Documentation: Preparing the List of Work Cited

Hello friends 

I am Bhavna Sosa from Department of English MKBU. This blog about 'Documentation: Preparing the List of Work Cited'. This task was given by Megha ma'am. 

What is Citation?

A citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research. Any time you directly quote, paraphrase or summarize the essential elements of someone else's idea in your work, an in-text citation should follow. An in-text citation is a brief notation within the text of your paper or presentation which refers the reader to a fuller notation, or end-of-paper citation, that provides all necessary details about that source of information.

Direct quotations should be surrounded by quotations marks and are generally used when the idea you want to capture is best expressed by the source. 

Paraphrasing and summarizing involve rewording an essential idea from someone else's work, usually to either condense the point or to make it better fit your writing style.

You do not have to cite your own ideas, unless they have been published. And you do not have to cite common knowledge, or information that most people in your audience would know without having to look it up.

In-Text Citations

In-text citations alert the reader to an idea from an outside source.

What is book review?

A review is a critical evaluation of a text, event, object, or phenomenon. Reviews can consider books, articles, entire genres or fields of literature, architecture, art, fashion, restaurants, policies, exhibitions, performances, and many other forms. This handout will focus on book reviews. For a similar assignment, see our handout on literature reviews.

Above all, a review makes an argument. The most important element of a review is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary. It allows you to enter into dialogue and discussion with the work’s creator and with other audiences. You can offer agreement or disagreement and identify where you find the work exemplary or deficient in its knowledge, judgments, or organization. You should clearly state your opinion of the work in question, and that statement will probably resemble other types of academic writing, with a thesis statement, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The Only Story by Juliana Barnes 

"Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question."

The Only Story stakes bold claims and provokes surprising questions that demonstrate Barnes is anything but resting on his laurels.

He states the novel’s thesis, via narrator Paul, on the opening page this way:

Most of us have only one story to tell. I don’t mean that only one thing happens to us in our lives: there are countless events, which we turn into countless stories. But there’s only one that matters, only one finally worth telling. This is mine.

As Paul’s story unfolds, it becomes clear that it’s about love in general and first love in particular, which, the book argues, is the only story we really have to tell about ourselves.

Consider teeth, for example. Paul says of Susan’s,

I must tell you about her teeth. Well, two of them, anyway. The middle front ones at the top. She called them her “rabbit teeth” because they were perhaps a millimeter longer than the strict national average; but that, to me, made them the more special. I used to tap them lightly with my middle finger, checking that they were there, and secure, just as she was. It was a little ritual, as if I was taking an inventory of her.

It’s difficult not to smile at this slightly ridiculous but entirely believable romantic gesture. Her teeth show up throughout the first part of the novel, until they are, in heartbreaking fashion, lost. If Barnes has something to say here, it’s that little things like affection for teeth are the signum et res - the sign and the reality - of true love.

There’s an illuminating contrast, however, between Paul and Susan’s story and that of Shostakovich in The Noise of Time. Is the latter’s love for his spouse not all the more poignant, interesting, and sustainable precisely because she is not his only love? Isn’t it his passion for music that made Shostakovich an appealing lover in the first place? In her brilliant 2017 Paris Review piece “What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?” Claire Dederer asks if all artists are not monsters in some sense given that selfishness is always involved in the finishing of a work. Provocative as such a question is, couldn’t the opposite case also be made? Namely, that the lover with no project of her or his own is the real monster, because lack of interest in the cultivation of self results in a subjectivity so dull that any captivating romantic love with such a person is out of the question. Given the choice between Shostakovich and Paul, who would not choose the former?

Paul’s love story may not be all that interesting, but Barnes’s analysis of it certainly is. As in his other works, the author applies a scalpel to human consciousness to expose his protagonist’s intentions, beliefs, and neuroses with astute observation. Part one of the novel is in first person, part two in second, part three in third, and these different voices correspond to different stages in Paul and Susan’s relationship: the birth of love, the death of love, and the aftermath of love. Each part has its moments of enchanting, psychologically descriptive prose, such as this musing of Paul’s from the first section:

She laughs at life, this is part of her essence. She laughs at what I laugh at. She also laughs at hitting me on the head with a tennis ball; at the idea of having sherry with my parents; she laughs at her husband, just as she does when crashing the gears of the Austin shooting break.

Work Cited : 

 https://www.marian.edu/docs/default-source/marian's-adult-programs-documents/what-is-citation.pdf?sfvrsn=76a375fd_2. 

“Book Reviews.” The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 23 Sept. 2021, https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/book-reviews/. 

Barnes, Julian. The Only Story. Jonathan Cape, 2018.

Millay, Thomas J. Annotations of Pain: First Love in “The Only Story,” 17 Apr. 2018. 

Ministry of Utmost Happiness

 Hello friends 

I am Bhavna Sosa from the Department of English MKBU. This task is about The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. This blog is assigned by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad sir.

       The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

                       by Arundhati Roy

About Arundhati Roy : 

Arundhati Roy was born in 1959 in Shillong, India. She studied architecture in New Delhi, where she now lives. She has worked as a film designer and screenplay writer in India. Roy is the author of the novel The God of Small Things, for which she received the 1997 Man Booker Prize. The novel has been translated into dozens of languages worldwide. She has written several non-fiction books, including The Cost of Living, Power Politics, War Talk, An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire and Public Power in the Age of Empire. Roy was featured in the BBC television documentary Dam/age, which is about the struggle against big dams in India. A collection of interviews with Arundhati Roy by David Barsamian was published as The Chequebook and the Cruise Missile. Her newest book, published by Haymarket, is Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers. Roy is the recipient of the 2002 Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Prize.

About Novel :

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is the second novel by Indian writer Arundhati Roy, published in 2017, twenty years after her debut, The God of Small Things.

The novel weaves together the stories of people navigating some of the darkest and most violent episodes of modern Indian history, from land reform that dispossessed poor farmers to the Bhopal disaster, 2002 Godhra train burning and Kashmir insurgency. Roy's characters run the gamut of Indian society and include an intersex woman (hijra), a rebellious architect, and her landlord who is a supervisor in the intelligence service. The narrative spans across decades and locations, but primarily takes place in Delhi and Kashmir.

Characters :-

Jahanara Begam

Mulakaat Ali

Aftab/Anjum

Man who know English

Ahlam Baji(middle Wife) 

Bombay Silk

Mary(only Christian) 

Gudiya

Saeeda

Bulbul

Bismilla (Bimla) 

Nimo Gorakhpur

Kulsoom Bi (Nayak of Hijra House) 

Ziauddin Imam

Zainab

Zakir Mia

Mansoor(zakir mia son) 

Abhay Chand

Sakeem (anjum Brother) 

Aurangjeb

Hazrat Sarman

Changez Khan

Borte Khatun

Dr. Azad Bharati

Sadam Hussein

Dayachand

Sangita madam

Inspector Sherawat

Tubby old Gandhian (anna Hazare

Mr. Agarwal (kejariwal) 

Gujrat ka lalla (Narendra Modi) 

Manmohan singh (trapped Rabbit) 

S. Tilottama(Tilo) 

Mariyam Ipe(mother of Tilottama) 

Musa Yeswi

Arifa (wife of Musa) 

Jebeen 

Biplav Das Gupta

Chitra(Wife of Biplav Das) 

Rabiya, Aania (Daughter of Biplav Das) 

Nagraj Hariharan

Captain Amrik Singh

Lovleet singh (Amrik singh's wife) 

Acp Pinky Sodhi

Balveer Sodhi (brother of pinky) 

Aijaz (one of the Terrorist interviewed by Nagraj) 

Khadija (lady give accompany to Tilo) 

Jainab

Jalil Qadri 

Revathy 

Plot Summary:

The story begins with A strange older woman living in Graveyard named Jannat. There is one another man named Imam Ziauddin who is old blind man became frequent companion of Anjum. Who came to know that the woman’s name is Anjum. She is a Hijra, a transwoman, who left Khwabgah many years ago. Then there is a story of Anjum's birth. Who born as a intersex, but her mother, Jahanara, gendered the child a boy and named him Aftab.

In his childhood Aftab was a very good singer that caused the neighbourhood kids to tease him about being too feminine. His father Mulaqat gave him a suggestion to undergo a gender-change surgery, and also told him stories about his great warrior ancestors to inspire him towards masculinity. One day he noticed one Hijra girl walking beautifully and he followed her which led him to Khwabgah, after that he kept visiting the place until he got 15 years old and then permanently moved there to live. In Khwabgah Aftab becomes Anjum permanently. She also went through gender transition surgery and became Female finally. She also became very famous among NGOs, human rights groups and journalists because of her beauty and aggressive femininity. All the way she becomes a successful Hijra.

One day Anjum finds one abandoned baby girl outside the mosque and takes her with her. She treated the baby like her child and became her mother. She named the baby Zainab. She mostly tells realistic stories of her life. When Zainab reaches the age when she is ready to go to school suddenly she goes through a bout of ill health. So Anjum decided to take her for pilgrimage with Zakir Mian to a holy Muslim site in Gujarat. In pilgrimage, Anjum and Zakir Mian face the worst massacre, in which Zakir Mian was killed, but Anjum is spared because they believe that killing Hijra is bad luck. Anjum after returning from Gujarat started behaving strangely. She started wearing boys' clothes and trying to dress Zainab as a little boy to protect her from suffering violence. When Ustad Kulsoom Bi Opposed this division, Anjum left Khwabgah, moved to Graveyard behind the government hospital and started living there. She leaves Zainab in Saeeda’s care.

Slowly Anjum built a house in graveyard, where after some time Saddam Hussain, an unemployed Dalit young man on a mission to murder the police officer who caused the death of his father came and started living there. Who once witnessed his father's murder. Saddam Hussain also suggested Anjum that she should start charge to guests and for funeral services, And Anjum started calling her home Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services.

After that we find there is a character of Biplab, a bureaucrat in the Indian government discovers that a tenant of his, Tilottama, has gone missing. He secretly loves Tilottama throughout his life. He met Tilottama in a play performance as a student of university. But unfortunately Tilottama was dating Musa, a Kashmiri architect. There is one another character Naga who is a journalist, who also is in love with Tilottama.Biplab is involved in the Kashmir conflict as a bureaucrat whose work serves primarily to cover up the atrocities committed by the Indian Army in the region. But soon he finds himself a puppet of the government, who reveals only as much as the government wants him to reveal. Naga is a journalist, and although he doesn’t see himself as corrupt in any way. One day Biplab received a message from Tilottama that the army had captured her so Biplab sent Naga to save her, and Naga saved her from jail and soon Naga and Tilottama married. But soon they divorced and Tilottama asked Biplab if she could rent one of his apartments. Here Biplav thought that it's his chance for Tilottama. Before Biplab comes to Tilottama's apartment, there is a wide public protest at Jantar Mantar. It was started as an anti corruption protest by Gandhian. And later turned into a hunger strike against corruption in India. There are many other causes and groups also joined the protest to get media coverage. Anjum and Hussain move to Jantar Mantar to see what is happening there. There is a group called the Mothers of the Disappeared that finds a baby abandoned on the pavement in front of the protest. Anjum decided to take the baby with her but another protester Mr.Aggarwal. Anjum got into a fight with him as Mr. Aggarwal wanted to handover the baby to a police officer but Anjum was against it and wanted to take the baby with her. In between the conflict the baby disappeared and no one knows who took the baby so Anjum and Hussain leave Jantar Mantar to find the baby.

Later on readers come to know that the baby was taken by Tilottama. The baby was named as Miss Jebeen the Second by Tilottama. The name is given after Musa's daughter who was murdered in a massacre by the Indian government in Kashmir. Also her mother Arifa died in the same massacre. Tilottama was also involved in the Kashmir massacre after meeting Musa. After Musa and Tilottama returned from the houseboat, the boat was raided by military police.Gulrez, a friend of musa killed by the military police.the military was led by Major Amrik Singh. Tilottama and Musa vows to take revenge for their deaths. But Amrik Singh fled to California with his wife and childrens.

After taking the baby from Jantar Mantar, The police are after her, so Tilottama wants a safe place to live, her friend Dr. Azad Bhartiya suggested her to Jannat Guest house and gave the number of Sadam Hussain. Tilottama moved to Jannat Guest House and started living there. She begins to work as a teacher for the poor, local children, and greatly enjoys her work. On the other hand, Sadam Hussain and Zainab fell in love and married. Many outcast people came and started living in Jannat guest house. All the people at Jannat guest house are very happy. Jabeen the second raised surrounds peace, love and safety. The story ends here.

Fact-Fiction

-2002 Godhra kand Gujarat - Trauma to Anjum

-Mr.Aggarwal- Arvind Kejriwal

-Gujarat ka Lalla -Narendra Modi

-Leaching of Dalit (Una-Gujrat) - Saddam Father's death

-Trapped Rabbit - Manmohan Singh

Write about any one theme or character of the novel with the help of Chat OpenAI GPT. Ask to Chat GPT and put a screenshot as well as copy-paste the answer generated by this response generator.

The theme of religion and power in "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness"

The theme of religion and power is central to Arundhati Roy's novel "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." The novel explores the ways in which religious institutions and leaders wield power over individuals and communities, often to the detriment of marginalised groups such as the poor, women, and sexual minorities. The novel features several characters who struggle against the oppressive forces of religion and tradition, including Anjum, a hijra who creates a safe haven for other hijras and outcasts, and Tilo, a woman who defies societal norms by living outside of traditional gender roles.

The novel also explores the intersection of religion and politics, showing how religious leaders and political figures use religion to justify their actions and maintain their power. The novel portrays a scathing view on the use of religion to justify discrimination, oppression and violence, as well as the use of religious institutions as a tool of control and manipulation by the powerful.

Additionally, the novel also portrays the theme of how the marginalised communities use their own, more inclusive and compassionate interpretations of religion to create spaces of safety and resistance.

The Reader’s Digest Book of English Grammar and Comprehension for Very Young Children By S. Tilottama - Give answers to the questions asked regarding any three stories. Questions are given at the end of each story.

NEWS

Kashmir Guideline News ServiceDozens of Cattle Cross Line of Control (LoC) in RajouriAt least 33 cattle including 29 buffaloes have crossed over to Pakistan side in Nowshera Sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.According to KGNS, the cattle crossed the LoC in Kalsian sub-sector. ‘The cattle which belong to Ram Saroop, Ashok Kumar, Charan Das, Ved Prakash and others were grazing near LoC when they crossed over to otherside,’ locals told KGNS.

Q 1: Why did the cattle cross the LoC?

(a) For training

(b) For sneak-in ops

(c) Neither of the above.

Ans:- (c) Neither of the above.

THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

Manohar Mattoo was a Kashmiri Pandit who stayed on in the Valley even after all the otherHindus had gone. He was secretly tired of and deeply hurt by the barbs from his Muslimfriends who said that all Hindus in Kashmir were actually, in one way or another, agents of the Indian Occupation Forces. Manohar had participated in all the anti-India protests, and had shouted Azadi! louder than everybody else. But nothing seemed to help. At one point he had even contemplated taking up arms and joining the Hizb, but eventually he decided against it. One day an old school friend of his, Aziz Mohammed, an intelligence officer,visited him at home to tell him that he was worried for him. He said that he had seen his(Mattoo’s) surveillance file. It suggested that he be put under watch because he displayed anti-national tendencies’.

When he heard the news Mattoo beamed and felt his chest swell with pride. ‘You have given me the Nobel Prize!’ he told his friend.He took Aziz Mohammed out to Café Arabica and bought him coffee and pastries worthRs 500.A year later he (Mattoo) was shot by an unknown gunman for being a kafir.

Q 1: Why was Mattoo shot?

(a) Because he was a Hindu

(b) Because he wanted Azadi

(c) Because he won the Nobel Prize

(d) None of the above

(e) All of the above.

Ans:- (a) Because he was a Hindu

Q 2: Who could the unknown gunman have been?

(a) An Islamist militant who thought all kafirs should be killed

(b) An agent of the Occupation who wanted people to think that allIslamist militants thought that all kafirs should be killed

(c) Neither of the above

(d) Someone who wanted everyone to go crazy trying to figure it out.

Ans :- (a) An Islamist militant who thought all kafirs should be killed

THE CAREERIST

The boy had always wanted to make something of himself. He invited four militants for dinner and slipped sleeping pills into their food. Once they had fallen asleep he called the army. They killed the militants and burned down the house. The army had promised the boy two canals of land and one hundred and fifty thousand rupees. They gave him only fifty thousand and accommodated him in quarters just outside an army camp. They told him that if he wanted a permanent job with them instead of being just a daily wage worker he would have to get them two foreign militants. He managed to get them one ‘live’ Pakistani but was having trouble finding another. ‘Unfortunately these days business is bad,’ he told PI.‘Things have become such that you cannot any longer just kill someone and pretend he’s a foreign militant. So my job cannot be made permanent.’PI asked him, if there was a referendum whom he would vote for, India or Pakistan?‘Pakistan of course.’‘Why?’‘Because it is our Mulk (country). But Pakistan militants can’t help us in this way. If I can kill them and get a good job it helps me.’He told PI that when Kashmir became a part of Pakistan, he (PI) would not be able to survive in it. But he (the boy) would. But that, he said, was just a theoretical matter. Becausehe would be killed shortly.

Q 1: Who did the boy expect to be killed by?

(a) The army

(b) Militants

(c) Pakistanis

(d) Owners of the house that was burned.

Ans:- (a) The army

Thank you...

Presentation 5 History of English Literature from 1350 to 1900

 Presentation: 5 History of English Literature from 1350 to 1900

Here is my presentation about Paper 5 Jonathan and his works

Johnathan Swift and his Work from BhavnaSosa

I've also uploaded a video of my presentation on YouTube. Click here to watch the video.

Presentation 4 Literature of Victorian Age

 Presentation:4  Literature of Victorian Age

Hello friends 

Here is my presentation about Paper 4 Jude the Obscure main Characters  and Setting

Jude the Obscure Main Characters and Setting from BhavnaSosa

I've also uploaded a video of my presentation on YouTube. Click here to watch the video.

Presentation 3 Literature of Romantics

Presentation : 3 Literature of Romantics 

Hello friends 

Here is my presentation about Paper 3 Coleridge's life

Coleridge's Life from BhavnaSosa

I've also uploaded a video of my presentation on YouTube. Click here to watch the video.

Thank you...

Presentation 2 Literature of Neo classical

 Presentation : 2 Literature of Neo- classical

Hello friends 

Here is my presentation about Paper 2 Thomas Gray

Thomas Gray from BhavnaSosa

I've also uploaded a video of my presentation on YouTube. Click here to watch the video.

Presentation 1 Literature of the Elizabethan Age and Restoration Periods

 Presentation 1 : Literature of the Elizabethan and Restoration Periods

Hello friends 

Here is my presentation about Paper 1 To His Coy Mistressby Andrew Marvell 

To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell from BhavnaSosa

Mechanics of Writing

Hello friends 

This blog task is in response to the task assigned by Megha Ma'am as part of thinking activity. 

What is Michanics of Writing ?

In composition, writing mechanics are the conventions governing the technical aspects of writing, including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations. Getting your main points together can be a challenge, and one solution is to put together a draft of main ideas before writing

Video 1

The video is about Academic Writing by Kalyan Chattopadhyay. The writing is of two types 1) Academic Writing, 2) Non - Academic Writing. 

What is academic writing ?

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You'll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you'll be expected to write your essays, research papers, and dissertation in academic style.

What is non - academic writing ?

Non-Academic articles are written for the mass public. They are published quickly and can be written by anyone. Their language is informal, casual and may contain slang. The author may not be provided and will not have any credentials listed. There will be no reference list.

And also known as formal vocab and informal vocab.

Video 2

In this video Prof. Atanu Bhattacharya explained Academic writing very well.

1.What not to do.

2. What can be done.

3. Web tools.

4).Case study.

Another Prof. Atanu Bhattacharya discussed that there are several kinds of scales that will also be helpful to understand academic writing.

A fake take away :

This academic writing has material effects. Some kinds of data, charts and rates material for academic writing.

Avoid a Jargon :

Also in this video we discussed Research and publication ethics, and carefully chose the topic.

Some tips for academic writing are given in the video. Tips like,

1. Introduction last : because at the end you are aware of what your research is and how it ends, so you can write a better introduction at last.

2. Create an Index literature review : Indexes are not needed to do in MLA or Chicago style but it is simply the names of books which helps to understand what there is in the books exactly.

3. Be sure of the triangulated methods : it means while doing research work one has to analyse work with various perspectives and various points of views for example historical views, from the point of view of biography or fiction etc.

So the three more suggestion given that are,

1) Do not repeat the same arguments.

2) Use available digital tools

3) Follow the literature

Also helpful digital tools are also suggested in the video. Like websites to publish our journals. like,

1) Zotero

2) Grammarly - it helps to improve writing and to refine writing.

3) Mendeley

4) Microsoft Word

5)OWL (Online Writing Lab)

6) Reverso

7) Excelsior Online writing lab

Avoid plagiarism :

 There are several types given in video of plagiarism are,

1. Verbatim of rephrasing without acknowledgement.

2. Inappropriate collaboration.

3. Other assistance without acknowledgement.

4. Cheating (copying others’ work).

5. Duplication (submitting the same work for different courses/ programs/ degrees).

6. Research fabrication and falsification.

7. Using computer networks for false attribution

Sum up :

Linguistic choices - the "pitching" of the paper/dissertation/thesi

Discourse choices - how do we organise it, lines of argument etc.

 Topic choices - availability/non-availability of material; synchronic/diachronic.

Ethical choices - plagiarism etc.

Video 3

1.Formulating Propositions/ Defining

2. Genre - Classification - CARS - Creating A Reservation State 

3. Organising Idea

4. Paraphrasing

5. How to write Research Paper Or Thesis

•   Introduction
•  The Thesis Statement of Topic Sentence
•   Contextualise Material
•   Literature Review
•   Basic Defination

6.Noun Phrase and Nominalisations

Thank you...

Petals of Blood

 Hello friends

 I am Bhavna Sosa from Department of English MKBU. This task was given by Yesha ma’am. This blog about 'Neo-colonialism : with reference to Petals of Blood.

 Abuot Ngugi wa Thiong'o :

Ngugi wa Thiong'o (born 1938) was Kenya's most famous writer. Best-known as a novelist, he also wrote plays, literary criticism, and essays on cultural and political topics.

Ngugi wa Thiong'o (formerly James Ngugi and known generally as Ngugi) was born in Limuru, Kenya, on January 5, 1938. Educated initially at a mission school and then at a Gikuyu independent school during the Mau Mau insurgency, he went on to attend Alliance High School in 1955-1959 and Makerere University College in Kampala, Uganda, in 1959-1964. After earning a B.A. in English he worked as a journalist for Nairobi's Daily Nation for half a year before leaving to continue his studies in literature at the University of Leeds in England.

His works :

Ngugi's literary works were concerned with major social, cultural, and political problems in Kenya, past and present. His first two novels, Weep Not, Child (1964) and The River Between (1965), set in the colonial period of his childhood, focussed on the traumatic effects of the Mau Mau uprising on Gikuyu family life and on the impact of the independent schools movement on rural Gikuyu society. His third novel, A Grain of Wheat (1967), combined memories of the Mau Mau era with a depiction of Kenya on the eve of independence - a time of great bitterness, Ngugi claimed, "for the peasants who fought the British yet who now see all that they fought for being put on one side."

About Novel 

 In Petals of Blood (1977), his longest and most complex novel, he described in even greater detail the exploitation of Kenya's masses by its own established elite.

Petals of Blood is considered to be an important work that shows the Kenyan post-independence marked by neo-colonialism. One of the most easily accessible critical overviews of Ngugi’s writing is David Maughan Brown who considers that the novel is aesthetically deficient and the use of Gikuyu words in the novel is an act of aggression against the western readers. He contends that the novel was affected by the powerful western aesthetic ideologies. He also comments that ‘’Ngugi’s sensitivity to the human motives on both sides of the conflict is one of his greatest strengths as a novelist.

Title :

The title Petals of Blood is derived from a line of Derek Walcott's poem 'The Swamp'. The poem suggests that there is a deadly power within nature that must be respected despite attempts to suggest by humans that they live harmoniously with it.

Summary of the novel

The book begins by describing the four main characters – Munira, Karega, Wanja, and Abdulla – just after the revelation that three prominent Kenyans, two businessmen and one educator, have been killed in a fire. The next chapter moves back in the novel's timeline, focusing on Munira's move to Ilmorog, to begin work as a teacher. He is initially met with suspicion and poor classroom attendance, as the villagers think he will give up on the village soon, in much the same way previous teachers have done. However, Munira stays and, with the friendship of Abdulla, another immigrant to Ilmorog who owns a small shop and bar, carves out life as a teacher.

What is neo colonialism :

Neocolonialism has been broadly understood as a further development of capitalism that enables capitalist powers (both nations and corporations) to dominate subject nations through the operations of international capitalism rather than by means of direct rule.

Roland Fuh gave a simple definition of Neocolonialism that,

"Neo-colonialism can be defined as the indirect control of the economic, political and socio-cultural life of African countries by their former colonial masters. Unlike colonialism which was direct control, neo-colonialism operates indirectly and secretly."

The initiative has been criticized as a form of neocolonialism: hooking up countries, particularly in Africa, to high-interest loans that leave them beholden to Chinese investment.                 - Wired

The term neocolonialism was originally applied to European policies that were seen as schemes to maintain control of African and other dependencies. The event that marked the beginning of this usage was a meeting of European heads of government in Paris in 1957, where six European leaders agreed to include their overseas territories within the European Common Market under trade arrangements that were seen by some national leaders and groups as representing a new form of economic domination over French-occupied Africa and the colonial territories of Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The agreement reached at Paris was codified in the Treaty of Rome (1957), which established the European Economic Community or Common Market.

Neocolonialism in Petals of Blood :

The novel starts with the news of murder of: Mzigo, Chui and Kimeria.

Wanja, Munira, Karega and Abdulla are suspected. Ilmorog has grown from a traditional Kenyan village to a modern industrial town. According to Josephine Sitwala, The modernisation of the area brings changes which Ngugi regards as examples of neo-colonisation. He does not accept the urbanisation of Ilmorog because it has destroyed its original beauty and, as such, brought suffering to its inhabitants. The focus of neo-colonialism in Petals of Blood is land and is based on social abuse, oppression, exploitation and injustice.' 

The novel shows the failure of the ruling elite to meet the masses' needs concering land ownership adequately. The elite still maintain their connections with the departed colonisers, thus, creating a rift between the middle class and the bourgeoisie.

A speech given by Nyakinyua contrasts the working class and the elite; this motivates her to agree to make a trip to Nairobi: "I think we should go. It is our time to make things happen. There was a time when things happened the way we in Ilmorog wanted them to happen. We had power over the movement of our limbs. We made up our own words and sang them and we danced to them. But there came a time when this power was taken from us. We danced yes, but somebody else called out the words and the song. They ate our forest. Then they sent for our young men. They went on swallowing our youth. Ours is only to bear in order for the city to take... that is why Ilmorog must go there and see this Ndamathia that only takes but never gives back." 

Females' being oppressed by males and African's being exploited by the colonists have the same ideological basis. Women were described as "oppressed" because they were exploited and dominated. Subaltern nations, too, were oppressed on the same basis: they were exploited and dominated by colonial and/or imperial powers. Wanja Kenya, Africa. What money wanted was body, just like the imperialists desired for the African land. Weiping and Zhang said that, as objects of sexual desires, both Wanja's mature body and the fertile African land were exploited. By narrating Wanja's past, Ngugi expressed his harsh criticism against the imperialists control and domination of Africa.Politician Nderi wa Riera - he is only concerned with the votes of Ilmorog at elections and he ignores the social and economic needs of remote areas such as Ilmorog. Wanja and Abdulla lost Baar and money.

Conclusion:

For Ngugi, the African females were driven to be prostitutes directly because of the imperialists' exploitation; however, these females, like other proletariats, would take actions to fight. The conflicting narrative of Ngugi reflect his oppositions concerning neo-colonialism, one as an insider opposing it, while the other as an outsider standingby it. Ngugi has catapulted caustic criticism against the middle class of Africa who derived power from the common people during the anti-colonial struggles and after independence derived it to "form a cozy relationship with the western bourgeoisie.

Thank you...

Revolution Twenty 20 by Chetan Bhagat

 Hello friends 

I am Bhavna Sosa from Department of English MKBU. This  task assigned by Dr. Prof. Dilip Barad sir. I am going to discuss some questions based on Chetan Bhagat's novel Revolution Twenty 20.

Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat is a famous Indian author who penned down novels that hit the market with great success. All of them were bestsellers since their release and have been filmed by famous Bollywood directors. Chetan Bhagat is considered a youth icon rather than as just an author. With his vivid and humorous way of depicting stories, he has inspired reading habits in many young Indians. He is also a good columnist and writes columns for many leading newspapers. According to him, novels are entertainment tools through which he expresses his views and opinions about society and the youth. Development issues and national issues are addressed through columns. Chetan's columns are written in a way that directly points out the issues within our country and in many times it has even triggered discussions in the parliament. He is not only a good writer but also a motivational speaker and has given many motivational speeches at many colleges, organisations and companies.

Five Point Someone (2004), 

One Night @ The Call Center (2005), 

The Three Mistakes Of My Life (2008) 

Two States (2009).

 

About novel 

Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition (2011) is a story of success and failure of three youngsters - Gopal Mishra, Raghav Kashyap and Aarti Pradhan who live in a small and traditional town called Varanasi. The subtitle of the novel runs as Love,Corruption, Ambitionand each word in the subtitle sticks to the particular character. Aarti is a sensitive girl and very much cares about her love.

 When she comes to know that Raghav has no time to spare with her, she comes to Gopal who happens to be her childhood friend. Gopal Mishra indulges in corruption as he joins hands with MLA Shuklaji. Though he fails to be an engineer, he becomes the owner of an engineering institute. Raghav Kashyap is a brilliant boy who succeeds in entrance examination and secures a degree in engineering. However, he leaves the job offered by Infosys and starts to work as a journalist to eradicate corruption in the society.

1)Social realism in the novel 'Revolution Twenty20'.

Chetan Bhagat depicts the social evils, corruption and problems of young generation through 

his fifth novel Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition (2011). He has illustrated love with different shades and attitudes. While reading about the relationship between Gopal and Aarti, the readers feel that they are good companions. However, due to his academic failure Aarti leaves him and goes with Raghav, a brilliant IIT student. So in the beginning, the author shows the love triangle. In the course of time, Aarti comes to know that Raghav is overambitious and has no time to spare with her. Being desperate, she comes back to Gopal, her school friend and has a sex with him. However, Gopal feels very bad and decides to help Raghav in his mission. He also understands that Aarti is the best companion for Raghav only. Therefore, he plays a drama of having prostitutes to show his infidelities to Aarti. Finally, Aarti goes back to Raghav. It is here the author presented the platonic love.

Chetan Bhagat has selected two cities- Varanasi and Kota intentionally. He wants to show that the time has changed and the students from Varanasi are also eager to go to Kota for higher/technical education. Gopal Mishra comes from a middle class family background. His father wants to make him an engineer and also struggles a lot. However, Gopal is not interested in being an engineer. Instead, he aspires to become a rich and powerful person.

2) Significance of the title 'Revolution Twenty20'

Chetan Bhagat's Revolution Twenty 20 is a interesting form of title. So we find in the novel 27 times revolution words used. Chetan Bhagat’s latest novel isn’t about a revolution, as its title suggests. It is the story of a love triangle, which takes place during Varanasi’s engineering entrance exams. The love story takes place in Varanasi's holy ghats. It is not as fast as the river that runs through one of India’s busiest temple cities, which is the backdrop to ‘Revolution 2020. It’s a story about childhood best friends Raghav, Gopal and Aarti, who struggle to find love and happiness.

The novel has given the title revolution 2020 it is suggested that there is some kind of revolution which raghav did against the corrupt people and for that he started Newspaper revolution 2020. As no one else other than Raghav can bring about a revolution in India by becoming the MLA and who knows CM. This is the only reason why the book is named Revolutions 2020- to make the conclusion sound logical.

3) Do you think that an opportunity for a good novel is wasted because the story is told from Gopal's perspective? Can it be better if narrated from Raghav or Aarti's perspective? How would it be better if it was narrated from Raghav or Aarti's perspective?

Gopal and Aarti with all his heart, and consequently hates Raghav Kashyap, his one-time best friend, and her current boyfriend. Gopal is wealthier and more monetarily successful than Raghav, and at one point of time manages to convince Aarti to leave Raghav and be with him. Now, Gopal has everything he could have possibly wanted - he has become rich, owns a flourishing business, has the support of a powerful politician and has won the love of his life.

It is quite unseemingly that Gopal would abandon all this just because he sees Raghav “helping the needy”. The ending is a complete character assassination of Gopal - he abandons his love just because of what a farmer says about Raghav. Even if such a mental transition could occur, it is unlikely that MLA Raman Lal would permit it, since it would mean that Raghav marries Aarti and contests elections from Varanasi, effectively depriving Shukla of an assembly seat. A realistic ending would have been Gopal winning Aarti, and abandoning his corrupt ways due to her influence over him (for those who want a happy ending), or Gopal winning Aarti and continuing with his corrupt ways.

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