|
Prof T.V.Subbarao
comes of Andhra peasantry. After his tripos in English and Anthropology
in 1961 at the University of Cambridge, he joined the English
Department of Madras Chrisitian College, Chennai, India, as a
lecturer in 1962. He served as the Post Graduate Professor of
English at Thiagarajar College, Madurai, India, from 1967.
He was a
student of Dr.F.R.Leavis.
Introduction to Poetry
(Please click on 'HTML',
'Word' and 'PDF' to read the specific chapters. You could also
download and print the 'Word' and 'PDF' versions)
English Literature and the Indian Mind
| Preface |
HTML
|
Word
|
PDF
|
| Introduction |
HTML
|
Word
|
PDF
|
| 1.
What happens in the Classroom |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| 2.
The Teacher's vainglory and Misdoings |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| 3.
A profile of the Indian Student (will be available soon) |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| 4.
Pathological Conditions of Mind (will be available soon) |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| 5.
Research and the English Departments (will be available soon) |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| Appendix |
|
|
|
| I.
Advertisment for a Professorship (will be available soon) |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| II.
The English Department of Madras Christian College (will be
available soon) |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
| Excerpts |
|
|
|
| V.S.Naipaul |
HTML |
Word |
PDF |
The Question of Literary Criticism
Indian Writing in English : Is there any worth
in it ?
Please
contact me at ovishvesh@yahoo.com for any suggestions.
|
I had the
good fortune of knowing Prof. T.V.Subbarao when I was doing my
M.A. in English Literature. At a time when quantitative reading
meant scholarship to me, it was only through his acquaintance
I knew that it meant something entirely different and of which
I was miles apart by the education I had received. He made me
understand under what conditions I could get into terms with the
real nature of the things of the mind. He was an eye-opener
for most of his students who were willing to be self-critical.
He made us realize how we were governed by ideas in our
study of Literature and how it ought to be thought oriented
to be conceptual about it. By making us perceive this distinction,
he made us see through the merits and demerits of many a writer.
In short, he created a non-academic intellectual condition in
his students that is necessary to understand Literature and to
set standards in judging it.
An Arnoldian by spirit, he made us understand that literature
is not an isolated academic study but a great nourishment for the
sustenance of humanity since it is bound up with questions about
the mind and civilization. He is one of the rarest minds that
India has produced in the recent times, because his hold on the
Indian past and his fine critical application of mind that is characterestic
of the masters of the great critical tradition he belongs to give
a richer content to his study of English Literature.
He
made us understand the historical conditions that have distanced
the Indian mind from any fruitful understanding of English Literature.
An awareness of such conditions wouldn't have been possible for
us but for his uncompromising perception of the development of
the Indian mind since the Western impact. He also showed us how
to heroically struggle against such historical forces for a saner
living.
The book Introduction to Poetry deals
with the conditions which affect our reading and understanding
of poetry and also offers a study of a few poems from various
periods.
The Question of Literary Criticism
is an essay in which Professor T.V.Subbarao deals with Literary Criticism as he dealt
with poetry in his Introduction.
The purpose of this paper, as he makes a note
of, is to show what criticism is good for, where you are mistaken
and where you can find real literary criticism.
Indian Writing in English: Is there
any worth in it? is a short book having three chapters.
I have uploaded the whole book in one URL.
I
have also placed a section from his book English Literature
and the Indian Mind in which he has dealt with V.S.Naipaul.
I am aware that it needs to be read in the larger context of the
book for a better understanding but then I felt that it still
conveys an essential perception of Naipaul.
I am in the process of uploading his work English
Literature and the Indian Mind completely. This
was published in April 1980. The conditions that exist today in
the Indian Universities and their relations to the teacher and
the student could be a little different today, but the issues
that Prof T.V.Subbarao deals with are essential issues and so
are as much important today as they were when the book was published.
Here is a short review found on the book : This work is something
unexpected and something that actually unsettles one's mind because,
it puts over the true state of affairs to one who has accepted
untruths about what the Indian mind has made of English Literature,
and makes inferences on what has really happened to the Indian
mind under the Western impact. More than anything, it answers
questions which the reader wouldn't ask.
Thanks
to Ramesh and Prembabu for their assistance in typing in a few
sections. You can read Ramesh's observations of Prof T.V.
Subbarao, in this link:
Some observations on Prof. T.V. Subba Rao's essay "The
Question of Literary Criticism"
-
vishvesh
|
