RE-MARKINGS 50TH CELEBRATORY NUMBER
September 2024
While each new milestone is indicative of landmarks on the journey we undertake, it also provides us an opportunity to remember with gratitude all those who made the journey memorable.
I am delighted to GREET, WELCOME and CONGRATULATE all our fellow-travellers to this 50th issue of Re-Markings in a span of 23 years of the publication. The invaluable contributions of Celebrity writers, noted academics, avid researchers and our worthy readers - hailing from different parts of the world - have been a constant source of strength and encouragement. Thank you one and all.
Am sharing with pleasure the cover of the forthcoming September 2024 issue, exquisitely designed by Sandeep K. Arora. The complete issue can soon be accessed on the journal website www.re-markings.com
Happy reading, friends!
EDITORIAL
Since the dawn of civilization,
the toughest challenge before mankind has been to proclaim with certainty the
existence of the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and omnibenevolent entity
called God. Writers, poets, saints and philosophers have deliberated upon the
above subject since time immemorial to formulate, in their own way, the form,
shape and function of the creator, preserver and destroyer entrusted with the
responsibility of ensuring that all is well on earth. John Milton states in the
Invocation to the Heavenly Muse in Paradise Lost that his purpose in creating the
immortal epic is to “assert eternal providence and justify the ways of God to
men.” Milton’s resolve brings to the fore the eternal dilemma related to questions
of good, evil, faith, justice, truth, and free will that have engaged the human
consciousness in individual as collective capacities.
In keeping with the epic
tradition of Homer and Virgil, Milton does follow the structural requirements
of the genre but in terms of the subject chosen Paradise Lost is
decidedly unique. Milton’s epic goes beyond Hippolyte Taine’s concept of
literature being centred around “race, milieu, and moment” to embrace what is
universal and eternal in time and space. The conflict here is not between heroes
battling for kingdoms and empires but between Satan, the manifestation of Evil
in multifarious shapes and forms, and God, the embodiment of truth, justice,
compassion, mercy and love. It may seem ironical that Satan’s portrait, painted
with exquisite touches of artistic perfection, at times overshadows the
invisible power and splendour of God. Satan’s qualities of leadership marked by
his carefully worked out speeches to uplift the spirit of his fallen army, his guile
in devising strategies to perpetuate evil, his steadfastness in hating God,
whom he considers his sworn enemy, and his courage “never to submit or yield”
creates a doubt in the minds of readers whether Milton had intended to make an
incarnation of evil the hero of Paradise Lost.
On the plane of ground reality, it
is customary to celebrate the symbolic triumph of good over evil by destroying
mythological effigies amid religious festivities. I call it symbolic because we
seem to have become used to seeing the regular conquest of the power of good by
that of evil in our day-to-day experience of life and events around us. When submerged
in despair by the corrupted currents of the world, we cannot help doubting the
existence of a supremely divine authority sitting in judgement to punish the
evil and reward the good. When Satan himself acknowledges the power of God
while lying in torment in the ever- burning fire of Hell, he knows the futility
of a one-to-one combat with divinity. Yet, as wisdom prevails upon him, he
refuses to beg for mercy and decides to use his foresight and intelligence to
fight a war by proxy against God’s creation. Consequently, Satan appears in the
Garden of Eden disguised as a serpent and tempts Eve, with charming flattery,
to eat the ‘forbidden’ fruit. Eve succumbs to the temptation little realizing
that she would be transgressing the Will of the Creator in the process.
When we witness the unholy and
extremely powerful nexus between Lord Mammon and Lord Mafia succeeding in their
nefarious designs, we have little choice but to patiently bear what Hamlet
calls “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” in a spirit of helpless
resignation. Be it an event of global import like the Russian invasion of
Ukraine or ‘insignificant’ incidents like inebriated teenagers crushing, with
their super-luxury vehicles, youngsters in the prime of their life and career
or scores of ‘devotees’ dying in a stampede while seeking blessings of some
self-proclaimed divinity, we have to believe that the ‘serpents’, with all the
instruments of evil at their command, will continue to assert their power and
affluence in dominating societies and nations.
What offers a ray of hope in
such gloom is Milton’s conviction that God prefers as His abode “Before all
Temples th' upright heart and pure,” a view that resonates the idea put forth
by Kabir, the Sufi saint, in one of his verses: “O Servant, where dost thou
seek Me?/ Lo! I am beside thee./ I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am
neither in/ Kaaba nor in Kailash/: Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in
Yoga and renunciation/ If thou art a true seeker, thou shall at once see Me.” (I.I 13, One Hundred Poems of Kabir. Tr.
Rabindranath Tagore)
Thus, all we need to do is look
within. God is and will remain invisible unless the good lying dormant in us
comes out and compels us to stand with the good and the just without fear of
any backlash whatsoever. Evil has a ready nexus because it offers lucrative
packages of immediate encashment value whereas the good offers nothing
lucrative in material terms. Yet, when even a rare event shows good and justice
triumphant it jolts us out of our amnesia and we momentarily begin to ponder
over our own stand and values in life. Unfortu-nately, when the moment passes by,
we return to the imperatives of our day-to-day existence and find comfort in
indifference to the suffering of others.
Before concluding, I deem it a
privilege and honour to greet and congratulate one and all with this
celebratory 50th edition of Re-Markings that marks the completion of
23 years of our publication. This unique volume showcases the journal’s
commitment to address issues like race, caste, class, colour, gender, religion,
language, democracy and dictatorship. It is heartening to see in these valuable
offerings how celebrity writers, academic luminaries, noted historians,
activists and scholars affirm that the struggle against the forces of evil must
continue no matter how small the gain. Rather than indulge in shadow-boxing
with adversities and calamities, it is worthwhile to be seriously involved in exploring
ways and means to enhance the tribe of the ‘good and the righteous’ so as to
reduce the predominance of evil and, thereby, make the world better.
Nibir K. Ghosh
Chief
Editor
CONTENTS
Honoring the Form – Charles
Johnson
/ 7
Viewpoints from California – Jonah Raskin
Richard Wright and the Haiku Blues – Ethelbert Miller / 21
Conversation with Renowned Visual Historian and Filmmaker Ken Burns on His Our America: A Photographic History - Robin Lindley / 25
The Delinquent Devotee: Jejuri’s Mock-Mystical Turns - K. Narayana Chandran / 36
Why Dalit Literature Matters – Shanker Ashish Dutt / 51
The Clash of Civilizations and Problematic Interpretations - Abdul Shaban / 65
The City of Light, Dust and Ashes – Rajesh Sharma / 71
Language Endangerment: Threats, Challenges and Solutions - Prasannanshu / 77
Why Do We Write? – Deena Padayachee / 88
Nibir K. Ghosh / 91
Tread Softly Stranger: The Glass Menagerie – An Analysis - Shernavaz Buhariwala / 101
Role of Local Languages in the Spread of Indian Spiritual Wisdom - Bhavesh Chandra Pandey / 108
Understanding the Silencing of Nature: An Ecocritical Reading of Literature – R. P. Singh / 112
Transformation of 'Gypsy Archetype' through Children's Literature: Rumer Godden's The Diddakoi - Anchal Meena & Smita Jha / 118
Tao’s (Dis)Possessed Utopias: A Study of Metaphors and Symbolic Allegory in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed - Brahamjeet Singh / 126
Intersection of Memory, History and Culture in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Novel By the Sea -Khushnaaz Mansoori / 133
Poetry
Tanjong Katong – Cyril Wong / 144
Review Essay
Between
Art and Resistance: Poetry, Translation and Reading -
D. J. Singh / 150
Book Review
Krupa
Sindhu Nayak’s Going Beyond – S. P. Swain / 156
Mapping the Mind, Minding the Map. Ed. Basudhara Roy and
Jaydeep Sarangi – Navleen Multani / 158
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you and the entire team at Re-Markings for publishing my paper in the 50th celebratory issue. It is truly an honor to have my work featured in such a distinguished publication, especially alongside the invaluable contributions of scholars and thinkers.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I wanted to express my admiration for the editorial in this edition. Your reflections on the timeless conflict between good and evil, interwoven with literary and contemporary examples, were thought-provoking and profoundly insightful. The depth of analysis, particularly your discussion of Milton’s Paradise Lost along with our very own Kabir's couplets and the modern-day relevance of these themes, resonated with me deeply. It is a powerful reminder of the enduring struggle for justice and righteousness, and your words left a lasting impact. "When submerged in despair by the corrupted currents of the world, we cannot help doubting the existence of a supremely divine authority sitting in judgement to punish the evil and reward the good," is undeniably true. As part of the younger generation, whose faith in God seems to diminish with each passing day, we feel this doubt now more than ever.
I also found the essays highly insightful, especially the ones on topics I am deeply interested in. The discussion of Arun Kolatkar’s Jejuri in "The Delinquent Devotee" by Prof. Chandran and the way it critiques spiritual traditions with its sharp, ironic commentary was compelling. Dr. Shanker Ashish Dutt's "Why Dalit Literature Matters" beautifully explores the intersections of caste, culture, and literature, making a strong case for the significance of Dalit writings. Dr. Abdul Shaban’s critical take on Huntington’s "Clash of Civilizations" was a powerful analysis of how nationalistic interpretations can foster conflict. I deeply resonate with the belief that literature should also talk about how our society can be more just and inclusive. Dr. Prasannanshu's "Language Endangerment: Threats, Challenges and Solutions" also stood out for its thoughtful reflection on the consequences of language loss on cultural identity. Lastly, Dr. Deena Padayachee’s personal reflections in "Why Do We Write?" were inspiring and reaffirmed the power of writing in confronting injustice, while Khushnaaz Mansoori’s exploration of memory in Gurnah’s By the Sea brought out the profound connections between history, culture, and personal narratives.
I truly appreciated how the journal embraces a sense of creative freedom, allowing contributors to explore various forms of expression—from research articles and personal reflections to recommendations and poetry. It doesn’t confine anyone to rigid formats, which makes it all the more engaging and inclusive. Moreover, the journal stands out for its emphasis on Indian contexts while thoughtfully balancing references to Western thought. This is particularly significant, as many Western journals tend to focus solely on their own perspectives. In India, we need more publications like this that celebrate diverse voices and contexts.
Overall, this issue is a testament to Re-Markings' commitment to addressing critical social, cultural, and philosophical issues, and I am honored to have been a part of it.
Thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity and for your inspiring editorial contribution.
Congratulations on this milestone 50th issue, Sir!
Ms. Anchal Meena, Research Fellow, IIT, Roorkee
The 50th issue of Re-Markings is distinct in its own way. Your editorial this time, as sometime in the past, has left me spellbound. Starting with John Milton you have rightly pointed out the dichotomy of truth and falsehood concerning the make-believe concepts of God and Satan. But the triumph of good forces over the evil ones are a rare sight nowadays. Keeping in view the 'nexus between Lord Mammon and Lord Mafia', it has been a timely lashing at the unholy ' Russian invasion of Ukraine '. One of the great Sufi poets, kabir is quite relevant if we can realise the truth of our existence in setting a paradigm of humanism in practice.
ReplyDeleteAs we move on to Charles Johnson's short story, Jonah Raskin's viewpoints with the anecdote Re-Markings@23, Ethelbert Miller on Richard Wright and Robin Lindley's conversation with Ken Burns enrich us with thought-provoking materials. There are several absorbing articles but I may please be allowed to write a few lines on two only. First is K. Narayana Chandran on Arun Kolatkar's Jejuri. Distinguishing between the ' putatively sacred and the vulgarly secular ' with an eye to a ' peregrine consciousness ', he cites the nice poem -- " What is god / and what is stone/ the dividing line / if it exists / is very thin / at Jejuri / and every other stone / is god or his cousin/". From Sri Chaitanya to Yudhistira -- all are duly focussed to justify his standpoint. Really praiseworthy.
Next is Rajesh Sharma's delineation on
Varanasi. Be it a city of light or a city of ashes and dust, it is famous for lord Viswanath -- one of the trinity -- the other two being Brahma and Vishnu. Though it has been rightly pointed out that there is the
' circle of birth and dissolution, samsara chakra, the process of becoming ' it is more a question of believing than anything else. But readers would have largely benefitted had there been mention of the fact that at the time Ramkrishna Paramhans visited the Monikarnika burning ground, he found a monk-like old man coming close to one after another dead body, tearing off something from his body and whispering words into his ears. It is believed He was none other than lord Viswanath and the words meant Tarak Mantra to relieve their souls from the shackles of rebirth. It is again a matter of faith.But coming to the point of reality it is to be admitted that Tailangaswami who was known as the living lord Shiva or Viswanath could be found often on Padmasan in the middle of the Ganges in Varanasi.
However, it is a laudable issue with enough reading materials to digest. Kudos to you.
With warm regards,
Dr. Manas Bakshi, Indian English Poet &
Recipient, Naji Namaan Award 2024.