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MAEG-08 Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Contents Indian Writings in English & Translation Block-I Poetry Unit -1 Rabindranath Tagore: Gitanjali 1-14 Unit -2 Toru Dutt: Our Casuarina Tree 15-24 Unit -3 Turu Dutt: Sita 25-32 Unit -4 Sarojini Naidu: Palanquin Bearers 33-39 Unit -5 Sarojini Naidu: Conquest and The Feather of Dawn 40-48 Unit -6 Sri Aurobindo: Savitri Canto I: The Symbol Dawn 49-81 Unit -7 Nissim Ezekiel: Night of the Scorpion & Poet, Lover, 82-97 Birdwatcher Unit -8 Kamala Das: The Sunshine Cat & The Looking Glass 98-120 Block-II Novel Unit -9 Mulk Raj Anand: Untouchable 121-128 Unit -10 Raja Rao: Kanthapura 129-141 Unit -11 R.K.Narayan: The Guide 142-155 Unit -12 Anita Desai: Voices in the City 156-169 Unit -13 Shashi Deshpande: The Dark Holds No Terror 170-184 Block-III Drama Unit -14 Rama Mehta: Inside The Haveli 185-199 Unit -15 Mahesh Dattani: Final Solutions 200-207 Block-IV Indian Literature in English Translation Unit -16 Kalidasa: Abhijnanashakuntalam (I) 208-225 Unit -17 Kalidasa: Abhijnanashakuntalam (II) 226-241 Unit -18 Sudraka: Mrichchhakatikam 242-259 Unit -19 Premchand: Godan 260-269 Unit -20 U.R.Anantha Murthy: Samskara 270-285 Unit -21 Indira Goswami: An Unfinished Autobiography 286-305 Unit -22 Mahashweta Devi: Mother of 1084 (I) 306-314 Unit -23 Mahashweta Devi: Mother of 1084 (II) 315-323 __________ Course Development Committee Chairman Prof. (Dr.) Naresh Dadhich Vice-Chancellor Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Convener and Members Prof. (Dr.) Rajul Bhargava Dr. Kshamata Chaudhary Formerly Prof. & HOD Dept. of English Assistant Professor/Convener, Dept. of English University of Rajasthan, Jaipur Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota 1. Prof.Malashri Lal 3. Prof. Sudhi Rajiv 5. Prof.S.K.Sharma Dept. of English HOD,Dept. of English Dept. of English University of Delhi, Jai Narayan Vyas University, Gurukul Kangri University, New Delhi Jodhpur Haridwar 2. Dr. S.K. Agrawal 4. Dr. Joya Chakravarty 6. Dr. Rajesh Shukla Asso. Prof.Dept. of English Asso. Prof, Dept. of English HOD, P.G. Dept. of English JRNR Vidhyapeeth University, University of Rajasthan Govt. P.G.College, Udaipur Jaipur Dausa Editor and Writers Editor Dr. Bhim Singh Dahiya Formerly Vice-Chancellor Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra Unit Writers Unit No. Unit Writers Unit No. 1. Prof. Manorma Trikhe (1,8) 6. Dr.S.K. Agrawal (13,14,15) Retd. HOD, Dept. of English Asso.Prof.,Dept. of English Meerut University, Meerut JRNRV University, Udaipur 2. Prof. Tajender Kaur (2,3,4,5) 7. Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Bhatt (9) HOD, Dept. of English Sr.Lecturer,Dept. of English Directorate of Distance Education Arts and Commerce College, Punjabi University, Patiyala(Panjab) Himmatnagar (Gujrat) 3. Dr. V.S.Tanwar (6) 8. Prof. S.K. Sharma (16,17,18,20) HOD, Dept. of English HOD, Dept. of English Seth Motilal P.G.College, Jhunjhunu Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar 4. Dr. Rajesh Lidiya (7,12) 9. Dr. Kshamata Chaudhary (21) Sr.Lecturer,Dept. of English Assit.Prof.,Dept. of English Rajasthan Technical University, Kota VMOU, Kota 5. Dr. Rajesh Shukla (10,11) 10. Dr. Sanjay Chawla (19) HOD.,P.G.Dept. of English Sr.Lecturer, Dept. of English Govt. P.G. College, Dausa Govt. Shastri Sanskrit College, Chachat(Kota) 11. Prof. Girija Sharma (22,23) HOD, Dept. of English Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla Academic and Administrative Arrangement Prof. (Dr.) Naresh Dadhich Prof. Anam Jaitly Prof. P.K. Sharma Vice-Chancellor Director Director Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Academic Material Production and Distribution Course Production Yogendra Goyal Assistant Production Officer Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Production: January, 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing form the V.M.Open University, Kota Printed and published on behalf of Registrar, V.M.Open University, Kota Block-Introduction This paper is designed to introduce you, dear student, to Indian literature primarily written in English, including translated classics originally written in different Indian languages. Within the limited space of a single paper, attempt has been made to make the reading as varied as possible. With seven major poets, five major novelists, and two dramatists, the spectrum is fairly representative of the types of literature Indian writers have produced in English. Among those included in English translation are Kali Das, Shudrak, Prem Chand, Anant Moorty, Indira Goswami, and Maha Shweta Devi, representing major Indian languages. As can be seen from the titles, writers with strong social concerns expressing in the style of critical realism alone have been selected for reading. Those appreciated for qualities other than those of moral values and ethical vision, praised for sheer brilliance of technical virtuosities, have been scrupulously avoided. In our age of technology, valuelessness is a priority, and technical virtuosity a virtue to be priced. Literary sensibility has always been set against this decadent tendency of going technical, bidding adue to moral values mankind has always strived to live by. As students of literature we have to remain on guard against such a tendency, which, unfortunately, is being promoted by the fashionable THEORY in literary criticism, and by crass commercialism in life. The choice of texts made here lays special emphasis on the social relevance of literature, its capacity to raise our moral consciousness, making us sensitive to the issues that we encounter in everyday life. No doubt, art in any form – painting, poetry, drama, or fiction – is meant primarily for pleasure. However, the very pleasure it imparts takes us away from the common temptations of life, from our commercial greeds and common jealousies. Literary texts train us to objectively contemplate life, to see life steadily and see it as a whole. Although for examination purposes, need not need to know all the texts prescribed in the paper, it is for our good that we attempt to acquaint ourselves with all of them. For wider the scale of our reading in literary texts, the deeper will be our knowledge of life and literature. The more one contemplates the creations of art, the more mature one becomes in the process of thought. The works of great writers chosen for familiarizing you with the stream of Indian literature in English, including important texts translated into English from other languages, are known for offering life in all its various forms comprising joys and sorrows, trumphs and trials, that lie in store for all of us, enabling us to cope with different situations in life, offering insights into difficult moments of moral choice and social commitment. Decidedly, you will feel enriched after reading these texts, acquiring a stronger moral sense and greater sense of detachment. ___________ UNIT-1 RABINDRANATH TAGORE : GITANJALI Structure 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Life and Works of Rabindranath Tagore 1.2 Tagore’s Concepts of Arts and Poetry 1.3 Tagore:A Poet of Western Romantic and Eastern Mystical Tradition 1.5 Theme of Gitanjali 1.6 Gitanjali as a Metaphysical Poem 1.7 Let Us Sum Up 1.8 Review Questions 1.9 Bibliography 1.0 Objectives To study Rabindranath Tagore is to know the essence of Indian artistic traditions, to understand a great man who became a cultural hero and international figure. Tagore was an unofficial ambassador to the world and put India on the literary map of the world. To appreciate him fully, it is essential to note the quality and beauty of his mastery of English language that made him a renowned writer. He belonged to the whole world being “a darling of versatility.” He is a poet who first gained for modern India a place on the world literary scene. 1.1 Life and Works of Rabindranath Tagore( 1861-- 1941) Tagore was a many- sided genius and a source of inspiration to millions of modern India. He was a prolific writer and a pioneer in many fields. He was a poet, dramatist, actor and producer; he was a musician and a painter; he was an educationist, a practical idealist who turned his dreams into reality at Shantiniketan; he was a social reformer, philosopher, prophet of a new age and a planner of rural reconstruction; he was a nationalist, education theorist and experimenter; he was a novelist and short story writer and a critic of literature; he even made occasional incursions into national politics but remained essentially an internationalist; he was an integral whole , the Rishi , the Gurudev as Gandhiji called him. His fecundity and vitality were amazing. Tagore’s active literary career was spread over a period of sixty five years. Probably 1 he wrote the largest number of lyrics and songs which continue to be sung to this day wherever Bengali is spoken. He wrote and travelled and lectured untiringly. If to the West he is known as a great writer of Gitanjali, to us he remains to be a source of inspiration and an outstanding name in modern Indian literature in English as he was the one who first gained for modern Indian a place on the world literary scenario. Rabindranath Tagore, the youngest of seven sons of Maharshi Debendranath was born on 6th May, 1861 in the ancestral mansion, Jorasanko in central Calcutta. He was surrounded by affluence and aristocratic culture and hardly could spend any time with his mother who was busy looking after a huge and sprawling family. Under his father’s instruction the children led a rather Spartan life. In the due course he was sent to a school but the formal education did not suit him and in the end he became a drop out. He enjoyed the literary inheritance of Madhusudan, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Bankim Chandra who were his forerunners.