My chapter engages with Kasba (1991) by Kumar Shahani as a seminal work of Indian parallel cinema... more My chapter engages with Kasba (1991) by Kumar Shahani as a seminal work of Indian parallel cinema that foregrounds the political potential of cinematic form. Drawing upon Jacques Rancière’s theorization of the redistribution of the sensible, I examine how Shahani’s aesthetic practice operates as an intervention into the visible and the sayable, reconfiguring perceptual regimes and making legible those marginalized voices and experiences that remain occluded within dominant cinematic discourse. In doing so, the chapter situates Kasba within a larger debate on aesthetics and politics, wherein autonomous art forms possess the capacity to disrupt hegemonic structures and enable a redistribution of social visibility. Positioned alongside the works of contemporaries such as Mani Kaul and Shyam Benegal, Shahani’s cinema exemplifies the subversive potential of parallel cinema as a mode of political engagement. The chapter further places Shahani’s cinematic idiom in dialogue with Brecht’s epic theatre and the principle of defamiliarization, demonstrating how Kasba resists melodramatic catharsis and instead produces a critical distance that compels the spectator toward reflection rather than passive consumption. The film’s slow pacing, distanced camerawork, and oblique representation of violence function as Brechtian strategies that unsettle narrative expectations and activate the viewer’s critical consciousness. Engaging with Shahani’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s 'In the Ravine', I explore how cinematic form reworks literary realism into a visual grammar of transition rather than nostalgia. The movement from feudal patriarchy to emergent capitalism is not merely narrated but rendered through a shifting cinematic ontology that privileges temporality, fragmentation, and the continuous flow of images. Kasba becomes a site where literature and cinema intersect, producing a complex interplay between tradition and modernity. I also draw upon Adorno’s notion of aesthetic autonomy to argue that Shahani’s cinema resists commodification and the reification characteristic of mainstream film culture.
This paper examines Frankfurt School Marxist critic, Theodor Adorno's Critical Theory through the... more This paper examines Frankfurt School Marxist critic, Theodor Adorno's Critical Theory through the lens of his intervention in psychoanalysis, situating his philosophy within a much broader critique of capitalism. Drawing on key works such as Minima Moralia, Dialectic of Enlightenment, and his reflections on the pathology of the Culture Industry, the paper offers crucial insights into the self-dissolution and conformity of the twentieth-century bourgeois society. It does so while engaging with Adorno's social psychology as a means to diagnose and expose the internalisation of the hegemonic norms. His philosophy, often dismissed as pessimistic, can offer one a positive vision of humanity, one that prioritises the autonomy of art forms and fosters critical reflection. This study emphasises the liberatory potential embedded within Adorno's complex reflections on the irrationality of the administered world.
Despite being a constitutive material presence in several postcolonial societies, the subject of ... more Despite being a constitutive material presence in several postcolonial societies, the subject of disability is often conspicuous by its absence in the field of Postcolonial Studies. The historical sidelining of disability discourse leading to a complete erasure of the very existence of disability calls for a fresh assessment of certain transgressive post-colonial narratives. Through a critical reading of disabled subjectivities in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981) and J.M. Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K (1983), this paper constructs an interdisciplinary critical methodology that gives impetus to disability both as a representative textual trope as well as an actual lived experience. Post a brief introduction about disability and its intersection with postcolonial narratives, the paper discusses some of the prominent postcolonial theorists – such as Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Frantz Fanon, Homi Bhabha and Albert Memmi – contending that an assimilation of postcolonial thought would enrich and complement the disability discourse. The paper also investigates the marginalization and resistance of disabled characters in subversive works by J.M. Coetzee and Salman Rushdie. By focusing on these novels, the paper underlines the dichotomy/dialectic between the colonizer and colonized or ‘able-bodied subject’ and ‘disabled subject’. Notwithstanding the texts’ resistance to neat conclusions regarding the quandary of disability representation within post-colonial narratives, they offer stimulating instances of the transgressive potential of ‘different’ bodies beyond conventional representation.
World War 1 had brought in several cataclysmic changes in English society, most of which manifest... more World War 1 had brought in several cataclysmic changes in English society, most of which manifested in the form of war trauma and a deep longing to go back to the idyllic prewar world. War had become a symptom of the modern condition. The wartime conditions became increasingly grim leading to various appalling social repercussions. For instance, 'shell-shock', a psychological condition due to war trauma surfaced among soldiers that showcased the futility of mankind's ingenuity for inventing more effective or lethal ways to annihilate. Thus, the irrationality and futility of war called for a re-examination of the foundation of modernist society which occurred in modernist poetry. Poetry seemed to express the language of trauma, having taken the form of a 'wounded' subgenre, expressing the severe aftermaths of the hostilities of the First World War. My paper will therefore attempt to highlight the themes and techniques employed in the English war poet, Wilfred Owen's authentic poetic narratives to uncover real war trauma by inverting the very conventions of war poetry.
Any dominant, mainstream model undoes the very idea of multiple modes of living and diversity whi... more Any dominant, mainstream model undoes the very idea of multiple modes of living and diversity which excludes the real demands of the minority groups and contributes to their social exclusion. Whereas everyone is entitled to equal and inalienable rights and opportunities set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution of India without distinction of any kind, such commitments are yet to be translated into action. Although Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees ‘Right to life and personal liberty’ to all, of which the Right to Healthcare forms an integral part, a large section of the society is still insensitive to the healthcare needs of the transgender community.
The Criterion : An International Journal in English , 2022
Through my paper, I shall be making two points - One, an attempt to examine the renowned British ... more Through my paper, I shall be making two points - One, an attempt to examine the renowned British Detective Fiction writer Agatha Christie's work 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' (1926) against the grain of the conventional perception of her as not having played fair with the readers for its baffling denouement and second, the idea of justice as brought out through the text. My paper will also analyze the genre of Golden Age Detective fiction in light of its affirmation of the bourgeois values and in relation to the French philosopher Michel Foucault's conception of the 'panopticon' from his groundbreaking work 'Discipline and Punish'.
Women directly or indirectly contribute significantly in the development of any nation. In recent... more Women directly or indirectly contribute significantly in the development of any nation. In recent times, globalization has transformed their life all over the world for the better. It has also provided them with several platforms for self expression and achieving greater autonomy, thereby leading to social and gender egalitarianism. Various reformative measures have been taken up by the government and civil society in the India to alleviate their status. While all countries are marching towards excellence, it is ironical that one half of the world's population, that is, women is still struggling for freedom for their dignity and survival. My paper is an attempt to grapple with the aforesaid issues and seek possible solutions to the menace of gender discrimination.
The political system Democracy in India seemed to have won the day. However, recent global events... more The political system Democracy in India seemed to have won the day. However, recent global events compel us to interrogate about the future of democracy in the country as it seems to be under the threat of populism, and dynastic rule as well as authoritarianism. My paper will be an attempt to grapple with the aforesaid issue.
Keywords - Democracy, populism, dynasties, authoritarianism, political parties, India
For a land as culturally diverse as India with a long and rich tradition of dramatic performances... more For a land as culturally diverse as India with a long and rich tradition of dramatic performances accompanying varied regional specificities or the folk tradition has always been undeniably the primary indispensable source of adding Indian essence to theatre. Focusing primarily on the 1970s, one may observe that the major Indian playwrights broke the barriers of regional language consciously and produced several noteworthy plays, thereby rendering their works experimental, and centered on incorporating the elements of folk theatre into the popular Indian theatre fold. Prominent playwrights like Girish Karnad and Badal Sircar deploying the theatrical device of Yakshagana creatively, and experimenting with folk elements to incorporate them into the proscenium theatre’ respectively, bear testimony to the emergence of a radical shift in Indian theatre, one that did not shy away from adapting itself to the modernist/avant garde forms brought into the world of modern theatre. Much like his contemporaries, Vijay Tendulkar experimented with various forms of folk theatre in Ghashiram Kotwal (1972) which has been successful as a significant and unique play in balancing the traditional and modern elements to carve a niche for itself in the history of Indian theatre. It is pertinent to revisit Tendulkar’s eminent work and discern its critical value in the world of contemporary Indian theatre along with an acknowledgement of the playwright’s adept use of a traditional idiom in contemporary theatre. A scholar should therefore attempt to comprehend how Tendulkar adopted the various theatre folk devices and forms as well as employed them effectively to represent power politics and the effects of oppression through a presentation of subliminal violence on stage that has the readers of the play grapple with very contemporary modernist debates.
The Criterion : An International Journal in English , 2021
The act of translation as a literary phenomenon lends itself to varied critical and theoretical a... more The act of translation as a literary phenomenon lends itself to varied critical and theoretical approaches and one such approach perceives it as an act of interpretation that can be strongly linked to twentieth century German philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. While conceiving and putting forward the act of translation as a specific hermeneutical experience, Gadamer, in his writings states that translation is itself a linguistic act and that language is inextricably tied with man's being in the world. His analysis of the process of translation has deeply influenced the critics and theoreticians of translation studies. My paper is an attempt to grapple with the aforesaid conception of the process of translation as interpretation.
My paper will examine and critically analyze P.D. James' An Unsuitable Job for a Woman from the f... more My paper will examine and critically analyze P.D. James' An Unsuitable Job for a Woman from the feminist lens, and thereby deal with the questions on gender and sexuality as raised through the novel. Although the figure of female detective is widespread enough in detective fiction, this paper looks at ways in which the protagonist, Cordelia Gray breaks quite a few stereotypes of this genre that renders her an unconventional detective figure. The irrationality of the crime in this novel pushes the reader into inquiring about the existing gender and generic norms. The novel successfully promotes the line of argument as taken up in my paper that the novel is set in a world that does not ascribe to the conventions of Golden Age Detective fiction, rather subverts and questions them. A feminist deliberation thus springs up about the oft-cited P.D. James' title: Is detection an unsuitable job for a woman? Or does the introduction of a female detective signal a redefinition of the genre itself? My paper will be an attempt to grapple with such conundrums, that define the text and render it subversive for its times.
An investigation of the Parliamentary debates on General Dyer might help a researcher uncover the... more An investigation of the Parliamentary debates on General Dyer might help a researcher uncover the inhumane colonial psyche and offer fresh insights into comprehending the dynamics of colonial brutality in India with greater depth. A reconstruction of the debates that followed in the British Parliament can be one way to situate the massacre in the British Raj's outlook of retribution and their need to repress the growing native discontent. The reprehensible act of brute force to prevent the purported Indian sedition from spreading, and the blatant justification of General Dyer's cold blooded killings in the British Parliamentary Debates can well expose and render a true picture of the Empire's deep rooted racism and colonial prejudice. A reconstruction of the same is perhaps inevitable and revisiting the same might allow us comprehend how no amount of denouncement and censure of General Dyer's idiosyncratic act of can wipe out the excruciating memories of an incident that continues to be viewed as irrational till date, with no rational justification whatsoever of the brutal violence of British imperialism.
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Papers by Somya Tyagi
Keywords - Democracy, populism, dynasties, authoritarianism, political parties, India