By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
4
The Gujarati Literary Academy of North America
‘Indeed, Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, the preeminent literary association among Gujarati NRIs, has a long established practice of inviting writers and poets from India. It also arranges their coast-to-coast North American tours so that Gujarati community settled across the U.S. and Canada can benefit from their visits.’ This may or may not be true. ‘In addition, the Academy also holds a convention every other year where like minded Gujaratis get together and exchange ideas and share their works. Here again the distinguished writers from India are invited and asked to address the gathering’.
The Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, in my opinion has degenerated in to its own caricature or parody and is now on the verge of becoming a joke. Gujarati writers from Chicago, Los Angelese and few other cities not withstanding, the Academy has very rarely represented any Gujarati group or an organization or a Gujarati writer from any other States of the Union except a few East coast states. While it spends considerable amount of time and money on the travel arrangements of the visiting literati, I wonder if the Academy pays even a nominal honorarium to the few local writers, poets, novelists et all that it keeps inviting again and again for its various readings, panel discussion and poetry readings!
I do not know if any concerted effort has been made to expand the Academy membership beyond the East coast states. I am one of the founder members – Life member of the Academy. In spite of my numerous requests to the leaders of the Academy I do not get any communication from the Academy about its activities… This has made me think that the Academy is not interested in people who live beyond their local boundaries. I have written about this before so let’s move on to the topic at hand.
To be continued...
Showing posts with label Gujarati Literary Academy of North America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gujarati Literary Academy of North America. Show all posts
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Natwar Gandhi on Gujarati Diaspora Writing in U.S.A – a few observations
By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
9
Natwarbhai challenges Gujarati NRI writers
‘In the 19th century Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great Transcendentalist thinker challenged American writers to be on their own and throwaway the shackles of the home country dependency. He urged them to be independent and not look to England and Europe for approval. He also told them to draw their inspiration from “abounding life of their own country.” He continued: “Our day of independence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves…there are creative manners, there are creative actions and creative words…that is, indicative of no custom or authority, but springing spontaneous from the mind’s own sense of good and fair.” Emerson further challenged the countrymen of his young country: “Insist on yourself, never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation…”
Further on he adds, ‘…throwaway the shackles of the home country dependency’.
‘Gujarati writers of North America have to come of age and be on their own. They no longer should seek certificates from back home because most of those borrowed certificates are worthless anyway. They should throw away their literary shackles that make them look to India for the approval for their literary activities here. Their own immigrant lives are filled with fascinating stories that need to be written and tales that need to be told. Writers such as Bharati Mukerjee and Jumpa Lahiri made their literary mark doing just that. Why does the Gujarati NRI writer close his eyes to the world that surrounds him and look to a distant land where he is an object of condescension?’
Bharati Mukerjee as spelled in the above paragraph by Natwarbhai is incorrect. The correct spelling is Mukherjee - with KH and Jumpa Lahiri should have been spelled Jhumpa Lahiri - there is JH as in Jhumpa. I am sure this was a mere typographical error.
10
American Literature in late 18th and early 19th century and Emerson’s Advice to young writers
It was in the late eighteenth and early 19th century that the nation’s first novels were published. These fictions were too lengthy to be printed as manuscript or public reading. Publishers took a chance on these works in hopes they would become steady sellers and need to be reprinted. This was a good bet as literacy rates soared in this period among both men and women. The first American novel is William Hill Brown’s ‘’The Power of Sympathy’’ published in 1789. (The Norton Anthology of American Literature)
In the next decadeimportant women writers also published novels. Susanna Rowson is best known for her novel, ‘’Charlotte: A Tale of Truth’’, published in London in 1791.[5] In 1794 the novel was reissued in Philadelphia under the title, ‘’Charlotte Temple.’’ ‘’Charlotte Temple’’ is a seduction tale, written in the third person, which warns against listening to the voice of love and counsels resistance. In addition to this best selling novel, she wrote nine novels, six theatrical works, two collections of poetry, six textbooks, and countless songs.
( Parker, Patricia L. “Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson.” ‘’The English Journal.’’ 65.1: (1976) 59-60. ‘’JSTOR.’’ Web. 1 March 2010)In this country – U.S.A - in the late eighteenth and early 19th century that the nation’s first novels were published.. The first American novel is William Hill Brown’s ‘’The Power of Sympathy’’ published in 1789.
Reaching more than a million and a half readers over a century and a half, ‘’Charlotte Temple’’ was the biggest seller of the nineteenth century before Stowe’s ‘’Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’’ Although Rowson was extremely popular in her time and is often acknowledged in accounts of the development of the early American novel, ‘’Charlotte Temple’’ is often criticized as a sentimental novel of seduction. Hannah Webster Foster’s ‘’The Coquette: Or, the History of Eliza Wharton’’ was published in 1797 and was also extremely popular. (Source: Schweitzer, Ivy. ‘’Early American Literature.’’ 23.2: 1988] 221-225. ‘’JSTOR.’’ Web. 1 March 2010).
With the War of 1812 and an increasing desire to produce uniquely American literature and culture, a number of key new literary figures emerged, perhaps most prominently Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, James Fenimore Cooper, and Edgar Allan Poe. Irving, often considered arguably the first writer to develop a unique American style. wrote during the early decades of 19th century. Bryant wrote romantic and nature-inspired poetry, which evolved away from their European origins.
In 1832, Poe began writing short stories – including "The Masque of the Red Death", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" – that explore previously hidden levels of human psychology and push the boundaries of fiction toward mystery and fantasy. James Fenimore Cooper's three novels including The Last of the Mohicans) were popular both in the new country and abroad. Herman Mellville’s Moby Dick which was published in 1851, was not very successful in his life time, although it is considered one of the master pieces of Amrican literature. (Source: Norton Anthology of American Literature)
The noted America-born English essayist, critic and author Henry James (1843 – 1916) a pioneer of the realism movement in literature wrote mostly in the mode of British novels, became a British citizen in 1915 and died there in 1916. He did not seem to have paid any attention to Emerson’s advice. Henry James is one of the favorite writers of Natwarbhai whose name he likes to mention at any opportunity he gets to do so.
Barring few exception, early Amrican writing did not sell well (same as our Gujarari writing now. The only difference is, under a century after the American independence in 1776 good and distinctly Amrican literature had emerged.
The story of Gujarati writers in Gujarat and the diaspora writers is bit different. Gujarati NRI writers have not established emotional roots in the country they have adopted and many call their home. Many of them have not immersed themselves in Amrican literature and have not assimilated or acquired knowledge of Amrican history, literature, and society. In this sense, Panna Naik’s poems about home-sickness, while reflecting an immigrant’s emotions about the home country, cannot be called in a very narrow definition an American poem. And I don’t think Panna Naik wrote her poems to create some thing that could be called American and there is nothing wrong about it.
Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul’s almost all fiction is based on his life in Trinidad and his family history. His non fiction is based on his travels in different parts of the world and his perspective on the people, politics and places of those lands. Reflecting or distilling ones own life experiences in writing does not make that work less important or relevant. It is after all the style of writing, the writer’s own sensibilities and perceptions that are reflected in his writings makes that fiction, non-fiction or poetry – good, bad or aweful.
Salman Rushdie’s first novel is quite autobiographiical. Indian American writer Ved Mehta’s almost entire body of work is based on his personal life. No one admonished these writers for not writing about their British or American experiences.
It is after all what one writes and how one writes that makes good literature. It has nothing to do with what personal experiences the writer distills and filters in his writings.
So long as a writer is able to depict some universally recongizable experinece or an event that could resonante with a readers’ own sensibilities, the writer has nothing to worry about… To paraphrase Roy Peter Clark, people read for pleasure, and to be informed, and to be swept away by storytelling.
Having said that, unless the Gujarati NRI writer or an aspiring writer totally immerses in American society and life style, to expect him/her to write some thing with a distinct American ethos is going to be futile, not withstanding Natwarbhai’s gallant effort from behind the mask of Emerson advising Gujarati NRIs to write about something that reflected their American experience.
Advising Gujarati NRI writers how to write, no matter how high minded and nobel is likely to be construed as elitist. It may sound to some as a dicta, fiat or a fatwa from some foggy ivory tower. This is not a recipie for creating good literature. The decision of what to write and how to write should be left to NRI or native born writers or poets themselves. Writers of any shade or color, listen to the voice of their own inner muse or perhaps in an absence of a muse, they listen to their mistress…
‘Literary associations and academies should make a concerted effort to encourage Gujarati writing here and publish books and journals produced here. Instead of inviting Gujarati writers and poets from home at great expense they should arrange nationwide gatherings of local Gujarati writers and poets whose voices have not been heard. Above all, Gujarati writers and literary associations should focus on the literary writing that is being done here and celebrate it much the way Emerson celebrated American writing two centuries ago.’
It should be noted that some of the Gujarati writing in this country does reflect writers’ unique American experience. Take for example Gujarati NRI writings during the last three-decades or so - Adilbhai Mansuri’s poem about the young woman who was attacked and raped in the Central Park, New York, Panna Mody’s several poems that depicts her home-sickness or how she misses certain kind of Indian flowers that she is unable find in this country etc. Madhu Rye’s novel ‘Kimball Ravenswood’, An anthology of Gujarati poems that was edited by Chandrakant Shah titled ‘Amerikavyo’ and his collection of poems inspired by blue jeans. An earlier and probably the very first anthology of poems by expatriate Indians living in the U.S and Canada titled ‘Poetry-India’ (published by the India Foundation, Dayton and MedFest International 1987) included poems in some thirteen Indian languages, with original Indian script and with an English translation of the same. ‘Poetry-India’ included poems by six Gujarati NRIs; many a poems depicted the poets’ American experience. The critical articles in the pioneering Gujarati digest published and edited by Kishore Desai has published such writings and the list could go on and on…
On the topic of Gujarati writing inspired by American experience (as we are talking about Gujarati NRI writers), one could add the travelogues written by some visiting writers from India, some invited by the Academy and some who visited this country on their own. The problem with such travelogues is the ‘sameness’. Invariably all such travelogues contain un-ending descriptions of the writer’s hosts in various cities and places of interest he/she visited across this country and nothing more. These travelogues read like a personal diary, there is not even a word about the beauty of the location and or historic significance of the places they had visited.
Some visiting Gujarati writers have even tried to be a sociologist and have tried to analyze the life-styles of Gujarati NRIs – generally their hosts in this country. Such efforts have given the readers back home in India nothing but half-baked information and laughable generalizations about life in America. Such travelogues make dubious literature. The only value of such travelogues is only to the fans of the writers who have lovingly and with respect hosted those writers.
Natwarbhai says, ‘Literary associations and academies should make a concerted effort to encourage Gujarati writing here and publish books and journals produced here’. One might add that first one should find ways to finance such publishing efforts, as Natwarbhai is silent on the subject of financing the printing/publishing efforts of Gujarati NRIs in this country. I am sure he is not suggesting that the Gujarati NRI writers personally pay for their work published in this country rather than doing the same in India.
I would like to thank Natwarbhai for giving me this opportunity to enter in this discussion. His article is indeed thought provoking and dealt with a subject that has demanded attention for a long time. Natwarbhai is my very own Pundit of the Potomac!
(Translation, reprinting, electronic transmission or reproduction of this article in any form is prohibited without prior written permission from Harish Trivedi. Contact: indiafound@earthlink.net)
END
© 2010
9
Natwarbhai challenges Gujarati NRI writers
‘In the 19th century Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great Transcendentalist thinker challenged American writers to be on their own and throwaway the shackles of the home country dependency. He urged them to be independent and not look to England and Europe for approval. He also told them to draw their inspiration from “abounding life of their own country.” He continued: “Our day of independence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves…there are creative manners, there are creative actions and creative words…that is, indicative of no custom or authority, but springing spontaneous from the mind’s own sense of good and fair.” Emerson further challenged the countrymen of his young country: “Insist on yourself, never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation…”
Further on he adds, ‘…throwaway the shackles of the home country dependency’.
‘Gujarati writers of North America have to come of age and be on their own. They no longer should seek certificates from back home because most of those borrowed certificates are worthless anyway. They should throw away their literary shackles that make them look to India for the approval for their literary activities here. Their own immigrant lives are filled with fascinating stories that need to be written and tales that need to be told. Writers such as Bharati Mukerjee and Jumpa Lahiri made their literary mark doing just that. Why does the Gujarati NRI writer close his eyes to the world that surrounds him and look to a distant land where he is an object of condescension?’
Bharati Mukerjee as spelled in the above paragraph by Natwarbhai is incorrect. The correct spelling is Mukherjee - with KH and Jumpa Lahiri should have been spelled Jhumpa Lahiri - there is JH as in Jhumpa. I am sure this was a mere typographical error.
10
American Literature in late 18th and early 19th century and Emerson’s Advice to young writers
It was in the late eighteenth and early 19th century that the nation’s first novels were published. These fictions were too lengthy to be printed as manuscript or public reading. Publishers took a chance on these works in hopes they would become steady sellers and need to be reprinted. This was a good bet as literacy rates soared in this period among both men and women. The first American novel is William Hill Brown’s ‘’The Power of Sympathy’’ published in 1789. (The Norton Anthology of American Literature)
In the next decadeimportant women writers also published novels. Susanna Rowson is best known for her novel, ‘’Charlotte: A Tale of Truth’’, published in London in 1791.[5] In 1794 the novel was reissued in Philadelphia under the title, ‘’Charlotte Temple.’’ ‘’Charlotte Temple’’ is a seduction tale, written in the third person, which warns against listening to the voice of love and counsels resistance. In addition to this best selling novel, she wrote nine novels, six theatrical works, two collections of poetry, six textbooks, and countless songs.
( Parker, Patricia L. “Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson.” ‘’The English Journal.’’ 65.1: (1976) 59-60. ‘’JSTOR.’’ Web. 1 March 2010)In this country – U.S.A - in the late eighteenth and early 19th century that the nation’s first novels were published.. The first American novel is William Hill Brown’s ‘’The Power of Sympathy’’ published in 1789.
Reaching more than a million and a half readers over a century and a half, ‘’Charlotte Temple’’ was the biggest seller of the nineteenth century before Stowe’s ‘’Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’’ Although Rowson was extremely popular in her time and is often acknowledged in accounts of the development of the early American novel, ‘’Charlotte Temple’’ is often criticized as a sentimental novel of seduction. Hannah Webster Foster’s ‘’The Coquette: Or, the History of Eliza Wharton’’ was published in 1797 and was also extremely popular. (Source: Schweitzer, Ivy. ‘’Early American Literature.’’ 23.2: 1988] 221-225. ‘’JSTOR.’’ Web. 1 March 2010).
With the War of 1812 and an increasing desire to produce uniquely American literature and culture, a number of key new literary figures emerged, perhaps most prominently Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, James Fenimore Cooper, and Edgar Allan Poe. Irving, often considered arguably the first writer to develop a unique American style. wrote during the early decades of 19th century. Bryant wrote romantic and nature-inspired poetry, which evolved away from their European origins.
In 1832, Poe began writing short stories – including "The Masque of the Red Death", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" – that explore previously hidden levels of human psychology and push the boundaries of fiction toward mystery and fantasy. James Fenimore Cooper's three novels including The Last of the Mohicans) were popular both in the new country and abroad. Herman Mellville’s Moby Dick which was published in 1851, was not very successful in his life time, although it is considered one of the master pieces of Amrican literature. (Source: Norton Anthology of American Literature)
The noted America-born English essayist, critic and author Henry James (1843 – 1916) a pioneer of the realism movement in literature wrote mostly in the mode of British novels, became a British citizen in 1915 and died there in 1916. He did not seem to have paid any attention to Emerson’s advice. Henry James is one of the favorite writers of Natwarbhai whose name he likes to mention at any opportunity he gets to do so.
Barring few exception, early Amrican writing did not sell well (same as our Gujarari writing now. The only difference is, under a century after the American independence in 1776 good and distinctly Amrican literature had emerged.
The story of Gujarati writers in Gujarat and the diaspora writers is bit different. Gujarati NRI writers have not established emotional roots in the country they have adopted and many call their home. Many of them have not immersed themselves in Amrican literature and have not assimilated or acquired knowledge of Amrican history, literature, and society. In this sense, Panna Naik’s poems about home-sickness, while reflecting an immigrant’s emotions about the home country, cannot be called in a very narrow definition an American poem. And I don’t think Panna Naik wrote her poems to create some thing that could be called American and there is nothing wrong about it.
Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul’s almost all fiction is based on his life in Trinidad and his family history. His non fiction is based on his travels in different parts of the world and his perspective on the people, politics and places of those lands. Reflecting or distilling ones own life experiences in writing does not make that work less important or relevant. It is after all the style of writing, the writer’s own sensibilities and perceptions that are reflected in his writings makes that fiction, non-fiction or poetry – good, bad or aweful.
Salman Rushdie’s first novel is quite autobiographiical. Indian American writer Ved Mehta’s almost entire body of work is based on his personal life. No one admonished these writers for not writing about their British or American experiences.
It is after all what one writes and how one writes that makes good literature. It has nothing to do with what personal experiences the writer distills and filters in his writings.
So long as a writer is able to depict some universally recongizable experinece or an event that could resonante with a readers’ own sensibilities, the writer has nothing to worry about… To paraphrase Roy Peter Clark, people read for pleasure, and to be informed, and to be swept away by storytelling.
Having said that, unless the Gujarati NRI writer or an aspiring writer totally immerses in American society and life style, to expect him/her to write some thing with a distinct American ethos is going to be futile, not withstanding Natwarbhai’s gallant effort from behind the mask of Emerson advising Gujarati NRIs to write about something that reflected their American experience.
Advising Gujarati NRI writers how to write, no matter how high minded and nobel is likely to be construed as elitist. It may sound to some as a dicta, fiat or a fatwa from some foggy ivory tower. This is not a recipie for creating good literature. The decision of what to write and how to write should be left to NRI or native born writers or poets themselves. Writers of any shade or color, listen to the voice of their own inner muse or perhaps in an absence of a muse, they listen to their mistress…
‘Literary associations and academies should make a concerted effort to encourage Gujarati writing here and publish books and journals produced here. Instead of inviting Gujarati writers and poets from home at great expense they should arrange nationwide gatherings of local Gujarati writers and poets whose voices have not been heard. Above all, Gujarati writers and literary associations should focus on the literary writing that is being done here and celebrate it much the way Emerson celebrated American writing two centuries ago.’
It should be noted that some of the Gujarati writing in this country does reflect writers’ unique American experience. Take for example Gujarati NRI writings during the last three-decades or so - Adilbhai Mansuri’s poem about the young woman who was attacked and raped in the Central Park, New York, Panna Mody’s several poems that depicts her home-sickness or how she misses certain kind of Indian flowers that she is unable find in this country etc. Madhu Rye’s novel ‘Kimball Ravenswood’, An anthology of Gujarati poems that was edited by Chandrakant Shah titled ‘Amerikavyo’ and his collection of poems inspired by blue jeans. An earlier and probably the very first anthology of poems by expatriate Indians living in the U.S and Canada titled ‘Poetry-India’ (published by the India Foundation, Dayton and MedFest International 1987) included poems in some thirteen Indian languages, with original Indian script and with an English translation of the same. ‘Poetry-India’ included poems by six Gujarati NRIs; many a poems depicted the poets’ American experience. The critical articles in the pioneering Gujarati digest published and edited by Kishore Desai has published such writings and the list could go on and on…
On the topic of Gujarati writing inspired by American experience (as we are talking about Gujarati NRI writers), one could add the travelogues written by some visiting writers from India, some invited by the Academy and some who visited this country on their own. The problem with such travelogues is the ‘sameness’. Invariably all such travelogues contain un-ending descriptions of the writer’s hosts in various cities and places of interest he/she visited across this country and nothing more. These travelogues read like a personal diary, there is not even a word about the beauty of the location and or historic significance of the places they had visited.
Some visiting Gujarati writers have even tried to be a sociologist and have tried to analyze the life-styles of Gujarati NRIs – generally their hosts in this country. Such efforts have given the readers back home in India nothing but half-baked information and laughable generalizations about life in America. Such travelogues make dubious literature. The only value of such travelogues is only to the fans of the writers who have lovingly and with respect hosted those writers.
Natwarbhai says, ‘Literary associations and academies should make a concerted effort to encourage Gujarati writing here and publish books and journals produced here’. One might add that first one should find ways to finance such publishing efforts, as Natwarbhai is silent on the subject of financing the printing/publishing efforts of Gujarati NRIs in this country. I am sure he is not suggesting that the Gujarati NRI writers personally pay for their work published in this country rather than doing the same in India.
I would like to thank Natwarbhai for giving me this opportunity to enter in this discussion. His article is indeed thought provoking and dealt with a subject that has demanded attention for a long time. Natwarbhai is my very own Pundit of the Potomac!
(Translation, reprinting, electronic transmission or reproduction of this article in any form is prohibited without prior written permission from Harish Trivedi. Contact: indiafound@earthlink.net)
END
Natwar Gandhi on Gujarati Diaspora Writing in U.S.A – a few observations
By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
6
‘Books on Demand. Need a book publisher in a hurry? Publish within 48 hours…’
A random sampling of few self-publishing houses in the U.S.: OutskirtsPress.com, Xlibris.com, iuniverse.com, 48HrBooks.com,
One such publisher has even tries to attract new writer with an enticing offer - Keep 100% Royalties and 100% Rights to Your Book…
This makes everything easy, you don’t need to worry about any thing, not even money, use your credit card and go broke in the process but get published… Now you are a writer… Most importantly there are NO Natwar Gandhis who would criticize these publishers or the writers who get published through such outfits. Not any different then legalized brothels. And like brothels, such publishing has become a necessary evil. We know we have such literary pimps or dalals- brokers. For the right price, they would take good care of you. Then you can call yourself a WRITER.
In Gujarat, while computers and word processors are used to typeset and printing of the books. And there are failed novelists and journalists in Gujarat who have made a business of ‘guiding’ an NRI through the self-publishing process, even a gullible editor of a respectable magazine is conned in to writing a glowing preface. So call this what you want – legalized book publishing brothel or a back-room delivery, err printing of a questionable book and if needed even a back-room abortion – when printing is aborted because the Gujarati NRI developed cold feet and did not want to go through the process…and I have learned that in one recent incident the writer refused to pay mega bucks that the vanity publisher had demanded.
Book on demand phenomena has yet to emerge in Gujarat. But that is only a matter of time. May be there already is one in service as I write this, who knows?
So if a publisher in India or for that matter in any country, chooses to print some thing written by a Gujarati NRI writer, whose fault it is, the writer's or the publisher’s? No ones, regardless of screams and moans of wise man in the U.S. The law of supply and demand always plays an important role in such ventures and the Gujarati publishing is not immune from it.
‘Gujarati NRI writers look homeward for approval particularly for what they write. They strive to get good reviews and they get them easily in India. A North American return address on the envelope or a call from North America works wonders in India. As long as you are willing to pay, Indian publishers are willing to print and publish any rubbish any one pretending to be a writer comes up with.’ See above.
‘What is worse now is that with the advent of World Wide Web and blogosphere, who needs even a publisher? Any idiot can start a blog and put whatever he writes on his log and reach thousands of people who surf web daily. Many do. There are hundreds of Gujarati blogs originating from far and near. They are filled with a vast variety of poetry, essays, short stories and all sort of personal ruminations that the blogger feels appropriate. It is a sort of euphoria of abundance. (This also is an answer to all those who were lamenting the impending demise of Gujarati language. Hundreds of people are writing it regularly and tens of thousands are reading it regularly around the globe.)’
On the one hand Natwarbhai complains about NRIs who write 'rubbish' on the World Wide Web but then he condones it by stating, ‘This also is an answer to all those who were lamenting the impending demise of Gujarati language.’ Does this mean that even if one writes 'rubbish' he/she saves Gujarati language by such an effort? I do not believe that this is what Natwarbhai wanted to convey…
Let’s just wait till Gujarati books on line flood the web. I am sure we won’t have to wait for that very long. Even now one can download from the web a very popular novel by one of our leading novelist (available only in English language version) for a price.
Suffice it to say that the subject of the volatile mix of literature and commerce is not worth wasting time about.
‘If the critics in India really cared for the NRI writer, they should be advising him to study the masters of Gujarati literature as well as other literary masters.’(Page 3) Obviously, Natwarbhai is assuming that the critics in India really pay any attention to Gujarati NRI writers and their writings or vice a versa. Or for that matter he assumes that the Gujarati NRI writers in this country want or need any guidance from critics in India. May be Natwarbhai knows something that I do not, just like his informing us all that there were hundreds of thousands of people in District of Columbia who not only read Gujarati but specifically read Divya Bhaskar and Madhu Rye's columns. Oh, well!
‘Question is does it make literature?’ Well, that depends upon what one calls 'Literature'. Natwarbhai has avoided giving us his definition of literature. And in the next sentence (see below) he forgets the question he had just raised and asks ‘What is the literary value of blogs as well as international Gujarati literary exchanges?’ Natwarbhai may venture to suggest anything he pleases and write anything he pleases... But he should at least give us some examples or proof to validate his assertion when he writes, ‘I venture to suggest that visits of Indian writers here as well as NRI writers back home are not only not useful, but actually harmful to Gujarati Diaspora literature…’
Earlier Natwarbhai wrote, ‘Indeed, Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, the preeminent literary association among Gujarati NRIs, has a long established practice of inviting writers and poets from India. It also arranges their coast-to-coast North American tours so that Gujarati community settled across the U.S. and Canada can benefit from their visits.’
So what is it? Are such visits good or are they harmful? And who cares?
© 2010
6
‘Books on Demand. Need a book publisher in a hurry? Publish within 48 hours…’
A random sampling of few self-publishing houses in the U.S.: OutskirtsPress.com, Xlibris.com, iuniverse.com, 48HrBooks.com,
One such publisher has even tries to attract new writer with an enticing offer - Keep 100% Royalties and 100% Rights to Your Book…
This makes everything easy, you don’t need to worry about any thing, not even money, use your credit card and go broke in the process but get published… Now you are a writer… Most importantly there are NO Natwar Gandhis who would criticize these publishers or the writers who get published through such outfits. Not any different then legalized brothels. And like brothels, such publishing has become a necessary evil. We know we have such literary pimps or dalals- brokers. For the right price, they would take good care of you. Then you can call yourself a WRITER.
In Gujarat, while computers and word processors are used to typeset and printing of the books. And there are failed novelists and journalists in Gujarat who have made a business of ‘guiding’ an NRI through the self-publishing process, even a gullible editor of a respectable magazine is conned in to writing a glowing preface. So call this what you want – legalized book publishing brothel or a back-room delivery, err printing of a questionable book and if needed even a back-room abortion – when printing is aborted because the Gujarati NRI developed cold feet and did not want to go through the process…and I have learned that in one recent incident the writer refused to pay mega bucks that the vanity publisher had demanded.
Book on demand phenomena has yet to emerge in Gujarat. But that is only a matter of time. May be there already is one in service as I write this, who knows?
So if a publisher in India or for that matter in any country, chooses to print some thing written by a Gujarati NRI writer, whose fault it is, the writer's or the publisher’s? No ones, regardless of screams and moans of wise man in the U.S. The law of supply and demand always plays an important role in such ventures and the Gujarati publishing is not immune from it.
‘Gujarati NRI writers look homeward for approval particularly for what they write. They strive to get good reviews and they get them easily in India. A North American return address on the envelope or a call from North America works wonders in India. As long as you are willing to pay, Indian publishers are willing to print and publish any rubbish any one pretending to be a writer comes up with.’ See above.
‘What is worse now is that with the advent of World Wide Web and blogosphere, who needs even a publisher? Any idiot can start a blog and put whatever he writes on his log and reach thousands of people who surf web daily. Many do. There are hundreds of Gujarati blogs originating from far and near. They are filled with a vast variety of poetry, essays, short stories and all sort of personal ruminations that the blogger feels appropriate. It is a sort of euphoria of abundance. (This also is an answer to all those who were lamenting the impending demise of Gujarati language. Hundreds of people are writing it regularly and tens of thousands are reading it regularly around the globe.)’
On the one hand Natwarbhai complains about NRIs who write 'rubbish' on the World Wide Web but then he condones it by stating, ‘This also is an answer to all those who were lamenting the impending demise of Gujarati language.’ Does this mean that even if one writes 'rubbish' he/she saves Gujarati language by such an effort? I do not believe that this is what Natwarbhai wanted to convey…
Let’s just wait till Gujarati books on line flood the web. I am sure we won’t have to wait for that very long. Even now one can download from the web a very popular novel by one of our leading novelist (available only in English language version) for a price.
Suffice it to say that the subject of the volatile mix of literature and commerce is not worth wasting time about.
‘If the critics in India really cared for the NRI writer, they should be advising him to study the masters of Gujarati literature as well as other literary masters.’(Page 3) Obviously, Natwarbhai is assuming that the critics in India really pay any attention to Gujarati NRI writers and their writings or vice a versa. Or for that matter he assumes that the Gujarati NRI writers in this country want or need any guidance from critics in India. May be Natwarbhai knows something that I do not, just like his informing us all that there were hundreds of thousands of people in District of Columbia who not only read Gujarati but specifically read Divya Bhaskar and Madhu Rye's columns. Oh, well!
‘Question is does it make literature?’ Well, that depends upon what one calls 'Literature'. Natwarbhai has avoided giving us his definition of literature. And in the next sentence (see below) he forgets the question he had just raised and asks ‘What is the literary value of blogs as well as international Gujarati literary exchanges?’ Natwarbhai may venture to suggest anything he pleases and write anything he pleases... But he should at least give us some examples or proof to validate his assertion when he writes, ‘I venture to suggest that visits of Indian writers here as well as NRI writers back home are not only not useful, but actually harmful to Gujarati Diaspora literature…’
Earlier Natwarbhai wrote, ‘Indeed, Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, the preeminent literary association among Gujarati NRIs, has a long established practice of inviting writers and poets from India. It also arranges their coast-to-coast North American tours so that Gujarati community settled across the U.S. and Canada can benefit from their visits.’
So what is it? Are such visits good or are they harmful? And who cares?
Natwar Gandhi on Gujarati Diaspora Writing in U.S.A – a few observations
By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
2
CULTURE
Culture is a one of the specific characteristics of a nation. It has nothing to do with environment or weather. People belonging to a particular nation or nationality carry their culture wherever they go. For example diaspora Jews have carried their own culture with them wherever they moved and have successfully preserved it.
>>‘Once on American soil, our culture is no longer in the environment’ . ‘…We have to make a special effort to recreate it’. Well, one cannot 'recreate' culture. Culture is not a piece of clay that one can mold and remold in various shapes and size. Culture is not static. It is in a constant state of evolution.
If culture were in the environment as Natwarbhai has stated, then every non-Indian who visits India would immediately be infected with a dose of Indian culture like a virus. But we all know this does not happen. Yes, if one chooses to absorb a particular element of a cultural tradition one can do so, but by doing so he/she does not become an Indian or a Jew or an Arab. Not every one who visits India, Israel or Saudi Arabia becomes an Indian or a Jew or an Arab. Absorption of a cultural trait or a rejection of a particular culture is a matter of choice and not an accident of travel to a foreign land or residency in a foreign country.
Culture and cultural traditions change over a time and thereby evolve in to a new and at times more vibrant culture. What we call Indian culture is not the same culture as it was say at the time when the Aryans came to India or say during the period of King Ashoka.
The 19th century Indian culture was much different than the 20th century and with globalization the 21st century Indian culture would evolve in to a different culture than the one in earlier centuries. This is particularly true when we discuss Gujarati language and literature. Just look at the state of Gujarati language from the last quarter of 20th century onwards. See how many English words have crept-in the Gujarati vocabulary and also in print during the last five-decades or so. The Gujarati language has surely undergone a sea change during the last thousand years or so and it would keep on changing. No amount of breast-beating would stop this process of evolution and assimilation.
The first generation Asian-Indians, people of Indian origin who came to USA in say early 60s and 70s and who raised their families in this country will have to accept the fact that a new Indo-American culture is evolving, perhaps with assimilation of the best cultural traits from both the countries (India and the U.S.A.)
Some of these first generation Asian Indians keep fighting a loosing battle against historical forces at work here. It has happened before and it would keep on happening in future. We already have some evidence - just look all around us (in the U.S.A). We are living in the midst of the descendants of Italian, French, German, English, Irish... immigrants who came before us. They have all assimilated and have preserved their own language and traditions the best way they can and in the process evolved in to what we now call the American culture. They are all Americans. NRIs have a long way to go in this direction and sooner they do, the better it would be for the coming generations of Indian-Americans.
To be continued....
© 2010
2
CULTURE
Culture is a one of the specific characteristics of a nation. It has nothing to do with environment or weather. People belonging to a particular nation or nationality carry their culture wherever they go. For example diaspora Jews have carried their own culture with them wherever they moved and have successfully preserved it.
If culture were in the environment as Natwarbhai has stated, then every non-Indian who visits India would immediately be infected with a dose of Indian culture like a virus. But we all know this does not happen. Yes, if one chooses to absorb a particular element of a cultural tradition one can do so, but by doing so he/she does not become an Indian or a Jew or an Arab. Not every one who visits India, Israel or Saudi Arabia becomes an Indian or a Jew or an Arab. Absorption of a cultural trait or a rejection of a particular culture is a matter of choice and not an accident of travel to a foreign land or residency in a foreign country.
Culture and cultural traditions change over a time and thereby evolve in to a new and at times more vibrant culture. What we call Indian culture is not the same culture as it was say at the time when the Aryans came to India or say during the period of King Ashoka.
The 19th century Indian culture was much different than the 20th century and with globalization the 21st century Indian culture would evolve in to a different culture than the one in earlier centuries. This is particularly true when we discuss Gujarati language and literature. Just look at the state of Gujarati language from the last quarter of 20th century onwards. See how many English words have crept-in the Gujarati vocabulary and also in print during the last five-decades or so. The Gujarati language has surely undergone a sea change during the last thousand years or so and it would keep on changing. No amount of breast-beating would stop this process of evolution and assimilation.
The first generation Asian-Indians, people of Indian origin who came to USA in say early 60s and 70s and who raised their families in this country will have to accept the fact that a new Indo-American culture is evolving, perhaps with assimilation of the best cultural traits from both the countries (India and the U.S.A.)
Some of these first generation Asian Indians keep fighting a loosing battle against historical forces at work here. It has happened before and it would keep on happening in future. We already have some evidence - just look all around us (in the U.S.A). We are living in the midst of the descendants of Italian, French, German, English, Irish... immigrants who came before us. They have all assimilated and have preserved their own language and traditions the best way they can and in the process evolved in to what we now call the American culture. They are all Americans. NRIs have a long way to go in this direction and sooner they do, the better it would be for the coming generations of Indian-Americans.
To be continued....
Natwar Gandhi on Gujarati Diaspora Writing in U.S.A – a few observations
Natwar Gandhi on Gujarati Diaspora Writing in U.S.A – a few observations
By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
1
(Note: Quotations from Mr. Natwar Gandhi’s article appear in italics)
Natwarbhai Gandhi has offered a thoughtful take on the state of Gujarati NRI (Non Resident Indian) writing, writers and the Gujararti Literary Academy of North America in his article that was published in a periodical published in this country. I received a copy of it from a friend. It was a typed copy and did not carry the name and the issue date of the periodical.
What is apparent from this article that Natwarbhai thinks all the NRI writers crave for attention and approval from critics in India. He also provides some suggestions to the Gujarati NRI writers. And calls upon them to write something based upon their American experience.
If nothing comes out of Natwarbhai’s thoughtful analysis, I hope it foments some much needed debate and discussion on the state of Gujarati NRI writers and writing as well as current trends in Gujarati writing, be it a fiction, poetry, criticism or a play.
I have met Natwarbhai and had also the privilege to sit with him on a panel discussion. Since then I have from a distance admired his professional accomplishments and happily read about it in various publications.
In the article under review, Natwarbhai Gandhi has, with one hurtful punch tried to KO every NRI writer or wannabe writer regardless of him (Natwarbhai) having any specific knowledge of the writers' literary aspirations or expectations. He does not name any names in his analysis of NRI Gujarati writing and writers, although it is easy to guess the identity of writers commented upon by Natwarbhai. In the process he may have settled some scores with NRI writers whom he does not like.
It is not the purpose of this article to speculate on the motives of Natwarbhai in writing this particular article so please allow me to discuss few points he has raised in his article titled Gujarati Diaspora Writing--A Call for Independence.
Natwarbhai has, with one broad sweep managed to offend, probably unintentionally every NRI writer who writes in Gujarati. He has also assumed that each of the NRI writer is anxious to get an approval from the critics back home in India and thus seeking what he calls ‘Good Housekeeping stamp’ of approval from them.
I have quoted relevant paragraphs from Natwarbhai's article and have taken liberty to offer my two-cents worth on the same.
The said article is full of generalizations, repetitions and contradictions.
I shall try to point out these and other issues that he has raised in this article as we go along. Quotes from his article appear in italics.
‘Every spring and summer a group of special Indian visitors descend upon North American soil with the regularity of migratory birds. These are sadhus, swamis, teachers, writers, poets and quacks of all sorts. They come with a balm to soothe us of our immigrant anxiety. One of our continuing fears is that we are losing our unique Indian culture, particularly the religion and language. It is not that we particularly cared for it while we were in India, but once on a foreign soil we miss it. Culture was in environment back home. It was like the air that we breathed. We took it for granted. No special effort was made.’
He is assuming that all these ‘quacks of all sorts’ are descending on this blessed land uninvited. But that is not true. In my opinion, after each visit by these writers, swamis etc the invitees probably gets a booster shot that could help rectify the deficiencies of some cultural element that they, the invitees crave for in the area of literature, religion, language etc.
to be continued...
By Harish Trivedi, Dayton, Ohio.
© 2010
1
(Note: Quotations from Mr. Natwar Gandhi’s article appear in italics)
Natwarbhai Gandhi has offered a thoughtful take on the state of Gujarati NRI (Non Resident Indian) writing, writers and the Gujararti Literary Academy of North America in his article that was published in a periodical published in this country. I received a copy of it from a friend. It was a typed copy and did not carry the name and the issue date of the periodical.
What is apparent from this article that Natwarbhai thinks all the NRI writers crave for attention and approval from critics in India. He also provides some suggestions to the Gujarati NRI writers. And calls upon them to write something based upon their American experience.
If nothing comes out of Natwarbhai’s thoughtful analysis, I hope it foments some much needed debate and discussion on the state of Gujarati NRI writers and writing as well as current trends in Gujarati writing, be it a fiction, poetry, criticism or a play.
I have met Natwarbhai and had also the privilege to sit with him on a panel discussion. Since then I have from a distance admired his professional accomplishments and happily read about it in various publications.
In the article under review, Natwarbhai Gandhi has, with one hurtful punch tried to KO every NRI writer or wannabe writer regardless of him (Natwarbhai) having any specific knowledge of the writers' literary aspirations or expectations. He does not name any names in his analysis of NRI Gujarati writing and writers, although it is easy to guess the identity of writers commented upon by Natwarbhai. In the process he may have settled some scores with NRI writers whom he does not like.
It is not the purpose of this article to speculate on the motives of Natwarbhai in writing this particular article so please allow me to discuss few points he has raised in his article titled Gujarati Diaspora Writing--A Call for Independence.
Natwarbhai has, with one broad sweep managed to offend, probably unintentionally every NRI writer who writes in Gujarati. He has also assumed that each of the NRI writer is anxious to get an approval from the critics back home in India and thus seeking what he calls ‘Good Housekeeping stamp’ of approval from them.
I have quoted relevant paragraphs from Natwarbhai's article and have taken liberty to offer my two-cents worth on the same.
The said article is full of generalizations, repetitions and contradictions.
I shall try to point out these and other issues that he has raised in this article as we go along. Quotes from his article appear in italics.
‘Every spring and summer a group of special Indian visitors descend upon North American soil with the regularity of migratory birds. These are sadhus, swamis, teachers, writers, poets and quacks of all sorts. They come with a balm to soothe us of our immigrant anxiety. One of our continuing fears is that we are losing our unique Indian culture, particularly the religion and language. It is not that we particularly cared for it while we were in India, but once on a foreign soil we miss it. Culture was in environment back home. It was like the air that we breathed. We took it for granted. No special effort was made.’
He is assuming that all these ‘quacks of all sorts’ are descending on this blessed land uninvited. But that is not true. In my opinion, after each visit by these writers, swamis etc the invitees probably gets a booster shot that could help rectify the deficiencies of some cultural element that they, the invitees crave for in the area of literature, religion, language etc.
to be continued...
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