Cold War Genres: Local and International in Hindi Literature (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781438499598)

Cold War Genres explores post-independence Hindi literature, framing it within the sociopolitical backdrop of Nehruvian India during the early Cold War. The book underscores the pivotal role of Hindi's claims to be a national language following independence, which fostered a unique moment of literary innovation. Central to its narrative is the work of Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh, a pivotal figure in modern South Asian literature. Using Muktibodh's poetry, criticism, and fiction as a primary example, the book shows how literary form shapes a response to the internal contradictions of 1950s India, one that must be read in light of both the antinomies of Hindi literature and North India as well as the aesthetic debates and emerging ideas of global space during this time. Cold War Genres therefore functions as a lens to evaluate questions of genre and form shared by a range of literary cultures in the mid-twentieth-century decolonizing world. This book features extensive translations from Muktibodh's poetry and prose, including full translations of two poems "Brahmarākṣas" (The Brahman Demon) and "Aṃdhere meṃ" (In the Dark).

Author: Gregory Goulding
ISBN-10: 1438499590
ISBN-13: 9781438499598
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2024
Pages: 314
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d