Sukrita Paul Kumar

Malashri Lal

Interpreting Homes in South Asian Literature

Sanjukta Dasgupta

This book critiques literary and cultural representations of the Indian family to explore the manner in which the family and its structure are in transition. The papers explore (and expose) how the Indian family, whether in India or in diaspora, needs to be redefined in the current context-in this age of rapid industrialization, globalization (both cultural and economic), and the emergence of new technologies. The family is viewed from a variety of perspectives, as represented in film, theatre, and literature-both English and vernacular. Including reflective pieces by several well-known scholars, this volume offers a holistic understanding of local and global shifts and fissures that shape the family today.

Reading Literary and Cultural Texts

The Indian Family in Transition

Women Writers in Indian English

The Law of the Threshold

Namita Gokhale

Who was Radha, and why has she captured the imagination of so many writers across centuries? No other goddess combines the elements of bhakti and shringara quite as exquisitely as the divine milkmaid. She spans a vivid rainbow of imagery-from the playfulness of the Ras Lila to the soulfulness of her undying love, from the mystic allure of her depictions in poetry, art and sculpture to her enduring legacy in Vrindavan. In a way that sets her apart from other female consorts, Radha is idealized and dreamed of in a way that is almost more elemental than mythical. Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal, who brought us In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology, now present an anthology on the mysterious Radha, the epitome of love, who defies all conventional codes yet transcends social prohibitions through the power of the spiritual and the sensual, the sacred and the erotic. Finding Radha is the first of its kind: a collection of poetry, prose and translation that enter the historical as well as the artistic dimensions of the eternal romance of Radha and Krishna.

The Quest for Love

Finding Radha

This book presents a range of Rabindranath Tagore’s creative works, including translations of short stories, essays, poems, memoirs, songs and plays from his vast corpus to show his conception of the feminine and gender identity that are relevant even today. The editor establishes the search for Tagore’s engagement with the feminine as subject and agency, character and voice, philosophy and politics in this book. There is rich cultural interplay as Tagore muses over the contrasting social position of women in the ‘East’ and the ‘West’. He relies on Indian traditions to understand them in the context of domestic ethics, marital institutions, parenting, empowerment, aesthetics and gender politics. The book includes new translations while presenting fresh insights into previously published works.

A Journey in Translations

Tagore and the Feminine

Sita is one of the defining figures of Indian womanhood, yet there is no single version of her story. Different accounts coexist in myth, literature and folktale. Canonical texts deify Sita while regional variations humanize her. Folk songs and ballads connect her timeless predicament to the daily lives of rural women. Modern-day women continue to see themselves reflected in films, serials and soap operas based on Sita's narrative. Sacrifice, self-denial and unquestioning loyalty are some of the ideals associated with popular perceptions of Sita. But the Janaki who symbolized strength, who could lift Shiva's mighty bow, who courageously chose to accompany Rama into exile and who refused to follow him back after a second trial, is often forgotten. However she is remembered, revered or written about, Sita continues to exert a powerful influence on the collective Indian psyche. In Search of Sita presents essays, conversations and commentaries that explore different aspects of her life. It revisits mythology, reopening the debate on her birth, her days in exile, her abduction, the test by fire, the birth of her sons and, finally, her return to the earth-offering fresh interpretations of this enigmatic figure and her indelible impact on our everyday lives.

Revisiting Mythology

In Search of Sita

Shormishtha Panja

Sumanyu Satpathy

Dealing with texts as disparate as Tagore s early twentieth century novel Chokher Bali and Deepa Mehta s contemporary film Fire, short stories by Assamese women writers, fiction by Mahasweta Devi, poetry by contemporary Bengali women poets, autobiographic

Malashri Lal

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