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Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedThe Trend of Multiculturalism Across the Globe: Emergence of MulticulturalLiterature in English-Prof. M. Dharmaraj,Professor and Head,Dept of English,Telangana University, Nizamabad.AP.Multiculturalism remains intact since themigration have been pouring across the globepersistently. Multiculturalism has come to stay, notto break from those who adopt it. Thisperspective , in the present global scenario is deeprooted in various countries. The concept surfacedin the later half of the twentieth century. Thepolitical demand from the ethnic minorities is oneof the causes for the emergence ofmulticulturalism. Ethnicity refers to a people ornation. An ethnic group is a self-consciouscollection of people either unified or intimatelyrelated by shared experiences and commoninterests. Ethnic response deals with theinteraction between the two groups or societies.The ethnic group does not pertain to a race asbelieved by some section of society. Due to thepersistent inflow of migration across thecountries, there is a need to expand permanentrelationships among ethnic and religiouscommunities. Thus multiculturalism may bedefined as “reaching out both the native-born andnewcomers, in developing lasting relationshipsamong ethnic and religious communities. Itencourages these communities to participate fullyin society by enhancing their level of economic,social and cultural integration into the hostcultures”. 1It cannot be denied that multiculturalism isnot only enabled the migrants to share in all theactivities of communities but also increased theireconomic and social status besides their culturalintegration with the hosts. A host of migrationsresulted in drastic changes in social, economicaland cultural structures. The advent ofmulticulturalism acknowledged the fact that thecontemporary society is made up of discrete andassorted groups. The governmental programmesregarding multiculturalism intended to deal withcultural diversity through welfare, culture andsocial justice initiatives. Perhaps, no onecontradict the fact, that multiculturalism is asocial philosophy which connotes that no structureof values is superior to any other community’scultures and diversities. There are two aspects ofmulticulturalism: they are cultural diversity andcommunal diversity. Andrew Heywooddifferentiates between two forms ofmulticulturalism. “The term ‘multiculturalism’ hasbeen used in a variety of ways, both descriptiveand normative. As a descriptive term, it has beentaken to refer to cultural diversity… As anormative term, multiculturalism implies apositive endorsement, even celebration, ofcommunal diversity, typically based on either theright of different groups to respect and recognitionor to the alleged benefits to the larger society ofsocial and cultural diversity”. 2Multiculturalism is one of the best systemsthat adjusts itself with social issues. There isflexibility in the culture because it changes as theworld changes, so it cannot be accurately definedin terms of race or religion.After World War-II, multiple factorscontributed for the emergence of multiculturalismin Western societies such as human Rightsrevolution, the collapse of European colonialsystem, the struggle of Asian and Africancountries for independence from the colonizednations, the rise of Civil Rights, Racist classes etc.It is believed by certain critics thatmulticulturalism is of immensely useful becauseC. James Trotman opines that it “uses severaldisciplines to highlights neglected aspects of oursocial history, particularly the histories of womenand minorities… and promotes respect for thedignity of the lives and voices of the forgotten. Byclosing gaps, by raising consciousness about thepast, multiculturalism tries to restore a sense ofwholeness in a postmodern era that fragmentshuman life and thought”. 3 But some of the criticsargue that multiculturalism is a concept not aboutracial minorities but to bring harmonious relationsbetween different cultural societies. BhikhuParekh views that “multiculturalism is in fact ‘notabout minorities’ but is about the proper terms ofrelationship between different culturalcommunities”, which means that the standards bywhich the communities resolve their differencese.g. “the principles of justice” must not come formonly one of the cultures but must come form“through an open and equal dialogue betweenthem”. 4 It is true that multiculturalism is a weaponof justice which can solve quite a number of458 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandeddifferences between various cultural communitiesincluding minorities.It is observed that in certain WesternEnglish speaking nations since 1970 onwards,multiculturalism has been government programme.It is said that the Government of Canada is the firstnation which initiated the ideology ofmulticulturalism because of peoples’ compulsionon the social importance of immigration. It is alsoadopted by Australia where it has been displacedby assimilation. This has become the officialpolicy and followed by certain European countries.Argentina’s preamble of constitution encouragesimmigration and acknowledges the importance ofthe individual’s citizenship when compared toother countries. The British Government underTony Blair’s administration multicultural policieswere adopted. There was flow of immigration intoEngland from Republic of Ireland, the Indiansubcontinent and the Caribbean.Europe has bean treated as poly culturalcontinent because it has been a mixture of Latin,Slavic, Germanic, Uralic, Celtic, Hellenic, Illyrian,Thracian, Hebraic, Christian, Muslim and othercultures and belief systemsPoly Culturalism is the study of a groupthat comprises many cultures. In multiculturalismthere is a diversity, it is a cluster that deliberatesnumerous cultures discretely, but never a group ofpeople that contains more than single culture. Forthe last thousand years of history, Bulgaria hostedseveral religions, and ethnic groups includingJews. It is said that Netherlands is a tolerant, ratherthan multicultural community. There are morethan 150 different ethnic groups in Russia. It hasbeen opined that multiculturalism has beenunsuccessful in German. Across the Globe, Indiahas been regarded as the most diverse countryracially, culturally, linguistically, ethnically andreligiously too. In India ‘Multiculturalism’ has notbeen much used , but ‘diversity’ is often applied.Malaysia is a multiethnic country whichcomprises Malays, Malaysians,’ Chinese andIndian descent. Multiculturalism is predominantlyfound in Mauritius which consists of variousethnic and religious groups.Multiculturalism enables social andpolitical factions to permit the expression ofdifferent cultures without punishing them. InDenmark, social issues amalgamated withmulticulturalism. The Philippines consists of tendiscrete major native ethnic groups besidesextensive communities of American, Arabic,Chinese, Indian and other ethnicities from othernations. For this reason, the Philippines has beentreated as the 8 th multiethnic country across the459 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1Globe. The word ‘Multiculturalism’ is popular inSouth Korea. As far as transformation of societyis concerned, there are no clear cut constructiveand analytical concepts in South Korea.Literature in English is a globalphenomenon. It has become usual that literature inEnglish always emerge all over the World, thusliterature in English is becoming increasinglymulticultural. The International writers useEnglish as a channel for poetry, fiction and othergenres. Thus literature in English has becomemulticultural concept since the global writers havebeen writing about given culture. In the presentglobal scenario, English literature commands therealm of multicultural literature. Sir Walter Scott,one of the multicultural writers wrote aboutScotland for English readers as well as for hisfellow citizens. Multicultural literature explicitlyreflects the works of multicultural societies andalso it is implicitly multicultural. During the lastfifteen years, multicultural texts were found inthe writings of R.K . Narayan’s The Painter ofSigns , Maxine Hong Kingston’s The WomanWarrior, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me ,Ultima andWiti Ihimaera’s Tangi. Though these texts havebeen received well, certain critics do notcompromise with the multicultural aspects becauseof moments of difficulty in four such multiculturalnarratives. Thus multiculturalism of contemporaryworld literature in English pose complex problemsthat have not been sorted out by critics whostudied the multicultural phenomenon. It isobserved that all the written texts of multiculturalliterature were not completely understood by thereaders of same language. Such texts are fullyexplicit. Such problem frequently occurs betweenthe speakers of same language. “ Thus, themulticultural writer and his or her audience mayindeed be divided by a common language , andthe greater the gap between the two, the more opento misconstrual the multicultural work of literaturebecomes.”. 5Multiculturalism in America hastremendous impact in many spheres of Americanlife because the continuous flow of migration hasbeen an unending process. America is a landwhich conceits itself on freedom of thought,religion and the right of equal opportunities for allethnic and racial groups. Multiculturalism hasirresistible impact in many fields of American lifesuch as economic policies, media, art andliterature. The supporters of multi culturalismconcede that the pluralistic nature of Americansociety continues because America regarded as acountry of immigrants. Thus the ethnic differencescontinuously transformed educationalexpectations, political ideals and the popular

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedMulticulturalism as a Sociological Aspect: A focus on Indian Society-Dr. Varsha P. Gosavi,Vasantrao Naik College,Vasarni, NandedAbstract: Multiculturalism, a social theory plays a very vital role in literary studies. It is an ideology, that challengesmonocultural society. It is a sociological aspect, which develops co-operation, tolerance, respect and love for eachother. The present paper is an attempt to explore multiculturalism as a social aspect and how important role does it playin literary theory. It also focuses on the role it does play in context with the Indian society. It was used primarily inview of the African-American and the other minorities for getting of the equal status in America. Further it became akind of the movement. It also draws ideas from postcolonial theories, as it raises voice for the marginalized and weakersection of society. It is an appreciation and celebration of cultural diversity, which enables everyone to have socialequality and justice. As per the word multi, it relates to various disciplines and especially to social. It works for socioculturalharmony. Multiculturalism celebrates social diversity because respecting of every culture is respecting of everycommunity. It respects and values of all minority culture. By accepting multiculturalism, one can overcome theproblem of social conflict. It also avoids religious friction in the society. Multicultural society is a developed andlearning society. It tries to empower the weaker sections of society.Indian constitution has played a vital role in promoting the value of multiculturalism, which brings the peopleof diverse religions, culture and backgrounds together. The social aspects of multiculturalism are depicted in the IndianEnglish fiction. It tries to show that all members of society, regardless of their caste and religion, have equalopportunity to reach their full potential with dignity and respect. To clarify the aspects, the present paper brieflyfocuses the idea of multiculturalism depicted in Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable And Arundhati Roy’s God of SmallThing. It tries to suggest that as conscious individual and citizen of India, it is our duty to respect the Indian constitutionand the principle of multiculturalism.Multiculturalism, a social theoryplays a very vital role in literary studies.Multiculturalism is an ideology thatchallenges monocultural society. It is also acelebration of pluralism. It is the union ofvaried culture and subculture that help instrengthening of humanity. It tries todevelop co-operation, tolerance, respect andlove for each other. The present paper is anattempt to explore multiculturalism as asocial theory and how important role does itplay in literary studies. It explores the natureand scope of culture. It also focuses on therole that it plays in context with the Indiansociety.In every aspect of human life,culture is held as motivating movement.Multiculturalism is a term that is primarilyused in sociological aspect. If we see its rootor origin then it was first used in U.S.A. Itwas used primarily in view of the African-Americans and the other minority for gettingof the equal status in American society. Inthis context, slowly and steadily it became akind of movement in America. Sincebeginning, American society was notaccommodated by the whites but it wasmulticultural. It was filled with diversity. Itincluded people of different races, culture,religion, national status. People there havedifferent socio-economic background.Multiculturalism promotes to merge thepeople having different culture into one. Itprovides one roof to the people havingdifferent background. Multiculturalism, asan ideology can also be applied forevaluation of one’s value and belief aboutcultural diversity, human rights andprivileges in a society. The definition ofmulticulturalism will help us to make theconcept clear. According to Tarner Terence(1994:419):Multiculturalism is onemanifestation of thepostmodernist reaction to thedeligitimization of the state andthe erosion of the hegemony ofthe dominant culture in advancedcapitalist countries.If we see the conceptproperly it is very vast. It celebrates therights of African - American and otherminority community, women, Dalits,homosexual etc. It also is a new and great461 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedforce of liberation. It is the preservation ofdifferent culture that promotes socialintegrity. It provides kind of transparency tothe society and also promotes notion ofmultiple identity. It tries to accommodatediverse culture that creates social harmony.It respects minority culture which suffersdue to social injustice, marginalization,dispossession, dislocation and socialdiscrimination. The present paper is anattempt to look at multiculturalism fromsociological perspective.It also draws ideas frompostcolonial theories, as it raises voice forthe marginalized and weaker sections ofsociety. Said promotes that western culturehave projected oriental culture as inferiorand worthless. It’s true, European historyhave projected the Eastern as culturallybackward, sensual and passive. Althoughit’s so, multiculturalism has not justremained a subject to discussion but it is asubject that has reached to decision. Becausein the countries like Canada, Australia andU.S.A. decisions have been taken regardingthe policies of multiculturalism. Itrecognizes the diversities of different culturebut tries to appreciate the cultural diversitythat can enable everyone to have socialequality and justice. It also preserves ethno –cultural identity and sustains their cultural,religious belief, rituals, customs, tradition,lifestyle that accommodates their foodhabits, dress codes and socio cultural habits.Judith Squires (2002:114)Comments:Multiculturalism has become thetopic of the moment, not only forpolitical theorist, sociologists,and political scientists andeducationalists.That is why it promotes the harmoniousincluding of multiple cultures, subculture.As per word multi, it is related to the variousdisciplines. We see glimpses of variousdisciplines in multiculturalism. It promotescultural democracy, enhances the value oftolerance, respect for different culture,protects minority culture, protects social andcultural identity , works for socio – culturalharmony, fights against cultural imperialismand thus it has become a movement forsocial change.As per seen the meaning of the wordMulticulturalism, it accommodates manysubcultures. As Alex Thio (1997:44)comments:The co-existence of numeroussubs cultures can develop intoMulticulturalism, a state inwhich all subculture are equalto one another in the samesociety”.Multiculturalism waters the conceptof healthy society. It admits co-existence ofmany culture i.e. dominant, super ordinate,subordinate, minorities, weak, marginal,patriarchal etc. It applies the principle ofunity in diversity. It insists that uniquenessand distinctiveness of each culture is to berecognized and considered separately. Itensures equal respect and value to allculture. Every culture should get equalvalue. Sarah Joseph (2002:159) comments:Multiculturalism is used to referto a desired end – state, as away of referring to a society inwhich different cultures arerespected and the reproductionof culturally defined group isprotected and social diversitycelebrated.Multiculturalism is celebration ofdiverse culture. Every culture has its ownvalue, power and it contains humanity andteaches value of good life. Hence, respectingparticular culture is respecting community,its value which opens a vision of good life.Rather than comparing different culturesmeaninglessly, one can meaningfully respectevery culture. For the equality of humanvalue, no culture is superior or inferior,rather all are equal. Multiculturalismrespects and values minority culture. It is thepreservation of minority culture, one cantake a step towards building of healthy462 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedhuman society. It is failing of respectingminority culture can create ethnic violenceand confrontation. It aims at minimizingcultural differences. The west have acceptedthe policy of promoting tolerance andrespect for minority culture. Canada, whichis one of the multicultural nation, hasaccepted multiculturalism as an officialpolicy and accept its diversity andmultiplicity. It widens the horizons of ourlife and its vision. By acceptingmulticulturalism, one can overcome theproblems of social conflicts, discrimination,racism, caste, gender etc. It also controlsgender related tolerance. It challenges thehegemony of single dominant culture.Rajeev Bhargava (2002:100) states:Multiculturalism brings togethera number of distinct themes suchas identity, recognition, culturalbelonging, which all respond tocommon human needs but areunderstood and dealt withvariously in different society.Western countries haveacknowledged the necessity of being multireligiousand multi-ethnic. It puts all groupsunder single umbrella with different colorsof language, religion, race, nationality andcommon cultural markers.Multiculturalism also avoidsreligious conflicts. It does not allow anyreligious friction in society. Besides, it helpseach religion’s religiosity intact. It removessocial marginalization, dispossession andexclusion of minority culture.Multiculturalism society is a developedsociety. It is a learning society. The variousculture and groups learn new thing throughhealthy interaction. The principle of equalopportunity supports both majority andminority. Socio-cultural harmony is themain aim of multiculturalism society.Multiculturalism allows to give certainprivileges i.e. the Sikhs in Canada andEngland are exempted from wearinghelmets. Even in India the constitutionensures religious practices of communitiesand grant privileges to the minority groups.Protecting diversity leads towards culturalhybridity. It brings variety in human life. Ittries to empower the weaker section ofsociety. Indian constitution has played avital role in promoting the value ofmulticulturalism, which brings the people ofdiverse religions, cultures and backgroundtogether.The social aspects ofmulticulturalism depicted in the IndianEnglish fiction. The social structure of Indiais built with inequalities. If we see largely,then the social stratification exists almost inall societies. It is depicted by writers. TheIndian constitution provides an institutionalstructure and principle that allow diversepeople to live as citizens of India. Itrecommends the idea of secularism,religious freedom, non-discrimination andequality. The constitution promotes the basicprinciples of multiculturalism, as India inthe world most complex and pluralisticsociety, it has vast variety of caste, tribes,communities, religions, languages, customsand lifestyles. We can say that Indianconstitution and multiculturalism goes handin hand. As a social ideologymulticulturalism upholds the values of socialequality, non-discrimination and upholds theprinciple of inclusiveness andaccommodation. It denies the dominance ofone culture over the other and protects theidea of equality and opportunity and rightsto minority and weak culture. To clarify theaspects, the present paper briefly focuses theidea of multiculturalism depicted in MulkRaj Anand’s Untouchable and ArundhatiRoy’s God of Small Things i.e. Mulk RajAnand’s novel Untouchable does not reflectthe idea of multiculturalism. It reflects therigidity of Indian caste system, whichdivides people on the basis of colour,occupation and the wrong notions of purityand pollution. Mulk Raj Anand sufficientlybuilds up the atmosphere of inequality andexploitation in his works. Through his work,he has suggested that multiculturalismpromotes the co-existence of diversecommunities and culture and recognizescultural diversity as inescapable reality inevery human society. Anand wants to show463 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedthat multiculturalism ensures that allmembers of a society, regardless of theircaste and religion, have equal opportunity toreach their full potential with dignity andrespect.Regarding Indian society thatdisturbs the peace and solace, are the aspectslike economic marginalization, socialexclusion, deprivation and isolation withreference to some classes. Due to economicmarginalization, some individuals or groupsare totally excluded from the economicopportunities. It generates the adverseatmosphere, in the terms of human rights,deprivation, poverty and isolation. Anandhas shown poverty as one of the reasons ofdesolation and misery. The writers likeMulk Raj Anand has exposed the grimrealities of the social life in India. In theseregard C. J. George (2000 : 19) Comments:To Mulk Raj Anand castism isan age old lie made by thepowerful and wicked in societyto uphold discrimination. Hisprime concern as a social criticis to remove caste system as itdamage social cohesion bygiving certain section of societyan unfair advantage over otherspermanently.However, the dominant culture’ssocial control over power structure remainsconstant in India. The dominant cultureexploits the minority culture and deprivesthem of their social, cultural, economic andpolitical rights by using the notions likepurity and impurity. Mulk Raj Anand andother fiction writers have depicted how thegap between dominant and minority cultureremains a social curse and how does itobstruct the promotion of multiculturalism.Besides castism, economic discrimination,gender discrimination also obstructmulticulturalism, it increases socialrestriction on women. How the conventionalways of life, class, gender discriminationand imposing of patriarchal culture crateproblem is depicted strongly in ArundhatiRoy’s The God of Small Things Roy’sprotest in The God of Small Things springout from her sense of the slave like status ofwomen in free democratic India. Themarginalization of women is not a specificbut a global phenomenon. It differsaccording to regions. Arundhati Roy offers akind of directioin to change the status ofwomen in the Indian society. So the novel isnot only a story of Ipe family, but also of thedisempowered section of Indian society. It isstory of men and women, who have beenneglected as the “margins” of society, andwho have to pay heavy price for the same.Throughout the novel, Ammu is shownconscious not of her sexuality, but of heremotional needs. As a subordinate andmarginalized women, she is even notallowed to persue her studies. Indeed,multiculturalism demands equal opportunityfor all culture, castes, communities andgenders. Human society needs culture thatrespects all other castes, communities andgenders equally. The policies ofmulticulturalism have been violated to someextent. Multiculturalism is a very flexibletheory, that promotes cultural coexistenceand mutual respect to all communities andcastes irrespective of their differences anddistinctiveness. Irrespective of culture,subculture, caste and community, everyindividual has his/her own birthright toenjoy his/her free life. Life is a gift thateveryone gets by God. So respecting of eachother’s culture is respecting of eachindividual. By handling the theme of intercaste love affair, Roy tries to highlight theneed of a casteless and peaceful societywhere everybody’s interest should beprotected and respected for strengthing ofthe principle of democratic multiculturalism.Disrespect of any culture, creates socialunrest. Sometimes the multicultural policyin India gets disturb due tomisunderstanding of caste stigma and socialstructure based on class culture and religion.Although it is so it is our duty asconscious individual and citizens of India torespect the Indian constitution and theprinciple of multiculturalism. So thateveryone could get a space to stand witheach other with equal dignity and to breath464 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedthe free air in the real multicultural countrylike India.References:1. Bhargav Rajeev. 2002. “TheMulticultural Framework” in K. Deb edMapping Multiculturalism. Jaipur :Rawat Publication.2. George C. J. 2000. Mulk Raj Anand : HisArt And Concerns. New Delhi: AtlanticPublication & Distributers.3. Joseph Sarah. 2002. “Do MulticulturalIndividuals Require a MulticuituralState” in K. Deb ed. MappingMulticulturalism. Jaipur : RawatPublication.4. Squires Judith. 2002. “Cultural Equalityand Diversity” in P. Kelly (ed.)Multiculturalism Reconsidered. U. S. A.Black well5. Thio, Alex. 1997. Sociology. New York :Longman6. Turner Tereme. 1994. “ Anthropologyand Multiculturalism : What isAnthropology that Multiculturalistsshould be Mindful of it?” in D.Goldberg (ed.) Multiculturalism : Acritical Reader. U. K. : Blackwell.465 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedA Study of the Multicultural Aspects in Naipaul’s The Mimic Men-- Dr. Rajkumar M. LakhadiveMahatma Basweshwar Mahavidyalaya, Latur (M.S)Abstract: Multiculturalism, as generally understood, refers to ideology and policy in Western nation - states, whichpreviously had an uncontested national identity. Another definition from Webster’s dictionary is “the preservation ofdifferent cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as state or nation.”Multiculturalism is the only headingunder which all immigrants people can come together and lead. Further many nations have adopted multiculturalism astheir national policy.1] Multiculturalism recognizes multiple citizenship. [The multiple citizenship itself usually result from the nationalitylaws of another country.]2] Multiculturalism promotes freedom for newspaper, television and radio in minority languages and also support forminority festivals, holidays and celebration.3] It gives freedom for music and art from minority group.4] It prefers program from minority group and encourages minority people for representation in politics.V. S. Naipaul i. e. Vidhadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, has been called the World’s Writer.The novel TheMimic Men is a profound and moving novel that evokes a colonial man’s experience in the postcolonial world. Bornof Indian heritage, raised in the British-dependent Caribbean island of Isabella, and educated in England, forty-year-oldRalph Singh has spent a life-time struggling against the torment of cultural displacement. Now in exile from his nativecountry, he has taken up residence at a quaint hotel in a London suburb. There he is writing his memoirs in an attemptto impose order on a chaotic existence. His memories lead him to recognize the cultural paradoxes of his childhood andlater life.The Mimic Men presents and examines a newly independent country in the Caribbean. This is the island-ofIsabella, with a pessimistic view. The previous colony has now become independent. But the colonized people of theisland are unable to establish order and govern their country. The colonial experience has caused the colonized toperceive themselves as inferior to the colonizer. Colonial education and cultural colonization have presented theEnglish world, with its rich culture, as a world of order, discipline, success, and achievement. As a result, the nativesconsider their own culture, customs and traditions, religion, and race to be inferior to those of their master. They try toidentify themselves with the empire. Since they are far away from their original homeland, their own original traditionsand religions have become meaningless to them. Thus, they cannot identify themselves with those remote rules andcodes. As they are different from the master in cultural, traditional, racial, and religious backgrounds, they can neversuccessfully associate themselves with the colonizer either. They suffer from dislocation, placelessness, fragmentation,and loss of identity. They become mimic men who imitate and reflect the colonizer’s life style, values, and views.These psychological problems cannot be solved after independence is achieved. The independence itself becomes aword but not a real experience. Without the colonizer, the colonized see themselves as lost in their postcolonial societythat fails to offer a sense of national unity and identity.The ‘cultural studies’ has gainedcurrency with the publication of RichardHoggart’s book titled Use of Literary in1957 and Reymond Williams’ book Cultureand Society in 1958. In 1964, a study centreof cultural studies was established atBirmingham. Cultural criticism, the upshotof cultural studies is an interdisciplinaryapproach. It includes Marxist social theory,gender study,, psychoanalysis and above allpost-colonial inquiries. Since culture isconsidered as a source of art and literature,cultural criticism has gained the ground.And therefore, Remond Williams’s termcultural materialism, Stephen Greenbalt’sterm cultural poetics, and Michael Baktin’sterm cultural prosaics - have becomesignificant in the cultural studies andcultural criticism.1] Cultural criticism examines how literatureemerges from influences and compels with466 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedother forms of discourse such as religion,science, advertising within given culture.2] It analyses the social contexts in which agiven text written and under what conditionit was - and - is produced.3] This criticism seeks the works of art interms of their relationship to other works, toeconomic conditions, to broad socialdiscourses (about child birth, women’seducation and rural decay).Multiculturalism, as generallyunderstood, refers to ideology and policy inWestern nation - states, which previouslyhad an uncontested national identity. In1970s and 1980s, it became a significantforce in American Society, as African-Americans, Latins, other ethnic groups theirown history. It is also a political concept. Itmeans the equal rights accorded to distinctcultural groups or traditions by laws andgovernment practices.Multiculturalism is the onlyheading under which all immigrants peoplecan come together and lead. Further manynations have adopted multiculturalism astheir national policy.1] Multiculturalism recognizes multiplecitizenship. [The multiple citizenship itselfusually result from the nationality laws ofanother country.]2] Multiculturalism promotes freedom fornewspaper, television and radio in minoritylanguages and also support for minorityfestivals, holidays and celebration.3] It gives freedom for music and art fromminority group.4] It prefers program from minority groupand encourages minority people forrepresentation in politics.V. S. Naipaul i. e. VidhadharSurajprasad Naipaul, has been called theWorld’s Writer. Naipaul is a British citizenwho writes in English. He was born inChageranas, a small town on the Carribbeanisland of Trinidad in August 1932. He wasthe grandson of Hindu Immigrants from EastIndia. He went to Oxford University,England. He earned a degree in Englishliterature in 1954 and remained in Englandto pursue a writing career. He supportedhimself by working as free lance written andEditor for the British BroadcastingCorporation Radio program ‘CarribbeanVoices’ which was broadcasted to the WestIndies. He currently resides in WillshireEngland. All elements lend themselves toimaginary him as almost Cozy BritishWriter happily enclosed with British society.He first married in 1955 with Petricia AnnHale. In 1996, he married with NadiraKhannum Alv, with whom he is currentlyliving.The Mimic Men [1967] isNaipaul’s sixth novel. This novel is aboutRalph Singh He is a displaced East IndianWest Indian from the Caribbean island ofIsabella. He is a disillusioned politician,now an exile in London, writing hismemoirs in a London hotel. It is anautobiographical work, using a flash-backtechnique constantly interweaving Singh’spast memories as a student in London, hismarriage to the English girl Sandra andreturn to Isabella. In the process, it alsobecomes a socio-political novelinterweaving pictures of the colonialeducation-system in Isabella, of thecorruption and disintegration of the mimicmen under neo-colonialism. The yearningfor a personal space remains at the heart ofthe novel. Against the background of racial,cultural arid political disorder, Ralph Singhtries to order his own disjointed andfragmented experience through the writingof this autobiography. Writing becomesidentity and rescues him from sterility. AsRai says, “The writing of his story, becomesthe very means to endure the terror,“shipwreck’ abandonment, and loneliness ofhis situation.” [Rai. 1982 : 126] For everyone of these mimic men, the past has beencut away. Like the water hyacinths, cut offfrom their moorings, a significant image,they seem to be adrift. Singh writes his autocritiqueprecisely to face his own situationand overcome the fear of a peripheralexistence. He starts leading a life of aresigned recluse, writing memoirs: ‘So thepresent reside/ice in London, which Isuppose can be called exile, has turned outto be the most fruitful.” [Naipaul, 1967 :248]467 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedThe novel The Mimic Men is aprofound and moving novel that evokes acolonial man’s experience in thepostcolonial world. Born of Indian heritage,raised in the British-dependent Caribbeanisland of Isabella, and educated in England,forty-year-old Ralph Singh has spent a lifetimestruggling against the torment ofcultural displacement. Now in exile from hisnative country, he has taken up residence ata quaint hotel in a London suburb. There heis writing his memoirs in an attempt toimpose order on a chaotic existence. Hismemories lead him to recognize the culturalparadoxes of his childhood and later life. Heattempts to fit in at school, his short-livedmarriage to an ostentatious white woman.But it is the return to Isabella and hissubsequent immersion in the roiling politicalatmosphere of a newly self-governing nationthat ultimately provide Singh with thenecessary insight to discover the crux of hisdisillusionment. It is through writing thismemoir or ‘auto-critique’ that he rediscovershimself, reviews and reconstructs themeaning of life.In The Mimic Men, Naipaul seemsto suggest that writing has itself become away of life and an achievement. Rama Nairobserves in her article [“Island” as aMetaphor of Creativity : This is a study ofV.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas andThe Mimic Men] “Through the ordering oftheir experiences as a reporter and as awriter, respectively, both Mr. Biswas andRalph Singh come closer to life, and writingbecomes not just a symbol of identity. Itbecomes the identity itself. This creative actenables them to come to terms with thereality of their own socio-cultural situation.”[Dhawan. 2000 : 179]The scene in this novel shifts fromrooming-house London to the Caribbeanisland of Isabella. a British dependency, andback to England again. The time coversnearly 20 years in the life of the narratorprotagonist,Ralph Singh. He is a native ofIsabella and later a political exile-refugeefrom it. Naipaul has lived in London sincehis Oxford years. He was born and raised inTrinidad, where his Indian grandfather hadsettled. The recollected events of the novelinclude Singh’s intermittent and furtivesexual history, his marriage to an Englishgirl. This is the girl whose Byzantine taste incosmetics includes painting her breastsgaudily, and the gradual corrosion and finaldisintegration of the marriage beneath thetropical moon. The Mimic Men also tells ushow Singh amassed a fortune, inconsequence of some clever, farsightedspeculation in middle-class housing estateson Isabella. Here is the odd story of hisfather. His father is a minor governmentfunctionary who leads a futile popularrising. Then he ends his career as a sort ofguru dispensing wisdom, between fasts, tohis black followers. Finally, there is Singh’sown rise to prominence as co-founder of ananti-colonialist, vaguely socialist movement.This movement projects Isabella into thestruggles of the third-world emergentnations for national independence.In the course of sketching his riseand fall as ideologist and demagogue, RalphSingh discourses on the nature of power andthe power-drive. He describes the complexsocial and racial - ethnic scene. From this,the movement derives its impulse - andinstability. This is the ethnic scene i.e. blackand white, subject and overlord, Indian andCreole. Ralph Singh rises because the timeis ripe. The vacuum is there. He falls in thewhirlwind of a power struggle, as the newmen make their move, because it is theirturn. All this sounds epic and dynastic. Thisis a ‘big’ novel boiling with the great eventsof our time, caught. But this is not reduced,in the scope of a small island-brighter andclearer for the intensity of focus. But this isnothing of the sort. Clamorous public eventsand private individual actions equally aremuffled by memory. The encounters aredescribed rather than enacted, recalled asfrom a great distance by the detachednarrator, all passion spent. Singh sits in ashabby-genteel English residential hotel. Heis a battered exile from history, writing hismemoirs-this novel. He is reflecting onexile as a condition of man, and his ownrelation to it. He keeps insisting that he isone of the “mimic men.” He is one who468 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedmust assume identities and fill the void withthe mere appearance of coherence. He isinsisting that, because he has been violatedby his immersion in life and history, he haswithdrawn from them.Naipaul weaves a lot of his ownautobiography into The Mimic Men too.There is the Trinidadian background, theexposure to western education, the sense ofloneliness and rootlessness suffered by anexile and the desire to succeed as a writerabroad. Ralph’s own involvement inIsabella’s nationalist movement and newtransitional government is also ultimatelydisillusioning. Ralph’s recounting of bothhis part in the nationalist movement and theresultant difficulties encountered by thetransitional government are experiencescommon to former colonies. He isfollowing a pattern that “has happened in atwenty countries.” [190] He is proud that heand Browne and their supporters can, byvirtue of their education and ‘courage’,“question the system itself.” [190] They planand strategize in Ralph’s house, an homageto Roman architecture and a reminder ofRome as a dual symbol of both an ancientWestern democracy. But their rhetoric andideas are not original or tailored to theirsituation but “borrowed phrases” from otherrevolutions in other places. [198] Nothingnew is created. Their efforts are tainted bythe past. Their lack of real power also makesRalph’s and Browne’s efforts at governancefutile since they are stopped at everymeaningful turn by those who truly holdpower. They realize the government cannotrun without the help of colonial officials andgovernment aid from London. [209] Theisland’s natural resources are alreadycontracted out to multinational firms with nochance of renegotiation. [216] They cannotnationalize their industries or expelexpatriate civil servants because Londonwill not allow it. [ 220] Ralph realizes thathis and his companions efforts have beenpointless. He learns “that success changesnothing.”[203] The island is still under thecolonial yoke. In Trinidad in the 1950’s,Ralph is accused of attempting to createracial divisions. [239] He is dismissed fromhis political party and his government postamid a period of communal tension andracial violence.The Mimic Men presents andexamines a newly independent country inthe Caribbean. This is the island-of Isabella,with a pessimistic view. The previouscolony has now become independent. Butthe colonized people of the island are unableto establish order and govern their country.The colonial experience has caused thecolonized to perceive themselves as inferiorto the colonizer. Colonial education andcultural colonization have presented theEnglish world, with its rich culture, as aworld of order, discipline, success, andachievement. As a result, the nativesconsider their own culture, customs andtraditions, religion, and race to be inferior tothose of their master. They try to identifythemselves with the empire. Since they arefar away from their original homeland, theirown original traditions and religions havebecome meaningless to them. Thus, theycannot identify themselves with thoseremote rules and codes. As they aredifferent from the master in cultural,traditional, racial, and religiousbackgrounds, they can never successfullyassociate themselves with the colonizereither. They suffer from dislocation,placelessness, fragmentation, and loss ofidentity. They become mimic men whoimitate and reflect the colonizer’s life style,values, and views. These psychologicalproblems cannot be solved afterindependence is achieved. Theindependence itself becomes a word but nota real experience. Without the colonizer, thecolonized see themselves as lost in theirpostcolonial society that fails to offer asense of national unity and identity.Ralph Singh is the narrator of TheMimic Men. He is a forty-year-old colonialminister who lives in exile in London. Bywriting his memoirs, Singh tries to imposeorder on his life, reconstruct his identity. Hetries to get rid of the crippling sense ofdislocation and displacement. In otherwords, Singh is the representative ofdisplaced and disillusioned colonial469 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedindividuals. The colonization is depicted asa process that takes away their identity,culture, history, and sense of place. Thus,the novel considers the relationship betweenthe socio-political and the psychologicalconsequences of imperialism. [Thieme. 1987: 113] This means that to read the novel justfor its politics is to destroy its emphasis onthe psychological problems of colonialpeople. [King. 1993 : 72] In his room in ahotel in a London suburb, Singh reevaluateshis life in the hope of achieving order. Thisis the place in which he is born and he isassociated with chaos. As he says, “to beborn on an island like Isabella, an obscureNew World transplantation, second-handand barbarous, was to be born to disorder.”[118]As a child, Singh responds to hissense of abandonment by dreaming of India,the homeland, and of his origin. He readsbooks on Asiatic and Persian Aryans anddreams of horsemen who look for theirleader. He creates an ideal and heroic past.This is in conflict with the real-lifecondition in Isabella. For example, he goesto the beach house owned by hisgrandfather. One day he sees the death ofthree children who are drowned in the seawhile the fishermen do nothing to savethem. At that point, he realizes that Isabellacannot be the ideal landscape he is searchingfor. As Thieme has observed, the beachscene refers to the myth of Perseus who wassaved from being drowned in the sea byDictys, a fisherman and a hero. This heropresents a contrast with the passive andselfish Carib-African fishermen. Hence,Singh’s experience on the beach makes himtoo aware of the distance between Isabellaand his true, pure world. He is completelyshocked when his father sacrifices Tamango,the race horse. He is aware of the symbolicsignificance of such an act in Hindutradition. Singh idealizes his Hindu past andculture. He is in fact unable to understandHinduism. This sacrifice causes Singh to seean Indian world that is in contrast with thenoble and ideal realm of imagination. Hindurituals have lost their meaning in Isabella asthe people have lost their connection withIndia, its culture, customs and traditions.Thus, by leaving India and going to theCaribbean islands, the Indians are doomedto isolation and dislocation. Singh suffersfrom ‘genetic’ dislocation. This dislocationrefers to the condition of the East Indians inthe Caribbean. They crossed the kala pani[black water].Singh does not follow anychronological order in his writing but beconstantly moves backwards and forwards.He writes about his childhood andadulthood, his life in Isabella and inEngland, his political career and marriage,and his education to give shape to the pastand his experiences, and to understandhimself. Therefore, according to RichardKelly, Singh is the centre of his small world,and his childhood, political carrier, andeducational background. By presentingdifferent times, places, and situations, hetries to put the parts together to complete thepuzzle and rewrite his life. He considers thenotions of colonization, decolonization,history, culture, race, and politics, to writehis own story and to give meaning to hisexistence. Hence, the novel The Mimic Menpresents Singh’s desire to learn “what itmeans to be a colonial subject in apostcolonial society.”[Cudjoe. 1988 : 99]The constant shifts between the past, thepresent, and the future may also reflectSingh’s internal chaos. This technique issuitable for presenting social andpsychological disturbances. The irony is thatin his search for order, Singh is unable tofollow a chronological pattern to imposeorder on his writing. Writing becomes anactivity by means of which he can find thereasons for his failure. There are somethings to be discussed - from what he writeswe can learn, like him, how colonialexperiences have affected and shaped hislife and personality. As he is born todisorder, Singh longs for a sense of controlover his life. Therefore, he turns to writingwhich becomes a ‘means of releasing’ fromthe “barren cycle of events” [White. 1975 :180] This is through the expression andpresentation of the events that he can reducethe pain of being a displaced colonial man.470 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedThe act of writing his memoirs provides himthe final solution to his sense of dislocation.This is because, through writing, he is ableto take control of the fragments of his pastand shape them into a spiritual andpsychological autobiography.Ralph’s conscious and imaginativeidentification with Britain and the Westaffects him psychologically in a number ofinterrelated ways. He considers his origins.He is descended from a line of ‘theunimaginative, unenterprising, andoppressed’ which is ‘a cause for deep, silentshame.’ [83] This fits with Memmi’scontention that “love of the colonizer issubtended by a complex of feelings rangingfrom shame to self-hate.” [121] Ralph’ssense of shame leads him as a child towithdraw more and more from the peopleand activities around him. He looks forwardto escaping to London and the Europeanlandscapes that are his proper backdrop. Heconceives of himself as protected by theWest. Ralph finds instead that London doesnot welcome him. He is not in his rightfulplace after all. He fails to integrate into theideal culture presented to him throughbooks. From childhood, Ralph haddisowned Isabellan history and culture. Yethe doesn’t find a place in British societyeither. Memmi discusses Ralph’s situationas a common experience among colonizedpersons who emulate the colonizer: Ralphfeels estranged from both cultures andexperiences a crisis in identity. The result isa persistent and pervasive sense ofemotional emptiness. His identity has noculture to center around. He becomes thedouble, yet hollow hybrid colonial subject.He literally loses a feeling of place, or hissense of identification with a place. Heequates placelessness with loss and disorder.[154] This primary experience in Londonserves to propel Ralph into an acceleratingdownward spiral of emotional distress, loss,and growing sense of helplessness andfutility.V. S. Naipaul’s novel The MimicMen is the fictional memoir of protagonistRalph Singh. This is written in a boardinghouse in London. This is a retrospective,first-person account of Ralph’s life. Thisaccount is ranging over his childhood in thefictional West Indian island of Isabella, hisuniversity days in London where he meetsand marries his wife. This novel is anaccount of his somewhat successfulbusiness and political careers back inIsabella. With all the particular details,Ralph Singh is also a prototypical colonialcharacter. He is an intelligent and sensitiveperson. He is confused by the plural butunequal society he’s raised in and for whomidentity is a primary issue. This is becausethe story is related through flashbacks andmemories. Ralph has the opportunity toweave in reflection with narrative and selfanalysiswith exposition. Ralph admitshimself that his feelings, his actions, his lifefit in with ‘patterns’. In this novel, Ralph’ssense of alienation, his experiences as acolonial politician, his struggle with a senseof personal identity, and his inability toconnect with others are linked as variousexpressions of Ralph’s sense of loss anddisconnectedness. These experiences andreactions also fit into general patterns ofcolonized persons acting within ‘typical’colonial situations. Ralph, his wife, and thesocial set they associate with are also apartfrom the rest of Isabcllan society. Themembers of this group, like Ralph, have “allstudied abroad and married abroad.” Theywere “a group to whom the island was asetting” and for whom “the past had beencut away.” [55] They represent what FrantzFanon calls an ‘underdeveloped middleclass.’ This is the result of an anemiccolonial economy that cannot support a vitalmiddle class engaged in production asfinanciers or captains of industry. This isengaged in intermediary activities likesmall-scale business, agriculture, and theprofessions. [149-50] Ralph Singh’sinterests and those of his social setepitomize “the profoundly cosmopolitanmold.” [Fanon. 1963 : 149] Thiscosmopolitan mold is of this class mind-setfor whom the ‘narrowness’ of island life is aconstant contradiction.The narrator Singh’s colonialeducation has taught him that the mother471 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedcountry, England, is the symbol of order.When he studies English culture and history,he feels that his own culture is inferior tothat of the colonizer. Therefore, Singh’scolonial education has caused him tobecome a homeless man with no self-image.Singh keeps asking himself whether he isthe product of his colonial education. Heboth recognizes and criticizes colonialmimicry. But he also knows that he cannothelp being a mimic man as he is “a specificproduct of a particular socioeconomicformation called colonialism.” [Cudjoe.1988 : 100] In his attempt to find hisidentity and the ideal landscape, Singh goesto London only to realize that the city doesnot promise anything to an East Indiancolonial subject as he can never identifyhimself with it. In London, Singh realizesthat he can never be an Englishman in spiteof his public school education, and that onecan be English only if he is born in England.One of the critics Louis Simpson haspointed out that the West Indians can onlyface dislocation in the metropolis : “Thedescriptions of the immigrant’s life in “TheMimic Men” show how disillusioning thatlife could be. Nothing would have preparedthe West Indian for the English climate orthe dreariness of living in a boarding house.Confronted with greasy wallpaper and a gasmeter into which you had to feed shillings tokeep warm, he would have had longthoughts.” [Simpson. 1984 : 574]As Bruce King has claimed, byleaving India and going to the Caribbeanislands, the Indians are doomed to isolationand dislocation : “The process of losingone’s Indianness started with leaving India.Thai was the original sin, the fail. After thatIndian traditions could only either decay intodeadening ritual or become diluted,degraded and eventually lost through outsideinfluences and intermarriage withothers.” [King. 1993 : 68] Ralph’s sense ofidentity and consciousness of possibilityappear greatly reduced. Ralph Singh seemsunable to adjust and search a whole identityfrom the fragments of his life. He is caughtin the empty space between two cultures andtwo identities. The writing of V. S. Naipaulindicates a probable and continuing effort onthe author’s part to make sense of the worldand of his situation. This is the situation ofthe formerly colonized. In writing, Naipaulhimself is struggling to imagine analternative to Ralph Singh’s ‘solution’ inThe Mimic Men. The Mimic Men is brilliantin its analysis of the historical legacy ofcolonialism. Some of its political andpsychological effects, the issue, even thepossibility, of political and personaltransformation is hardly raised. The wholeidea of transformation in the novel is itselftransformed into sterile acceptance. Ralph’spolitical experiences raise the interrelatedissues of nationalism, independence, anddemocracy. These experiences serve tointroduce the possibility of creating a bettersociety only to discount it. Ralph concludes“The truth of our movement lay in theRoman house, the court inside, the guardoutside.”[196] The movement was simplythe conceptual abstractions of a small groupisolated from the mass of people. As avictim of the colonial education system andcurriculum, Singh has always beenencouraged to imitate the empire and tobecome a ‘mimic man’: “My first memoryof school is of taking an apple to the teacher.This puzzles me. We had no apples onIsabella. It must have been an orange; yetmy memory insists on the apple. The editingis clearly at fault, but the edited version is allI have.” [90]By presenting different times,places, and situations, he tries to put theparts together to complete the puzzle andrewrite his life. He considers the notions ofcolonization, decolonization, history,culture, race, and politics, to write his ownstory and to give meaning to his existence.Hence, the novel presents Singh’s desire tolearn “what it means to be a colonial subjectin a postcolonial society.’’ [Cudjoe. 1988 :99] The constant shifts between the past, thepresent, and the future may also reflectSingh’s internal chaos. As John Thieme hassuggested, this technique is suitable forpresenting “social and psychologicaldisturbances.” [1987 : 114] However, theirony is that in his search for order, Singh is472 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedunable to follow a chronological pattern toimpose order on his writing. Still, at least,writing becomes an activity. By means ofthis, he can find the reasons for his failure.From what he writes we can learn, like him,how colonial experiences have affected andshaped his life and personality. As what hesays cannot be reduced to what is being saidexplicitly. Like thought itself and behaviour,it bears the weight of the other. The other ofthis, we are all unaware or which we halfrefuse. [Lemaire 1977 : 40] As he is born todisorder, Singh longs for a sense of controlover his life. Therefore, he turns to writingwhich becomes a “means of releasing” fromthe “‘barren cycle of events.” [White 1975 :180] As Kelly has pointed out, “It isthrough the expression and presentation ofthe events that he can reduce the pain ofbeing a displaced colonial man: the act ofwriting his memoirs provides him the finalsolution to his sense of dislocation, forthrough writing he is at last able to takecontrol of the fragments of his past andshape them into a spiritual andpsychological autobiography.”[1989 : 90]References:Hensen, Michael. “Guest Editor’sIntroduction to V.S. Naipaul and hisWorks : A Borderline Case?” TheAtlantic Literary Review, Vol. 3.No.1, Jan.-Mar. 2002. v-viii.Cudjoe, Selwyn R. V. S. Naipaul : AMaterialist Reading. Amherst : TheUniversity of Massachusetts Press,1988.Dhawan, R. K. Indian Writing In NewMillennium. New Delhi : IndianAssociation for English, 2000.Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of theEarth. New York : GroveWeidenfeld, 1963.Kelly, Richard. V. S. Naipaul.NY: Continuum, 1989.King, Bruce. Modern Novelists: V. S.Naipaul. Hong Kong : Macmilllan,1993.Lemaire, Anika. Jacques Lacan. Trans.David Macey. London: Routledge,1977.Naipaul, V. S. The Mimic Men. London :Penguin Books Limited, 1967. [Allthe parenthetical references hereafterare taken from the same publication.]Rai, Sudha. V. S. Naipaul: A Study InExpatriate Sensibility. AtlanticHighlands, N.J. : Humanities Press,1982.Simpson, Louis. Disorder and Escapein the Fiction of V. S. Naipaul.Hudson Review, 1984. 37 : 4.Thieme, John. The Web of Tradition:Usesof Allusion in Naipaul’s Fiction.Hertford : Hansib, 1987.White, Landeg. V. S. Naipaul : ACritical Introduction. London :Macmillan, 1975.473 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedA Study of the Multiculturalism in Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy--Pathan M. D.Sanjivni Mahavidyalaya, Chapoli, LaturAbstract: Multiculturalism is not a short term or limited to any state or nation. Multiculturalism is a globalphenomenon. It is the product of 20th century acceleration of movement between people and cultures. Althoughmulticulturalism is often discussed in the context of the particular American experience as the recognition of people ofdifferent cultural backgrounds and identities, international multiculturalism reflects a more widespread search forrecognition of people’s particular experiences within a larger shared, and often adopted, community. It is not limitedwith the American’s experience as it is a global phenomenon. It spread all over the world in U.K. Asia, Africa fromeach and every continent. No corner of the world remain without multiculturalism. Multiculturalism offers insight intothe ways in which cultures transform our identities. Influenced by factors such as nationality, gender, sexual identity,class, religion, and race, cultural experiences reinforce our lives like the roots of a tree. Trees can be replanted in thenew soil, but the new earth does not always offer the same sustenance as old, and the roots may struggle to secure thetrees as strongly as before. Immigrants too bring their own cultural experiences with them to their adopted country,yet retaining and perpetuating those experiences often involves new challenges, and the sense of displacement and lossthat often accompanies the journey is not always easily overcome.A Suitable Boy is a masterpiece, written by Vikram Seth, an Indian writer writing in English. Thisnovel is a set in political hotbed that characterized India during the post-independence, post partition decade of 1950s.This story examines the interworkings and travails of four families the Kapoors (Punjabi), the Mehras (Punjabi), theChatterjis (Bengali) and the Khans (Muslim).A Suitable Boy is a landmark in Seth’s career because it represents a sortof coming of age, of industrial, modern, and materialistic India as Shobha De’s fiction gives us a glimpse of thechanging trends of India and Indian English Writing. She is born and educated in New Delhi and Mumbai - themetropolitan cities. As she is educated from these cities, she is familiar and well-known with the life-styles of the socalledelite societies of the metropolitan cities of India which are totally influenced by materialism.A Suitable Boy is a masterpiece,written by Vikram Seth, an Indian writerwriting in English. This novel is a set inpolitical hotbed that characterized Indiaduring the post-independence, post partitiondecade of 1950s. This story examines theinterworkings and travails of four familiesthe Kapoors (Punjabi), the Mehras(Punjabi), the Chatterjis (Bengali) and theKhans (Muslim). Two primary characters inthis sotry are Mrs. Rupa Mehra and Lata,her marriageable but rebellious youngestdaughter. Mrs. Rupa Mehra is a widowwhose mission throughout the novel is totake care of family and in particular, thesearch for a suitable husband for Lata. Thepolitical hotbed, newly independent India,was marching towards the industrialization;Western wind of industrial revolution andculture were blowing in India. Thisindustrialization and Western wind ofculture makes the metropolitan cities morematerialistic.The novel opens with a weddingceremony that brings the main four familiestogether and thereby allows Seth to placehis main characters right away onto hiscanvas. Savita, Mrs Rupa Mehra’s elderdaughter is getting married to Pran, auniversity lecturer in English and the son ofthe State Revenue Minister Mahesh Kapoor.Also present at the function are anglicizedChatterji family who reside at Calcutta, andthe Khan family of the Nawab of Baitar, oneof the largest landowners in the state. Apartfrom the Khans, the other three families areinterlinked through marriages. In addition tothe network of relationships that emerge outof these family webs, Seth introduces a largecast of other characters drawn from acrossreligions, languages, class and caste.The four families the Mehras, theChatterjis, the Kapoors and the Khans are474 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedfrom the high class society. The high classof society is more materialistic incomparison of other two classes of society.Their materialistic life seems in weddingceremony of Savita and Pran. The guestsand hosts themselves from high-class whichseems in this ceremony. Their clothes,jewellery, and arrangement shows thematerialistic life of this class : “Hundreds ofsmall coloured lights strung through thehedge came on all at once, and the silk sarisand jewellary of the women glimmered andglinted even more brightly. The high, reedyshehnai music burst into a pattern of speedand brilliance.” [ASB : 6]The plot of A Suitable Boy is largelyset in the four metropolitan cities as thefictitious witty Brahmpur, the capital ofimaginary state of Purva Pradesh, Calcutta,Kanpur and New Delhi, Vikram Sethfocuses the high class families’ social andmaterialistic life from these cities : “Thenarrative is largely set in the fictitious city ofBrahmpur, the capital of the imaginary stateof Purva Pradesh, which lies in the heartlandof the Indian subcontinent. Seth hasacknowledged Brahmpur as a combinationof different geographic locations known tohim - Patna, Lucknow, AllahabadUniversity, the Banaras Ghats and Kanpur.Brahmpur lies on the bank of the riverGangas, and the narrative shifts in scenes asit follows the Gangas downstream to Patnaand then to Calcutta, and also upstream pastBanaras till Allahabad, and through remotevillage districts.”[Pandurang, Mala. 2005 :105.]These all locations are taken forshowing the metropolitan cities as we see it.This fictional city of Brahmpur halps Seth tomake his own statement about the Indiannational state in the 1950s, torn betweenspirituality and materiality, tradition andmodernity. We believe, in fact, that thenovel’s length is due to the author’s desire togive voice to more than one concept of thenation state as articulated in the text throughthe perspective of its many characters. Thefashionable commercial street namedNabiganj and the river Ganges might besaid to form an imaginary axis that marksthe city’s organization and division. Thefashionable street is the symbol ofmaterialistic life of Bramhpur and the sacredGanga is the symbol of spiritual life.As A Suitable Boy is a long saga thattakes place in the post- independence Indiain 1950s at the end of the colonial rule andthe beginning of the Indian republic andindustrialzaiton Indians slowly pace towardsthe materialism. As it is mentioned bySeemita Mohanty through industrialization,materialistic life enters in India and createsthe high-middle class : “Just as the IndustrialRevolution affected the England of Austen,Nehru’s socialist and Industrial Revolutionaffected the India of the fifties . Nirad C.Choudhari, a sharp observer of the Indianscene writes: “A far stronger force, in actualfact, the only positive force, is the Hindusinsatiable greed for money. … It is this loveof money which is the true motive behindthe industrialization in England and India,the insatiable greed for money, let to thebirth of a middle class. Mrs. Bennet andMrs. Rupa Mehra, members of this class,find it increasingly difficult to searchsuitable boys for their daughters.”[Mohanty, Seemita. 2007 : 170-171.]Industrialization comes along withIndependence in India which changes thesociety and the people from the society.Due to it, society becomes morematerialistic. Brahmpur is divided into twoparts by the busy and crowded Nabiganjstreet which divides the city into the475 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedWestern and Eastern districts. The districtto the East is modern and anglicized whileone to the West is old and traditional. Thus,on its Eastern sidewalks are all thefashionable stores with European nameswhich show the materialistic life as theeffect of Industrialization. This Eastern sideof the city, then, with its colonal sites, itslandscape fashioned in Western style, itswell-lit streets and its urban bourgeoisie,reflects some of the values of thismaterialistic life.A Suitable Boy is a landmark inSeth’s career because it represents a sort ofcoming of age, of industrial, modern, andmaterialistic India as Shobha De’s fictiongives us a glimpse of the changing trends ofIndia and Indian English Writing. She isborn and educated in New Delhi andMumbai - the metropolitan cities. As she iseducated from these cities, she is familiarand well-known with the life-styles of theso-called elite societies of the metropolitancities of India which are totally influencedby materialism. This reflects in her writing-“In Starry Nights, Shobha De exposes thesham and hypocrisy of the Bombay filmworld. The competitive, commercial city ofBombay has no times for failures. In such anundisguisedly materialistic environmenthedonism rules and there is no supportsystem for the poor people.” [Chakravarty,Joya. 2003 : 86]A Suitable Boy is about much morethan a girl choosing a suitable husband. It isan exploration of all the trials that must beendured before enough strength has beenacquired to do the right thing. It is anexploration of India’s development in allsectors after freedom. Seth offers a huge,thick and multilayered slice of Indian lifethat, in its versatility, serves to counter thewidespread false views of India. Hefocuses on the society which is the symbolof high society : “Just as George Eliotexamined the great political and socialchanges in an earlier England, so Seth,writing in 1990s, recreates the period oftransition (1951-52), after Independence(1947) - but without Eliot’s demandingcritical dimension.” [Mohanty, Seemita.2007 : 163]The picture of the Chatterji’s familyis a nice portrait of materialistic life ofmetropolitan city Calcutta. Calcutta is anapt choice for the setting of a cosmopolitanfamily like the Chatterjis, as Calcutta wasthe social, cultural and political capital ofthe British in those days, long before Delhibecame the centre of things. For writing onthe materialistic life in India in 1950-52,Seth should choose Calculta as it is the cityof changing India of that time.Seth points out that he too hadinitially held the impression that the 1950swas a period of idealism of the freedommovement but extensive reading ofnewspapers of the era proved, otherwisethat this was neither ‘an innocent time’ nor‘a period of great public probity’. Referringto the interviews that he conducted withpeople who have been young students at thattime.” [Paranjape. 1993 : 20-24] Seth pointsout that student riots and protests weretaking place in places like Lucknow tosupport this observation.” [Pandurang, Mala.2001: 108]As this era was the beginning ofindustrialization and the beginning ofwithering idealism and rooting materialism.And this reflects in Vikram Seth’s work inA Suitable Boy after eight years hard task tocomplete the manuscript : “Seth hasprovided his readers with a kaleidoscopicview of post-Independence India in the476 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedearly years, which are in no way differentfrom today’s India. The scenes of political,social and individual turmoil are so muchcontemporaneous that they seem to betaking place in 1990s and not the 1950s.”[Mohanty, Seemita. 2007 : 169]A Suitable Boy focuses on theexperiences and entanglements of fourmoderately rich Indian families, connectedthrough marriage or friendship, at a price oftime when India was experiencing her postindependenceturbulences. These four highclassfamilies represent post-independentIndia’s high-class society which was underthe influence of Western wind that should bematerialistic due to industrialization.Apart from what Seth sets out to do,what has been realty done in A Suitable Boyis an outstanding achievement for an IndianEnglish writer today. It is bothcomprehensive and compact - an ableaccount of many forces that operated in theIndian society in the years immediately afterIndependence and a very interesting analysisof the dash of personalities, convictions andcultures. A Suitable Boy is both a reflectionof the contemporary becoming materialisticsociety and a steady attempt to probe intothat and determine how best that can beshaped and controlled.A Suitable Boy is primarily aboutthe social, religious and familiar customs ofIndian and her people with the numerouscharacters serving as the tools to illustratethe veracity of these customs. It is structuredinto nineteen well-crafted sub-sections thatallow Seth to move back and forth whiletelling the story of four families - theMehras, the Kapoors, the Khans and theChatterji’s who are related to each other bymarriage and friendship. Here it can bediscussed that the members of these fourfamilies have the materialistic attitude.Each family has a minimum of fourmembers who in one way or the otherexperience a series of turbulent emotions,which slowly season them towards life andits adversities. In addition to theseindividuals, there are also hordes of othercharacters who contribute, either in a majoror in a minor way to the development andthe progress of the plot. In A Suitable Boy asmany more characters, some are major andsome are minor characters. In these majorand minor characters, some are, in thebeginning of novel, spiritual or ideal but atthe end to the novel, there is total change inthem and they become materialistic wheresome characters from the beginning to theend remain materialistic. This materialisticattitude of these characters have thesignificant role in developing the plot andstory of this novel.In the novel, Seth has allowed hisheroine the opportunity of choosing betweenthree men who are totally different fromeach other in their appearance as well as intheir behaviour. But there is similarity in allof three’s materialistic attitude towardstheir life. Lata’s first experience of romanticlove is with the dashing Kabir Durrani.Kabir is a student of history at theuniversity, and is the son of an eccentric,though brilliant, professor of mathematics.Their ‘passionate’ encounters are restrictedto boat rides up the Gangas and brief stolenkisses. When Lata learns from Malati thatKabir is Muslim, her immediate reaction isthat this would distress her mother, Muslimsuitor is however not solely based on Mrs.Mehra’s opposition on religious grounds.Lata shares none of her mother’s caste orreligious prejudices. Initially Lata suggeststo Kabir that they run away together.However, Kabir does not elope with Lataand this is not really because he foresees the477 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandeddifficulties of an interreligious marriage inIndia of the 1950s, but because he has plansof his own upward mobility. He intendsjoining the Indian Foreign Service and seesLata’s impulsive decision to elope isimpractical. For him, his love for Lata is notimportant in life, in comparison of his job,settlement which shows his materialisticattitude towards the life. Job, service andsettlement are more important than love forLata.There are three classes in society :high-class, middle-class and lower-class.The one more new class emerged in thesociety is the upper middle class which isthe product of industrialization. A SuitableBoy focuses on the class-discriminationfrom the sub plots - Rasheed from zamindarfamily and Kachheru their servant, JagatRam, Arun and his peon. The upper middleclass and high-class dominate the lowerclass. In the same way, this upper-middleclass exploits the lower-class. Materialconcentrated class dominates the otherclasses of society. The material isconcentrated to the high-class society whichdominates the lower-class society.The domination of Rasheed’szamindar family on Kachheru, the Chamaartenants who had worked for years on theirland of their rights. Rasheed finds out thathis family plans to cheat Kachheru. Hecompels the village Patwari who is in chargeas the village record-keeper and accountantto transfer the ownership of his own piece ofland to Kachheru, a servent who has servedhis family loyally for over forty years, andwho is oblivious to the new legislation.When his family comes to know of thisdeed, both he and Kachheru are severelypenalised for his ‘interference’ into inexisting system. The idealist Rasheedpenalized in this materialistic world andKachheru from the lower class is too theprey of this high-class society which is theproduct of this materialism.There are occasional interventionsin the novel that creates a classdiscriminationin new Indian nation’ssociety. One such example is that of thesilent presence of Jagat Ram who has beenchosen by the Jatav community of shoemakers,a lower class, as their spokesperson.They are demanding a right to participate inthe annual Ram-Lila procession heldduring the Dassera festival. Yet Jagat Ramis careful of his role. He recalls a world ofcruel class-discrimination and castediscrimination,far from the high class,upper-middle class, the pleasantries of theMehra and Chatterji households :“Childhood hell in a village, his brutaladolescence in a factory, and the viciousworld of competitors and middlemen,poverty and dirt in which he found himself,had served to turn him into something of aphilosopher.”[1038]When Haresh invites him for hiswedding the temporal context of the novel,“the two worlds did not mix - the upperclass and the lower class. He knew it, it wasa fact. That a Jatav from Ravidaspur’slower-class should be present as a guest at awedding at the house of Dr. Kishan ChandSeth would cause social distress.” [p. 1334]He eventually does attend the marriage, butwitnesses the celebration from the LandReform Bill. The no-land members from thelower-class in the villages that he knew of,none owned any land. Fewer still would beable to make use of paper guarantees of theland reform.Kachheru, who has worked forRasheed’s family since he was ten, and livesin the single-thatched room which he and his478 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedwife share at night with a cow. Theoverworked Kachheru is on call at any timeof the day for any odd job, and in return, hehas been allowed a small plot of land tosharecrop whenever his master did notrequire his time. Kachheru has never raisedhis head in rebellion, appropriate for thesubservient caste to which he belonged. He,however, does not stand in his son’s waywhen he desires to get out of the casteridden,poverty-stricken, back-breaking life,to which he and his forefathers had beencondemned to live.” [531] This shows theclass- discrimination in that society. MaheshKapoor was indirectly responsible forKachheru’s reduction to the status of alandless labourer. Indirectly, the higherclassdepressed the lower-class.The reader cannot help but be struckby the ‘invisibility’ of Arun’s obedient peonwho patiently waits for his ‘brown Sahib’in the pouring Monsoon rain. The peon isattributed no speech, and his presence ishardly acknowledged by his boss : “[Arun’s]peon who had been standing in the porch ofthe building, started when he saw hismaster’s little blue car. It has been raining sohard that he had not seen it until it hadalmost stopped. Agitated, he opened theumbrella and rushed out to protect theSahib. The peon, though several inchesshorter than Arun Mehra, contrived to holdthe umbrella over the sacred head as Arunsauntered into the building.” [420] This isthe scene, the significant picture of theupper-class domination of lower-class.It is true that themes of a majorityof novels fall under the realism. The realityof that 1951’s society is depicted in thenovel as the materialistic society,materialistic attitude of characters, and theclass-discrimination. This novel makes usaware of the fact, with a vast range ofcharacters, some of totally influenced bymaterialism. Arun, Meenakshi, Amit,Kakoli, Dipankar, Lata, Haresh, Kabir, Mrs.Rupa Mehra, Maan , Firoz, Nawab Sahib,Mr. Sahgal are perfect examples of such amaterialistic attitude and life-style. Thismaterialistic attitude brings progress, newdimension in some characters’ life - asLala’s decision to marry Haresh maybrought the stable life. Haresh’s decision towork at Czech Shoe Company. Dipankar’sdecision of taking up banking as aprofession instead run behind spiritualism. Itbrought stable life for him.Lata, Haresh, Dipankar, Mrs. RupaMehra get nice fruit of their materialisticattitude whereas Mr. Sahgal, Arun,Meenakshi, Varun, Kakoli, all these, thematerialistic attitude takes them on thewrong path of the life. Due to thesecharacter’s materialistic attitude, societybecomes polluted. This materialistic attitudeis responsible for the demoralization of thesociety. Materialism takes the place ofidealism and spiritualism in this industrialand modern world. Today, the whole worldis influenced by materialism. Materialismhas some merits and some demerits. As itsmerits, it brings the comforts, prosperity andprogress in the human life and in the societytoo. As its demerits, it is responsible fordemoralization, corruption. These demeritsof materialism pollutes the society and takesthe society towards its worst position astoday’s high-class society.References:Chakravarty, Joya. 2003. Indian Writing InEnglish Perspectives. New Delhi : AtlanticPublishers.479 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedMohanty, Seemita. 2007. A CriticalAnalysis of Vikram Seth’s Poetry andFiction. New Delhi : Atlantic.Pandurang, Mala. 2001. Vikram Seth’sMultiple Locations : MultipleAffiliation. New Delhi : Rawat.Seth, Vikram. 1993. A Suitable Boy.New Delhi : Penguin. [All theparenthetical references hereafter aretaken from the same publication.]480 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedMulticulturalism in Anita Desai’s Bye Bye Blackbird-Raimule N. J.,Pansare Mahavidyalaya,Arjapur Dist. Nanded (MS)The Present Paper aims at exploringhow multiculturalism as a social theoryfunctions and plays an important role in literarystudies in general and to apply this newlyemerged theory to the novel by Anita Desai’sBye Bye Blackbird in particular. This paper isdivided into two sections. The first section willthrough light on the nature, scope and meaningof multiculturalism as a social theory and in thesecond section this theory is applied to the novelof Anita Desai, Bye Bye Blackbird and its closeanalysis in this regard. Multiculturalism hasacquired wide range in literary studies.Before dealing with the meaning andexplanation of this theory, multiculturalism, it isvery essential to see the definition of culture, itsnature and scope as well. Culture is one of themost stimulating and motivating subjects ofstudy in the academic field, which includesAnthropology, History, Sociology, and LiteraryStudies. According to E. B. Tylor, “Culture isthat complex whole which includes knowledge,belief, art, morals, law, customs and any othercapabilities and habits acquired by man as amember of Society.” 1This definition emphasizes that cultureis a social heritage and is the gift of society tomankind. The anthropologists, in a way havemade a distinction between ‘Culture’ and‘Civilization.’ Culture is regarded as the moral,spiritual, and intellectual attainments of man,where as ‘Civilization’ is something outside usand consists of material culture, technology andsocial institution.Literature and Culture:Literature is the realistic depitiction ofhuman life. Literature embodies social, culturaland universal values, which can affect humanlife in various ways. Literary creations have itsroots in various social spheres such as language,economics, politics, race, ethnicity, class, genderand culture. The novel, as a form of literaturehas greater scope in critiquing human life andsocial culture. The canvas of the novelist is vastand as a social being he can depict at any length,the challenging relations of the life in theirsocial and cultural contexts and transforms themin to art.Multiculturalism:The term ‘Multiculturalism’ wasprimarily used in the U.S.A. in connection withthe demand of the black and the other minoritycommunities for equal representation inAmerican Society. As a movement‘Multiculturalism’ seeks to underscore the valueof distinctly different ethnic, racial, culturalcommunities, which can not allowed to melt intoa common culture.In order to explain the framework ofMulticulturalism, the definition of TurnerTerence is very important. According to him,‘Multiculturalism’ is the post-modernist reactionto the delegitamization of the state and theerosion of the hegemony of the deminent culturein advanced capitalist countires” 2Multiculturalism also draws ideas frompost-colonial theory, which stands for the rightsof the marginalized and weaker sections ofsociety. Edward Said, one of the earliest postcolonialtheorists has critiqued theWestern/European altitude of superiority and theEuropeans prejudice against the non-westerncultures, especially African and Indian cultures.Multiculturalism has been adopted in thepolicy decisions made in the countries likeCanada, Australia, and U. K. As an officialpolicy Multiculturalism succeeds to create socialcultural harmony, mutual tolerance andrespected among different cultures. In a way it isa process of appreciating cultural diversity andenabling the visible minorities to attain equality481 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedand social justice. In order to make this termmore clear, the opinions of Judith Squires arevery important. According to him,‘Multiculturalism’ has become the topic of themoment, not only for political theorists but alsofor social theorists, sociologists, politicaltheorists and educationalists.” 3As a social theory multiculturalismbrings together different themes such as;harmonious co-existence of multiple culturesand sub culture, value of tolerance, equal valueand respect of all cultures, privileges protectionto minority cultures, cultural, religious andethnic diversity, socio-cultural harmony,equality, movement for social change andopposition to cultural domination. There iscultural pluralism in Multiculturalism, based onrace ethnicity and language. In this regard, AlexThio argues, “The co-existence of numerous subcultures can develop into Multiculturalism, astate in which all sub-cultures are equal to oneanother in the same society.” 4The major forms of Multiculturalism are:Democratic Multiculturalism recognizes thereality of cultural diversity and differences andgives them a political dimension. The themes ofit are social diversity and freedom, conservativeMulticulturalism is less accommodative, liberalMulticulturalism celebrates the value ofindividualism, corporate Multiculturalism arethe possibilities of global market based on thetransportation of knowledge and celebratesinternational comparativism.In this way the term Multiculturalism as asocial theory has become very important in theliterary theories at present. Now let us seeMulticulturalism in Indian society. As we havechosen Indian novel in English for multiculturalanalysis, it is very essential to seeMulticulturalism in Indian society.Multiculturalism is a multifaceted and flexiblesocial theory that keeps India integrated, thoughthe country’s social fabric is complex.Indian society is composed of peoplebelonging to a variety of religions, sects, castesand tribes. Every religious community has itsown culture, tradition, custom and way of life.The devotional work of social reformers helps tosolve the various problems in the traditionalIndian society. The great social reformers likeDr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi,Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma JotibaPhule have tried to remove all the bad andharmful customs, castes and religious problems.Taking into account, the post-modernScenario of Indian Multiculturalism, we notice anumber of changes and transformations. Due toglobalization and modernization, the world hasbecome a global village. As we know India is acultural society, which is dissected on the basisof religion caste and class. India has managed itsincreasing diversity and maintained unity bybalancing, individual and collective rights in itsconstitution.India’s anti-colonial, nationlist leadershad taken right step to promote her Multiculturalreality. Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru describes thenature of Indian society as ‘ Unity in diversity.’ 6Indian constitution is one of the most authenticdocuments of Indian Multiculturalism. Thispolicy framework of Indian government helpsthe minority group to protect their religion andculture.Now coming to the second section of thepaper, which deals with the application of theMulticulturalism theory to the novel by AnitaDesai, entitled, Bye Bye Blackbird. Theanalytical study of this novel simply shows howthis theory functions in different forms toresolve some socio-cultural problems that createwaves of friction and hostility in the world.Anita Desai is considered one of the mostaccomplished novelists, born in mussurie in1937 of mixed parentage, a Bengali father and aGerman woman, she was to be benefited by thediverse influences, which are reflected in hernovels.Anita Desai, in her novel successfullydepicted Asian immigrant’s problems especiallyIndian immigrants in England. The immigrantsof Asian Countries we are known as,‘Blackbirds’, in the land of white people. In thisnovel the novelist presents black birds asmarginalized, dislocated, rejected and unwantedforeigners staying in a country that has not482 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedaccepted them. It is very important to see thatwhy the outsiders migrated to England in suchlarge numbers.Before 1960, England had adoptedMulticulturalism as a policy to attract out sidersbecause England was in need of unskilled anduneducated workers for her material growth andeconomic prosperity. England has also acceptedMulticulturalism as a political weapon for rulingpeople of different cultures and background.People from all around the world with differentbackgrounds, religious mentalities, have came toEngland, a land of opportunity. The number ofIndian and others migrated to England in searchof job. The ethnic groups from various countriesbegan to sub-divide themselves according totheir linguistic, cultural and religious identities.As a result, England turned out to be a largeMulticultural country. But later on Englandstarted facing many problems due to the largeinflow of the immigrants. The natives belivedthat the immigrants as outsiders would invadetheir culture. So England, later on changed itsearly policy of Multiculturalism. As a result, thelarge number of Asian migrants were paid lessand were discriminated on the basis of color,caste, culture and religion. The novel, Bye ByeBlackbird has this background.Adit Sen is the protagonist of the novel,‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ lives a settles life as animmigrants in London with his English wifeSarah, a leading female character of the novel.Dev, Adit’s friend comes to England forstudying at the London school of economics.The plot of the novel moves around the variousexperiences of these characters, in London. AditSen is first of all fascimated by the native cultureand then disillusimed by it. Initially for himEngland is a land of opportunity (19) andmaterial prosperity. Thus Adit here seems to bevery critical everything of Indian. He says‘nothing goes right at home – there is famine,flood, there is drought or epidemic always (129).As an Asian immigrant, he sharplycriticizes Indian way of life and appreciatesBritish culture, “I love it here, I am so happyhere; I hardly notice the few drawbacks – did goback. Three years ago, when I got engaged toSarah and my parents wanted me to come withher.”(17) According to Adit, occident promotesautonomy and liberty, the orient is anembodiment of restrictions and limits. We cannotice in him is a kind of fascination for aseemingly superior culture which is indicative ofhis colonial handover. Adit in a way is attractedtowards English life which separates him fromhis ‘home’ culture. England offers to him acarefree life. On the contrary India offers him alife of inconveniences and difficult style ofexistence. England for him is a symbol ofrefinement and sophistication while India is ahome of crudities and dirt.Adits fascination for British culture isnot so objectronable, but the way he looks athime ‘home’ culture is not acceptable in thelight of the theory of Multiculturalism, becauseMulticulturalism acknowledges culturalequality. Adit also admires his wife Sarah, “I seegold – everywhere – gold like Sarah’s goldenhaird (19). Adit’s disenchantment with Englishway of life is timely. Anita Desai uses hisfrostration to emphasize the value of one’s owncultural identity. The mistake he commits is tocreate a false foreign identity in a hostilesurrounding. The shock he receives from varioussources in England save him from damaging hisself under the pressure of racial discrimination.This visit to his wife’s house and the cold andinsulting treatment he receives there isunbearable. He comes to know that his motherin-lawhates him. At one gathering Bella, callshim an ‘ Indian’, a ‘Foreigner’ and a ‘dirtyAsian.’ The realizes that he cannot be a normalhuman being in England.The transformation in the character ofAdit now is from anglophilia to Anglophobia.He says, “I cannot live here anymore – our liveshere – they have been so unreal, don’t you feelit? Little India in London – (203).” The novelist,thus wishes that Adit’s shaking off of ahegemonic impact should be ideally the movethat every Indian should take Anita Desai, thusmoves from particular to general. Thesignificance of Adet’s transformation lies in hissuccessful attempt to break away from allbondages of the empire. Another importantcharacter in this novel is Sarah Sen. By marrying483 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedAdit, a colored Indian, Sarah has violated certainunwritten codes and conservations of colorconscious white society. After her marriage,Sarah is humiliated by her colleagues at herschool, where she is secretary and also by herpupils of the school. She loneliness that she feelsin her own white society becomes completewhen even her parents welcomed newly marriedcouple in a cold manner. On the contrary she canfeel her identity and freedom when she isamongst strangers. In a sense, she is lonelinessin her own native land.Sarah does not like to be a passivesufferer for long. She feels marginalization atevery place, home, school and society. Sherealizes that unity of self can be achieved onlyby renouncing and denouncing her own cultureand society, which are white and hegemonic.She wants to get back her own identity as Sarahalthough she is not unhappy with her identity asMrs. Sen. Sarah has great faith in the institutionof marriage and bond of love that has sustainedit over centuries. For recreating her own identityand also for maintaining the validity ofmarriage, she decides to settle down in India, theland of her husband. It is a land that still holdssome respect for marital relationships. It is aland that has accommodated people of diversebackgrounds, cultures and religions forcenturies. It is Sarah’s decision matches Aditsdisillusionment and disenchantment withEnglish culture and manners. Bitter experiencesin England teach him to respect his own countrywith all its weaknesses and drawbacks whatIndia’s multiculturalism underscores, at least inprinciple, is the work of human being. Sarah’sdecision to move India with her Indian husbandhas an element of protest it. Sarah establishes ablood relative with an India and further adopts aBritish Colony as her own Motherland.Sarah’s marriage symbolicallyunderscores the need to accept and respect allkinds of diversities cultural, religious, social andideological and develops a sense of tolerance,patience and open mindedness for bearence.Anita Desai uses Adit’s frustration to emphasizethe value of one’s own cultural identity. Sarahloses her identity in her own home land, whiteAdit loses it in an alien land. Sarah and Adit’sdecision to come back to India is the trueestablishment of true multiculturalism, whichhas international dimensions. This stand bearsthe multicultural principles of peaceful coexistence.Sarah has recognized the value ofIndian spirituality and has decided to givelessons in Yoga (42).Third important character in the novel isDev, Adit’s friend comes to England studying atthe London school of economics. His initialencounter with the natives and their culturebrings unhappiness and discontent. This culturaldifferences become more when Dev moves insearch of job. Here he gets shockingexperiences, he says, “I wouldn’t live in acountry where I was insulted and unwanted (17).He wants to go back to India. Being a strangerhe calls London ‘a Jungle city’”(10), people livewithout any social concern. Dev’s confrontationwith western indifferences is the suddenrealization that Indian culture is accommodative.It is concerned about other’s problems andpersonal sorrows.As a social theory, multiculturalismcentres around the basic idea that every culturepresents only a limited range of worldviews. Itrequires relation to the other culture.In this way, Anita Desai in her novel presentsthe Indian society which is a perfect example ofMulticulturalism which is not seen in Englishsociety.References:1) Tylor, E. B. (1891). “Culture Defined inL. Closer and B. Rosenberg (eds.),Sociological Theory. London :Macmillan. P. 182) Turner, Terence (1994). “Anthropologyand Multiculturalism : What isAnthropology that Multiculturalistsshould be mindful of it? in D. Goldberg(ed.) Multiculturalism : A critical reader.U.K. Blackwell. P419.3) Squires, Judith. (2002). “Culture,Equality and Diversity” in P. Kelly (ed.)Multiculturalism Reconsidered. U.S.A. :Blackwell. P114484 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nanded4) Thio, Alex (1997). Sociology. NewYork : Longman. P445) Nehru, Pandit. (1946). The Discovery ofIndia. Calcutta : Signet Press. P.61-626) Desai Anita (1971). Bye Bye Blackbird.New Delhi : Orient Longman. (2001,5 thed.) (All page references in this paperare from this edition).Bibliography:1) B. R. Agrawal, M.P.Sinha (2003) MajorTrends in the Post Independence. IndianEnglish Fiction Atlantic Publishers andDistributors, New Delhi.2) Ashok Chaskar, (2010).Multiculturalism in Indian Fiction inEnglish. Atlantic Publishers andDistributers.3) Mithilesh K. Pandey (1999). RecentIndian Literature in English. AtlanticPublicans and Distributors, New Delhi.485 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedCultural Identity of Hindu Woman in Postcolonial Indian Novel WithSpecial Reference to Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters-Mrs.Asha G. Dhumal,Lokmanya Mahavidyalaya, Sonkhed,Tq. Loha Dist. NandedAbstract: Multiculturalism is a body of thought in political philosophy about the proper way to respond to cultural andreligious diversity. Mere toleration of group differences is said to fall short of treating members of minority groups as equalcitizens; recognition and positive accommodation of group differences are required through “group-differentiated rights,” aterm coined by Will Kymlicka (1995). Some group-differentiated rights are held by individual members of minority groups,as in the case of individuals who are granted exemptions from generally applicable laws in virtue of their religious beliefs orindividuals who seek language accommodations in schools or in voting. Other group-differentiated rights are held by thegroup qua group rather by its members severally; such rights are properly called group rights, as in the case of indigenousgroups and minority nations, who claim the right of self-determination. In the latter respect, multiculturalism is closely alliedwith nationalism.While multiculturalism has been used as an umbrella term to characterize the moral and political claims ofa wide range of disadvantaged groups, including African Americans, women, gays and lesbians, and the disabled, mosttheorists of multiculturalism tend to focus their arguments on immigrants who are ethnic and religious minorities (e.g.Latinos in the U.S., Muslims in Western Europe), minority nations (e.g. Catalans, Basque, Welsh, Québécois), andindigenous peoples (e.g. Native peoples in North America, Maori in New Zealand).It is believed that Indian women in generalhave no identity of their own. They belong totheir father before they are married and to theirhusband after they are married and in the oldage they have to depend on their sons.However, urban and metropolis educatedIndian women, immigrants and expatriates areclaiming their rights within their family andbeyond it. They are attempting to establish anew identity with their changing gender roles.For example, in a conservative family, ahusband used to represent in public affairs.Now most of elite young women represent andmanage the public and political affairs. Theseidentities of women are separate from theirhusband. Further, the working womenparticularly are to compromise and adjustthemselves as wife, mother, as an employeeperforming their household traditionalresponsibilities.Manju Kapur belongs to the group ofpostcolonial writers concerned with thewomen’s condition in male-dominated society.In the nineties, one notices a luxuriant growthof Indian English fiction. Arundhati Roy,Vikram Chandra and Vikram Seth havecreated waves in the English speaking worldby writing novels in Indian English idiom.These novelists have given a new dimension toIndian English novel. Manju Kapur, a Delhibased, Miranda House teacher of English, hassuccessfully presented the problem of Indianwomen in a joint family in male dominatedsociety. Her debut novel Difficult Daughterswon the commonwealth writers’ Best FirstBook Prize in 1999.Manju Kapur’s novel DifficultDaughters is a feminist literary work.A feminist writer primarily respondsto the way woman is presented inliterature. As B.K. Das puts it, “it hastwo basic premises : one, ‘women’presented in literature by male writersand the other of female writers fromtheir point of view.( Das:98)As a postcolonial feminist writer, sheintuitively perceives Virmati’s positions in themale dominated society and deals with herproblems with insight and authenticity. Thenovel seems to be Kapur’s tribute to hercountry’s celebration of fifty years ofindependence in which she makes her Virmati,a cult figure to fight against taboos, social andjoint family restrictions and the man-maderules in the traditional society.The novel reminds us some of thesituations during the Indian war ofIndependence when the socio-politicalcondition of the country was ravaged by thecommunal fire and ensuing partition. In thiskind of social surrounding, Kapur presents theproblems of an upper-middle class urban AryaSamaj Punjabi family in Amritsar in purelyimaginative reconstructions. The novelhighlights the issues like the awakening of thecountry for freedom, women education andfeminine freedom. The women characters inthe novel are divided into three generationswith their own values, mindsets andrelationships. The novel presents larger issuesof patriarchy, which denies women voice andfreedom set around the time of partition. Thenovelist expresses the condition of woman inthe society-particularly her lack of freedom topursue her studies, choose a career, and aboveall to choose her mate in life. She has nofreedom to marry a man of her choice.Basically, she has presented the women of the1940s, when women had no voice to asserttheir rights. But unlike the other. Virmati, the486 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedprotagonist, asserts against male chauvinismfor her right to education and economicindependence.Virmati is a complex character to bestudied as her suffering raises someissues of modern women and theirproblems. She is torn between familyduty, desire for education an illicitlove with an professor and herneighbour who is already married andhas two children. She loves herparents, family, education and theromantic professor. She looks afterher ten siblings as their “secondmother.(Kapur:98)Kapur has studied the problems ofVirmati as a socialist / Marxist feminist for thesituation and struggle for identity and selfexpression.For her, it appears that feminism isboth a concept and a movement in the presentcentury and in a new dimension tocontemporary thinking. She reflects onVirmati’s conflicts (both internal and external)and depicts the protagonist in a favourablelight. On the one hand, she was aware ofprofessor’s love for her but on the other shewas not ready to betray her father’s faith inher. Even though Virmati was sure about theprofessor’s position and status, she haddecided to marry him as “he was… asuccessful academic, a writer of books, aconnoisseur of culture, a disseminator ofknowledge,” and above all she had an idea, “Iwould be lucky if I found a husband like myfather’’.(144)The major part of the novel deals withthe problems of Virmati as a difficult daughterfor her parents. At the beginning of her love,she knew that “professor Sahib wasn’tformidable” (40) but later she finds her life indifficulty standing between “education versusmarriage.” (38) She becomes rebellious for theprofessor’s reluctance to marry in spite of herfrequent entreating and this enables her tounderstand the gratification of ‘male desire.’Realizing her position in all artificial barriers,she complains to the professor :I am in the position of being yoursecret wife, full of shame, wonderingwhat people will say if they find out,not being able to live in peace, studyin peace and why? And why? BecauseI am an idiot.( 137)Kapur’s Virmati is a new Hinduwoman of postcolonial India and stands as ametaphor to explore the possibilities formodern women in education and economicindependence who experiences humiliationand disillusionment in their colonial matrix.The novelist has raised the ‘question ofwomen’ during a political and socialmovement in colonial India for which.We may term a novel ‘feminist’ for itsanalysis of gender as sociallyconstructed-for its understanding thatchange is possible and that narrativecan play a part in it. Feminist fiction isthe most revolutionary movement incontemporary fiction-revolutionaryboth in that it is formally innovativeand in the it helped to make a socialrevolution. 4Vimati’s quest for identity is a“spiritual odyssey of the modern man who haslost his social and spiritual moorings and whois anxious to seek his roots.” 23 In love makingand relationship, both the families suffer andwomen characters search for self-identity anddesire to assert their rights. Virmati’s strugglein the Darwinian theory for existence is onlyfor her love with the professor. Her love andmarriage with the professor has led him to anintellectual and scholastic perfection. IfProfessor’s marriage to Virmati is on hisintellectual selection, it appears quite Shavianin Kapur’s theory of man and superman butVirmati’s resentment with her family is quiteIbsenian like that of Nora’s in A Doll’s House.The novel evokes some concern overthe problems of women in a male-dominatedsociety where laws for women are made bymen in its social matrix and a husband standsas a ‘sheltering tree’ under which a womanproves her strength through her suffering.Kapur has defended this through her Virmatiwith an idea that“The emergence of feminist ideas andfeminist politics depends on theunderstanding that, in all societieswhich divide the sexes into differingcultural, economic or politicalspheres, women are less valued thanmen. Feminism also depends on thepremise that women can consciouslyand collectively change their socialplace.”(A. Rangacharya:140-1)For Professor Harish, Virmati is anenigma, a riddle and an essential partner forhis physical, emotional, intellectual andspiritual satisfaction. While professor’s lovewith Ganga is sacred and unsatisfactory, withVirmati it is platonic and based on intellectualunderstanding. The ‘winds of misfortune’ inboth the families blow for Virmati for which487 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedshe has a ‘bizarre obsession of grief’ and in ahuman predicament she searched for her selfautonomy.Kapur’s women are born out oftypically Indian situation as in ShashiDeshpande’s Roots and Shadows and IsmailMerchant’s Cotton Fry. They are caughtbetween culture and modernity, selfaggrandizementand self-realisation andbetween self-assertion and confrontation.Virmati’s problems and conflicts areexistential and her struggle for self-assertionleads her to self-alienation.Like her contemporary Shobha De,Kapur has presented the intimateunderstanding of women and their problems.The novel appears also as a ‘personaltestament’ of a young woman and her Virmatiis the “creation of an Indianconsciousness.”(Green:2) Kapur has presentedher in “the way of female imaginationresponded to pressures and oppressions ofpatriarchal culture.”(Spenser:18-19)The post-colonial writers visualize theemergence of new woman. The new womanwould be more emancipated, economicallyindependent and non-conformist in nature.The New Woman’s striving for anidentity of her own is also not just an imitationof the west. This point is made very clearwhen we look at the issues before women inthe two societies. In the west, it is now purelya question of identity and equality; in India, itis still a question of stark survival. Women inIndia are still caught between feudal valuesand style of life and the fast approaching NewLife. Caught between the burden of the homeand the work-place, child-bearing, mothering,struggling with concretions, women have firstto survive; the question of equality is a far cry.In such transitional times characterized byflux, it is essential to identify the new areas oftrouble and to check the imbalances. It isextremely convenient to do it as a study of theimage of woman in literature for the vastcanvas of the literary framework recreates lifewhich can give a vicarious experience of lifestimulating the reader to think.• A. Rangacharya, “Sex in IndianLiterature,” Indian Literature, No.145, Sep.-Oct. 1991.• Gayle Green, Changing the Story :Feminist Fication and the Tradition(Indiana UP : Bloomington andIndianapolis, 1991)• Dorothy M. Spencer, Indian Fiction inEnglish (Philadelphia : University ofPennsylvania Press, 1960)References• B.K. Das, Twentieth Century LiteraryCriticism (New Delhi : Atlantic, 1998• Manju Kapur, Difficult Daughters(New Delhi : Penguin, 1998), p.99488 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedMulti-cultural Landscapes in Ramanujan’s PoetryA. K. Ramanujan–Shashikant KurodiS. D. M. College (autonomous),Ujire – 574240 (D. K) Karnataka, India.The term multiculturalism is notmuch used in India. Within Indian culture, theterm diversity is more commonly used. Soalso, India has as many cultures as manylanguages. As far as the world is concerned,the cultural contacts began in the earlynineteenth century when the western peoplestarted their journey towards the easterncountries with their concerned business.Starting from the trade and business themigrations motivated people towards theestablishment of their own power. It was withthe process of colonization that there beganthe journey of English towards becoming theglobal language. As language is the vehicle ofculture, there began the meeting of differentworld cultures along with colonisation.Historically, India was a part of the colonisedworld and the expatiation of Indians beganthen only. Likewise, it has become a trendtoday to migrate from one country to anothercountry for varied reasons.The writers of the post independentIndia have a double advantage of learning theregional language as well as English.Kannada is both a subject and a medium ofinstruction. English is a compulsory subjectin schools and colleges. Thus, one can learn,study, and involve creatively in both thelanguages. Such bilingual sensibility can bewitnessed in A. K. Ramanujan, ShankarMokashi Punekar and such other poets.Among many of the reputed diasporic Indianpoets in America, A K Ramanujan, AghaShahid Ali, G S SharadChandra, MeeraAlexander and Vikram Seth are a few toname. As the author of this study is A KRamanujan, the article will explore the IndianDiaspora particularly where the author A.K. Ramanujan found his destination.Although, the Indian Diaspora has spreadover more than a hundred countries in theworld, my concern here is to throw light onIndian Diaspora in America. Like most otherIndian writers writing in English A.K.Ramanujan, was tri-lingual. He wrote both inKannada and in English, and some of hisfinest works consist of translations fromTamil and Kannada into English. Hisessentially Indian sensibility enabled him togo to India’s past and his sense of Indianhistory and tradition is unique.As a bilingual poet, Punekar was ascholar, critic, and novelist from Karnatakawho also wrote both in Kannada and inEnglish. Regarding bilingualism he says:As for me, I wrote because I mustexpress some things only in English.I continue to write some other thingsin Kannada…..some things andimages affect me in English, someothers in Kannada. 1By birth, A. K. Ramanujan was exposed to amultilingual situation. Like Punekar, A. K.Ramanujan has also said about his childhoodsituation:We spoke Tamil downstairs,English upstairs and Kannadaoutside…. My mother’s world wasdownstairs. That was all Tamil….My father was a Mathematician….His friends would come over andthey would all talk in English. Ispoke Kannada outside because welived in that part of the country. Allmy friends spoke Kannada. 2Even in an interview with Rama Jha, A KRamanujan narrates his exposure to the multiliteraryworld as:You know, by the time I wasseventeen, I was almost fullystriving. I could not have readclassical Tamil but I could readalmost everything in Tamil and Ihave been educated inKannada….and have written inKannada and so on. And English,from my fourteenth year on I hadbegun to read novels in English. Butat seventeen….I was very involvedin Kannada literature because manyof my friends were writers. 3It is hoped that a comprehensive study of A.K.Ramanujan’s works will provide fresh insights489 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedinto our understanding of what constitutes ‘crossculturallandscapes.’ The study will help ingrasping the commonalities as well ascontradictions in the two different cultures:Indian and the western. Therefore, the study willconcentrate on the various aspects like traditionand modernity in the works of Ramanujan.As far as Indians are concerned, AcharyaMahapragya and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam haverightly said:Indian people have ingrained beliefsystem and values driven by theircultural norms. In a multi-ethnicsociety, the cultural institutionalstructure embraces kinship,education, religion, property, andeconomy, recreation and certainmodalities. 4Therefore, it seems that it was quite naturalfor Ramanujan to write about his childhoodand the relationships within the family as wellas the Indian society. Indianness in his poemscan be easily felt as his intense feelings figurein his poems most prominently. His poemsare rooted in his Hindu experience. The poetis completely Western in his language,diction and attitude towards the object. Hewas incapable of broad patterns of experiencedespite his talent for language. For himalienation was a means of self-exploration.He was in search for roots. He was justelegant and urbane. His poetry neatly avoidsthe rhetoric, sentimentalism, dogmatism andromanticisation. The ordinary experiences arethe substance for his poems.A.K. Ramanujan played significantrole in creating a cultural space forpostcolonial Indian Writing in English.Through his translations, Ramanujan bringsnational and international variants of realityin a cross-cultural frame. His works are likean enterprise of dialogue and exchangebetween language and cultures. He was bornand brought up in a traditional Indian family.However, he grew up and spent most of hislife in the West. His life in that westernculture provided him a platform where hecould evoke a contrast between his easternbackground and the western culture. Theycome together in such perfect poems as “Stillanother View of Grace”. Any estimate of hispoetry should start from the picture of the“Striders”. The poem properly describes thepoet’s inwardness. The belief or system ofany kind in his poetry comes from bilingualbelief. Such features can be seen till the lastof the poems in “Second Sight”. The veryfirst poem in this collection “Elements ofComposition” brings in the cross-culturalelements like …“and the sweet twisted lives ofepileptic saints, and even as I add, Ialoes, decompose into my elements,into other names and forms, past,and passing, tenses without time,caterpillar on a leaf, eating, beingeaten”. 5A.K. Ramanujan was one of the prominentIndian English writers as far as Indian cultureis concerned. His poetry is largelyautobiographical and reminiscent. Ramanujanhimself says in his essay:“Just as our biological past lives inthe physical body, our social andcultural past lives in the manycultural bodies we inherit - - ourlanguages, arts, religions, and lifecyclerites.” 6His original works are The Striders thatappeared in 1966, Relations (1971), SelectedPoems (1976), Second Sight (1986), andCollected Poems (1995). His translations areThe Interior Landscape: Love Poems from aClassical Tamil Anthology (1967) andSpeaking of Siva, Kannada bhakti poems byVirasaiva saints (1973). His Collected Essaysedited by Vinay Dharwadker was publishedin 1999.A.K. Ramanujan in his ‘Annaiah’sAnthropology’ wrote that one should standapart from one’s own culture to understand itbetter. He wrote:One should come to America forself-knowledge. Like the mahatmawriting his autobiography in prison.Like Nehru discovering his countryafter going to England. You’ve gotto be away from a hill to see it. 7So the word ‘culture’ has acquired differentmeanings in different ages. ‘Culture’ is usedto refer to the social behaviour of the peopleof a society. Cultural negotiation is theadjustment or the balancing of the peoplebetween two different cultures. This is howthe people manage to achieve this balancebetween two cultures. When India became acolony of the West, there began thenegotiation between different cultures. AsIndians were introduced to the Western490 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedculture, the Westerners too were introducedto the Indian multi-culture. This experienceof cross-cultural meeting has been a historicalprocess of far reaching consequences. Now,in the post-colonial situation, the crossculturalexperiences are the focal points ofvaried socio-cultural debates.His essentially Indian sensibility enabled himto go to India’s past, and in fact, his sense ofIndian history and tradition is unique.“Bridging Ramanujan's literary andscholarly careers was his thirdvocation over four decades, as atranslator who brought together anunparalleled variety of languages,texts, genres, literatures, historicalperiods, and past and presentcultures”. 8Here it indicates Ramanujan’s style ofcarrying “his past with him as an inner worldof memories and laws which erupt into thepresent”.9 Having a large ancestry in anIndian family is quite natural and these thingsare the main concerns of Ramanujan in hispoems.When it comes to the works of Indian writersliving in Western countries, certainly thecultural conflicts, resistance and dislocationin multicultural context form their themes. Itis natural that the language and culture aretransformed when they encounter differentlanguage and culture. The works of suchwriters reveal their experiences as they seekto locate themselves in new cultures. A.K.Ramanujan was one such prominent Indianwriter writing in English, who lived inAmerica.The rural Indian culture rendereddominant influence on the personality of A.K.Ramanujan. Though he lived in America,Ramanujan was aware of the traditionalIndian culture where the family and religionplayed a very significant role. This is verywell revealed in one of his often-quoted poem“Small Scale Reflections on a Great House”.Here he speaks of the greatness of the familyhouse ‘as monument of a society’s historyand culture’ (Bruce King. 89). In this poemthe poet reveals the assimilative quality of theancestral house that absorbed things likeanimals and plates of dishes. He narrates itvery well:Sometimes I think that nothing thatever comes into this house goes out.Things come in every day to losethemselves among other things lostlong ago amongother things lost long ago. 10The same poem also deals with other thingsand persons like grand children, beggars, andeven the dead body of a nephew killed in war.According to Sumana Ghosh ‘the oriental andthe occidental cultures formed cleardemarcations in his mind’. 11 For, despite hissojourn in America he never changed hisIndian habits and attitudes into the western.Looking at different incidents he visualisedhis own past days in the Hyde Park Street.And in most of the times he remembered hismother:…her hands are a wet eagle’s twoblach pink-crinkled feet, one taloncrippled in a garden trap set for amouse. Her sarees do not cling: theyhang, loosefeather of a one-time wing. 12Of course, the poet fondly recalls hismother’s image doing all the householdactivities herself. The poem entitled “OfMothers, among other things” presents themotherly affection of an Indian mother.Particularly it is a poem about the poet’smother and in general, it glorifies the lovingand caring nature of the Indian mother. TheIndian woman has to play more than one roleat a time like the role of sister, daughter, wife,mother, daughter-in-law etc. This is theculture in the traditional Indian families eventoday that the mother does every householdwork including stitching the ragged clothes.“Snakes” is the poem in which we findwoman in focus. It is a significant poem thatshifts from the rural Indian locality to theurban Western scenario, and vice-versa.Ramanujan has tried to combine the real andthe fantastic into one. The poet who lived in aforeign land, far from his native land, thinksof the past with a vivid memory of snakes inmuseums of quartz, in the aisles of bookstacks and in its geometry. A snake is apoisonous reptile, and in this poem, modernman is symbolized through the snake. It isreally touching that this poem points out abitter truth of the present mechanical society.The twirls of their hisses rise likethe tiny dust-cones on slow-noonroads winding through the farmer’s491 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedfeet. Black lorgnettes are etched ontheir hoods, ridiculous, alien, likesome terrible aunt, a crest amongtiles and scales that moult with thedarkening half of every moon. 13This is how in some of his poems the poetseems to be unsentimental and ironical.Though he remembers his past still, heremains detached from it in his treatment. Inaddition, an impersonal air is felt when hispoems are read. His ‘Hindoo Poems’ drawupon the poet’s dissatisfaction over thedrawbacks of the Hindu religious practices:… at the bottom of all thisbottomless enterprise to keep simplethe heart’s given beat, the only riskis heartlessness. (Molly DanielsRamanujan. Book one “The Stridersp.90)Maintaining the originality in translation andgiving the new touch in an alien language AK Ramanujan had become a paradigm ofcross-cultural life. With his strong Indianbackground, he lived in America all throughhis life. His works convey not just themeaning but also the intent of the original.Out of his experience in two differentcultures, he had become an iconicrepresentation. Even when he was exposed toa completely different culture, he could neverlose his connection with Indian culture. Thatis why his poems cover various aspects ofIndian culture like religious standpoints, theprevalent social hierarchy, and the castedistinctions. Even his involvement intranslating the classical Indian works intoEnglish shows how well versed wasRamanujan with everything Indian. The studyshows that the poet was in fact a gifted Indianwriter in English to savour both the Indianand the American cultures.Attipat Krishanswami Ramanujan, aTamilian Hindu by birth, was a poet ofoutstanding merit. He has contributed a richharvest to Indian English literature, especiallyto poetry. He migrated to America andbecame a citizen of that country. But to hislast day, he remained “deeply rooted inIndian life…and exhaustively familiar withthe Indian reality” 14 . Thus, Ramanujan,being a pioneer of the Indian Diaspora in1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.America has vividly revealed the memoriesof the diaspora in his four collections ofpoems. His diasporic memories specificallyrelate to the Tamil Brahmins. In the fabric ofhis poems like “ Obituary”, “History”, “Lovepoem for a Wife”, “Small Scale Reflectionson a Great House”, “Looking for a cousin ona Sing” it is the home that compels andinspires reunions to foster a sense ofbelonging and togetherness.Notes:P, Lal. Ed. Modern Indian Poetry inEnglish: An Anthology and a Credo. Writersworkshop, Calcutta, 1969. p. 336-337A.K. Ramanujan. ChicagoChronicle. Chicago, Nov. 19, 1981. p. 5A.K.Ramanujan. in an interviewwith Rama Jha. The Humanities Review. Vol.3, Nov. 1, 1981 p. 5Acharya Mahapragya and A. P. J.Abdul Kalam. The Family and the Nation.New Delhi: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008.p. 194Molly Daniels Ramanujan. TheOxford India RAMANUJAN. New Delhi:OUP, 2004 rpt 2005. p. 123Vinay Dharwadker. Ed. TheCollected Essays of A.K. Ramanujan. NewDelhi: Oxford University Press, 1999 p. 184Vanamala Viswanatha. V C Harris.,C T Indra., and C Vijayasree. Routes:Representations of the West in Short Fictionfrom South India in Translation. Chennai:Macmillan India Ltd, 2000 p. 46Vinay Dharwadker. A. K.Ramanujan: Author, Translator, Scholar.(Journal Article Excerpt) World LiteratureToday, Vol. 68, 1994Bruce King. Three Indian Poets.New Delhi: OUP, 2008. p. 73Molly Daniels Ramanujan. TheOxford India RAMANUJAN. New Delhi:OUP, 2004 rpt 2005. p 96Sumana Ghosh. A K Ramanujan asa Poet. Jaipur: Book Enclave, 2004. p. 18Molly Daniels Ramanujan. TheOxford India RAMANUJAN. New Delhi:OUP, 2004 rpt 2005. p. 61Molly Daniels Ramanujan. TheOxford India RAMANUJAN. New Delhi:OUP, 2004 rpt 2005. p. 4Anand. B. Kulkarni. “A Case forEnglish as a Signifier of Indian Sensibility”.The Literary Criterion. XLII. 1. 2007. p.34492 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedReferences:1. Bhabha, Homi K. The Location ofCulture. London: Routledge, 1994 rpt 2002.2. Daniels, Molly Ramanujan. TheOxford India RAMANUJAN. New Delhi:OUP, 2004 rpt 2005.3. Eliot, T S. Notes Towards theDefinition of Culture. London: Faber andFaber ltd., 1948.4. Ghosh, Amitav. “The Diaspora inIndian Culture”. Public Culture, 2 , 19895. Ghosh, Sumana. A. K. Ramanujanas a Poet. Jaipur: Book Enclave, 2004.6. Iyengar, Srinivas K R. IndianWriting in English. New Delhi: SterlingPublishers, 2003.7. King, Bruce. Three Indian Poets.New Delhi: OUP, 2005.8. Kulkarni, Anand B. “A Case forEnglish as a Signifier of Indian Sensibility”.The Literary Criterion. XLII. 1. 2007.9. Kumar, Akshaya. A. K. Ramanujan:In Profile and Fragment. Jaipur: RawatPublications, 2004., 198110. Lakshminarayana Gangisetty. Ed.Perspectives of South Indian Historyand Culture. Kuppam: DravidianUniversity, 2006.11. Mahapragya, Acharya and A. P. J.Abdul Kalam. The Family and theNation. New Delhi: HarperCollinsPublishers, 200812. P, Lal. Ed. Modern Indian Poetry inEnglish: An Anthology and a Credo.Writers workshop, Calcutta, 1969.13. Parthasarathy, R. Ten TwentiethCentury Indian Poets. New Delhi: OUP,1989 16 th edition 2002.14. Ramanujan A K. ChicagoChronicle. Chicago, Nov. 19, 1981.15. Singh, Pramod Kumar. Major Indo-English Poets and Poetry Jaipur: BookEnclave, 2005.Journal Article:1. Ramanujan, A K. in an interviewwith Rama Jha. The HumanitiesReview. Vol. 3, Nov. 1493 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedMulticulturalism in the Selected Short Stories of Mulk Raj Anand--Gadekar Sharad AmbdasE.S.Divekar College Varvand,Tal.Daund, Dist.Pune(M.S)Abstract: This present paper attempts to highlight some of the multicultural aspects found in Mulk Raj Anand’s selected shortstories. We believe that ‘we cannot study English literature without studying English culture’ (Marathe et.al.1993) but ‘in theIndian culture context a legitimate question is whether along with English literature we need to accept the cultural baggage thatgoes with it.’ (Marathe et.al.1993) Mulk Raj Anand is also a short story writer of great repute. His short stories are full of pathosand saga of human sufferings. He not only deals with the sufferings of the destitute and the downtrodden but he also depicts thepsychological behavior of adolescents, and the deep feelings of the delicate women. His short stories are the treasure house ofgenuine feelings, unimaginable human sufferings, empathy and understanding of human life against the Indian socio-economic,religious, cultural.class backgrounds. The Collective, Egalitarianism, Diversity components are categorically or logically appliedto the stories like, ‘The Tractor and the Corn Goddess’, ‘The Dreamer’ and ‘The Parrot in the Cage’. The present paperhighlights on how these three components useful in multiculturalism. The philosophy of life and the individual are gains realityand identity only by virtue of being a member of the importance of the group. Collectivism endorses the idea that the individualhas no free will. All the groups of society are to be treated equally in all respects. The selected stories are analyzed on the groundof multicultural components.The word “culture” has been define byTaylor “is that complex whole which includesknowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs andany capabilities acquired by man as a member ofsociety” As a process, cultural is learn, shared,experiences, taught and adopted by each person.Since everyone is a living part of a specificculture, he/she is identified by it.Hence; culturehas become an essential means for one’ssurvival. A fabulous observation is thatminiorities, which are socially, financially andculturally marginalized, have been struggling toredefine their own cultures.The Oxford companion to Englishlanguage defines multiculturalism as ‘the cooccurrenceof many cultures in one area’although the terms “multicultural” and“Multiculturalism” are similar in appearancethey are different from each other. LongmanDictionary of Contemporary English (1998-936)differentiates these two terms. “Multicultural”is an adjective involving or including people orideas from several different countries, races, orreligion. Whereas, “Multiculturalism” is anuncountable noun which means “the belief thatis important and good to include people or ideasfrom different countries, races or religion” theterm multiculturalism was first associated withdemands put forth by black and minoritystudents for their representation in the curricularand extra-curricular activities in the college.Since this term is related to the process ofincorporation of newcomers from differentethnic groups into the dominant one, it can besaid that multiculturalism is a co-existence ofseveral cultural. It is also said a salad bowlwhich has its own distinctive flavor andsimultaneously by mingling up the enriches thewhole flavour of salad.The notion of multiculturalism has beendefined by several multiculturalists. AccordingPeter Caws Multiculturalism “stands for a widerange of social articulations, ideas and practice“In addition there are several types ofmulticulturalisms such as Critical, liberal, leftliberal,conservative, difference, and resistance,corporate, soft and so on. Multicultural is bestexplained by reference to its there mostimportant components from the sociologicalparadigm1.Collective2.Egalitarianism3.Diversity.The Collectivenessis described as the philosophy that thefundamental unit of reality is the group.According to this philosophy the individualgains reality and identity only by virtue of beinga member of the importance of the group.494 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedCollectivism endorses the idea that theindividual has no free will. Multiculturalism is aversion of collective. This encompasses one’sculture-culture of components like one’s skincolour or sex and clothing, food, geography,language, philosophy and religion. Thefundamental area is that one’s actions andbehaviour are dictated by one’s blood. Thesecond component is Egalitarianism which isthe idea that all units of the society must equallyin all respects. According to multiculturalism,the primary unit of society is the group. It holdstherefore, that all groups are to be treatedequally in all respects. Thus, multiculturalism isagainst all kinds of discrimination. The lastcomponent is Diversity which is loggerheadswith its concept of Egalitarianism. We can thussay that multiculturalism is reduced to theperpetual level where all groups are to be treatedequally on the basis of skin colour, sex-ratherthan conceptual i.e. ideas and values.Mulk Raj Anand, the novelist of greatrepute and short story and art critic writer inEnglish, was born at Peshawar on December 12,1905. He came from a family, which wasslightly superior to the untouchables. His fatherwas a coppersmith by birth and later joined theBritish-Indian army; his mother was an illiteratepeasant woman from Central Punjab.Ananddrew a realistic and sympathetic portrait of thepoor of his country. The culture and ethos of anycountry is mirrored in its literature.Expressinngvarious cultures of a country in an alienlanguage is indeed a very challenging task whichIndian authors in English have endeavoured toperform. Mulk Raj Anand is a name related tomodernizing the Indian novel and stories. I shalltry to analysis the multicultural aspects in a fewselected works of Mulk Raj Anand.With RajaRao and R.K. Narayan he has been regarded asone of the "founding fathers" of the IndianEnglish novel.And he had soon become possessed withan overwhelming desire to live their life.He had been told they were sahibs,superior people. He had felt that to puton their clothes made one sahib too. Sohe tried to copy them as well as he couldin the exigencies of his peculiarly Indiancircumstances. (From Untouchable,1935)Besides being a novelist, Mulk RajAnand is also a short story writer of great repute.His short stories are full of pathos and saga ofhuman sufferings. He not only deals with thesufferings of the destitute and the downtroddenbut he also depicts the psychological behavior ofadolescents, and the deep feelings of the delicatewomen. His short stories are the treasure houseof genuine feelings, unimaginable humansufferings, empathy and understanding of humanlife against the Indian socio-economic andcultural background. The following short story‘The Tractor and the Corn Goddess’ is anattention-grabbing story in which one comesacross the authentic picture of the superstitioussociety in the contemporary time. Nawab Sahibis the chief of the village. Abdul Hamid, theengineer and a proponent of the moderndevelopment in the village. Chhaju, DhunniBhagat, Phagu, Shambhu Nath, Tirath are thepeasant class or working class characters in thevillage. Abdul Hamid has brought the tractor forthe fast cultivation of the land. But the villagersassumed that tractor would rape their motherland and corn Goddess. Uncle Chhaju a leaderand other peasants thought that the tractor hasmagic power and is like a ghost which is sign ofinauspiciousness. Therefore, opposed it initiallythe tractor because it will snatch the jobs of thevillagers and the axe of the unemployment willappear in their life. Lastly they convinced by theNawab and the villagers admitted the tractor isnot a curse but bless for them.This story is about the gap between twogenerations one is Hindu and another is Muslim;Muslim generation is looking forward positivelyfor better development in future and is preparedto adjust to the changing scenario of the world.But, the other segment of the society sticks tothe conventional values and is not ready tochange its life style to accommodate or face newchallenges. The assumption of the conventionalsegment of society is that;The invention is the devil and religion andtradition is in danger’(The Tractor and thecorn goddess’ p.41)495 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedThe story has a sub-plot .The Muslim Nawab(Jamindar) and his forefather died due to curseof god, because they had adopted the Europeanhabits of bad company and drink. Howevervillagers are against both the British and MuslimRaj. The conversational pieces are veryinteresting to analyze in terms multiculturalaspect. The narrator of the story is Chajju(Hindu), who is the ring-leader of the ‘goondas’(caste) and has been allow to return offer somedays exile. This story is an excellent example formulticulturalism.The Villagers; ‘after all the Zamindar isin the position of a ma-bap, to us.’ tobatoba!’Chup Kar etc.(The Tractor and the corn goddess’.pp45)The use of these hybrid linguistic items servesthe purpose to insert a feel of culture into thetext. Mulk Raj Anand describes Hindu andMuslim culture and the use of the language formaintaining cultural flavor. The story opens witha description of features of the villagers and theZamindar. The actual incident takes place onemorning under the banyan tree just outside thebig home. The giant tractor is fetched aroundeleven o’clock from the Railways Station byComrade Abdul Hamid the Engineer (Muslim).Abdul Hamid has brought the monster enginenot across the main road, as the machinefurrowed the earth deeply. At this junctureChajju (Hindu) takes the lead in the crisis. Thefollowing linguistic exchange between theHindu peasants are not at all ready to admit theauthenticity of the development and newinventions, whereas the Muslim religion’ whichmeans they are ready to change themselves byidentifying the steps of the development theworld. It is noted that Hindu characters in thisstory wanted to remain on the same position andtherefore, they opposes the development of theMuslim. The above conversation is anamalgamation of two cultures and their speechhas indicated the same. Here, the utterance madeby the Villagers (Hindu) is nothing but themulticultural study at the lexical level takesplace in this story. The following of collectivismmake our doubt clear that religion, earth and oldtradition of Hindu.The Hindu Peasant; rape –mother,even as he sat smoking the hubblebubbleunder the banyan tree.The Phau said; that’s right, “I hear ittore up the earth as it came alone” TheSambhu Nath; The earth then deserted!The Dhunni Bhagat; that the corngoddess has been raped, then thisInstrument ought to be send back acrossthe sea t the perverts who have inventedit……The Tirath: ‘our religion hasbeen despoiled…’(The Tractor and the corn goddess’pp45)According the first component collectivism theinterlocutors are talking about the ‘Earth’ and‘religion’. They are stick to the conventionalphilosophy and not prepare to face the newchallenges in life. The threat is of destruction oftheir traditional routine of life. The speakers arefrom economically non-developed categories.Chajju, the leader of the farmers is really angryhe fears that the question of unemployment maystand up the village in the future. They think thatthe tractor will rape the earth and their cornGoddess will be destroyed and nothing willremain for them who have been nourished fornumberless of generation by the land. Thisrepresents or symbolizes the religion, andeconomical lower strata of society. ‘The Tractorand the Corn Goddess’ is a multidimensionalshort story which highlights many aspects orlayers of Indian society. Mulk Raj Anand hashighlighted the ever-burning issue in Indiabefore and after independence, namely that theIndians are followers of the traditional ways oflife. The villagers doubt the intention of theNawab, who has brought the tractor to thevillage as the specimen of new invention, ofwhich the villagers are totally in ignoranceutterance. Nawab tries to convince the villagersabout the tractor, saying that it is a newdevelopment and might bring much constructivechange in the villagers’ life. Thus, ‘The Tractorand Corn Goddess’ is a story depicting the496 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedbeautiful blending between two trends, thetraditional and the modern.According to the second components of themulticulturalism i.e.Egalitarianism that all theunits of the society must be treated equally in allrespect. The present story ‘The Dreamer’ isabout the poverty and honesty of a poor child,Devaki Nandan Pandey is blind in his right eye,but seems to have enough mischief in his lefteye to make up for the absence of light in theother one. The title of the story is itself selfexplanatory,ads it is about someone’s dream.‘The Dreamer’ Mulk Raj Anand considers thatthe caste system prevails with the job one carrieson and the easy way to remove it is to upgradethe work environment and bring dignity to eachwork. We have no right to downgrade any work.The story simply shows a way to solve the twoproblems that still lingers India. 1. Sanitation.(No need to explain this problem, when onetravels by train in the early morning or walks ona rainy day through the roads one sees not soclean Indian metro…) 2. Casteism. DevakiNandan Pandey is a victim of the Indian evilsocial system of the caste and class. DevakiNandan Pandey belongs to the weaver caste andhe knows that Gautama Buddha acceptedeveryone. The Protagonist has been sufferingunder this system for a long time and has toleave school and work to earn food, because thechildren of upper class parents had imbibed thefeeling of superiority over him and his caste.While traveling with the visitor he wishes to belike Budh Nath. Devaki is a good story teller.Further, he narrates to the visitors Hindu maths(like temple) situated near Bodh Gaya temple forpeople to join the Budh Math. His furtherillustration is rather eloquent and strange;The Boy: ‘When I grow up, I would liketo belong to the Budh Nath.’‘My mother says that ‘for Harijans thereis no place in the Hindu Math.We are just outcaste! “Lepers”! Thevillage boy will no even let us play withthem in case we should touchthem during the sport. I am of theWeaver caste.But Gautama accepted everyone. Iwant to wander like him…’‘So you arecoming to the place where BudhMaharaja stayed with Amrapali? --------’The Visitor: ‘To be sure!’(‘The Dreamer’P.105)Devaki Nandan Pandey’s mother had told himsome authentic fact of their life and caste. Shehad said that ‘Harijans’ had no place in theHindu Math. They are just outcasts and lepers’.He narrates his other experience with villageboys while playing with them, such as that he isforbidden to touch. In India caste is an identityand is describes as, ‘Caste is an elaborate andcomplex social system that combines elementsof endogamy, occupation, culture, social class,tribal affiliation and political power. It shouldnot be confused with race or social class, e.g.members of different castes in one society maybelong to the same race. Usually, but not always,members of the same caste are of the same rank,occupation, and/or economic position, andtypically have mores which distinguish it fromother groups. The word caste can also justgenerally refer to any rigid system of cultural orsocial distinctions. ’India is a multicultural,multiracial, multilingual and multireligiouscountry where people preserve their identitieswithin their social framework. The Visitor issurprised to listen to the narrative style of thechild and is shocked and recognizes thesufferings of the boy and introspects abouthimself. The visitor thinks of buying a shirt forDevaki place of the old one, Daveki NandanPandey (a child) but due to his honesty and selfrespect,and positive face towards his life he willnot allow himself to accept anything free fromothers. The visitor gives him half a kg ‘Ladoos’(sugar-ball in India) and promises to see him thenext morning. The next day the Visitor reachesthe spot where the meeting of the interlocutorshas been scheduled. The visitor has been waitinghim for long but the boy does not come andfinally visitor’s restlessness increases and heinquires of a big boy about Devaki NandanPandey. His answer astonishes the visitor. Theanswer of the big boy (another character in thestory) is ‘Who” Is Devaki Nandan Pandey. Headds that there is no one of that name in Budh497 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedGaya. The visitor again tells his identity that oneeyed boy. His original name is Kania one-eyedboy a good story-teller. The visitor is expectinga positive response from the one-eyed boy.When the other Boy reveals that Devaki hasneither a mother nor a father, the reaction of thevisitor is very sympathetic and surprising; thevisitor never cares for the social barriers andloves the boy much and sympathizes with himfor his plight. It is noteworthy that human beinglike the speaker still survives on the earth. TheVisitor is representative of the whole humanityof ‘positive picture of multicultural aspect is toaccepted and approved. We are equal in allrespect because we learnt the lesson thathumanity is the final truth of life.The last component is Diversitywhich is loggerheads with its concept ofEgalitarianism. We can thus say thatmulticulturalism is reduced to the perpetual levelwhere all groups are to be treated equally on thebasis of skin colour, sex-rather than conceptuali.e. ideas and values. In ‘The Parrot in the Cage’Mulk Raj Anand has created the poorest beggarcharacter Rukmani with parrot cage. She lives inPakistan (Lahore). Who needs some food to eatfor herself as well as parrot. Which is expectingfrom Govt. or from any generous men but, thethreat and oppressed of deputy collector(Pakistan Govt.) is spread in the whole Lahoreso that the stall-keeper requests to Rukmani tokeep silence otherwise the collector wouldpunish her and Stall-Keeper. The description ofthe old woman is the authentic picture of theLahore city in Pakistan. How Pakistani live invery bad condition. The old woman is arepresentative of the whole society. The storyteller depicts the intolerable scene of thedowntrodden people and their unsolvedquestions. Rukmani’s affinity to the parrot (a petbird) is unparallel. ‘The parrot in the Cage’ storyis not only about woman and parrot closerelation, but also it has other layer i.e. theoppression on the Muslim women. The storytellerdepicts the pitiable plight of thedowntrodden people and their unsolvedquestions. Rukmani’s affinity to the parrot isunparalleled. The following utterance is abeautiful example multiculturalism;Rukmani: ‘Son, I don’t know where Iam….’‘I only know that if fate has not givenme her burqah to escape with, I shouldnot be here….’Parrot:‘Ni tun ki karni hain?’Rukmani: ‘Nothing son, I am doingnothing ….only waiting …’‘Allah ho Akbar!’ ‘Har har Mahadev!’‘Sat sri Akal!’ (The Parrot in the CageP: 56)For them the ‘burqah’ is for face saving orescaping from the reality. Rukmani’sexplanation of ‘burqah’ is the positive side onthe one hand, because she could hide her facebehind the ‘burqah’ and save her image from theevil society. On the other hand, it has a negativeside; Muslim women hide their face due to theterror or threat of the religious injunctions inPakistan. ‘The Parrot in the Cage’ is not onlyabout the close relationship between a womanand a parrot, but, it has another layer i.e. theoppression of the Muslim women. Theconversation with her pet to keep her mindoccupied is metaphorical. The story-teller’sintention behind this use is that the common anddowntrodden people never use pure Englishlanguage because of their education, even itlooks unreal. She has drastic need of food andwater but nobody pays attention to her and herpet in the cage. This situation indicates that thewhole society is devoid of any feeling due to theGovt.’s policy of oppression. Rukmani isshouting and uttering words like ‘Allah…Harhar Mahadev…Sat sri Akal…’ confuses us,because she believed that nobody wouldrecognize her and label her as ‘Hindu’, ‘Muslim’or ‘Sikh’. Consequently, she wants to hide heridentity and expect food or help to save herparrot and herself. Whole humanity is ‘selfish’and very cunning about everything.The conclusion is of the paper is thatthe three components of multiculturalism areapplicable to the stories of Mulk Raj Anand. Theprincipal sources of Diversity are race, religion,498 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedethnicity and language. It is these differenceswhich lead to clashes pluralistic view relies onan understanding that stems from race, genderand class. Multiculturalism is recognition ofdiversity of cultural differences which exist in apluralistic society and an endorsement of asociety in which individuals of all cultures areaccepted and accorded respect. The protagonistsof the Mulk Anand are the victims ofdiscrimination on the basis of the caste. Theupper caste and status people refuse to help tothe needy for example the Collector in the ‘TheParrot in the Cage’ refuses to help the oldwoman. The another cause is that they do notwish to touch the stones touched by the lowercastes for example the character of Rukmani in‘The Parrot in the Cage’ The evils of the classsystem reinforced by the British are not muchbetter than the caste system. The story of oneeyedDevaki Nandan Pandey in ‘TheDreamer’has been suffering the same questionbut the Visitor another character treated himgood when he understand the story of the child.This is due to the inherent strength of Indiansociety made resilient by multiculturalism. Theability to accommodate the diverse and also atthe same time assimilate it into the core culture.We must take care that the various componentsof multiculturalism are used to strengthen anddisintegrate society.References:Anand, M. R. The Lost Child and OtherStories, London, J.A. Allen, 1934.--------- The Tractor and The Corn Goddess,and Other Stories. Bombay, Thacker, 1947.------------ Lajawanti and Other Stories,Jaico Publication House, Bombay, 1966.----------- Selected Short Stories of Mulk RajAnand, edited by M.K. Naik. New Delhi,Arnold-Heinemann, 1977.Longman, Longman Dictionary ofContemporary English. Third ed.England, 1998.Watson, C.W. Multiculturalism, Viva BooksPvt.Ltd.,New Delhi, 2002.499 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedJhumpa Lahirie’s The Namsake: A Diasporic Articulation andMulticulturalism--Wankhede P. J.& Gore C. M.SSG Col. Of Eng. & Tech.,Shahpur, Thane (MS)Abstract: Jhumpa Lahiri (1967) Pulitzer Prize-Winner author of ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ and ‘The Namesake’. As, a daughterof Indian immigrant family, from her childhood she experienced with the various conflicts and the concept of rootlessness andcultural identity. In her works she tries to focus on the struggle of immigrants for the real identity in that world where she hasgiven various identities one is related to the roots and others are related to birth. The people migrates from their root is not onlyfor the American Dream or greater opportunities or the standard of living but it is a demand of time. Time is major part of allthese activities in human life.The Namesake is presentation of cultural variations in the life of Indian immigrant couple Ashoke and AshimaGangualy from Calcutta. The novel opens with the entry of Ashima , who stand in the kitchen and trying to make some spicyIndian snack by using American combinations of salt, lemon and thin slice of green chili paper. But when she tastes it, she comesto know that there is something missing in it. Through the condition of Ashima Gangualy Jhumpa Lahiri trying to focus on thecondition of an Indian immigrant. They are struggling to understand the new taste of the new culture and trying to find out thescope of individual in the universe. The condition of human being is invisible like the protagonist of the novel ‘Gogol’; who isidentified as ABCD explains as American Born Confused Desis.IEdward W.Said observed that the exileis “the unsalable rift forced between a humanbeing a native place, between the self and itstrue home: its essential sadness can never besurmounted.” 1 The phenomenon of diaspora hasgrown by leaps and bounds in the wake ofglobalization, privatization and liberalization. Itis the human nature and changing flow of thetime which makes the globe multicultural. Theword diaspora originally applied for the Jewishmigration from their homeland has come to beused more or less loosely as an inclusive termwhich is applied as “metaphoric designations’(Safran 83-89) for all displaced peopleimmigrant,exiles, expatriates, emigrants,homeless individual and refugees. Theuprooting, unsettlement and lack of satisfactionin that second world due to the social, political,religious and geographical change. This changegives birth to the multicultural society.Traditionally, diaspora as a translocation identityrelies on the idea of home that has been leftbehind or lies elsewhere (Jigna Desai-19). Thestruggle of immigrants for the real identity inthat world has given birth to various identities,one is related to the roots and others are relatedto other world. The people migrates from theirroot is not only for the American Dream orgreater opportunities or the standard of livingbut it is a demand of time. Migration is the maincause of multiple identity and multi-culturegives birth to Multiculturalism.Multiculturalism may be defined as reaching outto both the native-born and newcomers, indeveloping lasting relationships among ethnicand religious communities. It encourages thesecommunities to participate fully in society byenhancing their level of economic, social, andcultural integration into the host culture(s). 2II"No country is my motherland. I always findmyself in exile in whichever country I travelto, that's why I was tempted to writesomething about those living their lives inexile"500 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedJhumpa LahiriJhumpa Lahiri (1967) Pulitzer Prize-Winner author of ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ and‘The Namesake’. As, a daughter of Indianimmigrant family, from her childhood sheexperienced with the various conflicts and theconcept of rootlessness and cultural identity. Inher works she tries to focus on the struggle ofimmigrants for the real identity in that worldwhere she has given various identities one isrelated to the roots and others are related tobirth. The people migrates from their root is notonly for the American Dream or greateropportunities or the standard of living but it is ademand of time. Time is major part behind of allthese activities in human life.Before analyzing the book TheNamesake and presentation of Diaspora inJhumpa Lahiris writing; we are tries tounderstand the term ‘Diaspora’. How thediasporic identity is related to the immigrantpeople and their experience. The word diasporashas been derived from Greek origin means “todisperse”; means divert from origin or oneidentity and other also. It has various ideas andimages, having positive and negative sites. Thepositive sites for the affirmation of an identity,and negative for losing those identities. Thecondition of human being is invisible like theprotagonist ‘Gogol’of the novel The Namesake;who is identified as ABCD explains asAmerican Born Confused Desis.At the present time ‘Diaspora’ is apopular term in the day-to-days research. It isbecause of the new era with a new trend‘multiculturalism’. Multiculturalism is theproduct of the time, because of the globalizationpeoples are migrates from one place to anotherplace. They are giving the gift of their culture tothe world and also accept the new culture. Thismakes lack of faith in the religion, morality andman-women relationship. There is a creation ofnew relationship between the married couplesbecause of jobs and earning sources. Thisrelationship and new life style of the society isone of the major theme represent incontemporary writing. Robert Cohen describesdiaspora as: “… the communities of peopleliving together in one country who acknowledgethat the old country … a nation often burieddeep in language, religion, custom orfolklore…always has some claim on the loyaltyand emotions.” [Cohen ix]Diaspora is related to the term‘Hybradity’ which is reflected in so manywriters works. In that Homi K. Bhabhadescribed it as socio-cultural variations in thecontemporary time. Bhaba’s theory isexpounded in his edited books Nation andNarration (1990) and The Location of Culture(1994). It is related to immigration, separation,sanctuary, adaptation, multiculturalism,mimicry, hybridity and otherness. This socioculturalvariation started with individual tofamily, family to community, community toarea, area to state, state to nation and nation toworld. In the views of Stuart Hall: “The diasporaExperiences as I intended it here is defined, notby essence or purity, but by the recognition of anecessary heterogeneity and diversity; byconception of “identity” which lives with andthrough , not despite, difference; by hybridity.Diaspora identities are those which areconstantly producing and reproducingthemselves a new, through transformation anddifference.” [Hall cultural -401-2]The term ‘diaspora’ conserned with thepeoples who away from their origin, home, andnation. It is a journeuy from one place toanother; which is not understandable to theindividual.In this journey one can lose hisidentity from both sides and there were identitycrisis. This crisis is inbetween the homeland andthe living country.It is struggle for the identity asan Indian or immigrant. In this concern Homi KBhabha note:I have lived that moment of thescattering of the people that in othertimes and other places, in that nation ofotherness, becomes a time of gathering.Gathering of exiles and émigrés andrefugees […]. Also the gathering of thepeople in the diaspora: indentured,migrant, interned, the gathering ofincriminatory, statistic, educationalperformance, legal statues, immigrationstates… the genealogy of that lonelyfigure that John Berger named theseventh man. [Bhabha- DissemiNation,291]501 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedThe Namesake is presentation ofcultural variations in the life of Indian immigrantcouple Ashoke and Ashima Gangualy fromCalcutta. The novel opens with the entry ofAshima, who stand in the kitchen and trying tomake some spicy Indian snack by usingAmerican combinations of salt, lemon and thinslice of green chili pepper. But when she tastesit, she comes to know that there is somethingmissing in it. Opening of The Namesake as:O N STICKY AUGUST EVENING twoweek before her due date, AshimaGanguali stands in the kitchen of aCentral Square apartment, combing RiceKrispes and Planters peanuts andchopped red onion in a bowl. She addssalt, lemon juice, thin slice of green chilipepper, wishing there were mustered oilto pour into the mix. Ashima has beenconsuming this concocetion throughouther pregnancy, a humble approximationof the snack sold for pennies on Culcuttasidewalks and on railway platformsthroughout india , spilling fromnewspaper cones, Even now that there isbarely space inside her, it is the onething she craves. Tasting from a cuppedpalm, she frowns; as usual, there’ssomething missing. [The Namesakep.no.-1]Through the condition of AshimaGangualy Jhumpa Lahiri trying to focus on thecondition of an Indian immigrant. They arestruggling to understand the new taste of thenew culture and trying to find out the scope ofindividual in the universe; but they are notfinding out the same taste of the same recipe inthe other country. It is happens because of thehomesickness or otherness. This is not only thecondition of Ashima Ganguli but also the everyimmigrant Indian in other place. The conditionof human being is invisible like the protagonistof the novel ‘Gogol’; who is identified as ABCDexplains as American Born Confused Desis.The Namesake is known to be a realisticand experienced fiction by Jhumpa Lahiri. It isbased on various issues like rootlessness,homesickness, and crisis for identity. The novelstarted in U.S.A. and journey through variousplaces including Calcutta, India and the world.In the novel the writer tries to present the time ofpast means thirty years ago, a time of revolutionin the world.The time is not only importantbecause of the revolutionary waves but it alsodenotes the variations in the society and theculture. It is a documentary of immigrant lives,especially Ashima and her family; who feeldisplaced and homesickness. In these concernJhumpa Lahiri Says:They all come from Culcutta, and forthis reason alone they are friends. Mostof them live within walking distance ofone another in Cambridge. Thehusbands are teachers, researchers,doctors, engineers. The wives, homesickand bewildered, turn to Ashima forrecipes and advice, and she tells themabout the carp that’s sold in Chinatown,that it’s possible to make halwa fromCream of Wheat.[The Namesake p.no.-38]The major focus of the story is about themulticulturalism variation and the differencebetween the cultures and the social norms. In thenovel Jhumpa Lahiri tries to represent thevariation the concept of name and only name. Inthe society name is very important because nameis our identity in the society; but, in the novel thename of the protagonist ‘Gogol’ is major issueof the story. It is complexity in Bengali culture,in Bengali culture there were two names givento the child, one is pet name and other is goodname. The same happens with ‘Gogol’, GogolGanguli, a smart, American Indian boy who isborn in America to parents who emigrated fromCalcutta, India is the protagonist of the story. Hedoes not like his name, “Gogol”, and hates beingcompared to his namesake, Nikolai Gogol, andis embarrassed by it. Throughout the book, hehas a hard time trying to become“Americanized”, while his parents want him tostay “Indian”. Jhumpa Lahiri Writes aboutGogols and his name as:For by now, he’s come to hate questionspertaining to his name, hates havingconstantly to explain. He hates having to502 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedtell people that it doesn’t mean anything‘in Indian.’ He hateshaving nametag onhis sweter at Model United Nations Dayat school. He even hates signing hisname at the bottom of the drawings inart class. He hates that his name is bothabsurd and obscure, that it has nothingto do with who he is,that it is neitherIndian nor American but of all thingsRussian.[The Namesake p.no.-76]IIIJhumpa Lahiri brings great sympathy toGogol as “he hesitates along the first-generationpath, strewn with conflicting loyalties, comicdetours, and wrenching love affairs. Withpenetrating insight, she reveals not only thedefining power of the names and expectationsbestowed upon us by our parents, but also themeans by which we slowly, sometimespainfully, come to define ourselves. The NewYork Times has praised Lahiri as "a writer ofuncommon elegance and poise." The Namesakeis a fine-tuned, intimate, and deeply felt novel ofidentity.” [127]The Namesake containspreviews from her life and concerted on thecultural gap between two generations of Indianemigrants in the overall world. It also exposesthe perpetual search for one’s proper identity inthe multicultural society. Ashima Gangualy andher son Gogol are two binary representative ofmulticultural society where Ashima is from rootand Gogle is from birth. The present researchpaper is a full discussion of Jhumpa Lahiri’s TheNamesake: a diasporic articulation andmulticulturalism. In diasporic imagination‘home’ remains “ a mythic place of orgin and ofradical lack” In the words of Avtar Brah “ Theconcept of diaspors places the discourse of‘home’ and ‘dispersion’ in creative tension,inscribing a homing desire while simultaneouslycritiquing discourses of fixed origians.” (Brah192-193). Here Ashimas mind circulatedaroundthe past and tense of future but notsatisfied with the present. Her feelings areambiguous cant uprooted in the other-land,always quest for motherland. In the presentationof this work Lahiri became omniscient andautobiographic, gives a rainbow touch to thework.Works cited:• Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter ofMaladies. New Delhi Harper Collins PublisherIndia, 1999• Das, B.K. Twentieth Century LiteraryCriticism. Atlantic, New Delhi, 2005.• Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. NewYork: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.• Das, Nigamananda :Jhumpa Lahiri:Critical PerspectivesPublisher: Pencraft International (2008)• Bala ,Suman :Jhumpa Lahiri: TheMaster Storyteller: A Critical Response ToInterpreter Of Maladies. Publisher: PrestigeBooks (2004-08-16)• http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm?book_number=1277• Batra, Jagdish. Jhumpa Lahiri’s TheNamesake A Critical Study Publisher:Prestige Books 2010503 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1