Spring Symposium Explores the Politics J and Poetics of South Asian Vernaculars Matt Mackenzie Arindam Chakrabarti

Spring Symposium Explores the Politics J and Poetics of South Asian Vernaculars Matt MacKenzie Arindam Chakrabarti The Center for South Asian Studies struct and its use and appropriation in affect a narrative tradition. held its 19th annual Spring Sympo the literature of various locales and by Our afternoon session explored the sium, "Tongues of Fire: Languages authors such as Bharatendu Harish intersections between history, politics, and Literatures of South Asia," this Chandre and Alka Saraogi. and language. Prof. Lamia Karim April. The symposium brought Prof. Dalmia's talk was followed (Women's Studies) presented "The together scholars from across the by the first panel session, featuring Politics of Reading: Exiled Feminist University and across the US papers by Prof. R. N. Sharma and Writer Taslima Nasreen and Chicago, Austin, Berkeley, Amherst, Aaron Rester (University of Chicago). Bangladeshi Women," in which she Cleveland-to discuss the politics and Prof. Sharma's paper, "Magical examined how the radical feminist poetics of South Asian vernaculars. Births, Curses, and Deadly Ques author, Taslima Nasreen, is read by The two-day event consisted of three tions," traced the role and significance mUltiple audiences-Western media, scholarly panels, a roundtable of various mythico-poetic devices Bangladeshi women, the Bangladeshi discussion, a literary reading, three such as curses, boons, and strange, clergy, and the reading public of West keynote addresses, and a seemingly magical births-in the rich tapestry of Bengal. According to Prof. Karim, endless feast of insightful, engaged the classical epics. Aaron Rester's for each group, Taslima Nasreen discussion. paper, "The Web of Dharma: the represents a particular voice and a set Our first keynote address, "The Agnipariksha and the Ramayana on of concerns. For the Western media Locations of Hindi," given by Prof. the Internet" examined the ways in and the West Bengal audience, she is Vasudha Dalmia, explored the which Sita's trial by fire is portrayed the "true" voice of Muslim women's complex interconnections between on several sites on the World-Wide oppression; for Bangladeshis, she is a place, language, experience and Web. Further, the paper explored the "publicity-seeker" and not representa identity through an examination of interplay between the medium (or tive of problems facing Bangladeshis. both the history of Hindi as a con- media) of the Internet, particular The paper did not claim an intimate narratives, and knowledge of the feminist author's the larger intentionality, or about her specific traditions to audiences, but explored some of the which they deep disturbances that her work belong, in an generated among Bangladeshi middle attempt to class and diasporic communities, and understand not what those fears suggest about just the ways in Bangladeshi middle-class sexual which people tell norms and religious identity. different In "History, Heroes and Novelistic versions of the Discourse: Hari Narayan Apte and the "same" story, but Marathi Historical Novel" Rohit also the ways in Dalvi (Philosophy) sought to under which entrance stand what Apte's novels could into a new contribute to the heroisation of Shivaji medium can in nationalistic Hindu context. Dalvi SYMPOSIUM continued next page 4 South Asia News/Summer 2002 l suggests that, in the end, an apolitical and non-perspectival architecture might harbor multiculturalism. more of the virtues of "mother Conducted by S. Shankar, the tongue" than language if by roundtable on translation revolved "mother tongue" is implied an around the following questions: original sense of belongingness, an "at 1. What are the responsibilities of a homeness." In "Mahadevi translator from South Asian V arma: The Dialogue of languages such as Nepali, Urdu, Desire and the Sacrificial · Oriya or Sinhalese, Bengali or Heroine" Sarah Green Tamil into English? They are (University of Texas) often faced with the choice of explored the poetic dialogue either producing a scholarly of desire between self and translation (with footnotes, other-taking up themes of glossaries, parenthetical longing, absence, sacrifice, interruptions,lengthy introduc self-recognition, and agency tions, so on) or a literary transla in Mahadevi' s poetic gestalt, tion (without such surrounding her bounded universe. Menaha paraphernalia) which aims at a Ganesathasan (Philosophy) certain seamlessness What are the then spoke to "The Role of advantages and disadvantages of Literature in South Asian each type of translation? Morals," through her philo sophical, ethical, and literary 2.What is or should be the relation analysis of certain central ship between translation and · story's in the Y ogavasishta. original? Is there any way better Prof. Radhakrishnan' s than an original? Is there any way keynote was an attempt to in which the translation changes theorize postcoloniality across the original? the asymmetry of the metro politan-third world divide. If 3. What are the politics and the postcoloniality is to be economics of postcolonial understood differentially and translation today? Could South heterogeneously, Asian literature survive merely in Radhakrishnan argued, it can the vernacular market without be done so only the basis of an English translations today? Who abiding double-consciousness or what determines what gets that has to be produced translated, when and how? agentially. Works produced in South Asian languages 4. How important is theoretical problematize the exemplarity inquiry into the nature of transla of the metropolitan tion for the practice of transla postcolonial model by opening tion? What does a philosophical up a different relational-global inquiry into translation teach us space where there are possi about literature, language, and bilities for multi-lateral texts? translations and transcreations of literary value. The paper Dipesh Chakrabarty, as a panelist, suggested that there indeed are also brought in the question of rich possibilities for substan nonliterate, bodily presence of the tive and semantically rich word such as in thumb-impressions SYMPOSIUM cont'd "fusion" among different horizons so which were so important for legal tion on the bangla hut, the paper also long as the fusion is undertaken in the documentation and therefore for much analyzed the nexus of architecture and name of a radical Alterity that is not language, and considered which one reducible to the practice of dominant is more "fundamental." Prof. Ashraf representation or the vapid pieties of continued page 7 South Asia New/Summer 2002 5 Book Review defined themselves prior to the Nicholas B. Dirks colonial encounter, Dirks states that Castes of Mind: Colonialism "it was under the British that 'caste' and the Making of Modem became a single term capable of India, Princeton, N.J.: expressing, organizing, and above Princeton University Press, all, 'systematizing' India's diverse forms of social identity, community, 2001,315 pages. and organization .... In short, colonialism made caste what it is By Himanee Gupta (Political today." (5) Science) Questions of ethnography inhabit a central space in Dirks' argument. Gstes of Mind: ColoniiUism and the Perhaps the most provocative aspect of Castes of Mind is how Dirks Making ofModem India, meticu illustrates the role that colonial lously explores the relationship ethnography played in defming, between British colonialism and caste. disciplining and managing Indians. This detail-packed study by Nicholas British administrative practices of Dirks examines references to caste in amassing knowledge on the Indian both precolonial and colonial writings populace contributed to the forma as well as those prepared by both tion of what Dirks calls the ethno Indian and non-Indian scholars in the graphic state, particularly after 1857 decades following India's indepen when India was brought under direct dence. It covers, among other things, Crown rule. Doing ethnography, missionary commentaries, ethno Dirks suggests, was a way of not graphic writings by colonial adminis only knowing India but also trators, the role of caste in establish controlling India by shaping how it ing enumerative categories in the late was that India was to be known. nineteenth-century census, and "To keep India, the British felt the discussions of caste that emerged need to know India far better than among Indians during the nationalist they had ... ," Dirks writes. And, movement and in contemporary thus, "the ethnographic state was political and socio-economic debates. driven by the belief that India could Dirks' hypothesis, which elabo be ruled using anthropological rates on a thesis he put forth in a 1992 knowledge to understand and piece in the journal Representations, control its subjects, and to represent is fairly straightforward. Dirks argues and legitimate its own mission." that while caste existed in India prior (44 ) Yet, even as the British to the colonial encounter, how we amassed more know ledge, India understand caste today owes its grew more unknowable. The genealogy to how British colonialist response was not to question the discourse constructed caste as the approach being taken to knowledge primary ordering principle of Indian itself but rather to collect more data. society. This is not to assert that the "The empiricist response was British "invented" caste, as Dirks always to know more, even as the repeatedly states. However, as he British could never acknowledge the argues, the colonialist role in articu deep

Load more