Study Plan for IGNOU MEG - Contemporary Indian Literature in English Translation
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Block 1: Background Studies – Not essential. This section can be skipped without significant impact.
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Block 2: Samskara by U. R. Anantha Murthy
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Choose either Samskara or Tamas based on your preference.
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Many students find Samskara easier, but both are interesting and offer rich themes for analysis.
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Block 3: Tamas by Bhisham Sahni
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As an alternative to Samskara, this is also a compelling text, often included in exams.
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Block 4: Short Stories - I
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Typically, you will be asked to choose any 2 stories from 4 different options in the exam.
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Since it's unpredictable which stories will be included, try to cover all 8 stories, or at the very least, familiarize yourself with their summaries.
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Block 5: Short Stories - II
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Similar to Block 4, these stories can be selected based on your comfort level, but try to cover as many as possible to avoid surprises in the exam.
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Block 6: Poetry
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The exam usually includes 6 poems, from which you must choose any 4 for reference to context (RTC) questions.
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Given the volume of poems, it’s advisable to study all of them thoroughly, as they can be easily confused in the pressure of an exam setting.
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Block 7: Tughlaq by Girish Karnad
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This is a must-read. It almost always appears in the exam and is considered one of the most significant texts in this course.
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Block 8: Non-Fictional Prose
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Choose any 3 pieces based on your interest.
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I personally avoided Manimahesh, but you can select as per your preference.
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Note: The anthology Contemporary Indian Literature in English Translation contains all the short stories and poems you need for this course. Make sure to keep it as a handy reference.
IMP ques:
Block-1 Background Studies
Block-2 Samskara : U. R. Anantha Murthy
Do you think Sanskara is a repudiation of Brahminism ? Discuss.
Discuss the contemporary relevance of Sanskara.
Discuss the importance of Putta’s role as a focalizer in Sam skara.
“Intertextuality appears to be a special feature of the narrative texture of the novel Samskara.” Discuss. Analyse the narrative of the novel „Samskara‟.
Discuss the text Samskara as an Allegory
‘Samskara looks back at Indian tradition and at the same time looks forward to modern times. Discuss.
How does Samskara depict the caste divisions in Indian society ?
Samskara is a modern novel of existential dilemma. Discuss
What is the importance of the sexual encounter of Acharya with Chandri in the novel Samskara ?
Compare and contrast the character of Pranesacharya with that of Naranappa in the novel Samskara
Discuss how Samskara charts India's transition from tradition to modernity
Discuss the ways in which Samskara offers a critique of Brahminical Hinduism.
Block-3 Tamas : Bhisham Sahni
What part does religion play in Tamas ? Discuss.
After Nathu, Bakshiji is the most socially sensitive character in Tamas. Do you agree ? Discuss.
What part does religion play in Tamas ?
“The novel Tamas is a severe criticism of British imperialism in India.” Discuss.
“The theme of communalism is the major concern of the novel „Tamas‟.” Discuss.
Comment on the narrative structure of Tamas.
Discuss the role of subalterns in the novel Tamas.
How does Tamas deal with the reality of Partition ?
Tamas is not merely a graphic description of violence and drama. Discuss with examples.
Discuss the narrative structure of Bhisham Sahni's Tawas.
Discuss two scenes of your choice from the novel Tamas. Why are these scenes important in the structural framework of the novel ?
Discuss the issue of communal conflict in Tamas with reference to incidents of communal tension in India's history after the Partition.
Which scene in the novel Tamas has left an indelible impression on your mind ? Bring out its significance.
Block-4 Short Story-I
Unit-1 Mahasweta Devi : Salt
“Exploitation is the major theme of the story “Salt.” Discuss. 2(SN)
Comment on the predicament of the tribals in the story „Salt‟.
Discuss critically the role of Ekoya in the story "Salt" by Mahasweta Devi.
Metaphor of salt in Salt 2
Narrative technique in Salt
Unit-2 Vaikom Muhammad Basheer : Birthday
The story ‘Birthday’ is typical of the early Basheer who was at odds with a society full of vested interests and selfishness. Substantiate.
„Birthday‟ is typical of the stark realism the early Basheer practised. Substantiate.
In “Birthday”, Basheer draws upon the form of the diary. Comment.
Idealism and optimism in Birthday
Stark realism in Birthday
Elements of optimism in Birthday
Unit-3 Nirmal Verma : Birds
Do you think ‘Birds’ is an apt title for the story ? Give reasons for your answer. /Significance of the title Birds 4
What is the role of 'memory' in the story "Birds" by Nirmal Verma ?3(SN)
Discuss the use of images of light and sound in the story "Birds" by Nirmal Verma.
The importance of Hubert and Mukherjee in Birds
The character of Latika in Birds
Unit-4 Ismat Chughtai : Tiny's Granny
Narrative voice in Tiny’s Granny
Significance of the title "Tiny's Granny".
The character sketch of Granny in Tiny's Granny
Unit-5 Gopinath Mohanty : Tadpa
Realism and point of view in Tadpa
The depiction of jungle in "Tadpa"
Gopinath Mohanty's story "Tadpa" offers a strong critique of the civilizing mission.
Unit-1 Indira Goswami (Mamoni Raisom Goswami) : The Empty Chest
Describe the characteristics of the protagonist in Indira Goswami’s The Empty Chest.
Discuss the symbolic significance of the title in the story "The Empty Chest" by Indira Goswamy.
Symbolism in The Empty Chest
The symbolic meaning of the title in "The Empty Chest"?3
Comment on the style of the story „The Empty Chest‟.
Unit-2 Motilal Jotwani : Very Lonely, She
Examine the theme of family bonds in “Very Lonely, She”.
The theme of loneliness in Very Lonely, She
The story "Very Lonely, She" by Motilal Jotwani is bifocal in its effect. Discuss
Narrative technique of Very Lonely, She
Unit-3 Afsar Ahmed : Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur
Major incidents in Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur
How does the story “Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur” combine elements of different genres ?
Why does the protagonist of the story"Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur" pretend madness ? Discuss critically
Trope of madness in Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur
Unit-4 Vijaydan Detha : The Compromise
In what way is the story ‘The Compromise’ relevant to our times ? Comment.
Discuss Vijaydan Detha‟s art of storytelling in the story „The Compromise‟. 2
Significance of the title The Compromise.
How does Detha exploit the elements of folk storytelling in his story "The Compromise" ? Explain.
Significance of the title of the story The Compromise
The Compromise as an allegory
Folk element in Compromise
The first person narration in The Compromise
Block-6 Poetry
Poem-Requiem/ Remembering Meri – Author- Nongkynrih Kynpham Singh(Khasi) Translation : poet vvimp
The stone speaks in the forest – Chandra Kanta Murasingh (Kokborork) TS: B.S. Rajkumar imp
The Last Dream – Yumlembam Ibomcha (Manipuri), TS: Udayan Ghosh imp
Tree and the Sage – Haribhajan Singh(Panjabi), TS: JS Rahi & Rita Chaudhry vvimp
The Stare – Raghuvir Sahay(Hindi) TS: Poet
The Moon – Dina Nath Nadim(Kashmiri) TS:J.L. Kaul vvimp
The Moment of Courage- Padma Sachdev(Dogri) TS:Iqbal Masud vimp
Mother Serious-Kondepudi Nirmala (Telugu) TS: K. Damodar Rao vvimp
The blood that flows in the veins
Drop by drop
Swims like tears in the eyes
It knows you though it sees you not 2
Like the dot in a question-mark. I am slipping down memory lane And you give me a brain-teaser !
Kitchen-Vimala (Telugu) TS: V.V.B. Rama Rao vvimp
I met Walt Whitman Yeasterday:An Interview- K.Ayyappa Panikar(Malayalam) TS: A.J. Thomas vimp
Sri Radha- Ramakanta Rath(Oriya) TS:Poet vvimp
Just Once try- Shakti Chattopadhyay(Bengali) TS:sibnarayan Ray
Orpheus-Sitanshu Yahaschandra(Gujrati) TS: Poet Vimp
Cave roofs are pushed and splintered,
Mistakes are fine follies howl,
Every eye begets its many dreams
Mistakes and fine follies howl, Every eye begets its many dreams, And no king’s ordinance is here honoured.
A Notebook of Poems-Namdeo Dhasal(Marathi) TS:Santosh Bhoomkar
Autobiography Namdeo Dhasal(Marathi)
Sunflower giving Fakir Namdeo Dhasal(Marathi) Imp
On 10 papers:
Poem-Requiem/ Remembering Meri – Author- Nongkynrih Kynpham Singh(Khasi) Translation : poet vvimp
The moans that floated
into the still autumn nights
were borne by the cold winds.2
Love broke into loud lamentation
The mother cried for divine explanations
Mourners swarmed her death-bed.4
And finally, only two titanic tarantulas, one black, the other with a crimson chest crept with slow, hairy step, like skulkers of the night, and hauled her off to their invisible lair.2
The stone speaks in the forest – Chandra Kanta Murasingh (Kokborork) TS: B.S. Rajkumar imp
He stood with his foot Pressing the forehead of the stone And looking to find which way His prey was on the run
The Last Dream – Yumlembam Ibomcha (Manipuri), TS: Udayan Ghosh imp
Piles of wood were burning in the Crematorium
I love, I do love to burn,
I want to burn alongside a river !
The wide forehead of the village Sleeping they cannot change positions In the early hours of daytime Up and down the village
Thus was cremated the old woman Darkness of the night embraces The wide forehead of the village Sleeping they cannot change positions
That can’t be
That can’t be
She had died many years ago
She cannot live any longer 4
Lifeless fields stretch scorched and dry Like death in silence.
Tree and the Sage – Haribhajan Singh(Panjabi), TS: JS Rahi & Rita Chaudhry vvimp
Long live thirst
Though all the world is for you
Yet the most precious gift of all
Is the thirst that the creator showered on you.
Beauty is neither in flower nor in the eye,
It is in desire of flower for the eye.
It is in the desire of the eye
yearning the embrace the flower.
Strange were the questions Stranger still was my quest I felt like an exile Without foothold in sight
When a relationship is broken and another is yet to be formed the story of that period’s uncertainty who would listen to it, if not myself.
And now with my spring bloom I wish to go somewhere else "It has been too long a stay here Now is the time to move on."The Stare – Raghuvir Sahay(Hindi) TS: Poet
The Moon – Dina Nath Nadim(Kashmiri) TS:J.L. Kaul vvimp
We’ll strive to untie the narcissus with you,
And she’ll be able to satiate her longings,
O bumble bee, the black bumble bee !
Wherefore are you so sad and forelorn ?3
The garden has withered in autumn : It might be deserted soon. O bumble-bee, the black bumble-bee ! Wherefore are you so sad and forlorn ?
Love live thirst Though all the world is for you Yet the most precious gift of all Is the thirst that the creator showered on you
The moon looked like a pancake and The hills looked hungry; and the clouds put out The fire in western skies. But in the east The wood nymphs lit the moon’s cooking stove
She looked dull as a robe Not of pampore tweed worn off threadbare and torn at the collar-band out of which peep the scars On a marble breast.
The Moment of Courage- Padma Sachdev(Dogri) TS:Iqbal Masud vimp
Last year
Summer covered it with
The green
of mango blossoms;
It tempted a calf
The dark of the wall Longs for that moment of courage When, in full sight of all, My hands Will stretch out For a drink
Mother Serious-Kondepudi Nirmala (Telugu) TS: K. Damodar Rao vvimp
Kitchen-Vimala (Telugu) TS: V.V.B. Rama Rao vvimp
This kitchen : how wonderful ! Wafting aromas, How it makes mouths water, Like an open shop of sweets.2
Cooking and serving, cooking and serving,
Scrubbing and washing
There’s a kitchen in my dreams,
The smell of spices even in the jasmine
Damn the kitchen
The morning today
tells me it shall away all
consciousness from this life
and all the other lives I have yet to live
and all other lives I have yet to live
in words different from all the words I’ve
known.
My mother is impress of this kitchen empire, But the name on pots and pans is my father’s.
Our children are about to enter these lovely kitchens, come, for their sake, let‟s demolish these kitchens now !
I met Walt Whitman Yeasterday:An Interview- K.Ayyappa Panikar(Malayalam) TS: A.J. Thomas vimp
“Yesterday—or the day before—I met
Whitman : met Whitman talking
aloud in solitude about the populace.”
Atom or Atman Which of these do your scientists Strive after?
Do you have in your land still those sages, who, eating only their silences, counsel their rulers ?
Sri Radha- Ramakanta Rath(Oriya) TS:Poet vvimp
What impudence in the sunlight.
The wind’s thoughts are wandering,
as though it has seen the long banished lover living in disguise. 4
I then collected
all half-formed desires,
joined them together,
rushed towards you like a gale
and entwined my fingers
in your fingers.2
The morning today tells me it shall take away all consciousness from this life and all the other lives I have yet to live.
Just Once try- Shakti Chattopadhyay(Bengali) TS:sibnarayan Ray
Orpheuw-Sitanshu Yahaschandra(Gujrati) TS: Poet Vimp
A Notebook of Poems-Namdeo Dhasal(Marathi) TS:Santosh Bhoomkar
Autobiography Namdeo Dhasal(Marathi)
Sunflower giving Fakir Namdeo Dhasal(Marathi) Imp
Turning their backs to the sun, they journeyed through centuries Now, now, we must refuse to be pilgrims of darkness.
Unit-1 K. S. Nongkynrih : Requiem (Khasi)
Unit-2 Haribhajan Singh : Tree and the Sage
Unit-3 Dina Nath Nadim : The Moon
Unit-4 Kondepudi Nirmala : Mother Serious
Unit-5 Ramakanta Rath : Sri Radha
Unit-6 Sitanshu Yashashchandra : Orpheus
Block-7 Tughlaq : Girish Karnad
In what way is Tughlaq a well-structured play ? Substantiate.
“There are opposing extremes in the characters of Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq.” Comment with reference to the play Tughlaq.
How has Girish Karnad treated the theme of power in Tughlaq ?
In what sense is Tughlaq a well-structured play ? Discuss.
Write a note on the contemporary relevance of Tughlaq.
Discuss the theme of power in the play „Tughlaq‟.
Examine the use of the motif of disguise and resemblance used in the play „Tughlaq‟.
Examine Tughlaq as a political satire.
Discuss the theme of power in the play Tughlaq.
Does the play Tughlaq have contemporary relevance ? Discuss.
Elaborate upon the themes and issues in Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq.
Tughlaq is a play of existential struggle for survival. Discuss.
How do you think the stage directions in the play Tughlaq contribute to its impact ?
Comment on the elements of modernity in the character of Tughlaq.
Compare the roles of Aziz and Aazam in the play Tughlaq.
Tughlaq offers a critique of Nehruvian politics of secularism and socialism. Illustrate.
Discuss critically the role of Aziz in the play Tughlaq.
Discuss Tughlaq as an allegory of politics.
Discuss critically the role of Zia-ud-din Barani in the play Tughlaq.
Would you consider Karnad's representation of Tughlaq to be that of a secular king ? What are the chinks in the King's secular policy ?
Discuss the complexity of the relationship between Tughlaq and his stepmother.
Discuss the various symbols and motifs used in Tughlaq.
Discuss how the play Tughlaq brings out the conflicting strands in the character of the protagonist.
Block-8 Non-Fictional Prose
Unit-1 Amrita Rai : Prem Chand, His Life and Timess
What exactly was Premchand’s vision of truth and beauty ? Examine with suitable examples./ What was Premchand’s vision of truth and beauty ? Discuss.
Comment on the distinctive feature of Amrit Rai’s biography of Premchand.
How does Amrit Rai employ anecdotes to enrich the biography of Prem Chand ?
Bring out the distinctive features of Amrit Rai’s biography of Premchand.
Describe the admirable qualities in Premchand's fictional characters as highlighted by Amrit Rai.
Unit-2 Bama (Faustina mary Fatima Rani) : Karukku
Comment on Bama’s reflections on Caste and Gender politics in India.
What are the aims of Dalit writing and how well does Karukku achieve them ?
Discuss Bama‟s „Karukku‟ as an autobiographical narrative.
Discuss the problems raised by Bama in Karukku. Give examples
‘Bama given an account of the sufferings and indignities of a Christian Dalit woman in Karukku.’ Comment with examples.
On the basis of your reading of Bama’s Karukku, critically examine the distinctness of Dalit autobiography.
Discuss the salient features of Bama's Karukku as an example of alternative form of autobiographical writing.
Comment on the oppression and discrimination as reflected in Bama's Karukku
Unit-3 Saadat Hasan Manto : On Ismat
Can the price on Ismat be regarded as a social document recording the values and conventions of the contemporary society ? Discuss.
Can the piece On Ismat be regarded as a social document recording the values and conventions of the contemporary society ? Discuss
Comment on the important features of Manto‟s style as you find them in „On Ismat‟.
Comment on Manto’s portrayal of Ismat Chughtai in On Ismat
Do you think Manto's pen-portrait of Ismat lacks objectivity? Illustrate.
Discuss the features of the art of pen-sketches with special reference to Manto's On lsmat.
Though Manto's "On Ismat" is a pen-sketch of an individual, yet it is fundamentally a social document. Discuss.
Discuss how Manto compares his own temperament, artistic disposition and writings with those of Ismat Chughtai.
Unit-4 Uma Prasad Mukhopadhyaya : Manimahesh
Discuss the salient features of the writer’s style in Manimahesh.
How does Manimahesh combine history, legend, reality and myth ? Discuss.
Discuss the salient features of the writer’s style in Manimahesh.
Manimahesh is more a personal memoir than an objective travellers' guide to the land and its people. Do you agree? Give a reasoned answer
How does Umaprasad Mukhopadhyaya blend myth with history in his travel account of Manimahesh ?
Outline some of the historical legends and myths about the valley surrounding Manimahesh.
. Laugh, laugh be quick to laugh Laugh before the master leaves Shaking hands with him
Kabir is standing in the bazaar, wishing well to everyone ! He had friendship with none, And enmity with none !
What were the words on my lips when I died. You seem to know them better than I. You wrote : I had said ‘Help’ May be I had said ‘Liberty’
Thirst is to plunge headlong Without learning to swim Without a barge and pole Into the roaring whirlpools.
The blind eagles, quite incapable of looking behind; Grieving eagles who never ever had any loved one; The eagles who never ever had any loved one; Eagles crying out in sharp shrill notes; The eagles of the under-world burst into the sky
Death does not come to all of us in the same manner nor do the dead become equal in death for they were not so before.2
(a) Stones and stones and the waters of the river and the sea blue stones turn red, red stones blue just once try to love.
(b) Layers of rock slide on each-other, lava liqJid flows cascading down, Cave roofs are pushed and splintered. mistakes and fine follies howl, Every eye begets its many dreams, ( 1 ) MEG-14 [1). "1.- O . And no King's ordinance is here honoured.
(c) Now I feel my life, even if eased like the cotton that touches the naval blood of an infant, under the weight of my ears, will break down.
(d) In the deep dark of the well There are wistful shadows waiting For the maidens who hung A rope on its nail But never came back to draw water.
(e) Lifeless fields stretch scorched and dry Like death in silence The thick smoke of cowdung-cakes envelope the hollow souled village.
(f) My kitchen wakes to the wh;rr and hisses of the grinder, the hiss of the pressure cooker. I move like my modern kitchen; a wind up toy. My kitchen is like a workshop, '-' It's like butcher's shop with its babble.
(a) Do you have in your land still those sages, who eating only their silences, counsel their rulers ?
(b) I do not know if a love annulling all other loves will suddenly arrive and command my destiny of old age, disease and death
(c) The blind eagles, quite incapable of looking behind; Grieving eagles who never ever had any loved one; MEG-14 1 P.T.O.
(d) I have handed over, my notebook of poems long back to Kabir. There is no Kabir in this market. Only I stand here.
(e) It's good to have some stones in your heart there is no letter box - messages can be left between stones - besides, one sometimes feels like making a home.
(f) Turning their backs to the sun, they journeyed through centuries Now, now, we must refuse to be pilgrims of darkness, ...
(a) My friend — the voice had drawn near — look, he said, Columbus' geographical error, history's gain.
(b) Who could be a Rishi greater than the tree A stoic meditating in sun and frost Undaunted and unshaken In rain or draught
(c) My mother is empress of this kitchen empire, But the name on pots and pans is my father's. MEG-14 1 P.T.O.
(d) The day people said I was an unfaithful wife I became Radha, the first and the best among women in love.
(e) One day the king arrived, lights played, He stood, with his foot Pressing the forehead of the stone And looking — to which way His prey was on the run
(f) I have no wish to live any longer, dear son ! with hollow words of empty concern with loveless strokes
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