Prof Niranjan Mohanty, Head of the Department of English at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan recently presented a paper on canon and identity in Indian Writing in English, wherein he cited and quoted from Amber Dusk. The paper was presented as part of a keynote address delivered by Prof Mohanty at Loreto College, Darjeeling. The relevant excerpt from Prof Mohanty's paper is given below.
Excerpt from the paper `Contextualizing the questions on “canon” and “identity” in Indian Writing in English' by Prof Niranjan Mohanty:
I would like to conclude this paper by citing from a young fiction writer of Kolkata, Rajat Chaudhuri. His debut novel Amber Dusk (Delhi: Indialog Publication Pvt. Ltd, 2007) represents a psychedelic collage of myth and memory. It is a novel in which Kolkata and Paris figure luxuriatingly, creating a different verve, a striking sense of pulsation, bedecked by intricate moon-moments of love and intimacy. I shall cite here only those lines out of the many, in which Chaudhuri captures the rhythmic beauty of Kolkata life ridden with politics:
That night the government of the State of West Bengal was also working overtime. At the solid looking red –brick Writers Building from where the state is governed there was an urgent meeting of powerful ministers. The sweet makers were going on a day’s token strike. All sweet shops in Calcutta and all over the state would remain closed on Sunday. If the government did not budge, and went ahead with the new law, then this would be followed by continuous strikes. The Ruling Reds were jittery at the news. They knew that if the Bengalis were parted from their mistis, sweet, anything in the world –even the most absurd and unimaginable –would happen. (25-26).
I believe, even if young, Chaudhuri has successfully represented the state politics in West Bengal and the sweet-loving attitude of the Bengalis. There are certain things in life which do not go away and these certain things contain and constitute one’s identity, the substance or essences of one’s identity, whether these belong to what Ramanujan calls “outer” or “inner” forms and what I call ‘circles’ the ‘concentric circles’ that define, project and represent one’s identity.
The full text of the above paper is available here.
Copyright notice: The copyright for the paper `Contextualizing the questions on “canon” and “identity” in Indian Writing in English' belongs to Prof Niranjan Mohanty and any organisation to which he may have temporarily vested this right. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from the paper `Contextualizing the questions on “canon” and “identity” in Indian Writing in English' by Prof Niranjan Mohanty:
I would like to conclude this paper by citing from a young fiction writer of Kolkata, Rajat Chaudhuri. His debut novel Amber Dusk (Delhi: Indialog Publication Pvt. Ltd, 2007) represents a psychedelic collage of myth and memory. It is a novel in which Kolkata and Paris figure luxuriatingly, creating a different verve, a striking sense of pulsation, bedecked by intricate moon-moments of love and intimacy. I shall cite here only those lines out of the many, in which Chaudhuri captures the rhythmic beauty of Kolkata life ridden with politics:
That night the government of the State of West Bengal was also working overtime. At the solid looking red –brick Writers Building from where the state is governed there was an urgent meeting of powerful ministers. The sweet makers were going on a day’s token strike. All sweet shops in Calcutta and all over the state would remain closed on Sunday. If the government did not budge, and went ahead with the new law, then this would be followed by continuous strikes. The Ruling Reds were jittery at the news. They knew that if the Bengalis were parted from their mistis, sweet, anything in the world –even the most absurd and unimaginable –would happen. (25-26).
I believe, even if young, Chaudhuri has successfully represented the state politics in West Bengal and the sweet-loving attitude of the Bengalis. There are certain things in life which do not go away and these certain things contain and constitute one’s identity, the substance or essences of one’s identity, whether these belong to what Ramanujan calls “outer” or “inner” forms and what I call ‘circles’ the ‘concentric circles’ that define, project and represent one’s identity.
The full text of the above paper is available here.
Copyright notice: The copyright for the paper `Contextualizing the questions on “canon” and “identity” in Indian Writing in English' belongs to Prof Niranjan Mohanty and any organisation to which he may have temporarily vested this right. All rights reserved.
