Contemporary South Asian Literature — DU B. A. (Hons) English Previous Year Question Papers

Literature Discipline Specific Course) English 3. Candidates must answer ANY THREE questions in Part A and ANY THREE questions in Part B. 4. Questions in Part A carry 10 marks each, and questions in Part B carry 20 marks cach. 1. a. Write a short note on: OR b. Spatial and architectural dynamics in Cinnamon * 2. a. Write a short note on: Kulfi's mother-in-law i. Identity, contextualize and critically comment on the following: 'On Monday, 30 April', read her practical note, they are going to catch the monkeys. Everybody will be busy and paying no attention. Meet me under the big tamarind tree on the street leading to the orchard- bazaar road at 5:00am in the Kwality van, and from then on we will see.' 3. a. Write a short note on: OR b. Identify, contextualize and critically comment on the following: It always surprisod her how Nepali women could manage in sarces: all those pleats and folds did not seem to trip them up. There was such -resilience- in Nopali women. 4. a. Write a short note on: OR b. Identify, contextualize and critically comment on the following: He had dreamt of the short- tailed gwi, and in the morning, he took it as an indicator of the creator's willingness for him to earn a title. 5. a. While Cinnamon Gardens captures an important moment in Ceylon's national history, the universe of the novel is largely urban -centric. Do you agree? Discuss. While Annalukshmi emerges as the primary embodiment, of the New Woman figure in Cinnamon Gardens, Selvadurai invests certain other-women characters in Ceylonese society with feminist idcas that complement or even broaden Annalukshmi's views. Discuss. 6. a. How does Kiran Desai's Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard satirize the ways of post colonial India? Explain using examples from the text. OR b. Is realism the dominant mode of narration in Kiran. Desai's Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard? Analyse, keeping the ending of the novel in mind. 7. a. Do you agree with the statement that Manjushree Thapa's short stories are deeply empathetic towards the vulnerable and marginalized sections of her country? Give a well- reasoned, answer. OR b. Several stories in Manjushree Thapa's collection offer critical reflections on the experience of cultural alienation and discrimination experienced by the Nepali diaspora in the West. Simultaneously, do you think that these stories also articulate possibilities for resistance and mutual respect? Justify your answer with suitable examples from the text. 8. a. Easterine Kire's Sky is My Father A Naga Village Remembered acts as powerful cultural reclamation by employing English - the language of the colonisers who misinterpreted the Angami Naga as barbaric people without history. Discuss. OR b. Easterine Kire's Sky is My Father - A Naga Village Remembered is a tribute to the warrior village of Khonoma. Discuss. 9. a. Using any two texts from your course, discuss how patriarchal powei relations shape contemporary South Asian national life.