Friday 16 March 2012

Heartiest Felicitations to Sachin Tendulkar!


 
Sachin Tendulkar, representing Sungrace Club (Bombay), receiving the Man-of-the-Match award in the Final of the All India Shaheed Smriti Cricket Tournament 1992 from Mr. B.K. Chaturvedi, Commissioner, Agra Division. With them in the photograph are Dr. Nibir K. Ghosh (Master of Ceremony) & Mr. K.K. Kapoor (Organizing Secretary).

If it was a joy to see Sachin Tendulkar win the Man of the Match Award at the All India Shaheed Smriti Cricket Tournament in the Spring of 1992, exactly twenty years ago, at the Eklavya Sports Stadium, Agra, it is difficult to express the happiness and cheer his 100th Hundred in International cricket has brought to the whole world today.

Heartiest Felicitations to the Wonder Boy from the city of one of the Wonders of the World! Crowned with sportsmanship and humility of the highest order, may Sachin continue to dazzle the sporting world with his magic bat and always remain the undisputed monarch of all he surveys, the likes of which mankind may never see again.

- Nibir K. Ghosh

Monday 12 March 2012

More Comments on "Of censorship and the books that nobody reads"

Dear Dr. Ghosh
 
Thanks for the March 2012 issue of Re-Markings.
 
I fully endorse your editorial comments on Satanic Verses. In fact, my own experience with this insipid book is exactly same as yours.In 2008, I happened to borrow a copy of this book from a county library in the US and as I carried it, I felt great for having got the opportunity to read a book that made so much of news in India. But despite my best efforts to read through the book, I could not go beyond about fifty pages, for it turned out to be what you call "excruciatingly unenjoyable". Thanks to  the "absurdity of banning books that are considered unreadable," many generations of young Indian scholars have been blissfully relieved of the drudgery of reading Satanic Verses!

Best wishes.
 
Sincerely
 
J.N.Patnaik
  • Dr. Jitendra Narayan Patnaik worked as Professor of English in Ravenshaw University, Utkal University and Sanaa University, Yemen. He was Senior Fellow, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India during 2007-2009. At present, he is UGC Emeritus Fellow, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack.

Sunday 4 March 2012

Re-Markings: Down Memory Lane - March 2003

Editorial

In the complex equation of power relations the factor which seems to have remained constant is man’s inhumanity to man. The ever onward march of human civilization has revealed, among other things, man’s ingenuity to invent a dependable database to justify and account for oppression and exploitation in various forms. The narratives of empowerment emanating from the corridors of power have constantly provided the much needed rationale to keep the ‘wretched of the earth’ in their designated places. The vast proliferation of  knowledge in every sphere has strongly fore-grounded ideologies to support the ones at the apex of the superstructure of  power, be they gods or mortals. Scriptures too have been found very handy in justifying what man has made of man.

In this grim scenario the only redeeming feature seems to lie in the hope generated by the flux of counter-narratives provided, from time to time, by the ‘hierophants of an unapprehended inspiration’ -- the writers, poets and intellectuals. These narratives, emanating from the fertile soil of  human compassion, sing in profuse strains of  deeply meditated  verse songs not only of distress but also of  man’s capacity to survive with courage and dignity in a hostile world. The latter part of the twentieth century has especially shown how passivity towards the fate of the downtrodden is no longer a matter of  intellectual luxury.

The ongoing debate concerning the variables in the power equation has necessitated a virtual remaking of history where Caliban is no longer content with merely abusing Prospero in the language he has appropriated from the latter but shows instead the insidious intent of appropriating his place and position in the hierarchy of power. Likewise, Sisyphus is no longer a hapless victim of the wrath of the gods but  a veritable epitome of  steadfast determination endowed with the ability to confront his fate with the  gleaming smile of  scorn. The euphemisms of the Orwellian doublespeak are no more the exclusive  prerogative of the oppressor. The conflict between ‘freedom’ and ‘fear’ awaits new  visions and revisions from contending camps.

What is so very heartening about the emergence of  such narratives is the role they have assumed in promoting a profound understanding of the age in which we live. And it is equally satisfying to view with humility the small but decisive imprints Re-Markings has made in offering  its enthusiastic readers a wide spectrum of  divergent ideas from the viewpoint of multicultural perspectives.

The current issue of Re-Markings marks the first anniversary of its birth. Committed to issue-specific analysis and treatment of  a wide range of narratives and counter-narratives which transcend the barriers and boundaries of time, clime and space, the journal has become a receptacle for the ‘thinking  man’ in a relatively short span of time. Thanks to its avid readers and contributors, this journal has found effective sustenance in what it has to offer. While unqualified appreciation and praise from host of statesmen, academics, writersand intellectuals like His Excellency Dr. A.P.J. Abul Kalam, Charles Richard Johnson, Jayanta Mahapatra  and others from different parts of the globe offer exhilaration and encouragement, the advice and guidance of  critics will continue to play a seminal role in making Re-Markings move closer to the essential concerns of the human predicament. Light can only show reality. I am optimistic that Re-Markings will take you along the unlighted road to the yet unrealised. 

      Nibir K. Ghosh
Chief Editor

Saturday 3 March 2012

Langston Hughes in journal Re-Markings

Langston Hughes

Nibir K. Ghosh with Amritjit Singh

Re-Markings, a literary journal (ISSN 0972-611X: Website: www.re-markings.com) edited by Nibir K. Ghosh plans to publish a special section on Langston Hughes in 2013 (Vol. 12, No. 2, September, 2013) to be guest edited by Amritjit Singh, Langston Hughes Professor of English at Ohio University. We invite the submission of personal and scholarly short essays (no more than 3000 words), poems, and short stories written either about Hughes's poetry or fiction or in response to the affect and appeal of his writings. We would especially welcome submissions that deal with the global and transnational aspects of Hughes' career and works. 

Please send submissions in attached Word document in MLA style to both Amritjit Singh (e-m: singha@ohio.edu) and Nibir K.  Ghosh (e-m: ghoshnk@hotmail.com) by 30 September, 2012. Also, please send a tentative title of the proposed submission along with a 300-word abstract if applicable and a 1-page CV by 15 May, 2012.