1) This book presents a comprehensive account of the eminent Bengali writer and activist, the Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Mahasweta Devi's oeuvre in its full range and versatility. 2) It draws attention to Devi's role as a woman writer with a difference and her image outside Bengal. 3) This book will be of interest to departments of South Asian Literature and Cultural studies across UK.

This book attempts to deal with the problem of literary subjectivity in theory and practice. The works of six contemporary women writers - Doris Lessing, Anita Desai, Mahasweta Devi, Buchi Emecheta, Margaret Atwood and Toni Morrison - are discussed as potential ways of testing and expanding the theoretical debate. A brief history of subjectivity and subject formation is reviewed in the light of the works of thinkers such as Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Raymond Williams and Stephen Greenblatt, and the work of leading feminists is also seen contributing to the debate substantially.

Rabindranath Tagore is widely regarded as a poet-philosopher and educationist, but his novels remain a relatively underexplored aspect of his oeuvre. Focusing on gender and modernity as key features of his fiction, this book charts Tagore's evolution as a novelist from self-conscious psychologizing in Chokher Bali to an engagement with nationalism in Gora and Ghare Baire (The Home and the World); a portrayal of asceticism and desire in Chaturanga (Quartet); an analysis of marriage, sexuality and change in Bengali society in Yogayog (Relationships); an effervescent fusion of social satire and literary experimentation in Shesher Kabita (Farewell Song); and an intense, dramatic study of love, politics and terrorism in Char Adhyay (Four Chapters). This study demonstrates that Tagore's writings cannot be readily assimilated within current theoretical frameworks, and urges us to rethink the conventional oppositions between tradition and modernity, masculinity and femininity, East and West, and local and global. Addressing a major gap in the field, the book reconstructs Tagore as a novelist of eminent stature, demonstrates the range and complexity of his creative genius, his contribution to literary history and the relevance of his reflections to our times. Enriched by insights into the biographical and socio-historical contexts of his novels, this book will be of special interest to researchers, teachers and students of comparative and world literature, history, postcolonial studies and gender studies, as also to Tagore enthusiasts.

Rabindranath Tagore is widely regarded as a poet-philosopher and educationist, but his novels remain a relatively underexplored aspect of his oeuvre. Focusing on gender and modernity as key features of his fiction, this book charts Tagore's evolution as a novelist from self-conscious psychologizing in Chokher Bali to an engagement with nationalism in Gora and Ghare Baire (The Home and the World); a portrayal of asceticism and desire in Chaturanga (Quartet); an analysis of marriage, sexuality and change in Bengali society in Yogayog (Relationships); an effervescent fusion of social satire and literary experimentation in Shesher Kabita (Farewell Song); and an intense, dramatic study of love, politics and terrorism in Char Adhyay (Four Chapters). This study demonstrates that Tagore's writings cannot be readily assimilated within current theoretical frameworks, and urges us to rethink the conventional oppositions between tradition and modernity, masculinity and femininity, East and West, and local and global. Addressing a major gap in the field, the book reconstructs Tagore as a novelist of eminent stature, demonstrates the range and complexity of his creative genius, his contribution to literary history and the relevance of his reflections to our times. Enriched by insights into the biographical and socio-historical contexts of his novels, this book will be of special interest to researchers, teachers and students of comparative and world literature, history, postcolonial studies and gender studies, as also to Tagore enthusiasts.

This book attempts to deal with the problem of literary subjectivity in theory and practice. The works of six contemporary women writers a " Doris Lessing, Anita Desai, Mahasweta Devi, Buchi Emecheta, Margaret Atwood and Toni Morrison a " are discussed as potential ways of testing and expanding the theoretical debate. A brief history of subjectivity and subject formation is reviewed in the light of the works of thinkers such as Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Raymond Williams and Stephen Greenblatt, and the work of leading feminists is also seen contributing to the debate substantially.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was a towering figure in India's intellectual and cultural landscape. He was not only a writer, artist, music composer and a philosopher but also a world traveller. He travelled to more than 34 countries in his lifetime and these travels left a deep impact on him. According to Humayun Kabir, travel not only broadened his selfhood, it also contributed to his philosophy of internationalism and the development of his institution, Visva-Bharati. He believed that inclusivism and synergic interaction between cultures would propel the world towards harmony and global fellowship. Tagore was a curious and keen observer of socio-political life in the numerous countries that he visited. He made an immense contribution to the making of modern India and left a deep imprint on leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu. This book explores Tagore's travels, and assesses the extent to which he was influenced by his visits and the deep impression he left on the countries he visited. Here, experts from India and several countries to which Tagore had travelled offer an array of perspectives on Tagore's thoughts and vision. They examine how his journeys contributed to his philosophy of internationalism, universalism, humanism, spiritual unity and the religion of man. The volume also illuminates the influence of Tagore's ideas upon the evolution and continuing ethos of Indian foreign policy.