Assertion or Transgression: A Critical Study of Surpankha as an Unwelcomed Girl Child in Kavita Kané’s Lanka’s Princess

Kavita Kané’s Lanka’s Princess is the retelling of Ramayana3 from the perspective of the often misrepresented and misunderstood character of Surpankha,4 the daughter of rishi (sage) Vishravas and rakshasi (monster) Kaiskesi. Kavita Kané uses myths as a pretext to defy the idea of an ideal femininity in her book. Kané’s representation humanizes the character of Surpankha (translation: woman with sharp fingernails) who was born as the beautiful princess Meenakshi, but her defiant demeanor caused her brother Ravan to give her the name of Surpankha. Kané’s work exhibits the inner thought process of an unwelcome girl child in the family who has always been ignored by her mother and overshadowed by her brothers. The “violent restlessness” which is appreciated in the behavior of Ravan as a marker of heroism is often criticized when embodied by Meenakshi (Kané 28). The present study undertakes a textual analysis of Lanka’s Princess and further analyzes how Kavita Kané’s reinterpretation of the marginalized character of Surpankha challenges the stereotypical characterization of Surpankha as the “other” of Sita, who is the embodiment of obedience. In this light, the rewriting of Surpankha’s story by Kavita Kané focuses on the neglected aspects of Surpankha’s identity, which have been crucial in the formation of her female subjectivity. Moreover, Lanka’s Princess as a text strives to liberate her from the stereotypical image of a disfigured monster by demonstrating her as a woman “who has survived hatred, loss, and rejection” (Arekar 131). This research has the potential to invigorate and intensify the impulse to challenge the universally accepted patriarchal discourse concerning the representation of women in Indian mythology

Reinventing Marginalized Voices: A Study of Volga’s The Liberation of Sita and Yashodhara

The corpus of Indian women’s literature has the power to define the borders of community, class, and gender. Challenging the existing patriarchal set-up, writers from all corners of the nation speak not only to subvert the patriarchy but also to claim their authority and bring subdued voices to the fore. In Volga’s gynocentric retellings of the ancient epic “Ramayana,” Volga’s The Liberation of Sita and Yashodhara deconstruct the traditional epic by recentering female characters that were marginalized in the original. The Liberation of Sita and Yashodhara tell the story of Buddha’s wife after his unexpected departure, and they exemplify an active remaking of the past, a revision, and a reinvention of tradition. Thus, the author creates a female collective by representing ancient tradition from alternative points of view and networking with women across ages and generations. This paper interprets the depiction of the female characters in the select texts not merely as exalted figures but as bold voices. The female characters of the epic are victims of patriarchy, yet they are not depicted as mere sufferers. The author has given them a strong voice and dignity, narrating words of wisdom which are the result of their experiences of struggle with pain. Hence, the study shows Volga’s evolved understanding of feminism as more than a simple conflict between men and women, but a larger issue that cannot simply be reduced to binaries

Bollywood as a Site of Resistance: Women and Agency in Indian Popular Culture

This article evaluates the contemporary Indian redefinition of gender norms, subjectivity, and practices by analyzing Bollywood films as a major influence upon its global audiences. This study explores how Indian cinema redefines women’s status and promotes gender-neutral entertainment by harnessing the powerful energies of current movements such as #MeToo. The article closely examines the textual and conceptual features of current women-focused movies like Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga (2019), Thappad (2020), and Paglait (2021). This examination focuses on key insights from popular Bollywood actresses’ critical feminist roles to understand their assertions of women’s power, agency, and equality. Additionally, this research explores the evolving trope of the male liberator, who dominated past Bollywood and the popular culture imagination but is now being revised in a way that deconstructs patriarchal norms. This paper first explores traditional portrayals of women in Bollywood and then critiques these films to look at how resistance is portrayed in contemporary cinema. This paper examines current paradigm shifts through the analysis of characters that challenge conventional depictions and resist the prevailing gender stereotypes in their quest for empowerment

Relavance of Garbhotpattikar Shadbhav in genesis of foetus

Genetics is the science that deals with transmission of biological properties from parents to offspring. It crisscross with life science and linked with modern embryology. In Ayurveda certain factors are described in view of genesis of embryo or foetus. Acharyas had described Ashtaprakriti, Shodashvikara and Atma in the formation of Garbh. While describing detailed embryology Acharyas have described about Matrijadi Garbhotpattikar Shadbhav. These are factors described for the development of foetus. As Ayurveda is based on eternal and concealed facts. Modern embryology is much advance in this field. Development of embryois is well defined. Whatever the features and development of different parts of foetus described with assistance of the 6 factors may be helpfull to enhance the goal of Ayurveda embryology, that is Suprajanan

Evaluaton of hypoglycaemic activity of Aegel marmelos alcoholic seed extract in experimental models of hyperglycemic rats

The present study aimed to investigate the antidiabetic effect of alcoholic seed extract of Aegel marmelos in comparison with glibenclamide in in vivo using alloxan rat model.The diabetic rats were orally given glibenclamide and alcoholic seed extract of Aegle marmelos for 21 days. The effects were studied in vivo. Oral administration of alcoholic seed extract of Aegle marmelos decrease the level of serum glucose, total cholesterol (TCH), triglycerides(TG), low density lipoprotein (LDLP), very low density lipoprotein(VLDLP) significantly while increasing HDL-cholesterol. Alcoholic seed extract of Aegle marmelos was also evaluated for oral glucose tolerance(OGTT) characteristics. In conclusion, alcoholic seed extract of Aegle marmelos had potential antidiabetic activity. Further it has been observed that the seed extract have positive effect on liver and kidney parenchyma

Monuments as “Sites of Memory”: remembering the forgotten Ottoman past of the modern Turkish republic through Elif Shafak’s the architect’s apprentice

This article explores how monuments must not be seen as independent or self-referential depositories of historical knowledge; instead, they must be considered highly significant historical, cultural and socio-political artefacts “with important political implications” (Bozdogan, 2001, p. 12). Elif Shafak’s The Architect’s Apprentice (2015) establishes Ottoman monuments as the ‘sites of memory’ that have the potential to narrate alternative or buried histories. The present paper investigates how Shafak’s oeuvre helps revive the forgotten aspects of Ottoman Turkish heritage. It further delineates that these Ottoman monuments, as represented in the text, are nothing but the manifestations of the suppressed Ottoman heritage of the Republic of Turkey. The researcher attempts to undertake a close textual reading of the text by drawing insights from the conceptual framework of Pierre Nora’s idea of ‘sites of memory’ and the discourse concerning cultural memory and forgetting. The findings of this research reveal that Shafak’s oeuvre can be considered as a medium to understand how the imposition of ‘perpetual forgetfullness’ in the Modern Turkish Republic has defamiliarised the populace of the Republic from these Ottoman monuments, which are the material embodiments of the Ottoman memory and history. In this light, it becomes crucial to discuss these monuments as ‘sites of memory,’ for they have the potential to abridge the rupture between the forgotten Ottoman past and the Turkish present

Tracing the Identity and Ascertaining the Nature of Brahmi-derived Devanagari Script

Current research exploits the orthographic design of Brahmi-derived scripts (also called Indic scripts), particularly the Devanagari script. Earlier works on orthographic nature of Brahmi-derived scripts fail to create a consensus among epigraphists, historians or linguists, and thus have been identified by various names, like semi-syllabic, subsyllabic, semi-alphabetic, alphasyllabary or abugida. On the contrary, this paper argues that Brahmi-derived scripts should not be categorized as scripts with overlapping features of alphabetic and syllabic properties as these scripts are neither alphabetic nor syllabic. Historical evolution and linguistic properties of Indic scripts, particularly Devanagari, ascertain the need for a new categorization of its own and, thus preferably merit a unique descriptor. This paper investigates orthographic characteristics of the Brahmi-derived Devanagari script, current trends in research pertaining to the Devanagari script along with other Indic scripts and the implications of these findings for literacy development in Indic writing systems

HHV8-Negative Primary Effusion Lymphoma of B-Cell Lineage: Two Cases and a Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare extranodal lymphoma that typically presents in a body cavity in the absence of a detectable tumor mass and that occurs predominantly in immunosuppressed individuals. The neoplastic lymphoid cells are frequently infected with human herpes virus 8 (HHV8), also known as Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV). We describe two HIV-negative patients who presented with primary effusion lymphoma of B-cell lineage involving the pleural cavity, but whose tumor cells lacked infection by HHV8. We review the English language literature of HHV8-negative PEL of B-cell lineage and compare these lymphomas to HHV8-associated PEL with regard to clinical and pathological characteristics, therapy, and outcome

Hyperuricemic Renal Failure in Nonhematologic Solid Tumors: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is an oncologic emergency that is caused by massive tumor cell lysis. It is commonly associated with hematological cancers like leukemia and lymphoma and uncommonly with solid nonhematologic tumors as well. However, spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome (STLS) without any cytotoxic chemotherapy rarely occurs in solid tumors. We describe a case of STLS in a metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown primary and review the literature of STLS in solid non-hematologic tumors to identify various risk factors for pathogenesis of this entity