GKC431/451/461/491/881 Unit - 1 : Literature

UNIT - 1. LITERATURE

1. IMPORTANT INDIAN WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS

Kalam, A.P.J. Abdul Ignited Minds, Wings of Fire

Adiga, Arvind The White Tiger

Fazal, Abul Ain-e-Akbari, Akbarnamah

SenAmartya The Argumentative Indian

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Ghosh, Amitav Circle of Reason, Shadow Lines

Desai, Anita Village by the Sea, Cry the Peacock

Roy, Arundhati The God of Small Things,

The Algebra of Infinite Justice

Ghosh, Aurobindo The Life Divine, Essays on Gita

Malik, B.M. My Years with Nehru; The Chinese Betrayal

Kaul, B.N. Untold Story

Ban Bhatta Kadambari, Harshacharita, Chandishatak

Chandra, Bankim Anand Math, Kapal Kundla, Durgesh Nandini

Bharat Muni Natya Shastra

Bhartreehuri Nitishatak, Shringarshatak, Vairagyashatak

Bhavabhuti Uttar Ram Charita

Bihari Satsai

Islam, Kazi Nazrul Agni Veena

Gorakhpuri, Firaque Gul-e-Nagma

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Firdausi Shahnama

Moraes, Frank Nehru, India Today, Sunlight and Shadow

Bachchan, Harivansh Rai Madhushala

Kabir, Humayun Glimpses of India, Our Heritage

Gandhi, Indira My Truth

Kriplani, J.B. Gandhiji: Life and Thought

Dalvi, J.P. Himalayan Blunder

Jai Deo Geet Govind

Prasad, Jai Shankar Kamayani, Skandagupta,

Chandragupta

Jainendra Tyagpatra, Sunita

Narayan, Jaiprakash Prison Diary

Singh, Jasvant A call to Honour

Nehru, Jawahar Lal Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History

Munshi, K.M. I Follow the Mahatma

Menon, K.P.S. Many Worlds

Kalhan Rajatarangini

Kalidasa Meghdoot, Abhigyan Shakuntalam,Jawahar Lal Nehru

Kumarsambhavam, Raghuvamsa

Kautilya Arthashashtra

Chander, Krishna Shikast, Teen Gunde

Nayar, Kuldeep Between the Lines, The Critical Years,

The Judgement, India after Nehru

Singh, Khushwant A Train to Pakistan, Delhi, Truth,

Love and a little Malice
Title page of the novel A Train to
Pakistan

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Rai, Lala Lajpat Unhappy India

Gandhi, Mahatma My Experiments With Truth

Gupta, Maithili Sharan Saket, Bharat Bharati

Azad, Maulana Abul Kalam India Wins Freedom

Ghalib, Mirza Diwan-e-Ghalib Title page of the book The Story

of My Experiment with Truth

Rakesh, Mohan Aadhe-Adhure, Band Andhere Kamre

Anand, Mulk Raj The Coolie, Two Leaves and a Bud, Untouchable

Sehgal, Nayan Tara Day in Shadow, A Voice for Freedom

Chaudhari, Nirad C. A Passage to England, Autobiography of an

Unknown Indian

Panini Ashtadhyayi

Premchand Godan, Sevasadan, Gaban, Rangbhumi,

Shoje atan

Shankar, Pt. Ravi My Music, My Life

Narayan, R.K. Guide, Mr. Sampat, My Days, Malgudi Days

Rao, Raja Kanthapura, The Serpent and the Rope,

The Cat and Shakespeare

Dinker, Ram Dhari Singh Urvashi, Kurukshetra

Tagore, Rabindranath Gitanjali, Gora, Chitra

Prasad, Rajendra India Divided

Mistry, Rohinton A Fine Balance

Radha Krishnan, S. The Hindu View of Life, Indian Philosophy,

An Idealist View of Life

Naidu, Sarojini The Song of India,

Golden Threshold, Broken Wing
S. Radha Krishnan

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Ray, Satyajit Our Films, Their Films

Chattopadhyay, Sharat Chandra Charitraheen, Devdas

Tharoor, Shashi The Great Indian Novel

Saddi, Shekh Gulistan-Bostan

Pandeya, Shyamnarayan Haldighati

Pant, Sumitranandan Chidambara, Lokayatan

Gavaskar, Sunil Idols, Sunny Days

Saraswati, Swami Dayanand Satyartha Prakash

Seshan, T.N. The Degeneration of India

Bandhopadhyaya, Tara Shankar Ganadevata

Das, Tulsi Ram Charita Manas, Vinay Patrika

Naipaul, V.S. A House for Mr. Biswas, A Million Mutinies Now

Valmiki Ramayan

Vatsayayan Kamasutra

Vyas, Ved Mahabharata, Bhagvad-Gita,

Tendulkar, Vijay Silence, the Court is in Session, Ghasiram Kotwal

Seth, Vikram A Suitable Boy, Beastly Tales

Prabhakar, Vishnu Awara Mashiha

Sharma, Vishnu Panchatantra

Verma, Vrindavan Lal Jhansi Ki Rani, Mrignainee

Yashpal Jhootha Sach

Hussain, Zakir Abboo Khan Ki Bakri

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2. IMPORTANT FOREIGN WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS

Smith, Adam The Wealth of Nations

Einstein, Albert Ideas and Opinions

Huxley, Aldous Brave New World

Doyle, Arthur Conan The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Whitehead, Alfred North & Principia Mathematica

Russell, Bertrand

Clinton, Bill My Life

Darwin, Charles The Origin of Species

Dickens, Charles A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield

Achebe, Chinua Things Fall Apart

Lawrence, D.H. Lady Chatterley's Lover, Sons and Lovers

Alighieri, Dante Divine Comedy

Forster, E.M. A Passage to India, Howards End

Fitzgerald, Edward Rubaiyat-i-Omar Khayyam

Gibbon, Edward Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Zola, Emile Nana

Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights

Hemingway, Ernest A Farewell to Arms,

The Old Man and the Sea

Dostoevsky, Feodor Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov

Shaw, George Bernard Man and Superman

Orwell, George Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty Four

Myrdal, Gunnar Asian Drama

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Wells, H.G. Time Machine

James, Henry Ambassador, Portrait of a Lady

Melville, Herman Moby Dick

Newton, Isaac The Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

Ibsen A Doll's House

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Joyce, James A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Corbett, Jim Man-eaters of Kumaon

Gray, John Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Milton, John Paradise Lost

Swift, Jonathan Gulliver's Travels

Marx, Karl Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital

Collins, Larry and Freedom at Midnight, Is Paris Burning,

Lapierre, Dominique Is New York Burning?

Tolstoy, Leo Anna Karenina, War and Peace

Puzo, Mario The Godfather

Tully, Mark No Full Stops in India

Twain, Mark Adventures of Tom Sawyer,

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Gorky, Maxim Mother

Mandela, Nelson The Struggle of My Life

Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth

Attenborough, Richard In Search of Gandhi

Rolland, Romain Mahatma Gandhi

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Rousseau Confessions

Kipling, Rudyard Jungle Book

Rushdie, Salman Midnight’s Children, Satanic Verses, Moor’s Last Sigh

Coleridge, S.T. Biographia Literaria

Hawking, Stephen A Brief History of Time

Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land, Family Reunion,

Murder in the Cathedral

Nasreen, Taslima Lajja

Moore, Thomas Utopia

Hobbes, Thomas Leviathan

Voltaire, Francois Candide

Maugham, W.Somerset Of Human Bondage, The Razor's Edge

Golding, William Lord of the Flies

Shakespeare, William Hamlet, Macbeth, The Tempest, Othello,

King Lear, Julius Caesar

Churchill, Winston Gathering Storm

Bhutto, Z.A. If I am Assassinated

3. FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES IN COMMON USE

ab initio (L) From the beginning

ad interim (L) Meanwhile

ad hoc (L) For purpose, at hand

Alma mater (L) Gracious mother. A term of respect used by

students for their old university or college.

alias (Lat.) otherwise; applied to a second name bestowed

upon himself by a person

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alpha and omega (Lat) from beginning to end

Apropos (Fr.) To the point, at an opportune time; with regard to

alter ego (Lat.) one's other self, very intimate friends

bourgeois (F) Middle class

bon voyage (F) Pleasant journey

bella donna (It.) a pretty woman

bonanza (US) Gold mine, an oil well, that is prospering greatly

(bringing good luck and prosperity)

Creme de la Creme (F) The best people or things of their kind

cadre (F) A list of officers

coup d'etat (F) An abrupt change of government by force

chauffeur (Fr.) professional driver of motor car

communique (Fr.) official note or intimation

corrigendum (Lat.) corrections in a book

de facto (L) In reality; in point of fact

de jure (L) Determined by law as opposed to de facto

( By Legal right)

detente (F) An easing or relaxation of strained relations, an

improvement in the relationship between two or
more countries

dictum (L) Judgement; saying

divide et impera (L) Divide and rule

debut (Fr.) first appearance in the society or on stage as

performer

detenu (Lat.) prisoner

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dramatis personae (Lat) characters in a drama

en bloc (F) as a group rather than separately

en famille (F) With one's family

ex officio (L) By virtue of one's office

ex-gratia (L) As an act of grace

exempli gratia (L) For example

eureka (G) Exclamation used to show pleasure at having

found something especially for the answer to a
problem—“I have found it”

El Dorado (Sp.) the golden land of one's dreams; the imaginary

golden land

emeritus (Lat) from merit

en masse (Fr.) in a body

et al. (Lat.) and other people

ex tempore (Lat) without preparation

facsimile (L) A close imitation

fait accompli (F) An accomplished fact

faux pas (F) A false step; a social blunder

habeas corpus (Lat.) writ of the court requiring arrested person to be

bodily brought before it to investigate the legality
of his detention

homo sapiens (Lat) Man as a thinking animal

impasse (L) Deadlock

in camera (L) In secret

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in toto (L) Entirely, totally

in memoriam (L) In memory of

interim (Lat.) serving for interval

ibid (ibidem)-Lat. in the same place, in the same book

i.e. (id est)-Lat. that is

locus standi(L) Right to interfere

laissez faire(F) non-interference

leitmotif (Ger.) a recurring theme in a musical composition

lingua franca (L) any language spoken or understood by various

people

modus operandi(L) Manner of operation; mode of doing a thing

modus vivendi (L) A way of living or agreeing

magnum opus (L) A great work

mala fide (L) In bad faith

matinee (Fr.) a morning performance; actually an afternoon one

nonchalance (Fr.) indifference

NB (nota bene)- Lat. note well

par excellence (F) By way of special eminence

pro rata (L) In proportion

post-mortem (L) After death

protege (F) Dependent; patronised by others

pro tempore (L) For the time being

prima facie (L) On the very first view

parole (Fr.) word of honour, especially prisoner's

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per annum (Lat.) by or in the year

per capita (Lat.) for each person

proletariat (Lat.) The labouring class: wage earners,

lower social class.

pros and cons (Lat.) for and against

quod erat demonstrandum (L) What was to be proved (Q.E.D.)

repondez, s'il vous plait (L) Reply, if you please (R.S.V.P.)

resume (F) A condensed statement, summary

raison d'etre (Fr.) reason for existence

rendezvous (Fr.) meeting-place; an appointment

resume (Fr.) an abstract or summary

sine die (L) Without any definite date; indefinitely

status quo (L) A position in which a person, or thing is or was;

existing order of things

sobriquet (Fr.) a nickname

summum bonum (Lat.) the highest good

tete-a-tete (F) A private conversation

tableau (Fr.) a picture; a set piece

via media (L) A middle course

viva voce (L) Oral test, by oral testimony

vis-a-vis (Fr.) Opposite

versus (L) Against

vide (Lat.) see

volte-face (Fr.) a sudden or complete change in conduct or policy

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4. THE NOBEL PRIZES

The Nobel Prizes are given under the will of Alfred Bernhard Nobel who died
in 1896. He was a noted Swedish chemist and engineer who discovered
Nitroglycerin and its use in the manufacture of dynamite.

These prizes are given each year in six fields. The Nobel Prizes for Peace,
Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Literature were started in 1901. The Nobel Prize
for Economics was instituted in 1967 by the Swedish Bank (Sveriges Riksbank), in
celebration of its 300th anniversary and was given for the first time in 1969.

These prizes are the most prestigious awards in the world. These are supported
by the Nobel Foundation (US$ 58,960,000) set up in 1900. The worth of each prize is $
1 million.

Alfred Nobel

The Nobel Prize in Literature (Swedish: Nobelpriset i litteratur) is awarded

annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the
will of Alfred Nobel, produced "the most outstanding work of an idealistic
tendency" (original Swedish: den som inom litteraturen har producerat det utmärktaste i
idealisk riktning). The "work" in this case refers to an author's work as a whole,
though individual works are sometimes also cited. The Swedish Academy decides
who, if anyone, will receive the prize in any given year and announces the name of
the chosen laureate in early October.

The highlight of the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm is when each
Nobel Laureate steps forward to receive the prize from the hands of His Majesty the
King of Sweden. Under the eyes of a watching world, the Nobel Laureate receives
three things: a diploma, a medal and a document confirming the prize amount. In

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2007 the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the British author Doris Lessing,
who was cited as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and
visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". She received a
prize amount of 10,000,000 SEK (slightly more than $ 1.4 million).

4.1 LIST OF SOME SELECTED LAUREATES IN LITERATURE

In the table below, the language is the language of the Laureate's works.
(Source: The Nobel Foundation.)

Year Name Nationality Language Citation

"in special recognition of his poetic

composition, which gives evidence of
Sully
1901 France French lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a
Prudhomme
rare combination of the qualities of
both heart and intellect."

"because of his profoundly sensitive,

fresh and beautiful verse, by which,
Rabindranath with consummate skill, he has made
1913 India Bengali
Tagore his poetic thought, expressed in his
own English words, a part of the
literature of the West."

"who with parables sustained by

José imagination, compassion and irony
1998 Portugal Portuguese
Saramago continually enables us once again to
apprehend an elusory reality."

Günter "whose frolicsome black fables portray

1999 Germany German
Grass the forgotten face of history."

People's "for an oeuvre of universal validity,

Republic of bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity,
2000 Gao Xingjian China Chinese
which has opened new paths for the
1998: France Chinese novel and drama."

Trinidad and "for having united perceptive narrative

V. S. Tobago and incorruptible scrutiny in works
2001 English
Naipaul United that compel us to see the presence of
Kingdom suppressed histories."

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"for writing that upholds the fragile

2002 Imre Kertész Hungary Hungarian experience of the individual against the
barbaric arbitrariness of history."

South Africa, "who in innumerable guises portrays

2003 J. M. Coetzee 2006: English the surprising involvement of the
Australia outsider."

"for her musical flow of voices and

counter-voices in novels and plays that
Elfriede
2004 Austria German with extraordinary linguistic zeal
Jelinek
reveal the absurdity of society's clichés
and their subjugating power."

"who in his plays uncovers the

Harold United precipice under everyday prattle and
2005 English
Pinter Kingdom forces entry into oppression's closed
rooms."

"who in the quest for the melancholic

Orhan soul of his native city has discovered
2006 Turkey Turkish
Pamuk new symbols for the clash and
interlacing of cultures."

"that epicist of the female experience,

Doris United who with scepticism, fire and visionary
2007 English
Lessing Kingdom power has subjected a divided
civilisation to scrutiny."

4.2 NOBEL PRIZE MEDAL

Front side of the Nobel Peace Prize Medal presented to Sir
Ralph Norman Angell in 1933; the Imperial War Museum, London,
26 August 2005.

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