In the chapter ‘The Cry of the Oppressed’, the author recreates and reconstructs the scenes, the milieu and the ethos of Benegal’s films with great precision and felicity. The reader feels like watching a movie of the quintessential director, who indisputably occupies a unique position in the film industry of the country.
I dipped into the book with some hesitation, not because the book—designed also by Chaudhuri—is in any way intimidating or uninviting, but because its Foreword is written by her husband, Sanjeeb Chaudhuri—a choice that seems oddly hagiographic. Sanjeeb Chaudhuri is the chairman of IDFC First Bank and while banking, investment and art are bedfellows, especially in the first world, the reader must decide why his voice here is important.
Pathak admits that this book is an attempt to engage readers in a discussion about methodology by not reducing it to mere techniques, methods, tools and deliberations on the types of research. The aim is to address methodology for what it is—a discursive realm entailing myriad ways of seeing. In this, he makes room for the possibility of skewed vision, partial understanding, inclusion and exclusion, and pride and prejudices as he argues that this discursive realm should not rest on proving the already proven.
Rao asserts that a research institution must focus on enduring societal concerns such as governance and public welfare rather than shifting with the tides of funding. It should be fortified by extensive data repositories, skilled teams, and rigorous analytical tools. A strong field network, ethical review boards, and a culture of continuous methodological refinement further ensure its credibility.
In his substantial and in-depth Introduction, Professor Trivedi has explained with clarity and precision the overlap and differences between History and Literature, and has laid before us ‘the Mill-Macaulay-Macdonell Mockery’ that had such a debilitating effect on indigenous scholarship in this area. Almost all the essayists praise the grand achievement of Sisir Kumar Das, who created his own model for Indian Literary Historiography with the two volumes, A History of Indian Literature:
Volume VIII 1800-1910: Western Impact: Indian Response, New Delhi
Meena Pillai’s book, Translating Kerala, attempts to trace the traditions of translation in Malayalam with reference to their role in shaping new social imageries and literary practices. Though translation has a long history in Malayalam dating back to the 14th century, her focus is on the trends from early twentieth century onwards.