Writers
Editors Critics (WEC)
(An International
Biannual Refereed Journal of English Language and Literature Published in March and September)
Volume 3 Number 1 (March 2013) ISSN: 2231 – 198X
(Abstracted
and indexed by Literary Reference Centre, EBSCO Host Publishing, USA for
Worldwide Reference)
Board
of Editors
Prof. Rajkamal Shiromani
Dr. Jaydeep Sarangi
Dr. Lata Mishra
Review
Editors
Ms. Patricia Prime
Prof. Kavitha Gopalakrishnan
Mr. S. V. Rama Rao
Associate
Editors
Dr. S. Kumaran
Dr. Joji John Panicker
Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Dr. K. V. Dominic
Published By
Guild of Indian English Writers, Editors
and Critics (GIEWEC),
Reg. No. I - 194/2010, Kannappilly, Thodupuzha East, Kerala, India – 685
585
www.giewec.com
Dedicated to
Prof. M. A. Jeyaraju,
(1947-2012)
Founder Father and Former Vice President of GIEWEC
Editorial
It
is with a sunken heart I am editing this issue. Prof. M. A. Jeyaraju, one of
the founding fathers of GIEWEC and its first Vice President is no more with us.
He has been such a dynamic professor till his retirement at 65 that age
couldn’t wither his spirit and energy. Prof. Jeyaraju was a role model to his
students and colleagues, a true friend to his companions and most affable and
responsible to his spouse and children. His sudden demise by heart failure
remains an unbearable shock and grief to his family, colleagues and friends,
thousands of students and all GIEWEC members. GIEWEC bows its head to his
immortal soul and solicits his blessings in all its activities and at the same
time express our heart-felt condolences to the bereaved family.
As a tribute to Prof. M. A. Jeyaraju,
this issue is dedicated to him and the book starts with a glowing homage to him
by his daughter, Dr. Pamela Jeyaraju. There are fourteen research articles, two
review articles, two book reviews, three short stories, an anecdote, a one act
play and twenty nine poems of eighteen poets in this issue.
GIEWEC’s application to Income Tax
Department to treat the Guild as a Public Charitable Trust has been favourably
considered by the Office after verifying all our documents related to it. The
office was much impressed by our main output—our journal which keeps the
international standard and quality. GIEWEC expresses its gratitude to Mr.
Sanjeev Kumar Abrol, Commissioner of Income Tax, Mr. Sajjive Balakrishnan,
Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax and Mr. Vijaykumar V. S., Income Tax
Officer, at the Office of the Commissioner of Income Tax, Kochi.
Before concluding let me thank all
the contributors of this issue who made this book a real feast for enlightening
and entertaining minds. Wishing all readers a happy read,
Thodupuzha,
1 March 2013. Prof. D. K. V. Dominic, Editor-in-Chief
Contents
Tribute to Prof. M. A. Jeyaraju,
Founding Father and Former Vice President of GIEWEC
--Pamela Jeyaraju
Breeding Out Half-Castes: A Reading of Kim Scott’s Benang: From the Heart
--Ancy Elezabath John
Unveiling the Malayaraya Culture: A
Reading of Kocharethy
--Anju E. A.
Rereading Lacan: Towards an Alternative
Semiotics in Emma
Donoghue’s Room
--Dillu Mary Rose
My Uthraatappaachil with 651 Caricatures in 12 Hours: A Saga of my
Entry into the Limca Book of Records
--Sajjive Balakrishnan
Indian ‘Turn’ in Translation Theory: An
Analysis of Perspectives
--Hemang A. Desai
‘Transnational Connections’: The
Nature of Indian Nationhood in the Novels of Jayanti M. Dalal
--Jayashree Palit
Exploring The Immortals of
Meluha and The Secret of Nagas through
Dynamical Systems Theory
--Lata Mishra
Humanity (One-act play)
--Bhaskar Roy Barman
Feminist Genealogy: The Treatment of Myth and Magic in Gloria Naylor’s Mamang
Day
--Mahboobeh Khaleghi
An Unknown Girl (Short Story)
--Jayanti
M. Dalal (Trans. Rajshree Parthivv Trivedi)
Decrepitude of Ethics and Language in Martian Society in Half a Life
--C. Ganga Lakshmi & G. Baskaran
Contextualizing the Contemporary Politics of the Homeland: A Reading on the Poetics of Ideology, Power
Relations, and Culture in Kiran Desai’s The
Inheritance of Loss
--J. Maya Devi
The Female Self in Margaret Laurence’s Novel The Stone Angel
--Parisa Talebi
Relationship (Short Story)
--Pronab Kumar Majumder
Realization of Self
in Raja Rao’s The Serpent and the Rope
--Sonia Soni
Partition’s Dramatic Experience: An Exploration of Plays from Bengal
--Sravasti Guha Thakurta
The Prodigal Returns (Short Story)
--Ramesh K. Srivastava
In a Voice of Her Own: C. K. Janu’s
Autobiographical Narrative Mother
Forest
--K. Yeshoda Nanjappa
Political Perspectives in Harold Pinter’s Later Plays
--Yousef
Bakhshizadeh Gashti
Postcolonial Elements in Toni Morrison’s Jazz
--Mohammad Gholamnia Roshan
Man fumbles with Nature’s bounty in
Sundarbans (Poem)
--Aju Mukhopadhyay
A Hopeless Longing (Poem)
--Asha Viswas
An Apparition (Poem)
--Asha Viswas
The Beggar’s Vote (Poem)
--Chandramoni Narayanaswamy
Tension (Poem)
--Chandramoni Narayanaswamy
The Wail of a Bangla Girl (Poem)
--Hazara Singh
The Unbroken Will (Poem)
--Hazara Singh
My Dream (Poem)
--Jaydeep Sarangi
I am (Poem)
--Jaydeep Sarangi
Syncopated Reality (Poem)
--Ketaki Datta
Last Milepost (Poem)
--Pronab Kumar Majumder
Transcending Boundaries (Poem)
--O. P. Arora
The Bell is Loud Enough
(Poem)
--O. P. Arora
Cliffhangers (Poem)
--PCK Prem
When you Left...? (Poem)
-- Ramakrishna
Perugu
Recall
the Past you Create (Poem)
--Ramakrishna Perugu
The Ten Commandments of Love (Poem)
-- S. V. Rama Rao
Soul’s Voice (Poem)
--Rani Rathore
Plight of My Motherland (Poem)
--Sangeeta Mahesh
Journey towards
My Destination (Poem)
--Santanu Halder
In Search of You (Poem)
--Santanu Halder
A Poem (Poem)
--Trupti N. Sabharanjak
Fond Remembrance (Poem)
--Trupti N. Sabharanjak
A Unique Land (Poem)
--Vijay Kumar Roy
Ethiopia (Poem)
--Vijay Kumar Roy
Martyrs at the Borders (Poem)
--K. V. Dominic
Savage Space (Poem)
T. V. Reddy
Dignity in Exile (Poem)
T. V. Reddy
Smiling Riddle (Poem)
T. V. Reddy
‘More Sinned against than Sinning’: Fate as a Key Character in
Jayanti. M. Dalal’s Ordeal of Innocence (Review Article)
--Kavitha Gopalakrishnan
Flights of Imagination Grounded in Reality: A Critical Analysis of Roots & Wings (Review Article)
--Kavitha Gopalakrishnan
K. V. Dominic’s African and Afro-American Literature:
Insights and Interpretations (Book Review)
--Y. Vidya
Jacob Isaac’s Sense of Enigma (Book Review)
--Patricia Prime
Tribute to Prof. M. A.
Jeyaraju, Founding Father and Former Vice President of GIEWEC
Dr. Pamela Jeyaraju
(Daughter of Prof. M. A. Jeyaraju)
Prof. M. A. Jeyaraju
(1947-2012)
Born into a fervent Christian family that was economically
poor but rich in values, Dr. M. A. Jeyaraju, fondly remembered by many as Dr
MAJ, was the eldest son among five siblings. His parents M. Arulappan, a
dedicated high school teacher, and Mary Stella, an ardent homemaker, imbibed in
him the unfailing Catholic faith and the spirit of a teacher that were my
father’s defining characteristics throughout his life.
My Dad
took pride in having been the best student, especially in his English classes.
He even remembered his teachers’ names and said that he was offered ‘bigger’
books for reading which other students weren’t. He was a seminarian; but did
not fulfil the Almighty’s call. It could have been God’s decision!
Nevertheless, Dad had always been regretful about it. During every difficult
phase (and he had ample) he said, “I should not have ignored God’s call.” At
Loyola College, Chennai, he was one of the few best students but certainly one
with the least means. I remember him speaking of classmates who hopped into
huge cars and imposing bikes while Dad did a stint waiting at coffee shops. We,
his children--Danny, my younger brother and I, were not exposed to such
hardships but Dad made sure we got an insight into how he had come up. We shall
always remember this.
Dad spoke
with pride that he had become a teacher at an early age of 19. But he had just
started his strife to support his four young brothers and his only sister. Dad
gave tuitions to students, did other coaching jobs, put himself under much
hardship and piously called it his duty to his father who had given him the
best of education in spite of the poverty. I vividly recall my father telling
that he had begun smoking at 19 to overcome stress, which actually proved fatal
after 45 years. Dad’s unfailing sense of duty continued till his last days.
Dad met my
mom in 1970, and after two years they were married. Then he was employed at the
VHNSN College, Virudhunagar. Dad’s philanthropic activities to his students
were varied and steady. Students were welcome at any time of the day and night
for clarification. At the age of four, I still remember sitting with Dad in his
study (shrouded by cigarette smoke!), at 4 am, amid a group of UG students
preparing for their university exams and Dad giving them his famous “Rama
killed Sita” and “Sita was killed by Rama”. Later these same lines became mine
at every grammar class that I taught for UG students. Dad and I had a good
laugh when I told him of my obsession with these lines. My memories of Dad at
this stage are filled with him travelling for paper evaluation, the All India
English Teachers’ Conference, Seminars and meetings.
Dad made
our evenings bright with a game of carom, stories and his famous bedtime songs.
Soothing, protective, loving, teaching in his own way and inspiring, Dad made
our days special. Dad always believed that we were the ‘chosen few’ and so we
had our share of ‘God’s test’. We had to stay in Pondicherry, Dad’s hometown,
and away from Dad. Every weekend he travelled across 400 kms to stay with us
for a day. He strengthened us by his
mere presence for a few hours. Every moment was an attempt at tempering us.
My
father’s appointment at the Gandhigram Rural University, Dindigul, began
another phase in his career. Academic Research took up almost all his time.
Much was spoken about the topics, research methodology and of course his
students whom he called his children. He did go out of his way to help his
students; and yes, he got himself into too much trouble for his large
heartedness. He had eyes only for those underprivileged children. We have often
seen many a parent’s eyes turn moist when Dad assured him of his child’s safety
and future. So have I seen much thanks offered to Dad of which he was totally
unselfconscious!
Daddy was
generous with money too. He paid the tuition fees for many needy students. I
have seen him pay special attention to those physically challenged youngsters
too. His term as Director of Employment Bureau was a great success to him. He
called it a ‘God send.’ For, he could help many of his students get jobs which
erased the question of want from their lives permanently. Such was his passion
for his underprivileged students. He was very happy when I received my doctoral
degree and proud when I became an Assistant Professor of English. He was
prouder that my brother was a Post-doctoral fellow at the University of
Toronto. He told that he saw us in his students.
Another
passion he had was for Communication skills. Many remember him for that.
Anything that he said had his signature style to it. He was broke because he
could not spend time after his retirement with the young minds he had definitely
moulded; we knew it. When we tried to console him, he said in his
characteristic way, “I’ve run my races,
I’ve won my laurels, although with a few hiccups, and I’ve no wars to wage!”
My
Dad was the member of many learned bodies. His association with the Guild of
Indian Writers, Editors and Critics (GIWEC) was long. He was one of the
founding fathers and former vice-president of the Guild and a member of its
executive committee. When Daddy retired
on 31 May 2012, he had done something he had liked for 45 years. He was once
again busy with plans for publications, seminars, and had a lot to read as was
usual. While my father’s health was the cause of much worry to us, it never was
for him. He said he was fine. He had his first cardiac trouble a year before he
retired, the next shortly after that and the fatal one on 17 December 2012, a
few hours after he heartily sang the birthday song for his grand-daughter on
her second year. On the way to the hospital, when his pain was unbearable, he
muttered “Oh God, why do you test me?”
and gave up his spirit. After a Holy Mass at the same parish where he was
baptised, he was laid to rest at his family cemetery at Nellithope,
Pondicherry.
Daddy’s
love extended generously to his children-in-law too. He was very proud of my
husband at whose hands he breathed his last. His daughter-in-law was the apple
of his eye, his choice and gift to all of us. He left only after blessing us
all abundantly with education, family and values which we consider precious.
The loss
of this great mentor, teacher, friend and father is deeply mourned. We are
proud to be part of his legacy and wish to represent and follow his values by
which he stood sincerely. Although his physical presence eludes us, his spirit
that transcends all boundaries is still with us. We feel his comforting
presence and are still guided by his simplicity, humility, gentleness and most
of all his love that is bigger than this world.
“We all love you, Dad.”
