- Research Scholar, School of English & Foreign Languages, The Gandhigram Rural Institute, (Deemed University), Gandhigram, Dindigul - 624302
- 9042165451
Selvaraja A K
GANDHIGRAM RURAL INSTITUTE, Faculty Of English & Foreign Languages, Department Member
- Indian Writing in English, Illness Narrative, Memoir and Autobiography, Therapeutic Writing, Health Humanities, Medical Humanities, and 11 moreTherapeutic Writing and Blogging for Wellbeing, Health and Healing, Autobiographical Memory, Salman Rushdie, Metafiction, Contemporary Indian Fiction, Cancer Literature, Literary Biopics, Memory Studies, Fictionalisation, Storying the Self, and Indian English Fictionedit
- Research Scholar in the School of English & Foreign Languages at The Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed University)edit
- Professor & Dean, SEFL, GRI (DTBU)edit
The word ‘Carer’ is mostly associated with a woman and an image that pop up in one’s mind while reading its definition. It has been socially constructed that nurturing a child, nursing the sick and caring for the needy are all the... more
The word ‘Carer’ is mostly associated with a woman and an image that pop up in one’s mind while reading its definition. It has been socially constructed that nurturing a child, nursing the sick and caring for the needy are all the responsibilities and works of women. Men rarely engage in such aforementioned activities. The gender role and tasks assigned to the gender are obstacles for the empowerment and development of women. The role of being a carer in a household consumes much time and is energy draining, physically, mentally and emotionally. Sacrifice, tolerance, responsibility and kindness are all the qualities that are mainly associated with the carer’s role. Texts like Diane Broeckhoven’s A Day with Mr. Jules and Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie talk about this issue. The paper deals with the aspects in the gender role that act as hindrances in women’s pathway to success. The discussed texts bring in discourse about the division of labour and de-naturalizing the constructed gender roles in the society. The article presents the relationship among gender roles, caregiving and carer’s quality of life and it also brings to attention a different aspect of gender studies.
“You know her as a mother, daughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law. But seldom as a woman ... And maybe never as a human.” (Goyal) These above lines are true. Men do not understand woman and they blame it on women... more
“You know her as a mother, daughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law. But seldom as a woman ... And maybe never as a human.” (Goyal)
These above lines are true. Men do not understand woman and they blame it on women saying, women are difficult to understand. Down the ages, the plight of woman in our country remains the same, while the scenario is differently presented in the media. The truth is woman are still victimised at the hands of this patriarchal society. Director Vasanth’s Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum (2021) is one of the exceptional cases. The movie portrays the plight of woman, true to the core. The movie takes its origin from literature. Amidst the commercial masala films, this anthology movie is a laurel on the head of Tamil Cinema. The movie touches upon various aspects of womens’ issues and how are they dealt with. It also presents how they end up as victims and most significantly, it shows how the fake scenario is constructed brilliantly to cloud people’s vision from seeing what is truly happening in reality. This paper is an attempt to touch upon the pluralistic aspects that is present throughout the movie and to ponder over those issues.
These above lines are true. Men do not understand woman and they blame it on women saying, women are difficult to understand. Down the ages, the plight of woman in our country remains the same, while the scenario is differently presented in the media. The truth is woman are still victimised at the hands of this patriarchal society. Director Vasanth’s Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum (2021) is one of the exceptional cases. The movie portrays the plight of woman, true to the core. The movie takes its origin from literature. Amidst the commercial masala films, this anthology movie is a laurel on the head of Tamil Cinema. The movie touches upon various aspects of womens’ issues and how are they dealt with. It also presents how they end up as victims and most significantly, it shows how the fake scenario is constructed brilliantly to cloud people’s vision from seeing what is truly happening in reality. This paper is an attempt to touch upon the pluralistic aspects that is present throughout the movie and to ponder over those issues.
Research Interests:
“ I am what I am, so take me as I am ! ” The Historical Judgment of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalized Homosexuality in India on September 6, 2018, began with the aforementioned quote of the German... more
“ I am what I am, so take me as I am ! ”
The Historical Judgment of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalized Homosexuality in India on September 6, 2018, began with the aforementioned quote of the German thinker, Goethe. The Judgment was made by the constitutional bench of The Supreme Court and each of the five jury bench had made their decisions based on some literary texts (or selected quotes). The Judgment, if called a reservoir of literary and non-literary quotes, will not be an exaggeration. From the four hundred- and ninety-five-pages judgment, one can easily deduct that the judges rightly sought the help from literature to establish that humanity is more important than any law, and anything that violates this must be revoked. This paper makes a study of the literary quotes made use of by the jury bench in the judgment, their source and explanations and how those words influenced or helped them to arrive at a better understanding of humanity and thereby also in giving the judgment.
Only literature could reveal the process of breaking the law, without which the law would have no end - independently of the necessity to create order. - Georges Bataille, French Intellectual and Literary Figure
The Historical Judgment of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalized Homosexuality in India on September 6, 2018, began with the aforementioned quote of the German thinker, Goethe. The Judgment was made by the constitutional bench of The Supreme Court and each of the five jury bench had made their decisions based on some literary texts (or selected quotes). The Judgment, if called a reservoir of literary and non-literary quotes, will not be an exaggeration. From the four hundred- and ninety-five-pages judgment, one can easily deduct that the judges rightly sought the help from literature to establish that humanity is more important than any law, and anything that violates this must be revoked. This paper makes a study of the literary quotes made use of by the jury bench in the judgment, their source and explanations and how those words influenced or helped them to arrive at a better understanding of humanity and thereby also in giving the judgment.
Only literature could reveal the process of breaking the law, without which the law would have no end - independently of the necessity to create order. - Georges Bataille, French Intellectual and Literary Figure
Research Interests: Constitutional Law, Human Rights Law, Literature, Human Rights, Grey Literature, and 13 moreSexual Orientation & the Law, Homosexuality and Literature, LGBT Literature, Homosexuality, Humanity, Judgment, constitution of India, Freedom, Constitution, LGBTQ studies, Supreme Court Judgements, Section 377 Indian Penal Code, and Decriminalisation of Section 377
“Most of us spend our time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” – Stephen R. Covey From time immemorial, writers write about the sufferings in the life of a common man. It remains an easy and... more
“Most of us spend our time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” – Stephen R. Covey
From time immemorial, writers write about the sufferings in the life of a common man. It remains an easy and favourite subject chosen for writing any kind of a literary work of art. When a work deals with the life of a common man, the reader can easily associate himself with the situations and the characters. The reader develops an intimate bond with the characters. Writers also find certain issues in the life of a commoner that they want to change. Literature serves as the best medium to bring about a change in the minds of the people. The struggle between the professional life and personal life is a very common scenario in the life of middle-class people. They fail to maintain the balance between work and life. They are extremely attentive to one, while the other is left unattended. The novel beautifully paints the love life of a conductor and a teacher. They miserably suffer by allowing their profession to intrude their personal lives and vice versa. The paper tries to probe and find whether profession or personal passion influences a common man’s life more.
Keywords: Visaranai Commission Professionalism, Narcissism, Fascism, Common Man, Work-Life Balance
From time immemorial, writers write about the sufferings in the life of a common man. It remains an easy and favourite subject chosen for writing any kind of a literary work of art. When a work deals with the life of a common man, the reader can easily associate himself with the situations and the characters. The reader develops an intimate bond with the characters. Writers also find certain issues in the life of a commoner that they want to change. Literature serves as the best medium to bring about a change in the minds of the people. The struggle between the professional life and personal life is a very common scenario in the life of middle-class people. They fail to maintain the balance between work and life. They are extremely attentive to one, while the other is left unattended. The novel beautifully paints the love life of a conductor and a teacher. They miserably suffer by allowing their profession to intrude their personal lives and vice versa. The paper tries to probe and find whether profession or personal passion influences a common man’s life more.
Keywords: Visaranai Commission Professionalism, Narcissism, Fascism, Common Man, Work-Life Balance
Research Interests:
“What is the reason for the victory of Pandavas? There is a woman in the side of Pandavas, whereas none on the side of the Kauravas. She, the reason for the war, instigated them. Her anger made the victory clear.” Bharathi... more
“What is the reason for the victory of Pandavas? There is a woman in the side of Pandavas, whereas none on the side of the Kauravas. She, the reason for the war, instigated them. Her anger made the victory clear.”
Bharathi Baskar, the author of the aforementioned quote is a renowned public speaker and writer. Being the Vice President of Chennai Citibank, she is famous for her debate shows and she hosts shows like 'Pattimandram.com', 'Magazhir Panchayat' and 'Vaanga Pesalaam' in television. She is the author of the books 'Nee Nathi Pola Odikkondiru', 'Muthal Kural', 'Siragai Viri…Para!' and 'Sila Nerangalil Sila Payanangal'. Her works portray the new image of women and her works gives an entirely different perspective and different dimensions towards the upcoming fourth wave of feminism. This paper takes into account of almost all her works and throws light upon the well spread ideas of Feminism and it welcomes the sprouting buds of Mennism or Anti-Feminism and discusses the issues of the male gender in this current matriarchal society and the characteristic features of female chauvinism cited in her works.
Keywords: Anti-Feminism, Female Chauvinism, Mennism, Indian Writing and Translation Studies.
Bharathi Baskar, the author of the aforementioned quote is a renowned public speaker and writer. Being the Vice President of Chennai Citibank, she is famous for her debate shows and she hosts shows like 'Pattimandram.com', 'Magazhir Panchayat' and 'Vaanga Pesalaam' in television. She is the author of the books 'Nee Nathi Pola Odikkondiru', 'Muthal Kural', 'Siragai Viri…Para!' and 'Sila Nerangalil Sila Payanangal'. Her works portray the new image of women and her works gives an entirely different perspective and different dimensions towards the upcoming fourth wave of feminism. This paper takes into account of almost all her works and throws light upon the well spread ideas of Feminism and it welcomes the sprouting buds of Mennism or Anti-Feminism and discusses the issues of the male gender in this current matriarchal society and the characteristic features of female chauvinism cited in her works.
Keywords: Anti-Feminism, Female Chauvinism, Mennism, Indian Writing and Translation Studies.
Research Interests:
“Dying is an art, Like everything else I do it Exceptionally well” - Sylvia Plath Never underestimate the power of Human... more
“Dying is an art, Like everything else I do it Exceptionally well”
- Sylvia Plath
Never underestimate the power of Human mind. It can make you go towards any extreme conditions. The ultimate beauty of the mind is it can opt for its self-annihilation and even finds pleasure in it, as it happens in the cases of Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. The recent one is Hannah Baker, the protagonist of James Asher's novel '13 Reasons Why'. When creativity and emotivity goes very wild, most of us fail to manage the imbalance and maintain the phase of coordination. Suicide or Self-destruction demands much determination and courage than all the world can do for facing the problems and harsh realities of the life. This paper throws light upon the beauty of self-annihilation or suicide in relation with the aforementioned contexts, texts and how beautifully it was portrayed as an art form in literature.
Keywords : Self-annihilation, Human rights, Beauty of Mind, Wilderness etc.
- Sylvia Plath
Never underestimate the power of Human mind. It can make you go towards any extreme conditions. The ultimate beauty of the mind is it can opt for its self-annihilation and even finds pleasure in it, as it happens in the cases of Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. The recent one is Hannah Baker, the protagonist of James Asher's novel '13 Reasons Why'. When creativity and emotivity goes very wild, most of us fail to manage the imbalance and maintain the phase of coordination. Suicide or Self-destruction demands much determination and courage than all the world can do for facing the problems and harsh realities of the life. This paper throws light upon the beauty of self-annihilation or suicide in relation with the aforementioned contexts, texts and how beautifully it was portrayed as an art form in literature.
Keywords : Self-annihilation, Human rights, Beauty of Mind, Wilderness etc.
Research Interests:
In a Multilingual and Multicultural Classroom, language learning and acquisition happens in an entirely different way when compared with the normal classroom. The different curricular areas have impact over the learner’s rate of... more
In a Multilingual and Multicultural Classroom, language learning and acquisition happens in an entirely different way when compared with the normal classroom. The different curricular areas have impact over the learner’s rate of receiving the words of the same as well as a new language. His acquaintance with new languages and cultures do affect his learning process. The objectives of the paper are to identify the aspects of language learning in different curricular areas and the advantages of learning and acquiring language(s) in a multilingual and multicultural classroom. The method used is descriptive case study of a university department PG classroom. Despite being the students of English Literature, they got acquainted with the other languages and cultures in a period of six months and how it helped them in the learning process. A student learns new language(s) faster and effectively when he understands the differences across curricular areas and when placed in a multicultural and multilingual classroom. This paper throws light upon the aspects of language learning and acquisition in the aforementioned conditions and its effect upon the students.
KEYWORDS : Multi-Lingualism, Multi-Culturalism, Cross-Curricular Differences, Vocabulary Development and Polyglotism etc.
KEYWORDS : Multi-Lingualism, Multi-Culturalism, Cross-Curricular Differences, Vocabulary Development and Polyglotism etc.
Research Interests:
Abstract : “Every Language is a World. Without Translation we would inhabit Parishes bordering on Silence.” - George Steiner Transcreation is different from the process of Translation. The latter is taking up a story and... more
Abstract :
“Every Language is a World. Without Translation we would inhabit Parishes bordering on Silence.” - George Steiner
Transcreation is different from the process of Translation. The latter is taking up a story and tell it in the other tongue, whereas the former is read the story, observe & absorb, meditate and finally tell the same story on your own, out of evolution and not compulsion. The Cultural Identity is nothing but the crux and certain important features of a particular culture passed on to the posterity via mostly lineage and literature. Carrying or Conducting this Identity from one setup to the other is very difficult and if the other setup is entirely different, it makes the task nearly impossible. This challenging task was taken up by the translators willingly, because they believe in ‘Literature is Universal’. Likewise, Kamala Das’s ‘Ente Kadha’ was taken across to two different cultural setups, they are ‘My Story’ (English) and ‘En Kadhai’ (Tamil). This Paper throws light on how the translation of her autobiography written in both Malayalam and English was carried over to the Tamil Readers and how the work struggles and eventually fails to reach the readers across various barriers and borders.
Keywords : Transcreation, Translating Cultural Identity, Barriers in Translation and Reception of Indian Literature in Translation etc.
“Every Language is a World. Without Translation we would inhabit Parishes bordering on Silence.” - George Steiner
Transcreation is different from the process of Translation. The latter is taking up a story and tell it in the other tongue, whereas the former is read the story, observe & absorb, meditate and finally tell the same story on your own, out of evolution and not compulsion. The Cultural Identity is nothing but the crux and certain important features of a particular culture passed on to the posterity via mostly lineage and literature. Carrying or Conducting this Identity from one setup to the other is very difficult and if the other setup is entirely different, it makes the task nearly impossible. This challenging task was taken up by the translators willingly, because they believe in ‘Literature is Universal’. Likewise, Kamala Das’s ‘Ente Kadha’ was taken across to two different cultural setups, they are ‘My Story’ (English) and ‘En Kadhai’ (Tamil). This Paper throws light on how the translation of her autobiography written in both Malayalam and English was carried over to the Tamil Readers and how the work struggles and eventually fails to reach the readers across various barriers and borders.
Keywords : Transcreation, Translating Cultural Identity, Barriers in Translation and Reception of Indian Literature in Translation etc.
Research Interests:
“Art needs three things to sell, it is Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment” Dialogue from the movie, 'The Dirty Picture' (2009). Exactly the current trend of Indian writing in English is apt for the quote. Recently even the... more
“Art needs three things to sell, it is Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment” Dialogue from the movie, 'The Dirty Picture' (2009). Exactly the current trend of Indian writing in English is apt for the quote. Recently even the standard and literary authors have also been influenced by the commercialisation culture of literature. In other ways they were forced by the publishers to spice it up their works by adding some erotic elements or characters. It is a kind of joy that the reader gains from that part, which is very well understood and used for marketing gimmicks. Upamanyu Chatterjee, Chetan Bhagat & Novoneel Chakraborty etc has started using this strategy of making erotic elements as a stage that helps for the „take off‟ of their works. This transition is happening because of us, yes the readers. We are responsible for this kind of so-called transition towards eroticism. This paper takes into account and makes a study of novels written by Upamanyu Chatterjee which are recently published and categorised as
"Contemporary Indian writing in English‟ and could be placed under this phase of transition. Why this eroticise culture is trending in the recent days? The Study tries to get a reasonable answer.
"Contemporary Indian writing in English‟ and could be placed under this phase of transition. Why this eroticise culture is trending in the recent days? The Study tries to get a reasonable answer.