s
EL DORADO, a two-volume
anthology on world
literature, edited by Dr Bhaskar Roy Barman, features 39 cerebral and erudite papers contributed by eminent scholars from around the world and is a direct result of Dr Barman’s endeavour to have a World Literature Society formed worldwide. Dr Barman has given a brief description of world literature, as the German poet, Goethe conceived of it. World literature ‘differs from the cosmopolitan interpretation of literature during the eight century in that it can be achieved through the fullest development of the national character in each of its components. This concept could…lead the nations to a greater understanding of their different national characters and characteristics and, above all, their various contributions to civilizations.’ The anthology is divided into four parts, each part carrying an introduction to the topics discussed. Part I is devoted to Indian literature, part II to other literatures, part III to paradoxism and languages vis-à-vis literature and part IV to miscellany. Volume I contains first two parts and Volume II other two parts. Part I comprises twelve papers on different aspects of Indian Literature and begins with the paper, :Gandhi as Inspiration’ by Les Merton. The author has drawn a short biographical sketch of Gandhi. The article seems out of tune with the whole gamut of the anthology,, but the editor has tried to justify the incorporation of this paper in his introduction by saying that he has felt it worthwhile to open this part with a tribute to Gandhiji by a Cornish writer, Les Merton, for Gandhian influence hovered over the Indian English fiction, short stories etc., written before the Independence of India In ‘The Poetic Circuit’ Dr Bhaskar Roy Barman says that ‘Indian poetry in its intrinsic form is a direct offshoot of Sanskrit poetics, though later on developed through the influence of British poetry.’ This part has incorporated two articles by Prof. K. Satchidanandan. He begins the first paper, ’Imagined Communities: Collective Aspirations in Contemporary Indian Poetry’ with the statement , ‘Contemporary literature even when deeply rooted in the past cannot but reflect contemporary experience: the experience of a world fast moving away from truth to the state-of-the art merchandise, from the aristocratic responsibility of authoritarian families to the polluted sunshine of shopping malls.’ In his second paper, ‘Signing in Different Scripts’, he talks about two important projects: modernism and democratization In ‘The Indian English Novel: Reminiscences and Perspectives.’ Dr A.S. Dasan treats the Indian English novel from the perspective of Indian Diasporic Writing. In ‘The Memsahib at the Writing Table’, Dr Saros Cowasjee introduces us to the writing of Anglo-Indian women, which contributed a great deal to enriching Indian English literature. Dr Virvikram Roy discusses in ‘Antithesis in Thematic Pattern in The Fire and Rain’, the play, The Fire and Rain by Girish Conrad. In “Indian English Drama: Achievements and Possibilities’, Prof. Tirthankar Das Purkayastha discusses Indian drama from a historical perspective. On ‘Western Fiction and Bankim Chandra’, Prof. Mohit K. Ray discusses the novels of Bankim Chandra in the light of Western fiction, as he is often called the Scott of Bengal. Dr S. Robert Gnanamony discusses Dalit feminism, as the title of his paper, “Dalit Feminism inBama’s Writings’ suggests, from the historical and social perspectives. Urmila Kaul picks on Indian haiku to discuss in ‘Indian Haiku and the Peddling Dream’. In ‘Unveiling an Anthology,’ Prof I.K. Sharma expresses an. opinion about an anthology entitled ‘Nine Indian Women Poets.’ Parrt II contains papers on different aspects of national literatures other than Indian literature and Indian English literature. This part starts with a paper on little magazines published in the UK, the paper contributed by Wolfgang Gortschacher, professor of English at Salzburg University, Austria The editor says in the introduction that he has attached importance to periodicals by incorporating this paper on it, because they are often denied the importance they deserve in academic and literary anthologies. This paper is followed by a paper on science fiction, entitled, ‘The Other Selves’ by Dr John Light. By incorporating this paper, the editor has made an attempt to bring science fiction into the mainstream. Dr T.M.J. Indramihan interprets Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in a new light. Dr Audry L. Lynch discusses two rebel poets, John Steinbeck and James Dean. Ruth Wildes Schuler talks about the morality of Joseph Conrad, as the title, Joseph Conrad’s Morality itself suggests. Ann J. Davidson deals in her paper , ‘Beauty or Booty’ with what inspired Camus in writing. Camus characterized the Mediterranean Sea as the oldest sea in the world. The beauty of the ancient thought and its Mediterranean landscape kept on inspiring him. As did the ancient Greeks, Camus regarded beauty as important as human beauty. The Latin word for ‘Mediterranean’ means ‘in the middle of land’ and land almost surrounds the Mediterranean Sea. Camus saw truth as the highest value and regarded Greeks as seekers of truth and moderation.. There are incorporated into this part many other papers as important , dealing with diverse aspects of American, British, African literatures and other literatures. This anthology, it should be noted, is linked to an endeavour to have a world literature society formed worldwide with the object of advocating and fostering world literature, not through translation but through exchanging of ideas viewed from cultural, literary and oral perspectives on a common platform.