800 tongues vs English

Guess who gets a licking. Are native languages winning out over English in India?


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Edited by author 04-04-2005 10:02 AM
India losing sleep over Buddhist book on insomnia

It turns out that the problem with the Western sleep template is that we think we are entitled to sleep, that's it's a God-given right to sleep and that by crickey we are going to sleep when in fact sleep is just an illusion to which only narcissists aspire. Try Zen Sleep. Namaste.

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"We have it on the authority of RSS chief K.S. Sudershan that to educate our children in English is to expose them to lesbianism and free sex."

Wha? Indians debate the good (and evil) of English.



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D'oh! Thanks for putting me in my anglo-centric place, Claude.

Paul, India might have a huge population, but probably has about as many fluent English speakers as Canada has, if not fewer (I'd estimate no more than 25 million, probably fewer). The English-speaking population of India, or at least its poets, probably suffers from parochialism and insularity as much as their Canadian counterparts do. I would guess the reticence to write and/or publish negative reviews is similar, since the English-language poetry circuit in India is probably as small and tightly knit as it is here in Canada.

I can't account for why the fiction of both countries enjoys a better international reputation, or why the poetry in both countries seems to suffer from a lack of, how shall I say it, poetic expertise. Judging from this article, however, and from what I've learned about current Canadian poetry from this site, the poetic evolution of both countries is well underway.

Gosh, this all seemed so familiar to me. Jayanta Mahapatra's article could have been one of several I've read about Canadian poetry in English over the past several years.

News flash: population has nothing to do with parochialism. So often I've heard Canadian parochialism blamed on a thin population spread over a vast area, but even India can be overshadowed by England and the USA.

The business about there being no negative reviews, little work of substance that transcends national borders to a world stage (while fiction makes great strides). All too familiar. Anyone have thoughts on this?

"Why should anyone but a poet care about the problems of Indian poetry?"

I'm not sure what the answer to this is. (LOL* Old Hag)



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Joompa Lahiry Navel Publiced in India

Man, they're almost as bad as a Canadian press.




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The Path to Success as a Poet

In India they do things differently.




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Indians Learn from the Teachings of Guru Ross

Stu, it's about time your cult-like following branched out.




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And After This, Protestants and Catholics Are Going to Stage a 200,000 Person Group Hug in Antrim

Indian writers to visit Pakistan.



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