Literatures of the Indian Subcontinent

Semester and Year Offered: Monsoon Semester 2018

Course Coordinator and Team:Kopal Ahlawat

Email of course coordinator:kopal[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in

Pre-requisites:None

Aim: This course comprises texts from various genres written in the Indian subcontinent. It is designed as a survey course to explore how writers in the Indian subcontinent have responded to some important political and social issues of their times. The attempt has been to include texts from different languages and regions as well as from diverse forms of literature

Course Outcomes:

1. This course would help the students understand the issues and debates that these literatures portray
2. The students develop critical thinking and writing skills

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

Introduction:

The introductory module deals with the concept of ‘literature’ and ‘literatures’ and

analyses how closely literature is associated with language and identity. The module also problematizes the idea of nationhood and looks briefly at conflicts and nationhood in the Indian subcontinent. Literature and language have been divisive factors in the history of the subcontinent, but they also forge some kind of unity, especially when writers respond in similar ways to conflict and violence.

New nation(s): Hope and Conflict

This module starts from the time of Indian independence when two new nations of the Indian subcontinent came into existence. However, this time of celebration was overshadowed by the trauma of partition that affected millions. The module looks at how writers have responded to these events in the immediate times and later. Texts from different genres such as poetry, fiction and nonfiction are included.

Colonial Times: Inspirations and Impacts

This module traces back history and looks at the colonial times to reflect on the part played by writers in shaping a new consciousness which led up to the independence. National movement, social reformation movement, the new ideas on education that evolved out of Bengal Renaissance and the assertion of linguistic identities all form part of this module.

Medieval and Ancient Times: A Glimpse

This module goes back to the medieval and ancient times to sample some interesting kind of writing that was available during the times. This also helps to develop an idea about the eclectic nature of the literature of the region.

Contemporary Times: Gender, Caste, Class, Ethnicity

This module looks at some contemporary concerns in the Indian Sub-continent such as caste, class struggles, gender discrimination, and issues related to ethnicity. The module highlights how violence, covert and overt, has become widespread in the subcontinent, and how writers have been reflecting this in their works.

Assessment details with weights

Reading List:

• Raveendran, PP. Geneologies of Indian Literature. Economic & Political Weekly. 41:25. 2006. pp. 2558-2563.
• Nag, Sajal. “Nationhood and Displacement in the Indian Subcontinent.” Economic & Political Weekly. 36:51. pp. 4753-4760
• Nehru, Jawaharlal. “Tryst with Destiny” (1947), The Vintage Book of Indian Writing 1947-1997, Edited by Salman Rushdie and Elizabeth West, Vintage, 1997. pp.1-3.
• Dougal, Sundeep. “The Dawn of Freedom, August
• 1947.” Sundeepdougal.tripod.com, sundeepdougal.tripod.com/Faiz.html.
• Manto, Saadat Hasan. “Toba Tek Singh”. Toba Tek Singh Stories.
• Penguin Books, 2011.
• Sarwar, Sehba,. “A Sandstone Past.” Neither Night Nor Day: 13 Stories By Women Writers From Pakistan, Edied by Rakshanda Jalil, HarperCollins Publishers India, 2007. pp. 121-132.
• Premchand, Munshi. “Deliverance” The Individual and Society: Essays, Stories and Poems, Edited by Vinay Sood et al. Pearson. 2006. pp 14-26.
• Tagore, Rabindranath. A Parrot’s Tale https://www.parabaas.com/translation/database/translations/stories/gRabin dranath_parrot.html
• Dutt, Toru. ‘Sita’. Panorama: A Selection of Poems. Edited by AET Barrow and J Fuste. Oxford University Press, 1986, pp. 37-38.
• Senapati, Fakir Mohan. “The Story of My Life”. The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature. Edited by in Amit Chaudhuri, Pan Macmillan, 2001. pp.310-329.
• Phule, Savithribai. “Letter to Jotibha Phule.”Women Writing in India: 600
• B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century, Edited by Susie Tharu and K Lalita, The Feminist Press, 1991. P. 213.
• Begum, Gul-badan. “From Humayun Nama.” (ed.) Women Writing in India: 600
• B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century, Edited by Susie Tharu and K Lalita, The Feminist Press, 1991. pp. 99-100.
• Bhasa. “Karnabharam.” The Shattered Thigh and Other Plays. Translated by A.N.D. Haskar. Penguin Books, 1993. pp 98-105.
• Dudhat, Kirit. “Womenfolk”. Indian Literature. 39:4. 52-58.
• Gaddar. “It Will Not Stop.” India in Verse: Contemporary Poetry from 20 Indian Languages, edited by Antara Dev Sen, TLM Books 2011, pp. 305–306.
• Rahman, Shamsur. The Postcard https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-postcard/
• Hettiarachchi, Nirmali. “The Price.” Bridging Connections: An Anthology of Srilankan Short Stories. Edited by Rajiva Wijesinha., National Book Trust India, 2012.
• Nibha, Bimal. “Poem.” Indian Literature.
• Namdung, Jiwan. “Again Snowfall.”India in Verse: Contemporary Poetry from 20 Indian Languages, edited by Antara Dev Sen, TLM Books 2011, p 220
• Ao, Temsula. Bonsai God . Muse India, Jan/Feb2012, Issue 41, p54 Devy, GN. “Introduction to Painted Words: An Anthology of Tribal Verse.”
• Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Plurality and Literary Traditions in India. Edited by Vibha S. Chauhan and Bodh Prakash. Macmillan.2005.
• Asani, Ali.S. “At the Crossroads of Indic and Iranian Civilizations:Sindhi Literary Cultures.” Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Plurality and Literary Traditions in India. Edited by Vibha S. Chauhan and Bodh Prakash. Macmillan. 2005.
• Natarajan, Srividya, S Anand, Subhash Vyam, and Durgabai Vyam. Bhimayana: Incidents in the Life of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. Navayana, 2011.
• Ghosh, Amitav. Shadow Lines.1988. Penguin India. 2009.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE:

List of texts for Presentation:

• Shobasakthi. Traitor. Translated by Anushiya Ramaswamy. Penguin Books, 2010.
• Nasreen, Taslima. Lajja Translated by Kankabati Datta. Prometheus Books, 1997. Hamid, Mohsin. Moth Smoke. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
• Pillai, Thakazhi Sivasankara. Chemmeen. Translated by Anita Nair. Harper Perennial, 2011.
• Shanbhag, Vivek. Ghachar Ghochar. Translated by Srinath Perur. Harper
• Perennial, 2015.
• Chatterjee, Sarat Chandra. Devdas. Penguin Books. 2002
• Murugan, Perumal. One Part Woman Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Penguin Books, 2014.
• Kundalkar, Sachin. Cobalt Blue: a Novel. Translated by Jerry Pinto, The New Press, 2016.