I, Poorva Gulati, English Guest Faculty at Delhi Technological University and Ph.D. Research Scholar at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. As a Literature scholar, I exhibit devout interest in literature (Encompassing domain's of Diasporic literature, Women's Writing, Gender, and theatrical studies, Indian Writing in English, Modern World Literature, Partition literature, British Nineteenth century literature, Metaphysics of John Donne and proficiency in Shakespeare dramas)..possess and enthralled with creative impetus and zeal for writing and teaching... Proficient and Polished in communication skills with an accomplished fervor towards oratorship skills. Worked as a content Writer in a Government project in MyGov, Prime Minister Office.
LangLit: An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal ISSN 2349-5189 Impact factor-5.61, 2024
The Mahabharata is the story of a nation. The epic is reinterpreted as the primal text of Indian ... more The Mahabharata is the story of a nation. The epic is reinterpreted as the primal text of Indian national history and a repository of national culture. The battle between brothers about regaining lost land that has been unfairly lost is analogous to colonial India and the struggle of the nationalists fighting to retrieve their lost space. Mythology in the late colonial period posits contemporary political circumstances. Nationalists' writers associate the body of Draupadi with the land of Bharatvarsh reiterating the feminist criticism where the women's body is viewed as a colonial territory, wrongly seized and violated. The paper would try to explore select works of Mahasweta Devi and Manohar Mouli Biswas to understand the history of the dispossessed, disinherited, and displaced adivasis who have been almost written out of the nation’s past. Most of Devi’s writings have tried to resurrect imperialism and even independence as contested terrains which is the space of difference and is somewhere between colony and decolonization. Subaltern writers have tried to address this historical lacuna in literary renditions within the nationalistic frame but the ‘gender sensitive-subalternist' in them tries to redeem this nationalism from notions of masculinity. In works of protest literature, there is a growing quest for Dalit representation that challenges conventional canon that has completely erased their experience and identity likewise. This paper examines how these stories have turned into a national allegory, universalizing individual suppression to the nation's collective narration. The paper explores indigenous women’s representations in Mahasweta Devi’s “Douloti the Bountiful”, “Bayen”, “Draupadi” and Mouli Biswas’s Ghatotkach and Hidimba: A Dialogue. Keywords: Tribal Subaltern, Displacement, colonial oppression, national allegory, nation-state, cultural construct, canon, historical consciousness.
Bodhi International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Science. ISSN: 2456-5571, Center for Resource, Research and Publication Services, CRPS, India, Impact Factor-2.135., 2021
The purpose-The main motive of the study is to understand the narrative of Bankim Chandra Chatter... more The purpose-The main motive of the study is to understand the narrative of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Anandamath as an expansion and critique of its thematic core 'Vande Mataram'. Design/Methodology/Approach-The Divine personification of a Nation as a Matrabhumi (the one which nurtures), Punyabhumi (the Holy Land) and Dharmabhumi (the one with righteous conduct) inspires fear in us, a fear which will not dissociate us, but an awestruck attraction which is beyond our mortal being. The mother as a divine Shakti, Goddess Durga is Vrihad, grand but we as Santan are the part of the Bharat-Mata, who in the past was Jagaddhatri, Protectress of the world, wonderful, perfect, and rich. In contemporary nuances of present-day politics, we as readers can see the mother has become an idol of Goddess Kali, in the haunt of a wild beast, enveloped in darkness, full of blackness and gloom, one who is stripped of all and therefore naked. Wearing our sins and vices in the garland of a skull as an ornament, where the whole country is a burial ground and she tramples her god under her feet. The divine personified mother now will turn into goddess Durga, ten armed radiants in the light of the early sun, laughing and extending her ten arms towards the ten regions. The song Vande Mataram features as the manifesto of the Sanyasi group where words of its verses are rich in adjectives that praise every aspect of the country and emphasizes idolizing her as Goddess reincarnate. Findings-Anandamath is a text that is enthralled with the resonance of Vande Mataram in every character. As a post text, it is largely discussed in the context of history and politics but its narrative unfolds itself in three further aspects, namely Semiotics, Discursive, and Aesthetic. Research Implications-The paper offers an insight into a semantic reverberation of Indian unconscious and traditional conventional context which gives an organic and a particular cultural perspective to the song Vande Mataram. Anandamath traverses the shift from the wilderness of nature to the refinement of culture. Wish for History is foregrounded in the novel to give us the idea of the nation that may not have been established. Bankim Chandra alludes to the imagined persona to give us a wish for a possible history, giving us a license with the factual history. The paper aims to analyze the historicality of the novel that juggles through the 'imagined' and 'lived' of the author. There is an overlapping of ideas and contradictions in the ideology of the novel because it is writing from contested political terrain. This paper attempts to study the problematics of depraved masses and natives who are fighting for the contested 'nation' space' in times of famines and crises. The idea of Punyaland is vitiated (and thus the 'unmaking' of a nation) and this is carried in the novel through language, metaphors, and discourse. The disintegration of family metaphorically hints at the fragmentation of the bigger structure, since family is the basic unit of a larger system, the nation too is in chaos. The Study reflects the effacement of the self, the annihilation of oneself in a given national space. Thus the writer foregrounds a formation of a spiritual nation from the threshold of Damphati Dharma (Language of household) through linguistic and cultural otherness.
LangLit- An International Peer Reviewed Open Access Journal. Impact Factor: 5.61. ISSN 2349-5189, 2020
Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the diasporic friction between the east a... more Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the diasporic friction between the east and the west; traditional and modern that causes the rise in the awareness and strength of the women. Design/Methodology/Approach – The research focuses on Baldwin’s We Are So Different Now, published in 2009, deploying the character of Draupadi from Mahabharata, portraying her as a character who had endured hardships; is a manifestation of stoicism and perseverance. She is a symbol of strength, dignity, and is full of resoluteness. This makes her character nuanced and conflicted, transitioning her tale from myth to fiction. She is the quintessential symbol of resistance and writes back her saga of unwrapped narratives blending oral and written variations. The discourse of Yajnaseni is further deconstructed in Baldwin’s play where the modern-day Draupadi baffles within the two worlds. Findings- We Are So Different Now is a play where Draupadi is depicted as an unconventional heroine with a life full of vicissitudes, caught between sky and earth, and the one who cannot rest in heaven because women are still wailing, helpless and voiceless. Baldwin talks of a tormented Draupadi, who is bold enough to exhibit her discontent towards many injustices that she had to face in the name of culture. Today’s Draupadi is a woman depicting her chaos, turmoil, dilemmas, and apprehensions similar to the Divakaruni’s Sita, the one who confronts, questions and empathize with the cause of other women. Research Implications – Baldwin demystifies her mythical characters in such a way that they transcend the polar compartmentalization of societal constructs. Her play revisits the myth of Draupadi and Arjun and locating them in contemporary dynamics of the power structure. Ways of representing our mythical characters need to be changed in today’s context keeping in mind the problems that surround society and its individual. Keywords - Reinterpretation, Mythology, Mythical narratives, Femininity, Power structure, Subversion, Revisionist norms, Identity, Sexuality.
Published in The Indo- American Review with ISSN: 0974-0481, Vol 23, a bi-annual international refereed journal devoted to Literature, Culture and Women’s Studies (Approved by the UGC), 2019
The War is no less than the Age of Atrocity that ends with defeat, disillusionment, fragmented ps... more The War is no less than the Age of Atrocity that ends with defeat, disillusionment, fragmented psyche, disturbing discussions about the politics of revenge, moral dereliction, and the failure of a morally responsible will to intervene in acts of violation. It leaves us all with brutality of existence, with the anguish at finding ourselves in a terrible world where we could only lament and curse. It invites us to hear, in its difficult notes of tragedy our own complicity in evil. Andha Yug, written after the carnage of partition of Indian subcontinent, which nearly erased a form of life and civilization, which talks of the sacred, righteous war of Mahabharata, and how even the sacramental war of sacrifices could not prevent the borders haunted from the nightmares. On the other hand Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front talks of the terrible brutality of World War One, which ceases to romanticize the glory of war and heroism with an unromantic vision of fear, meaninglessness and butchery. Be it the great, glory giving war of Mahabharata or the vulnerable World war one, it has completely altered mankind’s conception of military conflict with its catastrophic levels of carnage and violence, its battles that lasted for months, and its gruesome new technological advancements (e.g., machine guns, poison gas, trenches) that made killing easier and more impersonal than ever before. Remarque’s novel dramatizes these aspects and portrays the mind-numbing terror and savagery of war with a relentless focus on the physical and psychological damage that it occasions. This paper attempts a Comparative study of Andha Yug and All Quiet on the Western Front dealing with the post war trauma and disillusionment that the two wars had on the human psyche. Remarque’s work deals with hardened secular reality while Andha Yug gives the insight of the sacredness of this conflict, but both the works represent the slaughter of the innocent, lost to impractical dreams; they follow the trajectory from innocence to a realization of the cruelty and inhumanity of war. Keywords: War, Violence, Dehumanization, Brutality, Bestiality, Sacred conflict, Physical and Psychological Trauma.
Published in International Multi-Journal, A Peer-Reviewed Refereed Journal Vol-7, Issue 1. January to April 2020, ISSN – 2454-2105 with a 5.4 impact factor., 2020
The Triveni Sangam- a confluence of three rivers at Allahabad, namely The Ganga, The Yamuna and T... more The Triveni Sangam- a confluence of three rivers at Allahabad, namely The Ganga, The Yamuna and The Saraswati, one which is not visible represents the unspoken, the unsaid, the hidden. This is where the mortal being merges in this Sangam, the sacred place where a being ward off from its negativity, despair and distrust. It is not merely the Sangam of rivers, but the Sangam of the characters with the larger reality, Sangam of their conflicts, their dilemmas that surround them in this journey, Sangam of their ‘self’ in an ocean of divine cosmos (Aatma coalescing in Paramatma). This paper intends to draw a parallel between the river as a metaphor and the characters of the film Masaan, gradually attaining Sangam of their lives. Neeraj Ghaywan’s film is a beautifully narrated story of love, loss and acceptance where on one hand, Devi has to struggle with her sexuality, morality and patriarchy. On the other hand, Deepak who works on the Harischandra Ghats of Benares, burning dead bodies in shamshan transcends from the confines of caste barriers in a small town of Varanasi. It is important to note how every character’s journey evolves at the ghats, as to how the holy waters of Ganga are seen as an important framework for every character. The paper aims to analyze the journey of Devi and Deepak, who are striking to achieve that convergence, that Sangam which gives them stability from chaos and scattered thoughts and binds their conflicted self. The Study gives us an insight as to how banks of Ganga not only divide two worlds of extremities, but it is a metaphorical Sangam of life and Death, where beauty and ugliness are portrayed in equal measures. Keywords: River, Sangam, Pluralities, Sanctimonious city of Varanasi, Transgression, Longing, Quest, Desire, Being and Becoming, Dissent.
Published in LangLit an International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal, ISSN 2349-5189 with COSMOS Impact Factor- 5.61, Vol. 6. Issue 4, ww.langlit.org., 2020
Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the psychological behavior of people duri... more Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the psychological behavior of people during this outbreak and correlate them to great literary works of Albert Camus, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Homer, and Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. Design/Methodology/Approach - With the advent of a new decade, we saw the rise of a new virus. Setting the locus in China, the Corona Virus has spread quickly and forced the whole world to an intense shutdown. The epidemic which was initially considered a single droplet has turned out to become a wave that has engulfed every nation. A single being which is not visible to the naked eye has brought about a 180-degree change in our daily routines and positioned great leader and doctors to test. Pandemics are a reality but books are mostly fiction and what we learn from books is applied to reality. Through each era, from classical to contemporary we have seen great writers pen down their views on the pandemic. We have seen them jot down stories that once seemed horrifying. No one was prepared for this outbreak but we can tilt toward literature and seek help from these great writers. The paper had been attempted to discuss depleting mental health, its effects, and how literature can be used as a recuperating medium to heal oneself internally. Findings- The virus is not only responsible for the deaths of thousands of people but has also resulted in constant psychological pressure. The people shut inside their homes, closed schools, and sequestered markets have further negatively influenced the well being of many and caused a state of panic and fear. People not only fear being infected but also of the aftermath. Simple gestures like hugging and shaking hands are now motions we have to restrain ourselves from. India has been practicing lockdown for nearly two months and no one knows for how many more days this house prison will be prolonged. While these steps seem to mitigate and the only clear solution for restricting the further spread of this virus, are consequences to which we cannot be oblivious. For the well functioning of society, it is important to take the current psychology of people seriously, taking into account, the dreadful environment around a much larger fraction of people who are prone to mental disturbances. Research Implications - The paper moves to systematically analyze the underlying issue of ravaging the psychological state of people in lockdown and relating the scenarios to novels ranging from classics to contemporary. We debate upon the reason for this distress and work on ways to stay calm and compose during this pandemic. Towards the end, with the help of our studies, we concur our learning with the methods in classics.
Published in UGC Care journal named Purakala with ISSN 0971-2143, Vol. 31 Issue 37 Month May Year 2020 with Impact Factor 5.60. The journal is indexed, peer-reviewed and listed in UGC Care. The Paper is google indexed., 2020
Gender is the self-representation of a person as male or female based on societal norms. Judith B... more Gender is the self-representation of a person as male or female based on societal norms. Judith Butler elucidates that we cannot define a stable subjectivity about 'performing' various gender roles, it is the very act of performing gender that constitutes our identity. In our religious and mythological texts, we see that punishments for misdeeds meted out to women are biased. When the great epics were written, these norms were established which not only expect people to behave accordingly but impose stringent penalties on those who did not abide by them. Women are forced to get into the allotted roles prescribed for them in epics and historical accounts. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni brings forth the ignored voices by giving different perspectives on various women characters like Urmila, Kaikeyi, Shabri, Mandodiri, Sarama, Shanta, Ahilya, and Surpanakha, who were relegated at the margins even in our sacred and religious narratives. Mythology is paradoxical in a way, on the one hand, it deifies them on a pedestal, and on the other hand, they are time and again asked to give parikshas (tests) to prove their chastity.The paper aims to analyze the critical corpus of problematic sisterhood characterized by male preconceptions where a woman is no less than the embodiment of betrayal, transgressions, and indiscretion. Through a study of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni'sThe Forest of Enchantments, this paper attempts astudy ofSurpanakha, Mandodari, Sarama (Vibheeshan's wife) and Kaikeyi. It telegraphs the readers into Sita's search for selfhood, gives an ability of articulation to the margins, and thus margins transcend into the center of the narrative. If a character like Sita is an embodiment of unflinching dedication, forbearance, stoicism, she also carries the quintessence of knowledge, rationality, and finer sensibility. The Study gives us an insight as to how objectified goddess is worshipped from a distance as a magnificent work of art, withouthuman emotions but only reifying her to heights, oblivious of her troubles that she was enduring in her troubled existence. Divakaruni's rendition of women characters is a comment on the engulfing silences of duty and betrayal where the story of gods and goddesses or Dharma is not always colored with polar hues, they are more complexed, more layered and more nuanced.
LangLit: An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal ISSN 2349-5189 Impact factor-5.61, 2024
The Mahabharata is the story of a nation. The epic is reinterpreted as the primal text of Indian ... more The Mahabharata is the story of a nation. The epic is reinterpreted as the primal text of Indian national history and a repository of national culture. The battle between brothers about regaining lost land that has been unfairly lost is analogous to colonial India and the struggle of the nationalists fighting to retrieve their lost space. Mythology in the late colonial period posits contemporary political circumstances. Nationalists' writers associate the body of Draupadi with the land of Bharatvarsh reiterating the feminist criticism where the women's body is viewed as a colonial territory, wrongly seized and violated. The paper would try to explore select works of Mahasweta Devi and Manohar Mouli Biswas to understand the history of the dispossessed, disinherited, and displaced adivasis who have been almost written out of the nation’s past. Most of Devi’s writings have tried to resurrect imperialism and even independence as contested terrains which is the space of difference and is somewhere between colony and decolonization. Subaltern writers have tried to address this historical lacuna in literary renditions within the nationalistic frame but the ‘gender sensitive-subalternist' in them tries to redeem this nationalism from notions of masculinity. In works of protest literature, there is a growing quest for Dalit representation that challenges conventional canon that has completely erased their experience and identity likewise. This paper examines how these stories have turned into a national allegory, universalizing individual suppression to the nation's collective narration. The paper explores indigenous women’s representations in Mahasweta Devi’s “Douloti the Bountiful”, “Bayen”, “Draupadi” and Mouli Biswas’s Ghatotkach and Hidimba: A Dialogue. Keywords: Tribal Subaltern, Displacement, colonial oppression, national allegory, nation-state, cultural construct, canon, historical consciousness.
Bodhi International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Science. ISSN: 2456-5571, Center for Resource, Research and Publication Services, CRPS, India, Impact Factor-2.135., 2021
The purpose-The main motive of the study is to understand the narrative of Bankim Chandra Chatter... more The purpose-The main motive of the study is to understand the narrative of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Anandamath as an expansion and critique of its thematic core 'Vande Mataram'. Design/Methodology/Approach-The Divine personification of a Nation as a Matrabhumi (the one which nurtures), Punyabhumi (the Holy Land) and Dharmabhumi (the one with righteous conduct) inspires fear in us, a fear which will not dissociate us, but an awestruck attraction which is beyond our mortal being. The mother as a divine Shakti, Goddess Durga is Vrihad, grand but we as Santan are the part of the Bharat-Mata, who in the past was Jagaddhatri, Protectress of the world, wonderful, perfect, and rich. In contemporary nuances of present-day politics, we as readers can see the mother has become an idol of Goddess Kali, in the haunt of a wild beast, enveloped in darkness, full of blackness and gloom, one who is stripped of all and therefore naked. Wearing our sins and vices in the garland of a skull as an ornament, where the whole country is a burial ground and she tramples her god under her feet. The divine personified mother now will turn into goddess Durga, ten armed radiants in the light of the early sun, laughing and extending her ten arms towards the ten regions. The song Vande Mataram features as the manifesto of the Sanyasi group where words of its verses are rich in adjectives that praise every aspect of the country and emphasizes idolizing her as Goddess reincarnate. Findings-Anandamath is a text that is enthralled with the resonance of Vande Mataram in every character. As a post text, it is largely discussed in the context of history and politics but its narrative unfolds itself in three further aspects, namely Semiotics, Discursive, and Aesthetic. Research Implications-The paper offers an insight into a semantic reverberation of Indian unconscious and traditional conventional context which gives an organic and a particular cultural perspective to the song Vande Mataram. Anandamath traverses the shift from the wilderness of nature to the refinement of culture. Wish for History is foregrounded in the novel to give us the idea of the nation that may not have been established. Bankim Chandra alludes to the imagined persona to give us a wish for a possible history, giving us a license with the factual history. The paper aims to analyze the historicality of the novel that juggles through the 'imagined' and 'lived' of the author. There is an overlapping of ideas and contradictions in the ideology of the novel because it is writing from contested political terrain. This paper attempts to study the problematics of depraved masses and natives who are fighting for the contested 'nation' space' in times of famines and crises. The idea of Punyaland is vitiated (and thus the 'unmaking' of a nation) and this is carried in the novel through language, metaphors, and discourse. The disintegration of family metaphorically hints at the fragmentation of the bigger structure, since family is the basic unit of a larger system, the nation too is in chaos. The Study reflects the effacement of the self, the annihilation of oneself in a given national space. Thus the writer foregrounds a formation of a spiritual nation from the threshold of Damphati Dharma (Language of household) through linguistic and cultural otherness.
LangLit- An International Peer Reviewed Open Access Journal. Impact Factor: 5.61. ISSN 2349-5189, 2020
Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the diasporic friction between the east a... more Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the diasporic friction between the east and the west; traditional and modern that causes the rise in the awareness and strength of the women. Design/Methodology/Approach – The research focuses on Baldwin’s We Are So Different Now, published in 2009, deploying the character of Draupadi from Mahabharata, portraying her as a character who had endured hardships; is a manifestation of stoicism and perseverance. She is a symbol of strength, dignity, and is full of resoluteness. This makes her character nuanced and conflicted, transitioning her tale from myth to fiction. She is the quintessential symbol of resistance and writes back her saga of unwrapped narratives blending oral and written variations. The discourse of Yajnaseni is further deconstructed in Baldwin’s play where the modern-day Draupadi baffles within the two worlds. Findings- We Are So Different Now is a play where Draupadi is depicted as an unconventional heroine with a life full of vicissitudes, caught between sky and earth, and the one who cannot rest in heaven because women are still wailing, helpless and voiceless. Baldwin talks of a tormented Draupadi, who is bold enough to exhibit her discontent towards many injustices that she had to face in the name of culture. Today’s Draupadi is a woman depicting her chaos, turmoil, dilemmas, and apprehensions similar to the Divakaruni’s Sita, the one who confronts, questions and empathize with the cause of other women. Research Implications – Baldwin demystifies her mythical characters in such a way that they transcend the polar compartmentalization of societal constructs. Her play revisits the myth of Draupadi and Arjun and locating them in contemporary dynamics of the power structure. Ways of representing our mythical characters need to be changed in today’s context keeping in mind the problems that surround society and its individual. Keywords - Reinterpretation, Mythology, Mythical narratives, Femininity, Power structure, Subversion, Revisionist norms, Identity, Sexuality.
Published in The Indo- American Review with ISSN: 0974-0481, Vol 23, a bi-annual international refereed journal devoted to Literature, Culture and Women’s Studies (Approved by the UGC), 2019
The War is no less than the Age of Atrocity that ends with defeat, disillusionment, fragmented ps... more The War is no less than the Age of Atrocity that ends with defeat, disillusionment, fragmented psyche, disturbing discussions about the politics of revenge, moral dereliction, and the failure of a morally responsible will to intervene in acts of violation. It leaves us all with brutality of existence, with the anguish at finding ourselves in a terrible world where we could only lament and curse. It invites us to hear, in its difficult notes of tragedy our own complicity in evil. Andha Yug, written after the carnage of partition of Indian subcontinent, which nearly erased a form of life and civilization, which talks of the sacred, righteous war of Mahabharata, and how even the sacramental war of sacrifices could not prevent the borders haunted from the nightmares. On the other hand Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front talks of the terrible brutality of World War One, which ceases to romanticize the glory of war and heroism with an unromantic vision of fear, meaninglessness and butchery. Be it the great, glory giving war of Mahabharata or the vulnerable World war one, it has completely altered mankind’s conception of military conflict with its catastrophic levels of carnage and violence, its battles that lasted for months, and its gruesome new technological advancements (e.g., machine guns, poison gas, trenches) that made killing easier and more impersonal than ever before. Remarque’s novel dramatizes these aspects and portrays the mind-numbing terror and savagery of war with a relentless focus on the physical and psychological damage that it occasions. This paper attempts a Comparative study of Andha Yug and All Quiet on the Western Front dealing with the post war trauma and disillusionment that the two wars had on the human psyche. Remarque’s work deals with hardened secular reality while Andha Yug gives the insight of the sacredness of this conflict, but both the works represent the slaughter of the innocent, lost to impractical dreams; they follow the trajectory from innocence to a realization of the cruelty and inhumanity of war. Keywords: War, Violence, Dehumanization, Brutality, Bestiality, Sacred conflict, Physical and Psychological Trauma.
Published in International Multi-Journal, A Peer-Reviewed Refereed Journal Vol-7, Issue 1. January to April 2020, ISSN – 2454-2105 with a 5.4 impact factor., 2020
The Triveni Sangam- a confluence of three rivers at Allahabad, namely The Ganga, The Yamuna and T... more The Triveni Sangam- a confluence of three rivers at Allahabad, namely The Ganga, The Yamuna and The Saraswati, one which is not visible represents the unspoken, the unsaid, the hidden. This is where the mortal being merges in this Sangam, the sacred place where a being ward off from its negativity, despair and distrust. It is not merely the Sangam of rivers, but the Sangam of the characters with the larger reality, Sangam of their conflicts, their dilemmas that surround them in this journey, Sangam of their ‘self’ in an ocean of divine cosmos (Aatma coalescing in Paramatma). This paper intends to draw a parallel between the river as a metaphor and the characters of the film Masaan, gradually attaining Sangam of their lives. Neeraj Ghaywan’s film is a beautifully narrated story of love, loss and acceptance where on one hand, Devi has to struggle with her sexuality, morality and patriarchy. On the other hand, Deepak who works on the Harischandra Ghats of Benares, burning dead bodies in shamshan transcends from the confines of caste barriers in a small town of Varanasi. It is important to note how every character’s journey evolves at the ghats, as to how the holy waters of Ganga are seen as an important framework for every character. The paper aims to analyze the journey of Devi and Deepak, who are striking to achieve that convergence, that Sangam which gives them stability from chaos and scattered thoughts and binds their conflicted self. The Study gives us an insight as to how banks of Ganga not only divide two worlds of extremities, but it is a metaphorical Sangam of life and Death, where beauty and ugliness are portrayed in equal measures. Keywords: River, Sangam, Pluralities, Sanctimonious city of Varanasi, Transgression, Longing, Quest, Desire, Being and Becoming, Dissent.
Published in LangLit an International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal, ISSN 2349-5189 with COSMOS Impact Factor- 5.61, Vol. 6. Issue 4, ww.langlit.org., 2020
Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the psychological behavior of people duri... more Purpose - The main motive of the study is to understand the psychological behavior of people during this outbreak and correlate them to great literary works of Albert Camus, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Homer, and Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. Design/Methodology/Approach - With the advent of a new decade, we saw the rise of a new virus. Setting the locus in China, the Corona Virus has spread quickly and forced the whole world to an intense shutdown. The epidemic which was initially considered a single droplet has turned out to become a wave that has engulfed every nation. A single being which is not visible to the naked eye has brought about a 180-degree change in our daily routines and positioned great leader and doctors to test. Pandemics are a reality but books are mostly fiction and what we learn from books is applied to reality. Through each era, from classical to contemporary we have seen great writers pen down their views on the pandemic. We have seen them jot down stories that once seemed horrifying. No one was prepared for this outbreak but we can tilt toward literature and seek help from these great writers. The paper had been attempted to discuss depleting mental health, its effects, and how literature can be used as a recuperating medium to heal oneself internally. Findings- The virus is not only responsible for the deaths of thousands of people but has also resulted in constant psychological pressure. The people shut inside their homes, closed schools, and sequestered markets have further negatively influenced the well being of many and caused a state of panic and fear. People not only fear being infected but also of the aftermath. Simple gestures like hugging and shaking hands are now motions we have to restrain ourselves from. India has been practicing lockdown for nearly two months and no one knows for how many more days this house prison will be prolonged. While these steps seem to mitigate and the only clear solution for restricting the further spread of this virus, are consequences to which we cannot be oblivious. For the well functioning of society, it is important to take the current psychology of people seriously, taking into account, the dreadful environment around a much larger fraction of people who are prone to mental disturbances. Research Implications - The paper moves to systematically analyze the underlying issue of ravaging the psychological state of people in lockdown and relating the scenarios to novels ranging from classics to contemporary. We debate upon the reason for this distress and work on ways to stay calm and compose during this pandemic. Towards the end, with the help of our studies, we concur our learning with the methods in classics.
Published in UGC Care journal named Purakala with ISSN 0971-2143, Vol. 31 Issue 37 Month May Year 2020 with Impact Factor 5.60. The journal is indexed, peer-reviewed and listed in UGC Care. The Paper is google indexed., 2020
Gender is the self-representation of a person as male or female based on societal norms. Judith B... more Gender is the self-representation of a person as male or female based on societal norms. Judith Butler elucidates that we cannot define a stable subjectivity about 'performing' various gender roles, it is the very act of performing gender that constitutes our identity. In our religious and mythological texts, we see that punishments for misdeeds meted out to women are biased. When the great epics were written, these norms were established which not only expect people to behave accordingly but impose stringent penalties on those who did not abide by them. Women are forced to get into the allotted roles prescribed for them in epics and historical accounts. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni brings forth the ignored voices by giving different perspectives on various women characters like Urmila, Kaikeyi, Shabri, Mandodiri, Sarama, Shanta, Ahilya, and Surpanakha, who were relegated at the margins even in our sacred and religious narratives. Mythology is paradoxical in a way, on the one hand, it deifies them on a pedestal, and on the other hand, they are time and again asked to give parikshas (tests) to prove their chastity.The paper aims to analyze the critical corpus of problematic sisterhood characterized by male preconceptions where a woman is no less than the embodiment of betrayal, transgressions, and indiscretion. Through a study of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni'sThe Forest of Enchantments, this paper attempts astudy ofSurpanakha, Mandodari, Sarama (Vibheeshan's wife) and Kaikeyi. It telegraphs the readers into Sita's search for selfhood, gives an ability of articulation to the margins, and thus margins transcend into the center of the narrative. If a character like Sita is an embodiment of unflinching dedication, forbearance, stoicism, she also carries the quintessence of knowledge, rationality, and finer sensibility. The Study gives us an insight as to how objectified goddess is worshipped from a distance as a magnificent work of art, withouthuman emotions but only reifying her to heights, oblivious of her troubles that she was enduring in her troubled existence. Divakaruni's rendition of women characters is a comment on the engulfing silences of duty and betrayal where the story of gods and goddesses or Dharma is not always colored with polar hues, they are more complexed, more layered and more nuanced.
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Papers by Poorva Gulati
Keywords: Tribal Subaltern, Displacement, colonial oppression, national allegory, nation-state, cultural construct, canon, historical consciousness.
Design/Methodology/Approach – The research focuses on Baldwin’s We Are So Different Now, published in 2009, deploying the character of Draupadi from Mahabharata, portraying her as a character who had endured hardships; is a manifestation of stoicism and perseverance. She is a symbol of strength, dignity, and is full of resoluteness. This makes her character nuanced and conflicted, transitioning her tale from myth to fiction. She is the quintessential symbol of resistance and writes back her saga of unwrapped narratives blending oral and written variations. The discourse of Yajnaseni is further deconstructed in Baldwin’s play where the modern-day Draupadi baffles within the two worlds.
Findings- We Are So Different Now is a play where Draupadi is depicted as an unconventional heroine with a life full of vicissitudes, caught between sky and earth, and the one who cannot rest in heaven because women are still wailing, helpless and voiceless. Baldwin talks of a tormented Draupadi, who is bold enough to exhibit her discontent towards many injustices that she had to face in the name of culture. Today’s Draupadi is a woman depicting her chaos, turmoil, dilemmas, and apprehensions similar to the Divakaruni’s Sita, the one who confronts, questions and empathize with the cause of other women.
Research Implications – Baldwin demystifies her mythical characters in such a way that they transcend the polar compartmentalization of societal constructs. Her play revisits the myth of Draupadi and Arjun and locating them in contemporary dynamics of the power structure. Ways of representing our mythical characters need to be changed in today’s context keeping in mind the problems that surround society and its individual.
Keywords - Reinterpretation, Mythology, Mythical narratives, Femininity, Power structure, Subversion, Revisionist norms, Identity, Sexuality.
Keywords: War, Violence, Dehumanization, Brutality, Bestiality, Sacred conflict, Physical and Psychological Trauma.
Keywords: River, Sangam, Pluralities, Sanctimonious city of Varanasi, Transgression, Longing, Quest, Desire, Being and Becoming, Dissent.
Design/Methodology/Approach - With the advent of a new decade, we saw the rise of a new virus. Setting the locus in China, the Corona Virus has spread quickly and forced the whole world to an intense shutdown. The epidemic which was initially considered a single droplet has turned out to become a wave that has engulfed every nation. A single being which is not visible to the naked eye has brought about a 180-degree change in our daily routines and positioned great leader and doctors to test. Pandemics are a reality but books are mostly fiction and what we learn from books is applied to reality. Through each era, from classical to contemporary we have seen great writers pen down their views on the pandemic. We have seen them jot down stories that once seemed horrifying. No one was prepared for this outbreak but we can tilt toward literature and seek help from these great writers. The paper had been attempted to discuss depleting mental health, its effects, and how literature can be used as a recuperating medium to heal oneself internally.
Findings- The virus is not only responsible for the deaths of thousands of people but has also resulted in constant psychological pressure. The people shut inside their homes, closed schools, and sequestered markets have further negatively influenced the well being of many and caused a state of panic and fear. People not only fear being infected but also of the aftermath. Simple gestures like hugging and shaking hands are now motions we have to restrain ourselves from. India has been practicing lockdown for nearly two months and no one knows for how many more days this house prison will be prolonged. While these steps seem to mitigate and the only clear solution for restricting the further spread of this virus, are consequences to which we cannot be oblivious. For the well functioning of society, it is important to take the current psychology of people seriously, taking into account, the dreadful environment around a much larger fraction of people who are prone to mental disturbances.
Research Implications - The paper moves to systematically analyze the underlying issue of ravaging the psychological state of people in lockdown and relating the scenarios to novels ranging from classics to contemporary. We debate upon the reason for this distress and work on ways to stay calm and compose during this pandemic. Towards the end, with the help of our studies, we concur our learning with the methods in classics.
Keywords: Plague Literature, Toxic Discourse, Literary healing, Classic Yearnings, Pluralities, Degeneration, Aesthetic Recuperation.
Nation of Disinherited by Poorva Gulati
Keywords: Tribal Subaltern, Displacement, colonial oppression, national allegory, nation-state, cultural construct, canon, historical consciousness.
Design/Methodology/Approach – The research focuses on Baldwin’s We Are So Different Now, published in 2009, deploying the character of Draupadi from Mahabharata, portraying her as a character who had endured hardships; is a manifestation of stoicism and perseverance. She is a symbol of strength, dignity, and is full of resoluteness. This makes her character nuanced and conflicted, transitioning her tale from myth to fiction. She is the quintessential symbol of resistance and writes back her saga of unwrapped narratives blending oral and written variations. The discourse of Yajnaseni is further deconstructed in Baldwin’s play where the modern-day Draupadi baffles within the two worlds.
Findings- We Are So Different Now is a play where Draupadi is depicted as an unconventional heroine with a life full of vicissitudes, caught between sky and earth, and the one who cannot rest in heaven because women are still wailing, helpless and voiceless. Baldwin talks of a tormented Draupadi, who is bold enough to exhibit her discontent towards many injustices that she had to face in the name of culture. Today’s Draupadi is a woman depicting her chaos, turmoil, dilemmas, and apprehensions similar to the Divakaruni’s Sita, the one who confronts, questions and empathize with the cause of other women.
Research Implications – Baldwin demystifies her mythical characters in such a way that they transcend the polar compartmentalization of societal constructs. Her play revisits the myth of Draupadi and Arjun and locating them in contemporary dynamics of the power structure. Ways of representing our mythical characters need to be changed in today’s context keeping in mind the problems that surround society and its individual.
Keywords - Reinterpretation, Mythology, Mythical narratives, Femininity, Power structure, Subversion, Revisionist norms, Identity, Sexuality.
Keywords: War, Violence, Dehumanization, Brutality, Bestiality, Sacred conflict, Physical and Psychological Trauma.
Keywords: River, Sangam, Pluralities, Sanctimonious city of Varanasi, Transgression, Longing, Quest, Desire, Being and Becoming, Dissent.
Design/Methodology/Approach - With the advent of a new decade, we saw the rise of a new virus. Setting the locus in China, the Corona Virus has spread quickly and forced the whole world to an intense shutdown. The epidemic which was initially considered a single droplet has turned out to become a wave that has engulfed every nation. A single being which is not visible to the naked eye has brought about a 180-degree change in our daily routines and positioned great leader and doctors to test. Pandemics are a reality but books are mostly fiction and what we learn from books is applied to reality. Through each era, from classical to contemporary we have seen great writers pen down their views on the pandemic. We have seen them jot down stories that once seemed horrifying. No one was prepared for this outbreak but we can tilt toward literature and seek help from these great writers. The paper had been attempted to discuss depleting mental health, its effects, and how literature can be used as a recuperating medium to heal oneself internally.
Findings- The virus is not only responsible for the deaths of thousands of people but has also resulted in constant psychological pressure. The people shut inside their homes, closed schools, and sequestered markets have further negatively influenced the well being of many and caused a state of panic and fear. People not only fear being infected but also of the aftermath. Simple gestures like hugging and shaking hands are now motions we have to restrain ourselves from. India has been practicing lockdown for nearly two months and no one knows for how many more days this house prison will be prolonged. While these steps seem to mitigate and the only clear solution for restricting the further spread of this virus, are consequences to which we cannot be oblivious. For the well functioning of society, it is important to take the current psychology of people seriously, taking into account, the dreadful environment around a much larger fraction of people who are prone to mental disturbances.
Research Implications - The paper moves to systematically analyze the underlying issue of ravaging the psychological state of people in lockdown and relating the scenarios to novels ranging from classics to contemporary. We debate upon the reason for this distress and work on ways to stay calm and compose during this pandemic. Towards the end, with the help of our studies, we concur our learning with the methods in classics.
Keywords: Plague Literature, Toxic Discourse, Literary healing, Classic Yearnings, Pluralities, Degeneration, Aesthetic Recuperation.