The Epic Imagination in Contemporary Indian Literature
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School May 2017 Modern Mythologies: The picE Imagination in Contemporary Indian Literature Sucheta Kanjilal University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Kanjilal, Sucheta, "Modern Mythologies: The pE ic Imagination in Contemporary Indian Literature" (2017). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6875 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Modern Mythologies: The Epic Imagination in Contemporary Indian Literature by Sucheta Kanjilal A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in Literature Department of English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Gurleen Grewal, Ph.D. Gil Ben-Herut, Ph.D. Hunt Hawkins, Ph.D. Quynh Nhu Le, Ph.D. Date of Approval: May 4, 2017 Keywords: South Asian Literature, Epic, Gender, Hinduism Copyright © 2017, Sucheta Kanjilal DEDICATION To my mother: for pencils, erasers, and courage. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I was growing up in New Delhi, India in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, my father was writing an English language rock-opera based on the Mahabharata called Jaya, which would be staged in 1997. An upper-middle-class Bengali Brahmin with an English-language based education, my father was as influenced by the mythological tales narrated to him by his grandmother as he was by the musicals of Broadway impressario Andrew Lloyd Webber. Having written and staged a Ramayana adaptation called Operama in 1982, my father had filled our home with epic translations, adaptations, and commentaries in multiple languages. A shy and studious child, I devoured texts like Dharmaveer Bharati’s Andha Yug in Hindi or Marathi sociologist Irawati Karve’s Yugānta with an appetite my friends reserved for Doogie Howser M.D on their newly installed cable televisions. My father was very proud that I was developing such markedly elite interests. He engaged me in detailed discussions about the complexities of epics as a critical learning exercise while chiding me for my budding feminist notions. In many ways, this project is a continuation and a contestation of that legacy. It came to life over three decades, spanning three continents, with the encouragement of many persons and institutions. My oldest friend in Mumbai, Abhinav Madan, has cheerfully tolerated both me and my epic obsession for nearly two decades. Our inter-school Lewis Carroll enactments notwithstanding, Partho Chakrabartty remains a lovable and formidable interlocutor. Having seen me through angsty teenage years and beyond, my first graduate school roommate Hetvi Damodhar exhorts me to be a better person and professional by example. My idyllic years at St. Xavier’s College earned me friends for life. Sushmita Das sustains an endlessly supportive transcontinental friendship with me. Suchita Pandya helped me pore over Flaubert while we paid obeisance to Xerox together. Naishad Kati cheered me on while flying high himself. Sharvari Sastry is exactly the kind of personally and professionally dramatic bosom pal everyone needs in their life. Kalyan Nadiminti and Avni Majithia-Sejpal have been my closest allies in negotiating the peculiar worlds of graduate school, writing, and American politics. The financial generosity of the Felix Scholarship Trust was instrumental in kickstarting my graduate education. At SOAS London, Francesca Orsini taught me more about Hindi Literature and Indian history in a semester than I had learnt in the last two decades. Daryl Maude sportingly participated in postcolonial banter with me over scones and sushi. When I moved to Minneapolis, USA, some helpful acquaintances were terribly concerned that I would freeze in a lake. Instead, I received abundant warmth from new family and friends. My parents-in-law Linda and Michael Dooghan provided me with so much love that I felt instantly at home in this alien land. Emily Durham bravely drove me through blizzards while we chatted about Hindi literature. Ani Dutta, with whom I shared a home and many homemade meals, continues to be my most motivational writing partner. At the University of South Florida, the Graduate School supported this project with two generous fellowships. Wonderful department staff such as Nancy Morriss, Emily Norton, and Marisa Iglesias helped me with what would have otherwise been an insurmountable pile of paperwork. A dedicated Director of Graduate Studies, John Lennon shared invaluable insight on navigating the academic job market. Carlos Lopez took the time to teach me Sanskrit one-on-one with an inimitable combination of intellectual rigor and mirth. Gil Ben-Herut continued my Sanskrit education and greatly enhanced my knowledge of pre-modern South Asia. He encouraged me to stay true to my original ideas while adding far more complexity to my work. Hunt Hawkins was consistently supportive of my ideas, which did wonders for my confidence as a scholar. Quynh Nhu Le encouraged me to iron out my theoretical arguments while drawing me into new intercultural conversations. Finally, my major professor Gurleen Grewal provided me with careful commentary and astute guidance throughout this long process. This dissertation would never have been written without her check-pluses and hours of friendly counsel over varied herbal teas. My friends and family in two home cities, Tampa and Mumbai, were with me at every step. Yuly Restrepo was kind enough to travel, eat, and write with me. Sarah Fryett patiently let me rehearse many ideas with her. Michelle Letter has been there for me for many important and every day moments. Colleen Itani, Jessica Wheeler and I spent many hours discussing many subjects, including but certainly not limited to popular culture. Even though I cannot not see them as often in India as I yearn to, the presence of the Kanjilal matriarchy is keenly felt in my life and work. Few people are lucky enough have a sibling they can agree with over the holidays, let alone one who will edit their scholarly work for years. I thank my sister Sucharita for meticulously combing through all my writing, while marking it with sharp editorial commentary, political corrections, and politically incorrect family jokes. My mother Sutapa inspires me every day with her courage. Her unwavering faith in me gave me the conviction to defy social strictures that came in the way of my intellectual and political ambitions; it is to her that I dedicate this dissertation. Finally, I thank Dan for falling in love with my research at first sight. I value the life we have made together, which he has filled with intellectual camaraderie, culinary adventures, feline companions, and good humor. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii A Note on Transliteration ................................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................2 Mahabharata as Palimpsest ..................................................................................................5 Imagination/ Devotion/ Adaptation ...................................................................................12 Chapter Outlines ................................................................................................................20 Methods and Directions .....................................................................................................22 Chapter One: Myths of the Nation .................................................................................................25 Collective Heroism, Past Glories .......................................................................................25 Politics of Languages .........................................................................................................28 Lives of the Texts ...............................................................................................................38 Narrating the Nation ..........................................................................................................44 Orientalism and Hinduism .................................................................................................50 Modernity and the Epics ....................................................................................................57 Chapter Two: Crisis and Reinvention ............................................................................................62 The Emerging Nation and an Emergency ..........................................................................62 Situating Great Indian Texts ..............................................................................................64 Worshipping History, Worshipping Gandhi ......................................................................76 Sisterly Rivalry: Democracy and Villainy .........................................................................85