BEGC 132

ASSIGNMENT
Programme: BA Gen (BAG)
Course Code: BEGC 132
Max: 100 marks
Min Pass marks: 35
This assignment is split up into three sections: A, B and C.
Attempt ALL the questions.
SECTION A
Explain the following with reference to the context:

1. No, I don’t work for a Shah

I said, but for a Shahni, very kind, very well off
And I am not the only one
Working for her
She has many servants
Ever ready to do her bidding 10
Answer-
Context - These lines are taken from the poem "mother tongue" written by
Padma Sachdev (born 1940) writes in her mother tongue Dogri and in
Hindi.

Explanation- In the poem “Mother Tongue,” Padma Sachdev tries to bring

out the issues of language destruction.

Old languages like Dogri(in this poem) are getting destroyed due to the
evolution of language and old scripts wearing out.

She bewails by way of explaining with the example of a reed plant that how
old scripts are replaced with new ones.

Padma Sachdev personifies Dogri as Shahni, and she says that she
doesn’t work for the Shah rather she works for her mother tongue Dogri.
The poem revolves around the theme -- the dignity of mother tongue and
the duty of each individual to flourish the language. The poet had greatly
succeeded in denoting her thoughts with the imagery of a 'reed' and its
willingness to cut off its hands offering the speaker when she reveled the
need for a quill often. The silent message in the poem is that the
commitment one need to have towards the mother tongue. The attempt to
dignify mother tongue conveys the poet's incessant work to spread and
establish the fame of Dogri language far and wide.

2. Once you are used to it

even the sorrow
that visits you
sometimes, in dreams,
melts away, embarrassed. 10
Answer-
Context - These lines are taken from the poem "Habit" written by
F.M.Shinde. He has published thus far 24 collections of his poetry, three
compilations of his literary critiques, a collection of his one-act plays, a
translation of a book, and a collection of his humorous essays. He was
born in a small village called Rupur in Kalamnuri Taluka of the Hingoli
district of Maharashtra.

Explanation- A famous open written by F.M Shinde tells about the pain
and suffering in lives of Dalits. It also tells about habit that develops when
you used to one thing.

This poem is built on the adage “habits die hard”. The poet has tried to
explain in this simple poem how we end up growing certain habits, some
bad and some good. And then the poet has used beautiful comparisons to
explain the theme. A weed that grows thick and fast and then is difficult to
pullout is the way the poet has compared to how habits can quickly set in
and once they keep you in their “vice-like grip”, it is difficult to get out of it.
The poet then extols the way good habits take time to grow but stay all
through our lives.

The moral of the poem is to stay alert and pluck away bad habits before
they grow like you will do with weeds and patronize good habits.

3. These are the colours of destiny

Of immutable truth
and the colours also
with which warring pawns
Are daily decorating our towns. 10
Answer-
Context- These lines are taken from the poem "the colors of truth".
Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih, born on 4th April 1964 in Cherrapunji,
Meghalaya, is a poet, short story writer and translator of the Khasi tribe. He
teaches English literature in North Eastern Hill University (Nehu). He has
been conferred the Fellowship of Outstanding Artists 2000 by the
Government of India. He has won several awards for his contribution to
literature - namely, North East award in 2004, Veer Shankar Shah
Raghunath Shah National Award etc. His works have been published
widely and he has 12 publications in Khasi and 7 in English besides
translation and edited volumes. He writes in both English and Khasi and his
works have been translated into Hindi and Bengali as well as into Welsh
and Swedish.

Explanation- The poet says that both the colours are the colours of destiny
and immutable truth. While the red of blood signifies life, black signifies
death. Life and death are the colours of destiny as well as truth. But the
poet ponders over how these two colours are pawns in the hands of the
warring parties who paint the town with these colours everyday. In the last
lines, the poet expresses how the common folk have to deal with life and
death daily because of the clashes created by those who have power.

4. When some day in distant parts she dwells

Where what the people be like! I know not,
Will they awaken her on gentle, mellow sounds?
Or, will they, I misgive, snatch her sleep away? 10
Answer-
Context- The lines are taken from the poem ‘SOLITUDE - FOR THE GIRL
CHILD’ Translated from Kashmiri by G.L.Labru.

Explanation​- The daughter is extremely attractive. She is described as an

“houri” – a girl so beautiful that she seems to be a gift of paradise on earth.
This worries the mother because the girl would sooner or later have a string
of admirers. The thought that she could leave home to live among
unfamiliar people who may admire her makes her jittery. The mother
becomes extremely anxious thinking of what will happen to her daughter
who in her parental home has always slept undisturbed and only been
spoken to softly. There is a strong possibility that the people she goes on to
live with could have a lifestyle and attitudes very different from theirs –
people who are loud and disrespectful to women. The poem ends on an
agitated note with the mother voicing her greatest fear that her daughter
may lose her peace of mind completely and never ever sleep again. The
poem is a mother’s desperate hope that her child always has a calm and
peaceful life – solitude - even when she lives away from her parents with
her husband and his family. I think you can understand that each one of us
has a personal space where we can do things we like and be the way we
want to be. We are carefree at home. Once we leave home, we are
expected to shoulder responsibilities which sometimes break us. No one
wants to be alone, but no one deserves to be taken for granted or ill-treated
either. Married girls are usually expected to be uncomplaining even while
doing backbreaking chores. You will agree with me that the poem ends on
a note which is harsh and troubling, but realistic: a girl’s innocence and
attractiveness can get her a suitor but cannot guarantee her solitude and
keep her safe from abuse.

SECTION B
Write short notes on the following:
5. The aesthetics of Dalit writing. 10
Answer- Savarna critics are of the opinion that Dalit Literature must be
evaluated strictly as Litertaure as that is how the reader is going to perceive
it. Criticism of Dalit texts must not give room to any extra literary traditions
and it should be performed on the basis of universal theories and literary
criterias. Limbale is opposed to this view of the Savarna critics as he feels
that middle class criticism can never do justice to Dalit Literature which is
the literature of the oppressed and the discriminated factions of the society.

A major debate which comes up while discussing Dalit literature is centered

around the monopoly of Dalit Writers when it comes to penning Dalit
Literature. The Savarna critics such as Kavi Anil and Vidyadhar Pundalik
are of the opinion that Dalit Literature can be written be anyone through the
power of imagination that can envision the suffering of the Dalits and give it
literary expression. Critics such as Nirmalkumar Phadkule and Narhar
Kurundkar have gone as far as to say that even a Savarna can create Dalit
literature and the writer’s status as an untouchable is not necessary for the
production of this stream of writing. However, Limbale opines that it is
impossible for a non-Dalit to write Dalit Literature as this Literature is the
product of Dalit consciousness that is shaped by the lived experiences of
Dalit, peppered by their pain, suffering and feeling of rebellion and anger. A
non Dalit cannot possibly imagine all of this and be able to write an
authentic account on the Dalits.
Another major debate which surrounds Dalit criticism is about the artistic
standards or the aesthetic yardsticks that must be employed to understand
this literature. According to critics such as P.S. Rege and Balkrishna
Kawthekar, it is wrong of Dalit Literature to demand separate criterion for
aesthetic evaluation as they feel that universal values cannot be refuted
and if the universal aesthetic principles are not being adhered to, then Dalit
Literature will lose a proper framework of evaluation. However, another
school of thought advocates that every genre of Literature is different from
other hence a mechanistic critical tradition cannot be applied to Literature
across the world. Since Dalit Literature is unique in its insistence of social
upliftment and the realistic portrayal of Dalit experiences of pain and
suffering along with voicing Dalit rebellion; as opposed to emphasis on
beauty and pleasure, one must develop different artistic standards for of
evaluation for such literature. Artistic craft does not assume an important
place in Dalit Literature and the message forwarded by the text is given a
higher position, hence artlessness can be considered a virtue of Dalit
Literature, thus necessitating the need of separate aesthetic criterion. If this
demand of Dalit writers would be fulfilled then faulty criticism by Savarna
critics that views Dalit Literature as whiny and aggressive will not exist.

6. Chandrabati’s delineation of Sita. 10

Answer- Chandrabati Ramayana, a woman’s re-telling of the Rama-tale
is a Rama-story, without singing Rama‘s glory, retold by a Bengali Hindu
woman who suffered under patriarchal structure in the sixteenth century
rural East Bengal. The text had been dismissed as an incomplete or
fragment one and silenced for centuries by “the male, urban custodians of
literary history.” Because, it was different from the traditional pattern of
story-telling, or, it was only a woman’s story narrated by a village woman.

Chandrabati Ramayana signifies a complete expression of a woman’s

sufferings and experiences in a patriarchal society. In this version of
Ramayana, tagged ‘unusual’, Chandrabati does not tell us about Rama’s
journey, instead she tells us about the journey of a woman, Sita. The story
tells us about the complete biological life cycle of a woman- Sita’s birth, her
marriage, pregnancy, child-birth, maturity and death. It also narrates Sita’s
sufferings- experiences as an abducted woman by Ravana, her return to
Ayodhya, betrayal and exile, humiliation and voluntary death (or entry to
Mother Earth). To simply put, Chandrabati Ramayana is a woman’s text
highlighting and detailing intimate female experiences. The story ends with
the death of Sita.

In a very interesting note, in Chandrabati Ramayana, the writer is silent

about Rama’s valour, his goodness, wisdom or battle skills which are found
in the original Ramayana text or other mainstream texts on Ramayana. In
this version of Ramayana, Rama is a lover who turns out to be a traitor,
and an inhuman, merciless coward who banishes his pregnant wife
unjustly. In this Ramayana, he is a poor husband, a poor king, a poor
brother and a poor father. His act of unjustly sending Sita into exile is also
interpreted as partly due to his jealousy of Ravana.

Chandrabati Ramayana is a narrative about a woman, narrated by woman,

meant for women audience. “Ramayana” is a misnomer for such narrative.
It should have been more rightly called “Sitayana”, the route of Sita or
Sita’s journey. In this Ramayana, Rama is not at the centre of the narrative;
Sita is. Rama here is only a foil against whose false steps Sita’s actions
and character are highlighted.

Chandrabati Ramayana is a text that challenges the dominant ideology of

patriarchy of the time. Chandrabati openly questions, challenges and
attacks the ideology of her times in her personal intrusions. In her story,
everything is attributed to women- suffering women. Beside Sita’s agonies,
there is Mandodari who felt neglected by her husband Ravana.
Heartbroken, Mandodari drank poison to commit suicide, and out of this,
she gave birth to Sita as an egg. The same egg was thrown into the ocean
and was found by a fisherman who brought the egg home to his wife who
had nothing to eat, nothing to wear and nothing to complain about. Again, it
was the fisherman’s wife who presented the egg to king Janaka’s wife.
And, it was king Janaka’s wife who took care of the egg which produced
Sita- king Janaka himself did not play any significant role.

Thus, throughout the story of Chandrabati Ramayana, it is women who

suffer- Sita, Mandodari, Urmila, to name a few- and it is these women who
are playing major roles, not their male counterparts who are in fact
responsible for their sufferings.

Chandrabati Ramayana is a personal interpretation of Rama-tale from the

‘wronged woman’s point of view.’Chandrabati Ramayana is less of a
Rama-tale and more of a Sita-tale. The story nevertheless gives a voice
and agency to women especially those who have suffered their lives
because of a conservative and patriarchal structure of the society.

SECTION C

7. Discuss MK Naik’s views with regard to English in India, balancing

them with your own ideas on the issue. 20
Answer- The seed of Indian Writing in English was sown during the period
of the British rule in India. Now the seed has blossomed into an ever green
tree, fragrant flowers and ripe fruits. The fruits are being tasted not only by
the native people, but they are also being ‘chewed and digested’ by the
foreigners. It happened only after the constant caring, pruning and feeding.
Gardeners’ like Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao – to name
only a few, looked after the tender plant night and day. In modern time, it is
guarded by a number of writers who are getting awards and accolades all
over the world.

Naik is one of the few early critics who responded to the whole fictional
output of a novelist, and particularly two major novelists like Mulk Raj
Anand and Raja Rao. He views Anand’s fiction as centering around the
theme of confrontation between tradition and modernity, a theme which he
considers as the preoccupations of the modem Indian writer. The work
examines how the novelist has met varied successes and failures in his art.

M. K. Naik remarks “one of the most notable gifts of English education to

India is prose fiction for though India was probably a fountain head of
story-telling, the novel as we know today was an importation from the
west”.

It is self-evident that Indian English drama could not secure a firm foothold
and build s tradition of its own about which M.K. Naik says:

“Owing to the lack of a firm dramatic tradition nourished on actual

performance in a live theatre, early Indian English drama in Bengal, as
elsewhere in India, grew sporadically as mostly closet drama; and even
later, only Sri Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore and Harindranath
Chattopadhyaya produced a substantial corpus of dramatic writing.”

A History ofIndian English Literature (1982), his earlier book, contains

some chapters devoted to the development of fiction - Fiction: Early Fiction
in Bengal (P. 106), Fiction (P. 152), Fiction (pp. 212-243). Naik’s next
publication is Indian English Literature 1980-2000 : A Critical Survey
(2007). The book is a sequel to Naik’s A History of Indian English Literature
(1982). The book contains the following essays : “Twilight of the Old
Masters - The Novel-I”, “Midnight’s Children’s Children - The Novel-II”, “A
Room of Their Own - Women Novelists”.

As compared to other fonns of Indian writing in English, say drama, poetry,

prose, Naik’s contribution to Indian English Fiction is greater. He has not
only surveyed the development of Indian English Fiction, but also
attempted special authors like R. K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja
Rao; the critical articles are published in the distinguished journals. What is
more, he is the sole authority on Anglo-Indian Fiction. The recent
contribution is the publication of the campus novel - Corridors of
Knowledge (2008). Naik, in his interview, has expressed his keen and
special interest in Indian English Fiction.

8. How does writing from a silenced perspective alter our reading of a

particular text? Discuss with reference to the texts discussed in the
course.
Answer- ​The writing from a silenced perspective alter our reading of a
particular text. Whether people are deeply divided and holding entrenched
positions or are carrying on an open exchange of ideas, each speaker in a
face-to-face discussion will grasp the conversation from a personal
perspective. Comments reflect each speaker's private interpretation of the
conversation. In making a new comment, a speaker may even explicitly
express opinions about comments made by previous speakers. In a small
group, though each participant interprets the conversation from a personal
point of view, everyone present has an opportunity to hear what others
have had to say. When a conversation is carried on in writing, not every
writer involved can rely on all readers to be familiar with past discussions of
the subject or to agree with the writer that the same material is relevant
background. The discussion in writing does not take place where all
participants can watch one another enter and leave. Writers, therefore,
need to refer explicitly to previous comments by other people that they feel
are relevant to the subject at hand. Writers must describe, interpret, and
evaluate the background statements that they decide are essential to the
discussion. these interpretive and evaluative decisions depend on the
interests, ideas, knowledge, and point of view of an individual writer. A
Marine officer will view disagreement over military involvement in Vietnam
differently from a student leader. Both will view the matter differently from a
member of Congress, or a news analyst. It is not just that their opinions on
policy may differ. Each of these people organizes experiences around
different concepts and is concerned about different issues. A military officer
wonders how the war can be won. A student leader wonders whether
young people will or should be required to lose their lives for the cause. A
member of Congress considers whether the war ought to be fought at all.
Thus when each person considers the conversation, each will construct it
from a personal point of view.

You can identify tone by the words a narrator uses to describe the action,
the characters, and in the case of a first-person narrator, his or her own
thoughts and feelings. For example, O. Henry's “The Ransom of Red Chief”
is told from the first-person point of view. These words help set the tone of
the story. The most obvious way a writer brings another voice into a text is
by direct quotation. The quotation marks signal that someone else's words
are erupting into the text, changing temporarily the voice speaking.
However, in the words surrounding the quotation, the writer creates
perspective for the quoted material.