Ruskin Bond's life - and, for that matter, his semi-autobiographical works - are allegories of the colonial aftermath. His is an odd but exemplary attempt at absorption as a member of the Anglo-Indian ethnic minority, a community whose role in the shaping of the postcolonial Indian psyche has yet to be systematically analysed. This study explores the dialogue between the biographical and authorial selves of Ruskin Bond, whose subjectivity is informed by the fantasies of space and time.

This study explores the dialogue between the biographical and authorial selves of the writer Ruskin Bond, whose liminal subjectivity is informed by the fantasies of space and time.

This book explores the dilemma of Bond's 'two selves' and his existential search for an identity. This exploration, analysed across six chapters, is informed by a variety of postcolonial, historical, informational and critical texts on Bond and Anglo-Indians. Arup Pal focuses on four key literary works of Bond-The Room on the Roof, A Flight of Pigeons, Scenes from a Writer's Life and A Handful of Nuts-from the perspective of the author's developing sense of personal, national and cultural identity. He traces the journey that the author and his protagonists embark on in order to seek and ultimately define their sense of being.

Revisionist in approach, global in scope, and a seminal contribution to scholarship, this original and thought-provoking book critiques traditional notions about Anglo-Indians, a mixed descent minority community from India. It interrogates traditional notions about Anglo-Indian identity from a range of disciplines, perspectives and locations. This work situates itself as a transnational intermediary, identifying convergences and bridging scholarship on Anglo-Indian studies in India and the diaspora. Anglo-Indian identity is presented as hybridised and fluid and is seen as being representative, performative, affective and experiential through different interpretative theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Uniquely, this book is an international collaborative effort by leading scholars in Anglo-Indian Studies, and examines the community in India and diverse diasporic locations such as New Zealand, Britain, Australia, Pakistan and Burma.

Mixed Race in Asia seeks to reorient the field to focus on Asia, looking specifically at mixed race in China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and India. Through these varied case studies, this collection presents an insightful exploration of race, ethnicity, mixedness and belonging, both in the past and present. The thematic range of the chapters is broad, covering the complexity of lived mixed race experiences, the structural forces of particular colonial and post-colonial environments and political regimes, and historical influences on contemporary identities and cultural expressions of mixedness.

Today, Indian writing in English is a fi eld of study that cannot be overlooked. Whereas at the turn of the 20th century, writers from India who chose to write in English were either unheeded or underrated, with time the literary world has been forced to recognize and accept their contribution to the corpus of world literatures in English. Showcasing the burgeoning field of Indian English writing, this encyclopedia documents the poets, novelists, essayists, and dramatists of Indian origin since the pre-independence era and their dedicated works. Written by internationally recognized scholars, this comprehensive reference book explores the history and development of Indian writers, their major contributions, and the critical reception accorded to them. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Indian Writing in English will be a valuable resource to students, teachers, and academics navigating the vast area of contemporary world literature.