The Department of English, Gauhati University, in collaboration with IACLALS, is happy to announce the fourth and final seminar of the series International Seminars on Contemporary South Asian Fictions in English. This time the focus is on literatures in English of and from the three nations- Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh- and the idea is to encourage an inter-/multi-disciplinary perspectives to bear on literary and cinematic texts along with other art forms in understanding their contexts, cultural discourses, myths and legends. One of the many themes in this seminar will be to consider the issues that have engaged the attention of writers of/from the three nation-states and how as neighbouring countries, they resonate with similar trajectories in philosophy, folktales, myths, religion, fiction and cinema.

NEPAL

Nepalese writings in English began with the publication of the biography, The Life of Sir Junga Bahadur Rana by Padma Jung Bahadur Rana, after which there was acalm till the poet laureate Laxmi Prasad Devkota began writing poetry and essays in English, and translated texts as he aspired for a global presence of Nepalese literature in English. His dreams were fulfilled in the millennium with the literary ventures of the 1950s, '60s and '70s gaining impetus and popularity after the political changes in Nepal in1990 when democracy was established. Novels like Samrat Upadhay’s Arresting God in Kathmandu (2000) and Manjushree Thapa's The Tutor of History (2001) drew international attention to the literatures and cultures of Nepal.

Earlier writers like Mani Dixit, Tek Bahadur Karki, AbhiSubedi, D.B. Gurung, Laxmi Devi Rajbhandari were writing in English on Nepali identity, culture, social realism and nationalism for the readers.  Karki’s Folktales from Nepal Himalaya opens up Nepalese community living, beliefs and myths. But Manjushree Thapa's presence in the Western academia led to a wider circulation of Nepali texts and growth in readership while also introducing pertinent questions on canon formation: Is there a canon of Nepali writers? If so, who are these writers? What are their concerns? How do they negotiate local culture, beliefs and tales with moments of modern transitions?

BHUTAN

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan boasts of a rich oral tradition of Buddhist teachings, verses, biographies of monks or Druk Desis and many folk tales. Some of these are recorded by the first woman to write in English, KunzangChoden inThe Circle of Karma,Folktales of Bhutan, Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti,Chilli and Cheese- Food and Society in Bhutan and Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in Bhutan.

However, to know Bhutan’s literary landscape and other art forms one must turn to AshiDorjiWangmo Wangchuk who plays a great role in promoting the literature and culture of her country. She is the Queen Mother of Bhutan, the wife of the Fourth King of Bhutan King Jigme Sinye Wangchuk, and is the chief patron of “Bhutan Echoes: Drukyul’s Arts and Literary Festival”, a festival that has contributed greatly in promoting the country, its stories, culture and traditions. Her Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan is a window to Bhutanese folktales, traditions, beliefs and also the stories of the Royal family.

The literatures in English from Bhutan are at a nascent stage with very little fiction coming out in recent years. Using the written word for storytelling is a development of the 1950s, as more short stories and other forms of literature were published. In this scenario, the literary festival headed by the Queen Mother had worked to foster a reading culture among the youths. ZamieZeppa’s Beyond the Sky and the Earth is another important book that revealsthe author’s experiences of travel and life in a Bhutanese village.

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh and India have shared an unusual ‘twin-state’ relationship that has developed on the bedrock of the tumultuous history of the subcontinent. As geographies, nomenclatures and identities have changed over the last one hundred and twenty years, the contexts and contours of literature in English from Bangladesh have evolved accordingly. A recent study has termed this nature of Bangladeshi literature in English as a ‘thrice born tradition’, tracing its evolutionary phases through its times as East Bengal, then as East Pakistan, and then finally as Bangladesh after 1971. This saga of evolution has seen great figures like Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Ganesh Bagchi, Sayed Ahmed, and in contemporary times, figures like Monica Ali, TahmimaAnam, and Zia Haider Rahman, amongst others. As Bangladesh now goes through another period of transition, as the events of 2024 would have us believe, it is important that we trace the past and present contexts of literature in English from Bangladesh to comprehend the events at hand and what might lie ahead.

Furthermore, the fate and histories of India’s Northeast and Bangladesh are intricately linked- events in Bangladesh have had a ripple effect in Northeast much more than in any other part of India, and similarly, events in the Northeast have left their mark on Bangladesh. This seminar would explore this complicated yet fascinating relationship through the literary lens, and representations of our shared experiences.

The common threads in all these three nations are highlighted in the list of sub-themes below. However, our seminar would like to focus more on fiction, being the dominant genre in South Asian Literature. Papers are invited on the following sub-themes but not limited to these:

●      Orality and the written word

●      Folktales / Myths / Legends

●      Tradition and Modernism

●      Fiction and Environment

●      Land rights and women in literature (Bhutan)

●      Religion in Literature

●      New Media and Literature

●      Emergent Economies: Development, Culture, and Literature

●      Literary Anthropology

●      Translations

●      Tribe / Tribal / Folk – Issues of terminology

●      Postcolonialism and History

●      Literary Canon and its problems

●      Literature and cinema in the Northeast, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal

●      Footsteps in the Himalayas: travel writing

●      Journalistic writing

●      Questions of Identity

●      Violence and the Nation

●      Bengal Partition

●      Gender, Sexuality and the Body

●      South Asian Folklore

●      Cityscapes

●      Human Rights Literature & Cinema

●      Diaspora / Migration and Fiction

●      Role of Literary Festivals

 Paper presenters are requested to write their papers keeping in mind that they will be allocated a maximum reading time of 15 minutes of presentation each followed by 5 minutes of interaction. They must follow the MLA 9th edition handbook format and are to submit a soft copy of the paper at the time of registration.

 A 300-word abstract should be sent to:doeintconf2025@gmail.com on or before 18 January 2025. Acceptance will be sent via email on 25 January 2025.

Registration

The registration fee for-

Participants: Rs 2500/-

Research Scholars: Rs. 1200/-

This will take care of Seminar kit and hospitality during the technical sessions.

Accommodation may be made available on request.

Important Dates:

Last date of submitting abstract (300 words): 18 January 2025

Acceptance to be notified by: 25 January 2025

For further details contact:

Farddina Hussain: doeintconf2025@gmail.com

Jyotishman Kalita: doeintconf2025@gmail.com

Convenors