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CRITICAL AND CREATIVE WINGS Volume 3, Issue 2, September 2016 Volume 4 Issue 1, March 2017 Editor Tapati Talukdar Associate Editor Shymasree Basu Editorial Board Shri Partha Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Former Associate Professor of English, Kidderpore College, Kolkata and a Fellow (U.W.A.) Dr. Kalyan Chatterjee, Professor of English (retired), University of Burdwan, West Bengal Dr. G. K. Das, Former Vice - Chancellor, Utkal University and Professor of English (retired), CRITICAL AND CREATIVE WINGS University of Delhi Volume 3, Issue 2, September 2016 Dr. Bijay Kumar Das, PhD, DLitt (Utkal University), Volume 4, Issue 1, March 2017 Professor of English, University of Burdwan, West Bengal Professor C. R. Visweswara Rao, Former Vice-Chancellor, Vikram Simhapuri University, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh Shri Shankar Chatterjee, Former Reader in English, University of Kalyani, West Bengal Publisher Tapati Talukdar, HB 7, Flat No.6, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700106 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 033 2337 5310 / 919836457490 Printer The Artisan 107A, Bepin Behari Ganguly Street Kolkata 700 012 Published/owned by Preface Dr. Tapati Talukdar, HB 7, Flat No.6, Salt Lake, Kolkata Issue 1, Volume 4 that combines with it the preceding issue, that is, 700106 Issue 2, Volume 3, opens with Professor Kalyan Chatterjee's comparative study of Tagore and Shelley. The article, aptly titled March 2017 as “Rebirth of the Angel: Tagore's Shelley”, delves deep into the poetry of both the poets to meticulously record how Shelley's ideas and words influenced Tagore from the outset of his poetic career. Professor Chatterjee cites profusely from Tagore and Shelley to © Tapati Talukdar substantiate the points of resemblances between the two poets. Shelley strikes him as the yathartha Dosor of Tagore as the former's platonic ideas had a lasting impact on the latter. Prof. Chatterjee does not, of course, deny Tagore his originality in his study. The next article written by Dr. Shashi Assella depicts a world poles apart from that created by Tagore. She makes a detailed textual analysis of a novel On Sal Mal Lane by Ru Freeman, a Sri Lankan novelist, dealing with ethnic riots in Sri Lanka. The novel, as Dr. Assella has discussed, gives voice to the voiceless and disempowered living on Sal Mal Lane in Colombo. Freeman The editors are in no way responsible for the views expressed allows the frequent intrusion of the omniscient narrator to comment by the authors in their articles included in this volume. on the roles of characters in the narrative. But it is through the eyes of the subaltern characters like the children and women that the narrative unfolds depicting the innocence of the children who are, for the major part, unaware of what divide them later, namely, ethno - religious affiliations and politically - fuelled ethnic hatred. The third article by Dr. Rudrashis Datta transports us to the Tantric realms of consciousness as explored by Sri Aurobindo. He studies Volume 3 Issue 2 Canto iv, Book IV of Savitri titled appropriately “The Quest” to Volume 4 Issue 1 show how Aurobindo translates his Tantric concepts into Savitri's quest for resurrecting Satyavan. Dr. Datta has rummaged Aurobindo's tract to retrieve his sparse references to Tantric philosophy. He discovers two powerful aspects of the Tantric quest Printed by: as exploited by Aurobindo – the first half of the canto represents The Artisan what Aurobindo calls 'the Mahakali aspect' and the rest describes 107A, Bepin Behari Ganguly Street the consummate state called 'the Mahasaraswati aspect'. Dr. Datta Kolkata 700 012 traces Aurobindo's subtle negotiation with the 'Kali' and 'Saraswati' email : [email protected] Price: Rs. 200/- aspects of Savitri's quest. He illustrates both the states of the quest with citations from the fourth Canto of Book IV. Volume 4 Issue 1 March 2017 Critical and Creative Wings Dr. Shymasree Basu's article features next in the issue with her whether the novel can be described as a metafiction deriving the exploration of Azar Nafisi's memoir Reading Lolita in Teheran. definition of the term from Barbara Foley. I have also brought in the Her reading of the 'Memoir as Protest' underscores the protest of fold of my discussion Hayden White's remark about the historians Nafisi against what she experienced in her teaching career before who show a tendency to politically domesticate historical facts. As she retired in 1995. Nafisi seeks resort to an innovative and creative Mahasweta claims to maintain objectivity in documenting Birsa's way to protest against the restrictive norms imposed by the heroic life, the remark appears applicable to her as well. What I totalitarian regime of Iran by forming a book club with seven of her have discovered in my study is that Birsa has emerged more as a best women students to discuss literature once a week. They read figment of Mahasweta's imagination than what he was in reality. literature and debate on issues and express their views freely. Their That the real Birsa eludes her for the paucity of adequate historical experience of what Dr. Basu calls a mulivocal atmosphere in the evidences too has been underscored in my article. book club creates for them a space denied to them in the formal academia they attended. Nafisi delves into classics like Nabokov's The articles have been arranged in such a way that they produce Lolita, Invitation to a Beheading, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, an impression of diversity and rid the readers of monotony. The and Flaubert's Madam Bovary to show how books can be liberating Creative Section starts with two poems by Ms Sohini Sengupta, for the young minds. The book club becomes a site for resistance titled, respectively, as 'Journey' and 'A Fall to Hope'. Dr. Chirantan and empowerment for the students. Dr. Basu cites Foucault and Sarkar's poem 'Sermons From Nowhere' follows. The entries in discusses how Nafisi negotiates female agency and subjectivity of prose include 'A Short Story about Despair' by Ranadurjay her students. Talukdar; an experience of climbing rendered by Ayan Adak, titled 'Climbing Kosciuszko: Because it is there!'; and an account of a trip Dr. Rupa Deshmukhya delves into Yeats's life focussing on his to Bali given by Kunal Sinha titled as 'Bali High'; and also a fascination with mysticism and the occult. She traces how it leads Memoir titled as 'Memories of Magura' written by Adhir Biswas in to his interest in Indian philosophy reinforced by his meeting with Bengali and translated by Amit Das. I believe that creative pieces Mohini Chatterjee, and Purohit Swami. She discusses at length should best be left to the readers for evaluation and hence I desist how Rabindranath Tagore casts a spell on Yeats by his collection of from dissecting them. The concluding literary discussion centres devotional poems eventually published in English as Gitanjali. on two books: one is an anthology of relishing articles on food, The introduction to Gitanjali that Yeats writes shows how much titled most appropriately, Chillies and Porridge: Writing Food, moved he was while reading those poems. Dr. Deshmukhya edited by Mita Kapur. Dr. Shymasree Basu has concisely reviewed documents the powerful hold that The Bhagabat Gita and the the articles contained in the book. The last item is a Tamil fiction Upanishads had on Yeats with ample illustrative references from Maadhorubaagan written by Perumal Murugan and translated as Yeats's work. She underscores how the Indian philosophical One Part Woman by Aniruddhan Vasudevan. I have reviewed it and resonances that mark Yeats's oeuvre add a distinctive flavour to his it is for the readers to assess it. poetic output. In every issue we do request our learned readers to send their My article on Mahasweta Devi's Aranyer Adhikar (The Forest's invaluable comments. But rarely do we get any response. It is only Right) occupies the last slot in the critical section. The article is my teachers Professor Kalyan Chatterjee, Professor Shankar intended to pay my homage to Mahasweta Devi who left us in Chatterjee and Professor Tirthankar Chatterjee who never fail to 2016. I have chosen this novel as it is associated with the life and convey their responses. I must mention Professor Shymapada Pal rebellion of Birsa Munda. What actually evoked my interest is the who is also an avid reader of the journal. He is very prompt in introduction that she writes to the novel. It betrayed contradictions communicating his responses. Professor C.R.V. Rao makes it a some of which I have tried to address in my paper. I have argued point to write a long mail with his comments on each article. He is Volume 4 Issue 1 March 2017 Volume 4 Issue 1 March 2017 Critical and Creative Wings CONTENTS always effusive about Professor Kalyan Chatterjee's articles. I Rebirth of the Angel : Tagore's Shelley must thank Professor R. W. Desai, Professor B.K. Das and KALYAN CHATTERJEE 1 Professor Partha Kumar Mukhopadhyay for reading the articles and commenting on them. Professor Brandon Kershner, a Joyce scholar of great repute, mailed me with valuable feedback on my Children, Burghers and Tamils On Sal Mal Lane: article on Joyce's Portrait published in the last issue. We assure our The Subaltern's Narrative of the Ethnic Riots readers that we won't mind even if we get adverse feedback. SHASHI ASSELLA 18 We are still grappling with manifold problems. We have initiated peer-reviewing with a handful members in the team. It would be a 'From gilded dusk to argent dawn' : great help if some of our learned readers offer to peer-review. The A Tantric Reading of “The Quest” of Savitri main stumbling block in regular publication of the bi-annual RUDRASHIS DATTA 28 journal is the lack of response from the contributors.

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