Re-Markings
Vol. 21 No. 1 March 2022
EDITORIAL
It is true that survivors refuse to draw any lesson from the past or present and love to continue to cherish the illusion of immunity from disaster. They tend to forget that if life is all about hedonistic pleasures, it is also about restraint about how we conduct ourselves as a member of the social community. To make a mockery of protocols like ‘social distancing’ and wearing a ‘mask’ only shows how insensitive we can be to feelings of compassion for others.
Deeply pained and concerned with the way a fairly large part of mankind continues to handle disasters and calamities, I had recorded the above sentiments in my Editorial to the September 2021 issue of Re-Markings. It is strange that a major part of the populace worldwide considers observing COVID-19 protocols a big affront to their freedom to pursue their individual and collective brand of comfort and happiness. It reminds me of an observation that A. G. Gardiner makes in his essay entitled “On the Rule of the Road”: “Liberty is not a personal affair only but a social contract. It is an accommodation of interest.” Wary of restrictions imposed on our limited notion of liberty, we look with disdain at anything and anyone who tries to point out the values of the ‘social contract’ that Gardiner talks about. Consequently, despite the marvels wrought by the vaccines to contain the savage onslaught of the pandemic, the dreaded ‘third wave’ has returned with a vengeance to make us aware that the era of anxiety and fear is far from over. Strangely enough, this time the new mantras are not ‘mask’ or ‘social distancing’ but the ‘survival of the fittest’ amidst ‘community spread’.
Bob Dylan, the Literature Nobel Laureate, succinctly captures the various nuances of apathy, unconcern and indifference of people towards the predicament of fellow-homo sapiens in his popular song “Blowin’ in the Wind”:
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned? …
Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see? …
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer to Dylan’s series of rhetorical questions appears as a refrain at the end of each stanza of the song: “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.” Referring to the poem, Dylan had remarked in an interview: “But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know . . . and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it’s wrong. I’m only 21 years old and I know that there’s been too many . . .” Dylan’s song lucidly articulates the imperatives of the need for change in outlook where the preference is for peace over war, love and compassion over inertia and unconcern. Though published in 1963, the relevance of the poem remains timeless and universal.
As Re-Markings enters the 21st year of its publication with the current issue, I find it considerably significant that our contributors, readers and admirers are constantly aware of the journal’s unfailing commitment to provide a healthy forum for scholarly and authoritative views on broad economic, socio-political, cultural, gender, racial and environmental issues as evidenced in literature, art, cinema, television, social media and journalism.
The kaleidoscopic range and variety of discourses offered in the pages of the current volume, including the Symposium on “Words and Worlds” organized by Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Punjab in collaboration with Re-Markings, do strengthen our resolve to confront head-on the stark reality of life’s problems and spread the luminous rays of the light of awakening and engaged mindfulness to dispel the deadliest of darkness that besets the world we inhabit.
Nibir K. Ghosh
Chief Editor
CONTENTS
The Hubris of Historical Illiteracy: The Unlearnt Lessons of Partition and 1984 from Prafulla Roy to Shonali Roy –Shanker Ashish Dutt / 7
Jack London, Jack London: Double Trouble – Jonah Raskin / 21
The Dreams of Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King, Jr. W. – Jason Miller / 28
Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 as Bibliotherapy: De-Toxifying Trauma Through Literary Transformation – Jonathan Little / 39
God: For and Against – Sushil Gupta / 47
The Poetry and the Sacred- John Robert Lee / 53
Evocation and Expansion: Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming – Shernavaz Buhariwala / 57
The Black and the Unpleasant: Upamanyu Chatterjee’s Weight Loss – Tanutrushna Panigrahi / 65
Representation of Indian Muslim Women in Indian English Fiction and Non-Fiction – Sahar Rahman / 74
The Bengal Partition in Literature – Ajit Kumar Mukherjee & Pranamita Pati / 81
Deeply Entrenched Patriarchy in the film The Great Indian Kitchen: An Analysis – Mrudula Lakkaraju / 86
In Search of the Truly Human: W. H. Auden’s “Law Like Love” – Navleen Multani / 93
The Marabar Caves and Temple in A Passage to India: A Social Constructivist Paradigm – Achal Sinha / 100
Chugtai, Manto and their Sense of Time – Richa / 109
Historiographical and Cultural Motifs in The Hungry Tide in the Light of Foucault’s Concept of Heterotopia – Prantik Banerjee & Tuhina Bose / 115
Claiming Female Sexuality: A Study of Select Indian Women Autobiographies – Nibedita Das / 123
The Indian Progressive Writing Initiative: Its European (non-Bolshevik) Face – P. Singh / 132
The Ghazal Tradition and Agha Shahid Ali – Akshada Shrotryia / 140
Making a Difference: Words and Worlds – Nibir K. Ghosh / 144
Khushi Kaul / 147, Deepali / 148, Aviral Pathak / 149, Jaiveer Singh / 149, Shreya Jain / 150, & Charvi / 151
Language, Law and Literature: Symposium Highlights – Navleen Multani / 152
Poetry
Sagar Mal Gupta
Goodbye by A Corona Patient /154, Bottle Poems / 155, The Sad Silence of the Monuments of the World / 156
Manas Bakshi
Recycling / 157, Moment of Truth / 158, Fighting it off / 158
Matutinal / 159
Comments on the Issue
What a great issue!! I am honored to be included in the pages of Re-Markings. There is so much food for thought, many books and writers I find fascinating and so much diversity. Will start to read right away. Thank you, Jonah Raskin, California
Re-Markings continues to provide the remarkably diverse forum to think politics, culture, and literature as coexistent entities rather than disparate fields of inquiry. My deep congratulations to you, Nibir! After twenty years, the impact of issues such as your March 2022 edition will continue to establish the kind of dialogue we all need as emerging and established scholars share ideas side by side. -
W. Jason Miller, Professor of Literature, NC State University, USA
Dear Dr. Ghosh,
So impressed I have been by this
latest issue of Re-markings (March 2022), which I received earlier today that I
cannot stop myself from writing this mail to you.
As I tore open the packet and my
hands held the journal, I immediately realized that something new has been done
to it: it has become bigger; the paper quality has improved; the presentation
and overall impact have upped. I think, now, it has assumed almost the perfect
shape and size. Congratulations to you and your editorial, designing
and printing team. Great job, indeed.
I have quickly glanced through it and have been impressed by two write-ups in particular: 'God: For and Against' by Sushil Gupta -- I possess and have read most of the books mentioned in his recommended reading list, and 'Poetry and the Sacred' by John Robert Lee.
Kudos to you for publishing such articles. Congratulations once again for giving an enhanced look to Re-Markings.
Sending good wishes and warm regards, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, R.B.S. College, Agra
Re-Markings has become a literary diet-supplement that never fails to
surprise the reader with the depth and variety of the topics it covers.
March 2022 issue, too, carries the extensively researched papers which deal
with varied subjects. Chief Editor Dr. Nibir K. Ghosh strikes the right chord
by highlighting our inability to learn from past mistakes in the Covid period, consequently
inflicting a larger harm on the society. Invocation of Bob Dylan’s famous song
is apt as we realize that there are no ready-made solutions to such problems.
Prof. Jonah Raskin’s ‘Jack London Jack London: Double Trouble’ is
high on both intellectual and entertainment quotient. The paper lets us
understand the unwarranted benefits that have accrued to the celebrated author,
Jack London and how these situations have shaped his writings. Prof Jonathan
Little has added a new dimension to the very popular surrealist Japanese author
Haruki Murakami when he calls his literature “therapeutic.” This paper would
inspire many of the students and teachers alike to take an unorthodox view of
the literature as a whole. ‘The Black and the Unpleasant: Upamanu
Chatterjee’s Weight Loss’ by Tanutrushna Panigrahi brings to light the
use of black humour in literature. This helped me understand how the
emotional inconsistencies and black humour go together in some of the prominent
works discussed in the paper.
It is the uniqueness of Re-Markings where the contemporary works along with the timeless classics are explored for their modern-day relevance and where all forms of literature get the representation. For me, each issue of Re-Markings comes as the motivation to read more, explore more. Team Re-Markings, congratulations for another enlightening edition. --Saurabh Agarwal, Entrepreneur and Literature enthusiast
There is no denying that Re-Markings as a distinctive international journal of literary import, sense and significance has carved a special niche in the core of hearts of multilayered readership. It is indeed a landmark in literary discipline. Congratulations on its unbroken journey!!!!! Like previous issues of Re-Markings, the current Issue provides abundant literary and aesthetic food for the literati.The reference to Bob Dylan's song in the Editorial made me reflect on people's aberration from their humanitarian sensibility and sensitivity only because of their gross self interest. In addition, what a fantastic and fabulous cover design! Always varying and unique in its approach! -- Dr. Rajan Lal, JSH PG College, Amroha
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