by Editor | Jun 17, 2026 | Book Chapter, Edited Volume, Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature
Sangeeta Bhagawati
Independent Researcher.
10.21659/9788197513022.03
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the work of Sheelabhadra (Rebati Mohan Dutta Choudhury, 1924-2008), whose writing gives us a critical look at the politics of language and belonging in Guwahati, Assam’s principal urban centre. Guwahati, like many other postcolonial Indian cities, is shaped by the merging of migration, language diversity and social hierarchy. The regional language literature of Sheelabhadra portrays these multilingual urban experiences. His Assamese fiction shows us how language becomes a marker of belonging or exclusion. Drawing on his background in Goalpara, a linguistically distinct region on Assam’s western borders, Sheelabhadra brings the speech of a marginalised dialect community into his representations of urban life. His short story “Apon Manuh” (2007) explores how internal migrants experience Guwahati as a city structured by linguistic hierarchy. Centred on a chance meeting between two migrants from Goalpara, the story reveals how dialect and standardised language operate as registers of identity. In this chapter, I argue that the conversation between the protagonists, where they shift from standard Assamese to Goalparia dialect, reveals two important aspects. First, it allows us to see the need for linguistic conformity in the urban sphere. Second, it makes visible an alternative form of solidarity based on shared marginal speech. Sheelabhadra’s work is valuable to understanding larger debates on how urban identities are shaped through everyday acts of language use.
Keywords: multilingualism, belonging, Assamese literature, dialect, internal migration.
Full-Text Chapter PDF Full Text Book PDF
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature: An Introduction
Dr. Neethu P Antony and Dr. Arpana Venu
Abstract Full Text PDF
City as Micro-Narratives of Senses and Everyday Experiences: An Analytical Study of Selected Stories from People Called Kolkata
Olivia Joseph
Abstract Full Text PDF
Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra’s Fiction
Sangeeta Bhagawati
Abstract Full Text PDF
Spatial (re)orientations and Epic structures of the urban in Fareeda Mehta’s Kali Salwaar
Elroy Pinto
Abstract Full Text PDF
Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar and Anurag Basu’s Life in a…Metro
Trisha Sengupta & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari
Abstract Full Text PDF
Reimagining Kolkata: Subaltern Narratives and the Colonial Urban Dystopia in Kallol Magazine’s Literature
Nandini Gayen
Abstract Full Text PDF
Walking, Writing and Resisting the City: Spatial Tactics and Postcolonial Reimaginings in Janice Pariat’s Everything the Light Touches
Parvin Sultana
Abstract Full Text PDF
Mimesis, Montage and Mapping: A Spatial Analysis of Gangtok City Scapes in the Select Works of Satyajit Ray and Prajwal Parajuly
Dr. Sudakshina Bhattacharya, Dr. Sulagna Mohanty, and Dr. Ankusha Bandyopadhyay
Abstract Full Text PDF
by Editor | Jun 17, 2026 | Book Chapter, Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature
Olivia Joseph
Research Scholar, Department of English and Comparative Literature. Central University of Kerala, Kasargod.
10.21659/9788197513022.02
Abstract
The multilayered fabric of the urban environment brought diverse theories and perspectives into focus. One such perspective is the dynamic everyday practices of inhabitants and tourists. These practices yield micro-narratives from everyday life and are rooted in emotional attachment to the place rather than in the recording of a social issue. This chapter discusses selected stories from the People Called Kolkata collection, curated by Kamalika Bose and published in 2019. The study explores how the author engages with the city through sensory narratives and the everyday practices of its dwellers. It also examines how these sensory details influence the emotional responses of inhabitants in a specific city. The study also analyses the work through the lens of everyday urbanism by enquiring into how urban spaces are defined by daily routines such as commutes and the use of resources like water, as well as by strained infrastructure, thereby making it a study of the presence of informal urbanism within the city. It also examines the representation of adaptive practices, such as dwellings visualised in the collection. Thus, the study focuses on two main questions: how the disordered vanishing of inhabitants and vernacular architecture retells the story of a city through the senses and everyday practices, and, as a detached observer, how the curator aesthetically compiles these everyday sensory urbanisms in People Called Kolkata.
Keywords: Urbanism, Everyday Urbanism, Sensory Urbanism, Flaneur, Spatial Practice, Representations of Space and Representational Space.
Full-Text Chapter PDF Full Text Book PDF
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature: An Introduction
Dr. Neethu P Antony and Dr. Arpana Venu
Abstract Full Text PDF
City as Micro-Narratives of Senses and Everyday Experiences: An Analytical Study of Selected Stories from People Called Kolkata
Olivia Joseph
Abstract Full Text PDF
Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra’s Fiction
Sangeeta Bhagawati
Abstract Full Text PDF
Spatial (re)orientations and Epic structures of the urban in Fareeda Mehta’s Kali Salwaar
Elroy Pinto
Abstract Full Text PDF
Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar and Anurag Basu’s Life in a…Metro
Trisha Sengupta & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari
Abstract Full Text PDF
Reimagining Kolkata: Subaltern Narratives and the Colonial Urban Dystopia in Kallol Magazine’s Literature
Nandini Gayen
Abstract Full Text PDF
Walking, Writing and Resisting the City: Spatial Tactics and Postcolonial Reimaginings in Janice Pariat’s Everything the Light Touches
Parvin Sultana
Abstract Full Text PDF
Mimesis, Montage and Mapping: A Spatial Analysis of Gangtok City Scapes in the Select Works of Satyajit Ray and Prajwal Parajuly
Dr. Sudakshina Bhattacharya, Dr. Sulagna Mohanty, and Dr. Ankusha Bandyopadhyay
Abstract Full Text PDF
by Editor | Jun 16, 2026 | Book Chapter, Edited Volume
Dr. Neethu P Antony¹ & Dr. Arpana Venu²
¹,² Assistant Professor in English, School of Social Sciences and Humanities (VISH), VIT-AP University, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India.
10.21659/9788197513022.01
Abstract
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature examines the multiple modes of representation, contestation and re-imagination of Indian cities in literary texts and cultural discourses. The volume explores the role of urban spaces not only as backdrops, but as active forces in the construction of human life and social relations. It attempts to understand how literature depicts the tensions between tradition and modernity, memory and progress, inclusion and exclusion and local and global forces that characterise contemporary urban life. The chapters in this collection address a broad spectrum of themes such as urban marginalisation, migration, gendered experiences, environmental issues, spatial politics, memory, and imagined futures. Drawing on several theoretical and methodological dimensions, the contributors illuminate the complexities and challenges of urban life in India. This volume constitutes eight chapters that do not provide a comprehensive study of major metropolitan Indian cities as often seen in the existing corpus of urban studies. The present chapter makes the case that it is rather an attempt to bring unique representations of known and unknown urban spaces in India to unravel the way the various urban spaces are imagined, experienced, contested, represented and negotiated across different historical, social, and cultural contexts in India. The recurrence of certain cities like Kolkata in the volume does not offer a singular narrative of its urban space. Instead, it focuses on the broader dimensions of the same city with its multiple urban experiences and posits ‘urbanity’ as an evolving and dynamic process.
Full-Text Chapter PDF Full Text Book PDF
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature: An Introduction
Dr. Neethu P Antony and Dr. Arpana Venu
Abstract Full Text PDF
City as Micro-Narratives of Senses and Everyday Experiences: An Analytical Study of Selected Stories from People Called Kolkata
Olivia Joseph
Abstract Full Text PDF
Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra’s Fiction
Sangeeta Bhagawati
Abstract Full Text PDF
Spatial (re)orientations and Epic structures of the urban in Fareeda Mehta’s Kali Salwaar
Elroy Pinto
Abstract Full Text PDF
Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar and Anurag Basu’s Life in a…Metro
Trisha Sengupta & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari
Abstract Full Text PDF
Reimagining Kolkata: Subaltern Narratives and the Colonial Urban Dystopia in Kallol Magazine’s Literature
Nandini Gayen
Abstract Full Text PDF
Walking, Writing and Resisting the City: Spatial Tactics and Postcolonial Reimaginings in Janice Pariat’s Everything the Light Touches
Parvin Sultana
Abstract Full Text PDF
Mimesis, Montage and Mapping: A Spatial Analysis of Gangtok City Scapes in the Select Works of Satyajit Ray and Prajwal Parajuly
Dr. Sudakshina Bhattacharya, Dr. Sulagna Mohanty, and Dr. Ankusha Bandyopadhyay
Abstract Full Text PDF
by Editor | Jun 16, 2026 | Uncategorized
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature

Bibliographic Details
- Publisher: Rupkatha Books (Imprint), Aesthetix Media Services (OPC) Private Limited; First edition (19 June 2026)
- Language: English
- Ebook: 103 pages
- ISBN-13: 978-81-975130-2-2
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/9788197513022
- PDF Link: Free Access
- License: CCNC
- Dimensions: 21.59 cm x 27.94 cm
- Country of Origin: India
- Book Citation: Antony, N. P., & Venu, A. (Eds.). (2026). Urban imaginaries and Indian cities in literature. Rupkatha Books. ISBN: 978-81-975130-2-2. https://doi.org/10.21659/9788197513022
About the Book
Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature examines the multiple modes of representation, contestation and re-imagination of Indian cities in literary texts and cultural discourses. The volume explores the role of urban spaces not only as backdrops, but as active forces in the construction of human life and social relations. It attempts to understand how literature depicts the tensions between tradition and modernity, memory and progress, inclusion and exclusion and local and global forces that characterise contemporary urban life. The chapters in this collection address a broad spectrum of themes such as urban marginalisation, migration, gendered experiences, environmental issues, spatial politics, memory, and imagined futures. Drawing on several theoretical and methodological dimensions, the contributors illuminate the complexities and challenges of urban life in India. This volume constitutes eight chapters that do not provide a comprehensive study of major metropolitan Indian cities as often seen in the existing corpus of urban studies. The present chapter makes the case that it is rather an attempt to bring unique representations of known and unknown urban spaces in India to unravel the way the various urban spaces are imagined, experienced, contested, represented and negotiated across different historical, social, and cultural contexts in India. The recurrence of certain cities like Kolkata in the volume does not offer a singular narrative of its urban space. Instead, it focuses on the broader dimensions of the same city with its multiple urban experiences and posits ‘urbanity’ as an evolving and dynamic process.
Dr Neethu P. Antony is an Assistant Professor of English at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (VISH), VIT-AP University, Andhra Pradesh, India. She holds a PhD in English Literature from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, specialising in Gender, Performance, and Theatre Studies. Her research explores theatre and drama, subaltern resistance, trauma theory, gender and performance studies, urban space theory, and communication studies. She has published extensively on voice studies, Indian theatre modernity, ekphrastic literature, gender fluidity, and urbanism, and has presented her work at numerous national and international conferences.
Dr Arpana Venu is an Assistant Professor of English at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, VIT-AP University, Andhra Pradesh. She holds her doctoral degree from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, with a focus on Intra-Asian Travel Writing. Her research interests include travel writing, South-Asian studies, urban studies, bhasha literature and film studies. She has published and presented her research at various national and international conferences. Additionally, she is interested in translation, Indian classical music and interdisciplinary collaborative research.
by Editor | Jun 10, 2026 | Translation
My Elder Sister’s Nose Pin Was Lost Here Only: A translation of Joopaka Subhadra's Maakka Mukku Pulla Geenne Poyindi by K. Suneetha Rani

Bibliographic Details
- Publisher: Rupkatha Books (Imprint), Aesthetix Media Services (OPC) Private Limited; First edition (06 June 2026), under Rupkatha Translation Project 2025
- Language: English
- Ebook: 214 pages
- ISBN-13: 978-81-975130-0-8
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/rtp02 [to be assigned]
- PDF Link: Free Access
- License: CCNC
- Dimensions: 21.59 cm x 27.94 cm
- Country of Origin: India
About the Book
This English translation of Joopaka Subhadra’s My Elder Sister’s Nose Pin Was Lost Here Only (Ma Akka Mukku Pulla Geenne Poyindi) by K. Suneetha Rani emerges from a pressing need to re‑examine the economic, cultural, political and philosophical inheritances that dictate and control our understanding of Dalit identity and representation. Originally published as a monthly column in Bhumika Streevada Patrika (2007–2015), these writings confront the realities of caste, patriarchy, and regional marginalisation and interrogate the dynamics of power that produced such erasures. The title of the collection of essays owes its origin to a game played by children and village women, which would start with: “My elder sister’s nose pin was lost here only. Search where it was lost. Search how it was lost.” Here, “My elder sister” stands for the women of previous generations, while nose pins symbolise a prosperous, empowered cultural and theoretical stance for women.
The translation project by K. Suneetha Rani is sustained by a triadic principle of excavation, reconstruction and reclamation. Excavation involves retracing the fragments of cultural memory spread across the cultural texts, songs, myths, and philosophical motifs. Reconstruction requires reassembling these fragments into a clear canvas that brings to the fore contemporary struggles for recognition, equality, and justice. With these, it seeks to reclaim silenced histories and imagine futures grounded in the dignity of forgotten inheritances.
The collection primarily deals with the question of representation, how women, particularly those from marginalised communities, have been depicted, silenced, or mythologised in literature and cultural discourse. Figures such as Savitribai Phule, Ramabai Ambedkar, Sadalakshmi, and Phulan Devi are also remembered as icons whose lives continue to inspire. Subhadra situates their legacies alongside contemporary battles, showing how past and present are bound together in the ongoing fight for dignity and equality. She is acutely aware of the intersectionality involved in women’s representation and shows how oppression operates through overlapping structures by linking caste, class, gender, sexuality and religion.
Ultimately, this book invites all to participate in the ongoing dialogue about memory, representation and justice. It proves that the humanities remain vital precisely because they help us grapple with the unfinished business of history, and because they offer tools for imagining more equitable futures. In this, it turns into a manifesto of resistance and a call to rethink democracy through the eyes of the oppressed. My Elder Sister’s Nose Pin Was Lost Here Only offers a searing journey into the politics of caste and gender in contemporary India.

Joopaka Subhadra is a Dalit womanist writer and activist who has published extensively in Telugu, including essays, columns, short fiction, and poetry. She has edited anthologies, translated fiction into Telugu, and served on the editorial committees of various journals and magazines. Her works include Ayyayyo Dammakka, a collection of poems (2009); Rayakka Manyam, a collection of short stories (2014); Charitralni Cherigipostu, a collection of essays on literary criticism (2021); Reservation Bogie, a collection of short stories (2021); Telangani Kaitala Donthulu, a collection of poems (2024). Subhadra has translated the Tamil Dalit writer Bama’s book Sangati into Telugu as Sangathi. She was honoured with almost 40 awards, including the Best Writer Award from the Telangana State Government. She has been writing a column titled Gunugupulu in the Sunday Supplement of the Telugu daily Andhra Jyothi since July 2023. My Elder Sister’s Nose Pin was Lost Here Only is the English translation of a column titled Ma Akka Mukku Pulla Geenne Poyindi, written by Joopaka Subhadra for Bhumika Streevada Patrika, a Telugu feminist monthly journal, from 2007 to 2015. The column is a critical commentary on various issues related to society, politics, and movements, but focusing on the marginalised identities such as caste, gender, and region.

K. Suneetha Rani is a Professor at the Centre for Women’s Studies, University of Hyderabad. Currently, she is the Dean of the School of Social Sciences. She was with the Department of English for 16 years before joining the Centre for Women’s Studies in 2011. Her areas of interest include Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Comparative Studies, New Literatures in English, Translation Studies and Feminist Pedagogy. Her PhD in English Literature is on Australian Aboriginal Women’s Autobiographies. She translates from Telugu to English and English to Telugu. She has extensively published research articles and translations in English and Telugu. Her major publications in English include Australian Aboriginal Women’s Autobiographies: A Critical Study (2006), Flowering from the Soil: Dalit Women’s Writing from Telugu (Translation of Dalit Women’s Select Writings from Telugu) (2012), English in the Dalit Context (co-editor) (2014), Vibhinna: Voices from Contemporary Telugu Writing ((co-editor) (2015), A House on the Outskirts and Other Stories (Translation of Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak’s select short fiction from Telugu)(2016), Influence of English on Indian Women Writers: Voices from the Regional Languages (2017), Identities and Assertions: Dalit Women’s Narratives (2017), The Rock That Was Not (Translation of Githanjali’s Select Short Fiction from Telugu) (2019), Critical Discourse in Telugu (2021). Her book-length translations into Telugu include Neeli Needa: Australia Adivasi Ammayi Atmakatha; Daarulu: Tappinchukune Daarulu, and Dweeparagalu: Srilanka Strila Sahityam. She is the editor of Gender Handbooks in Telugu and English for teachers and students of 6-8 and 9-12 classes assigned by Samagra Shiksha, Telangana and funded by UNICEF. She is the President of the Executive Committee of Bhumika Women’s Collective, Hyderabad, a non-profit organisation working against gender-based violence. She has recently completed a research project on gender assumptions among adolescent boys, assigned by the Department of Education, Government of Telangana, and funded by UNICEF, Telangana.