Towards the Visual

New Genres and Forms of Storytelling in India

Authors

  • Kamila Junik-Łuniewska Jagiellonian University, Kraków

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.16.2019.59.10

Keywords:

Hindi literature, Indian literature, visual culture, storytelling, graphic novel

Abstract

This paper examines the new forms and genres of storytelling in India with an emphasis on the visual aspect of the literary narration. It begins with a remark on the literary and performing tradition of India, where stories were told with an accompaniment of visuals: single or sequential images, scroll paintings, acting etc. With time, storytellers and poets started including modern-day, contemporary themes and problems into their narratives, which not only brought changes in the repertoire of stories, but also, quite naturally, caused development in terms of genres and ways of expression. The present study is based on graphic novels by Sarnath Banerjee and Vishwajyoti Ghosh, with reference to contemporary Hindi literature and some examples from visual art. The author seeks to answer the following questions: 1) what is the “new language” of a literary work in relation to the visual, 2) how – and by which means – does the literature reflect the reality of the new generations, 3) how is a story narrated through images. In conclusion, some observations are made on mutual influences between literature and audio-visual arts.

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Author Biography

  • Kamila Junik-Łuniewska, Jagiellonian University, Kraków

    Assistant Professor at the Institute of the Middle and Far East and Chair of the “Bangabandhu” Center for Studies on Bangladesh at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her research interests include contemporary Hindi and Urdu literature, visual culture of India and Pakistan, as well as issues related to the socio-political situation and religions in South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh). She has published a monograph on new trends in modern Hindi literature (Literature as a Process of Writing. An Analysis of Teji Grover’s Nīlaī in the Context of Changes in Contemporary Hindi Prose, 2015, in Polish), translations from/to Hindi and Urdu literature, and several papers on topics related to modern South Asia.

References

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Ghosh V., Delhi Calm, Noida 2010.

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Published

29-04-2019

How to Cite

“Towards the Visual: New Genres and Forms of Storytelling in India”. 2019. Politeja 16 (2(59): 149-60. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.16.2019.59.10.

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