Sudhir K Arora

Shyamal Kumar Pramanik, who belongs to Poundra Kshatriya community, is a significant Bengali Dalit poet with a mission of establishing equality and fraternity among the people. His poetry collection The Untouchable & Other Poems, translated by Jaydeep Sarangi and Anurima Chanda into English, demonstrates him as a poet of Dalit consciousness. Without being violent, he raises the Dalit consciousness so that Dalits may come together and unite themselves in order to break the shackles of exploitation and oppression. He wonders how the non-Dalit authors can express the experiences of Dalits. He envisions the fourth world coming out of the darkness. He makes the untouchable Shambok his representative in voicing Dalits who have always been marginalized. He loves nature and makes her his companion and friend for sharing his feelings. He is a poet of hope and future and, so, continues to sing the song of a casteless society despite the feelings of pains, insults, and sufferings. His Bengali face reflects the Dalit consciousness in the English mirror, i.e. The Untouchable & Other Poems.

Emily Dickinson, now a celebrated poet, is still studied more from the subjective angles which belittle her stature than the objective ones which may contribute in highlighting her genuine poetic worth. This perspective is a modest attempt to decipher Dickinson's poetry in the light of the Bhagavad-gita, the flashes of which are flashed in her concept of soul, self, non-attachment, renunciation, equanimity, happiness within, removal of false ego for peace and rejection of sense objects for a higher taste. A few relevant excerpts from the Bhagavad-gita and Dickinson's poems have been analysed to trace out the spiritual light that reveals the path leading to her invisible connection with India. In her poems, she exhorts like Krishna of the Bhagavad-gita and reveals the truth of the material existence while making her journey from outside to inside. The application of the objective approach helps in bringing out the real worth of Emily Dickinson and contributes in connecting the threads of her poetry to the other parts of the world claiming for a universal appeal of her poetry.

This article reviews Archna Sahni’s First Fire which is a journey from darkness to light. A peep into First Fire is to feel the transformation with the poet who makes an onward poetic journey, a journey which seems to be her own life’s journey. While making this journey into self, she explores various dimensions of feminine consciousness. She never forgets that she is a woman and being a woman, she pens the predicament in life faced by a woman. She has given her own flavour to the myths divesting them their traditional colours. She feels no hesitation in turning Meerabai into Krishna because she knows that being initially a woman, Meerabai, now Krishna can better feel and understand her standpoint. She favours erotic love to a certain extent but finally it should give place to spiritual love. Her boldness to look into the darkness in order to trace out the way that leads to the light is an attempt that strikes everyone with wonder. She packs her verse with myths and legends to give it a meditative aura that makes the reader reflect over the predicament in life.

Quarantine during Covid-19 has awaken the philosopher hidden somewhere within every human being. It has not only given him sufficient time to think over his condition, but also made him realise the truth of what he was and what he is. Poetry in Quarantine, the edited poetry collection offers a mirror for the poets to reveal not only what they see but what they wish to see also according to their mental attitudes which work on observations and intuitions. Forty poets in this book have given voice to their heartfelt feelings and thoughts, experienced and observed while living in quarantine during Covid-19. The reader, while making a tour of the poems of Poetry in Quarantine, sees various figures and images which reveal all the shades of life making him wonder whether it is poetry in quarantine or quarantine in poetry. In between 'quarantine in poetry' and ‘poetry in quarantine’ lies the value of human love which really counts in life.

This article makes a close study of Niranjan Mohanty’s poetry collection Tiger and Other Poems. This poetry collection offers a symbolical reading which makes the reader decipher the text that offers the multiple of interpretations. Tiger, if read minutely, becomes a riddle that offers different dimensions to different readers depending on their mind-set and perception. Surely, the poems in this collection make the reader feel the experiences of life either overtly or covertly. Tiger has been contextualized in the cannon of life—the life that provides a space for exploring the unexplored areas which reveal the various paradigms never experienced before.

This research paper digs out the text of Shaw’s Candida and Niranjan Mohanty’s Krishna with the tools of comparison and analysis in order to find out the similarities between the two diametrical genres —one poetry and the other drama. Though both texts differ in tone and environment, they have some common features between them. Mohanty’s Krishna, a long poem (2003) has presented Krishna and Radha not as two mythological characters but as human creatures behaving naturally in the world of love. Through them, Mohanty has highlighted the gender issues by giving the equal treatment and showing that it is not the man who protects a woman but a woman who gives a meaning to his life. He has revealed the reality of man’s viewpoints in regarding woman as weak one. Mohanty has made Krishna his narrator who admits the fact of his incompleteness without her. In Candida, Shaw has made Marchbanks his spokesman and through him, he has propounded that it is love that is needed in order to have a compatible relationship between man and woman. Both Krishna and Candida, in spite of being different in genre—poetry and drama respectively, are feminist texts and their comparative study is worth considering. The comparative study of both the texts seems to be an obstinate effort. But the effort certainly illustrates the necessity of such studies in the interest of critical evaluation of literary pieces.

This article reviews I. H. Rizvi’s poetry collection The Valley Still Blossoms from the angle of pathetic fallacy. Rizvi endeavours to awake the sensitiveness of the modern man who is in the grip of neurosis and for this he assigns the human attributes to Nature. Through the technique of Pathetic Fallacy he culls the blossoms of hope and joy amidst despair from the valley of life.

This paper evaluates the poetry of I. H. Rizvi who is known for the thematic variety, high imagination, balanced attitude, positive approach and mastery over diction and imagery, and flawless poetic craftsmanship. His soaring imagination makes him a romantic; his didactic nature makes him a classicist and his wide vision makes him an idealist.

This article decodes the script of Niranjan Mohanty’s Muse which is full of the rich experiences of life. His poetry offers a vision for the betterment. Through his poetry, the poet wishes to connect all the people so that there may be peace and harmony. What he writes is meant for people. To be human is the theme song of his life and so is of his poetry. While deciphering the text of life, he offers its essence which lies in “learning the alphabets of love and living together.” He weaves his thoughts with feelings and turns them into a rich poetic texture which he colours it with imagery, tonal variations and rhythms.

This paper compares the two texts—Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet and Stephen Gill’s The Flame. Gibran talks of the secrets that make life meaningful and worth living while Gill is optimistic in life and so believes that one day the world will become free from the clutches of terrorism and there will be peace and prosperity all around. The Prophet in Gill speaks about the Flame that restrains inexorable savageries and the prophet in Gibran has traced in man “a flame spirit” that is greater than wisdom. Gibran makes the reader reflect while Gill makes the reader think.

This article makes a comparative study of Tagore’s Gitanjali with Stephen Gill’s The Flame and finds that Gill’s The Flame makes the union of soul to soul possible while Tagore’s Gitanjali guides the path of soul for making a union with the Supreme Soul (God). Gitanjali becomes Gill’s motivational drive culminating in The Flame.

This article deconstructs Archna Sahni’s long narrative poem “The Tale of a Demonic Woman” which raises many issues like nature of desire, moral purpose of human existence, love and pain, physical versus spiritual love and also, to some extent, feminine consciousness. From physical to spiritual is the journey or the quest that the poet makes. She comes to know that erotic love ultimately leads only to despair and emptiness. The poet, through projecting herself into her namesake in the poem, succeeds in narrating her quest for union with the infinite, which she depicts through her journey in which she is transformed from a female demon to St. Archna of Vipra. This transformation takes place because she is able to transform erotic love into spiritual love through redemptive suffering and by gaining an insight into the true nature of desire.

This chapter critically examines Girish Karnard’s two monologues—“Flowers” and “Broken Images” and demonstrates how the dramatist has spiritualised the aesthetics in “Flowers” and broken the ethics in “Broken Image.” “Flowers” which is poetic in conception reveals Karand’s confrontation of love with duty while “Broken Images” which is dramatic and conversational reveals the confrontation of authenticity and duplicity.

This chapter is a critical note on Niranjan Mohanty’s poetry collection A House of Rains, which offers the multiple voices of rains resulting in the cadence and rhythm. The text demonstrates a chart of Mohanty’s poetic genius which is on the way of progress from the literal to the metaphoric and the symbolic. When he dreams, he comes to the house of rains which makes him feel his identity and gives a new meaning to his life. Selection of words, images, symbols, ironical strokes, figures and the Indian words are some characteristic qualities which give freshness to the poems of A House of Rains.

This chapter demonstrates the application of the theory of rasa in Stephen Gill’s The Flame which makes the reader fall in love with the eternal flame, makes him angry at the destruction, lets loose hatred at the destructive dance of the terrorists, creates fear making him believe that it may happen to him also, touches the string of sorrow displaying the dismal scene, arises pity playing the chord of the heart, instils enthusiasm preparing him for any challenge, surprises him by the charismatic power, making him bath in the rain of peace and finally makes him engrossed in the flow of the river bhakti.

This chapter makes a comparative study of Niranjan Mohanty’s Prayers to Lord Jagannatha and Stephen Gill’s The Flame. Both the texts reveal the religious connotations and are replete with the devotional touches though they take contemporary realities in focus. Niranjan Mohanty who is a pilgrim of love through his Prayers to Lord Jagannatha wishes to spread love, tolerance, cosmopolitanism—the message of Jagannatha culture. Stephen Gill wishes to instil peace and love in the world with the intention of turning it into a paradise where honesty and integrity will rule. He dreams of a world, free from the clutches of terrorism. Mohanty offers his prayers to Lord Jagannatha for the welfare of the people while Gill offers his prayers to the Flame asking her for a world where there is justice, love, harmony, peace, security and brotherhood.

This chapter traces the technical dimensions of Gill’s craft in The Flame. For Stephen Gill, lights, camera and action become “imagery, tonal variations and figures”. With them, he weaves the texture of The Flame. Gill succeeds in giving the message of peace to the people with the help of his poetic idiom.

This chapter evaluates the Muse of R. K. Bhushan who has chiseled his creative genius which tunes well with themes and form. Bhushan’s Muse experiences mixed feelings, sometimes she is bruised at the contemporary landscape dotted with materialism which negates spiritualism and values in life, sometimes, she seems to be nature conscious, sometimes, she becomes philosophical to the extent that she inspires to inculcate patience and peace and sometimes, she surrenders everything at the altar of Sai Baba. The poet in Bhushan makes an inward journey right from the outward world.

This chapter makes a critique of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger and finds in it the religion of mockery. The White Men’s burden’ has now become ‘The White Tiger’s burden’ As Balram Halwai, the white tiger murders and becomes rich, Adiga also murders Indian cultural values and traditions and becomes rich by getting the Booker Prize. It will be better if he gives up the religion of mockery and adopt the Hindu religion or any other religion except the religion of mockery so that he may get peace of mind and inward happiness. Then, he will be in a position of doing something creative for India who needs his talent for her reconstruction and betterment.

This chapter shows the journey of Poetry right from its origin. The journey of Indian Poetry in English begins with following the English poets but with the passage of time, it has become mature enough to develop its own separate identity. With the passage of time, the Indian poets have developed poetic forms and employed different styles varying from simple to compact via colloquial to suit the themes which get highlighted through idea and image that become picturesque offering a fusion of thoughts and feelings. Indian Poetry in English has followed immediacy, experimentation, frankness or any new trend as the situation of the time demands. If a view is taken right from the beginning to the present day, it can be concluded that four poets namely—Toru Dutt, Aurobindo, Tagore and Sarojini Naidu in the pre-Independence era and three poets—Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das and A. K. Ramanujan in the post-Independence era have set the poetic canon in Indian Poetry in English.

This chapter peeps into Dilip Mohapatra’s Taming the Tides and finds the traces of philosophical reflections. Mohapatra is romantic in feelings, idealist in suggestions and classicist in making a balance. This fusion makes him a philosopher-poet whose heart flows spontaneously on the white pages which tempt the reader to take a dip that makes him fresh not only to reflect over the predicament of life from a fresh angle but offers him a clue that results in making him a truly human being.

This chapter offers a critique of Hour of Antipathy which records the journey of the poet D. C. Chambial, who, on the wings of memory and dream, soars high in the sky watching the landscapes dotted with cacti and lilies which offer him a peep into the roots (of blood) that create a storm within him so violent that he feels anger to the extent of calling the present hour—the hour of antipathy, and ultimately, seeks peace within while offering his vision—the vision of Heaven that will rise “out of Hell / On this bloody Earth” only when the people “sacrifice / the devils of / ego, desire, greed.” Overall, the poet in Chambial succeeds in his attempt of revealing the outer landscapes dotted with contemporary evils which play havoc with the inner heart that feels storm within to the extent that it revolts though remains helpless against the monster of materialism.

This Chapter explores Dilip Chitre’s translated poetic world of Namdeo Dhasal and traces how the Marathi poet in Dhasal has become everybody’s poet. Dhasal’s Marathi Muse reflects Dalits’ pain and suffering in Dilip Chitre’s English Mirror (English Translation). As a true follower of Ambedker, he attempts to unite all dalits not only of his nation but of the whole world. Exploitation in any form is quite allergic to him and so he employs literature as a tool for cultural change as well as for giving an outlet for his lived experiences.

This chapter peeps into mind of the poet in R. K. Singh who attempts to attain the ecstasy of love through sex which is not lust for him but a thing to be adored, as it prepares the way for the final nirvana in the materialistic world. Passions must be properly channelized so that they may be turned into a driving force. R. K. Singh creates visual scenes, but nowhere, he sounds obscene and vulgar. The River Returns provides the erotic as well as aesthetic flashes to the readers.

This chapter deconstructs the poems of Swami Nem Pal’s Dear Children and traces the revival of the Upnishadic vision in them. Swami Nem Pal searches for the potential in children who can translate his ideal into reality. He wishes to infuse sanskar in children so that they may save the world from destruction. Dear Children becomes an Upnishadic text for children who learn under the guidance of the teacher in Swami Nem Pal who makes them his soldiers for fighting against all evils in order to turn the world into a holy paradise.

This chapter analyzes Charmayne D’ Souza’s poetry collection A Spelling Guide to Woman in which she seems to be making a clarion call for women for the realisation of identity. She claims for the encroached space, wishes to be loved and longs for a companionship with man who may treat her as person. First she adopts the way of revolt but later she realises that the way of confrontation leads nowhere. A Spelling Guide becomes a guide for making women aware of their encroached space.

This chapter explores Smita Tewari’s poetry collection Hourglass, introduces the reader about her quest for identity, and reveals the influence of Tagore and Wordsworth on her poems. Her verse is meditative and cathartic in nature. She gives an outlet to her emotions which she feels within out of her perception of the material as well as spiritual world.

This chapter discusses some poems of Australian and Indian women poets and reveals the fact that a woman is a woman who will remain the same whether she is placed on the soil of India or of Australia. Their suffering and agony are the same; they feel the pain of being deceived at the hands of their lovers and the torture because of not fulfilling their duties allotted to them by the male world. In both countries women show their respect to the elders, feel elated on being conceived as it gives them pleasure of motherhood, remain patient, believe in sacrificing nature and perform their daily routine.

This chapter explores the Self in the poetry of Kamala Das who gives an outlet to her experiences and feelings about love, sex, lust, pain and frustration. Though she seems to be oscillating between love and lust, she finally finds peace in the love of Ghansyam. Through her sincere expression, emotional intensity and forceful narration, she makes the male world realise the female space and succeeds in her venture of exploring her Self.

This chapter reveals the postcolonial concerns in the poetry of C. L. Khatri and puts forward his case of indigenous culture imbued with spiritualism. East-West encounter, the breed of mimic men, contemporary reality, a question of identity, native idiom, feminism, repressed relations etc., are the postcolonial concerns that are well mirrored in the poetry of Khatri who as a true postcolonial poet feels restless and rootless when he sees others imbibing western culture at the cost of their native culture.

This chapter reflects the poetic sensibility of R.C. Shukla who mirrors life in his poetry. Shukla goes into the psyche of man and takes out what is appropriate and communicable. His poetry is an outcome of his experiments in life. His muse is psychological and reflective as he enters the very depth of relationship whether it is man-woman relationship or the relationship with the society.

This paper offers a critique of K. V. Dominic’s Winged Reason. What makes Dominic extraordinary as a poet is his love for juxtaposing the contrasts. The poet in Dominic is an angel who searches for the angelic qualities in men and when he misses, he motivates them through his poems offering choices by displaying the two contrasting pictures. On the winged reasons, he makes a flight of his imagination but does not soar high because he knows the reality of life which he has to live on this very earth.

This paper assesses the poetry of Hoshang Merchant and Gopikrishnan Kottoor who have voiced the contemporary feelings and contributed their mite to enrich the cultural heritage of India in one way or other. What binds these two poets is the ingredient of love. Love makes Hoshang Merchant long for soul in spite of the fact that he is a gay poet. Kottoor becomes the Gopi and sings the songs of love in praise of Krishna, the Almighty.

This paper reveals Aravind Adiga’s mockery of democratic values, particularly liberty, equality and justice in his novel The White Tiger. Adiga points out that the democratic system has become a total failure in providing justice and supporting the spirit of the entrepreneurship. He talks of faults and never talks of suggestions, improvements and amendments. The novel The White Tiger is written under the influence of the communistic ideology which never favours a democratic set-up. As a part of strategy it mocks democracy. But in India, democracy, in spite of a few shortcomings is still the best form of political system. The need is not to end democracy but to amend it for the betterment of India and her people.

This paper makes an assessment of contemporary Indian women’s poetry in English which is a clarion call for the liberation of women from gender based discriminations and exploitations. It highlights the women poets’ struggle against patriarchy and sexism. The Indian women poets in English are voicing the female Self and Sensibility aiming at exploring the female psyche boldly countering male chauvinism with the assertion of their authority and identity. Their poetry asserts the authority of feminine experience and exhibits a confrontationist attitude witnessing the patriarchal canons and judgments.

This paper analyses Kamala Markandaya’s novel Pleasure City which provides an environment to the natives and the foreigners who come together and reciprocate the best. The friendship of Rikki and Tully is its best instance. The novel becomes the Bible of assimilation of the orient and the occident on the basis of co-operation and mutual understanding without the loss of anyone’s identity. Kamala Markandaya succeeds in her attempt of bringing the east and the west together in Pleasure City to a great extent.

This chapter is an in-depth study of the poetry of Namdeo Dhasal and traces the characteristics which make him a dalit messiah. It examines first the concept of dalit literature and then traces its ingredients in the poetry of Dhasal. Dhasal is a true poet who writes for a cause—the cause being the dalits’ amelioration. He never confines the betterment to the scheduled caste or tribe but comes out of the confinement and appears on the world stage—the stage that provides him a way—the way of uniting all the socially and economically weak ostracized people of the world. The poet in Dhasal is Ambedkar in disguise as he writes for the human beings and their welfare. He is a poet of human values—values that turn a man into a human being beyond order and border. He integrates all the oppressed and exploited men of the world and offers an action plan through human values of indiscrimination, love and brotherhood in order to do justice with all. His main task is to bring the ostracized into the mainstream—the mainstream that does not differentiates on the basis of caste, colour or creed.

Basavaraj Naikar’s The Queen of Kittur peeps into the history and offers a glimpse of the particular period. Naikar has justified with the character of Rani Chennamma who is an ideal example of female heroism. The novel introduces Rani Chennamma to the people who feel wonderstruck at her courage and administrative skill. It seems to be unbelievable that there has been a queen like Rani Chennamma who stirred the hearts of the people of Kittur with the feelings of patriotism. Due to her inspiration, the people did not care for their lives and fought against the red monkeys. She was born not to be a slave. The Colonial cage was not strong enough to cage the Queen. Truly, Rani Chennamma is a fountain of inspiration for every Indian woman who can learn the meaning of freedom and bravery and make her an icon for women empowerment in the present day scenario

This chapter offers a critique of P. V. Jaganmohan’s novel The Great Indian Inferno, which is written on Ayodhya imbroglio-Babri Masjid demolition. The novel deals with various issues like criminalization of politics, selfishness of the leaders for vote bank, terrorists’ activities in the name of jehad, destabilization of secularism, atrocities on women, paralytic administration, corrupt judiciary. It offers an ideal of communal harmony and the new meaning of jehad — jehad against fundamentalists.

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger provides a political feast but this feast is more pungent than nourishing. It displays the tables where dishes of corruption, exploitation, injustice, unemployment, discrimination etc. are laid for the Western guests who make a hue and cry to the extent that the Western media focuses on India and makes Adiga celebrity overnight by awarding the Booker Prize not for promoting the Indian strength but highlighting the weaknesses in the name of “the greater process of self-examination.” The protagonist abuses democracy calling it “fucking parliamentary system” and blames it for India’s backwardness. It may be partially true. But, it is only an incomplete truth.

This chapter peeps into the poetry of Stephen Gill and raises a question whether his Muse is diasporic or not. Gill never likes to be called himself diasporic because of his belief in humanity and cosmopolitanism. His diasporic consciousness is in question as he believes that anyone who embraces the other country for living happily for his safety and future cannot be categorised as diasporic. He is diasporic only in the sense that he is living in Canada, the country where he was not born. Being cosmopolitan, he considers the whole world as his own. He is a dove that does not confine to the space and time of any particular nation but flies high in the sky. At this juncture, he becomes transnational when he talks of love, peace and prosperity. He is a world poet who talks of transnationalism and writes on the theme of international concern.

This chapter traces the imprints of social consciousness in the novels of Kamala Markandaya through postcolonial lenses. Markandaya’s characters illustrate the fact of social consciousness among them as they grow of social consciousness. The conflict of traditional set up and globalization make them more conscious. No doubt, Kamala Markandaya reveals social consciousness but, sometimes she crosses the boundary of social confinements and depicts the forbidden landscape for the pleasure of the western readers.

This chapter decodes the novels of Kamala Markandaya from the angle of sex. Kamala Markandaya enters the forbidden erotic land and from there she offers the eastern dishes to the Western readers for their pleasure and contentment. Her novels have become saleable in the Western gallery due to these erotic landscapes.

This article is a tribute to the poetic genius of the Professor-poet I. K. Sharma, who left for heavenly abode on 7th December, 2018. It assesses his poetic achievement and traces the ingredient of cosmopolitanism which makes him a caring poet who loves all, prays for all and devotes himself for the improvement of the society. He fuses content and form, chisels words and laughs at the human follies with his satire and irony.

This article studies R. C. Shukla’s Ponderings from the angle of the reflections of the Bhagavad Gita. His poems reveal that Lord Krishna and Buddha are always haunting his head and heart respectively. An impassioned reading of his poetry, particularly the three volumes of Ponderings will, for every inquisitive reader, prompt him to figure out Shukla as a philosophical poet, immensely influenced by the gospel of the Bhagvad-Gita.

This article is a genuine tribute to Shiv K. Kumar, who began his poetic journey with Articulate Silences (1970), consummated it mysteriously with Where Have the Dead Gone? and Other Poems (2014). Where Have the Dead Gone & Other Poems” (2014) is a collection of 67 poems which reveal Kumar’s maturity, imagination and intuitions. He does not wish to give any message through his poetry though the reader himself becomes aware and shows his interest in understanding life through his poems—the poems which speak of the experiences in life.

A Thirsty Cloud Cries is the first poetry collection of Sudhir K Arora. The poems in this collection express a vision of life which is a vision of hope for the betterment of the world. The poet has attempted to simplify his experiences which he felt while delving deeper and deeper into others' psyche. The poems are experimental and conversational in nature.

(Arora, Sudhir K. A Thirsty Cloud Cries. Prakash, 2006.)

Though the Indian Poetry in English began with Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, it got the world wide recognition and popularity when Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize in 1913 for his magnum opus Gitanjali. Indian Poetry in English is often tagged as derivative in nature. It is true that the journey of Indian Poetry in English begins with imitating the English poets but with the passage of time, it becomes mature enough to develop its own separate identity. If a snapshot is taken right from the beginning to the present day, it can be concluded that four poets namely—Toru Dutt, Aurobindo, Tagore and Sarojini Naidu in the pre-Independence era and four poets—Nissim Ezekiel, A. K. Ramanujan, Kamala Das and Arun Kolatkar in the post-Independence era have set the poetic canon in Indian Poetry in English.

The present critical book Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English Volume III (Signatures) peeps into the poetic world of the three post-Independence poets namely, Nissim Ezekiel, A. K. Ramanujan and Arun Kolatkar who, by virtue of establishing poetic canons through trends and techniques, have become the signatures of Indian Poetry in English. Surely, it will dish out a poetry feast to the UG and PG students, research scholars, teachers, poetry lovers and even general readers who will be motivated to explore further the unexplored dimensions of their poetry.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English: Signatures Volume III. Authorspress, 2016.)

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, Toru Dutt, Sri Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu and Rabindranath Tagore are the pathfinders who set the fresh trends for the future poets, particularly the post-Independence Poets in English. These five pathfinders did their best in introducing India to the West. Derozio’s vision of reforming society with the light of knowledge, Toru Dutt’s cultural richness in Ancient Ballads, Sri Aurobindo’s spirituality and his vision of transforming man into godhead in Savitri, Tagore’s vision of cosmopolitanism and the Biblical touches in The Gitanjali and Sarojini Naidu’s Indian landscapes dotted with seasons, festivals and Indian people surprise the West as well as the Indians who become conscious of India’s rich cultural heritage. Their poetry collections demonstrate that they are the rich storehouses of Indian culture which talks of peace and love—the two ingredients that are needed in the present day world troubled with the fear of war. No doubt, they began their poetic journey while imitating the English idiom but with the passage of time, they developed their own idiom—Indian in content and form.

Recently the critics and scholars have shown a great interest in early Indian poetry in English and particularly in these five pathfinders. Certainly these pathfinders illumine the path which leads to the roots that lessen the alienation and rootlessness of the modern man who associates himself with the Indian myths and cultural past. The present book Indian Poetry in English: Cultural and Philosophical Reflections Volume II (Pathfinders) will create an interest in the general readers, students, researchers and teachers who will find sufficient mental food for further ponderings and researches on these five pathfinder.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English: Pathfinders Volume II. Authorspress, 2016.)

Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English Volume IV (Milestones) treats the four milestones of Indian Poetry in English namely: Shiv K. Kumar, Keki N. Daruwalla, Jayanta Mahapatra and R. Parthasarathy. These four Indian poets are the milestones on the long way to Indian Poetry in English as they have enriched the field by setting new trends and techniques. Shiv K. Kumar revives the cultural identity mutilated by colonial experience and assimilates foreign culture into the native. As his conception of morality is unconventional, he exposes hypocrisy in his poetry. What he wishes to articulate is articulated in a straightforward manner because he follows intuitions which, for him, are certainly better than the reasons that confine mind to a particular centre. Keki N. Daruwalla is a forceful poetic voice by virtue of his painting the landscapes ranging from the quotidian experiences to the cultural and mythical consciousness via highlighting the decay and degeneration in the contemporary society with the narrative brush that possesses the miracle to transform into universal what is personal though he has to use the dark colours like irony and satire for highlighting the impressions. Jayanta Mahapatra’s poetic canvas is coloured with his identification with the Orissan landscapes which he portrays through myths, symbols and metaphors. He mixes feeling and thought in order to colour the landscapes and inscapes which are highlighted with the shades of Indianness. R. Parthasarathy is a poet with Rough Passage, the only collection which, for him, proves to be a voyage within. No doubt, he criticizes Tamil culture not because he is against it but because he longs for its restoration to its former self.

The present book will dish out a poetry feast to the UG and PG students, research scholars, teachers, poetry lovers and even general readers by raising their curiosity for further fresh ponderings and researches on these five milestones.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English: Milestones Volume IV. Authorspress, 2016.)

Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English Volume V (Journey) attempts to construct the cultural diversity and thematic varieties present in Indian Poetry in English right from Derozio to the contemporary scenario. It offers an exhaustive study of the poets like Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore, Saint Poets—Swami Vivekananda, Ram Tirtha and Paramhansa Yogananda, women poets—Toru Dutt, Sarojini Naidu and Kamala Das and the contemporary poets—Nissim Ezekiel, A. K. Ramanujan, Keki N Daruwalla, Shiv K. Kumar, Jayanta Mahapatra, Arun Kolatkar, R. Parthasarthy, Niranjan Mohanty, Hoshang Merchant, R. C. Shukla and Gopikrishnan Kottoor from cultural and philosophical perspectives.
An exhaustive bibliography, which speaks of the volume of authenticity and richness of Indian Poetry in English, offers a rich feast which evokes a curiosity in the reader for making an evaluation in right perspectives. Truly, the present critical book will create an interest in the general readers, students, researchers and teachers who will be motivated for making further journey in the domain of Indian Poetry in English.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English: Journey Volume V. Authorspress, 2016.)

The present book Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English Volume I (Footprints) brings the early Indian poetry in English into limelight and reveals the truth of the literary offence committed by Parthasarathy and Daruwalla in snubbing it by passing the irresponsible remarks without delving into the texts. Eunice de Souza revised her views about Early Indian Poetry in English and found it rich in content and form. No doubt, Indian Poetry in English in its infancy imitated the form but, when it achieved adulthood, it freed itself and established its identity by creating its own idiom which emitted out the fragrance of Indian soil.
This critical book attempts to construct the cultural diversity and the thematic varieties present in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century Indian poetry in English. As it offers a study of more than sixty early Indian poets in English like Henry Derozio, Kashiprasad Ghose, Shoshee Chunder Dutt, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Govin Chunder Dutt, Greece Chunder Dutt, Hur Chunder Dutt, Omesh Chunder Dutt, Nobo Kissen Ghose, B. M. Malabari, Toru Dutt, Cowasji Nowrosji Vesuvala, Joteendro Mohun Tagore, Manmohan Ghose, Romesh Chunder Dutt, Sri Aurobindo Ghose, Joseph Furtaoo, Sarojini Naidu, Rustam B. Paymaster, Hasan Shahid Suhrawardy, G. Annaji Rao, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, P. Seshadri, Dhan Gopal Mukherji, Peshoton Sorabji Goolbai Dubash, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, Freddon Kabraji, Jehangir Rustomji Patell, Swami Ram Tirtha, S. H. Jhabvala, Paramhansa Yogananda, Samuel Solomon, Beram Saklatvala, Raman Vakil , Kapil P. Thakkar and some more poets, it will create an interest in the general readers, students, researchers and teachers who will find sufficient mental food for further ponderings and researches on early Indian poetry in English. An exhaustive bibliography (1827-1950), which speaks of the volume of authenticity and richness of Early Indian Poetry in English, offers the mental food rich enough to create a curiosity in the reader for making an evaluation in right perspectives.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Cultural and Philosophical Reflections in Indian Poetry in English: Footprints Volume I. Authorspress, 2016.)

Girish Karnad is a prolific playwright who has enriched the Indian drama by virtue of his dramatic genius. By making his drama contemporarily relevant he has got success in creating a national theatre for India. Being an actor playwright writer movie director scriptwriter and translator he has become a multidimensional personality. His originality as a dramatist lies in his extraordinary skill of using myth history and folktale to make the drama lively thought provoking and gripping. The present book is a collection of 22 scholarly papers that not only highlight different facets concerning the themes and techniques of Karnad's plays but also bring out the undiscovered inner dramatic landscapes that open the new vistas for further search and research. These papers make an in-depth study of Yayati, Tughlaq, Hayavadana, Bali: The Sacrifice, Naga Mandala, Tale-Danda, The Fire and the Rain, The Dream of Tipu Sultan, A Heap of Broken Images and Flowers.

(Khatri, C. L. and Sudhir K. Arora, editors. Thunder on the Stage: A Study of Girish Karnad’s Plays. Book Enclave, 2008.)

Stephen Gill, a Canada-based multiple-award winning poet whose roots are in the centuries-old culture of the subcontinent India, is determined to spread the message of peace in the world. He is a creator who creates a world where there is justice, peace and security. With the throat of the dove, he offers his Songs before Shrine so that Shrine may have Flashes of The Flame for the destruction of the darkness of terrorism spread by the darkness of terrorism spread by the maniac messiahs. His poetry is the Bible of peace that must be read for saving the humanity from destruction. Like Tagore, he wants to execute his vision of a peaceful world. He is a poet who knows how and where to use his pen for the betterment of the humanity. He begins, struggles, experiences pain and suffering, sometimes feels disappointed but never leaves his battle against the destructive forces. He is a messiah or a sufi singing the songs of love and peace for the welfare of the people of the world.
Gill's poetic idiom is flawless and rich in conception and execution. He avoids clichés and uses fresh images. He does his best to maintain the logical flow so that the continuity of verse may not be broken. The tonal variations add pleasure to the verse in such a manner that the reader feels the very spirit of the lines that go deeper and deeper in his heart. His phraseology has a vast sky of imagination and offers the vista to the reader who himself experiences the things of the world which the poet has created for him to imagine.

This monograph is an exhaustive study of Stephen Gill's poetic corpus. It will not only cater the new critical dishes to the researchers, teachers and general readers but also make them inquisitive for exploring further critical flavours.

(Arora, Sudhir K. The Poetic Corpus of Stephen Gil: An Evaluation. Sarup, 2009.)

Stephen Gill's The Flame (2008), which is an epical poem with eight parts and sixty two cantos covering 152 pages, is distinctive in itself because of its peace promoting spirit in the world diseased with terrorism. It offers a comprehensive poetic study of destruction caused by the maniac messiahs, as well as, despair out of this destruction and devotion to fight against it with the united efforts under the guidance of the eternal Flame. The poet invokes the Flame, depicts the havoc and destructive scenes, calculates the loss, studies the maniac messiahs psychologically peeping into their hearts and finally offers his determination to pursue his odyssey. Through this poem, the poet in Stephen Gill wages a war against the maniac messiahs by making the masses aware of the evil design.

The Flame is noted for its poetic idiom which is an outcome of an amalgamation of meaningful phraseology, fresh imagery and high imagination with a touch of realism, breath-taking narration and tonal variations. The poet creates the scenes and leaves to the readers to imagine and feel the very pulse which he wishes them to feel. The poem possesses all the characteristic features that make it a poetics of peace as it talks of peace not in any particular nation but in the world. There is no exaggeration in calling The Flame a Bible of Peace.

The present book, which is a collection of 18 papers attempts to decipher the text of The Flame critically in order to highlight the various possibilities of the undiscovered riches that will allure the readers, teachers and researchers for further search and research.

(Arora, Sudhir K., editor. The Flame Unmasked: Stephen Gill’s Epic Critically Examined. Prakash Book Depot, 2010.)

Niranjan Mohanty (1953-2008), a poet of Indian ethos and sensibility because of his deep-rooted faith in culture and tradition has succeeded in creating a place for himself in the poetic firmament of Indian poetry in English. His poetry breathes life in all its dimensions. Orissan landscapes, Contemporaneity, time, death, identity-question, absences, loneliness, memory, dreams, inner struggle, rain, devotion, respect for the family and home etc. are the different threads with which he weaves the texture of his poetry and then colours it with imagery, tonal variations and rhythms. Silencing the Words (1977), Oh This Bloody Game!(1988), Prayers to Lord Jagannatha (1994),On Touching You and Other Poems (1999), Life Lines (1999), Krishna (2003), Tiger and Other Poems (2008) and A House of Rains (2008) are his eight poetry collections rich in thought, imagery and feelings. This monograph is a comprehensive critical study that brings forth Mohanty’s genius as a poet before the literary world. A detailed letter from Mrs. Jayanti Mohanty, wife of Late Prof. Niranjan Mohanty reveals the poet as a man in Niranjan Mohanty. 

(Arora, Sudhir K. Niranjan Mohanty: The Man and His Poetry. Prakash Book Depot, 2011.)

Kamala Markandaya (1924-2004), who made a niche in Indian Novel in English through her substance and techniques, is a diasporic novelist. She is, sometimes, praised for the depiction of rural India and, sometimes, criticized for presentation of obscenity. By virtue of her narrative techniques, she succeeds in creating a desired effect on her readers who feel spell-bound by her contents and narrative designs.

Multicultural Consciousness in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya explores her eleven novels:  Nectar in a Sieve, Some Inner Fury, A Silence of Desire, Possession, A Handful of Rice, The Coffer Dams, The Nowhere Man, Two Virgins, The Golden Honeycomb, Pleasure City and Bombay Tiger (posthumous) and offers fresh interpretations of her texts which are deconstructed from various angles to trace out Markandaya’s hidden dimensions as a postcolonial novelist. The book will be helpful to the general readers, students, researchers and teachers who will find enough mental food for further ponderings and researches on Kamala Markandaya.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Multicultural Consciousness in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya. Authorspress, 2012.)

Indian English poetry, which after independence breathed the air of freedom with an identity of its own, is rich in conception and execution. The charge that mere rubbish is being dished out in the name of Indian English poetry is not true. The poets who are rich in content as well as form remain in the field. The present anthology that includes twenty five articles and research papers attempts to evaluate the marginalized poets besides the established ones. Some poets that are discussed in the anthology are Derozio, Toru Dutt, Aurobindo, Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Dom Moraes, Nissim Ezekiel, Ramanujan, Kamala Das, Jayanta Mahapatra, Shiv K. Kumar, Daruwalla, O.P. Bhatnagar, Sujata Bhatt, Niranjan Mohanty, Bibhu Padhi, D.C. Chambial, R.K. Singh, I.K. Sharma, I.H. Rizvi and R.C. Shukla. Besides these poetic columns of Indian English Poetry, some general papers that focus on the survey of Indian English poetry, poetry of women empowerment and Marxist idiom in Contemporary Indian English Poetry have been included to make the anthology interesting and thought-provoking not only for the teachers, scholars and researchers but also for the general readers who will certainly discover several unexplored aspects of the Indian English poetry.

(Khatri, C. L. and Sudhir K. Arora, editors. Indian English Poetry: A Discovery. Aadi, 2010.)

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger is the most controversial Booker Prize novel. It is often rejected as “trash” or “raddi” because of its savage mutilation of Indian cultural ethos and the hurt of the national pride. It is also hailed as the masterpiece for its fascinating narration of two Indias. It offers a commentary on Indian life though, to some critics, this commentary seems to be inauthentic and lacking in truth.
      As The White Tiger is prescribed in the syllabus of some universities, the contents of this book are designed to cater to the needs of the students. What makes this book interesting is its simple language and lucid style. It will be useful in developing the keen insight of the students as well as the scholars who are sure to explore the unexplored regions of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger and other novels as well.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger: A Study. Prakash Book Depot, 2016.)

Aravind Adiga’s The White tiger: a Freakish Booker is a creative criticism which deconstructs Adiga and his conspiracy of damaging the Indian cultural ethos. 

What Aravind Adiga portrays in The White Tiger partially may or may not be true but the way he narrates is fascinating. He has dipped his pen in the ink that contains irony, paradox and satire as ingredients. But, the message which The White Tiger conveys seems to be unrealistic as it will lead the country to the road of anarchism. Murder, steal and be the entrepreneur. If all the people follow the dictum, what will happen? Will India be on the road of global harmony? Is he really a messiah of the dalits? Can crime really result in the prosperity of India? Where will Adiga lead the Indians after mutilating their cultural ethos? How far do novelists like Adiga hurt the national pride by exposing the poverty and injustice on the global platform?

Aravind Adiga’s The White tiger: a Freakish Booker reveals The White Tiger’s conspiracy of removing the cultural uterus from India’s body in the name of the process of self-examination, and also touches the contested issues that will shake the intelligentsia as well as the general readers from within and offer them a mental feast for further fresh ponderings.

(Arora, Sudhir K. Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger: A Freakish Booker. Authorspress, 2011.)

A Study of Kamala Markandaya’s Women acquaints the readers with Kamala Markandaya and seeks to explore the unexplored aspects of her women. It presents the change in women’s identity, highlights the new image through a probe into her novels and finally shows Markandaya’s feminist moral concern through an indepth investigation into sexual and familial relationship. Her women do not rebel but they make the society realize their presence as ‘persons’ and not mere ‘possessions.’ Her women are new women in making.

(Arora, Sudhir K. A Study of Kamala Markandaya’s Women. Atlantic, 2006.)