The New Indian Woman by Rashmi Bajaj

The New Indian Woman by Rashmi Bajaj

RASHMI BAJAJ ON TASLIMA NASREEN"A WOMAN WRITER RE(-)FORMING RELIGIOUS AND GENDER MATRIX"

It might sound preposterous today but there was indeed a time when writing was considered to be an all-male prerogative and a woman was thought to be 'genetically unsuited' for literary production. As revealed in Robert Southey's famous letter to Charlotte Bronte, the bias in the West against women indulging in creative activity was very strong: "Literature is not the business of a women's life and it can not be.’’ We have now come a very long way from the initial stage when women writers had to wage a long drawn-our battle for recognition of their literary talent. Our times are witness to opulent literary creativity by women litterateurs and recognition of their merit in the critical circles. Female texts, feminist criticism and a female literary tradition are the rage of the day. There is no gainsaying the truth that women-writing has now become a vital literary force and a very essential part of the contemporary literary scenario.

In “The Madwoman in the Attic” Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar set out to explore anew a "distinctively female literary tradition." They underline the single thread running trough' the female creativity:

"The striking coherence we noticed in literature by women could be explained by a common female impulse to struggle  free from social and literary confinement through strategic redefinitions of the self, art, and society."

English language has turned out to be a very powerful global tool in the hands of the women writers to reassess and redefine
women, but also the women's writing in English in several national traditions including African, American, Asian, Australian, Canadian, Caribbean, New Zealand, South Pacific and the British Isles. South-Asian women writers, especially novelists, have made their presence felt in the international scenario. Endowed with international and national awards and accolades, these women novelists have carved a real distinguished niche for themselves on the international map. The catalogue of such prominent writers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is indeed a long one. However, no survey of the present day women writing would be complete if it fails to take note of the writings of Taslima Nasreen,the most prominent South-Asian writer of contemporary literature.

As far as the theme of Taslima's works is concerned, she is undoubtedly a feminist and also a secular humanist writer, but with a difference. She initiates a break with the tradition of Bangladeshi literature. The literature of Bangladesh has a tradition of celebrating the self- sacrificing womanhood but Taslima does not commend such renunciation. In fact, her writings display a dissociation of womanhood from the ideal of self-sacrifice.

The central thread which runs through her writings is her own experience as a "woman" and as a "Muslim". These two strands are, at times, woven together to present her perspective. Sometimes she is a doctor looking at a patient who has been intimidated by her husband into an abortion and sometimes she is a member of an intellectual group encountering blind faith in religion. In her works, these two themes are treated with dexterity and a keen awareness of complexity. Taslima's fiction embodies a quest for meaning and identity being carried out by her various protagonists. There is little stability of background in Taslima's own life and this also accounts for the fact that identity-crisis and quest for identity tend to become a major preoccupation with her. Her characters are projected as persistently struggling with their conflicting selves and the environment. Perusal of Taslima Nasrin's  novels leads us to conclude that her writing is much more than a mere cathartic exercise in self-expression. Herein various characters grapple with multiple identity-crises and seek to resolve the crisis in their own possible ways.

In her much controversial novel Lajja, (Shame)the major emphasis is on the crisis related to national-identity, social-identity and gender-identity. Taslima gradually seems to widen the scope of her vision from the immediate surroundings to the universal level in her later novels. The characters of her novels are in search of their multiple identities.

Lajja is a venture of the novelist's early days and the writer herein concentrates mainly upon her immediate surroundings. Dutta family has lived in Bangladesh all their life. The demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya proves to be a catastrophe and the aftermath of this incident is felt in the worst form by the Hindus of Bangladesh. Each of the characters has his/her own reaction towards the events taking place around him/her. This novel dwells not only on the individual identity crisis but also the collective identity crisis of all the Hindus staying in Bangladesh.

The tale of Duttas is a representative case delineating how minority Citizens lose the wholeness of their identity and sometimes their lives in communally charged atmosphere. The quest for national and social identity is common for all the Hindus staying in Bangladesh. Their country does not accept them as equivalent citizens of Bangladesh because of their minority-religion and the neighbouring country treats them as refugees because they have taken refuge in a foreign country. Their identity in their own country is of a Hindu i.e. a religious one and in the foreign country that of a Bangladeshi refugee i.e. a national one. Practically there is no place in the world where they can enjoy the richness of their 'Being'. Those who decide to stay in their own motherland are coerced to convert to Islam. Their children have to study Muslim religious scriptures and offer their prayers according to Muslim rituals which endanger their religious identity. Discrimination introduced into the constitution itself proves to be a major threat to the social identity of the Hindus in the country. Neither are they entitled to get good jobs nor can they set up their own trade without a Muslim partner.

As far as the individual quest for identity is concerned, Sudhamoy and Suranjan are sailing in the same boat. Both of them are secular humanists, idealists and followers of Marx . All their life, they have struggled to uplift their country without any vested interest. This patriotic foundation of their identity crumbles when they see their country burning in the communal fire. The overwhelming question for them is: "Was (their) only identity that of a Hindu? Did religion supersede nation and nationality?" (176). The only difference is that the idealism of Suranjan is shattered earlier than his father as he keeps moving in the religiously charged atmosphere of the country. The entire identity of Suranjan gets eroded in this poisonous atmosphere:
..... "I too want choppers, daggers and pistols in my hands. I want thick rods. Didn't they go and piss on the ruins of a mandir in old Dhaka? I also want to piss on their mosques" (164)

Blurts Suranjan and then confesses:

Yes, I'm becoming communal, I am becoming
communal …………..So what?"
His painful realization is:
The more we love the people of this country, the more they will isolate us. (213)

His inadvertent transition to a communal Hindu suffocates him and he pleads with his father to move away to India.

           However,Sudhamoy's disillusionment takes place only at the end of the novel when he is left with nothing to lose. Long before these riots, he had lost in Mymensingh all his assets and also his manhood. Now his new residence is devastated, his daughter is abducted and then murdered. No aspect of his identity remains unjeopardized. In its quest for a wholesome identity the family finally decides to forsake this motherland and migrate to India:

Sudhamoy said, 'come, let's go away'. Suranjan could not conceal his surprise.
'Where will we go, Baba?' he asked.
'India' - And his voice cracked as the shame swept over him"

Taslima rebels:

"Lajja is not a product of my sudden emotions, but the story of defeat of all of us. Lajja is everyone's sadness.... When religion becomes more important than humanity I feel responsibility to protest ... Lajja is a protest "

The women characters of the novel react to these conditions in their own way. Kironmoyee seems to be eternally silenced by her circumstances. She responds to her situation neither idealistically like her husband nor communally like her son. She is realistic enough to mould herself according to the demands of her surroundings for her survival. Her gender _identity overshadows her human identity and makes her suffer all through her life because of the roles prescribed by the society. She remains "feminine" by complying with the idealistic whims of her husband. After the mutilation of her husband's genitals, she is also deprived of her sex-life. Her identity-crisis is very intense as she does not even know how to express her grief:

“Was she made of stone that she did not react to anything at all? Did she have nothing to oppose? How strange she was - unresponsive, unrelenting and as unemotional as a corpse.” (194).

Through Kironmoyee's character, the author has projected the universal gender-generated Identity crisis of women. .
Maya, the daughter of the family, is a victim of identity crisis from the early childhood. She does not belong to any religion as she takes more interest in Muslim rituals and does not feel herself to be a Hindu. Her quest comes to an end before it could begin as she is not allowed to live a wholesome life.

However ,these women characters do not rebel or protest against any atrocities or discrimination faced by them as they are in the midst of a mega-scale tragedy where larger Issues are at stake and such finer notions of gender-equality and respect become meaningless in the face of all-around barbarism.

Including Lajja, The novels of Taslima Nasreen focus on a crisis which is not so much an internal crisis of a divided self but the crisis caused by external forces like gender,religion and race. Herein the identity crisis or quest for identity does not have any metaphysical or philosophical dimensions. Insights into higher truths of life and existence are neither sought not attained.Disillusioned with religion that divides and creates contempt, Taslima's characters challenge the cramping impact of religion and reveal irreverence towards God and religious practices.Her religion is humanitarianism and for her human values are much more important than any hatred¬generating traditional religion.
In her novels Taslima Narsin has done a commendable job of portraying the various facets of identity crisis that our times and people are familiar with. Her readers can very well empathize with the communal, religious, cultural, racial and gender-generated crisis she dwells upon. Her work, aimed at "consciousness-raising" well achieves its purpose. It is an ‘Act of Courage’where she challenges various unjust dominating forces and jolts the readers out of their complacency. 

RASHMI BAJAJ'S REVIEW ARTICLE OF NARENDER MODI'S POETRY "SAKHTJAAN RAJNETA NARMDIL KAVI"

*सख़्तजां राजनेता, नर्मदिल कवि-नरेंद्र मोदी*  
     
                   ~ डॉ रश्मि बजाज

“ कुछ लिख जाए या छप जाए उससे साहित्यकार की श्रेणी में बैठने की योग्यता आ जाती है, मुझे ऐसा भ्रम नहीं है।अविरत बहती गंगा धारा की तरह मेरे भीतर भी साहित्य का प्रभाव बहता रहा हो,ऐसा सौभाग्य मुझे नहीं मिला। हां ,वर्षा ऋतु के बाद कुछ समय के लिए बहते झरनों की तरह कभी-कभार चल निकले झरने ने शब्दों का साथ खोज लिया है- यह शब्द- माला सहज रूप से देवी सरस्वती के चरणों में रखता हूं”- (प्रेमतीर्थ)
भारतीय साहित्य में प्रख्यात राजनीतिज्ञों द्वारा रचित बहुविषयक गद्य, आत्मकथा एवं काव्य का एक बड़ा कलेवर विद्यमान है। इसी परंपरा में भारतीय काव्य-श्रृंखला में सद्य  जुड़ी कड़ियां हैं वर्तमान प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी की गुजराती कविताओं का डॉ अंजना संधीर द्वारा कृत हिंदी अनुवाद- “आंख यह धन्य है” और अंग्रेज़ी में रवि मंथा द्वारा अनूदित काव्य-संकलन -“ए  जर्नी :पोयम्स बाय नरेंद्र मोदी”। “आंख यह धन्य है” के प्राक्कथन में मोदी ने लिखा है: “मेरे इस नीड़ में आपको भाव जगत मिलेगा और भावनाएं लहराएंगी”।दोनों संग्रहों की कविताएं हमारे समय के सर्वाधिक चर्चित एवं  सर्वधिक विवादास्पद राजनेता को ‘भीतर’ और बेहतर जानने का एक विश्वसनीय मौलिक स्रोत प्रतीत होती हैं। साथ ही यहां समीक्षक के लिए एक बड़ी चुनौती है कृतियों एवं ‘पोएटिक पर्सोना’ के निष्पक्ष एवं पूर्वाग्रहमुक्त विवेचन तथा विश्लेषण की!

इन संकलनों का मूल स्वर इनका प्रखर आशावाद, सकारात्मकता एवं जुझारूपन है ।कवि मोदी ‘पृथ्वी में स्वर्ग’ देखता है -यही दृष्टि उसकी ‘दौलत’ है।कांटों की परवाह किए बिना फूल की तरह विकसित और सुरभित होने वाले इस काव्यकार के ‘आंतरिक मौसम’में सदा ‘बसंत ऋतु का आभास’बना रहता है। वह उजाले की आस   लेकर अंधेरा उलीचता है और ढूंढ निकालता है ‘नवरंगीपरों वाला/ उजाला ही उजाला”. उसका घनीभूत आशावाद असंभव को संभव करता है : “हम पर्वत के ऊपर से सूरज बन/ मध्य रात्रि को भी उगते हैं”। कवि की आंखों में स्वप्न है : “तुम्हारे पास सपने हों या नहीं/ सपनों के बीज मैं अपनी धरती पर बीजता हूं” और उसक आह्वान है: “खंडहरों में से ढूंढो सपने /जीने के लिए अतिशय जरूरी है” किंतु उसके ये ‘इंद्रधनुषीय स्वप्न’ मिथ्या कल्पना -जगत के नहीं एक कर्म योगी के हैं: “ये सपने रोमांटिक नहीं है/ अपितु जीवन भर की तपस्या के हैं” और उसका उद्घोष है :  “तुम मुझे मेरे काम से ही जानो/ कार्य ही मेरा जीवन काव्य है”। सब चुनौतियां स्वीकार करता हुआ ,भाग्यवाद को मुखर रूप से अस्वीकार करता हुआ, अतीत एवं अनागत को भुला, ‘वर्तमान’ क्षण में स्थित और स्थिर होकर, संकल्प का ‘प्रकाश’ एवं ‘ऊर्जा’ लेकर वह गति -प्रगति का गीत गाता है क्योंकि ‘लाचारी मेरे खून में नहीं’।

संग्रहों का अन्य उल्लेखनीय भाव है मानव लोकोत्तर परमशक्ति में आस्था एवं आध्यात्मिक संवेदना की अभिव्यंजना। ईश्वरीय भाव में ही उसका ‘स्व’ विस्तार पाता है :  “अपने शरीर को, मन को, हृदय को प्रभु का प्रसाद ही मानता हूं और संपूर्ण विश्व मेरे आगोश में समा जाता है”। परम सत्ता उसके लिए एक सकारात्मक प्रेरकशक्ति है: “मेरे एक-एक कर्म के पीछे ईश्वर का हो आशीर्वाद”।वह कृतज्ञ एवं भावविभोर है :  “तुम्हारी कृपा से कांटे फूल बनते हैं”। कवि का हिंदुत्व के प्रति प्रेम एवं उसके हिंदुत्व की धारणा भी इन कविताओं में अभिव्यक्ति पाते हैं ।उसे सदा से गर्व है कि “मैं मानव हूं और हिंदू हूँ/ पल पल ऐसा अनुभव होता है /विशाल विराट सिंधु हूँ”। ‘मेरा जीवन गायत्री मंत्र बन जाए’ की प्रार्थना वाले कवि मोदी का हिंदुत्व एक उदार ,उदात्त एवं सर्वकल्याणकारी चिंतन के रूप में  समक्ष आता है: “जग में उजाला फैलाएंगे ,ऊंच-नीच के भेद टाल कर/ अपना शरीर पिघाल कर /मन में मंदिर रचेंगे /कोई शत्रु नहीं....  सबमित्र.... नव संवाद रचेंगे हम /एकता समता ममता को हम  यत्नपूर्वक संभालेंगे”। यह भक्ति भाव ‘हारे को हरिनाम’ नहीं अपितु परमसत्ता के प्रति वो प्रगाढ़  प्रेम है जो वस्तु जगत से पलायन का साधन न होकर कर्मठता एवं संघर्ष की शक्ति देता है।
 संग्रह की अनेक कविताएं सार्वभौमिक मानवीय प्रेम की अभिव्यक्ति एवं गरिमा से परिपूर्ण है।कवि को पसंद है ‘मानवता का सहवास / चाहिए प्रेम भरी ऊष्मा’। वह भली प्रकार जानता है कि ‘बिना प्रेम पंगु बन मानव लाचार ,पराधीन सा जीता है/ अभाव की एक डोरी ले /पल को पल से सीता है”।उसके विचार में “संप्रदायों में बंटता मानव /मानव से बनता है दानव” पंथ संप्रदाय से बेहतर सत्य है एकात्मकता क्योंकि “मानव तो बस है मानव”।  मोदी का हृदय व्यथित है  कि “मानव मानव से रूठा है /तन भूखे हैं ,मन टूटा है”। उसकी अदम्य इच्छा है: “मुझे सेतु बनना है/प्रेम का हेतु  बनना है” और उसके ‘मन का विस्तार’ है “यह समस्त संसार”।
राष्ट्रप्रेम कवि की प्राण- ऊर्जा है :”दिल में देशभक्ति की ज्वाला /है समुद्र में जलती अग्नि की तरह’’। ‘वंदे मातरम’ उसके लिए मात्र शब्द अथवा गीत नहीं अपितु ‘मंत्र’ है जो “विकास का राजमार्ग” है /प्रजा जीवन की हर सुबह की /प्रबुद्ध चेतना का स्वर है। कविता ‘कारगिल’ शहीदों के शौर्य एवं राष्ट्र के प्रति भावांजलि है जहां कवि को बर्फ के बहते झरने की गति में दीख पड़ता है “सुजलाम सुफलाम भारत का भाव”।कवि लिखता है- “मेरे गुजरात को प्रेम करे/ वह मेरी आत्मा”और “मेरे देश को प्रेम करे/ वह मेरा परमात्मा”। अनेक कविताएं शौर्य भाव और राष्ट्रप्रेम से अनुप्राणित हैं।

कवि मोदी का प्रकृति जगत से भी अत्यंत अंतरंग संबंध है ।प्रकृति से ही उसका बिंब एवं प्रतीक जगत प्रदीप्त है, चारू शब्द- चित्र दृष्टव्य हैं।सर्वाधिक महत्वपूर्ण है कविता प्रकृति के संग एकरूपता अनुभव करना : “ वृक्ष मेरी आत्मा का अंग /वृक्ष मेरे अस्तित्व का पर्याय/ मेरा रहस्य...”। प्रकृति उसके लिए महान प्रेरणा स्रोत है: “आकाश को अपनी बाहों में लेने को/ प्रयत्नशील उछलता सागर/ मेरी प्रेरणामूर्ति है”, प्रकृति सत्य का दर्शन है: “अनंत काल से /प्रकृति में /कोई झूठ ना बोले”, प्रकृति प्रेम का आख्यान है: “ सूर्य की गति /सूर्य की मति/ सूर्य की दिशा /सब एकदम बरक रार/केवल प्रेम ...”।

कवि के आंतरिक जगत में विरोधाभासी एवं विलोम भावों की प्रबलता है तथा उनमें समन्वय बिठाना ही उसकी शक्ति है। “ऐसे देखो तो फकीर फक्कड़ /पर मन से मैं नवाबी हूं” वाला कवि ‘पहाड़ की तरह’ खड़ा रह सकता है और ‘समुद्र की तरह’ छलक भी सकता है ।वह ‘धरती की गोद में बैठा’ है पर ‘आंखों में आकाश उठाकर’ चलता है। कवि इन भावों के प्रति सकारात्मक रूप से सजग है ,यही संतुलन उसका साथ साध्य है: “स्थिरता और गति का समन्वय/ वही मेरी साधना है”l
संग्रहों  की कतिपय कविताएं कवि की उदासी एवं अकेलेपन का साक्ष्य भी प्रस्तुत करती हैं: “अपनी वेदना को आप ही संभालना / भरोसेमंद हो ऐसा कहां है कोई आदमी?” कभी ‘व्यथा बहती है ,आंसू गिरते हैं’ तो कभी ‘भर्रा जाता है कंठ याद से’। कवि ने जानी है पीड़ा ‘सपनों की सौगात’ की ‘राख’ हो जाने की ,’खिले बगीचे’ की जगह ‘कांटे’ पाने की और ‘सागर की लहर के किनारे जाकर रोने की’। मोदी के शोकाप्लावित हृदय, कोमलता ,संवेदनशीलता एवं भावुकता की मार्मिक अभिव्यक्ति है साहित्यकार मित्र रमेश पारेख के मृत्योपरान्त लिखी  गई कविता-“ भरी दोपहर में रात उगी है /आंखों में अंधेरा भरा है /मेरा मन दुख से कल्पता है/ आंसू मौन बहते हैं”। अपनी अदम्य जिजीविषा के साथ एक ककनूसी  पक्षी की भांति कवि स्वयं को फिर फिर पुनः सृजित करता है: जीवन संपूर्ण जी कर/ मैं चाहता हूं मरना”। समस्त विभीषिकाओं ,विसंगतियों एवं विषमताओं के बावजूद उसकी सकारात्मक दृष्टि में :पृथ्वी ये सुंदर है ,आंख ये धन्य है ,व्योम तो भव्य है /भरपूर ये शून्य है/ जिंदगी धन्य है, धन्य है...”


कभी -कभी कवि मोदी एक अलग दृष्टि वाला दार्शनिक बन कर भी समक्ष आता है:
Fearless of mind
A song endowed with tune
 A healthy love bound by soul
A visionary smile
The very wind ecstatic
As water flows unhindered
 The sky breathes fragrant
Each moment sacred blessed with fire

 Earth bringing love ,fragrant
 And  God my friend
 I dwell on each day
 Not the future ,not the past
Marked only with present moment
No  practices ,certainly no ways
Calm is the silence that holds sway
 In this moment ,beyond all ten directions
 It is in the 11th direction, the Sound of Music
    (‘Eleventh Direction’, “A Journey”)


निरर्थकता बोध ,नैराश्य, निषेध भाव एवं सांस्कृतिक शून्यता से संत्रस्त हमारे इस समय में नरेंद्र मोदी का काव्य सकारात्मकता , जीवट एवं जिजीविषापूर्ण संसार रचता है, ‘श्रृंगार शब्द‘ न होकर ‘नाभि से प्रकटी वाणी’ वाला यह ‘मैं- केंद्रित’ संकलन नरेंद्र मोदी के अंतर्मन से परिचय कराता है और उसके मानवीय रूप,दार्शनिक मनस्थिति को भी समक्ष लाता है जो ‘पॉलिटिकल परसोना’ में बहुत बार परिलक्षित नहीं हो पाता।कुछ कविताएं काव्यकला की दृष्टि से श्लाघनीय बन कर उभरती हैं ;बिंबो, प्रतीकों, उपमानों की संप्रेषणीयता एवं शब्द -चित्रों का लावण्य कविताओं को काव्य-सौष्ठव प्रदान करते हैं तो भावात्मक गहराई गाम्भीर्य। कुल मिलाकर यहां कविता का भावपक्ष ही कला पक्ष से अधिक सशक्त प्रतीत होता है|वास्तव में, इन कविताओं के पाठक की प्राथमिक रुचि ‘प्रधानमंत्री’ मोदी की कविताओं को पढ़ना है,’कवि’ मोदी की  नहीं।कवि मोदी का काव्यजगत नेता मोदी के विस्तार का ही एक प्रेरक अंग बन कर परिचय कराता है- उसके अनेक मानवीय पक्षों,संवेदनाओं,आस्थाओं,दार्शनिक दृष्टिकोण से।

RASHMI BAJAJ'S REVIEW OF NARENDER MODI'S POETRY"SAKHTJAAN RAAJNETA,NARMDIL KAVI"

https://www.thepurvai.com/book-review-bu-rashmi-bajaj/

RASHMI BAJAJ'S WRITE_UP ON NARENDRA MODI'S POETRY_"SAKHTJAAN RAAJNETA NARMDIL KAVI"

https://www.thepurvai.com/1744-2/

INDIGENIZED SHAKESPEARE:INDIA'S POST_COLONIAL LOVE

~ RASHMI BAJAJ
“He was not of an age but for All time”- the veracity of Ben Johnson’s celebrated comment on Shakespeare is amply validated by India’s long and fruitful

tryst with Shakespeare. From the colonial curricula and colonial Indian classrooms to the post- colonial literature, Art, Theatre and finally the world of Celluloid, Shakespeare has inspired and influenced the entire gamut.Initially introduced in Indian curricula for promoting English language, producing small Anglophile elite and representing the essential core values of the Western tradition, Shakespeare today stands indigenized, indianized and transculturated in Indian creative expression.
Be it the early major Indian authors of all languages, the Parsi theatre or India’s cinema, Shakespeare’s impact on Indian literature, culture and popular culture is strongly felt. Relationship between India and Shakespeare is the longest and the most widespread one outside of Europe. It is not mere coincidence that Shakespeare began being performed in India earlier than in Australia, Newzealand or African countries. 1852 onwards all 17 Indian languages have translated Shakespeare and all over the country, especially in the South, smaller towns and universities, some Shakespeare is performed every year in English, in translation or adaptation. As of today, Shakespeare studies have diversified to include so many areas- performance studies, film studies, cultural and intercultural studies, transnational and post-colonial studies.
In India, from the time Shakespeare was introduced, his work was translated, indigenized, adapted and performed. Indian psyche was never hostile or averse to Adaptations or Appropriations of Shakespeare's works. Infact, Adaptation is intuitive and acceptable for Indians as Indian tradition has precedents of numerous retellings ,translations and adaptation of Hindu epics, Arabic and Persian indigenous sources. Christina Mangala Frost has thus pointed out the distinctive reception of Shakespeare in India.
“The ready acceptance of Shakespeare during Raj cannot be adequately accounted for either in terms of cultural crawling or imperialist coercion.”1
Infact, there were people in India who were willing to indigenize Shakespeare. Indian context of Shakespeare's reception does not fall in line with Fanonion historical trajectory of reception where whole-hearted emulation of the colonized's culture in the earlier stages is later followed by intense rejection, finally leading to colonized culture's balanced engagement with colonizer's culture. Here we don't hove 'mimic men' but cross-cultural adaptators and transculturators, open to larger process of creating a world vision.
Localizing or indigenizing Shakespeare seems to have brought him closer, made him feel our own and it also facilitates better comprehension of the originals. At times, such an indigenized interaction with Shakespeare has been instrumental in even transforming real lived life. Here I am citing an amazing experience reported by Lindsay Pereira from her conversation with Dr. Poonam Trivedi and Dennis Bartholomesusz , the authors of “India's Shakespeare: Translation, Interpretation and Performance”. The author reports performance of Kannada adaptation of Macbeth entitled "Maranayaka Drishtranta" by inmates of the Mysore jail in rehabilitation workshop conducted by actor- director Kattimani The prison-actor who played Macbeth narrated his experience how the acting made him see his life very differently and filled him with remorse and repentance. The prisoner was transformed, left on parole for good behaviour and is now a respected member of his village. This is an instance of consequential social and moral transformation and rehabilitation. It also illustrates the close relationship between life and literature and also the purgatory, purifying and elevating impact of Shakespeare's plays.
Besides being a strong influence on literature and theatre,Shakespeare also holds the distinction to be the darling of Indian cinemakers and Bollywood from 1920 till date.
The earliest Indian cinematic engagement with Shakespeare goes back to the silent Era to 'Dilfarosh' (1927) movie based on popular stage adaptation of “The Merchant of Venice”, 'Khoon-e-Nahak' (1928), based on “Hamlet”, 'Mitha Zahar' (1930) based on “Cymbeline”. In the talkies of 30s &40s, translation and transmission of Shakespeare's rhetoric in Urdu was adopted for the screen in 'Hathili Dulhan' (1932- The Taming of the Shrew), 'Khudabad' (1935-Pericles), 'Khoon-Ka-Khoon' (1935-Hamlet), 'Said-E-Havas' (1936- Richard III), 'Zan Mureed' (1936- Antony & Cleopatra), 'Pak Daman' (1970_ Measure for Measure) and 'Zaalim Saudagar' (1941- The Merchant of Venice).
In the post- independence India cinema has emerged as the most powerful Art form of creative expression. In fact, the credit for reviving Shakespeare and making him widely admired goes much more to Indian cinema than Shakespearean critics or scholars .Adapting shakespear's works or Indianzing them is the latest fad and in-thing in today's Indian celluloid world .Since very long Bollywood has been Shakespearesque in myriad ways- Music, dance, diologues, dilemmas, comedy, melodrama, Love-triangles and obstacles ,disguised identities, villains and so on. Some of the famous Indian cinematic engagements with Shakespeare are adaptation of “The Comedy of Errors” in "Do Duni Chaar" (1968) and 'Angoor' (1982). Less explicitly influenced movies based on “Romeo & Juliet “are 'Ishqzaade', 'Isaaq', 'Goliyon ki Ras Leela Ramlila', 'Qayamat se Qayamat Tak' whereas “Twelfth Night “seems to inspire antics in 'Dil Bole Hadippa'.
However, Shakespeare's influence on Bollywood movies has majorly continued to be unacknowledged till recently when Vishal Bhardwaj openly acknowledged Shakespeare as the inspiration and source text for his internationally celebrated cine-trilogy of 'Maqbool' (2003) , 'Omkara' (2006) and 'Haider' (2014) based on “Macbeth “,”Othello” and “Hamlet” respectively. Now in the cine-world, it is no more the 'secret plagiarism' of earlier times, but an open acceptance and admiration of Shakespeare's incorporation in post-colonial Indian world. William Shakespeare is India's Heritage too!
Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptations of Shakespeare have received wide critical attention and have been screened at several international film festivals. Through creatively and successfully indianizing and Indigenizing Shakespeare's originals, the movies take the viewers beyond the purely Indian context and emerge as most ambitious post-colonial adaptations of Shakespeare into film internationally made in recent years. These films have been discussed in Daniel Rosenthal's “100 Shakespeare Films “published by British FIlm Institute and serious Shakespeare scholars and critics such as Douglas lanier, Anthony R. Gunerate, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, Nandi Bhatia, Poonam Trivedi have noted studied and commented on them. Keeping in view the appreciable success of Shakespeare_ influenced movies, one can remark that not withstanding the hazards of violation of original text's impact and intensity, dilution of original emotions and flavour of Shakespeare, the celluloid world in India still seems to be a promising platform for further exploration and presentation of the transculturated Shakespeare.
All the world is Shakespeare's stage and more so India.The Bard _of _Avon has really stayed on even more than seven decades after the Brits(Britishers)left.Indian literature,Theatre and Cinema have claimed Shakespeare as their own.The increased interest in cinematic engagement with Shakespeare augurs well for the future Shakespeare _India involvement and it ensures for the Bard much more space in the Indian Cultural and Literary Discourse. Unlike many other post-colonial writings, 'writing back' to Shakespeare, in powerfully subversive counter_ narratives or rejecting Master's narratives, India's response to Shakespeare is one of delightful intercultural exchange. Indianized, Indigenized, Localized, Transculturated Shakespeare is the New Love of India!
REFERENCES
1. Quoted by Poonam Trivedi, 'Introuction”,”India's Shakespeare: Translation Interpretation and Performance” eds. Poonam Trivedi and Dennis Bartholomeusez Newark: University Of Delaware, 2015)
2. Pereira Lindsay, "William Shakespeare is Our Heritage too"
http:/www.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/26/inter.htm

RASHMI BAJAJ FEMINIST POEMS

1.A WOMAN’S METAMORPHOSIS

No more
Helpless hopeless
Dreaming of
The ever_elusive
Golden dawn
With eyes
Drenched in
Gloom and remorse

She has
Worked out
Her own
Metamorphosis

Numerous suns
Now explode
Inside her
Effulgating
Illuminating
The entire cosmos!

                      
2.VAGINA AND BREASTS

Ever Since
I was conceived
I was
Not a foetus
But a Female Foetus
Came out
From the womb
A Female Infant

A Girl child
I grew up
Straight into
A WOMAN
Never ever
Made to feel
A HUMAN

All days
All nites
Forced to
Live my BODY
Body has become
My only identity
I often wonder
When the bell tolls
And Final Darkness falls
when the bodys drops
And my soul
In hell/heaven rests
How will the soul
look like__
Ethereal formless
Or it too
Would have grown
VAGINA AND BREASTS?

3. THE NEW INDIAN WOMAN
Daring defiant
She marches past
Not only Manu
The ancient scripter
But Modern messiah
Marx too

All her crutches
Thrown aside
She bursts into
Ecstatic
Dance of Life

Disowned by All
The Rights n Lefts
Wooed by Unknown
Vistas umpteen
Sanguine smiling
Moves she on
The Unstoppable
New Indian woman…

                                  _ RASHMI BAJAJ