SAINT FRANCIS COLLEGE

Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental

MODULE 4
(Afro-Asian Literature)

Instructor: Emmylou T. Ricana

General Instruction:

This module contains the discussion about Afro-Asian Literature. Carefully read the
details herein. Do some research if there are misunderstood ideas since we don’t have face-
to-face interaction where your queries could not be attended to right away. Be reminded of
the following:

1. Have a copy of this module and if possible, be it downloaded or printed for your
convenience.
2. Comprehensively answer each question.
3. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper with your name.
4. Submit your answer sheet after a week. (Just request a classmate who will be
responsible of collecting and submitting your answer sheets.)

General Objectives:
1. Be familiar with literary history, philosophy, religious beliefs, and cultures of the
Afro-Asian nations
2. Point out the universal themes, issues and subject matters that dominate Afro-
Asian literature
3. Interpret the significance and meaning of the selected literary pieces
4. Identify the outstanding writers and their major works.

Subject Matter/Topic: Medieval and Modern Age

2. Majors Writers.
a. Kalidasa. A Sanskrit poet and dramatist is probably the greatest India writer of all time. As
with most classical Indian authors, little is known about Kalidasa’s person of his historical
relationships. His poems suggest that he was a Brahman (priest). Many works are
traditionally ascribed to the poet, but scholars have identified only six as genuine.
b. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). The son of a Great Sage, Tagore is a Bangali poet and
mystic who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Tagore managed his father’s estates
and lived in close contact with the villagers. His sympathy for their poverty and backwardness
was later reflected in his works. The death of his wife and two children brought him years of
sadness but this also inspired some of his best poetry. Tagore is also a gifted composer and
painter.
c. Prem Chand pseudonym of Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (1880-1936). Indian author of
numerous novels and short stories in Hindi and Urdu who pioneered in adapting Indian
themes to Western literary styles. He worked as a teacher before joining Mahatma Gandhi’s
anticolonial Noncooperation Movement.
 Sevasadana (House of Service). His first major novel deals with problems of
prostitution and moral corruption among the Indian middle class.
  Manasarovar (The Holy Lake). A collection of 250 or so short stories which contains
most Prem Chand’s best works.
 Godan (The Gift of a Cow) This last novel was Prem Chand’s masterpiece and it deals
with his favorite theme-the hard and unrewarding life of the village peasant.
d. Kamala Markandaya (1924). Her works concern the struggles of contemporary Indians
with conflicting Eastern and Western values. A Brahman, she studied at Madras University
then settled in England and married an Englishman. In her fiction, Western values typically
are viewed as modern and materialistic, and Indian values as spiritual and traditional.
e. R.K Narayan (1906) One of the finest Indian authors of his generation writing in English.
He briefly worked as a teacher before deciding to devote himself full-time to writing. All of
Narayan’s works are set in peculiarities of human relationships and the ironies of Indian daily
life, style is graceful, marked by genial humor, elegance and simplicity.
 Swami and Friends. His first novel is an episodic narrative recounting the adventures
of a group of schoolboys.
 Novels: The English Teacher (1945). Waiting for the Mahatma (1955). The Guide
(1958), The Man Eater of Malgudi (1961), The Vendor of Sweets (1967), A Tiger of
Malgudi (1983) and the World of Nagaraj (1990).
 Collection of short stories: Lawley Road (1956), A Horse and Two Stories (1985),
Grandmother’s Tale (1992).
f. Anita Desai (1937). An English-language Indian novelist and author. She excelled in
evoking character and mood through visual images. Most her works reflect on Desai’s tragic
view of life.
 Cry, The Peacock. Her first novel, addresses the theme of the suppression and
oppression of Indian Women.
 Clear Light of Day. Considered the author’s most successful work. This is highly
evocative portrait of two sisters caught in the lassitude of Indian life. This was
shortlisted for the 1980 Booker Prize.
 Fire on the Mountain. This work was criticized as relying too heavily praised for its
poetic symbolism and use of sounds. This won for her Royal Society of Literature’s
Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize.
g. Vir Singh (1872-1957). A Sikh writer and theologian, he wrote at a time when Sikh religion
and politics and the Punjabi language were under heavy attack by the English and Hindus.
He extolled Sikh courage, philosophy, and ideals, earning respect for the Punjabi language
as a literary vehicle.
 Kalghi Dhar Camatkar. This novel is about the life of the 17 th century guru Gobind
Singh
 Other novels on Sikh philosophy and martial excellence include Sundri (1898) and
Bijai Singh (1899).
h. Arundhati Roy. A young female writer whose first book The God of Small Things won for
her a Booker Prize.

Activity: A brief discussion about the following:

1. Clear Light of Day

2. Fire on the Mountain

Note: Be informed that this is a continuation of the previous module.