU GOEL 43-54<br />
"Sarojini Naidu's Poetry" V.K.GOKAK 55-63.<br />
"Poet, Patriot and Champion--Sarojini's Three Incarnations" ELENA<br />
J.KALINNIKOVA 64-77.<br />
"Indian Ethos in Sarojini Naidu's Poetry" HARISH RAIZADA 78-113.<br />
"The Evolution <strong>of</strong> the Poetic Persona in Sarojini's Poetry" N.K.SHARMA 114-<br />
128.<br />
"Death and the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu" O.P.BHATNAGAR 129-137.<br />
"Treatment <strong>of</strong> Nature in Sarojini Naidu's Poetry" S.P.CHATURVED 138-149.<br />
"Sarojini Naidu's 'Other Harmony' : A Study" G.S.BALARAMA GUPTA 150-<br />
160 An analysis <strong>of</strong> her prose.<br />
"Art and Artifice: Notes on Mrs Naidu's Poetry" MOHAN JHA 161 172.<br />
"Sarojini's Poetic Technique" A.N DWIVEDI 173-181.<br />
"Is Sarojini Naidu Relevant Today?" URMILA VARMA 182-187 Feels that<br />
Sarojini's place in Indian English poetry is secure, because <strong>of</strong> the aptness <strong>of</strong> her imagery, and<br />
her skill in the management <strong>of</strong> melody without sacrificing sense. She has been able to recreate<br />
the feel <strong>of</strong> the surroundings through suitable comparisons, though she is evasive when it comes
to the real problems <strong>of</strong> life; in her personal life she was a rebel, but in poetry she calmly<br />
accepts the low place accorded to women in India.<br />
"The Immortal Bird" O P MATHUR 188-196<br />
"Sarojini Naidu's Poetry: An Evaluation" D.C.AGRAWALA 197-205 Agrawala<br />
makes a distinction between true and great poetry; in great poetry, ideas are as important as<br />
words, and Sarojini' work does not belong to this category, as she has no view <strong>of</strong> life to<br />
present, and evades fundamental issues. However, she has written many beautiful lyrics, many<br />
<strong>of</strong> them using Indian rhythms "Salaam for Sarojini: Towards a Revaluation" SISRKUMAR<br />
GHOSE 206-216. See GHOSE above p.3.<br />
Select Bibliography 217-221.<br />
SAXENA, SANJAY. "The Poetry <strong>of</strong> Sarojini Naidu: A Revaluation." Poetry no.10 (1985):<br />
14-23.<br />
The contemporary Indian reaction to the poetry <strong>of</strong> Naidu is unsympathetic. Saxena<br />
pleads for the evaluation <strong>of</strong> her work with reference to the times in which she lived and wrote.<br />
He follows received opinion <strong>of</strong> older critics in his evaluation--Naidu's genius was essentially<br />
lyrical, her verse gives the impression <strong>of</strong> unpremeditated art.<br />
SENGUPTA, PADMINI. Sarojini Naidu. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1974, 92pp.<br />
Reprinted 1981."Makers <strong>of</strong> Indian Literature" Series, meant for the general reader.<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A. "Sarojini Naidu: The Rare Person." Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English<br />
Studies l6, no.1 (1980): 1-9.<br />
Shahane presents insights into her personality and family life as well as her poetry.<br />
Sarojini was a cosmopolitan person, free <strong>of</strong> casteism or regionalism, deeply influenced by<br />
Gokhale's liberalism, though she had no less attachment towards Mahatma Gandhi or<br />
Jawaharlal Nehru in the struggle against the British. She was friendly with the Nizam <strong>of</strong><br />
Hyderabad and the aristocracy, and took no part in the struggle for freedom <strong>of</strong> the people <strong>of</strong><br />
Hyderabad. Shahane presents a short evaluation <strong>of</strong> her as a writer <strong>of</strong> melodious metrical<br />
verse, a "surface-grace, lyrical poet."<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A. and M. N. SARMA, eds. Osmania Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 16,<br />
no.1 (1980).<br />
A special issue devoted to Sarojini Naidu. It contains articles on the person ("Sarojini<br />
Naidu, The Rare Person" by VASANT A.SHAHANE, "Sarojini Naidu: A Political Pr<strong>of</strong>ile"<br />
by RAM JOSHI, "Sarojini Naidu, the woman" by TARA ALI BAIG), three articles on her<br />
poetry, and a selection <strong>of</strong> her poems. Reprinted as The Flute and the Drum: Studies in Sarojini<br />
Naidu's Poetry and Politics, edited by M. N. Sarma and V. A. Shahane. Hyderabad:<br />
Osmania <strong>University</strong>, 1980, 104pp.<br />
Namjoshi, Suniti<br />
DWIVEDI, A.N. "Suniti Namjoshi - Art and Artifice in Her Work" in DWIVEDI, A.N.<br />
"Eves' Song: Contemporary English Verse by Indian Women" Studies in Contemporary Indo-<br />
English Verse: A Collection <strong>of</strong> Critical Essays. Vol. I Female Poets Bareilly: Prakash Book<br />
Depot, 1984: 227-39.<br />
Poems (1967), Cyclone in Pakistan (1971) and More Poems (1971) show promise<br />
in their terse suggestive debunking wit and lyrical alliterated cadence, but decline unevenly into<br />
limited flat literary affectation and cynical parading <strong>of</strong> life’s cruelty. Moves from descriptive<br />
commentary following Monika Varma’s review to moral and formalist condemnation.
Nandy, Pritish<br />
AGRAWAL, I.N. "Tonight This Savage Rite: A Perspective <strong>of</strong> Pritish Nandy's Love Poems"<br />
Studies in Contemporary Indo-English Verse (1984):252-58.<br />
DASGUPTA, SUBHORANJAN. "Politics and the Poetry <strong>of</strong> Pritish Nandy" in<br />
KULSHRESHTHA, CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation<br />
New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980: 215-26. Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.<br />
DASGUPTA, SUBHORANJAN. Pritish Nandy (1976) (??)<br />
SAHA, SUBHAS CHANDRA. "The Love Poetry <strong>of</strong> Pritish Nandy" in Korld <strong>of</strong> New<br />
Sensibility" Indian Literature 20.5 (1978):97-100.[english? probably Das/Bengali]<br />
VARMA, URMILA. "Modernity in Theme and Technique in Pritish Nandy" in RAM,<br />
ATMA. ed. Contemporary Indian-English Poetry Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1989: 79-85.<br />
Modern Indian poetry in English follows a nineteenth-century and classical tradition <strong>of</strong><br />
love lyrics while breaking with the mellifluous romanticism <strong>of</strong> the past. Nandy’s verse differs<br />
again from his contemporaries in its extreme passion. Examples are cited from Riding the<br />
Midnight River. The poet, using free verse and colloquial bluntness, quests after objects <strong>of</strong><br />
desire and passionate release figured as dramatic physical action and inexhaustible natural<br />
energy.<br />
CHECK!!!<br />
HARREX, S.C. "Some Miscellaneous Writings" JCL 8.1 (1979):65-76. {Narayan??}<br />
RAJ, KRISHNA. "Stray Notes on the East-West Syndrome in Maitraye Devi's It Does Not<br />
Die" Commonwealth Quarterly 4.13 (1979):99-105. [english?]<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "Prison and Chocolate Cake: A Study" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
7.1 (1979):47-60. [nehru??]<br />
MEHTA, P.P. "The Devil's Wind: The First Great Indo-Anglian Historical Novel" __Triveni<br />
48.2 (1980):72-9.who?<br />
DAS, B.K. "The Pattern <strong>of</strong> Thought in 'Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher'" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing<br />
in English 7.2 (1980):46-9. [who?]<br />
KUNDARGI, DILIP. "Ash Flowers: Reflections <strong>of</strong> a Poet" Commonwealth Quarterly 13<br />
(1980):106-12.[???]<br />
JOSHI, NAVIN CHANDRA. "A Historical Novel" I&FR 19.7 (January 15-31, 1982):23.<br />
[???]<br />
GANGULI, CHANDRA. & JAIN, SUNITA. "A World Crumbles: The Song <strong>of</strong> Anasuya"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 10.1&2 (1982): 34-8. [check]
JUSSAWALLA, ADIL. "One Woman's Poetry" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 18.1<br />
(1983):88-90. [who? review?]<br />
KRISHNANKUTTY, GITA. "From Indulekha to Shanta: A Lineage <strong>of</strong> Coconuts" The<br />
Literary Criterion 20.4 (1985):62-68. [??]<br />
SAJJAN, G.B. "Envisioning the Cosmic Scheme" Indian Literature 118 (1987):151-4.<br />
who?/what?<br />
RAMACHANDRA, RAGINI. "Cyclones" The Literary Criterion 22.2 (1987): 67-9.<br />
who?/what?<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A. "I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale" The Indian Literary Review 5.3<br />
(1987):47-51. what?<br />
BOSE, MEERA. "The Outcast"<br />
seen best in his first collection, in poems such as “Something to Pursue”, “Declaration”, and<br />
“Encounter” - three poems discussed by Paranjape. “In later poems, the spiritual theme<br />
persists, resurfacing every now and then.” “...the impression with Ezekiel is <strong>of</strong> a serious though<br />
wavering commitment [to self-realization], which is not yet fully realised.” His understanding <strong>of</strong><br />
the universe: “The key seems to be in ever-moving, flowing with life, taking refuge only in<br />
‘living images’, not clingling to dead or fossilized ideas <strong>of</strong> yesterday.” Critic says three times<br />
that Ezekiel has looked upon the face <strong>of</strong> the absolute, but does not expand beyond the<br />
foregoing statement <strong>of</strong> the ‘key’.<br />
INDIA<br />
Author<br />
to be clarified<br />
MUKHERJEE, SUJIT. "Man, Poet and Critic" Indian Literature 14.2(1971): 5-11. [who?]<br />
WALSH, W. "Two Indian Poets" The Literary Criterion 11.3 (1974):1-16. [who?]<br />
KARVE, IRAWATI. "Karna's Search for Identity" Vagartha 5 (1974):22-37. (drama?: either<br />
Kailasam or S. Raman)<br />
MAJUMDAR, A.K. "Portrait <strong>of</strong> an Indian Intellectual" Quest 91 (1974):21-32. check who<br />
and whether in English<br />
MUKHERJEE, M. "Form in The Puppet's Tale" Literary Criterion 12.2-3 (1976): 87-97.<br />
[who?]<br />
RATH, S.N. "The East and West in Radhanath Rav's Kedara-Gauri" Indian PEN 41.9-10<br />
(1975):1-5. [genre/language?]<br />
YARAVANTHELIMATH, C.R. "Pundalik" in NAIK, M.K. & S. MOKASHI-PUNEKAR,<br />
eds. Perspectives on Indian Drama in English Madras: OUP, 1977 124-35.[who?]<br />
BHATT, S. "The Lost Child" Kakatiya Journal <strong>of</strong> English Studies 2.1 (1977):219-22. [???]
DASGUPTA, Mary Ann. "Tribute to Nobokissen Ghose" The Indian P.E.N. 44.5&6<br />
(1978):10-12. [english?]<br />
MUKHERJEE, DHURJATI. "Jiba<strong>nan</strong>da: A World <strong>of</strong> New Sensibility" Indian Literature 20.5<br />
(1978):97-100.[english? probably Das/Bengali]<br />
HARREX, S.C. "Some Miscellaneous Writings" JCL 8.1 (1979):65-76. {Narayan??}<br />
RAJ, KRISHNA. "Stray Notes on the East-West Syndrome in Maitraye Devi's It Does Not<br />
Die" Commonwealth Quarterly 4.13 (1979):99-105. [english?]<br />
ASNANI, S.M. "Prison and Chocolate Cake: A Study" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English<br />
7.1 (1979):47-60. [nehru??]<br />
MEHTA, P.P. "The Devil's Wind: The First Great Indo-Anglian Historical Novel" Triveni<br />
48.2 (1980):72-9.who?<br />
DAS, B.K. "The Pattern <strong>of</strong> Thought in 'Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher'" Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing<br />
in English 7.2 (1980):46-9. [who?]<br />
KUNDARGI, DILIP. "Ash Flowers: Reflections <strong>of</strong> a Poet" Commonwealth Quarterly 13<br />
(1980):106-12.[???]<br />
JOSHI, NAVIN CHANDRA. "A Historical Novel" I&FR 19.7 (January 15-31, 1982):23.<br />
[???]<br />
GANGULI, CHANDRA. & JAIN, SUNITA. "A World Crumbles: The Song <strong>of</strong> Anasuya"<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Indian Writing in English 10.1&2 (1982): 34-8. [check]<br />
JUSSAWALLA, ADIL. "One Woman's Poetry" Journal <strong>of</strong> South Asian Literature 18.1<br />
(1983):88-90. [who? review?]<br />
KRISHNANKUTTY, GITA. "From Indulekha to Shanta: A Lineage <strong>of</strong> Coconuts" The<br />
Literary Criterion 20.4 (1985):62-68. [??]<br />
SAJJAN, G.B. "Envisioning the Cosmic Scheme" Indian Literature 118 (1987):151-4.<br />
who?/what?<br />
RAMACHANDRA, RAGINI. "Cyclones" The Literary Criterion 22.2 (1987): 67-9.<br />
who?/what?<br />
SHAHANE, VASANT A. "I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale" The Indian Literary Review 5.3<br />
(1987):47-51. what?<br />
BOSE, MEERA. "The Outcast"KULSHRESHTHA, CHIRANTAN., ed Contemporary<br />
Indian-English Verse: An Evaluation New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, 1980: 208-14. rpt 1982.<br />
Also Atlantic Highlands: Humanities, 1981.