Writing the Village, Becoming the Nation: The Work of Manoj Das

What is it about?

Manoj Das is a leading senior writer within Indian literature, with his novels, short stories, and poems centring on village and rural life, mingling realism and everyday experiences with elements of mystery, mysticism, and the supernatural. Das has been “greatly influenced” by the transition and transformation of India from colonialism to postcolonialism. His writings capture distinctive aspects of Indian culture, spirituality, arts, and history. His work has been compared with other famed Indian authors, including Mulk Raj Anand, R. K. Narayan, and Raja Rao. Das reflects on his life work, including the role of translation. Das shares his views on “regional language literature” (RLL) versus “Indian writing in English” (IWE), in terms of the production, distribution, and reception of literature and the politics of language. Conducted in the southern Indian city of Puducherry, home to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, this interview presents the influence of philosopher and guru Sri Aurobindo on Das and his work. Das also discusses the influence on him by the well-known Indian writers Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Fakir Mohan Senapati, and Rabindranath Tagore.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This is the first interview with Das published outside of India and in the West. The interview includes key insights by Das as he reflects on his life, his body of work, the future of democracy in India and the world, and the role of literature within society. The critical introduction to the piece introduces Das to readers unfamiliar with his work and situates Das' writings in the intellectual and theoretical context of other literature and postcolonial studies. The bibliography includes Das' works, scholarship about his work, and the first compilation of Das' works published outside of India.

Perspectives