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The Rose and the Lotus
Partnership Studies in the Works of Raja Rao
Series: - Cross/Cultures, Volume: 122
Author:
Raja Rao, one of the founding figures of Indian English literature, is re-examined in this comprehensive study of his fiction, which offers a fresh critical investigation into both his short stories and his novels.
Powerfully contradicting the long-held perception of Raja Rao as a mere metaphysical writer and the true bard of quintessential Indianness, projected by many critics of the first Commonwealth generation over three decades, Stefano Mercanti posits Raoâs fiction in terms of its dialogic interaction â the âpartnershipâ â between Western and Eastern cultural traditions and demonstrates how it evolves during the course of his oeuvre on both the philosophical and the political level.
The title, The Rose and the Lotus, signals the discursive terrain for a multicultural and interwoven evolution among different cultures, and points to the need for valuing relations of reciprocity rather than those of domination. Far from conveying univocal configurations and nationalistic stereotypes, Raoâs idea of India is seen as the epicentre of many echoes and dynamic resonances, both Western and Eastern, through which a distinct blend of Indian and European influences is more clearly unravelled.
In this new critical re-appraisal, Mercanti draws on non-binary and inter/multi-disciplinary paradigms, thus signalling the complex transformations and multiple negotiations of a polyglot India caught between the cultural twilight of the modern and the traditional. The study also offers an invaluable linguistic analysis of Raoâs experiment with the English language, supplemented by a detailed glossary.
Powerfully contradicting the long-held perception of Raja Rao as a mere metaphysical writer and the true bard of quintessential Indianness, projected by many critics of the first Commonwealth generation over three decades, Stefano Mercanti posits Raoâs fiction in terms of its dialogic interaction â the âpartnershipâ â between Western and Eastern cultural traditions and demonstrates how it evolves during the course of his oeuvre on both the philosophical and the political level.
The title, The Rose and the Lotus, signals the discursive terrain for a multicultural and interwoven evolution among different cultures, and points to the need for valuing relations of reciprocity rather than those of domination. Far from conveying univocal configurations and nationalistic stereotypes, Raoâs idea of India is seen as the epicentre of many echoes and dynamic resonances, both Western and Eastern, through which a distinct blend of Indian and European influences is more clearly unravelled.
In this new critical re-appraisal, Mercanti draws on non-binary and inter/multi-disciplinary paradigms, thus signalling the complex transformations and multiple negotiations of a polyglot India caught between the cultural twilight of the modern and the traditional. The study also offers an invaluable linguistic analysis of Raoâs experiment with the English language, supplemented by a detailed glossary.
Stefano Mercanti is Research Fellow and member of the Partnership Studies Group (PSG) at the University of Udine, where he completed his PhD. on Raja Raoâs short-stories. As an Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship recipient, he obtained a further PhD, on Raja Raoâs novels, at Bangalore University. His writings on postcolonial literatures, multiculturalism, and partnership literary theory have appeared in several academic journals. His publications include LâIndia dellâimmaginazione nei racconti di Raja Rao (2006).
Acknowledgments
A Note on the Text
Introduction
The Burden of Indianness
The Politics of Truth
In Other Words
Partnership and Multiculturalism
Chapter One: The Short Stories
The Cow of the Barricades and Other Stories
The Policeman and the Rose
On the Ganga Ghat
Chapter Two: The Painful Search
Kanthapura
Comrade Kirillov
The Serpent and the Rope
Chapter Three: Reconciling the Self
The Cat and Shakespeare
The Chessmaster and His Moves
Conclusion
Glossary
Chronology
Select Bibliography
Index
A Note on the Text
Introduction
The Burden of Indianness
The Politics of Truth
In Other Words
Partnership and Multiculturalism
Chapter One: The Short Stories
The Cow of the Barricades and Other Stories
The Policeman and the Rose
On the Ganga Ghat
Chapter Two: The Painful Search
Kanthapura
Comrade Kirillov
The Serpent and the Rope
Chapter Three: Reconciling the Self
The Cat and Shakespeare
The Chessmaster and His Moves
Conclusion
Glossary
Chronology
Select Bibliography
Index