Culture, Nature and Literature

Book Details:

• Author: Usha Bande

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Language: English

• ISBN: 9788131605547

• Cover: Hardcover

• Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches

• Pages: 220

About the Book:
Cultural Narratives: Re-examining Indian Literature is a diverse collection of essays presented at various seminars and conferences over the years. The book covers a wide range of topics, including India's culture, ecology, mythology, feminism, terrorism, and human rights. Each essay represents a different critical perspective, making the book a rich and varied analysis of Indian literature. The defining feature of Indian writing is its quest for a cultural identity outside the mainstream hegemony. As a result, this anthology discusses the need to preserve and project distinct cultural identities, while examining the incorporation or rejection of colonizing influences.

The collection takes a pluralistic approach, analyzing culture from a variety of angles and offering new perspectives for critically viewing Indian writing. The essays also focus on issues related to gender, literature, and society, with many of them exploring the colonial and postcolonial experiences of India. Topics such as human rights, gender equality, and the evolving nature of literature in India are deeply explored, providing fresh insights for researchers, students, and academics.

The book offers both textual analysis and historical perspectives, touching upon the works of major authors while examining how they represent India's cultural, social, and political shifts.

Contents:

• Introduction

• Of Parrots and Mynahs

• Re-mapping Culture through Literature

• Tagore’s Chitra and Folklore’s Hidimba

• Humour as Resistance

• The Con(Textual) Contours

• The Primordial and the Modern

• Gauri – Myth and Reality

• Culture, Literature and Human Rights

• Can We Exonerate Balram Halwai?

• The Collapse of “Cultural Maps”

• Re-visiting Ithaca and Re-casting Manali

• Milk and Honey

• Flight from Responsibility or Search for Freedom

• Cactus Country

• Gender, Education and Development

• Human Values and Dr. Radhakrishnan’s Concepts of Education

• Rethinking Indian Culture with Dr. Radhakrishnan

• Gandhian Ideals and Nehruvian Vision

• “The Contact Zone”

About the Author:
Usha Bande is a former Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla and a Visiting Professor at Vishwa Bharati University in Shanti Niketan, West Bengal. She retired as Principal of Government College in Arki, Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Bande has authored more than a dozen books and numerous research papers. She completed her doctorate on the novels of Anita Desai, exploring Third Force psychology in Desai’s characters, an approach widely acclaimed by US scholars. Her work spans Women’s Studies, Indian Short Stories, and journalistic and creative writing, with regular contributions to The Tribune, The Times of India, and many other publications.