Table Of ContentCulture and the Making
of Identity in
Contemporary India
Culture and the Making
of Identity in
Contemporary India
Edited by
Kamala Ganesh
Usha Thakkar
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai Bicentenary Volume
Sage Publications
New Delhi/Thousand Oaks/London
Culture and the Making
of Identity in
Contemporary India
Edited by
Kamala Ganesh
Usha Thakkar
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai Bicentenary Volume
Sage Publications
New Delhi/Thousand Oaks/London
Copyright © Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 2005, except Chapters 1 and 5
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without per-
mission in writing from the publisher.
To the staff and the honorary members of
First published in 2005 by
the many committees of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai
who work to preserve its heritage
SSSSSaaaaagggggeeeee PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnnsssss IIIIInnnnndddddiiiiiaaaaa PPPPPvvvvvttttt LLLLLtttttddddd
B-42, Panchsheel Enclave
New Delhi 110017
www.indiasage.com
SSSSSaaaaagggggeeeee PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnnsssss IIIIInnnnnccccc..... SSSSSaaaaagggggeeeee PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnnsssss LLLLLtttttddddd
2455 Teller Road 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320 London EC1Y SP
Published by Tejeshwar Singh for Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, photo-
typeset in 10 pt BruceOldStyle BT by Star Compugraphics Private Limited,
Delhi and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi.
LLLLLiiiiibbbbbrrrrraaaaarrrrryyyyy ooooofffff CCCCCooooonnnnngggggrrrrreeeeessssssssss CCCCCaaaaatttttaaaaalllllooooogggggiiiiinnnnnggggg-----iiiiinnnnn-----PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnn DDDDDaaaaatttttaaaaa
Culture and the making of identity in contemporary India/edited by Kamala
Ganesh, Usha Thakkar.
p. cm.
“The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Bicentenary volume”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. India—Civilization—1947. 2. Feminism—India. 3. India—
Historiography. 4. Science—Study and teaching—India. I. Ganesh,
Kamala. II. Thakkar, Usha. III. Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
DS428.2.C87 306'.0954'09045—dc22 2005 2005003590
IIIIISSSSSBBBBBNNNNN::::: 0–7619–3381–6 (HB) 81–7829–524–5 (India–HB)
0–7619–3307–7 (PB) 81–7829–431–1 (India–PB)
Sage Production Team: Payal Dhar, Shweta Vachani, Radha Dev Raj and
Santosh Rawat
Copyright © Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 2005, except Chapters 1 and 5
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without per-
mission in writing from the publisher.
To the staff and the honorary members of
First published in 2005 by
the many committees of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai
who work to preserve its heritage
SSSSSaaaaagggggeeeee PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnnsssss IIIIInnnnndddddiiiiiaaaaa PPPPPvvvvvttttt LLLLLtttttddddd
B-42, Panchsheel Enclave
New Delhi 110017
www.indiasage.com
SSSSSaaaaagggggeeeee PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnnsssss IIIIInnnnnccccc..... SSSSSaaaaagggggeeeee PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnnsssss LLLLLtttttddddd
2455 Teller Road 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320 London EC1Y SP
Published by Tejeshwar Singh for Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, photo-
typeset in 10 pt BruceOldStyle BT by Star Compugraphics Private Limited,
Delhi and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi.
LLLLLiiiiibbbbbrrrrraaaaarrrrryyyyy ooooofffff CCCCCooooonnnnngggggrrrrreeeeessssssssss CCCCCaaaaatttttaaaaalllllooooogggggiiiiinnnnnggggg-----iiiiinnnnn-----PPPPPuuuuubbbbbllllliiiiicccccaaaaatttttiiiiiooooonnnnn DDDDDaaaaatttttaaaaa
Culture and the making of identity in contemporary India/edited by Kamala
Ganesh, Usha Thakkar.
p. cm.
“The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Bicentenary volume”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. India—Civilization—1947. 2. Feminism—India. 3. India—
Historiography. 4. Science—Study and teaching—India. I. Ganesh,
Kamala. II. Thakkar, Usha. III. Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
DS428.2.C87 306'.0954'09045—dc22 2005 2005003590
IIIIISSSSSBBBBBNNNNN::::: 0–7619–3381–6 (HB) 81–7829–524–5 (India–HB)
0–7619–3307–7 (PB) 81–7829–431–1 (India–PB)
Sage Production Team: Payal Dhar, Shweta Vachani, Radha Dev Raj and
Santosh Rawat
Contents
List of Illustrations 9
Foreword 10
Acknowledgements 11
Introduction
Fields of Culture: Conversations and Contestations
Kamala Ganesh 13
Part 1
1. From Interior Landscapes into Cyberspace:
Fluidity and Dynamics of Tradition
Kapila Vatsyayan 39
2. From Sankara to Fusion: An Indian Musical Spectrum
Ashok Ranade 51
3. Lineages of the Modern in Indian Art:
The Making of a National History
Tapati Guha-Thakurta 71
4. Divided by a Common Language: The Novel
in India, in English and in English Translation
Meenakshi Mukherjee 108
Part 2
5. Translating Sensibility
Dilip Chitre 125
6. What Does Translation Mean in India?
U.R. Ananthamurthy 129
Contents
List of Illustrations 9
Foreword 10
Acknowledgements 11
Introduction
Fields of Culture: Conversations and Contestations
Kamala Ganesh 13
Part 1
1. From Interior Landscapes into Cyberspace:
Fluidity and Dynamics of Tradition
Kapila Vatsyayan 39
2. From Sankara to Fusion: An Indian Musical Spectrum
Ashok Ranade 51
3. Lineages of the Modern in Indian Art:
The Making of a National History
Tapati Guha-Thakurta 71
4. Divided by a Common Language: The Novel
in India, in English and in English Translation
Meenakshi Mukherjee 108
Part 2
5. Translating Sensibility
Dilip Chitre 125
6. What Does Translation Mean in India?
U.R. Ananthamurthy 129
8 Culture and the Making of Identity in Contemporary India
7. Inter-culturalism and the Question of Body
Anuradha Kapur 134
8. Inter-culturalism and Intra-culturalism in Theatre:
A Personal Response List of Illustrations
Vijaya Mehta 143
Part 3
9. Stri Shakti: Dimensions of Woman Power in India
Vimla Bahuguna 149
10. Vimla Bahuguna and the Legacy of Gandhian Politics
Usha Thakkar 154
11. Heritage of Bhakti: Sant Women’s Writings
in Marathi
Plate 3.1: Ravi Varma, ‘Lady with a Mirror’ 78
Vidyut Bhagwat 164
12. Feminism and Feminist Expression: A Dialogue Plate 3.2: Ravi Varma, ‘Hamsa-Damayanti’ 79
Devaki Jain 184 Plate 3.3: Ravi Varma, ‘Shakuntala Writing a
13. ‘Re’ inscribing the Past: Inserting Women into Love Letter to Dushyanta’ 81
Indian History Plate 3.4: ‘Hara-Parvati’ 82
Uma Chakravarti 202
Plate 3.5: Abanindranath Tagore, ‘Abhisarika’ 85
14. The Humanist Perspective and the Civilising
Plate 3.6: Abanindranath Tagore, ‘Red Pigeon’
Role of History
(‘Dhakai Durey’) 87
Mariam Dossal 223
Plate 3.7: Nandalal Bose, ‘Partha-Sarathi’ 89
Part 4 Plate 3.8: Nandalal Bose, ‘Spring’ (‘Palash’) 90
Plate 3.9: Nandalal Bose, ‘Rati with a Bow’ 94
15. Indigenous Knowledges and the
Plate 3.10: Benode Behari Mukherjee, ‘The Tree Lover’ 96
Hegemony of Science
Plate 3.11: Ramkinkar Baij, ‘Santhal Family’ 97
Claude Alvares 235
16. Towards an Informed Science Criticism: Plate 3.12: Gagagendranath Tagore, ‘Swarnapuri/
The Debate on Science in Post Independence India Dwarakapuri’ 99
Gita Chadha 246 Plate 3.13: Amrita Sher-Gil, ‘Two Seated Women’ 101
Plate 3.14: Amrita Sher-Gil, ‘Brahmacharis’ 102
About the Editors and Contributors 259
Plate 3.15: Jamini Roy, ‘Pujarinis’ 104
Index 262
8 Culture and the Making of Identity in Contemporary India
7. Inter-culturalism and the Question of Body
Anuradha Kapur 134
8. Inter-culturalism and Intra-culturalism in Theatre:
A Personal Response List of Illustrations
Vijaya Mehta 143
Part 3
9. Stri Shakti: Dimensions of Woman Power in India
Vimla Bahuguna 149
10. Vimla Bahuguna and the Legacy of Gandhian Politics
Usha Thakkar 154
11. Heritage of Bhakti: Sant Women’s Writings
in Marathi
Plate 3.1: Ravi Varma, ‘Lady with a Mirror’ 78
Vidyut Bhagwat 164
12. Feminism and Feminist Expression: A Dialogue Plate 3.2: Ravi Varma, ‘Hamsa-Damayanti’ 79
Devaki Jain 184 Plate 3.3: Ravi Varma, ‘Shakuntala Writing a
13. ‘Re’ inscribing the Past: Inserting Women into Love Letter to Dushyanta’ 81
Indian History Plate 3.4: ‘Hara-Parvati’ 82
Uma Chakravarti 202
Plate 3.5: Abanindranath Tagore, ‘Abhisarika’ 85
14. The Humanist Perspective and the Civilising
Plate 3.6: Abanindranath Tagore, ‘Red Pigeon’
Role of History
(‘Dhakai Durey’) 87
Mariam Dossal 223
Plate 3.7: Nandalal Bose, ‘Partha-Sarathi’ 89
Part 4 Plate 3.8: Nandalal Bose, ‘Spring’ (‘Palash’) 90
Plate 3.9: Nandalal Bose, ‘Rati with a Bow’ 94
15. Indigenous Knowledges and the
Plate 3.10: Benode Behari Mukherjee, ‘The Tree Lover’ 96
Hegemony of Science
Plate 3.11: Ramkinkar Baij, ‘Santhal Family’ 97
Claude Alvares 235
16. Towards an Informed Science Criticism: Plate 3.12: Gagagendranath Tagore, ‘Swarnapuri/
The Debate on Science in Post Independence India Dwarakapuri’ 99
Gita Chadha 246 Plate 3.13: Amrita Sher-Gil, ‘Two Seated Women’ 101
Plate 3.14: Amrita Sher-Gil, ‘Brahmacharis’ 102
About the Editors and Contributors 259
Plate 3.15: Jamini Roy, ‘Pujarinis’ 104
Index 262
