ISSN: 3048-6920 DOI: 10.70396 An Indian outlook on the World's Literature is ILN Journal: Indian Literary Narratives! India is a land of wisdom and intellectual prowess. The Golden Perspective that Indians have is unique and exclusive. We capture this stream of premium literary intelligence and projects it to the world. ILN Journal: Indian Literary Narratives is a peer-reviewed, open-access quarterly e-journal, that is published on the 30th of March, June, September and December. We accept research articles and book reviews from Indian academicians, Indian scholars, Indian researchers and Indian faculties of English Literature, English Language and Linguistics.
Cultural Duality and the Immigrant Encounter in Shoban Bantwal’s The Sari Shop Widow
Section: Articles Keywords: Femininity, Taboos, Identity, Culture, Legacy, Expectations Shoban Bantwal’s writing skilfully expresses her Indian heritage, providing a deeper enquiry of femininity and emotional complexity as seen through the eyes of her female protagonists. As a woman, she imparts realism to her writings, eloquently depicting women's lives and their intricate ways to life. Her works frequently focus on Indian women residing in the USA, exploring the intricate intersections of ethnic identity and modern expectations. These characters often transcend societal taboos while preserving a profound connection to their origin. Bantwal explores the intricate interplay between traditional beliefs and contemporary aspirations through the themes of identity, culture, and empowerment. Her narratives explore the immigrant experience, illustrating how protagonists regain their heritage, resilience, and voice from eras of oppression. She elucidates the cultural underpinnings and familial ties that work as lasting pillars of strength and empowerment, providing her characters with a deep sense of identity and perseverance.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dr D.J.B. Esther Rajathi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Double Exile: Psychological Dislocation and the Quest for Self in Anita Desai’S Bye-Bye Blackbird
Section: Articles Keywords: Nostalgia, Alienation, Migration, Mental Trauma, Displacement, Self-Discovery, Psychology, Homeland This research article explores the deep sense of nostalgia in the lives of the immigrants. Migration takes place in everyone’s life. The reasons may be vary according to the situation they undergo. The immigrants who migrate to other countries face critical situations and unfair treatment by the colonizers. They experience a sense of longing, loss of cultures, loss of traditions, alienation, dislocation, depression and torn between multiple cultures in the new land. The settlers experience mental trauma and homesickness. The treatment by the westerners on the indigenous people is unfair. They are treated as outsiders. However they have to remain resilient in every situation. Nostalgia is not only a sentimental longing for the past, but it is the driving force in bringing people to their homeland. The nostalgic effects can be overwhelming, prompting individuals to return to their homeland. Nostalgia serves as a catalyst in the protagonist’s life, leads to self- discovery and ultimately, return to his homeland. This research analyses the psychology of the immigrants through the lens of psychoanalytical theory proposed by Sigmund Freud and the concept of fragmentation by Jacques Lacan. The settlers are torn between the impacts of nostalgia and unable to escape the bitter life in western life. This inner conflict made a tremendous change in their lives and ultimately made them to return to their homeland. Homeland is a place of joy, happiness and peace which made the settlers to return to their homeland by using nostalgia as a catalyst.
Copyright (c) 2025 S. Merlin Azifa (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Freedom Redefined: Tagore’s Poetic Vision in the Age of Globalization and Digital Surveillance
Section: Articles Keywords: Tagore, Poetics of Freedom, Colonialism, Globalization, Surveillance Rabindranath Tagore’s poems “Where the Mind is Without Fear” and “Freedom” interrogate freedom not merely as political independence but as a radical reimagining of human consciousness. While rooted in the anti-colonial context, these poems critique dogma, fear, and intellectual inertia as deeper forms of bondage. This study employs a dual methodology of textual analysis and socio-historical contextualization to interpret Tagore’s conception of freedom within both colonial and contemporary frameworks. Drawing on postcolonial theory, globalization studies, and digital humanism, it explores how Tagore’s poetic ideals challenge both imperial domination and modern structures of control. In the contemporary landscape of globalization and digital surveillance, Tagore’s vision acquires renewed urgency by exposing how technology-driven control and cultural homogenization replicate colonial subjugation in subtler forms. The study reveals that “Where the Mind is Without Fear” envisions a society grounded in fearless reasoning and moral clarity, while “Freedom” expresses a prophetic plea for liberation from ignorance, conformity, and mechanization. Tagore’s poetics thus function as a counter-discourse demanding critical thought, moral courage, and emancipatory education, sustaining relevance in resisting authoritarianism, disinformation, and ethical erosion. His work embodies a timeless critique of unfreedom in its shifting historical manifestations, redefining liberty as an ongoing process of ethical awakening and intellectual renewal. In an age marked by digital dependency and socio-political inequality, Tagore’s call for fearless minds and truthful living continues to offer a powerful framework for preserving human dignity and justice.
Copyright (c) 2025 Abhijit DEB (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Juxtaposing Humour and Humiliation: Neurodivergent Poetics and the Endurance of Shame in Tito Mukhopadhyay’s Plankton Dreams
Section: Articles Keywords: Neurodiversity, Neuro-Typicality, Neurodivergent Poetics, Autie-Biography Humour, Humiliation, Deterritorialization Neurodivergent poetics provides a critical framework for understanding how autistic authors reshape narrative, language, and subjectivity. This article examines Tito Mukhopadhyay’s Plankton Dreams: What I Learned in Special-Ed through the lens of neurodivergent poetics, focusing on how humour and humiliation intertwine in his work to challenge dominant narratives of autism and intellectual disability. It situates Mukhopadhyay’s autobiography within the evolving field of disability studies, particularly in relation to neurodiversity, and highlights the radical linguistic and formal experiments that characterize his works. The study employs a qualitative, interpretive methodology rooted in close textual analysis, self-narrative theory, and comparative disability scholarship. Findings suggest that Mukhopadhyay converts institutional shame into comic experimentation, exposing the absurdities of special education systems while cultivating new literary forms that affirm autistic ways of knowing. His humour operates not merely as coping but as critique, transforming humiliation into an epistemic tool for reimagining subjectivity. The article concludes that Plankton Dreams demands an expanded hermeneutics attentive to nonlinear, excessive, and experimental forms, positioning neurodivergence as a generative force within both literature and cultural theory.
Copyright (c) 2025 Hafsa Yousaf N N (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Incongruity of Modern Feminism: Prerogative or Proscription?
Section: Articles Keywords: Modern Feminism, Patriarchy, Current Interpretations, Occidental Cultures The global feminist movement is going through a new chapter in the twenty-first century. The 19th and 20th centuries avowed a prodigious concordat deal of success for feminist movements that addressed both elementary and erudite challenges in patriarchal nations. Feminist groups, which first appeared in Western industrialised countries in the 19th century, spread to developing Asiatic and African nations in the 20th century, enticing on new subjects and ventures. On the other hand, since social structures shift abruptly in the period of postmodernism, fresh challenges arise. In order to comprehend the evolving contours of the feminist movement, academics, researchers, and feminists are working to understand these new concerns. In addition, feminists have undertaken fresh initiatives for addressing the most recent problems facing women. This paper aims to look at the history of feminism, from its early beginnings in the West to the challenges it faces in the postmodern era, and to place modern feminism within larger social and political debates. By examining the incongruities between its founding ideals and its present orientations, the study will attempt to clarify whether modern feminism continues as a prerogative of empowerment or has shifted towards a prescriptive proscription. As a result, this study is an intellectual endeavour to comprehend the novel tendency that emerged in the twenty-first century.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr Apeksha, Dr Zeba Mehdi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Myth, Multilingualism, and Nonhuman Agency in Amitav Ghosh's Climate Fiction: Gun Island and The Living Mountain
Section: Articles Keywords: Cli-fi, Ecopoetics, Decolonization, Polyphony, Multilingualism, Ecological Memory, Cultural Resistance, Subversive Myth, Non-Human Agency Climate change, as a defining crisis of the twenty-first century, challenges ecosystems, displaces communities, and unsettles established human-nature hierarchies. Literature has responded through climate fiction, where Amitav Ghosh holds a central position with works such as Gun Island and The Living Mountain. This paper explores how these novels resist Western realist conventions by foregrounding indigenous myths, ritual practices, and multilingual traditions as modes of ecological resistance. Drawing on ecocritical frameworks (Buell, Glotfelty, Garrard, and Plumwood), dialogic theory (Bakhtin), and contemporary scholarship, the study employs a qualitative comparative method to examine Ghosh’s integration of regional myths, such as Manasa Devi and Marang Buru, ritual forms like Bhut Kola, and linguistic plurality across Bengali, Himalayan, Italian, and English. The analysis shows that Ghosh reconfigures myth and language as repositories of ecological memory and cultural resilience, while attributing agency to nonhuman forces such as rivers, storms, serpents, and mountains as active participants in shaping human futures rather than mere symbols. Both novels underscore survival as contingent on ecological reciprocity, vernacular wisdom, and recognition of interspecies interdependence. How does Ghosh’s rejection of extractivist paradigms and privileging of indigenous epistemologies advance a decolonial ecopoetic in which nature emerges as co-creator and language as an ethical practice? In what ways does Ghosh’s fiction expand postcolonial and environmental discourse by affirming myth and multilingualism as cultural technologies for imagining alternative futures in the climate crisis? This paper shall seek answers to these questions.
Copyright (c) 2025 Aniruddha Bose, Dr Prabuddha Ghosh (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Forgotten Feminine: Urmila's Plight and the Effects of Patriarchal Feminism in Kavita Kane’s Sita’s Sister
Section: Articles Keywords: Patriarchy, feminism, mythology This article explores the neglected character of Urmila in Sita’s Sister by Kavita Kane, analyzing her plight in the context of patriarchal feminism. While Indian scriptures such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata glorify female figures like Sita and Draupadi, they simultaneously silence secondary women whose sacrifices are no less significant. The study begins by situating women’s status in Indian cultural and religious traditions, where goddess worship and the Panchakanya hymn present an image of inclusivity. Yet, this veneration often masks the deeper mechanisms of patriarchy that celebrate only those women who conform to its norms. The paper uses Kavita Kane’s retelling of Urmila’s narrative as a lens to re-examine these cultural constructs and foreground the silenced voices. The analysis applies feminist literary criticism to highlight the contrast between the limited representation of Urmila in Valmiki’s Ramayana and the fuller, resistant portrayal in Kane’s novel. The findings suggest that Urmila embodies resilience, wisdom, and selflessness, yet remains marginalized because she questions patriarchal norms, unlike the canonized Panchakanyas whose sanctity is rooted in submission. By juxtaposing Urmila’s silencing with examples like Surpanakha’s demonization, the paper demonstrates how patriarchal feminism operates as a subtle but powerful tool of control. The discussion concludes that Kane’s narrative challenges these silences, reclaiming Urmila’s voice and revealing the contradictions within cultural respect for women—where reverence often conceals oppression.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr Akshaya Lekshmi S R (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Crime as a Grand Adventure: Nation-Building and the Empowered Child in Arup Kumar Dutta’s The Kaziranga Trail
Section: Articles Keywords: National Identity, Governmental Belonging, Adventure This article investigates the contradictory function of children’s detective fiction as a medium for nationalist discourse. Taking Arup Kumar Dutta’s, The Kaziranga Trail as a case study, the paper examines how the genre simultaneously depicts crime with a conceived serious treatment while framing the detection efforts of child protagonists as an exciting adventure. The paper contends that this duality is not an inconsistency but a purposeful narrative technique aimed at fostering “governmental belonging” in young readers, thus positioning them as active participants in safeguarding a post-globalization nation. The analysis focuses on how the genre is employed not merely for entertainment but to explore profound themes of ecological preservation, national identity, and the brutal reality of crime, thereby challenging the typically sanitised portrayal of wrongdoing in children's literature. The narrative illustrates how an innate desire for adventure can be transformed into a profound commitment to the nation. By framing the defence of national symbols as an exciting and intellectually stimulating quest, the paper highlights the narrative strategy to nurture a future generation of proactive and vigilant citizens who see themselves not as passive recipients but as active guardians of their nation. Significantly, the article discusses how this empowerment is ultimately transient, serving to uphold, rather than challenge, adult authority.
Copyright (c) 2025 Rizia Begum Laskar (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Translating Trauma through Gustatory Memorial: A Reading of the Post-Partition Narrative in Kallol Lahiri’s Indubala Bhater Hotel
Section: Articles Keywords: Gustatory, Memory, Food, Trauma, Culinary, Partition The indelible marks that the horror of the Partition and its resultant mass exodus left on the two states of Punjab and Bengal are still felt. The nature of the experience of pathological violence in Punjab has been somewhat different from the psychological trauma that Bengal experienced. The immediacy of visceral violence on the Bengal border did not exceed its counterpart in Punjab; rather, the experience has sedimented into a long-lasting psychological state of unsettlement. This vivid presence of traumatic memory as an everyday reality, however, goes unrecognised within the fold of documented history, resulting in a cultivated amnesia or “memocide” of the minorities. Kallol Lahiri’s Indubala Bhater Hotel (2020) situates this lingering sense of loss and displacement within the everyday realm of culinary practices, where food becomes a symbolic and material site of memory. Drawing on Memory Studies, Trauma Studies, and Food Studies, this paper explores how Lahiri’s narrative reconfigures the Partition through concepts such as Marianne Hirsch’s “postmemory,” Ananya Jahanara Kabir’s “post-amnesia,” and David Sutton’s “gustemology.” The analysis foregrounds the ways in which food, as both sensory and symbolic medium, enables the transmission of traumatic memory across generations. This article seeks to enquire into the ways culinary practices synthesise with the traumatic past in articulation of the otherwise unspeakable memory of uprootedness.
Copyright (c) 2025 Kuheli Singha (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Gender Performativity and Resistance: A Reading of Power Structures in Joanne Harris’ Chocolat Series
Section: Articles Keywords: Gender Performativity, Cooking, Identity, Catalyst, Feminist Resistance This article investigates how Joanne Harris’s Chocolat series: Chocolat (1999), The Lollipop Shoes (2007), Peaches for Monsieur le Curé (2012), and The Strawberry Thief (2019), redefines female identity and resistance through the intersection of food, gender, and power. Drawing on Judith Butler’s notion of Gender Performativity and Michel Foucault’s discourse on power and resistance, the study adopts a qualitative method of close textual analysis. The analysis foregrounds how culinary practices in Harris’s novels function as sites of subversion against patriarchal and religious authority, with food emerging not only as a medium of pleasure but also as an instrument of agency. Characters such as Vianne, Josephine, Rosette, Morgane, and Zozie embody different dimensions of resistance, disrupting societal norms of gendered roles and reshaping the dynamics of community and identity. The article suggest that Harris portrays women as active agents who resist societal oppression through everyday practices, especially cooking, caregiving, and self-expression. The novels emphasize culinary resistance as a feminist strategy, highlighting how women reclaim power and autonomy within restrictive cultural and religious frameworks. Harris demonstrates that gender roles are socially constructed and can be resisted through performative acts that transform ordinary practices into tools of empowerment. This study concludes that Harris’s narratives critique rigid structures of power and propose an alternative vision of female agency grounded in food, creativity, and communal care. Future research may extend this inquiry by exploring culinary resistance in global women’s writing, situating Harris within broader literary food studies.
Copyright (c) 2025 S. Rajeswari, Dr S. Anitha (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Nexus of Feminine Empowerment and Mythic Revisionism: Contesting Gendered Ontologies within the Contours of Anand Neelakantan’s Ajaya: Roll of the Dice and Rise of Kali
Section: Articles Keywords: Patriarchal critique, Social hierarchy, Ethical negotiation, Female empowerment, Political foresight, Structural constraints This study critically examines Anand Neelakantan’s Ajaya duology—Ajaya: Roll of the Dice and Rise of Kali—as a transformative mythopoetic retelling of the Mahabharata that foregrounds gendered agency and ethical pluralism. By shifting the narrative perspective to the Kauravas and centering female characters such as Draupadi, Kunti, Gandhari, and Subhadra, Neelakantan challenges traditional binary frameworks of heroism and villainy and destabilizes patriarchal readings of dharma and power. The research explores how women in Ajaya move beyond passive archetypes to become strategic, morally reflective, and psychologically complex agents who shape the epic’s social, political, and ethical dynamics. Through nuanced characterization, multi-focal narrative strategies, and a critique of caste and patriarchal hierarchies, the duology offers new interpretive possibilities for the Mahabharata, demonstrating that female perspectives are indispensable to the understanding of justice, morality, and agency within epic literature. Ultimately, the study argues that Neelakantan’s work not only restores marginalized voices but also provides a compelling template for critically reimagining classical texts in ways that promote ethical sophistication and narrative inclusivity.
Copyright (c) 2025 Vijay Karthic R (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Revisiting Canonical Texts in Popular Culture: The Enduring Influence of Iconic Poems and Literary Works
Section: Articles Keywords: Canonical Literature, Popular Imagination, Reinterpretation, Cultural Practices, Literary Authority The persistence of canonical literary texts within popular imagination highlights their continuing capacity to inspire, adapt, and reshape cultural meanings across generations. This paper examines how poems and literary works, once confined to the domain of elite readership and formal study, acquire renewed significance when reinterpreted in contemporary cultural practices. The purpose is to explore how these texts, while retaining their historical weight, undergo processes of reinterpretation and circulation that open them to new audiences and diverse forms of expression. The objectives of the study are twofold: first, to analyze the shifting dynamics between established literary authority and popular reinterpretations; second, to interrogate how cultural practices reshape the meaning of these works, moving them beyond static reverence toward active cultural participation. Through critical approaches that foreground the relationship between literature, power, and popular representation, the study traces how canonical voices are re-read in everyday cultural artifacts such as films, music, and digital media. The discussion demonstrates that canonical works do not remain frozen within the boundaries of tradition but continually re-emerge as vital cultural resources. Their reappearance in varied forms reveals the ways in which popular culture both challenges and revitalizes literary heritage, extending its relevance across contexts and audiences. In this manner, the paper establishes that the enduring influence of these texts lies not only in their historical stature but also in their capacity to be re-imagined as part of the living fabric of cultural life.
Canonical Literature, Popular Imagination, Reinterpretation, Cultural Practices, Literary Authority
Copyright (c) 2025 Debasmita Biswas (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Psychological Resilience in Human-AI Relationships: A Reading of Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me
Section: Articles Keywords: Resilience, Human and AI Interaction, Ethical Dilemma, Machine Like Me, Emotional Interdependence Resilience is usually characterized in psychology as an individual's capacity to withstand adversity and recuperate from trauma. Nevertheless, the emergence of advanced artificial intelligence necessitates a reevaluation of this notion. This research analyzes Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me to investigate how resilience manifests as both a personal characteristic and a relational, developmental phenomenon influenced by human–AI interactions. This study employs established psychological theories of resilience and a detailed textual analysis of McEwan’s story to position resilience as a dynamic construct that develops through reciprocal adaptation, emotional connection, and ethical negotiation between humans and machines. The study examines critical interactions among Charlie, Miranda, and Adam, illustrating how resilience is redefined within the framework of relational interdependence, collective ethical issues, and shifting identities. Research indicates that McEwan’s novel depicts resilience as an adaptive, transformational process rather than a static personal trait, emerging from the co-construction of meaning and emotional symbiosis between humans and AI. This reframing underscores the necessity of expanding psychological and literary understandings of resilience to include human–technology relationships, ultimately illustrating that resilience in the age of AI is not solely individualistic but relational, ethical, and identity-forming.
Copyright (c) 2025 R.Gayatri (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Dialectics of Subservience and Empowerment: Feminine Epistemologies in Amish Tripathi’s Sita: Warrior of Mithila
Section: Articles Keywords: Feminine Epistemologies, Mythological Retellings, Gender and Dharma, Subservience and Empowerment, Indian Mythology This research article investigates the dialectics of subservience and empowerment as embodied by the female figures in Amish Tripathi’s Sita: Warrior of Mithila, with particular attention to Sita, Kaikeyi, and Manthara. It argues that Tripathi’s mythological retelling reconfigures the traditional Ramayana archetypes of passive devotion, villainous ambition, and manipulative marginality into nuanced subjectivities that foreground feminine epistemologies of power, resistance, and moral reasoning. By granting narrative authority and psychological depth to these women, Tripathi destabilizes the patriarchal binaries of the epic tradition and reimagines the feminine as central to the articulation of dharma. The article situates this transformation within the larger cultural and philosophical discourses of gender in Indian mythology, demonstrating how the series engages with questions of justice, agency, and ethical responsibility. Furthermore, it explores how the multi-linear narrative structure, political recontextualization, and dialogic engagement with classical traditions generate a feminist mythography that resonates with contemporary debates on gender equality. In analyzing the coexistence of constraint and agency within the experiences of Tripathi’s women, the article contends that empowerment in mythology is always negotiated, never absolute. Ultimately, it argues that the Sita: Warrior of Mithila exemplifies how myth, when reimagined through feminist lenses, functions not only as cultural memory but also as a dynamic space for the rearticulation of social ethics in the modern age.
Trauma without Witness: Memory and Generational Silence in Claire Fuller’s The Memory of Animals
Section: Articles Keywords: Trauma, Memory, Unmarked, Inter Generational, Existence The literature of trauma frequently depends on witnessing via testimony, recollection, and generational storytelling to maintain memory and facilitate healing. Nevertheless, Claire Fuller’s The Memory of Animals (2023) explores a distinct landscape, illustrating trauma as unobserved, unvoiced, and defiant to expression. This article investigates how such trauma interrupts narrative consistency and unravels identity. Drawing on Cathy Caruth’s theory of trauma as belated and incomprehensible, alongside Dominick LaCapra’s notions of post memory and the acting out/working through framework, the novel reveals how personal and inter generational trauma persists in silence, exposing fractures in memory, communication, and the capacity to process or transmit suffering across generations. The characters' struggles serve as a poignant reminder of the enduring impact of unresolved pain, often manifesting in their relationships and perceptions of self. The narrative challenges readers to confront the complexities of trauma, urging a deeper understanding of how it shapes both individual lives and societies.
Copyright (c) 2025 Debarpita Naha (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Haunted Geographies and Partitioned Selves : Memory, Nostalgia, and Decolonial Desire in Bengali Films Bishorjon and Mati
Section: Articles Keywords: Partition, Memory, Gender, Postcolonial Movies, Spatial Trauma This article examines how the Partition of Bengal is depicted in the films Kaushik Ganguly's Bishorjon (2017) and Leena Gangopadhyay’s Mati (2018) as a real and ongoing trauma that continues to influence memory, emotions, and locations, rather than merely as a historic break. The films' emphasis on female lead characters positions them as significant cultural memory bearers, whose emotional experiences stand in for ongoing trauma and intergenerational healing. The study also looks at homes, borders, and rivers as problematic places, landscapes that bear the scars of colonialism and concerns from the postcolonial era. These locations are ephemeral, replete with nostalgia, displacement, and spectral recollections of a Bengal that was once united. The study makes the case that both movies convey emotional maps of loss, nostalgia, and a desire for decolonization. They question strict nationalist histories and highlight a shared, changing cultural identity that goes beyond political divisions and time limits.
Copyright (c) 2025 Baishali Deb Roy (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Quiescent, yet not Acquiescent: A Book Review on Han Kang’s The Vegetarian
Section: Book Reviews Keywords: The Vegetarian Deprecated: preg_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in D:\ILN Journal\ojs-3.4.0-4\ojs-3.4.0-4\cache\t_compile\e027190bf0731df296bc994dac604b9dd7c5670d^c940d5f8376e6af774deb7e0a5efe41e5bfff906_0.plugins-1-plugins-generic-webFeed-generic-webFeed.rss.tpl.php on line 131
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. C. M. Sharmi Rachel (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Freshers to Trailblazers: The Campus Chronicles of Vini, Sam, Dev, and Lolita
Section: Articles Keywords: Friendship , Leadership , Personal development , Education , resilience, Emotional intelligence. This article examines Vini, Sam, Dev, and Lolita's four years at VIT Vellore, showing how they changed from unconfident freshmen to cherished campus heroes. This study uses qualitative research techniques, such as structured interviews and reflective journaling, to document the dynamic interactions between friendship, resilience, leadership, and mentoring. Their story exemplifies the critical role of community involvement, leadership training, and peer support in promoting academic and personal development. Their narrative stresses the development of a culture of respect, support, and empowerment in addition to individual success. Their development emphasizes how important social belonging, psychological fortitude, and proactive leadership are to education more broadly in modern higher education environments. This article clarifies how college friendships can significantly impact leadership trajectories, emotional intelligence, and identity development, which benefits both the individuals and their communities.
Copyright (c) 2025 Vinisha R (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Cultural Ambivalence and Dalit Narrative : An Reading of Bama’s Karukku
Section: Articles Keywords: Cultural Ambivalence, Subaltern Voices, Autobiographical Narrative, Caste and Religion This article explores Karukku, the groundbreaking autobiography by Dalit Christian writer Bama, through the lens of cultural ambivalence and Dalit identity. It critically examines how Bama navigates the intersection of caste, gender, and religion, portraying the double marginalization faced by Dalit women within both societal and religious structures. Through her poignant narration and unconventional stylistic choices, Bama challenges dominant literary and cultural norms, using Tamil as a tool of resistance and authenticity. The study highlights how Karukku serves not only as a personal narrative but also as a powerful socio-political critique that redefines Dalit literature. The article positions Bama’s work as a pivotal contribution to cultural discourse, emphasizing the transformative role of literature in voicing the experiences of the oppressed.
Copyright (c) 2025 P. Priyadharshini, Dr N. Hemamalini (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Pandemic Narratives: The Creative Resilience and the Transformative Voices of Art and Literature During Pandemic Era
Section: Articles Keywords: Art, Literature, Pandemic, Healing, Changes, Helping The pandemic has reshaped our lives in innumerable ways and has impacted societies worldwide altering their daily routine and reshaping human interactions. The lives of people have undergone a tremendous change, and the ways to adapt to the new normal have been a tough task. Amidst this crisis, art and literature emerged as vital tools for resilience, reflection, and connection. This article explores the multifaceted role of art and literature in helping human beings recuperate during the pandemic time. The article aims to analyze and review the part that art and literature played in helping people during the pandemic times to adapt to the new normal. Art and literature stands as an important aid during adverse times which underscores the importance of these two vital factors in navigating public and personal crises.
Copyright (c) 2025 Rosanne J (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
In Search of Home: Diasporic Identity and Belonging in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake
Section: Articles Keywords: Identity, Diaspora, Indian Diaspora, Cultural Hybridity, Home, Belongingness, Jhumpa Lahiri Diasporic narratives have enriched the oeuvre of post-colonial studies since the late 20th century, with Indian diasporic writers like Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, and Amitav Ghosh contributing significantly to its growth and discussion. The “displacement” of the immigrant crossing the borders of the homeland into the culturally different environment of the host nation places them in a state of perpetual motion and flux, as they are neither here nor there, struggling to define the contours of their identity and find a sense of belonging. Homi K Bhabha defines this state as living in the “interstices”, existing between borders, creating fluid identities and cultural hybridity and placing them in constant transit. Avtar Brah in her Cartographies of Diaspora explores how the diasporic individual is dispersed from a centre, a locus, or a ‘home’; a ‘home’ as V.S. Naipaul claims, can be visited but not returned to. In this state of liminality, the diaspora builds imaginary homelands as observed by Salman Rushdie. Their struggle is not only to find physical and financial security in the host land, but also to manoeuvre the plurality in identity, nationality, and everyday existence. These experiences are explored with emotional depth and critical vision in the works of the Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri. This paper attempts to trace how the characters in her debut novel The Namesake (2003) navigate the lucid lines of identity, home and belonging.
Copyright (c) 2025 Pooja Mohan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Culinary Consolation: Grief, Memory, and Mourning in Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen - A Thanatological Reading
Section: Articles Keywords: Grief, Mourning, Memory, Kitchen, Thanatology, Culinary Consolation Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen (1988) poignantly explores grief, loss, and the processes of mourning through the experiences of its protagonist, Mikage Sakurai. This paper undertakes a thanatological reading of the novella, arguing that the serving culinary realm and kitchen space serve as a central metaphor and practical mechanism for coping with profound sorrow and reconstructing a sense of self and belonging in the aftermath of bereavement. The theories of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Margaret Stroebe, and Henk Schut have been used to analyze the text through the lens of thanatology. This study analyzes, through the interplay of food, memory, and interpersonal relationships, how Mikage navigates the liminal space between loss and healing, ultimately finding solace and a revived connection to life through the recurrent rituals of cooking and eating. It draws upon thanatological theories of grief processing to demonstrate how Yoshimoto subtly yet effectively portrays the non-linear, individualized nature of mourning, the restorative power of which, the text argues, can be found in the next mundane, everyday act that one might perform.
Copyright (c) 2025 P. Sivashankari, P.V. Deepa (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Planetary Vulnerability and Hope of Habitability: A Select Study of Ecoprecarity in Contemporary Video-Game Narratives
Section: Articles Keywords: Vulnerability, Ecoprecarity, Eco-Apocalypse, Ecological Disasters, Videogame Narratives Of late, video games have turned into a new form of literature within the evolving society. What was once shunned under the pretext of childish initiations has now gained popularity and respect, encompassing simultaneously a sports culture along with an extensive literary horizon. The Covid-19 pandemic too had its effects upon the same, which led to the initiatives of various end-of-the-world-themed video games to match the times. While there are distinct categories that may comprise the entirety of the end-of-the-world themes in video games, the distinction blurs under the pretext of game mechanics, environments, narratives, etc. While the crux of this research partakes in the identification of disasters wrought in the context of ecological disasters, it may be a complicated one to explain the same in isolation without other forms of collateral damage. This research aims to make a critical study of the incorporation of aspects of planetary disaster and vulnerability of human hope of habitability in contemporary video game narratives. The effects of the ecological disaster and survival measures taken to live with this eco-apocalyptic scenario shall be analyzed in relation to man’s current vulnerable relationship with nature. The aspect of eco-apocalypse permeates into various other aspects that define an end-of-the-world narrative. Therefore, the paper would also delve deep to examine the precarious situation of planetary lives within the spectrum of the grand narrative present. The methodology for this research shall delve into the domain of ecocriticism, postmodern trends, interactive playthroughs of the selected video games, and a note of current ecocritical concerns.
Copyright (c) 2025 Prabal Dweep Debbarma, Dr. Aditya Ghosh (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Empowering Educators as Designers: The Impact of EdTech on Language Teachers’ Instructional Decision-Making
Section: Articles Keywords: Teacher Agency, Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Language Teaching, Digital Pedagogy The integration of Educational Technology (EdTech) has significantly reshaped language teaching, offering educators new tools for instructional design. This study explores the role of EdTech in enhancing language teachers’ instructional decision-making and examines how they navigate technological affordances to design effective learning experiences. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research investigates teachers’ perceptions of EdTech, the extent to which they exercise agency in technology integration, and the challenges they encounter in balancing pedagogical goals with digital tools. Data collection includes surveys and semi-structured interviews with language teachers across various educational settings. The findings highlight that EdTech enhances creativity and personalization in lesson planning but also brings challenges like digital literacy gaps, institutional policies, and platform limitations. Teachers who engage in professional development and reflective practice demonstrate greater autonomy and confidence in integrating technology effectively. The study underscores the need for targeted training programs that equip language teachers with the necessary skills to make informed instructional decisions in digital learning environments. These findings contribute to the broader discourse on teacher agency, digital pedagogy, and technology-enhanced language education, emphasizing the evolving role of teachers as designers of learning experiences.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr K Jaya (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Behind Barbed Lives: Women’s Trauma and Resistance in Sudha Bharadwaj’s From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada
Section: Articles Keywords: Prison Narratives, Prison, Gender, Trauma, Reformation, Exploitation The carceral lives of the inmates are being brought into writing in recent times, and this has opened up various dimensions for research and study. Among the various themes dealt with in prison literature, the most significant one is about the lives of women prisoners. Life inside prison is such a very painful and excruciating experience, as it is filled with a lot of hardships. The prison inmates face a lot of mental trauma and anguish because of the harsh realities of life that exist in the prison. The constant surveillance, rigid routine, and physical and mental abuse by authorities and the fellow inmates make life miserable for prisoners in general. However, in addition to experiencing the aforementioned problems, women in prison face different sets of issues that need to be discussed. These issues pertain to the loss of their human rights and gender biases. This paper is an attempt to study the miserable conditions of women inside the prison, with reference to From Phasni Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada by Sudha Bharadwaj. The paper aims to study how women prisoners negotiate their lives, combating all the challenges and hardships that they encounter on a day-to-day basis, with the theoretical framework of Angela Davis.
Copyright (c) 2025 Medha K S , Dr H. Abdul Hadi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Creation to Crumbling: Environmental Decline and Artistic Resistance in Anuradha Roy’s The Earthspinner
Section: Articles Keywords: Eco-criticism, Environmental Decline, Artistic Resistance, Clay Metaphor, Deep Ecology, Creation and Destruction, Nature and Identity This article explores how Roy employs the metaphor of clay and the motif of pottery to articulate an urgent ecological vision rooted in artistic resistance. Anuradha Roy’s The Earthspinner is a poignant meditation on the interwoven threads of environmental destruction, artistic creation, and sociopolitical strife. Through the life of Elango, a potter striving to shape beauty from a crumbling world, Roy presents an eco-critical narrative that underscores both environmental decline and the resilience of artistic agency. Using principles of eco-criticism and deep ecology, this article examines the tensions between tradition and modernity, creation and destruction, and humanity and nature. The article argues that The Earthspinner transcends a personal or regional tale to deliver a universal message about our collective responsibility toward the planet and the creative forces that resist its degradation.
Copyright (c) 2025 Thalha K, Dr. Yunush Ahamed Mohamed Sherif (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Two Boxes Full of Surprise: A Review of Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos
Section: Book Reviews Keywords: Romance, German History, Psychological Materialism Abstract: Set in East Berlin during the Cold War era, the story follows the unconventional relationship between Hans and Katharina, weaving together personal struggles with the political backdrop of East and West Germany. Erpenbeck skillfully explores themes of love, power dynamics, and the impact of historical events like World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall on individual lives. Through a blend of romance and history, the novel challenges readers to reflect on complex issues such as guilt, responsibility, and identity. This review praises Erpenbeck's narrative structure that moves seamlessly between past and present, making Kairos a compelling and captivating read for those seeking a thought-provoking literary experience.
Copyright (c) 2025 Anish S. Georshia (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Nomadology of the Nagas: Deterritorializing the Somras-Industrial Complex in Amish Tripathi’s The Shiva Trilogy
Section: Articles Keywords: Nomadology, Deterritorialization, Biopolitics Amish Tripathi’s The Shiva Trilogy reimagines Hindu mythology through a socio-political lens, presenting the Nagas not as mythological monsters but as deterritorialized agents challenging the hegemonic Somras-Industrial Complex. This paper employs Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of nomadology to analyze how the Nagas—ostracized, mobile, and resistant—disrupt the centralized systems of power that control the Somras (the elixir of immortality). By examining their role in exposing exploitation, redistributing knowledge, and ultimately dismantling institutionalized oppression, this study argues that the Nagas embody a postcolonial critique of empire, industrialization, and bio-political control. Through close textual analysis, mythological parallels, and theoretical frameworks, this paper positions the Nagas as revolutionary figures who redefine sovereignty, belonging, and resistance in Tripathi’s narrative universe.
The Ethical Dilemmas of Bilbo Baggins: Utilitarianism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit
Section: Articles Keywords: Utilitarianism, Utopia, Greed, Greater Good, John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham Mankind is, at its most primal form, predatory. If one were to take a look back at humanity’s past, one would be confronted with the fact that our ancestors were not very different in comparison to the wildlife around them. They fought and killed for survival. They were territorial and feral. This can be justified by the fact that the environment in which they had to survive demanded that they be savage and untamed. The unsympathetic nature of their surroundings did not let them let go of their wild nature even for a day. As mankind evolved and civilisations cropped up, their feral nature did not completely go away. It was masked by a façade of civility and humane values. However, the façade could easily be torn away at the slightest provocation. Even after civilisations were established and humanity, with the help of technology, progressed in leaps and bounds, Man still went to war because of his inability to share natural resources, lands etc. In wars, the common individual’s life ceases to hold meaning and becomes part of one collective whole. Whole populations suffered for no good reason. Thus, the true mark of a culturally well – developed society is sharing. This is because sharing stems from the heart, contributes to the development of a society and ensures that no one is hurt in the process. No man is obligated to share his resources with his neighbour. However, when a man decides to help his neighbour just for the sake of helping, with no selfish intentions, one can say Utopia has been established. In short, a Utilitarian society is a Utopian society. Utilitarianism is a concept which was first introduced by Jeremy Bentham and it was further developed by John Stuart Mill. Mill’s Utilitarianism posits that the action which causes the greater good for the greatest number of people must be considered as the right action. J.R.R. Tolkien is a British novelist who is well known for his Lord of the Rings series. His works explores the ramifications of being obsessed with oneself with no care for others, the harmful consequences of greed and avarice and how a humane society can be birthed with the help of selfless individuals aiming for the greater good. This research paper aims to study instances of Utilitarianism exhibited by Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit and prove that Utilitarianism is a just model to be followed to establish an ideal society.
Copyright (c) 2025 Hazel D Arunodaya, Dr. J. Pinky Diana Evelyn (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Surviving the Hundred Years’ War: Political Dilemma and Victory in Bernard Cornwell’s Azincourt
Section: Book Reviews Keywords: Historical Fiction, Political Loyalty, Survival, Vengeance Deprecated: preg_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in D:\ILN Journal\ojs-3.4.0-4\ojs-3.4.0-4\cache\t_compile\e027190bf0731df296bc994dac604b9dd7c5670d^c940d5f8376e6af774deb7e0a5efe41e5bfff906_0.plugins-1-plugins-generic-webFeed-generic-webFeed.rss.tpl.php on line 131
Copyright (c) 2025 Christy Jenifer J (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0