When I recently read the book – “Hindu Studies: Foundation and Frameworks”, written by Professor Nandani Sahu, I thought, ‘What was the need to write this book in our country, where the majority of Hindu people are very well-acquainted with traditions, philosophies, histories, and cultural expressions associated with Hinduism, one of the world’s oldest living religions?’ But after having gone through it, I found that this book is very much essential in the academic field because it encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including religious studies, philosophy, history, anthropology, linguistics, and art, aiming to understand Hinduism’s texts, practices, and societal impact.

It is also true that our new generation is distancing itself from their religion, culture, scriptures, and even heritage of excellent arts. They feel ashamed to call themselves ‘Hindu.’ The main reason behind it is that neither are we very well conversant or have scientific attitude, nor have we made any arrangements to educate our progeny about our religion.

It is a ridiculous thing that the word ‘Hindu’ also is not our own word. It is found neither in Sanskrit nor in Hindi or any other Indian language. It is an Arabic word which means ‘Kafir’, ‘Thief’ etc. Previously, ‘Hindu’ was a geographical name derived from Indus for the people living beyond the Indus River to up to the boundaries of the Indian Ocean, but later on, it was colloquially converted to represent the religion of the people of this land. Due to this, Sage Vivekanand considered the ‘Hindu’ word insignificant because in this geographical area, there are also many other living religions. Presently, the Indus River is flowing through Pakistan, so how can Pakistani be treated as Hindus?  But modern Rambhadracharya blind Saint illustrate that word ‘Hindu’ is refered in Bruhspati Agam “ हिमालयात् समारभ्य यावत् इन्दु सरोवरम्। तं देवनिर्मितं देशं हिन्दुस्थान प्रचक्षते॥”- (बृहस्पति आगम) i.e. which clearly states that ‘Starting from the Himalayas till Indusarovar (Indian Ocean), this God-made country is called ‘Hindusthan’. Due to this situation, nowadays, there is a trend that most modern saints, including Dhirendra Shastri Bageshwar Dham are using the term ‘Sanatan Dharm’ in place of ‘Hindu Dharma’ in his book “What is Sanatan Dharm?”. But it is again not true as Sanatan means non-changeable, but old Hindu dharma, say, Vedic dharma, is quite different from present Hindu dharma.

Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru had also pointed out in his book ‘Discovery of India,’ that using the word ‘Hindi’ was more appropriate for representing people living in this region, instead of the word ‘Hindu,’ in tune of ‘Gujarati,’ ‘Bihari,’ ‘Bengali’ for representing people as well as language of Gujrat, Bihar and Bengal, etc. But nowadays word ‘Hindi’ is used for one of the Indian languages only, whereas a few lines of the poem of Iqbal, ‘Hindi Hain Hum, Hindustan Hamara’ are noteworthy. Moreover, for the first time, Magasthenese wrote the book ‘Indica’ for representing communities of this area, which subsequently became the word ‘India’.  And our Constitution adopted this word, saying – “India that is called Bharat.” Still, there is a controversy that the word ‘India’ is a borrowed word, and ‘Bharat’ is the name of the Arya King Bharat. So, the Dravidians are raising their objections to this name. Thus, Hindu Studies has become a battleground for ideological conflicts in the past few decades. Some scholars are accused of being too sympathetic to ‘Hindutva’ (Hindu nationalist) agendas, while others are criticized for ‘demonizing’ Hinduism to fit secular or leftist narratives. The difference between ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Hinduism’ is explicitly shown in a recent book – ‘The New Icon: Savarkar and the Facts’, written by renowned journalist and former Union Minister Arun Shourie. This politicization can compromise academic neutrality. Professor Nandini Sahu wrote 10 chapters for this book.  

The first chapter is ‘Introduction to Hindu Studies,’ in which Nandini Sahu mentions about the history of Hindutva based on various articles and books of renowned writers such as Ranjeet Guha, Deepesh Chakravarty, Romila Thapar, Arvind Sharma, J.N. Mohanty, M.N. Srinivas, Wendy Doniger, Louis Dumont, including great Hindu Philosophers Vivekanand and Arvind Ghosh -whose contributions are immense in taking Hinduism to newer heights in the world scenario. As a result, Hinduism’s influence extended beyond India—through yoga, meditation, and cultural exchanges—this chapter addresses a globally significant tradition relevant to both practitioners and non-practitioners. According to Professor Sahu, Hindu Studies has emerged as a formal field largely through colonial scholarship in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, with European Indologists like Max Müller translating Vedic texts. It carries the baggage of Orientalism — sometimes romanticizing or misrepresenting Hinduism as a static, mystical’ tradition. Its roots are diffused, reflecting Hinduism’s lack of a single founder or centralized doctrine.

In the 2^nd chapter of the book titled as “The Hindu Texts and Contexts”, Professor Sahu draws from an immense body of texts — Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, epic Mahabharata and Ramayana and many more—offering deep philosophical and spiritual insights, with a broad scope covering rituals, mythology, philosophy (e.g., Vedanta), and social structures (e.g., caste). These texts, combined with oral traditions and lived practices, provide a treasure trove for scholars. Even she specifically penned down Dashavatar’s hypothesis based on Charles Darwin’s evolution theory. 

Prof. Nandini Sahu commented that historically, Hindu Studies in the West has been shaped by colonial scholars who sometimes framed Hinduism through a Eurocentric lens. Critics, like Edward Said – inspired post-colonial thinkers, argue that this led to misrepresentations —exoticizing Hinduism as “mystical” or reducing it to a monolith, ignoring its diversity. 

But in my opinion,  it is also true that above Hindu Texts and contexts are often prioritizes elite Sanskrit texts (e.g., Vedas) over vernacular traditions, folk practices, or the lived religion of millions. This skews the understanding towards the Brahmanical perspective, sidelining Dalit, tribal, or regional voices

In the 3^rd chapter,  “The Hindu Philosophical Schools”, Prof. Sahu has discussed in detail about two types of schools – Astik and Nastik.  In the Astik school, Nandini Sahu has elaborated on the details of Shankhya, Yoga, Nayaya, Mimansa, Vaisesika, and Vedanta.

Meanwhile, Nandini Sahu threw light on the philosophies of Buddhism, Jainism, and Charvaka in the Nastik school. 

Nandini Sahu expanded her views on existentialism and non-violence principle of Gandhiji as a global ethics by saying that –

“ Mahatma Gandhi propagated the Hindu principle of Ahimsa (nonviolence) as a political and ethical discipline, that eventually impacted Civil Rights Movements across this globe, most notably in the work of Martin Luther King Jr., or Nelson Mandela. Gandhi grounded his reading of Ahimsa in Jain and Hindu traditions, but framed it universally. He famously stated, “The law of love will work, just as the law of gravitation will work, whether we accept it or not… The doctrine of Ahimsa tells us that we may guard the honor of those who are under our charge by delivering ourselves and our dear ones from the oppressor. He who believes in Ahimsa is prepared to die for it” (Nandini Sahu, 92)”.

In the 4^th chapter “Rituals, Practices and Traditions of Devotion”, she has  vividly described about Sanskar, Puja, Pilgrimage, Bhakti Movement, Role of festivals in Hindu religious life, as well as key figures of Bhakti movement such as Kabir, Mirabai and Tulsidas etc. In 5^th chapter, “Hindu Social and Ethical Knowledge System”, she mentions four Varnas, four Ashrams, the caste system, the contemporary perspective, reforms, as well as gender roles and social hierarchy as per Manu Smriti.She says, 

“The Manusmriti delineates women’s roles, focusing on their duties in the family and home. According to the text, “a woman must always be a devoted wife and mother, and her primary duty is to serve her husband” (Manusmriti 5.154). This is a reflection of the patriarchal status quo, where roles for women are primarily indicative of being at home.” (Nandini Sahu, 128)

Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, in his famous book ‘Discovery of India,’ stated that the coming of the Aryans into India raised new social and political problems. The conquered race, the Dravidians, had a long background of Civilization behind them, but there is little doubt that the Aryans considered themselves vastly superior, and a wide gulf separated the two races. Then there were also the backward aboriginal tribes, nomads or forest dwellers. Out of this conflict and interaction of races gradually arose the caste system, which, in the course of succeeding centuries, affected Indian life profoundly. Probably caste was neither Aryan nor Dravidian. It was an attempt at social organization of different races, a rationalization of the facts as they existed at the time. It brought degradation in its terrain afterward, and it is still a burden and a curse, but we can hardly judge it from subsequent standards or later developments.

B. R. Ambedkar had elaborately given the details about theories for the formation of  Shudras  in his book – Who were the Shudras?

It is general proposition that the social organization of the Indo-Aryan was based on the theory of Chaturvarnya, and that Chaturvarnya means division of society into four classes

(1)     Brahmins (Priests)

(2)     Kshatriyas (Soldiers)

(3)     Vaishyas (Traders)

(4)     Shudras (Menials)

Unfortunately, more than this is involved in Chaturvarnaya’s theory.  Besides dividing society into four orders, the theory goes further. It makes the principle of graded inequality – The basis for determining the terms of associated life as between the four Varnas. Again, the system of graded inequality is not merely notional. It is legal and penal. Under the system of Chaturvarnaya, the Shudra is not only placed at the bottom of the gradation but he is subjected to innumerable hegemonies and disabilities so as to prevent him from rising above the condition fixed for him by law.  Indeed, until the fifth Varna of the Untouchables came into being, the Shudras were in the eyes of the Hindus the lowest of the low.  This shows the nature of what might be called the problem of the Shudras.

The 19^th Hymn of tenth Mandala of the Rig Veda – which is known by the famous name of Purusha Sukta. “The Brahman was His mouth, the Rajanya was made His arms, the being called Vaishya, he was His thighs, the Shudras sprang from His feet.”  

The Purusha Sukta is a theory of the origin of the Universe. In other words, it is a cosmogony. No nation that has reached an advanced degree of thought has failed to develop some sort of cosmogony. The constitution of society prescribed by Purusha Sukta in known as Chaturvarnaya. As a divine injunction, it naturally became the ideal of the Indo-Aryan society.

As per Hindu Shastras, the Antyajas should live and have their abode outside the village.  For instance, Manu says:

1.      The dwellings of the Chandalas and the Shvapakas shall be outside the village, they must be Apapatra and their wealth shall be dogs and donkeys.

2.      Their dress shall be the garments of dead; they shall eat their food from broken dishes, black iron shall be their ornaments, and they must always wander from place to place.

3.      A man who fulfils a religious duty, shall not seek intercourse with them, their transactions shall be among themselves and their marriages with their equals.

4.      Their food shall be given to them by others (other than an Aryan giver) in a broken dish at night, they shall not walk about in villages and in towns. 

5.      By day, they may go about for the purpose of their work distinguished by mark at king’s command, and they shall carry out the corpses (of person) who have no relatives; that is a settled rule.

6.      By the King’s order, they shall always execute the criminals in accordance with the law, and they shall take for themselves the clothes, the beds and the ornaments of such ‘criminals’

It reflected that the untouchables originally lived inside the village and that then when the stigma of untouchability fell on them, they were forced to vacate and live outside the village. The untouchability exists all over India. The transplantation of untouchables from within the village to outside the village is vast operation.

In the 6^th chapter, “Hindu Arts, Architecture and Iconography”,  Prof Nandini Sahu gives brief details about Murti, Yantra, Mandal, the Role of Dance and Drama, Concepts of Natya-Shastra of Bharat Muni, as well as architecture styles consisting of Nagar, Dravid, Vasara etc. 

Vedic Architecture and Temple:-  

Architecture in India was an extremely rich form of expression and highly developed science with a deep heritage of spirituality in it. It is evident that one of the primary purposes of much of the significant architecture was to display the prevailing spiritual consciousness of the people.

         The Mandirs were composed of various parts, which included the Garbhagriha or  Sanctum, the Sukanasi or nose of the structure, the Antarala or adjoining passage, the     Mandapa or main hall, the Dhwaja Sthambha or flag post and the Balipeeth  for the pedestal for the offerings.(12) The temple was the microcosm that effected the macrocosm or the symbol of cosmic being.

         The Atharva Veda contains several hymns on the topic in its Shala-Nirmana-Sutra. Additional Sanskrit literature that contained references to architecture included Agni Purana, the Brihat Samhita and Artha Shastra and the Vastu Shastra texts (a part of Sthapatya Veda, which is an Up-Veda of the Atharvaveda). 

In the 7^th chapter “Modernity and Hinduism”, Prof. Sahu has emphasized over contribution of Brahma Samaj, Prathana Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ram Krishna Mission and Theosophical Society in addition to the threats to Hindu identity, Synthesis of religion and Politics by Gandhiji, Globalization of Hindu spiritualism etc. But in the 8^th chapter, “Hinduism in Global Context”, she has covered the works of ISKCON, Transcendental Meditation, Maharshi Effect, and Art of Living. 

In the 9^th chapter, “Class, Caste and Gender: Critical Perspective and Discourses”,  she has given some illustrations about the law of Manu, Bhagavad Gita and Upanishad and some examples of feminist critique, subaltern voices, and recovery of women’s history, etc. Some chapters of Manu Smriti advocate – 

V.30 The eater, who daily even devours those destined to be his food, commits no sin; for the Creator himself created both the eaters and those who are to be eaten (for those special purposes).

V.56 There is no sin in eating meat, in (drinking) spirituous liquor, and in carnal intercourse, for that is the natural way of created beings, but abstention brings great rewards.

V.27. One may eat meat when it has been sprinkled with water, while Mantras were recited, when Brahmanas desire (one’s doing it), when one is engaged (in the performance of a rite) according to the law, and when one’s life is in danger.

V.35. But a man, who, being duly engaged (to officiate or to dine at a sacred rite), refuses to eat meat, becomes after death an animal during twenty-one existences.

But later on, Brahmins became vegetarian. As per Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar it was the strategy that Brahmin give up beef eating and start worshiping the cow.  It was adopted by Brahmanism to establish its supremacy over Buddhism.

Buddhism was at one time the religion of the majority of people of India. It continued to be the religion of masses for hundreds of years. It attacked Brahmanism on all sides as no religion had done before. Brahmins had lost all power and prestige at the Royal court and among the people. After the death of Buddha his followers started setting up the images of Buddha and building Stupas. The Brahmins followed it. They in their turn, built temples and installed in them images of Shiva, Vishnu and Ram and Krishna etc. – all with the object of drawing away the crowd that was attracted by the image worship of Buddha. That is how temples and images which had no place in Brahmanism came into Hinduism. I agree with this conclusion of Dr. Ambedkar. Moreover, it may be corroborated with the probable reason of idol-worshipping as given in Satyarth Prakash of Swami Dayanand.

In last chapter 10^th, “Navigating New frontiers : Critical reflection and Emerging Paradigm”, an interdisciplinary approach has been integrated by the writer with a focus on diverse perspectives, from analyzing Sanskrit literature to studying modern Hindu diaspora communities, making it dynamic and multifaceted.

At last, it can be said without any exaggeration that the 10 chapters of Nandini Sahu’s “Hindu Studies: Foundations and Frameworks” are important literary works based on a multidisciplinary approach to understanding Hinduism. She has analyzed various aspects of ‘Hindu Studies’. Readers can go through them critically to quench their thirst as well as participate in contemporary debates and diverse perspectives. 

REFERENCES

1. Suresh Soni, India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition, Ocean Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2010, p. 199.

2. Kamlesh Kapur, Portraits of a Nations: History of India, Sterling Publishers, Private Limited, 2010, p. 401.

3.  Pride of India: A Glimpse into India’s Scientific Heritage, Samskriti Bharati, New Delhi, 2006, p. 130.

4. Bageshwar Dham- Dheerendra Shastri, Sanatan Dharm , Empty Canvas Publishing, New Delhi, 2024, p. 20

5. Arun Shourie, The New Icon: Savarkar and Facts, India Viking, New Delhi, 2025 

6. Sri Aurobindo, Foundations of Indian Culture, Arvind Ahsram, India, 1988 

7. Nandini Sahu, Sita (A Poem), The Poetry Society of India, Gurugram, 2015 

8. Arun Shourie, Worshhiping False Gods, Harper India, 2012 

9.  Myths, Legends concepts and literary antiquities of India – Manoj Das, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 2024 

10. Discovery of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Penguin India, 2024 

11. The Secret teaching of Vedas, Stephen Knapp, Jaico Publishing House, 1993 

12. Dr B.R.Ambedkar, Who were Shudra?, Prabhat Prakashan, New Delhi, 2022

13.. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, The Untouchables: Who were they and why they became untouchables?, Namaskar Books, New Delhi, 2023

14. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development, Arjun Publishing House, New Delhi, 2020 

15.  Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, Prabhat Prakashan, New Delhi, 2022 

About the Author:
Dinesh Kumar Mali is from Talcher, Odisha.

The post An Alternative Approach to the Hindu Literary PedagogyReading Nandini Sahu’s “Hindu Studies: Foundations and Frameworks” by Dinesh Kumar Mali  first appeared on Prachya Review.

Sanjukta Dasgupta’s poetry book Eklavya Speaks describes the comprehensive story of the subaltern character Eklavya, outlined in the theoretical contexts of colonial and post-colonial discourses, highlighting themes of exclusion, resistance, agency and exploitation in the hierarchical social system of ancient India. This research re-explains Eklavya as a symbol of subaltern revolution, engaging with protest literature and challenging oppressive systems embedded in class and caste, while sustaining the existence and empowerment of disadvantaged individuals. Considering Eklavya as a subaltern voice, one must decode his account in the construction of colonial and post-colonial studies, highlighting the narratives of marginalized entities. Sanjukta Dasgupta examines Eklavya’s assertion on his silencing, the ensuing resistance, the subsequent exploitation, and Eklavya’s representation as a figure of contest with power structure in modern literary discourses. Eklavya, a character from the Mahabharata, is significantly scrutinized from various analytical stand points owing to the complex ethical and social problems innate in this narrative. Caste-based prejudice is one of the main topics in Eklavya’s story. Because of his caste status, Eklavya is immobilized to gain access to formal education and training, leading him to learn archery from a distance, primarily, self-learnig. Dronacharya, the royal guru, rejected him due to his caste , accentuating the social  hierarchies faced by disadvantaged individuals in ancient India. Ethical analysis of Eklavya’s choice of thumb (his teacher’s fee) as Guru Dakshina to Dronacharya has always been a subject of creative literature. Eklavya’s blind devotion to his guru is admirable, but writers and critics contend that his path of sacrifice was forced and unfair. Dronacharya’s demand for Eklavya’s thumb as a condition for his teaching, knowing well that Eklavya’s skill posed a threat to his favourite pupil Arjun, raises questions about the ethical responsibilities of teachers and the power dynamics in the teacher-student relationship. Eklavya’s story also raises questions about the meritocratic ideas of the teacher and taught. As Eklavya is not of the warrior class, he is not able to achieve recognition and validation despite his unresolved aptitude and perseverance. It juxtaposes the ideas of meritocracy, that anyone with the right skills and dedication can succeed in life, with a rigid caste system based on the status one is born into. That is the moot point in the poetry collection Ekalavya Speaks by contemporary Indian poet Sanjukta Dasgupta.

As a fellow poet of Sanjukta and certainly as a critic, I would prefer to read the collection Ekalavya Speaks and decipher Eklavya’s story by the routes of colonial and post-colonial theories. Eklavya is a symbol of those subaltern and underprivileged voiceless people  on whom  elitism has imposed a broad social structure that has completely subjugated them. Eklavya’s story serves as a critique on the domination of indigenous people and colonialism’s continuing impacts on local traditions. This poetry collection is a  timely commentary considering the present state of marginalized people in post-colonial societies. The tragic grandeur of his  character is now revered as a heroic figure who combines loyalty, selflessness and an unyielding spirit through adversity. For his guru’s dignity, sacrificing his own success and security, upholding principles of utmost dignity in the face of injustice, Eklavya indeed ‘speaks’. These multilayered  representations can be read as opening up an under-explored and perhaps unexplored ground for the perception and compensation of Eklavya’s identity, and his focus in the larger ambit of Mahabharata narrative, at the same time bringing forth timeless questions of caste, ethics, volition, world order and justice in hierarchy. Keeping that in mind, through these opening statements, Sanjukta maps the book’s overarching theme to trace:

“In my 9th book of poems titled Ekalavya Speaks I have tried to address these issues of intersectionality with special focus on caste and gender discrimination. The poem ‘Ekalavya Speaks’ perhaps defines the purpose, perspectives, resilience and relevance of Ekalavya in our times. Many of the poems in this volume address the deep-rooted prevalence of systemic marginalization of citizens of our country, based on caste, class, gender and religion, among others. Othering is the unifying theme in this volume of 100 poems, though some of the poems do not typically focus on issues of discrimination and ostracism.” (Dasgupta 12)… The well-known Mahabharata tale of Ekalavya, a black, low-caste boy whose prowess at archery rivalled that of the Pandavas, the noble heroes, may also have inspired the myth of the weavers’ thumbs. To preserve the Pandavas’ dominance as archers, Ekalavya’s teacher insisted that he amputate his right thumb. ‘An interesting parallel between Ekalavya and Karna, an illegitimate child abandoned by his Kshatriya mother and brought up by a charioteer. Like Ekalavya, Karna finds that his lower caste disqualifies him from an archery contest with Arjuna, again under Drona’s aegis;…”(Dasgupta 9)…‘Can the Subaltern Speak?’ Spivak’s rhetorical question initiated a paradigmatic shift leading to the emergence of the visible and vocal subaltern on the centre stage, spectacularly pole vaulting from the remote peripheries. The subaltern did not just speak after centuries of silence, the subaltern made her/himself heard. This game changing transformation revolutionised all the deeply entrenched discourse of pride and prejudice, hate and discrimination towards the ‘other’ who were at the receiving end of an often violent and cruel systemic marginalization. In this collection, the received ‘otherization’ of the subaltern who could never be one of ‘us’ has now been interrogated, deconstructed and redefined.” (Dasgupta 10) With this discourse in her cognizance and this fire in her soul, she pens down Ekalavya’s heartrending poem thus:

EKALAVYA SPEAKS

“Respected, Honorable Sir

I have travelled a long way

I have practiced night and day

As the wise say

“Practice makes perfect”

You saw the arrow leave my bow

Faster than any flash of light

Faster, Swifter, Speedier

Sir, I wished to make you happy

I wished to tell you

I worshipped you

As others worship God.

Sir, you were the God

Whom I worshipped from afar

You were the God whose image

I sat on the mound as my guide

Sir, though we had not met

I knew in my heart

Only you, and no one else

Could be my friend,

Philosopher and guide

Sir, I saw you from afar

Shining like a sword in the sun

Surrounded by the five Princes

The Pandavas, the invincible offspring

Of privilege and birthright

I stood behind a tree

Watching you with eager eyes

You had eyes for Prince Arjuna

As did the charismatic Lord Krishna

Privilege is such an accident of birth

I was born shorn of privilege

I was born to bend and cringe

I was born to suffer and cry

My being born a tribal prince

A matter of mirth and ridicule

I was born a slave they said

Slavery was my birthright

I was also born with a backbone

I was also born with a fearless mind

My head held high troubled you all

But my backbone, mind and head

Were incorrigible

They behaved Otherwise

…

‘Sir, What can I give you as gurudakshine

My revered teacher, my brilliant guide

What can I give you that a guru like you

Would consider worthy, dear Sir’

Your steady voice did not tremble at all

As you my remote guru, my inspiration

My icon, my God simply said,

“Give me your thumb Ekalavya”

No one protested, everyone watched

As with one unerring stroke

I severed my thumb

It quivered in protest,

Red with fresh flowing subaltern blood

I offered you my Gurudakshina

As you desired, how could I disobey you

My guru, my mentor and guide

You deleted me with

Such superb craft of words”

(Dasgupta 23-25)

With the same tone and tenure, Sanjukta poses a few questions to Guru Dronacharya, which are the larger questions of humanity:

DRONACHARYA : THE TEACHER OF PRINCES

“Dronacharya

The pet pedagogue

Of the king’s court

Neither a friend

Nor a philosopher

Not even a guide

Dronacharya

The glamorized bonded labour

Leashed to the regal court.”

(Dasgupta 30)

In the able hands of Sanjukta, Eklavya’s response to his marginalization demonstrates agency and resistance. He does not sit idly and accept his fate, bringing his own woes upon himself, but he seizes action, teaching himself archery, and the resilience and self-discipline he exhibits prove to be pivotal in his story. Eklavya’s evolution from a true disciple to an exploited subaltern illustrates the way caste hierarchies conspire to create injustice. As the price paid as an ugly truth, Eklavya was tormented  for his devoted training and skill at archery. Instead of guidance that he sought from his teacher Dronacharya, he received betrayal. Dronacharya sought nothing of proper training of his Dalit disciple, fretted only about positioning Arjun as the undisputed champion prince of war. When Eklavya’s inborn talents threatened Arjun’s fragile ego, Dronacharya callously demanded that the price of Guru Dakshina be Eklavya’s own thumb, thereby crippling the boy and securing his favourite with violence and oppression.  The story of Eklavya is one of resilience against harsh discrimination and shows that one’s worth does not arise from the arbitrary hierarchies enforced by birth but is derived from one’s spirit and inner character. The elite may seek to prove its superiority by breaking whomever they can take control of, but oppression never wholly destroys the humanity of the dispossessed. The panopticon and the counter-panopticon are at work in a multilayered way here.  Eklavya’s story has not just survived as a tale of subjugation, it has survived as a reminder to every single person at the mercy of a fallacious social architecture and institutional commanders that there is a way to struggle against injustice and get dignity even when so much is done to deny dignity to the deserving. Just like those who fight for social justice and equality, Eklavya cannot be defined or contained, and rather than being moulded by an intolerant system, he rebels against the establishment. Looking at Eklavya’s story through the prism of subaltern studies can help imply about the socioeconomic stratification and its historical remnants in the process of establishment of some classes. 

Sanjukta takes incidents from life, here-and-now, and writes poetry of social mobility. For example, the story of a raped girl is the point of concern for here:

“October 2nd is the birth anniversary of the Father (Bapu) of the Indian nation, freedom fighter Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. India gained Independence from British rule on 15th August, 1947. The incident happened in Ujjain Madhya Pradesh on 27rd September 2023. The accused is an auto-driver. His father in righteous indignation has disowned him. One such poem, voicing for the subaltern, the tribal,is :

“HUL: THE SANTHAL REBELLION, JUNE 30, 1855”

That was the first subaltern revolt

Bhognadih, the tribal village,

Was restless that night

No one slept, no one spoke

“Do and die” said their leaders Sidho and Kanhu

As their brothers and comrades cheered

Their rippling muscles and resolute eyes

Shone in the soft moonlit night

Ten thousand tribals, a voluntary army

Vowed to defend their ripening fields

Plundered and sucked dry

By the native mafia

And the white looters

Of the British East India Company”

(Dasgupta 47)

Sanjukta tries her hand at Dalit literature with compete social commitment:

THE CONSTITUTION MAKER: B. R. AMBEDKAR

Ambedkar, the meek Dalit boy learnt

He could not drink water

From a glass or tap while at school

Ambedkar, the Dalit boy learnt

If he touched them

They would be polluted

If they touched him

They would become impure

Ambedkar learnt the lesson of his life

So different from the books prescribed.”

(Dasgupta 49)

Sanjukta critically engages with tribal literature when she writes about “Chuni Kotal, a Dalit Adivasi woman from the tribal community of Lodha Shabars of West Bengal, was the first woman to graduate from a tribal community… Chuni enrolled as an MA student in the Dept of Anthropology in Vidyasagar University. One particular male professor, continuously abused and disparaged Kotal from the very first day. He abused her and her caste during the lectures and marked her absent even when she was present in the classes and purposely failed her by undermarking her answer scripts. On 16th August 1992, Chuni Kotal committed suicide.” (Dasgupta 54) Gender discourse in tribal literature is a rich area of study that looks into the representation of gender roles, identities and power dynamics in the tribal communities. Tribal literature reflects traditional gender roles in indigenous groups. These roles might include distinct responsibilities for men and women in areas such as hunting, gathering, childcare and decision-making. However, tribal literature also showcases the diversity of gender roles in different tribes and encounters stereotypes by depicting women in roles traditionally associated with men and vice versa, which works as the backdrop of Sanjukta’s poetry in this collection. Her kind of tribal literature challenges patriarchal norms and advocates for gender equality. Sanjukta’s contemporaries emphasize women’s contributions to their communities, question gender-based violence and discrimination and push for women’s and marginalized genders’ empowerment. Her tribal poetry examines the interwoven nature of gender with other identity questions like race, ethnicity, class and sexuality. It analyses the ways in which colonization, globalization and modernization intersect with gender to affect the experiences of indigenous people, especially indigenous women. Tribal poetry of feminism by Sanjukta encapsulates diversity, constructing varied themes such as negotiating gender roles, subversion of patriarchal structures, intersectionality, oral traditions and indigenous knowledge systems, colonial and post-colonial outlooks and resistance and resilience. Tribal writers involve in deep dialogues via their creative expressions about gender, identity and social justice.

In Sanjukta’s poems, variety is beauty. The country, nationality and a feeling of belonging to a nation are fundamental elements of her approach. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, an innovative intellectual activist of 19th century Bengal, appeared as an unresolved opponent of embedded social prejudices, especially those based on patriarchy and caste hierarchy. His activism for widows’ rights climaxed in the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856, and this matter emphasized the social prohibition encountered by women and the continuing shame associated with those who had experienced trauma. Vidyasagar founded a ground in wisdom and rationalised Hindu scriptures, confirming an aptitude for combining progressive thought with accessibility and noteworthy texts to counter traditional opposition. He strongly encouraged women’s education, identifying its ability to change gender hierarchies. The action opposed prevalent critique; yet he instituted various foundations providing women a choice to follow their dreams of education. His disapproval of child marriage exposed the connection between patriarchy and religious beliefs. However, Vidyasagar’s mission faced strong opposition from orthodox factions determinedly aeverse to any change. Challenging such suppressive norms had not only helped bring about similar reform movements in India, but it also established education and reason as instruments of social change making Vidyasagar a fundamental yet practical reformer. Sanjukta talks about Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar as well as the communal blocks and how he opposed them:

THE PATH-FINDER

A Tribute to Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on his 200th birth

anniversary (Birth September 26, 1820. Died July 29, 1891)…

Then the Sati Regulation Act 1829

Acted as a frustrating damper

It was no longer possible

To watch with hands folded

Young women being barbequed alive

On the funeral pyres

Of husbands thrice their age

Often victims of diseases

Unmentionable in those times.

(Dasgupta 78)

As a part of her social movement, the disparate faces of the people have been condemned by Sanjukta in the poem “Platforms Transformed”: 

“No pickpockets, no food-stalls, no bookstalls

Few legs, mostly faces and voices on video platforms

Platforms created by the Narcissus Corporate

Streaming of Selfie fantasies more potent than cocaine snorts

Platforms on tables and palms dictate, debate, disseminate

Alas, virtual platforms just transform methods not minds!”

(Dasgupta 113)

Often considered one of the most powerful and transformative poets of the 20th century, Adrienne Rich spent the second half of her life addressing the perils of a society that demands women to be complacent and subservient by breaking the structures of patriarchy in her work and championing feminist consciousness and social justice. Her poetry is laced with an uncompromising critique of systems of power, especially patriarchy, heteronormativity and structural oppression, while saluting the intricacy of women’s lives and relationships. Rich’s early verse, such as A Change of World (1951), displays her methodological genius as a formalist poet, but her later collections like Diving into the Wreck (1973) shine with her radical change into a poet of resistance and action. In Diving into the Wreck, Rich offers her readers language as a means of feminist reimagination, engaging with history to uncover antiquities of expurgation, of silencing piles of stones. Her preoccupation with identity and sexuality and the blurring of the line between the personal and political borders upon revolutionary territory (that certainly benefited from détente), an argument vibrant in The Dream of a Common Language(1978), so that her work is at once a clarion call for commonality and collective effort. Rich’s poetry is not just something beautiful; it is a deep critique of biases with an urgent belief in a brand new world that is not based in power and inequity. Her unflinching probing into the textures of language, the recesses of history and the measure of power reveals her identity not only as a poet but as a cultural and intellectual revolutionary whose craft, roaring against the backdrop of wars fought on gender, race and class, vibrates alongside the liturgy of time. Sanjukta seems to have been deeply inspired by Adrienne Rich. I particularly liked one poem by Sanjukta on Adrienne Rich: 

TO ADRIENNE RICH (May 16, 1929- March 27, 2012)

You said

“I make no claim to be universal,

neuter or androgynous”

No one but you could have been

Such an honest path-finder

The road not taken

Was your road

To push the boundaries

To walk beyond borders

To break free

To break in

To break even

To laugh at barbed wires

Was your freedom song”.

(Dasgupta 115)

Feminist literary criticism has made patriarchy a primary subject, and genres and narratives in literature provide material on the ways in which prejudice is constricted via hierarchical structures, which in turn constrain freedom and maintain rigid roles. In A Room of One’s Own, authors like Virginia Woolf show how women’s lack of economic independence and education limit their understanding and creativity. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is an example of subversion of masculine authority that reveals the triad of patriarchal, racist and class oppressions at work. The Quilt by Ismat Chughtai and Draupadi by Mahasweta Devi are two examples of modern South Asian literature that expose the oppression and exploitation of women in many contexts, including home, community and nation. They praise women for standing together in protest to patriarchal power structures. Literature can speak volumes about underrepresented realities, shedding light on patriarchy and opening dialogs about empowerment and equality. “Husband Ji” by Sanjukta exposes the multi-tiered deterioration of patriarchy. Thus, the narrative conveys a powerful message about the repression of marginalized voices:

“Good wives do not reply,

Good wives do not reason why a

Good wives just do and die

Patriarchy triumphs like a gas balloon

As good wives and their good husbands

Surrender to the lunar lie without a doubt.”

(Dasgupta 178)

The narrative of Eklavya speaks volumes about repressing the minority voices in an ancient India with a stringent social ladder. Even though his level of skill and commitment towards archery is enchanting ,he misses out on awareness of academic and contending. Sanjukta Dasgupta strongly voices this marginalization in this collection like that of the delinquents, philanderers, thieves, or even addictive criminals and rebels, admirers and imitators who never get to be present at the celebrations of the privileged circle of the Royal Court .To speak for the subaltern through poetry that is rooted in mythology and tribal literature and other marginalised narratives is a significant act of literary and socio-political resistance. Sanjukta rewrites canonical myths and roots them in the lives of the marginalized, at one stroke disrupting hegemonic narratives and reclaiming cultural spaces from voices that were historically forced to the periphery. In that reframing, mythology, with its implicit hegemony, becomes subaltern, a dynamic critique of the entrenched dominant discourses, discourses that can offer modes of empowerment by reinterpretations of Ekalavya, or Draupadi by writers such as Sanjukta or Mahasweta Devi where agency and resistance outweigh passivity. Sanjukta provides a living counter-narrative to the written traditions of mainstream/dominant groups that opposes historical epistemic violence of colonial and caste or philosophical historiography. She relies on her poetic expressions to bring together the personal and the political and enters a dialogic relationship with postcolonial and the subaltern theories to expand the parameters of literary scholarship. By interlacing myth and indigenous mythology into the very fibre of verse, subaltern poetics offer legitimacy to disparate forms of epistemology and subvert univocal narratives of history while calling for a radical reconceptualization of social justice. Sanjukta’s  reclaiming voice is not simply an aesthetic endeavour but an ethical duty, where poetry becomes both a site of resistance and also a statement for resilience from those who have been on the margins.

Works Cited:

• Ekalavya Speaks – A Collection of Poems by Sanjukta Dasgupta, Penprints, 2023.
• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/12-year-old-rape-survivor-

            found-bleeding-on-street-in-madhya-pradeshs-ujjain/article67354079.ece”

•             https://feminisminindia.com/2018/06/29/chuni-kotal-essay/

• Guha, Ranajit. Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society. Oxford University Press, 1982.

• Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. Can the Subaltern Speak? Reflections on the History of an Idea. Edited by Rosalind C. Morris, Columbia University Press, 2010.
• Bama. Sangati: Events. Translated by Lakshmi Holmström, Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Limbale, Sharankumar. Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature: History, Controversies, and Considerations. Translated by Alok Mukherjee, Orient Longman, 2004.
• Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Edited and translated by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, International Publishers, 1971.
• Guha, Ranajit, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, editors. Selected Subaltern Studies. Oxford University Press, 1988.
• Ananthamurthy, U. R. Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man. Translated by A. K. Ramanujan, Oxford University Press, 1976.
• Omvedt, Gail. Dalit Visions: The Anti-Caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity. Orient Longman, 1995.
• Ambedkar, B. R. Annihilation of Caste: The Annotated Critical Edition. Edited by S. Anand, Navayana, 2014.
• Devi, Mahasweta. Imaginary Maps: Three Stories. Translated and edited by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Routledge, 1995.

About the Author

Prof.Nandini Sahu, Vice Chancellor, Hindi University, West Bengal, the Amazon Bestselling Author, is a major voice in contemporary Indian English literature. She has accomplished her doctorate in English literature under the guidance of Late Prof. Niranjan Mohanty, Prof. of English, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. She has been widely published in India, U.S.A, U.K., Africa, Italy, Australia and Pakistan.  Apart from numerous other literary awards, she is a triple gold medalist in English literature; she has received the Gold Medal from the hon’ble Vice-President of India for her contributions to English Studies in India in the year 2019. She is the recipient of the prestigious Michael Madhusudan Academy Award, 2024 and Lifetime Achievement Award(SAFE),2024.  She is the author and editor of twenty-one books, The Other Voice, The, Recollection as Redemption, The Post-Modernist Delegation to English Language Teaching, The Post Colonial Space: Writing the Self and the Nation, Silver Poems on My Lips, Folklore and the Alternative Modernities (Vol.I), Folklore and the Alternative Modernities (Vol. II), Sukamaa and Other Poems, Suvarnarekha, Sita(A Poem), Dynamics of Children’s Literature, Zero Point and Selected Poems of Nandini Sahu(Winter-2020), Selected Poems of Nandini Sahu(Spring-2021), Re-reading Jayanta Mahapatra, A Song, Half & Half , Shedding the Metaphors, Collected Poems of Nandini Sahu, Collected Poems of Niranjan Mohanty and Hindu Studies: Foundations and Frameworks. She is the Former Director, School of Foreign Languages, Professor of English at Indira Gandhi National Open University [IGNOU], New Delhi, India, is currently the Vice Chancellor, Hindi University, West Bengal,. Her areas of research interest cover Indian Literature, New Literatures, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Hindu Studies, American Literature, Folk Literature, Children’s Literature and Critical Theory. She is the Chief Editor/Founder Editor of Interdisciplinary Journal of Literature and Language (IJLL), a bi-annual peer-reviewed journal in English. Professor Sahu has designed multiple academic programmes on Folklore and Culture Studies, American Literature, Postcolonial Literatures, British Poetry, Children’s Literature and Indian Philosophical Thoughts for IGNOU and many other universities. 

The post “Writing from the Margins: Ekalavya Speaks, A Collection of Poems by Sanjukta Dasgupta” by Nandini Sahu first appeared on Prachya Review.

We surely were annoyed, rather uncomfortable, looking at the PDA of the middle-aged couple. 

Dr.Harihar Panda and his wife Mrs.Savita Panda were my guests that evening, along with two other friends from Odisha—Dr. Manas and Dr.Shubhra. All of them except for Savita were in Delhi to attend a conference. Manas and Shubhra were my old friends, I invited them over dinner after the conference. Harihar and Savita came along; in fact they got self invited and I didn’t mind that, because the four of them had come from Bhubaneswar as a team. I had booked three rooms in the university guest house for them—one for the couple and two for the other two. 

Savita had nothing to do during the day when her husband and his friends were busy in the conference. She was restless and very worried about the food, medicines, etc of her husband. She always remained worried about these trivial matters— like many housewives—starting with what he should wear any given day to how much tea he should consume in the evening. Should he apply oil on his hair today? What if he catches cold by a head bath? Should he eat chicken more than once a week? What if it upsets his stomach? Is he talking too much on the mobile? He may get a migraine, so the phone should be switched off. And why is he taking such a long walk? It’s windy today.

 Their children were settled, grown up, and the sixty-year-old wife’s only concern, focus, topic of discussion, life, love, happiness, worry–just everything–was her sixty-plus husband.

Throughout the past couple of days, we were noticing Savita’s overwhelming care and concern for Harihar. Initially, we found it cute. But later, we were annoyed, as expected.

 My friend Manas was a writer, an emotionally charged, intelligent person, somewhat close to my heart. Shubhra was a chirpy, witty, pretty woman; she was most talkative. 

That evening, my friends got introduced to my son Sonu, a humorous, intelligent, and sober teen. They were happy to receive his hospitality. I had cooked quite a few dishes for them, and the guests thoroughly enjoyed the food. We chatted about Odisha; in between, Manas talked about his new stories. He knew I loved his stories; he wanted my complete attention, which I, too, was willingly giving. Shubhra was keen on knowing every detail of my friendship with Manas—when and how did we meet? How come we were so compatible with each other despite his having a happy married life in Odisha; and neither was I his lover or anything like that. She was trying to understand this special bonding.

Harihar was eager to get the attention of me, his hostess; he tried to give his opinion about everything around, talked about his achievements, his admiration of the excellent life I had made for myself in Delhi. In between, he never forgot to praise each dish I had cooked, and I had to thank him politely every time he praised. Overall, it was a pleasant evening.

Beyond all of these, oblivion of us, Savita was in her usual fidgety disposition – checking and serving food on Harihar’s plate, chiding him for eating more of one dish or less of one, restricting his intake of coffee after food. She even asked him if he washed his hands before food. 

I requested, “Madam, you please eat, Sir will help himself; if he needs any help, I’ll look after.” I guess as the hostess, that was my duty.

“No no!! How can he eat if I don’t serve? I’ll eat later; as such I had a lot of snacks(‘snakes’, she said) in the guest house when you all were at the conference. ”

Shubhra has this crooked, uncontrollable sense of humour, which will make anyone laugh. She said, “arre Savita madam, do you always take care of Sir like this? Is he a domestic animal?”(she actually said, ‘gruhapalita pashu’!!).

Unbelievable!! Incorrigible Shubhra!!

I couldn’t control my laughter, nor could Manas and Sonu. I rushed to the kitchen to laugh in the plea of getting some pickles. In the kitchen,while laughing my guts out, I remembered Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth said, “unsex me today”. This statement paralleled negativity to manhood and power. Was this her reverse feminism? 

Was this over-consciousness Savita’s reverse feminism? What a drama queen! I joined them back with a desire to see a little more of domestic drama, I must confess here.

Dr.Harihar, who was an Associate Professor, and was waiting for his CAS promotion to a Professor’s  position, of course did not like this ‘domestic animal’ adjective. He had to make his stand clear.

By then, Savita had started eating, relaxed, after feeding her husband to her heart’s content.

Harihar cleared his throat and said, looking at me, clearly avoiding Shubhra, “Madam, do you know, Savita is the most loving and caring wife I have ever seen. She takes care of everything. From morning to night, twenty-four into seven, she is there for me. She takes care of my home, my children, me. She cooks, cleans the house, arranges my shattered books, shabby study tables, irons my clothes, feeds me. I simply depend on her for every single thing. In fact, for every small thing I need her.”

Savita had a beaming smile on her lips. “I even make him wear his dress. Else this mindless man would go to his university in his underwear—he is so offhand.” Announced Savita proudly.

“What the …!!!” Shubhra was unrelenting. She wanted more spice for the dinner table. “I mean, Savita Madam, do you actually make him sit on the chair semi-nude, and do his shringaar  before he goes to the university? Every day?! ”

“Oh yes! Definitely. I even give him a bath every morning. I have been doing that forever!”

I looked at Harihar covertly, scornfully, to see if he was feeling embarrassed. But he had a blank, nonchalant expression on his face, like the Monalisa painting. I couldn’t understand what exactly was he thinking at that moment of humiliation. 

Savita got up, washed her hands quickly, and came back to her husband, wiped his mouth with her dupatta, arranged his scanty locks on the bald head, set his shirt collars right, and sat closely beside him, in the most lovey-dovey position, making all of us uncomfortable. 

Sonu is one more witty boy here. He added, “Wow uncle and aunty! You both are young and happening, like characters from a Bollywood film.” And then he left the dinner table, laughing, went to his study, to my utter relief. I didn’t want him to watch this family drama of Savita-Harihar, neither I wanted him to give his expert opinions.

Seeing my awful discomfiture, Manas tried to change the topic. “Leave it Harihar bhai and Bhabhi. Let’s plan something. Shall we all go to Agra, Mathura, Vrindaban over the weekend? We have our flight on Monday morning, so the weekend can be utilized with Madam and Sonu. All of us can fit in a bigger cab.”

I thought, thank God!The topic changed.

But no! Savita and Shubhra didn’t stop there. 

“So, Savita Madam! It’s most impressive that you help your husband so much! My husband will give me a divorce if he sees your example…haha!! What else do you do for Harihar Sir?”

That was quite an ego booster for Savita. “I got married to him when he had just passed his Masters Degree and was newly appointed as a lecturer in a government college. He was lazy-number-one from day one. I could see that. He did not have the training to pick up his wet towel and put that in the washing machine, neither did he know how to make a cup of tea. I took charge of him. Ask him, I am the one who made him do his PhD, I am the one because of whom he wrote his research papers and books. Because of me, he got his promotion. Tomorrow if he is promoted to a higher position in his workplace, it will also be because of me. Minus me, this man is a big zero.”

“I see…”. Shubhra was enjoying the conversation with a crooked smile and in between winking at me and Manas.

At least now, I expected Harihar to object to the discussions around him and his career. But he kept quiet. Nonchalantly, he took two rasagollas in a small bowl. Savita quickly removed one from the bowl, and looked at him like a disciplinarian Principal ma’am of a primary school, chiding her naughty pupil. 

Harihar pleaded for one more rasagolla, with a guilty smile. “No!! You cannot eat more than one.”

Savita went on boasting about her contributions to Harihar’s life, family and career. She took the credit for everything that he had been doing since their wedding some thirty-five years ago—she claimed, he owed her his living and breathing.

I was feeling sick, nauseated. I wished the evening to end there. Manas could see that. He finally got up, wishing me good night. Others too had to leave along.

Till late night I thought about this complex human behavior; to be precise, about this objectionable supremacy of a woman. It was surely a kind of male-harassment to me. The gender theorist inside me was concerned. The humanist in me was thinking, weighing the characters of Harihar and Savita from Masculinity Studies standpoint. To me, it looked like poor Harihar was under a panoptic surveillance. Savita was inspecting him from all directions. I felt he was getting breathless with her attention, but he talked nicely about her love, dedication for him just to save his face before us elites. Maybe he didn’t want us to judge him or Savita. 

Poor thing. He earned my sympathies that night. Next morning, I called Manas showing my inability to go to Agra with them as I had got some urgent work in the university. I also told him what I felt about Dr.Harihar. He didn’t take much interest in their matter; rather he was upset that his poetic evening with me was spoiled because of the couple. It could have been an evening of reading good literature, listening to good music, and a peaceful dinner with me and Sonu, had those stupids not been there. 

He had a point. Even I would have preferred that. 

***

Time flew. 

I almost forgot Harihar-Savita. Manas and Shubhra called me sometimes, but we made it a point not to discuss the couple. It was, we decided, none of our business. Because Harihar had apparently no objection to whatever was happening with him—though I had serious doubts about it. Anyway, Manas asked me to forget them. 

So be it!

Yes, after five months of their visit to Delhi, I happened to visit Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, to deliver a lecture. Dr.Harihar was eager to meet me; but I had no time,being the high-flyer. So I informed him over whatsapp that I won’t be able to meet him.

I mostly have morning-evening-round-trips. Padmashree poet Jayanta Mahapatra was in Bhubaneswar that day, and his car was scheduled to drop me in the airport in the evening. I always have never ending chats with Jayanta Sir, and I was elated spending a couple of hours with him in the long drive. And lo! Harihar was waiting for us in the Bhubaneswar airport! He had gathered this information from someone in the university, that Jayanta Sir would accompany me to the airport. I wasn’t pleased to see him there; anyway both Jayanta Sir and I exchanged formal pleasantries with him, maybe for a few seconds only, before I proceeded to the check in counter. Harihar requested us that he wanted to click our photographs, and Jayanta Sir agreed. So he quickly handed over his mobile to some passerby and got clicked with us, with a grin. I left Bhubaneswar after touching the feet of Jayanta Sir and a casual ‘namaste’ to Harihar.  After a couple of days, I found Harihar had tagged me on Facebook, posted that picture with a long tag-line, “Wonderful time spent with Padmashree Jayanta Mahapatra and the unparalleled poet par excellence, Nandini Sahu, in Bhubaneswar. Had long dialogues with the poets on contemporary Indian literature, and possible future collaborations with both poets.” 

I rather felt pity than contempt and laughed it off. All I remembered was, we spent maximum one minute with him in Bhubaneswar airport, that to, he was an uninvited presence.

Harihar sent me courtesy messages on festivals, functions, special occasions, to which I responded with a wordless ‘namaste’ emoji. Technology sometimes makes life simpler.

After eight more months or so, once Harihar called me with a request to book a room for him in our guest house. He had some work in North-East Delhi. I told him, we are in extreme South Delhi, so he’ll have to travel so much to reach his meeting venue. He said, it was ok, there were no rooms available elsewhere. 

The moment he reached our guest house, he called me. In fact he wanted to meet us the same morning. Anyway, I was busy; also I was trying to avoid him. That day, at 5pm when I reached home, he was already seated comfortably, settled, in our living room. Sonu had offered him tea. He came to  our place without an appointment, uninvited, and said he was getting bored in the guest house. I said, “Dr.Harihar, people who get bored in their own company seem to be in danger.”Maybe I wanted him to talk about his distressed life, or maybe I despised him. He still had my sympathies. Of course, I did not respect him for being so meek and mild a man. 

He took his sweet time, sipping his tea, savoring the snacks we offered. This time he looked relaxed, unlike last time when he was anxious even about a cup of tea or a rasogolla.

Poor thing.

He was relaxed till Savita called him after an hour (apparently, she called him every one hour!). I guessed, he lied to her about the network, and disconnected the phone. Perhaps put that on flight mode after talking to her for a minute.

“Sir, please call her from my phone. I too can wish her my regards.”

“No no Madam!! Let it be. I’ll anyway call her after an hour.”

He talked restlessly, stridently for an hour about his work, his university; poor Sonu had to sit with him nodding his head all the time, as I utilized the time in cooking dinner, and pretending to be listening  to his  blabbering. I was, clearly, impolite. And I wanted him to leave. It was a wastage of time for me to have such meaningless talk. 

He called his wife sharp at 7pm and told her that he was in the guest house, waiting for dinner, and then put the phone again on flight mode. 

I understood. He didn’t want his wife to know that he was sitting with us. Precisely, with me. A single woman.

Sonu asked, “but uncle, you are at our place!! Why did you lie?” 

It was awkward.

Then I lied to him in order to throw him out of my house. “Sir, you may have to please excuse us. Sonu has a lot of homework, and we’ll have to study now.”

“No mama! There is no homework today!” 

 I looked so stupid.

Harihar said, shamelessly, “Madam, can I have dinner before leaving? I didn’t have a proper lunch in the guest house.”

We had a silent, quick, early dinner. Then I offered to drop him back in the guest house in my car, though he had no mood to leave at 7.30pm.

He reluctantly said goodbye to Sonu and sat in my car, of course without forgetting to praise an independent, super-successful woman, driving a car all by herself. How disgusting was that!

Now that I was alone with him in the car, I had no reason to suppress my infuriation for an enslaved, spineless man. He owed me an explanation for lying to Savita that he was eating dinner in the guest house.

“Dr.Harihar, I do not teach any kind of lie and deception  to my son; so what you did at my place was seriously objectionable. I do not know much about you or your family or the values that you people follow. You were introduced to me by common friends. I wanted to respect you, but unfortunately, I could not. I cannot. How can you allow a person to dominate, control you to such an extent? How can you lie to her in front of me, sitting at my place? You have humiliated us and our hospitality. I don’t know for what all  should I reprimand you, neither do I know if at all I should talk to you! You are so laid-back! You don’t have the courage to tell Mrs.Savita  that you are having dinner with a respectable family! And last time your behaviour was such shameful in front of all of us!! How can a man tolerate if a woman steals the entire credit of his life and career?? Have you no dignity? No shame? Are you not suffocated? How do you live such a life??”

I was gasping angrily. I stopped the car in front of the guest house and got down.  He too got down and stood at a distance.

He said, quietly, considerately, “Madam, I thought you are an extremely intelligent person, and you can see the subtext behind this text. Behind this story of ‘subjugation’. But to me, now you sound like Gandhari. To be born blind is not a crime, but to turn a blind eye? How can you not see the hidden depths of this story?”

Ahh…one more drama. 

“Excuse me? I am still not getting what nonsense you are trying to explain. Come to the point.” I was rude.

“Ok, let me come to the point.”

He scratched his head, searching for words, and then said, “My wife Savita is an empty-headed foolish woman; an erudite woman like you may not understand the mindset of such people. She is class three pass(or fail..haha), she cannot even sign in English. She puts her thumb impression on papers I ask her to. She is from a lavish, extravagant family  where she had seen women being dominated by men. She got married to me when she was 18 and I was 25. Her parents offered me a fortune for dowry, and see the bonuses I have! A mansion and couple of nice cars. She can never understand what unproductive stuff she is engaged with. She has no time to think of anything except me and my needs. She cooks, cleans, takes care of all my  wishes— I get great food, clean bed, clean tables to work, fresh towels, clean book shelves, healthy tea, health care, in fact everything for a comfortable living. In return, I ignore her foolish talks, her self-styled supremacy. She feels emancipated, empowered by ‘dominating’ me. Can you believe–she signed her entire property in my name—I mean put her thumb impression—without an inkling of what she was doing. I told her that she had to sign the documents to secure her property.”

I was amazed. My mouth agape, eyes wide open. What a revelation!!

“And Madam, which qualified person in my friend circle will believe that a class-three-fail woman, who looks like a dumb fool, who opens her mouth only to reveal her imprudence, her foolishness, has actually shaped my great academic career? Rather, some laugh at her foolishness, and some, like you, give me their sympathies!! Actually, it’s a win-win situation for me.”

I sat in my car without a goodbye or a good night. Reached home absent-minded, with a void in my cognizance, rethinking, swotting ‘masculinity’.

Author's Bio:

Prof.Nandini Sahu, the Amazon Bestselling Author(2022), is a major voice in contemporary Indian English literature. She has accomplished her doctorate in English literature under the guidance of Late Prof. Niranjan Mohanty, Prof. of English, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. She has been widely published in India, U.S.A, U.K., Africa, Italy, Australia and Pakistan.  Apart from numerous other literary awards, she is a triple gold medalist in English literature; she has received the Gold Medal from the hon'ble Vice-President of India for her contributions to English Studies in India in the year 2019.  She is the author and editor of twenty books, The Other Voice, The, Recollection as Redemption, The Post-Modernist Delegation to English Language Teaching, The Post Colonial Space: Writing the Self and the Nation, Silver Poems on My Lips, Folklore and the Alternative Modernities (Vol.I), Folklore and the Alternative Modernities (Vol. II), Sukamaa and Other Poems, Suvarnarekha, Sita(A Poem), Dynamics of Children’s Literature, Zero Point and Selected Poems of Nandini Sahu(Winter-2020), Selected Poems of Nandini Sahu(Spring-2021), Re-reading Jayanta Mahapatra, A Song, Half & Half , Shedding the Metaphors, Collected Poems of Nandini Sahu and Collected Poems of Niranjan Mohanty. She is the Former Director, School of Foreign Languages and currently a Professor of English at Indira Gandhi National Open University [IGNOU], New Delhi, India. Her areas of research interest cover Indian Literature, New Literatures, Folklore and Culture Studies, American Literature, Children’s Literature and Critical Theory. She is the Chief Editor/Founder Editor of Interdisciplinary Journal of Literature and Language (IJLL), a bi-annual peer-reviewed journal in English. Professor Sahu has designed multiple academic programmes on Culture Studies, American Literature, Postcolonial Literatures, Children’s Literature, Indian Folk Literature and Indian Philosophical Thoughts for IGNOU and many other universities. Currently she is designing an MA programme in Indian Knowledge Systems which are inclined to comparative Indian literatures and cultures as well as Hindu Studies.

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