South Asian Literature in English

Bagay: Articulating a New Materialism from the Philippine Tropics

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[wp-svg-icons icon=”user” wrap=”i”] Christian Jil R. Benitez [wp-svg-icons icon=”envelop” wrap=”i”]  

Department of Filipino, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 1, January-March, 2022, Pages 1–11. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n1.07

Abstract received:  31 March 2021 | Complete article received: 30 May 2021 | Revised article received: 29 August 2021 | Accepted:30 August 2021 | First Published: 05 February 2022

(This article is published under the Themed Issue Contemporary East and Southeast Asian Literary and Cultural Studies)
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Bagay: Articulating a New Materialism from the Philippine Tropics

Abstract

Keeping in time with the new materialist turn that aspires to respond to the common disregard to matter in Euro-Western tradition of thought while at the same time insisting the imperative to decolonize such turn, this essay attempts to articulate a Philippine rendition of new materialism, through the notion of bagay, nominated here as a thing whose materiality is intuited to be appropriately determinable concerning a particular moment. This attempt is extended through turning to Bagay poetry, “a concept, a proposition” (Lumbera 2005, 136) from the 1960s toward a Philippine poetics that is most attuned to the concreteness of things, instead of simply overlooking them—a disregarding impulse that is primarily attributed to the “platitudinous and emotional tendencies” (“Bagay Poets” 1965, 24) in Philippine poetry at the time which considers things as mere metaphors, if not symbols for anthropocentric sentimentalizations. Through harnessing then an attentiveness on things encouraged by the Bagay poetics, the materiality of bagay is then sensed in its utmost tropicality, that is, its capacity to turn into whatever.

 Keywords: New materialism, bagay, Philippine poetics, decolonization, tropicality

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Solon Karthak and Travelogues in Nepali Literature

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Norden Michael Lepcha

Former Assistant Professor of English, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. Email: nordenmike@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 3, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n3.36

Abstract

Apart from Nepal and Bhutan, Nepali is the dominant language of the lower Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions of India. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, many important literary organizations from this region have been publishing books and journals in Nepali.  In 1992, Nepali was recognised as the 19th official Indian language and included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. It has been recognised as one of the modern languages of India by the Sahitya Akademi, or Academy of Letters, of the Indian government since 1975; and the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award has been bestowed on the best literary works of Indian Nepali writers along with other Indian languages every year. The 2019 award was given to Solon Karthak for his anthology of travel narratives Visva Eauta Pallo Gaon (2013). As an Indian national residing in Kalimpong, West Bengal, Karthak has been writing for a long time but since he writes in Nepali, many in India have no clue about him probably because of the language barrier. Indian Nepali literature is not often translated into English, and remains inaccessible to most people within India and outside it. Solon’s thirst to travel and passion for literature shaped him into an excellent travel writer, in fact one of the forerunners in this genre in Nepali literature. This article will give an overview of Solon Karthak’s travel writings which are not only descriptive but have an artistic touch in them. His contribution to develop and bring Niyatra (Subjective Travelogue) into mainstream Nepali literature shall always be remembered.

Keywords:  travelogues, Nepali, Salon Karthak, Sahitya Akademi Award