CLRI —a journal that brings articulate writings for articulate readers
Contemporary Literary Review India
May 2012
CLRI comes in various versions, online monthly, in more than 10 digital editions, and in print both quarterly. Its print edition has ISSN 2250-3366
Editor-in-Chief: Khurshid Alam
Contents 1.
eBook Reading Devices by Khurshid Alam ........................................................... 3
2.
Three Poems by Glen Sorestad ............................................................................... 5
3.
Higgledy-Piggledy .................................................................................................. 5 Just Before Dark ..................................................................................................... 6 Southern Sunrise ..................................................................................................... 7 Two Poems by Catherine Noonan .......................................................................... 8
4.
A Night.................................................................................................................... 8 Safe ......................................................................................................................... 8 Two Poems by Dr. Girish Ramesh Kute................................................................. 9
5.
Gold dust ................................................................................................................. 9 Pinky ....................................................................................................................... 9 Two Poems by Aditya Shankar............................................................................. 11
6.
Eyebrows............................................................................................................... 11 Slightly Longer Than Reality................................................................................ 12 Three Ekphrastic Poems by Neil Ellman .............................................................. 14
7.
Mirror at Midnight II ............................................................................................ 14 Modest George Inesco .......................................................................................... 14 Onement III ........................................................................................................... 15 Love Wins Out by S. Krishnamoorthy Aithal ...................................................... 17
8.
Even the Beggar Chooses by Khurshid Alam....................................................... 22
9.
This Promising Age: A Critical Analysis by Dr. Dalip Kumar Khetarpal ........... 23
10.
Ethnicity and the Rhetoric of Difference by Mridula Kashyap ............................ 29
11.
Review on Sonnet Mondal's Diorama of Three Diaries by Dr. Sudesh Sinha ..... 37
12.
Arts by Ivan de Monbrison ................................................................................... 40
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Editorial 1.
eBook Reading Devices by Khurshid Alam
In the last month‘s editorial I talked about the growing space of electronic media. Realizing the growth of electronic presence, electronic manufacturers are deigning devices that help us in reading books on the electronic gadgets as well, so eBook reading devices have been introduced. An eBook reading device is an electronic gadget specially designed for reading books, journals, and magazines available in electronic media. It is a portable gadget very much similar to a mobile device or tablet computer. eBook readers may be basically of two types – eBook readers powered by e-paper technology that helps to display the text even in very bright sunlight. And the second is non-paper technology based. Many other devices such as smartphones, iPhone, Laptop, and other non e-paper technology based devices fall in the second category. Most of the eReaders are enriched with grayscale levels, audio formats, image formats, text-to-speech feature, apps, email, Internet surfing to mention a few. EBook reading devices are specially designed with ―a faster screen capable of higher refresh rates which makes them more suitable for interaction.‖ Now-a-days eBook readers are being trimmed for having good storage capacity, supporting color text and images, and at more affordable prices. With some reservation with color text and images the books are being formatted in a certain format but with color supporting technology, the books and periodicals will be as luxurious as they can be in hard paper. EBook readers provide us high convenience. We need not go to the book shop instead we simply log in to the online book portals, pay for a book and download it on the device and read it wherever we are on the go. Imagine you are travelling on a long journey on a train and you want to read a book of your choice. You just log in to the website on your Laptop in the train, make a payment through paper money, download a book, and start reading it. You enjoy the valuable time. You can also download many ebooks available for free as well or you can log in to the online libraries if you are a member or want to become one, and read the books. Interestingly all the eReaders have features to manage books that you borrow from the online libraries. Typically eBook readers have great capacity to store hundreds of books. This means you can actually carry a library of books along with you without the weight that can trouble you. Wow! As you read a book on the eBook reader, you can highlight your favorite lines, quotations, and make clips and notes without the use of papers and pen. Some of the popular eReaders are Libre Ebook Reader Pro (Aluratek), Kindle devices (Amazon.com), Nook devices (Barnes & Noble), Cybook Odyssey devices (Bookeen), eGriver (Condor Technology), Agebook eBook Reader (EBS Technology), BeBook devices (Endless ideas), eSlick (Foxit Software), WISEreader devices (Hanvon), Hanlin devices CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Editorial (JinKe), Kobo devices (Kobo Inc.), Boox devices (Onyx International), PocketBook devices (PocketBook), Papyrus (Samsung), and Reader devices (Sony) among others.
Khurshid Alam, Editor, CLRI, May 2012.
Forthcoming Topics Best Selling eWriters India‘s Stand in Digital Publishing Challenges in Digital Publishing Book Formats for Digital Publishing
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems 2.
Three Poems by Glen Sorestad
Higgledy-Piggledy I have long sought an opportunity to use higgledy-piggledy in a poem. My motivation is unclear, even to me, but perhaps it has something to do with the sound quality of the word, a dactylic roller-coaster ride. Nothing of this has much to do with denotation, whatever the word‘s original sense and usage might have been, so much as it does with the exquisite feel of the word in the mouth. Or perhaps it‘s the unexpected comic element the word injects into any consideration -the way it counter-balances the ponderous seriousness over-afflicting most poetry. After all, it would be hard to be convinced by any declaration of love which somehow moved towards a higgledy-piggledy climax. Come to think of it, not many other poets I‘ve read employ higgledy-piggledy much. Jiggery-pokery, maybe. Perhaps we poets all tend to take ourselves far too seriously. So I‘m resolving, here and now, to make higgledy-piggledy a poetic priority. I may have to slip it into the piece in some unexpected and ingenious way, the word clearly having its limitations. But isn‘t that what poetry is all about?
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems Just Before Dark I am the camp‘s only occupant— an unfamiliar scenario for me, but not disquieting—all the cabins around me, dark and silent as a night graveyard. The staff who work here have done their day‘s tasks and left. The sun has dropped and darkness creeps four-footed through the woods, as I step from my cabin for a brief walk before the last light is gone. A white-tail doe watches me stride the well worn route and as I near her, she steps silently from the path to fade behind an arras of yellow hazel nut foliage; a smaller deer, perhaps her offspring, comes from behind a cabin and bounces after the doe. A third deer appears, then there are no more. None of the trio are deterred at all from their browsing. I am merely a temporary curiosity, a brief interruption in their evening. Night wraps its cover over all of us.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems Southern Sunrise It‘s all so obvious, really. The rational part of me recognizes and knows as November wanes the light of day too shrinks, dawn arriving later like a hard-won promise and darkness pressing its advantage earlier every afternoon. It‘s all so familiar, this annual cycle the mind accepts, though seldom with willingness. Yet somehow one morning in November every year, I look out the eastern window and there is a sudden surge of wonder that gives the heart a quick lurch when I realize the sun is rising far to the south of where I think it ought. Say what you will, the mind may accept, but the heart has its own measure. Author’s Bio: Glen Sorestad is a well known Canadian poet who has published more than twenty volumes of his poetry till date. His poems have appeared in over 50 anthologies and textbooks, as well as having been translated into French, Finnish, Norwegian, Spanish, Slovenian and Afrikaans. His latest book of poems, A Thief of Impeccable Taste (Sand Crab Books, 2011) is published as a bilingual (English/Spanish) edition. Sorestad is a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets and is a Member of the Order of Canada. He lives in Saskatoon on the Canadian plains.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems 3.
Two Poems by Catherine Noonan
A Night Tired as if about to die but Sleep, any sleep without you rests nothing and so I wake soundly all night A pounding missing of you taking me into the dawn Where I look off and see only my own misery and yet Curse when someone interrupts my melancholy. Safe Indifference to you will never come from me I must fake it, walk nonchalantly by when really I couldn‘t care more You will always be there; felt A sad silence or a terrible truth And although I pray daily to be freed from loving what has ended I am too well bonded with not letting go and it is this That makes you never forgotten. Author’s Bio: Catherine Noonan is an Australia-based poet.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems 4.
Two Poems by Dr. Girish Ramesh Kute
Gold dust A spill of gold dust emblazoned in the shy dusk, washed in a sable attire as she takes over, dull sapphirine corundum sprinkling mists, gleaming in the barely lit moon. a melee of these azures, ebonies, gold-shower, as I stroll the midnight street, the boulevard of lost generation, relived with the stroke of the bell, of an unseen basilica, the winds that push me back in time, through the golden age of Pablo and Stein, where everything inspired assertiveness, every module of air breathed rich, exotic, and rains, that wetted the soul, and not just mere mortal, i visited my peace, my ambition— to stay entranced in my surrealism, forever. Pinky Humming through the dawned paddy fields, As she leaves the pail bearing spinsters behind, Uniformed, hair pony tailed with a red ribbon, Swaying her bag, hop, step and jump, Steps towards literacy, leaps towards light, She doesn‘t think that forward, She thinks of the mid-day meal in store for her today, Of the new friends she made yesterday, Of the new anklets she is wearing, Of the new slate she will write on, She thinks of the song the teacher sang, She remembers the tune but minces the words, She thinks of her class under the peepal tree, Of the prayer she says before and after class, Asking god to make her country prosperous, She is excited, she is happy, CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems A big smile on her face, Keep smiling Pinky. But there are a million Pinkies, Nipped in the bud, Tomb-ed in the womb, Not as lucky as this Pinky, Fail to see the light of the day. Stop female foeticide, Help Pinky. Author’s Bio: Dr. Girish Ramesh Kute, is a 23-year-old doctor from Mumbai and is the author of Poems- Mon Premier Travail. Has been published in various magazines, e-zines, literary journals such as Fried Eye, frogcroon, epigram, Enchanting Verses, Taj Mahal Review, Fancy Realms etc. He was a FIVE time Voices net international poetry contest finalist of eight entries. His work has been translated into Telugu which featured in The Deccan Chronicle‘s special edition Kavya Jagathi twice, which features poets from all around the world.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems 5.
Two Poems by Aditya Shankar
Eyebrows On a night when I cook fish for dinner, my eyebrow develops fins and slips away from our shallow midnights into a tear mistaken for an ocean leaving me all alone in the bed sandwiched between one day of thankless work and another and you drown yourself in a glass of wine the tip of which curls into a violent dream You fish in your angry upturned brows that look like boats and trick me back into the misery of a circus tent on my face I keep smiling all day unsure about when not to be happy.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems Slightly Longer Than Reality I learn the depth of smell from the elephant‘s snout – the dark and curly tunnel of desire that is slightly longer than reality. When reaching out to the shoots of palm in the hands of mahout, he is trying to reach the elusive smell of the forests‘ solitude and it keeps him going among the festival crazy people in my far away burning town as it kept the child abandoned at the café hooked to his ice cream when his parents left for change and never came back as it keeps the bachelors leaving alone in big cities hooked to the aroma of a new dish they make each time done to perfection till the day they meet their elusive love. Author’s Bio: Aditya Shankar, based in Thrissur, Kerala (India), is a bi-lingual writer and a short film-maker. He writes in English and Malayalam, and has published poetry and articles in leading journals, including The Little Magazine, The Word Plus, Indian Literature, The Literary X Magazine, Munyori, The Pyramid, Poetry Chain, Mastodon Dentist, The Wild Goose Poetry Review, Bayou Review, Meadowland Review, Words-Myth, Chandrabhaga, Miller‘s pond, Message in a bottle, Aireings, Hudson View, Snakeskin, The Legendary, Literary Bohemian among others.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems His flash fiction has been published in The Caledonia Review and The Other Herald. His short films have participated at International Film Festivals. Currently, he lives and works in Bangalore, after completing his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems 6.
Three Ekphrastic Poems by Neil Ellman
Each ekphrastic poem is based on a work of modern abstract art; and in each case, the title of the poem is also the title of the original image. For copyright considerations, the images have not been included here however they can be easily searched on the Internet. Mirror at Midnight II (After the painting by William Baziotes) In the mirror seen the semblance of a soul I cringe at the images dark awakening dark defeat dark reflections I my semblance I the night I another what face lurks in the glass not my own— it is midnight I own the night and it owns me. Modest George Inesco (After the shaped painting by Kenneth Noland) Six sides to every question unequal no truth in equilaterals the distance between here and there disproportionate now and then today tomorrow CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems between justice & the law truth in the shape of a hexagram six-legged vertices beehive honeycomb is where the devil hides.
Onement III (After the Painting by Barnett Newman) out of place out of space out of breadth out of breath the depth of why the length of if no past future tense none only on out CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Poems of time Author’s Bio: Neil Ellman lives and writes in New Jersey (USA). His poems, many of them ekphrastic and based on works of modern and contemporary art, appear in numerous print and online journals in a dozen nations, including a previous appearance in Contemporary Literary Review India.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Story 7.
Love Wins Out by S. Krishnamoorthy Aithal
Surprisingly, the truce brokered by Madhav between factions and interest groups—some trying to protect Rushdie and others aiding and abetting the apostate‘s assassination—held for many years. The representatives of the Muslim world—the Sheikh who had promised the reward of one million for the executors of the fatwa against Rushdie, the Director of Scotland Yard, the Manager of the Penguin Press, and Harold Pinter on behalf of Salman Rushdie— the signatories to the treaty—were more or less pleased with the peace treaty, or so it seemed. The killers seemed to narrowly miss Rushdie, time after time, because they would find him either during the day or the night, within the four walls of a room or under a roof, reading, writing, eating, or sleeping, and so on, under which conditions they had been forbidden to carry out their task in terms of the memorandum their representatives had signed. In any case, they persuaded themselves to believe that they were getting ever closer to him. The Scotland Yard was spared of the criticism of the British public that it was spending too much of its time and resources protecting a Paki immigrant, albeit a regular British citizen and an Indian immigrant, an NRI. Besides, the Scotland Yard had more serious tasks on hand, particularly after September 11, 2001. Luckily for them, Rushdie lived in New York for most of the year, and the Iranian government had repudiated the death threat on Rushdie, if that meant anything. Although the sales of Rushdie‘s books had fallen somewhat due to the lack of earlier publicity, the Penguin Publishers and their associates were making tidy profits from the sale of Rushdie‘s books, old and new. Harold Pinter felt happy for his client. Relatively free from the constant threat of death, Rushdie could pursue the normal activities of a young man, legally divorced, in possession of a large fortune. He wooed, won, and wed again. He was happy to show his trophy to the world, but had little patience with paparazzi, who encroached on the ground beneath his new wife‘s feet. Swinging a cricket bat, he screamed at them and drove them away. Notwithstanding the apparent success of the treaty, Madhav did, however, recognize the possible strain it might be causing on all the parties, and he had no doubt that it would break down like any other truce sooner or later. For example, Rushdie still felt threatened particularly after sundown, and the fear was aggravated by his newly-gained companionship; he didn‘t want to break the heart of his lovely wife by an untimely departure. As agreed, the publishers were not making a full donation of their profits to the improvement of life of the Asian immigrants in England, and this was weighing heavily on their conscience. Even the small expense on Rushdie during his infrequent visits to London seemed like a big burden on CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Story the British government involved in a prolonged war in Iraq. The delay of execution was causing a faint suspicion among the aspiring assassins if the whole scheme wasn‘t a ploy designed to fool them. Madhav was not certainly the one to be taken in by surprise. He believed in taking proactive steps. On the fifteenth anniversary of the truce, he proposed a meeting of all the original signatories in Washington, DC, to enable them to rededicate themselves to the cause of nonviolence and peace. From the word go, the proposed meeting encountered problems. John, his friend and co-sponsor of the first meeting in London, politely declined to take any part in it. He was exasperated by Madhav‘s obsession with world peace, but did not, of course, say it in so many words. From the Grand Canyon, where he had retired to pursue writing fulltime undisturbed, he wished Madhav success in the peace venture. Although the friends of Rushdie had no objection to their foes pursuing their goal for religious reasons, they insisted, before they sat down with them in Washington, that their foes give a written assurance that they wouldn‘t cause any physical harm to the writer. The representatives of the foes of Rushdie objected to the choice of the venue; they were afraid that they might be hauled up by the FBI and sent to the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison: what the Amnesty International called the modern-day gulag, to an uproar of protest from the democracies of the world. After a great deal of diplomatic maneuvering, Madhav succeeded in persuading all the participants to assemble in Washington, DC, without any preconditions. He promised them that he would table all their concerns and views for open discussion, and would not hustle them to sign any agreement without their full consent. To maintain transparency, he had, in fact, made necessary arrangements with the Universal Channel to broadcast live the proceedings of the meeting to the whole world on television. As regards the fear of arrest and dispatch to Guantanamo Bay, he argued with his Muslim friends that, as long as the dead body and the murder weapon were not found by the police, they would be safe and had nothing to fear from anyone. The invited guests arrived on time for the meeting in the Kennedy Center. In a passionate welcome speech, Madhav stressed the need to reduce tension in the world so that countries and governments had time to address problems of poverty, unemployment, disease, and natural calamities. Long and rambling speeches followed the inaugural for television consumption. CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Story Everybody agreed with Madhav to work for peace, but took the view that the truce had become irrelevant in view of the world events—September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, the war on Iraq, the prisoners‘ abuse, the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and the havoc created by Katrina in the United States. One side bitterly criticized the continued and continuing attacks on their god and the prophet by the infidels and by their hirelings like Rushdie who, they alleged, carried the infidels‘ guns on their shoulders. The other side defended freedom of speech, however offensive an individual‘s ideas might sound. They argued that the right to freedom of expression was the very foundation of democracy and they would under no circumstances compromise this right. When these orations were in progress, Madhav received directions how to proceed from god knows where. He followed them without question, reminded by Shakespeare‘s Hamlet: ―Remember, Horatio, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy!‖ There was no other way of explaining the plan of action he hit upon on such occasions. He knew that his Muslim brethren hadn‘t read The Satanic Verses and there was no way he could persuade them to read the blasphemous book, induce them even to touch it with a long barge pole. He wasn‘t also sure that others had read it carefully enough, either. True, the copies of the book were selling in millions. Buying a book is, however, merely establishing property rights to it, as someone put it, not to be taken for owning it in any meaningful way. Owning a book involved reading it, understanding its contents, absorbing its ideas. So he got a few pages of The Satanic Verses photocopied without the header or the page numbers. He distributed them among the participants and asked them to take a few minutes to read it silently. Soon he found ashen faces on one side and bright and cheerful faces on the other. ―This is precisely the point that we have been hammering at all along,‖ an Arab Muslim representative stood up and declared. ―These so-called civilized people who call us animals are themselves full of intolerance, bigotry, cruelty, and brutality. How dare they talk about civilized standards, while they force their innocent victims eat their own muck! How dare they give sermons against torture when they give their police a free hand! Blah!‖ The speaker wanted to read the pages aloud for the benefit of the audience the world over. Although time was running out, Madhav allowed the speaker permission to read the pages with a disclaimer that the World Peace, Inc., under whose auspices the peace and CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Story reconciliation meeting was held, or any of its organizational entities, took no responsibility for the views, philosophy, will, or intent contained in the pages. As soon as the reading came to an end, the civilized people the world over—remember the proceedings were aired live by Universal Channel—shouted that the passage was probably written by some insane Islamic jihadist. Madhav wondered if he overplayed his hand. When the audience demanded to know the author of the passage, he had, without any privilege of reporter-source kind of confidentiality under the constitution, no option but to reveal that the passage was taken from Salman Rushdie‘s The Satanic Verses, Chapter III, Section 3, parts 1-3, and pages 157- 64. Casually, as an aside, he mentioned that this is only one of the many similar passages in the book. To convince all the participants in the meeting hall and the curious onlookers outside that the pages were indeed from The Satanic Verses, Madhav produced the copies of the novel. To allay fears that he had given them some pirated or doctored edition of the book, he got different editions of the novel, published in England as well as in the United States by reputed publishers. Even the first edition of the novel from the Library of Congress was procured to verify the authenticity of authorship. An Internet search was initiated to trace the location of the original manuscript in Kashmir. While this academic exercise was going on in the Kennedy Center, news broke out on TV that Rushdie was captured and murdered in England. A correction soon followed that he was captured, not by Islamic extremists but by Skinheads, while the British protection force idly stood by, and that the murder news was still unconfirmed. A further correction followed saying that the capture was made not by real Skinheads, but by Iranian government agents, who, in the disguise of Skinheads, stormed into Rushdie‘s farmhouse near London. The viewers were asked to stay tuned to learn what happened next after a brief commercial break. Within seconds, Rushdie was seen being torn away from his lovely wife‘s feeble enfolding arms with rude force, carried swiftly into a helicopter in the backyard in his pyjamas, then into a jumbo jet waiting at Heathrow, and flown past the military jets trying to intercept the plane to Teheran where he was greeted and embraced by the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and cheered by millions of Iranians to the villain-turned-hero‘s dismay and joy. In London, Jack Straw summoned Iranian chargé d‘affaires to the Foreign Office and demanded that Rushdie be immediately returned to London to face charges of malicious slander against the British police and society. The participants at the meeting at the Kennedy Center watched blow by blow the entire episode on television with astonishment and disbelief. CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Story Overtaken by the sudden occurrences in the real world, Madhav hurriedly adjourned the peace meeting. As he regained his calm, he saw a new dawn breaking in the far horizon, past Homer‘s Aegean skies and the Arabian Desert. Setting aside their political and religious differences, nations and governments were working hard to reunite Rushdie and his wife who had refused to touch food or water until each was restored to the other. With every passing hour the condition of the lovers was deteriorating and their government custodians were becoming nervous lest the lovelorn should die at their hands. It became evident that the only way for the sworn enemies was to reunite the two, let bygones be bygones and declare unilateral and unconditional peace. Exceeding postmodernist imagination, events thus rolled on to a close and Leila and Majnu were together again bringing universal joy. Note: This is a sequel to the short story ―Squaring the Rushdie Cycle‖ that appeared in Critical Quarterly 33 (1991): 48- 53. Author’s Bio: S. Krishnamoorthy Aithal has published articles on a wide range of authors and books in scholarly international journals. His short stories have appeared in Critical Quarterly, Short Story International, Unlikely Stories, Long Story Short, Indian Literature, and New Quest. Two volumes of his short stories One in Many and Many in One are making editorial rounds. He teaches English at Potomac College , Washington , DC.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Story 8.
Even the Beggar Chooses by Khurshid Alam
Every morning I stood at the Bamboo Villa bus stop in central Calcutta for my office, a beggar at the footpath used to salute me in gesture. Wordless greetings convey the meaning explicit cutting cultural barrier. But I refused to make a meaning to his salutation lest the onlookers spot me and shrug at me. Association often brings you value. Months passed. It was winter then. I saw him he felt the sting of cold in the rags. He smiled at me with the same gesture. I took compassion on him now. The next day I brought a used old sweater and offered it to him. ‗Please wait for a minute‘, he said. Though I had turned away from him, I had to hold. While I was waiting, he was busy inspecting the sweater I offered. He examined the selvage, checked the helm, turned the chest pocket inside out, and rubbed the cloth at an end. He checked it with a master‘s hand many times over, in and out. I couldn‘t understand what he was trying to descry. I was but watching him with stifling passion. ‗It‘s of no use to me, sir. Please take it back‘, he returned the sweater with a cold face. The smile was absent from his face this time. I was dumb. I took the sweater scratching my head thinking why he returned it. He saw it rather with an eye of a seller than with an eye of a user. My sweater fell short of sartorial elegance on one hand and was far away from raffish frame at another. It was not as good that he could sell it, and earn money. It was neither as bad that he could wear it himself. My sweater did not qualify for a beggar‘s uniform: he then could not sell his abject condition and win the compassion of the people. So it was of no use to him. He returned the sweater with a great choice. His this behaviour reminded me of the situation when Rabindranath Tagore once gave a ‗gold coin‘ to a beggar in London, and the beggar returned it to him too coldly. Note: This story has been written as a tribute to gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary this May. Author’s Bio: Khurshid Alam is a senior technical writer with an IT company and is a widely published writer and editor with CLRI.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Criticism 9.
This Promising Age: A Critical Analysis by Dr. Dalip Kumar Khetarpal
Poetry, which makes its appeal through heightened language, has restricted audience, especially in the new era of science and technology. But, despite this, D. C. Chambial‘s poetry spontaneously evokes a lively response from almost all who read it precisely because he is successful in weaving together a plethora of current issues with nature, science, mythology, religion, metaphysics and psychology, with rare poignancy, panache and dexterity. Further, instead of venting his aggrieved and disgruntled feelings with the existing degenerative system and social evils ferociously, he vents them calmly through beautiful verses, providing perennial interest and delight to all. One only needs a discerning eye to appreciate and fathom out the depths and truths of intense feelings and emotions of his verses. In fact, it has to be left to a true connoisseur to asses his true artistic and literary potentials and credentials. I had to wade through Chambial‘s reflective poems breathlessly to reach his vexed psyche. A journey from ―This Promising Age‖ to ―Before the Petals Unfold‖ was really hectic, but exhilarating and invigorating. It goes to the credit of his spontaneity of thought, expression and inbuilt sense of craftsmanship that there is an almost perfect fusion between his themes and prevailing de-spiritualized climate, between the beauties of poetry and grim realities of the increasingly depraved and mechanized world of today, inconceivable perhaps, in most contemporary Indo-English poets. Though the poet‘s impassioned utterance crafted from the bleak scenario gives a painful wrench to one‘s psyche, yet it is striking and captivating. His ‗psychization‘, hence, is commendable. Since the first section of the Collected Poems, ―This Promising Age‖ is the focal point of my present critical analysis; I shall remain confined to it only. The title, ―This Promising Age‖, is doubtless, understated, rather undermined for nothing. Though in ―Beautiful Beyond‖, the poet anticipates a perfect world for mankind, it could still not be considered promising, because Utopian ideals exist only in imagination and never in reality. The poem, obviously, is a glaring manifestation of the poet‘s sudden violent outburst of a sense of grievances against the evils of the system. The glorious past for which he yearns is no more perceptible to him. The world now has become the ―Jungle of Automation‖ wherein: Machine instructs Calculates and infers Achievements Of Homo-sapiens. Further, ―In this robot culture‖
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Criticism … Soul defies The principle of metempsychosis And enters into Wires, screws, transistors, Magnets and diaphragms To help, interprets and amuse? The poet also laments the disappearance of ―logic of inventive thought‖, the dissension of ―synthetic cultures and ideals‖ ―on the earth‖ and the annihilation of ―compassion, pity, sympathy‖ ―in the face of hypocrisy and cynicism‖ by the dominance forces of materialized and industrialized world. Humanity, therefore, is endangered and finds no place in this somber set-up. The poem is also marked by psychological undertones in that it delineates the predicament of tocophobic women who want to have children but fear pregnancy which distorts the shape of their body. It is a pity that the help of surrogate mothers has to be sought to materialize their dreams, ironically ―in this affluent society‖. The poet‘s agonized soul vis-à-vis this robotized world is effectively and picturesquely portrayed through mental images thus: On the cross- roads of crises Minutes are stretching longer Than hours and days Years contracted to seconds, Passions degenerated Into mechanized smiles while coming and going lips frigid to flowery kisses inside the tube. The poem ends with the hint of the disastrous fate of modern man‘s painfully alienated plight explicated psycho- medically. A man shows reduced normal reflexes and responses when he is under long influence of Neuromycin. In quite the same manner, a man afflicted with schizoid personality disorder is cold, distant, introverted, evinces shut- in- thinking, and has an intense fear of reality, intimacy and closeness with other people. Paradoxically, in this promising age one only witnesses ―unreal schizoid individuals‖ instead of sane, normal and schizoid-free beings. The idea of degeneration of society which has been witnessed in the aftermath of mechanization and industrialization permeates the whole poem. In ―Irony of Fate‖, the poet empathizes with the fate of Kalpana Chawla. The poem reveals the poet‘s strong human element which surges whenever he witnesses any tragedy in any part of the world. It also illustrates how he wants to commemorate and honour a brave, dauntless CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Criticism international figure, who due to irony of fate was cut in her prime. ―She‘d come to this world from Beyond the Stars‖, is the corollary of ―Irony of Fate‖. In this, the poet depicts the tragedy of Kalpana Chawla whose ambition spreads to the stars, but tragically ―vanished among the stars‖ thus embracing death in her prime of life. The poem is a poetically poignant tribute to Kalpana Chawla. ―On this day‖ highlights Chambial‘s deep concern for the corrupt- free world. He invokes God to arouse the conscience of corrupt politicians and religious men by enticing them like the: …Gopikars or the pied-piper of Hamlin and teach them a lesson in ethics when they get to rape the nation next time in the name of serving people, their conscience is stirred and they peep into the deep well full of mire and stench that alienate man from man. The poet goes on to explicate how immaculate, pure and simple was man when he was born. But with the passage of time, as he becomes an adult, the lust for religious and political powers taints him and makes him ―blood thristy‖ and converts him into a wolf or a hyena. He fervently appeals to God to save the souls of such people from damnation. To support and strengthen his point, the poet quotes lines from the ―Gita‖ which imparts religious connotations and moral fervor to the poem. ―A Proud Pyramid‖ and ―Dust to Man‖ have moral and philosophical overtones in that they elucidate how a man is turned to dust which is his ultimate fate. Arrogance and vanity cannot estrange him from dust for he has to finally ―Crumble like a house of cards‖. The central idea of these two poems reminds one of Shelley‘s ―Ozymandiaz of Egypt‖. ―Misty Reality‖ explains the abstruse nature of reality which is and has been misty, vague and opaque since times immemorial. A fine amalgam of reality and imagination is displayed by the poet when he says: We lived and die Embracing a misty reality That‘s keeps the river flowing Forever and ever! CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism
In this poem one also gets to see the poet as an ontologist and thinker who can delve deep into the fathomless issues of life. ―Beautiful Beyond‖ is a sudden deviation from Chambial‘s earlier socio-moral, ontological and philosophical poems. From a somewhat dystopic world, the poet has shifted to a Utopian world as if to relieve himself of the agonies and sorrows of this sordid world. He dreams of an unachievable world of perfection wherein there is no ―Sun fires‖, ―drought‖, foggy ―freezing chill‖, ―hungers and all the greeds‖, but only: Serene satisfaction, sans deeds Writ large on every face Chambial, no doubt, evinces a healthy, positive thinking in this poem, but it is an unrealistic and impracticable one. The real life as lived by us is a blend of the good and the bad. The good can never be sifted from the bad; neither can the reverse be done. But however, wisdom consists in synthesizing all heterogeneities and diversities into a homogeneous harmony. The poet‘s longing for a glorious future or an ideal world, shows his deep dissatisfaction with the current dismal scenario, making him appear even an escapist. But his craving for an ideal world acts as defense mechanism which works as a protection against anxiety, tension and conflict that fiercely brew in his sub-consciousness. However, in this poem, there is nothing to suggest that Chambial‘s yearning is in the manner of the desire of the moth for the stars. Shelley and Keats yearned for the past glory by totally rejecting the present. This leads them to construct a dream world of their yearnings and sighs in their poetry. But, conversely, Chambial‘s yearning and craving for an Utopion world emanates from his mysticism. His firm faith in God motivates him to yearn for the abode of the Almighty which is a beautiful home, which ―exists beyond‖ this mundane world and where ―All the hungers and all the greeds‖, are inconceivable. The poet‘s yearnings, as such, have moral, spiritual and purposeful bases. As a sequel to ―Beautiful Beyond‖, the poem, ―Light‖, spotlights the beautiful life beyond life which could be perceived only by the soul after its release from the body: Now I experience A falcon freedom To fathom the deepest skies And have vision Of the beyond Where reigns Fullness. CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism The poem breathes an air of mysticism and reveals the poet‘s faith in life after life. The idea of man‘s relentless efforts to explore the final truth also indicates his scientific temper, spirit of enquiry, of unraveling the mysteries of life. The harmonious blend of religion and science in the last stanza posits the poet‘s holistic vision: The fullness of kalpas And even beyond The truth Man is engaged in To unravel. The scientific temper of the poet is also evident in ―Words in Commotion‖ when he clearly envisions that there was darkness with him since big bang; before his entry into this world. The same darkness will now remain his companion even after his exit from this world. ―Gyrating Hawk‖ is weirdly dramatic and metaphysical in that it portrays the unpleasant hovering of evils and dangers of corruption over the vast expanse of peace-loving and innocent humanity. To disturb the harmony of: Songs from earth And sky…. Hawk gyrates and gyrates Over the vast, deep and calm Sea of dawn….. The psychological comparison of hawk to evil or corruption and vast deep and calm sea to humanity is apt and precise even at the metaphysical level. Further, the picture of ―Waterfalls‖ (through lettered graphics) by sensuous hillside/ where Kama and Rati sleep together is drawn sensuously, tellingly and meaningfully, reminiscent of Keats‘s sensuousness and pictorial quality. The harrowing spiritual and moral sterility, the threaten human peace, virtues and values in the current distressing scenario has been symbolized by horrifying images like ―hawk gyrating‖, ―squeaking‖, ―snake in claws‖, ― Cats, leopards and wolves‖ stretching their legs and walking ―into the pool of blood‖. The poem, in fact, is a terse and bleak documentary account of the current moribund civilization. ―On my Death‖ is written in anticipation of the reaction of mourners attending the poet‘s funeral. It is quite true that the poet while alive could never buy the ―free, frank and fair‖ judgment that the mourners would pass after his death. Though the poem has an undercurrent CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism of melancholy, a tinge of mordant wit pervades throughout and manifests a unique display of witty sarcasm by the poet: Tears could not Vie with blood Blood with water Water too dear To be washed For blood or tears. ―Sand Smell Spreads‖ is a highly metaphysical poem and demonstrates Chambial‘s pictorial quality and sensuousness. Though all the four stanzas appear as fragmentary pieces, yet there is a unity of thought and impression. How sand smell is emitted and spread owing to extreme drought in Rajasthan is sensuously delineated: Sand smell spreads in sunburnt desert Squeezes every drop of water, Fire, the volition of earth. Further, with ―Pagodas on heads‖, ―miles of fire-tread‖ is made to obtain the ―ambrosia of life‖, reflecting a moving scene of struggle, hardship and privation one undergoes for bare survival in drought- hit areas. But the struggle is not fruitless for ―ploughing the sands/mirage metamorphoses into reality‖. The picture of the poem may appear grim, but from this grimness emerges fruits of success and victory, for even ―The fiery sun feels defeated‖ before human endeavour. The poem is a fine specimen of Chambial‘s optimism and pictorial composition of metaphysical ideas deftly tampered with sensuousness. The first section thus, highlights Chambial‘s skill in communicating his perception, imagination and experience meaningfully, objectively, symbolically, dramatically, scientifically, metaphysically, sensuously, mystically and morally with full poetic candor, conviction and beauty, thereby carving a niche for himself in the realm of modern poetry. Author’s Bio: Dr. Dalip Kumar Khetarpal has a long experience as a Lecturer with various colleges in Delhi and Haryana. Dr Dalip has also started a new genre in the field of poetry which he calls ‗psycho-psychic flints‘. His poems are flints because they emit spark when they hit the readers‘ mind. His criticism and poems are appear widely both in national and international magazines and journals.
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Criticism 10.
Ethnicity and the Rhetoric of Difference by Mridula Kashyap Introduction: Set in the backdrop of the Bodo society, Janil Kr. Brahma and Katindra Swargiary‘s short stories ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ and ―Hongla Pondit‖ respectively reflect the aspects of nationalistic strife undertaken by the Bodo people to assert their ethnic identity. In both the stories it is projected that Bodo people seek to stabilize their ethnic identity in terms of the rhetoric of difference. This rhetoric of difference explicitly points to conscious cultural practices—rituals, customs, names—which are used not only to assert the Bodo identity but also its discernible difference from other ethnic groups for both political and cultural cause. The implicit questions that arouse from the stories are—is ethnic identity entirely based on the rhetoric of difference? Is it not possible to retain the difference without being hostile to other ethnic groups in particular and to the idea of Assamese in general? The Bodo nationalism seeks to justify that it is the rhetoric of difference that aids in structuring their ethnic identity. With linguistic and cultural differences the Bodos strive to differentiate themselves so as to preserve their identity. Indeed, for them it is a political as well as cultural necessity. These aspects are sought to demonstrate in this paper. Janil Kr. Brahma and Katindra Swargiary‘s short stories ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ and ―Hongla Pondit‖ respectively reflect the Bodo consciousness of their origin, history and culture. In ―Hongla Pondit‖ through the attitude of Navajyoti or Irakdao it becomes evident that the Bodos regard Assam as their homeland and claim with the weight of historical affirmation as the original inhabitants of Assam. But the irony is that they do not call themselves Assamese. This becomes evident from Navajyoti‘s changing of name to Irakdao. On the other hand, the story ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ shows the resurgent Bodo ethnicity in its political dimension. Opposed to assimilate or homogenize themselves under the umbrella term of ‗Assamese‘ the Bodos endeavour to recognize their difference that will, as desired, establish their ethnic identity. This paper is an attempt to address these issues.
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Criticism Ethnicity and the Rhetoric of Difference: A Reading of Janil Kumar Brahma’s “Dumphao’s Phitha” and Katindra Swargiary’s “Hongla Pandit.” The central theme in Bodo cultural politics today is to repudiate the process of unequal assimilation into Assamese subnational formation and to seek differentiation from, and equality with, the ethnic Assamese. (Baruah, 2001:183) The relationship of an ethnic tribe to the state of Assam has been a problematic one for the Bodos because of the surpassing importance in the ideology of the values of freedom, equality and the autonomy of the tribe. In these circumstances the questions, ‗Who are we?‘ and ‗Where do we belong?‘ become inevitable. Set in the backdrop of the Bodo society, Janil Kr. Brahma and Katindra Swargiary‘s short stories ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ and ―Hongla Pandit‖ respectively deal with these questions and reflect the aspects of nationalistic strife undertaken by the Bodo people to assert their ethnic identity. My attempt in this paper is to project how in both the stories Bodo people seek to stabilize their ethnic identity in terms of the rhetoric of difference. This rhetoric of difference explicitly points to conscious cultural practices— rituals, customs, names— which are used not only to assert the Bodo identity but also its discernible differences from other ethnic groups for both political and cultural causes. A sense of uncertainty regarding their future identity and existence, confused by the prevalent nationalist discourses and frightened by the prospect of being submerged in the Assamese hegemony the Bodos in Assam faced an ethnic crisis and as such they preferred a confrontationist path in order to establish their ethnic identity. Indeed, for them it is a political as well as cultural necessity. ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ and ―Hongla Pandit‖ reflect the Bodo consciousness: their origin, history and culture. In Janil Kr. Brahma‘s ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ Somen Master, Dumphao‘s husband is projected as a common man whose job as a school teacher is yet not permanent ―my job is also not yet permanent. One cannot get a job when one wants it!‖ (Brahma, p 22), but is devoted to work for the upliftment of his community. This is evident in the following statement: But what have I given to the community? You have seen Dumphao, how nowadays everyone wants their community to prosper. All communities are progressing. Only we Bodos are lagging behind. Will our community survive if we sit back and say we are poor? You are a literate woman. If all of us, you and I, do not do anything to uplift our community a little, who will do it Dumphao? (Brahma, p 22) Somen‘s statement projects his growing ethnic consciousness and a call to the Bodo community to work progressively for affirming their Bodo identity. Their marginal position serves as the battle ground for reclaiming their ethnic identity. Moreover, Somen‘s urge to CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism work for the upliftment of the Bodo community in particular acts as a means of resistance to the grand Assamese discourse. Opposed to assimilate or homogenize themselves under the umbrella term of ‗Assamese‘ the Bodos endeavour to recognize their difference in order to establish their ethnic identity. Inspired by her husband‘s words, Dumphao makes up her mind to assist her husband in every step of life. With this objective she sets out to sell phithas (rice cake) in the Samthaibari market. If women from other communities could thrive trading in items like betel nut and tea, why can‘t the Bodo women? I am also human, thought Dumphao. Thus, Dumphao set forth to do just as she had thought. (Brahma, p 22) This knowledge of the position of the ‗other‘ is crucial in determining one‘s subjectivity. Opposed to the theory of assimilation the Bodos regard the Assamese as their ‗other‘. However, this opposition amongst the Bodos has been the result of the oppression to which they have been subjected to throughout history being the original natives of Assam. They have been the victims of land alienation, poverty, severe unemployment, economic exploitation and cultural and political oppression in Assam. Monirul Hussain in his essay ―Tribal Question in Assam‖ states: There are also numerous cases of land alienation from tribals in which the state government itself was involved. In a memorandum submitted to the president of India, the Plains Tribals Council of Assam (PTCA) specified several cases in which state government agencies were involved in depriving tribals of their land in the tribal belts to accommodate non- tribals. (Hussain, 1992: 1049) Being subjected to state oppression, deprivation and discrimination the Bodos become homeless in their own homeland and as such seek to regard Assamese as the ‗other.‘ They, in turn, started articulating their identity to gain political power and to overcome their socioeconomic backwardness and oppression. One of the most essential grounds by which the Bodos maintain their rhetoric of difference from Assamese subnationalism is through language. Sonam Babu, a youth leader in ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ raises a proposal to set up a Martyr‘s Tomb in Samthaibari Market commemorating the leaders who sacrificed their lives in the Roman Script Movement. It is noteworthy that in 1974, a movement demanding the introduction of the Roman script for the Bodo language was launched by the BSS (Bodo Sahitya Sabha) with the active support of the ABSU (All Bodo Students‘ Union). The Bodo leaders of that time felt that the Roman script was easier and more susceptible to the peculiar phonetic sounds of the Bodo language. But the government of Assam opposed the demand and the Script Movement turned violent resulting in police action against the agitators. Jadav Pegu states: CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism More than fifteen Bodos had to lay down their lives during the course of their agitation. In the end, there were no gainers: the Bodos discarded the Assamese script and the Government accepted the compromise option of allowing the Devanagiri instead of Roman script for the Bodo language…The Bodo language and literature could not develop satisfactorily due to this long drawn out struggle to find the right and widely accepted script. (Pegu, p 89) Dumphao delivers a sum of rupees five thousand to Sonam Babu for the noble cause of erecting a permanent Martyr‘s Tomb made of marble in honour of the leaders who sacrificed their lives for the ―Bodo cause‖ (Brahma, p 24). Three months later when the work of the tomb has been completed a meeting is organized with a view to inaugurating the tomb. Somen Master, who is also a devout social activist, is invited to inaugurate the Martyr‘s Tomb. Dumphao accompanies her husband to the meeting. After felicitating the invited guests with traditional Aronai, Sonam Babu delivers a speech in which he formally introduces the guests to the masses gathered on the occasion. Apart from complimenting Somen Master for his untiring zeal for the Bodo cause he also commends Dumphao who establishes herself as a leading woman trader amongst the Bodo women. Next Somen Master delivers a speech recalling the people who fought for the cause of Bodo language and literature which not only moves the masses to tears but also imbibes in their mind the consciousness to assert the distinctiveness and equality of the Bodos vis-à-vis the ethnic Assamese. Katindra Swargiary‘s ―Hongla Pandit‖ also centers on the issue of Bodo-Assamese conflict. Being the first matriculate in the Samthaibari area Hongla Pondit was proud of his career as an L.P. school teacher and preferred to be called Pandit rather than ‗Master‘ or ‗Teacher‘. He felt that the terms ‗Master‘ or ‗Teacher‘ failed to encompass his wide range of knowledge and wisdom. But Hongla Pandit is retired now. He never allowed his children to mingle with the ordinary village folks because he feared that they might assimilate into the local language and culture. He too distanced himself from the people of his village. He regarded his native language as inferior and forbade his children to speak in their native tongue at home. ―Hongla Pandit never encouraged speaking in Bodo in his household from before. If somebody in the house violated this rule, s/he had to face Hongla Pandit‘s glare.‖ (Swargiary, p 56). Instead, he resorted to the Assamese language because of the power and prestige associated with it and even gave Assamese names to his children—Ram, Arjun, Devjani and Navajyoti. He sent his children to be educated in the town. Hongla Pondit‘s preference to the Assamese language over the Bodo signifies to the fact how the Bodos once upon a time sweated to learn the Assamese language and adopt the culture of the Assamese-speaking class. For many members of the Bodo community the ability to speak the Assamese language was considered CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism an achievement in itself. In this context it is, however, noteworthy that Assamese can be regarded as an outside language which imposed itself steadily on the Bodo communities through its superiority gained from its written script and its Sanskrit base, and the rich Hindu culture and tradition that it carried. Jadav Pegu in Reclaiming Identity: A Discourse on Bodo History asserts: Indeed, the original Assamese-speaking people can be seen as outsiders who brought ‗Aryan‘ culture and developed a Sanskrit-based language in the region and imposed themselves on the aboriginal groups. (Pegu, p 6) He further claims: It can, therefore, be deduced that a superior language [‗Assamese‘] fostered by ‗higher‘ caste people and apparently favoured by indigenous kings and chieftains under the influence of Brahmans representing a higher civilization and religion, had, over the years, in the period of medieval and modern history, hijacked the identity of a region that was originally dominated by communities speaking dialects belonging to the Tibeto-Chinese family and especially to its Tibeto-Burman subfamily [the Bodos]. (Pegu, p 11-12) Thus, it becomes evident that the caste-Hindus were able to establish Assamese as the dominant language in Assam and exert its influence over the other ethnic tribes. Therefore, many members of the ethnic tribes have themselves adopted the Assamese language and culture to form a major chunk of the Assamese-speaking milieu. Moreover, the history of the assimilation of the Bodos and other ethnic tribes into the Assamese formation provides one of the most dramatic examples of how Aryan civilization in India‘s northeastern periphery managed to recruit converts from the aboriginals of Assam and thereby continue to maintain the differentiating policy of caste and tribe. For those who remained outside the Hindu caste order was stigmatized as ‗Kacharis‘, a term which among the caste-Hindu Assamese have a rather pejorative connotation. Hongla Pandit‘s recourse to the Assamese language in lieu of his mother tongue Bodo is Katindra Swargiary‘s projection of these issues. But with education and enlightenment drawing upon them and due to many socio-economic factors, the Bodos become conscious that their original identity shall not be allowed to disappear. This becomes evident when Hongla Pondit‘s youngest son Navajyoti changes his name to Irakdao after he goes to pursue his education at the university. Irakdao was the Bodo name of the last Kachari king Govinda Chandra. He now speaks only Bodo and prefers not to speak Assamese. ―…Navajyoti or Irakdao speaks only in Bodo, mixes with the ordinary people, goes out and eats with them. Not only that, sometimes he would bring them to his house and would be found in deep discussion with them.‖ (Swargiary, p 56). CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism The implication of speaking Bodo operates as a powerful marker of differentiation by which Bodos differentiate themselves from the ethnic Assamese. Through the attitude of Navajyoti or Irakdao it becomes evident that the Bodos regard Assam as their homeland and claim with the weight of historical affirmation as the original inhabitants of Assam. But the irony is that they do not call themselves Assamese. In order to assert their difference from the Assamese sub-nationalism, Irakdao finally joins the Bodo militant organization called Bodo Liberation Organization. The Bodo Liberation Organisation ambushed an army convoy and killed eight of them on the spot and seized their weapons. Violence acts as a political strategy to reclaim their ethnic identity. The power structure of the state fails to give an ear to the voices of the Bodo ethnic community. According to Irakdao, the Bodos have been colonized and exploited in their own homeland as the democratic mechanism of the state has been largely biased in favour of the majority group in a polyethnic society. The democratic mechanism of the state government that operates in the guise of colonialist regime fails to conceptualize the voices of the Bodos thereby displacing them from the centre to the periphery. Violence, for Irakdao becomes an inevitable option that represents the deep sense of frustration permeating his social psyche: Violence has become a strategic political tool particularly in the hands of the smaller communities whose interests are not adequately looked after by the majoritarian democratic institutions working in a polyethnic social space. (Das, p 44) The ideology behind their indulging in such militarism is to assert their rhetoric of difference from the Assamese sub-nationalism. And the politics behind such rhetoric of difference is to gain autonomy. In this regard it seeks to differentiate it from the Assam movement as the Bodos realize that the policies of Assam movement do not figure out the Bodo voice. Indeed, to some extent the movement for a Bodo homeland was an outgrowth of the Assam movement. … Assam movement contributed to the process of ethnicization of the Assamese. Bodo student leaders accused ethnic Assamese leaders of anti-tribal prejudices and portrayed the first AGP government as an ―Assamese government,‖ meaning a narrowly based ethnic Assamese government that cannot be trusted to speak for Assam as a whole. (Baruah, 2001:175) It is this sense of ethnic insecurity that facilitates the ground for Bodo insurgency. As a counter to Bodo insurgency the State also exerts legitimized violence to contain and incorporate Bodo insurgency within the state apparatus. The state uses the military power to impose coercive laws in the region. The army immediately starts ransacking the villages after the killing of their officials near the Samthaibari area by the members of the Bodo Liberation Organisation. One of the military personnel comes to Hongla Pandit‘s house for investigation CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Criticism and interrogates him in Hindi. But Hongla Pandit fails to grapple the questions of the army personnel because he does not understand Hindi. The army asks: Where, where is your son Navajyoti alias Irakdao alias Nerson? Where does he stay? Are you aware that your son is the captain of the banned organization Bodo Liberation Organisation? It was your son who led the army ambush a while ago. Where, where are the guns? (Swargiary, p 57) As the army has been interrogating Hongla Pandit four of them enter his house and rape his daughter Delaisri. Entrapped in such a helpless situation he swears at the army man in Hindi though he does not know Hindi, ―Kutta ka baccha, Army‖ (Swargiary, p 57). The army men ransacked his house and assaulted him physically. So, it is evident that state sponsored violence has intensified the sense of insecurity among the Bodos, and subsequently it nurtures the breed of radical ethnic sentiment in the Bodo psyche. In this regard Hiren Gohain observes: The army‘s favourite method is to terrorize the countryside, the supposed base of terrorists, with indiscriminate acts of repression including brutal beatings of the elderly and the alleged rape of womenfolk. (Gohain, p 52) It is the common people who become sufferers of this insurgency and the resultant violence between the state and the Bodo insurgents. This is evident from the predicament of Hongla Pandit and his family. The story vividly portrays the Bodo indulgence in insurgency to attain their ethnic identity. Navajyoti‘s transformation to Irakdao justifies this fact. So, it can be rightly said that ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ and ―Hongla Pandit‖ bring to the fore the urgency of the Bodos to assert their ethnicity through the rhetoric of difference. It can be construed that in the context of Assam ethnic identity and culture are based on the rhetoric of difference which, in fact, points to the inner turmoil of the land.
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Criticism References: 1. Baruah, Sanjib. India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001. 2. Brahma, Janil Kumar. ―Dumphao‘s Phitha‖ in Anjali Daimari and Pranab Jyoti Narzary Ed. & trans. Sagan: A Collection of Bodo Short Stories, Guwahati: DVS Publishers, 2011, pp.19-25. 3. Das, Gurudas. ―Small Societies in Large Democracy: Problems of Conflict Resolution in India‘s North-East‖ in Monirul Hussain Ed. Coming Out of Violence: Essays on Ethnicity, Conflict Resolution and Peace Process in North-East India, New Delhi: Regency Publications, 2005, pp. 39-47. 4. Gohain, Hiren. ―Human Security in North-East India‖ in Akhil Ranjan Dutta Ed. Human Security in North-East India: Issues and Policies, Guwahati: Anwesha, 2009, pp. 45-53. 5. Hussain, Monirul. ―Tribal Question in Assam‖ in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, No. 20/21: Economic and Political Weekly, May, 1992, pp. 1047-1050. 6. Pegu, Jadav. Reclaiming Identity: A Discourse on Bodo History, Kokrajhar: JWNGSAR, 2004. 7. Swargiary, Katindra. ―Hongla Pandit‖ in Anjali Daimari and Pranab Jyoti Narzary Ed. & trans. Sagan: A Collection of Bodo Short Stories, Guwahati: DVS Publishers, 2011, pp.53-58. Author’s Bio: Miss. Mridula Kashyap is a research scholar in the Dept. of English in Gauhati University, Assam. She has also completed her M.Phil on African Literature from Gauhati University. She has been pursuing her research on Egyptian Literature. She has the experience of working in different colleges of Assam. She has been regularly contributing her writings to the Institute of Distance and Open Learning, Gauhati University.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
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Book Review 11.
Review on Sonnet Mondal's Diorama of Three Diaries by Dr. Sudesh Sinha
Most poetry contained in poetry books written by poets in India in the past few years can be mainly put into two categories. Either they are very straight forward and raw or they are too much imaginative and aesthetic but whenever I am put forward to read this poet‘s poems, it‘s all about balancing. Sonnet Mondal specializes in balancing in crude realties, narrating them in simple evocative style balancing them philosophically with elements of nature. Though his ways of penning are straight, he prefers twisting them like corners in a straight high road which often leaves room for ambiguity. The anthology Diorama of Three Diaries penned wholly in free verse and modern style of writing poetry sometimes are traditional and metaphysical in tone. Sonnet has used his keen observation of day to day happenings as a key to his satirical, ironical and philosophical verses. His verses are lyrical but that do not necessarily indicate that all are his own experiences. He has raised social issues and simple facts that are neglected in the fast and hectic rota of the twenty first century. Sonnet‘s poems often provide a platform for the neglected masses, the heartbroken lovers and old people approaching a sad end in their life. He never forces his poetry to speak colourfully about the dark facts of the civilization but speaks the truth in an eye opening manner. The flow in his verses is ideal and seems to lift our muses to a different level when read aloud. The poems “Seduced in the Sunderbans” present live images of the dense mangrove forests in the deltaic region of South Bengal in India. The opening lines in the poem create a travelling effect over the watery stretches. Blue above, blue beneath; waters and skies kiss at yonder point A thick line stretches with flags of greenery, bold enough to sustain salty tides, as muddy lands, bronze in sunrays swathe themselves with the poignant carpet of the Ganges. The poem closes with the lines A serene approval haunts the heart as we depart, kicks the pendulum Faster to say, “Come here and float but beware of seduction.” These lines create an echoing effect calling the travellers again and again, to feel its beauty warning at the same time of the dangers in the forest region. Almost a same effect is created in the poem “Walls, Stairs, roof and nature”. CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Book Review The poem ―A Call through Misty Eyes‖ portrays an encounter of the young poet with an old man. The poem thematically compares old age with youth and the nostalgic factor prevailing all along in human lives. ―Those Soft Fingers‖ speaks of a condition of a depressed lover who prefers to see his image in wine after losing his love. Love for nature is obvious for all poets and this poet has often used nature elements to add exemplary meaning to his poems. The poems ―Howling Night‖, ―Springs‖, ―Pollen Love‖ are some pieces depicting this. Sonnet‘s ―Ashes Won‘t Claim Honour‖ which I quote entirely indicates that the poet is very practical and believes in fully living a life rather than worrying about death and thinking about afterlife. Live another life today Laughing louder than ever. Care not those who hate The mad and crazy For ashes won’t claim Honour or pride. They even need air To fly and yet Fly so irrelevantly, Scattered all over Just after the blaze of funeral. Childhood is an important part of every man‘s life but how Sonnet‘s reveals the days of childhood and ringing memories associated with it perhaps gives a beautiful description of rewinding memories in a few lines: Dolls clatter and the sounds Get recorded in the conclaves Of our ears... Like creaking of old cassettes, In an outdated tape recorder, They play, rewind and play again. The burning commotion in closed Ears too frail to raze them.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Book Review Another speciality of his poetry is the global aspect. Being an Indian, he seldom speaks of things that will connect the readers only with his native place and language. His areas and thoughts are vast and sometimes relate even to the darkest forests of Africa where even the light of the Sun fails to penetrate. Diorama of Three Diaries is not a new invention or trend breaker but it is twenty first century reader oriented book due to its variety of themes, different styles of penning and principally due to the short size of verses. Sonnet‘s verses have marvellously and expressively spoken a lot through few words in this book.
Name of the Book: Diorama of Three Diaries by Sonnet Mondal Publisher: Authorspress (Pages-165) ISBN: 978-81-7273-610-1 Price : Rs. 200 Release Year: 2011 Author’s Bio: Dr. Sudesh Sinha is a book review writer.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Arts 12.
Arts by Ivan de Monbrison
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Arts
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012
Arts Artist’s Bio: Ivan de Monbrison‘s paints mostly in black and white represent human beings more as shadows than as fleshy bodies. They are incarnated in the canvas but not yet fully present. Ivan hopes that people who have experienced pain and loss in life as absurd and meaningless will be able to connect with these ghostly shapes as images of the sense of precarity they may feel, giving it a depth that goes far beyond the simple pleasure of the eye. Ivan‘s works—both poetry and paintings—have been displayed widely in Paris, USA, Finland, Belgium, Barcelona among others.
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CONTEMPORARY LITERARY REVIEW INDIA
May 2012