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Towards a Problematic Canon: Indian Poetry Anthologies and the Construction of Modernism

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280 views

Benjamin Karam
Department of English, Tezpur University, India.
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.20
[Article History: Received: 11 July 2023. Revised: 19 August 2023. Accepted: 20 August 2023. Published: 28 August 2023]
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Abstract

The history of modern Indian poetry in English as evidenced in anthologies is riddled with many modernist tendencies, both linguistic and political. Within anthologies, poetry becomes not merely literary and artistic pieces, but agents in a larger narrative. To establish an argument for Indian poetic modernism (post-1950) in anthologies requires an inquiry into the processes in which editors, through the paratextual matters, (titles, prefaces, introductory notes, headnotes, endnotes etc.) help create a persuasiveness about newness or modernity. With more than 200 Indian poetry anthologies published since 1950, there is also the problem of selecting an authoritative volume that reflects the national canon. By juxtaposing Gérard Genette’s (1991) paratextual theory and Ramond Williams’ (1977) epochal theory of classifying the dominant, residual, and emergent cultural tendencies, this paper attempts to understand poetry anthologies as commodities and cultural vehicles constantly striving for dominance. An argument is made that any canon – modernist or otherwise – is a sub-product of this cultural and material struggle. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide an alternate understanding of the arrival of modern Indian English poetry canon as a form of construction that occurs within the pages of anthologies.

Keywords: Anthology, Indian English poetry, Modernism, Archives, Canon
Citation: Karam, Benjamin. 2023. Towards a Problematic Canon: Indian Poetry Anthologies and the Construction of Modernism. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.20

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Born twice: A redemptive revisioning uncovering the metaphors of representation

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 Anu Mathai 1 & Rolla Das 2
1,2Department of English, Christ Junior College IBDP, Christ (Deemed to be University) Bangalore, India
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.19
[Article History: Received: 10 July 2023. Revised: 25 August 2023. Accepted: 27 August 2023. Published: 28 August 2023]
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Abstract

The graphic narrative space is a complex labyrinth of nested stories subtly holding a tension between the visual and the verbal metaphors of representation. Every narrative canvas opens up possibilities of new ways of metaphorical seeing, unravelling the encoded signs of the dominant and the popular. Challenging and dissenting the normative ideas of gender representations, the graphic medium becomes a space to interrogate how the revisioned perspectives from the margins, embody a subversive voice to reclaim and reaffirm identity. This research paper aims to unfold the poetics of metaphorical representation in retellings and how the unconventional visual and verbal underscores an agency and voice to the female characters in the studied graphic narratives. The analysis will uncover how a revisioning of the aesthetics of the visual, the landscape of the mythological and the politics of the contemporary can subvert the traditional discourses that promote a conventional or hegemonic worldview. The paper situates Saraswati Nagpal’s Sita; Daughter of the Earth, Sibaji Bandyopadhyay and Sankha Banerjee’s Panchali: The Game of Dice and Priya’s Mirror by Paromita Vohra and Ram Devineni in the cultural milieu of graphic content that encourages new ways of metaphorical seeing amid the precariousness of identity, ideology and agency of the mythical women characters.

Keywords: Graphic narratives, mythology, postmodern feminist narratives.
Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities, Gender Equality, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Mathai, Anu, Rolla Das. 2023. Born twice: A redemptive revisioning uncovering the metaphors of representation. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.19

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Representing Gender Equality through Advertisements from the Electronic Media: A Study in Discourse Analysis

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Shubham Pathak 1, Swasti Mishra2 & Ipsita Mondal3
1,2Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi (U.P.), India
3Burdwan, Kolkata, mondal.ipsitamimi@gmail.com
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.18
[Article History: Received: 09 February 2023. Revised: 23 August 2023. Accepted: 27 August 2023. Published: 28 August 2023]
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Abstract

Television advertisements play a significant role in shaping societal norms and values, particularly regarding gender roles and expectations. In India, where television is a major source of entertainment and information for many people, the portrayal of gender in television advertisements can significantly impact how gender is perceived and performed in society. This study attempts to understand and define the equality of gender roles in advertising, using select discourse analysis tools, including speech acts, deixis, politeness theory, modality, presuppositions, and vocabulary, to study the interplay of the verbal and visual effects. The study explores select advertisements from Indian media and finds that the theme of gender equality is gradually gaining prominence. The paper attempts to highlight that advertisements play a major role in creating and transforming gender stereotypes in society and in constructing a world of acceptability for those women who want to create their own identities. The study reveals that women now stand up for their rights against the societal norms and play a substantial role in influencing society, whereas men also participate in the tasks that are stereotypically assigned to women. The study also highlights that the verbal language in advertisements supports visuals in the text.

Keywords: Advertisements, patriarchy, masculinity, representation, manipulate, discourse analysis.
Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities, Gender Equality, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Pathak, Shubham, Swasti Mishra & Ipsita Mondal. 2023. Representing Gender Equality through Advertisements from the Electronic Media: A Study in Discourse Analysis. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.18

 

The journeys of acculturation of Western culture in Vietnamese travel writing in the first half of the 20th century

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Nguyen Huu Son1 & Nguyen Huu Le 2
1Literary Research Journal, Granduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam
2Researcher, Hanoi, Vietnam
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.17
[Article History: Received: 29 June 2023. Revised: 25 August 2023. Accepted: 27 August 2023. Published: 28 August 2023]
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Abstract

Western culture has had a profound influence on Vietnamese culture and literature during the colonial period, especially in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. During this historical period, records appeared about the journey of Vietnamese people to France with different purposes. Based on this context, the article studies the attitude of Vietnamese intellectuals towards French culture to see the acculturation of Vietnamese to Western culture. Based on the cultural approach to studying travel writing, the article explores the French cultural awareness of some Vietnamese intellectuals such as Pham Quynh, Dao Trinh Nhat and Nhat Linh. Each story of their journey as an explanation for the purpose of the journey is the expression of aspirations: reforming Vietnamese culture, awareness of colonialism and feminism, and renewal of novels. These are current issues of contemporary Vietnamese culture and literature. From that, it is possible to recognize the characteristics of the travel writing about the journey to France representing the travel stories of the colonized people to the Western imperial countries and the process of escaping from slavery norms of Western culture. With an interdisciplinary approach to studying travel history, the article also provides a view of the process of modernizing Vietnamese literature in the first half of the 20th century.

Keywords: travel writing, French culture, cultural criticism, acculturation, cultural sensitivity.
Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Son, Nguyen Huu & Nguyen Huu Le. 2023. The journeys of acculturation of Western culture in Vietnamese travel writing in the first half of the 20th century. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.17

Redefining the Identity of People of Indian Origin in Mauritius

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545 views

Rashmi Kapoor
Department of African Studies, University of Delhi -110007, India.
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.16
[Article History: Received: 09 July 2023. Revised: 17 August 2023. Accepted: 18 August 2023. Published: 28 August 2023]
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Abstract

In the 19th century, Indian indentured labour went to Mauritius, facilitated by the European colonisers to accomplish their ambitious goal of dominating the world politically, economically and culturally. After the completion of the indenture period, Indians had little option but to stay in the new land as their zeal to return to India was sapped due to anticipated ostracisation by their respective communities. Despite the unique evolution of the identity and status of Indians in Mauritius, it has generated very little debate in academia. This article will attempt to understand whether the people of Indian origin in Mauritius can be termed as Indian diaspora at present or they have outgrown that status and evolved to attain an identity that can be defined as being ‘beyond Indian diaspora’. I argue that Indians in Mauritius were positioned in the wider Mauritian society in such a way that did not satisfy the criteria of them being referred to as diaspora, and, they have acquired a specific set of cultural, social and economic capital that brings them closer to being considered as Mauritian natives.

Keywords: diaspora, hybridity, ethnic identity, people of Indian origin, desi.
Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Kapoor, Rashmi. 2023. Redefining the identity of people of Indian origin in Mauritius. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.16

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The Text of Minangkabau Collective Riddles: Format, Figurative Language, and Social Function for the Collective Owners

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Hasanuddin WS 1, Emidar 2, Zulfadhli 3
1,2,3Indonesian Department, Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.15
[Article History: Received: 21 June 2023. Revised: 18 August 2023. Accepted: 25 August 2023. Published: 26 August 2023]
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Abstract

This research article aims to describe the format, figurative language, and social function of the traditional oral texts of Minangkabau collective riddles in West Sumatra, Indonesia. This research is based on the theory of folklore where riddles are categorized as a significant part of oral tradition that grows and develops orally and traditionally within the Minangkabau collective. The description of the research findings will explain the following points. First, how the format of riddles, consisting of descriptions or questions (descriptive) and answers (referent), is used by the Minangkabau collective. Secondly, it explains how the Minangkabau collective oral style uses figurative language to compose the format of descriptions or questions (descriptive) riddles that they ask to be answered by their listeners. Thirdly, it describes the Minangkabau collective attitude of the owners of the oral tradition, and it explains the importance of the riddles in their social life. This finding is in line with the theory about the social function of oral tradition for the collective owner.

Keywords: Riddles, format, figure of speech, social function, Minangkabau collective, West Sumatra.
Citation: WS, Hasanuddin, Emidar, Zulfadhli. 2023. The Text of Minangkabau Collective Riddles: Format, Figurative Language, and Social Function for the Collective Owners. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.15 

A Comparative and Contrastive Study of Arabic and English Metonymic Expressions

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Omar Abdullah Al-Haj Eid 1, Mohammed Nour Abu-Gub 2 & Halla Shureteh 3
1Faculty of Educational Sciences and Arts, UNRWA University
2University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
3Hashemite University, Jordan
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.14
[Article History: Received: 06 January 2023. Revised: 30 July 2023. Accepted: 24 August 2023. Published: 26 August 2023]
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Abstract

This study explores Arabic and English metonymy’s literary, semantic, lexical, and aesthetic aspects. It investigates metonymy as a figure of speech and compares its types and functions in the two languages. The study confirms that metonymy is culture-bound – that is the meanings of metonymies derive from the socio-cultural values of societies and can’t be separated from the contexts in which they occur. The study stresses the significance of considering the relationship between the two entities in addition to the socio-cultural background in the analysis of metonymies. The study also demonstrates how, in English, metonymy overlaps with other figures of speech, above all metaphor and synecdoche. This analytical study contributes to a better understanding of metonymy. It compares the definitions, classifications, functions, and points of similarities and differences in the two languages for all learners of Arabic and English as second or foreign languages.

Keywords: metonymic expressions, trope, literal meaning, nonliteral meaning, culture-bound, society
Citation: Eid, Omar Abdullah Al-Haj, Mohammed Nour Abu-Gub & Halla Shureteh. 2023. A Comparative/Contrastive Study of Arabic and English Metonymic Expressions. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.14 

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Essencelessness, Lack of Self and the Abject Human Condition: Rethinking Jibanananda Das’s “Bodh”

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Biswarup Das
Department of English, Jamaldaha TDH School, Coochbehar, West Bengal, India.
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.13
[Article History: Received: 11 July 2023. Revised: 24 August 2023. Accepted: 25 August 2023. Published: 26 August 2023]
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Abstract

The present article strives to explore the “nausea” that emerges in an individual from the sense of the lack of a priori meaning in the world and the non-existence of the self through the development of the persona’s thoughts in Jibanananda Das’s 1930 poem “Bodh.” The persona is found perturbed by a flummoxing “sense” right at the outset. His striving to comprehend what the sense is about and reflection on the enterprises of his past and the probable future eventually lead him to realize that whatever he encounters around or action he can get involved in is devoid of essence. He also finds the existence of his self unsubstantiated. His realization proves anguishing and alienates him from the rest of humanity by evoking in him feelings of forlornness and life’s absurdity. The whole argument concerning the persona’s development of thought and his final apprehension and agony will be carried out by taking into account Jean-Paul Sartre’s ideas of essencelessness and nausea.

Keywords: Essencelessness, existence, meaning, nausea, self, sense, world.
Citation: Das, Biswarup. 2023. Essencelessness, Lack of Self and the Abject Human Condition: Rethinking Jibanananda Das’s “Bodh”. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.13 

Childbirth and Pollution: Exploring the politics of Prasava Raksha through food practices in Kerala

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275 views

Alicia Jacob
Department of English and Cultural Studies at Christ University, Bangalore.
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.12
[Article History: Received: 11 July 2023. Revised: 24 August 2023. Accepted: 25 August 2023. Published: 26 August 2023]
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Abstract

Women’s body has been the site of patriarchal control and the formation of gendered ideologies, often subjecting it to multiple cultural interventions, especially while experiencing pregnancy and childbirth. Childbirth is considered a state of ritual pollution for a woman that starts from the day of birth and lasts up to several weeks or months, depending on regional and religious contexts. Prasava Raksha is a traditional practice in Kerala where massages, herbal baths, and a specific diet are prescribed for the health and well-being of the mother and child. Prasava Raksha can be considered the culturally appropriated version of the practice of pollution, practised by women belonging to Hindu, Christian and Muslim religious sects in Kerala. The purpose of this qualitative ethnographic study is to investigate the cultural context of how women’s body has been subjected to patriarchal control, particularly during pregnancy and childbirth, with food at the centre of analysis. This article aims to explore the practice of Prasava Raksha, its process and dietary prescriptions, to identify and analyse the cultural politics behind this practice that normalises the patriarchal exploitation of reproductive women. The study uses in-depth semi-structured interviews of 12 women from Kerala who have experienced childbirth and practised Prasava Raksha during the postnatal period, in addition to the interviews of a Prasava Raksha helper and an OB-GYN.

Keywords: Prasava Raksha, Childbirth, Pollution Postnatal care, Food practices.
[Sustainable Development Goals: Gender Equality]
Citation: Jacob, Alicia. 2023. Childbirth and Pollution: Exploring the politics of Prasava Raksha through food practices in Kerala. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.12 

The Interrelation of Art, Science, and Technology from a Cognitive Dimension: Art as a Way of Knowledge and the STEAM Methodology as the Answer

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316 views

Beatriz Escribano-Belmar 1, Raquel Caerols-Mateo 2, Reynaldo Thompson 3
1Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Salamanca
2Faculty of Information Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid
3University of Guanajuato, México
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.11
[Article History: Received: 27 December 2022. Revised: 08 August 2023. Accepted: 09 August 2023. Published: 26 August 2023]
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 Abstract

The interrelation between art and science can be understood as a dialogue that emerges from the process of knowledge construction, and consequently, it also defines the human being. The idea may be legitimated from a cognitive perspective. What if we consider this dialogue on the art/science split not as a model of knowing in itself, but as a constructed concept? Thinking as a construct, the advent of technology could have supposed an element to accentuate the divide in this dialogue, as an emerging techno-society may have deepened this separation. However, there is a need to explore the arts -and humanities- trying to find some answers to the challenges posed by the digital paradigm. For this reason, the inclusion of the letter “A” of Arts in the STEM dialogue, resulting in STEAM, is not accidental. From this approach, the entrance of the STEAM methodology into educational models is going to be addressed from the cognitive dimension of art, as a consequence of the conceptual, social, and cultural changes that give it meaning. For that purpose, the issue is addressed through the art cognitive dimension as the theoretical and conceptual foundation supporting it and that leads to the analysis of the named methodology and its contemporary necessity.

Keywords: Art; Science; Technology; Education; Cognition.
[Sustainable Development Goals: Better Education]
Citation: Escribano-Belmar,  Beatriz, Raquel Caerols-Mateo, Reynaldo Thompson. 2023. The Interrelation of Art, Science, and Technology from a Cognitive Dimension: Art as a Way of Knowledge and the STEAM Methodology as the Answer. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.11 

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