Modern Indian Literature

SLM based on UGC CBCS for
B.A/B.Com
Hyderabad-32, Telangana-India
Course-B.A/B.Com
ISBN:978-XX-XXXX-XXX-X
Publication : August-2021
Copies : 1000
Cover Pager : Dr. Mohd Akmal Khan
Modern Indian Literature For B.A/B.Com 2
nd Semester
Directorate of Distance Education Maulana Azad National Urdu University
Gachibowli, Hyderabad-500032 (TS), India
Director, CPDUMT, MANUU, Hyderabad
Dr Ajay Deshmukh Associate Professor, Department of English, Sri Muktanand College,Gangapur, Aurangabad
Dr Shah Alam Guest Faculty, DDE, MANUU
Dr Mudasir Ahmad Gori Guest Faculty, DDE, MANUU
Directorate of Distance Education Maulana Azad National Urdu University
Gachibowli, Hyderabad-32 (TS), India
Director, CPDUMT, MANUU
Writers Unit No.
Dr Ajay Deshmush, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, Shri Muktanand College, Gangapur, Maharashtra. 1
Dr Sachin Laxmikant Patki, Head and Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Adarsh College, Hingoli, Maharashtra. 2,17
Dr Pradnyashailee Bhagwan Sawai, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Government
College of Arts and Science, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. 3
Dr Shankar Ambadas Gavali, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Milind College of
Arts, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. 4,19
Dr Mirza Maqsood Baig, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, People’s College, Nanded. 5,8
Dr Govindaiah Godavarthi, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, MANUU, Hyd. 6,7
Dr Somnath Barure, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, VNGIASS, Nagpur,
Maharashtra. 9,10,11,12
Mr. S M Fasiullah, Counselor, Dr B.R Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad. 13,14,18
Ms. Raeesabegum Usmani, Dept. of English, VNSGU, Surat, Gujarat. 15
Dr Shamema T, Assistant Professor of English, Amal College of Advanced Studies,
Nilambur, Kerala. 16
Dr Mirza Sultan Baig, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, Indra Gandhi College, Nanded, Maharashtra. 20
Mr Shihabudheen C, Assistant Professor of English, Amal College of Advanced Studies,
Nilambur, Kerala. 21
Dr Mudasir Ahmad Gori, Guest Faculty (English), DDE, MANUU, Hyderabad. 22
Dr Sheikh Suhel, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Sir Syed College, Aurangabad,
Maharashtra. 23,24
Introduction to the Course Coordinator 8
Unit Page No. 1. Literatures from Indian Languages 10 2. Significance of Literary Translations 25 3. Jibanananda Das – I Shall Return to this Bengal 40 4. Sri Sri – Forward March 55 5. Brief History of Indian Writing in English 70 6. Modern Indian Literature 85 7. Muktibodh – So Very Far 100 8. Ezekiel – Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S. 115 9. English Poetry in India 130
10. Indian Women Poets 145
11. Jayanta Mahapatra – A Country 160
12. Gauri Deshpande – The Female of the Species 175
13. Brief History of the Short Story in India 190
14. Prominent Short Story Writers in Indian Literature 205
15. Premchand – The Holy Panchayat 220
16. M. Basheer – The Card Sharper’s Daughter 235
17. The Short Story in Indian Writing in English 250
18. Prominent Short Story Writers in Indian Writing in English 265
19. R. K. Narayan – The M.C.C 280
20. Sadat Hasan Manto – Toba Tek Singh 295
21. Women Short Story Writers in India 310
22. Women Short Story Writers in Indian Writing in English 325
23. Qurratulain Hyder – The Sound of Falling Leaves 340
24. Ambai – Squirrel 355
Sample Question Paper 370
Proofreaders: First : S M Fasiullah & Syeda Farha Shah Second : Syeda Farha Shah & S M Fasiullah
Final : Dr Shah Alam & Dr Mudasir Ahmad Gori
Message
Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) was established in 1998 by the Act of
Parliament of our beloved country. The four mandates of the university are (1) promotion of Urdu
language, (2) accessibility and availability of professional and technical education in Urdu medium, (3)
providing education through traditional and distance learning mode, and (4) a specific focus on women’s
education. These are the points that distinguish this central university from all other central universities
and give it a unique feature. It has been emphasized even in the National Education Policy 2020 to
achieve education in mother tongues and regional languages.
The very objective of promotion of knowledge through Urdu is meant to facilitate the
accessibility of contemporary knowledge and disciplines to Urdu knowing community. For a long time,
Urdu has remained devoid of scholarly materials. A cursory glance over a library or shelves of a book
seller substantiates the fact that Urdu language is diminished to only a few “literary” genres. The same
situation can be seen often in journals and newspapers. The writings available in Urdu take readers
sometimes to the meandrous paths, sometimes involve emotionally in political issues, sometimes
illuminate religions on creedal background, and sometimes burdened our minds with complaints. Further,
the Urdu reader/community is unaware of the today’s most important areas of knowledge whether it is
related to his own health and life or related to the financial and commercial systems, whether it is related
to machines and gadgets around him or the issues related to his environment or vicinity. The
unavailability of content related to the above domains of knowledge has created an atmosphere of apathy
towards attaining knowledge that exhibits the lack of intellectual abilities in Urdu community. These are
the challenges that Urdu University is confronted with. The scenario of Self Learning Materials (SLM) is
also not very different. The unavailability of course books in Urdu at school level comes under discussion
at the commencement of every academic year. Since the medium of instruction of Urdu University is only
Urdu and it offers almost all the courses of important disciplines, the preparation of books of all these
subjects in Urdu is the most important responsibility of the University. To achieve these objectives, the
Urdu university was commenced in 1998 with Distance Learning.
I am immensely pleased that due to the hard work of the concerned faculties and full cooperation
of the writers, the process of publications of books has begun on massive scales. For the students of
Distance Learning, the process of preparing and publication of Self Learning Materials (SLM) has begun
in a minimum possible time. The books of first Semester got published and sent to the students. The
books of second Semester too will be sent to the students shortly. I believe that we will be able to meet
the requirements of a large Urdu knowing community through our Self Learning Materials and will fulfill
the mandate of this University, and justify our presence in this country.
With best wishes.
Message
Distance mode of Education is globally accepted as a very useful and effective mode of
education and a large number of population is getting benefitted with this mode of education.
Keeping in view the educational situation of Urdu knowing population, MANUU has adopted
the same from beginning of its establishment.
Maulana Azad National Urdu University began to function from 1998 with the
Directorate of Distance Education and Translation Division. Regular mode of education
commenced from 2004 and various departments were established which were followed by the
appointments of faculty. Self learning material was prepared through writing and translation with
full support of competent authority.
For the past few years UGC-DEB kept emphasizing on synchronizing the syllabi of
distance and regular mode to enhance the level of distance learning students. Accordingly, at
Maulana Azad National Urdu University, the syllabi of distance and regular mode are
synchronized by following the norms of UGC-DEB and Self Learning Materials are being
prepared afresh for UG and PG courses containing 6 blocks - 24 units and 4 blocks - 16 units
respectively.
Directorate of Distance Education runs fifteen courses consisting of UG, PG, B.Ed
(ODL), Diploma, and certificate courses. In a short span of time, courses based on technical
skills will be started. A huge network of nine regional centers (Bengaluru, Bhopal, Darbhanga,
Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna, Ranchi, and Srinagar) and five sub-regional centers (Hyderabad,
Lucknow, Jammu, Nooh, and Amravati) was established to facilitate the students. 155 Learner
Support Center are running under these regional and sub-regional centers to provide educational
and administrative support to the students. DDE also utilizes ICT for its educational and
administrative activities.
The admissions in all programs are done only through online mode. The soft copies of
Self Learning Material for students are made available on the website of Directorate of Distance
Education. In near future, the links of audio and video recordings will also be made available on
the website. In addition, SMS facilities are being provided to students to have better
communication. The students are informed through SMS regarding various facets of programs
such as course registration, assignment, counseling, exams, etc.
Directorate of Distance Education will not only play a vital role in bringing educationally
and economically backward Urdu knowing population into the main stream but also in
increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio of the country.
Prof. Mohd. Razaullah Khan
MANUU, Hyderabad
Introduction to the Course
The course Modern Indian Literature (BAEN201CCT) is prescribed as a core course for
the second semester undergraduate students. It aims at providing the students an insight into a
basic understanding of literature written in English and other Indian languages, including poems
and short stories. English translated texts from Indian languages also have been included in the
course authored by both male and female writers. To study the poems and short stories by Indian
writers, it is essential to know the background of literature written in Indian languages and
English. Equipped with this knowledge, the learners will be able to comprehend the texts exactly
as it is intended.
The course is divided into six blocks. Each block consists of four units. The first block
contains texts from Indian languages. Hence, the background study of literature from Indian
languages is offered here. The significance of translation also is a part of the first block. The
second and third blocks focus on the history of Indian writing in English. The fourth block deals
with the history of short story writings in Indian regional languages. Short stories written in
English by Indian writers are discussed in block five, while the last block offers an overview of
Indian women writers’ contribution to the body of Indian writing in English. The course aims at
familiarizing the learners with a wide range of writings. In each block, two units deal with the
theoretical framework and the other two present a textual instance.
In this book, under each unit the objectives, key points of the topic, learning outcomes,
glossary and sample questions are listed. At the end, a question paper is attached for giving the
students an idea of the paper pattern. It is hoped that this Self Learning Material (SLM) will be
helpful in appreciating the sociological approach to literature.
Prof. Mohammed Abdul Sami Siddiqui Course Coodrinator
Modern Indian Literature
Structure
1.2.1 Sanskrit Literature
1.2.2 Partition Literature
1.2.3 Parsi Literature
1.2.5 Literature from other Indian Regional Languages
1.3 Learning Outcomes
1.0 Introduction
Human beings in the wake of civilization learned to express their emotions, thoughts and
philosophy. The life, full of unpredictable events, sorrows and happiness was celebrated in a
floral and figurative language. The songs of separation or union or narratives of overcoming the
challenges, adventures became part of nostalgia. Human beings have recorded their lives in the
form of memories. The verbal exploration of human experiences became part of literary
tradition. These traditions have travelled all along from oral to written form. Literature across the
world has a dual function of edification and amusement. It has travelled through various forms
across different countries and continents of the world. Indian Literature can be referred to as the
literature written in the Indian Subcontinent till partition and later on Independent India. In the
modern sense of time, the concept of India as a nation was an outcome of the British Empire. It
weaved Indian people together in the thread of national consciousness. India as a nation gave rise
to the typical flavour of Indianness in its literature. Before this, India was known as Aryavrata or
Bharatvarsha or Hindustan. These nomenclatures have different historical, cultural and racial
11
dimensions within the ambit of linguistic and literary discourse. So, the literature produced
during each phase of the making of a nation has its influence on the minds of writers and readers.
Indianness is a much-celebrated concept in the Indian Writings in English. It is necessary
to understand this because it brings socio-cultural, religious-political, linguistic and geographical
underpinnings in the discussion of Indian Writings.
1.1 Objectives
This unit would try to explore the literature from Indian languages in brief. It would be
impossible to make it exhaustive given the vastness of the literature from the Indian
Subcontinent. The objectives of the unit are:
To introduce the literature from various Indian Languages.
To understand the great Indian literary tradition from regional languages.
1.2 Literatures from Indian Languages
1.2.1 Sanskrit Literature:
Sanskrit is a classical and ancient Indian language. It boasts to be the mother of many
languages in and around the continent. It influenced various languages throughout the history of
mankind and has enjoyed the status of epic language and language of elites from antiquity. Later
on, due to its rigidity and politics of linguistic hegemony, Sanskrit lost its wide usage. However,
the literature produced in Sanskrit left an indelible impact on the various genres and writing
styles of Indian writers.
Sanskrit Literature began with oral traditions and later on developed in written scripts.
Many of the Sanskrit texts belong to Indian Religions; Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Much
of these texts were written during ancient India. There are works related to science, arts and
social sciences as well.
Priyadarsika, Mattavilaas Prahasana, Baital Pachisi and Singhsan Battisi etc. are popular and
12
part of classical, folk and popular culture. These have set the storytelling traditions and basics for
narratology. Kalidasa‘s famous Abhijnana Sakuntalam, Raghuvamsa, Kumarsavmbhava and
Meghdutam and Banabhattas Kadambari are the most famous masterpieces of Sanskrit
Literature. Hindu religious texts like Shrutis, Upanishads, Bhagwad Gita, Bhagwat Purana,
Ramayana, and Mahabharata are revered and are part of a great legacy of the Sanskrit language.
With the passage of time Sanskrit lost its glamour and wide base of speakers.
Radhavallabh Tripathi in the introduction to Sodasi: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit
Poets writes:
Sanskrit is known for its classical literature, even though the creative activity in
this language has continued without pause from the medieval age till today […]
Consequently, contemporary Sanskrit writing suffers from prevailing negligence.
[1992]
But literature in Sanskrit is produced in modern times too. In 2009, Satyavrat Shastri was
honoured with Jnanpith Award for his contribution to Sanskrit Literature. He was the first
recipient in the Sanskrit Language. Some other well-known writers in Modern Sanskrit
Literature are Vidyadhar Shastri, Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra, and Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.
1.2.2 Partition Literature:
Partition Literature is a canon of literature from the Indian Subcontinent depicting horrors
of the division of the subcontinent into India, Pakistan and later on Bangladesh. This literature
portrays the ballad of communal harmony, the rise of anxiety and gradual drift between India‘s
major communities Hindu, Muslim and Sikhs; the trauma of Partition and the ensuing riots,
bloodshed, displacement, problems of refugees, abductions, rapes, rehabilitation, etc. It
underscores that human beings by nature are brutal and on the other, it asserts that humanity is a
universal value that prevails irrespective of caste, creed, race and religion. It highlights that
Partition instead of solving the problems have created a legacy of questions that are still haunting
the collective memory of the people; identity crisis and issues of loyalty on both sides of the
borders. Minorities across the borders suffer many issues of universal concern. The prominent
writings on partition came from Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali and Hindi. Much of Partition literature
has been translated into English.
13
Saadat Hasan Manto’s short stories in Urdu are the classic of Partition trauma and
realism. Manto has commented on the futility of partition. His brutally honest yet indifferent
analysis of partition through his stories is remarkable. His stories like Thanda Ghost, Khol Do,
Tetwal ka Kutta, Toba Tek Singh, etc. portray various dimensions of the partition. Thanda Ghost
is the story where a dead body is raped for revenge. Khol Do peeps into the traumatic psyche of a
beautiful girl who was gang-raped many times and her mechanical reaction to the words Khol Do
are disturbing. Tetwal ka Kutta underscores the politics based on the language; through the
character of the dog, the story criticizes the politics on Punjabi (Shahmukhi and Gurumukhi).
Toba Tek Singh is the classic of people who found themselves in no man‘s land after partition.
Amrita Pritam’s Pinjar (1950) is a classic feminist text of partition and its impact on
women who were abducted on both sides of the border. Pooro alias Hamida was abducted by
Rashid who forcefully converted her to Islam and married her after she was rejected by her
family. History repeats itself and Hamida stands firm to recover Ramchand‘s sister from a
Muslim family. The journey explores the feminine psyche and sense of redemption for Rashida
who successfully recovers the woman. It also underlines the issues of continuous displacement of
women from all the communities and destruction of their lives and dignity and that of their
children who are neither accepted nor given human treatment. Hamida‘s denial to go back with
her brother and her assertion to remain as Rashid‘s wife soulfully resolves the issue of such
abducted women.
Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan (1956) peeps into the lives of villagers of
Manomajra, a border village. Jugga and Noora‘s love story and Jugga‘s sacrifice to get Noora to
cross the border in a train to Pakistan is depicted well. The train is the ghost of violence and
partition atrocities havocked on human beings. Qurratulain Hyder is one of the most prominent
writers from Urdu whose deep insights on partition have been reflected in her novel Aag ka
Darya (1959). It explores the history of the subcontinent from Chandragupt Maurya to post-
independence times in India and Pakistan. Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on the Broken Column (1961)
portrays the feudal family that is torn apart when one son decides to go to Pakistan and another
remains in India after partition. It narrates the rich life of zamindars of Awadh and their
subsequent decline, refugee problems and communal issues. The dismal transformation of a
zamindar family into a compromising and struggling family amid refugees is worth reading.
14
Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza’s Aadha Gaon (1966) translated into English as The Village
Divided, criticizes the idea of Pakistan based on two-nation theory based on religion. It also
focuses on the abolition of Zamindari system. The writer reveals that being homeless is the worst
thing in the life of people. Leaving the places of their birth and travelling to alien lands in the
hope of a better future is ridiculous. Jyotirmayi Devi’s Epar Ganga Opar Ganga (1968) depicts
the problems of women who were lost and recovered during the partition across the borders.
Their womanhood is under scrutiny. They have to fight back not only the trauma of partition but
also the tendencies of patriarchal society at home. Bhisma Sahani’s Tamas (1974) gives the
Marxist point of view of the partition. Sahani aptly reveals that common people did not bother
about the religious issues as they have to fight for their everyday survival. Politicians have
created these religious and fundamentalist tendencies for their benefit and destroyed the lives of
innumerable people everywhere.
Chaman Nahal’s Azadi (1975) portrays the lives of Lala Kanshi Ram, Prabha Rani,
Arun and many more who were displaced across the borders due to Partition and unplanned
transfer of population. It depicts how women were harassed and abducted, paraded naked and
raped brutally. Azadi underscores the lives of refugees who had gone through hard times and
prepared themselves to grow again from nothing. It also focuses on the sorrow of displacement
and exile from one‘s soil. Ashgar Wajahat’s Jis Lahore Nahi Dekhya Who Jamiya hi Nahi
(1980) is a play focusing on…