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Reconceptualization of National Spaces: A Close Reading of Bharati Mukherjee’s selected novels with Gloria Anzaldúa´s Nueva Conciencia Mestiza

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Shilpi Gupta

University of Granada, Spain, shilpigupta.jnu@gmail.com, shilpigupta@correo.ugr.es. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6786-6656

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.29

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In 1997, Bharati Mukherjee, a renowned diaspora woman writer, stated in an interview, “I am an American, not an Asian American.” Since then, she has been virulently attacked for defining herself as an American by the writers of her original homeland and her diaspora compatriots. However, with this statement, Mukherjee challenged the diaspora writing and took a solid move to redefine the diaspora through her life and novels. Her novels also considered her autobiographical notes, demonstrate a new diaspora identity that is fluid and transforming. Her latest diaspora writing has challenged the quintessential diaspora identity, gender structure, definition of home, and host land. The paper will do a close reading of her four novels, The Tiger’s Daughters (1971), wife (1975), Jasmine (1989), and Desirable Daughters (2002), to see the transition from being a Bengali Indian expatriate in Canada, Asian American to American Immigrant. In the paper, her four novels are divided into two phases- expatriate and immigrant, which show different writing styles, different psychology behind the narration, and transition in her definition of the nation. This discussion will employ the theory of Nueva Conciencia Mestiza given by Gloria Anzaldúa to comprehend the reconceptualization of national spaces from the perspective of diaspora women.

Keywords: Bharati Mukherjee, Diaspora woman, Nation, Nueva Conciencia Mestiza

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Carnivalesque, Liminality and Social Drama: Characterising the Anti-Structural Potential of Theyyam

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Raisun Mathew1 & Dr Digvijay Pandya2

1Doctoral Research Scholar, Department of English, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India, Email: raisunmathew@gmail.com, orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-0941

2Associate Professor and Research Supervisor, Department of English, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India, Email: digvijay.24354@lpu.co.in, orcid.org/0000-0002-5985-9579

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.28

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The cultural and ritual performance of Theyyam in Northern Kerala, considered as a reflection of the war cry against the caste system and oppression, conducts subversion of the social hierarchy. The chosen deity by the performer for a transitory symbolisation expresses the collective outrage of the oppressed and exploited people. This research paper enquires about the anti-structural characteristics exhibited by the performance of Theyyam. In the context of Richard Schechner’s performance theory, it attempts to trace the characterisation of Mikhail Bakhtin’s carnivalesque, Victor Turner’s liminality and social drama in the transitional performance of Theyyam that mostly relies on interim separation and reintegration. The expression of antipathy to the hierarchy in Bakhtinian carnival, the anti-structural emphasis in Turnarian liminality, and the deconstructive-reconstructive stages in social drama elucidate the symbolic delineation of the performance of Theyyam. The analytical findings of the paper derived from the discussion of the three concepts reveal that the performance of Theyyam is rooted in its anti-structural characteristics. The performer is subject to continuous alteration in the identity that intermediates the idiosyncrasy between the deity and the human being. It symbolises the temporal transition from the oppressed to the equivalent status of the dominator that occurs as part of counter-culture, through status reversal and inversion.

Keywords: carnivalesque, liminality, performance studies, social drama, Theyyam.

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What is Performance Studies?

Richard Schechner Tisch School of the Arts, New York University  Download PDF Version Because performance studies is so broad-ranging and

Magic on Wheels: A Study of Re-engagement, Re-enactment and Re-staging the Stereotypes of Performativity and Performance of Persons with Disabilities in the Choreography of Syed Sallauddin Pasha

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Radhika Sharma1 & Nagendra Kumar2

1Research Scholar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Roorkee. India. E-mail: rsharma@hs.iitr.ac.in, ORCID ID 0000-0001-5163-065X

2Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Roorkee. India. E-mail: nagendra.kumar@hs.iitr.ac.in

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.27

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Amidst society’s segregation of the people among minorities on the basis of gender, race, caste and creed, it is difficult to locate the position of another extreme social minority, i.e. persons with disabilities. But the turn of the century has validated some art and activism performed by persons with disabilities due to which the disabled have marked their position in literature, film and media to some extent, yet they have not secured a position of dignity in the mainstream. To make disabled people visible, Syed Sallauddin Pasha (the father of Indian dance therapy for persons with disabilities) initiates his own Natya Shastra i.e. Classical Wheelchair Dances for differently-abled artists. Drawing upon Syed Sallauddin Pasha’s therapeutic dance choreography, the present paper studies performance arts in the context of differently-abled people, and for this, the paper explores the intersection of Performance Studies and Disability Studies. In performing arts (or dance in particular), the body is the medium of representation, likewise, the body defines the identity in the context of disabled people. Therefore, the paper by studying the intersection of Disability Studies and Performance Studies, explores the stereotypes related to the body by scrutinising the disabled dance bodies on the stage. The paper further attempts to explore the idea of accessibility for persons with disabilities by taking into account the assistive devices and accessible architecture. The study then goes into an analysis of spectators’ response, stare and gaze towards disability dance performances. In a broader context, the paper offers to scrutinise the negative stereotypes attached to disability and disabled dancing bodies on stage by exploring the nuances in Syed Sallauddin Pasha’s choreography.

 Keywords: Performance, disability, dance, physically integrated dance, interdependence, accessibility, gaze

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Cosplay Phenomenon: Archaic Forms and Updated Meanings

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Tatiana V. Pushkareva1 & Darya V. Agaltsova2

1Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Design and Architecture Synergy University, Moscow, Russia. ORCID: 0000-0002-9139-6121. E-mail: ap-bib@yandex.ru

2Candidate of Pedagogy, Associate Professor of English Language Training and Professional Communication Department, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia. ORCID: 0000-0001-8892-2437. E-mail: darya_agaltsova@mail.ru

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.26

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Cosplay is considered as a modern mass practice of copying and public demonstration of the costume, image and behavior of famous heroes in the mass culture: heroes of movies, cartoons, comics, video games within the framework of festivals, processions, activities of clubs of the corresponding subject. The empirical material for the study was observations, publications in specialized mass media, recordings of Russian and foreign electronic broadcasts of cosplay events, interviews with Russian cosplayers. The article provides a cultural and historical analysis of cosplay, on the basis of which it is concluded that the archaic cultural forms of totemic primitive holidays, medieval carnival, and the first forms of theater are reproduced in cosplay. Traditional cultural forms in cosplay are endowed with new cultural meanings, among which are the game principal development in culture, the implementation of special mechanisms of young people socialization through individual and collective forms of identification and imitation of famous characters, creative development of screen culture characters. In cosplay, there is a partial revitalization of archaic cultural forms, such as zoo-mystery, carnival, the first forms of theater. The conclusion is made about the role of cosplay in the development of the visual language of modernity, «de-virtualization» of the mass culture images and the development of the «instinct of theatricality» in a modern person. Cosplay in Russia demonstrates a wider thematic repertoire than cosplay in the USA and Japan: it includes not only images of American films, video games, comics, Japanese manga and anime, but also images of Soviet animation, which paradoxically are capable of direct competition with modern products of mass culture and art.

 Keywords: archaic, cultural forms, cultural meanings, theater, youth, game industry, subculture, mass culture, cosplay, middle culture.

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Postcolonial Aesthetics and Sensuous Geographies in Aruni Kashyap’s The House with a Thousand Stories

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Ivy Roy Sarkar1 & Rashmi Gaur2

1Doctoral Student, Dept. of Humanities & Social Science, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. First Author & Corresponding Author. Email: Ivy.vns.2013@gmail.com, isarkar@hs.iitr.ac.in. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6558-3743

2Professor, Dept. of Humanities & Social Science, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. Email: rgaurfhs@iitr.ac.in

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.25

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The place is fundamental to our existence; it conforms to the phenomenology of being in the world as we always occupy a place “if not with our minds, then always with our bodies”, to quote Moslund. The role of the senses in knowing the geographies of our existence, form a kind of structuring of space and defining of place. To understand the construction of sensorial-socio-cultural space of Assam at the time of extrajudicial killings that produces a ‘sense of fear’ jeopardizing the everyday negotiations of people inhabit the exceptional zones, this paper takes into account Aruni Kashyap’s debut novel The House with Thousand Stories (2013) that set in Hatimura village of Mayong area and deals with alternate retellings of micro-historical account of Assamese people. The paper dwells upon the artist’s creative response to the Agambenian ‘bare life’ that he associates with ‘bare’ or ‘pure senses’ to cultivate the idea of sensuousness of geography produced through the life stories of people and the interactions between human and non-human beings. Like Manipuri mother’s Naked March in front of Kangla Fort and Irom Sharmila’s sixteen years-long hunger strike that can be looked at as the metaphor for staging the ‘bare life’ against the body polity of the state, the sensual dimension of the geographic experience of Pablo, the narrator of the novel, in the village helps to understand the spaces of difference in the time of conflict.

Key Words: Peripheral Aesthetics, Sensuous Geography, Secret Killings, Embodied Experience, Assamese Literature in English

The Metamorphosis of a Female Subject into a Gendered subject: A Study of Easterine Iralu’s A Terrible Matriarchy

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Bompi Riba1 and Karngam Nyori2
1Assistant Professor, Department of English, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, Pin-791112, ORCID id: 0000-0002-0341-2348. E-mail:  bompi.riba@rgu.ac.in

2Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of English, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, Pin-791112, ORCID id: 000-0002-3477-141.  Email: nkarngam@yahoo.com

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.24

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It is a universally practised phenomenon across society to conveniently create a dichotomy that is based on the physiological difference between a male and a female. This difference is further defined by the dichotomy of gendered roles and labour that are imposed on them. The hegemony of the gendered ideology makes it all so natural to assign gendered role to a baby the moment it is born. Its body serves as a continuing signifier for the gendered structure of a patriarchal society. Since these gendered ideologies are disseminated through established institutions such as education, religion and law; their manifestations can be found in culture, religion, clothes, discourse, movies, and even in gestures that this polarity between a man and a woman is accepted as natural. There still is no general consent among the cultural anthropologists that an unambiguous matriarchal society existed. Classical scholars like Johann Jakob Bachofen tried to argue that matriarchal society existed on the basis of unreliable historical sources such as Iliad and Odyssey (Bamberger, p.263). Easterine Iralu’s A Terrible Matriarchy intrigues the reader with this highly deceptive title that ironically bares the patriarchy of contemporary Naga society. However, if these reasons are taken into account that Feminism is all about equality and that matriarchy is the flip side of patriarchy with all its horrors; then she is not far from the truth in prefixing “terrible” to “matriarchy”. This article is an attempt to familiarize the milieu of a quintessential Naga girl and her resistance to the anxious process of self-denial imposed upon her by her grandmother who embodies the concept of ‘terrible matriarchy’. The article also concentrates on the typical mechanism of gender construction and how such mechanisms are responsible for metamorphosing a female subject into a gendered subject.

Key words: Angami-Naga society, female subject, gendered subject, matriarchy, patriarchy

Inscribing the Migratory History of Tea Plantation Labours of Assam: A Journey from Ignorance to Experience

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Pradip Barman

PhD, Deptt. of History, Rangapara College, Rangapara, Sonitpur, Assam. ORCID Id: 0000-0002-5125-918. Email: adipta2013@gmail.com

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.23

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The tea garden labours of Assam have an absorbing history of their own. They were imported to Assam from various parts of Bengal, United Province, Central Province, Madras, etc. At the time when they were facing economic hardships in their day-to-day life, the agents of the tea planters of Assam visited those areas and tempted them with plenty of facilities and economic incentives. Believing the false promises of these dishonest agents, these innocent people decided to follow them to get relief from economic deprivation and reached Assam. Thus, the process of importation of labour into Assam started and gradually their number was increasing year by year. But as soon as they left their native place, they met with adversity and it was increasing day by day. On their way to Assam also, many of them died of various diseases and eventually when they arrived in Assam, they were subjected to inhumane conditions. No one was known to them and unhealthy food and unhygienic habitation added further misery. On many occasions, they were even physically assaulted which increased their mental instability. Despite this, they gradually adopted themselves in Assam and started to treat Assam as their land. Now, the tea garden labour community of Assam is a part and parcel of Assamese society and in politics also they have been performing a major role.

 Keywords: Migration, Labour, Tea, Importation, Misery

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History, Memory and Legend: Contextualizing Joymoti Utsav in Assam

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Suranjana Barua1 & L David Lal2

1Assistant Professor in Linguistics, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Information Technology Guwahati, Bongora, Guwahati, Assam, India. Corresponding author. Email ID: suranjana@iiitg.ac.in

2Assistant Professor in Political Science, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Information Technology Guwahati, Bongora, Guwahati, Assam, India. Email ID: david@iiitg.ac.in

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.22

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This paper traces the inception, emergence and relevance of the celebration of a historical figure of Assam – Joymoti – as the Joymoti Utsav (Joymoti Festival). With the first attested public celebration of the festival in Upper Assam in 1914, Joymoti Utsav was a landmark public celebration on multiple counts. Firstly, it created a feminist and nationalist consciousness in the region through its celebration of Joymoti – an Ahom princess; secondly, it marked public support to celebration of an ideal female figure whose qualities and character women were encouraged to aspire to; thirdly, it followed and also spearheaded a socio-cultural movement that found expression in literature and arts including the first Assamese movie Joymoti in 1934; fourthly, it brought together people and organizations in the making of a legacy that gave direction to the feminist movement in Assam thereby establishing it as a major socio-cultural feminist festival of Assam. This paper traces the emergence of this iconic festival in Upper Assam, its role in establishing feminist ideals, carving out a distinct regional history and nurturing national sentiment, its depiction in various literary genres of the 20th century and the current relevance of the festival in Assam. In doing so, the paper locates Joymoti Utsav in a socio-historical perspective in the context of Assam while crediting it with creating a feminist consciousness in the public discourse of early twentieth century Assam.

Keywords: History, Memory, Joymoti Utsav, Feminist Consciousness, Assam Nationalism.

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Tertiary Teachers Strike (TTS) and e-Learning Deficit amidst Covid-19 Crisis in Nigeria

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Victor Okoro Ukaogo1, Florence Onyebuchi Orabueze2 & Chika Kate Ojukwu3

1PhD, Professor, Department of History and International Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Corresponding Author. Email: victor.ukaogo@unn.edu.ng

2PhD, Professor, Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka. Email: florence.Orabueze@unn.edu.ng,

3PhD, Lecturer, Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka. Email: chika.ojukwu@unn.edu.ng

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.21

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Amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic across the world and the debilitating tertiary teachers strike in Nigeria, this study’s objective seeks to examine the prevailing un-lived experiences of Nigerian tertiary students in e-learning. The study argues that Covid-19 has widened the digital divide between Nigerian universities and other universities in other parts of the world on the one hand and between public and private tertiary institutions in Nigeria on the other. This e-learning deficit is worsened by university teachers’ strikes, constituting a twin inhibition into which higher education is consigned in Nigeria. The study identifies poor funding of education as a major constraint to virtual learning and instruction faced by public tertiary students especially in the era of the pandemic. Data collection for the study will be carried out through oral interviews basically focus group discussion (FGD) from a sample population of 50 university students (male and female) in three universities across the southeast region of Nigeria, newspaper reports, and participant-observer methods of research analysis.

Keywords: e-learning; tertiary teachers, public universities, private universities, education; Covid-19; ASUU strike, vaccine nationalism

The Use of Foul Language in Pop Music Composition in Nigeria: A Historical Analysis

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Nnanyelugo Emelda Chinasa1, Onyeke Blessing Uzoamaka2 & Izuchukwu John Ewulu3

1Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Corresponding author. Email: chinasa.nnanyelugo@unn.edu.ng.

2 Lecturer, Department of Music, Federal College of Education Ehamufu. Email: blessingonyeneke@gmai.com

3 Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Email: izuchukwu@unn.edu.ng

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.20

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The background and exposure of music artistes contribute a lot in shaping the quality of songs they compose and produce. Since the 21st century, there has been a great departure in what used to be the ideal choice of words for musical composition and productions in Nigeria, especially in the popular music spheres. Hitherto, musicians of all genres were careful in their choice of words; but regrettably, the decent use of language is fast disappearing especially in dance hall and emotional songs. This stems from the cultural shack on the part of the artistes especially in the influence of the environment. It is this inherent lacuna that this paper seeks to address but most importantly the paper recommends a cultural policy for the government and as well as the need to checkmate and regulate the brands of music by periodically engaging DJs, radio presenters and other principal stakeholders in the entertainment industries.

Keywords: Cultural shack, History, Philosophy, Language, Environment

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What is Performance Studies?

Richard Schechner Tisch School of the Arts, New York University  Download PDF Version Because performance studies is so broad-ranging and

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