Nurslings of Immortality- A Panorama of Modern Indian Writers

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About the Book Nurslings of Immortality presents thirty two essays written by Dr. Ashok K. Choudhury on major voices of contemporary Indian literature such as Mulk Raj Anand, U.R. Anantha Murthy, Gopinath Mohanty, Mahasweta Devi, Bhisham Sahni, Sachi Routray, Kaifi Azmi, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Indira Goswami, Ramakanta Rath, Nilamani Phookan, Daleep Kaur Tiwana, Manoj Das, Ramnath Shastri, Rajendra Keshavlal Saha, Sitakant Mahapatra, Janaki Ballav Patnaik, Gopi Chand Narang, etc. In these essays the author's approach has been to look at an eminent contemporary Indian writer in relation to a local cultural ethos as well as to the larger context of world literature. Some the Indian writers under discussion have whonoured with the most coveted of rational and international awards.

About the Author Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhury works with the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in New Delhi. An information professional with high attainments, he has also the passion of a scholar and writer. He is the first scholar in the country to pursue doctoral research on the role of the National Academies in promoting art, literature and culture. With outstanding academic credentials, including a first class first position at the Bachelor's and Master's, he is currently engaged in post-doctoral research work under the University of Jabalpur, Orissa.

Author of eight books and more than ninety articles based on extensive research, Dr. Choudhury was an invited member of a team of scholars chosen by the Sahitya Akademi to prepare 'A Critical Inventory of Ramayana Studies in the World' as part of a joint project of the Sahitya Akademi and Union Academique International of Bruxelles, Belgium.

He was a recipient of the Banshidhar Acharya Memorial Gold Medal for his outstanding performance as a scholar of Information Science. He also has been a ting Faculty at the Agarwal College Maharshi Dayananda University), Ballabgarh, Haryana. Professional attainments apart, Dr. Choudhury has established himself as a person of distinction, with a keen interest in the promotion of the arts and humanities. He values a fellowship of like-minded individuals who love to learn and to disseminate new learning in the community as well as beyond it, in the knowledge-seeking wider world of the present age.

Foreword The eve of the concept of knowledge as a nationally wal prodit, which can best be monitored and delivered ava Kowse Commission, such as the one we have in our New One awaits the outcome of the exercise. A product Assumption, however, is also expected to acquire an IN mark after passing a standardization test. The next requirement is an efficient public distribution system (PDS) to take care of marketing Going by the available record of PDS in our country, one del uncertain about its role in the knowledge industry Knowledge in the age-old Indian tradition has been looked at as a spontaneous involvement of a free and 'Faustian' mind, without any ulterior motive. Through the ages, of course, such a notion of knowledge has undergone a subtle process of evolution in keeping with the changing times and emergent challenges of an epoch. Neither the thought of a Newton, Marx, Einstein, nor of Ramanuja or Manu can hold valid for all times. The emphases change from time to time. Sometimes the emphasis may be on theory, at others on application. A judicious integration of both can be yet another view.

What remains common to all these exercises is the realization that knowledge is an objective, dispassionate "common pursuit" of enlightenment. As an input to the above integrating view of learning the present book of essays by Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhury is a valuable achievement. Instead of assembling one's own ideas and opinions in relation to a particular subject, Dr. Choudhury has put together some thirty-two essays written on a variety of topics relating to a selection of eminent authors of our country. He has chosen the humbler path of a provider of learning material to all those interested.

Preface These essays on some of the major voices of contemporary Indian literature: Mulk Raj Anand, U.R. Anantha Murthy, Gopinath Mohanty, Mahasweta Devi, Bhisham Sahni, Sachi Routray, Kaifi Azmi, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Indira Goswami, Ramakanta Rath, Nilamani Phookan, Daleep Kaur Tiwana, Manoj Das, Ramanath Shastri, Rajendra Keshavlal Shah, Sitakant Mahapatra, Janaki Ballav Patnaik, GC. Narang, were published over the past six years in different journals and newspapers. One of my objectives has been to relate the authors to their regions as well as to the larger context of English literature and culture. Some of these authors have been honored with the most coveted of India's awards.

I am indebted to the concerned editors for giving space to my writing. This collection of articles is not intended to be simply a miscellany. Assembled at one place for a larger readership with no pretension of being scholarly, the purpose behind the collection is to create an ambience of mutuality between the authors and readers in the common pursuit of knowledge and scholarship. It seeks to provide readers with some insights into the wide variety of ways in which some of India's foremost authors chose to express themselves. If it succeeds to some extent in doing so I should deem my purpose to have been amply served.

**Contents and Sample Pages**