Contemporary Indian/ South Asian Writers

Srimati Basu

"And there are so many stories to tell, too many, such an excess of intertwined lives events miracles places rumors, so dense a commingling of the improbable and the mundane! I have been a swallower of lives; and to know me, just the one of me, you'll have to swallow the lot as well."

Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

"Our conversations were meals, delectable, but fraught with a sense of prior copyright, because each of us was obliged to talk too much about what the other did not already know. Speaking over and across the separation of our lives, we discovered that there was an internal revenue involved in so much talking, so much listening."

Sara Suleri, Meatless Days

"I could not have expected them [in Egypt] to understand an Indian's terror of symbols."

Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land

Is there an "Indian culture" or an "Indian experience"? There is, of course, a "real" place called India, either very old (~6000 years) or quite new (54 years) depending on how you interpret politics and geography, a nation (like most other nations) where the billion citizens share no common language or religion or culture. The sample of readings in this course in no way reproduces all of their experiences. Rather, I have chosen to introduce you to the Indian subcontinent as an imagined space, as represented by some of the most prominent contemporary writers from the Indian subcontinent. They raise questions about issues such as identity, history, politics, economics, religion, sexuality, and caste, each from different locations and with different concerns. Through their writing, and through your own supplementary research, we will examine and critique some frameworks for representing "India."

Books:

1. Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land, Vintage 1994
2. Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children, Penguin 1994
3. Ismat Chughtai, Sheep, Meadow Press 1994
4. Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy, Harvest Books 1997
5. Mahasweta Devi, Bitter Soil, South Asia Books 1998
6. Taslima Nasrin, The Game in Reverse, George Braziller 1995
7. Kirin Narayan, Love, Stars and all that, Washington Square Press, 1995
There is also a reading packet.

Assignments:

1. Letters/Questions: During the course of the semester, write me six letters (2-3 pages each) responding to the week's texts, (the fiction or poetry or essays or films, or intersections between the various texts). Write in your voice; the tone of these letters may be as informal as you want. But these papers should also be well-argued essays that make their point by referring to textual evidence, that have in-depth analysis and that are free of grammatical and spelling errors. Some ideas: Comment on issues that intrigue or fascinate you, perhaps in line with our class project of examining how India is being represented. Examine your own assumptions and perspectives. Write about themes or symbols running through the various texts. For each day of class, also bring a list of words, concepts, ideas or references that are unfamiliar to you (and there will be many). Please turn them in to me before class, and we'll work through them. While I will not be assigning individual grades to these lists, I will evaluate them to assess the depth and seriousness with which you are engaging with the readings.

2. The Research Project will also help you gather more evidence about the way in which contemporary texts have imagined India. You will put together an anthology or portfolio of texts by Indian writers on a theme of your choice, and write an analysis explaining and evaluating your choices. In your analysis, pay attention to who is speaking, and why they might be representing issues the way they do, as well as your own location. There will be peer review of rough drafts of this paper, to help you polish the final version.

3. Essay exams will help you tie together the questions and issues raised in the various texts. Make sure you have good notes on all the texts, including films and lectures by visiting speakers.

4. This will be a small class, and your attendance and participation is absolutely essential. Plan not to miss any classes, and to be there for the full time each week. (Because this class meets in a three hour slot, any more than one absence will lead to a lower grade.) Active participation is just as important: ask questions, respond to issues and queries, be engaged, pay attention to your classmates' concerns. Have fun!

Weekly Letters/ Questions: 30%
Research Projects: 30%
Essay Exams: 30%
Class Participation: 10%

Readings and Assignments:

Weeks 1-3 (1/31, 2/8, 2/15): Location, Location, Location
Jawaharlal Nehru, "Tryst with Destiny"
Nayantara Sehgal, "With Pride and Prejudice"
Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land
Salman Rushdie, "Imaginary Homelands"; "Outside the Whale"; "The Riddle of Midnight"; "In Good Faith."
Sara Suleri, excerpt from Meatless Days

Weeks 4 -6 (2/22, 3/7, 3/14): A Postcolonial Historical Romp
Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children; "Errata or, Unreliable Narration in Midnight's Children"
Watch for Bollywood night and a mini-conference

Weeks 7-9 (3/21, 4/4): A Terror of Symbols -- Religion
Saadat Hasan Manto, "Toba Tek Singh"
Bapsi Sidhwa, "Ranna's Story"
Midterm
Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
Film: Father, Son and Holy War

Weeks 10-11 (4/11, 4/18): A Terror of Symbols -- War and Peace
Arundhati Roy, "The End of Imagination"
Amitav Ghosh, "Countdown"
Watch for guest lecture on nuclear Proliferation
4/12 301 Harrison 4 p.m., Asian Studies Coffee Hour, Dr. Henry Glassie, "Sacred Clay: Spiritual Art in Contemporary Bangladesh."
Mahasweta Devi, Bitter Soil
Portfolio and Paper Rough Draft due 4/11

Weeks 12-13 (4/25, 5/2): A Terror of Symbols -- Sexuality and Power
Ismat Chughtai, The Quilt and Other Stories
Taslima Nasrin, The Game in Reverse

Week 14 (5/9): Beyond the Subcontinent
Kirin Narayan, Love, Stars and All That
Portfolio and Final Draft due 5/10