How English Ruined Indian Literature

by Hellsangel Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:47 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/how-english-ruined-indian-literature.html wrote:India, when left to its own devices, throws up a very different kind of writer, a man such as Chetan Bhagat, who, though he writes in English about things that are urgent and important — like life on campuses and in call centers — writes books of such poor literary quality that no one outside India can be expected to read them. India produces a number of such writers, and some justly speculate that perhaps this is the authentic voice of modern India. But this is not the voice of a confident country. It sounds rather like a country whose painful relationship with language has left it voiceless.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:08 pm

i'll read taseer's article later, but chetan bhagat really is awful.

by seven Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:59 pm

So we get even. We ruins English Wink

by Kris Sat Mar 21, 2015 3:20 am

Hellsangel wrote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/how-english-ruined-indian-literature.html wrote:India, when left to its own devices, throws up a very different kind of writer, a man such as Chetan Bhagat, who, though he writes in English about things that are urgent and important — like life on campuses and in call centers — writes books of such poor literary quality that no one outside India can be expected to read them. India produces a number of such writers, and some justly speculate that perhaps this is the authentic voice of modern India. But this is not the voice of a confident country. It sounds rather like a country whose painful relationship with language has left it voiceless.

>>>I think Taseer is being too harsh here. Bhagat is not really a good example of what Indians can do with English from a literary standpoint. In a broader sense, I would however agree that the preoccupation with English as a status symbol has resulted in local literature taking a back seat.

by pravalika nanda Sat Mar 21, 2015 6:03 pm

I haven't read the article but I think illiteracy ruined indian literature. that and those math tuitions.

by pravalika nanda Sat Mar 21, 2015 6:05 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i'll read taseer's article later, but chetan bhagat really is awful.

max, didn't I tell you to not read chetan bhagat? actually it would be better for you to stop reading altogether for a month. just go swimming and sings songs in your head. that's all I do!

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:10 pm

i finally read taseer's article. i think tamil might be an exception to what he is saying. one advantage of the tamils' intransigence on linguistic matters is that they never lost the connection with their language. there has always been a reasonably healthy output of tamil writing to this day. perhaps other languages were more adversely affected.

by Hellsangel Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:27 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i finally read taseer's article. i think tamil might be an exception to what he is saying. one advantage of the tamils' intransigence on linguistic matters is that they never lost the connection with their language. there has always been a reasonably healthy output of tamil writing to this day. perhaps other languages were more adversely affected.

Yes. Tamil is great.

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