Hindu Mythology in Indian Comics and Animations for Young People, 2000-2015
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HINDU MYTHOLOGY IN INDIAN COMICS AND ANIMATIONS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, 2000-2015 By ANUJA MADAN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 © 2016 Anuja Madan To my mother, brother and sister, and in the loving memory of my late father ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My foremost debt of gratitude is towards my advisor, Kenneth Kidd, for his wonderful mentorship. He had enormous faith in me and this project from the earliest stages, and encouraged me to explore different approaches to my material, which led to my adopting a multidisciplinary orientation — one that I hope has proven to be productive. His insightful feedback has been instrumental in shaping this dissertation. His humor and generosity not only made the journey smoother, but also brighter. I am also very grateful to my committee members Terry Harpold, Susan Hegeman and Malini Schueller for their guidance and support throughout this process. Discussions with them led to important insights and a broadening of critical frames, and their feedback has been extremely helpful. I would also like to thank Vasudha Narayanan, my external committee member, for her guidance. Many thanks to my professor from Delhi University, Rimli Bhattacharya, for her inspiration and encouragement, and to Anja, for the stimulating conversations, advice and support. Part of the fieldwork undertaken for this project was made possible by the Hannah Beiter Graduate Research Grant, and I thank the Children’s Literature Association for the award, as well as all the people who gave their time for interviews. I am very thankful to my mother, Ranjana Madan, my brother, Arjun Madan, and my sister, Gunjan Kumar, for their unstinting, patient and loving support. I could not have done this without them. Thanks also to my brother-in-law, Nitin Kumar, for always cheering me on, and to my precious nieces, Tvesha and Tanaya, for all the joy they bring to my life. And finally, I’d like to thank my friends, Manu, Najwa, Sreyoshi and Suzan for being there for me, and for the good times. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 8 The Ramayana Tradition ........................................................................................ 14 The Global/Local Nexus, the Place of the Nation and Media Imperialism............... 20 The Neoliberal Hindu Nation and the Middle Class ................................................ 26 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 29 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................................... 29 2 A NEW SITA FOR NEW TIMES? THE NEGOTIATION WITH TRADITION IN SITA: DAUGHTER OF THE EARTH AND SITA’S RAMAYANA ............................. 33 Sita: Daughter of the Earth ..................................................................................... 36 Sita’s Ramayana ..................................................................................................... 50 3 CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE, HINDU MAJORITARIANISM AND BOYHOOD IN MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMATION FILMS AND TV SERIES ............... 67 The Hanuman Franchise ........................................................................................ 71 The My Friend Ganesha series and Main Krishna Hoon ........................................ 88 4 THE PRESCRIPTIVE FUTURITY OF THE HINDU PAST IN THE RAMAYAN 3392 AD COMICS ................................................................................................ 105 Rama’s Representation, Kshatriya Masculinity and Caste Politics ....................... 111 Sita’s Reconfiguration ........................................................................................... 125 Vedic Science, Modernity and the Epic................................................................. 131 5 HANUMAN GOES GRAPHIC: IDENTITY AND FORM IN TRIUMPH OF HANUMAN AND SIMIAN ...................................................................................... 141 The Indian Graphic Novel ..................................................................................... 144 Hanuman’s Representation, Masculinity and Postcolonial Anxiety ....................... 148 6 EPILOGUE ........................................................................................................... 172 Main Claims .......................................................................................................... 172 Future Directions .................................................................................................. 173 5 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 175 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 188 6 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy HINDU MYTHOLOGY IN INDIAN COMICS AND ANIMATIONS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, 2000-2015 By Anuja Madan August 2016 Chair: Kenneth B. Kidd Major: English This dissertation analyzes post-millennial comics, graphic novels and animated films and TV series that retell the Indian epic Ramayana and reimagine popular Hindu gods Hanuman, Ganesh and Krishna. It explores how 21st century visual mythological narratives contribute to or resist the project of nation-building, and the notions of Indianness that they conceptualize. I argue that many mythological texts perpetuate a monolithic, homogenous idea of the nation rooted in Brahmanical, Vedic Hinduism. I demonstrate how several texts under discussion reaffirm the dominant national imaginary of India as a neoliberal, Hindu nation, while also upholding hegemonic ideas of gender and the middle class. 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In the last fifteen years, Indian public culture has witnessed a resurgence of narratives drawn from or inspired by Hindu mythology, in a variety of media targeted at adults and children: Hindi TV shows and cinema, English language fiction,1 English comics and graphic novels, multilingual picturebooks, and animation films and TV shows in different languages. Integral to the mythology boom is the rapid expansion of the Indian publishing industry,2 including children’s publishing—evident, for example, in the emergence of a distinct young adult segment.3 This significant growth has been fueled by the government’s allowance of 100% Foreign Direct Investment in the industry since 2000 (“Perspectives on Indian Publishing in India”). The 21st century has also seen a boom in the children’s and youth entertainment sectors (including TV programming meant especially for children). The Indian comics and animation industries have made a strong comeback, aided by transnational collaborations and increased investments. The growing number of young people in attendance at Comic Con India events (established in 2011) is an important indicator of the growth of comics culture in metropolitan cities. Urban Indian children and youth are increasingly being seen as important consumers, and the focus on them is likely to remain strong in the near future. 1 Amish Tripathi has been the most successful author writing in the category of mythological English- language fiction. His Shiva trilogy was enormously successful and he was offered a $1 million advance for his upcoming book series, which was reportedly the highest ever advance payment made to a South Asian author (Rana). Mythological English fiction and Hindi TV series are mainly targeted at adults. 2 As of 2015, India is the third-largest English-language print book publisher in the world and the sixth biggest publishing market globally (“Perspectives on Publishing in India.”) 3 The category of ‘young adult’ is gaining currency rapidly in the publishing sector. The influence of British and American publishing trends is apparent in this phenomenon. The category usually refers to children aged 13-18. 8 While mythological comics and graphic novels being produced in post-millennial India are predominantly in English and cater to young adults4 or adults, animated TV shows and films are more commonly in Hindi and occasionally in regional languages, and target younger children aged 4-13. The primary venues for the dissemination of these texts are Indian children’s TV channels. This study analyzes select mythological animated films and TV series as well as comics and graphic novels issued for urban, middle class Indian children and youth in the country and diaspora. Specifically, it investigates comic book/graphic novel retellings of Ramayana as well as mythological animations about the popular Hindu gods Hanuman, Ganesha, and Krishna. An array of animated films and TV shows inspired by Hindu mythology has been released in the past decade. Hanuman (2005) was India’s first indigenously produced commercial Hindi animated feature film to enjoy an all-India theater release. The considerable success of Hanuman led to the production of a spate of mythological animation films and TV shows in subsequent