A Critique on Nazism: A Study of The Dog Beneath the Skin and Rhinoceros

This paper looks at English Poetic Drama and its influence on Absurd Drama, in its evocation of anti-totalitarian structure of power in Europe between the Inter-War period. The plays of Auden & Isherwood are examined to analyse their use of fantasy, animal imagery to critique the rise of Nazism. A Comparative reading of Ionesco’s use of fantasy and animal image to depict ideological transformation of people at any given time, is undertaken to compare and contrast the two major theatre traditions of Poetic Drama and Absurd Drama. Ionesco had subsequently commented that he was depicting Nazification of a country in his play Rhinoceros. The specific, historical markers and ideological standpoint of Auden & Isherwood’s plays are juxtaposed to an ideologically non-committed representation of fear and herd mindset through fantasy in Ionesco’s play. The paper looks at the thirties to sixties of the 20th Century as reflected in the plays of the three playwrights under study

V. S. Naipaul’s Exploration of India: A Reading of Land, People and the Self

This paper examines the non-fiction of the novelist, V.S. Naipaul, in particular, his writings on India. The paper argues that Naipaul’s repeated exploration of India, over three decades (1964-1990) can be read as his attempts at exploration of the Self. In his An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilisation, India: A Million Mutinies Now and in his Collection of Journalistic Essays, Naipaul examines the land of his ancestors, its people, its culture, polity, literature. But the most fascinating part of this journey pertains to his exploration of his own inner self. The paper juxtaposes his critique of India to probe an interesting analysis of the entity of a country, through a geographical, cultural and inner exploration of the writer

Violence Against Marginalized Women: Literary Representations in Tamil

This paper discusses representations of marginalized women on grounds of caste and religion in literary works in Tamil. An analysis of writings of Bama, Sivakami, Salma foreground the forms of oppression on women’s labour, both physical and sexual. The violent containment of women’s bodies, repression of their sexuality by family, and state institutions is highlighted. The institutionalizing of violence on Dalit women and the collusion of patriarchy and religious institutions alerts us to the dehumanizing of marginalized women. The paper argues for recognizing a heterogeneity among women to be reckoned with, in feminist discourse on grounds of class, caste, religious identity and to make feminist standpoint an inter-sectional one

Negotiating Literary Transactions: Translation as Mapping Empowerment through Dissemination

This paper argues for wider negotiation of Dalit literary discourse through translation amongst Indian languages. This would provide a marshalling of cultural and political solidarity amongst Dalit communities and help in the movement for social justice and inclusive transformation in a pluralist culture that is the core marker of Indian social rubric. The paper argues that a translator works under constraints imposed by the publishing industry regarding choice of author to be translated, themes and genres to be accessed, thereby restricting wider dissemination of powerful narratives in regional languages. A translator has to negotiate a subversive strategy to initiate a healthier exchange of literary discourse amongst Indian languages and English. The paper analyses possibilities through translation of the same text in English and an Indian language to illustrate the political, activist choices of choosing an Indian language over English in a translation project