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Kamala Markandaya: A novelist

Hareshwar Roy,
Introduction: Kamala Markandaya is one of the most important Indian novelists of the 20th century. She is widely read. She is a prestigious member of Indian Diaspora. It is she who is considered the pioneer of Indian Diaspora literature. Her novels have been praised for its truthfulness and insight. As a novelist she is very popular for her pragmatic presentation of life. She is appreciated for writing about the culture conflict between Indian urban and rural societies. Her novels offer a valuable glimpse into the lives of Indians living in both India and England. Life: The original name of Kamala Markandaya is kamala Purnaiya Markandaya. She was born in 1924 in an upper-middle-class Brahmin family in Mysore, India. Her father was a railway officer. She studied at Madras University. After that she settled in England in 1948 and married an English journalist. She died in London in 2004. She left a daughter, Kim Oliver, behind her. Before her death she received several awards for
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Obituary: A Critical Appreciation

Hareshwar Roy,
Obituary is a beautiful poem by A. K. Ramanujan, a great poet in the world of Indian English literature. It is a very popular poem by him. It is the product of the poet’s memory. Here the poet remembers his father after his death. Irony plays the pivotal role in this fantastic poem. In Obituary Ramanujan beautifully expresses the after effect of his father’s death. He tells that his father left only problems for his family behind him. The poet presents the list of those problems like dust on a table of papers, debts, daughters and a bedwetting grandson. It seems that the poet is not happy with his father’s attitude and life style. The poet continues that his ill-tempered father left a dilapidated house for his family to live in. Then the poet presents the picture of his cremation. The remains of his father’s pyre are left for sons to pick. They have to perform the Hindu rituals. Then the poet mentions the meaninglessness of his father’s life. He achieved nothing in this wor
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Obituary: A. K. Ramanujan

Hareshwar Roy,
Obituary : A Poem by A.K. Ramanujan Father, when he passed on, left dust on a table of papers, left debts and daughters, a bedwetting grandson named by the toss of a coin after him, a house that leaned slowly through our growing years on a bent coconut tree in the yard. Being the burning type, he burned properly at the cremation as before, easily and at both ends, left his eye coins in the ashes that didn't look one bit different, several spinal discs, rough, some burned to coal, for sons to pick gingerly and throw as the priest said, facing east where three rivers met near the railway station; no longstanding headstone with his full name and two dates to hold in their parentheses everything he didn't quite manage to do himself, like his caesarian birth in a brahmin ghetto and his death by heart- failure in the fruit market. But someone told me he got two lines in an inside column of a Madras newspaper sold by the kilo
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A River: A Critical Appreciation

Hareshwar Roy,
A.K. Ramanujan is a very popular poet of Indian English literature. He is a gifted poet in the world of Indian English poetry. He has earned great acclaim for his literary contribution. His poetry reflects the touch of humanity, Indian ethos and pertinence of life. His A River is a beautiful poem. It is taken from his magnum opus, The Striders . It consists of four stanzas. Here Ramanujan uses a variety of techniques to produce effect. Alliteration, assonance, consonance and enjambment have been used suitably. Here the poet has presented the attitudes of the old and the new poets. He has drawn the conclusion that both the groups of the poets are indifferent to human sorrows and suffering. Their poetry has nothing to do with the miseries of the human beings. The present poem deals with a river. It flows through the heart of Madurai. This Madurai is a holy city full of temples. In this poem Ramanujan presents the vivid picture of this river of the summer season and the rainy
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A River: A. K. Ramanujan

Hareshwar Roy,
Text of A River by A. K. Ramanujan In Madurai, city of temples and poets, who sang of cities and temples, every summer a river dries to a trickle in the sand, baring the sand ribs, straw and women's hair clogging the Watergates at the rusty bars under the bridges with patches of repair all over them the wet stones glistening like sleepy crocodiles, the dry ones shaven water-buffaloes lounging in the sun The poets only sang of the floods. He was there for a day when they had the floods. People everywhere talked of the inches rising, of the precise number of cobbled steps run over by the water, rising on the bathing places, and the way it carried off three village houses, one pregnant woman and a couple of cows named Gopi and Brinda as usual. The new poets still quoted the old poets, but no one spoke in verse of the pregnant woman drowned, with perhaps twins in her, kicking at blank walls even before birth. He said: the river has wate
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Savitri: An Epic

Hareshwar Roy,
  Arvind Ghosh is popular as Sri Aurobindo. He is a well-known Indian philosopher, sage, yogi, patriot and freedom fighter. As a poet too he has left an indelible mark on the world of literature. He is often appreciated as an excellent mystic poet.  His poetic works are imbued with a profound sense of mysticism and spiritual insight. His Savitri is his most celebrated work. It is considered an extraordinary modern epic. It is an immortal work. It transcends conventional poetic boundaries. This epic has been divided into twelve books and it consists of over 24,000 lines. In this epic Sri Aurobindo has highlighted the journey of the soul through various planes of consciousness. Here the poet has discussed the profound mystical experiences of Savitri and her quest for truth and divine realization. Here the poet has explored the triumph of divine awareness over darkness and unawareness. Savitri is regarded as an epic due to following qualities: Grand Theme : Savitri deals w
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Arvind Ghosh: A Great Poet

Hareshwar Roy,
Arvind Ghosh is popular as Sri Aurobindo. He is a well-known Indian philosopher, sage, yogi, patriot and freedom fighter. As a poet too he has left an indelible mark on the world of literature. Arvind Ghosh is an excellent mystic poet who is often appreciated for his mystical poetry. His mystic poetry transcends conventional boundaries and the poet stands as a luminary in the world of mystical poetry. His poetic works are imbued with a profound sense of mysticism and spiritual insight. Sri Aurobindo's early poetry reflects his longing for a spiritual awakening. The works like The Rishi and The Golden Light suitably reflect this longing. The Rishi portrays the union of the individual soul with the universal spirit. Arvind’s works reflect the internal realms of consciousness, the celestial and the perpetual quest for truth. His Savitri is his most celebrated work. It is an epic mystical poem. It consists of over 24,000 lines. In this epic Sri Aurobindo has highlighted the
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Arvind Ghosh: An Introduction

Hareshwar Roy,
Arvind Ghosh is popular as Sri Aurobindo. He is a well-known Indian philosopher, sage, yogi, patriot and freedom fighter. He was a great poet too. As a poet he has left an indelible mark on the world of literature. His Savitri , an epic, is his most celebrated work. Arvind Ghosh was born into a prominent Bengali family on 15 August 1872 in Calcutta (today’s Kolkata), India. The name of his father was Krishna Dhan Ghosh who was a doctor by profession. His mother Swarnalata Devi belonged to a distinguished family. Sri Aurobindo received his education in England. He studied in Cambridge and became a master in English, Greek and Latin. He passed the Indian Civil Service Examination in 1890. In 1893 he accepted an appointment in Baroda state service. Later he served Baroda College as a professor. After returning to India, he became actively involved in the Indian freedom struggle and played a significant role. But when he moved to Pondichery in 1910, his life took a spiritual turn.
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On His Blindness by Milton: Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Hareshwar Roy,
01. On His Blindness has been composed by: a. John Bunyan b. John Milton c. John Dryden d. John Donne Answer: b. John Milton 02. On His Blindness is: a. An elegy b. An ode c. A lyric d. A sonnet Answer: d. A sonnet 03. What type of poem is John Milton’s On His Blindness ? a. Epic poem b. Sonnet c. Ballad d. Free verse Answer: b. Sonnet 04. When was John Milton's poem On His Blindness first published ? a. 1608 b. 1632 c. 1658 d. 1673 Answer: d. 1673 05. What type of sonnet is Milton’s sonnet On His Blindness ? a. Petrarchan sonnet b. Spenserian sonnet c. Shakespearean sonnet d. None Answer: a. Petrarchan sonnet 06. In which collection of poems was On His Blindness included? a. Paradise Lost b. Paradise Regained c. Areopagitica d. Poems Answer: d. Poems 07. What is the title of John Milton's autobiographical poem? a. The Pilgrim's Progress b. The Canterbury Tales c. On His Blindness d. The Divine Comedy Answer: c. On His Blindness 08. On His Blindness is a poem
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John Milton: Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Hareshwar Roy,
01. Who is John Milton? a. A doctor b. A Scientist c. A poet d. A storyteller Answer: c. A poet 02. John Milton Belongs to: a. India b. Ireland c. England d. America Answer: c. England 03. John Milton belongs to: a. 19th Century b. 17th Century c. 16th Century d. 15th Century Answer: b. 17th Century 04. John Milton is popular as a: a. Classical poet b. Neoclassical poet c. Romantic poet d. Religious poet Answer: d. Religious poet 05. In which language did John Milton write his most popular works? a. Latin b. French c. Spanish d. English Answer: d. English 06. Apart from English John Milton also wrote in: a. French b. Spanish c. Urdu d. Latin & Italian Answer: d. Latin & Italian 07. John Milton is best known for: a. Paradise Lost b. Paradise Regained c. The Faerie Queene d. The Divine Comedy Answer: a. Paradise Lost 08. When was John Milton born? a. 1608 b. 1612 c. 1620 d. 1634 Answer: a. 1608 09. What is the date of birth of John Milton? a. 07 December 1608 b. 08 Dece
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