Environmental Concerns in Select Regional Novels Translated in

English

Shibani Basu Dubey

and Purnima Patel

Department of English, The Bhopal School of Social Sciences, Bhopal, India

Rani Durgawati Vishwavidyalaya, India

Keywords: Eco-Criticism, Environmental Justice, Eco-Consciousness, Sustainable Development

Abstract: Literature has the ability to portray environmental issues in order to raise awareness and provide appropriate

solutions to these concerns. At present environmental concerns are manifested in the unprecedented

degradation of the planet's biodiversity so understanding the gravity and urgency of the deepening climate

crisis is all the more important. Indian literature sheds light on the life-altering dangers of natural disasters

even before ‘ecocriticism’ as genres became part of our literary pursuits explores these issues in its work and

seeks to speak out for environmental protection, which plays an important role in protecting the environment.

In addition to locating the natural world in literary works, environmentalists advocate change. This shift is

being driven by the environmental justice movement, questioning the role of privilege in shaping

environmental ideologies. In India, the dynamics of rapid industrialization and technological development

have given rise to a wave of environmental justice movements such as Chipko Movement, Apiko Movement,

Bishnoi Movement, Silent Valley protests and Narmada Bachao Andolan. Works surrounding themes of

environmental protection and the environment are mainstream. Popular authors such as Amitav Ghosh,

Ramachandra Guha and Vandana Shiva have made a noteworthy contribution through their influential

writings. India also has a rich history of regional environmental literature. Unfortunately, the regional poets

and writers remain relatively obscure. These novels are limited to the original language and are rarely

translated. The research article proposes a study of environmental issues in the selected regional language

novels translated into English The Upheavel by Pundalik Naik, Dweep by Na D'Souza , The Book of a Hunter

by Mahasweta Devi and Gift in Green by Sarah Joseph.

1 INTRODUCTION

The word ‘eco’ has its origin grounded in the Greek

root of the word ‘oikos’ which etymologically means

household or earth and was coined by Ernst Haeckel

in 1866 and the word 'logy' from 'logos' which

translates to logical discourse. Ecology is the

scientific study of the relationships between living

organisms, including plants, animals, and

microorganisms, and their physical and biotic

environments. It seeks to understand how these

organisms interact with one another and with their

surroundings, as well as how these interactions

influence the distribution, abundance, and diversity of

life on Earth.

Arne Ness and George Sessions have discussed a

significant research article by Jelica Tosic to elucidate

on the attempts of ecocriticism to bring attention back

to acknowledging the well-being and growth of non-

human life forms on Earth and serve as a reminder of

their intrinsic value. Whether or not a means of gain

for humans, this intrinsic value is intimately tied to

the richness and diversity of life on planet Earth.

Human actions should be intentional and refrain from

diminishing this richness and diversity unless vital

needs necessitate such actions. While promoting the

growth of human life and culture, it's imperative to

acknowledge that a significant reduction in the human

population’s impact on nature, is essential for the

growth and sustenance of non-human life forms.

Presently, excessive human interference is leading to

fast and irreversible deterioration of nature,

necessitating policy alterations. These policy

changes, with profound impacts on economic,

technological, and ideological structures, have the

potential to create a vastly different future from the

current one. The core of this ideological shift lies in

the appreciation of life, departing from an

Dubey, S. and Patel, P.

Environmental Concerns in Select Regional Novels Translated in English.

DOI: 10.5220/0012532000003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 957-961

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

957

unsustainable pursuit of ever-increasing standards of

living.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

The term ecocriticism was first coined by William

Rueckert in 1978 in his notable critical work

"Literature and Ecology: Experiments in

Ecocriticism”. In his work, Rückert states that

ecocriticism draws on environmental or ecological

values and uses them for research writing. In his book

“The Environmental Imagination”, ecocriticism is

defined as: “the study of the relationship between

literature and the environment in a spirit committed

to environmental practice” (Buel 430).

Cheryl Glotfelty the first professor of literature

and the environment was the pioneer of ecocriticism

in the United States of America. In her book The

Ecocriticism Reader (1996) she defined Ecocriticism

as -“The study of the relationship between literature

and physical environment. Just as Feminist Criticism

examines language and literature from a gender-

conscious- perspective, and Marxist Criticism brings

an awareness of modes of production and economic

class to literary studies”. This work offers a new

perspective to the global ecological crisis and paves a

way for scholars to view the intersection of literature,

culture and ecology from a fresh lens. Her work is a

widely read and cited source of ecocriticism since its

publication and serves as a foundational text for the

scholars of literature, environment and culture.

Grotfelty and Harold Fromm introduced

Rückert's work in their edition of The Ecocriticism

Reader: Landmark in Literary Ecology (1996), this

played a vital role in the emergence of ecocriticism

and its acceptance as a principle. Meanwhile,

Fredericko Waage wrote Teaching Environmental

Literature: Materials, Methods, Resources in 1985,

in which 19 scientists presented their knowledge

about the environment and its reflection in literature.

To further develop this theoretical perspective,

Harold Fromm organised a special session at the

MLA conference in 1991 titled Ecocriticism: The

Greetings of Literary Studies. Another important

event was the American Literature Association's

conference titled “American Nature Writing- New

Approaches.”

In 1992, at the annual meeting of the Western

Literary Association a new association was founded -

Association for the Study of Literature and the

Environment (ASLE). The main purpose of this

association is to support new nature writings,

traditional and to encourage innovative intellectual

approaches to environmental literature. It is

noteworthy that ecocriticism has developed almost

miraculously in the decades since its birth. Lawrence

Bull has been influential in the development of

ecocriticism, and his book The Environmental

Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the

Formation of American Culture (1996) examines the

work of Henry David Thoreau through the lens of

ecocriticism.

He elaborates further on the early stages of

ecocriticism in The Future of Environmental

Criticism: Environmental Crisis and the Literary

Imagination (2005), seeing it as a "first wave" of the

criticism movement majorly focused writing

concerned with nature, ecology and the natural

history of planet Earth. This "first wave" formed the

basis of the "second wave" of ecocriticism, often also

referred to as revisionist ecocriticism. Second-wave

ecocritics were largely concerned with environmental

justice than their predecessors. His critique of the

social order evaluated urban planned cities and

regions, like the natural environment, to be on the

same pedestal in terms of seriousness (Buell 22).

Buell ultimately acknowledges that in the western

academic context, ecocriticism is often only treated as

environmental criticism (Buell 28).

Eco-critics exhort people to acknowledge the need

to alter their own behaviours and perspectives and

take the required steps to stop ecological deterioration

and advance environmental conservation at present.

Further, the author also expresses his view that the

study of literature must be combined with other

academic fields.

There are key elements that an ecocritic will

invariably encounter while conducting research.

These concepts would always be present when Eco

critically analyses a piece of literature, looking for

answers to questions arising from the theoretical

framework of ecocriticism in those texts. They are

“environmental” and “ecological citizenship,” “care

ethics ”or “the ethics of care” (which may or may not

be associated with ecological citizenship), and

“ecoliteracy” as a whole.

Ecocriticism is heavily influenced by Western

ideology, but is deeply rooted in ancient Indian

theories and texts. The terminology might have been

recent of about three-four decades ago, but the theme

has been ancient. Ancient Indian literature is full of

ideas about praising nature. In India, there has been a

history of nature worship since the Vedic era. A

people's collective poetic response to the wonder and

awe of existence is captured in the Rig Vedic hymns.

They are poetry that extols the earth’s beauty and the

forces that can be seen through nature's brilliant veil.

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God was worshipped in nature. The sun was revered

as a divinity. Indra, the rain god, was elevated to the

position of king. All the natural elements were

revered as deities, including the sea god Varun, the

wind god Vayu, the soil god Prithvi, the fire god

Agni, and the sky god Akash. In religion, even the

planets were given prominence. The Trinity—

Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh—became increasingly

revered over time as the Creator, the Preserver, and

the Destroyer. Shiva is linked to scorpions, snakes,

and other insects. In addition to Narsimha (the lion),

Vishnu is also revered as a crocodile, fish, and turtle.

The gods of wealth Laxmi and Durga are represented

by the owl and Singh (the lion), respectively.

Indian classical texts, epics and Upanishads

include eco-friendly practices, care for nature,

reverence for nature, nourishment, and nature

conservation. Valmiki’s The Ramayan has a subtitle:

Book of Wilderness. Ram, who is supposed to be

Vishnu in human form, had a dynamic relationship

with nature throughout his exile there. His association

His connections with Hanuman (representing

monkeys), Jamvant (symbolising a bear), Marich

(associated with a deer), Laxman (linked to Sheshnag,

the serpent), Kakbhushund (correlating with a crow),

Garud (depicting a hawk), and Nandi illustrate the

deep bond between humans and their empathetic

understanding of animals' emotions. The concept of

wildlife preservation is an inherent part of Indian

culture. We are forbidden from destroying them

because we worship peepal, tulsi, bargad, awnla, and

use flowers, grass, leaves, belpatra, akauadhatura,

chandan, and many other things. The Panchtantra

teaches youngsters values and ethics via the use of

animal fables.

The writers of Indian English literature likewise

expressed a tremendous passion for nature and natural

objects. They accurately captured nature while

maintaining a keen awareness of it. When conveying

their ideas about the social environment, authors like

R. K. Narayan, Amitav Ghosh, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja

Rao, Kamala Markandaya, Ruskin Bond, Anita

Desai, Kiran Desai, and Indira Goswami have

referenced nature and its aspects.

Indian fiction, especially regional fiction, often

confronts political discourse in the context of

environmental degradation, suggesting that India

alone cannot influence the outcome of the crisis. The

novel chosen in my research article provides

perspective and engagement on the subject by

showing how closely related social and ecological

realities are.

The biggest problems in the environment, from

water pollution to global warming, from land and soil

degradation to human security and migration, arise

from the same human activities. Now looking at the

big problems of the environment, more and more

people are taking action to protect the environment

and telling others about environmental problems; A

large body of evidence shows the negative impact of

human activities on ecosystems.

Most recent literature deals with environmental

problems. Over the past decade, namely 2020,

cultural and environmental critics may ask why

writers have not engaged with themes of nature and

the environment. This shift in attention has had a huge

impact on the climate change discourse in literary

works, with the hopes of having a personal reaction

initiated thus helping create better environmental

awareness among the public, ultimately encouraging

better environmental policies and policies.

A masterpiece in Konkani, a novel written by

Pundalik N. Naik, Acchev was published in 1977, and

translated in English by Vidya Pai titled The

Upheaval. In this novel industrialization results in the

robbing the land of its precious flora and fauna.

Naik’s work effectively deals with the anxieties and

problems in the lives of poor peasants in India in

general and Goa in particular. In his article “Mining

Activity as a Self-invited Disaster of Man in The

Upheaval”, Akshay A.Yardi stated that, “The

Upheaval is a tragic story of a village by name

Kolamba. It has three veins running through. First, the

novel narrates the degradation of a society; second, it

shows the fall of a man due to his greed for wealth;

and the third, it speaks of the cultural degradation

too” (102). When the protagonist Pandari, decides to

work in the mine, the farmer's helplessness becomes

apparent as well as the culture of their indigenous

community is severely impacted as the mode of

occupation changes. But ultimately, we witness how

one wrong choice by Pandhari rooted in his appetite

for money, brings down annihilation on the family.

Pandhari was not the only one to work in the mill,

several other cultivators chose to work at the mines

for further diurnal stipend. These changes sluggishly

set in a vicious circle of events that take place in the

village. As the story proceeds, we see the villagers no

longer celebrate their traditional observances and

carnivals. Abu is an old man and worked for the well-

being of the people of the village. Savlo Master is an

academy school teacher in Kolamba. Both Abu and

Savlo Master are the companion- lights of culture and

good traditions for the villagers. But, the death of Abu

and the exit of Savlo master from the village of

Kolamba herald a series of further demeaning

incidents. The academy children are dragged on to

work at the mines and the womenfolk of the village

Environmental Concerns in Select Regional Novels Translated in English

959

fall prey to the lust of the directors at the mines. The

youngsters and adolescents take to alcohol

dependence and indulge in harlotry. Nanu and

Manuel are the two youthful enthusiasts who became

victims of the bad habits. Not only that we also see

how the women in the village lose their chastity.

Pundalik Naik has not only focused upon the impacts

of mining on human nature and culture but also upon

the environment.

N.A. D'Souza in her short story Dweepa, talks

about the transformation of farmers due to the

construction of irrigation systems. The novella, first

published as a weekly in 1970 and later translated

from Kannada to Hindi by Susheela Punitha, focuses

on the construction of the Linganamakki dam on the

Sharavathi river in Malnad district. The main issues

are the dissatisfaction of the government, its greed

and most importantly the result. Island / Dweepa has

seven episodes: Krithika, Rohini, Mrigashira,

Aridhraa, Punarvasu, Pushya and Aslesha. The hero

Ganapayya and his wife Nagaveni live a bad life and

feel discriminated against. This causes them to feel

bad towards others, become angry, and even

protective of themselves. The government bears full

responsibility for the untimely death and loss of

Ganapaya and his family. The government did not

immediately pay for his death and failed to take the

necessary measures in time to save their lives.

Kolleti Jaadalu was released in Telugu by

Akkineni Kutumbarao in 2020. Veteran feminist

rights activist and writer Vasanth Kannabiran has

skillfully translated the novel from Telugu. The story

describes the trials and tribulations of people who

continue their lives in Koleru, which is one of the

largest lakes in India, located in Andhra Pradesh.

Construction of Dams is one of the preeminent

reasons for the migration and dislocation of

population in India. The most targeted groups for this

cause are the tribal and Dalit communities, who live

in deep forests and alongside the rivers for

civilization of crops. In recent past, the rapid

developmental activities benefit the privileged few,

while the others bear the cost.

Byadhkhanda, published in the early 90s in

Bengali, is a novel that borrows its name from a

section of the epic poem Abhayamanga by

Mukundaram. Writer and activist Mahasweta Devi’s

writings always gave voice to the voiceless. The

English translation of Kabikankan Mukundaram

Chakrabarti's renowned medieval poem, is translated

to English as Book of the Hunter, by Mandira

Sengupta and Sagaree Sengupta. It is set in sixteenth-

century medieval Bengal and draws inspiration from

Chakrabarti’s life. The impact of settlements and the

clearance of woods on the indigenous peoples is also

depicted, in addition to the socio-political history of

the time especially the Shabars, one of the indigenous

hunter tribes. The awareness of the environment is

increased by narratives build by these books. The

novel covers topics of conservation and degradation,

of wildlife, marine life, pollution and global warming.

It follows the contrasting lives of two couples – a

Brahman and a Shabar. The novel is a stark look at

the effect of unethical and unchecked urbanisation on

indigenous communities.

Aathi by Sarah Joseph who is a famous

Malayalam writer is a novel from an ecological

perspective. Translated in English as Gift in Green by

Valson Thampu. In the nocel, Aathi is portrayed as a

timeless village, in a setting that takes on an aura of

myth and mysticism. Within this village, people

coexist in idyllic harmony with the natural world.

However, this serenity is disrupted by the intrusion of

urban and commercial influences, even leading to

contamination of their aquatic environment. Yet, the

novel concludes on an optimistic note, illustrating the

triumph of enduring natural forces over the

encroachment of modern commercial interests.

Highlighting the issues faced by the people of Aathi,

Sarah Joseph attempts to present certain relevant

issues people face both locally and globally. It

challenges the anthropological perspective and

promotes ecological justice, asserting that other

species should be afforded equal rights and dignity.

The novel also addresses concerns related to global

water politics.

3 CONCLUSIONS

Environmental preservation has become a necessity

for the existence and sustenance of all living

creatures. Recent scientific discoveries are posing a

threat to the sustenance of the environment as well as

to all living creatures. Such concerns, very naturally,

have attracted the attention of critics. How to confront

and address such a situation is one of the primary

responsibilities of one and all. Litterateurs are no

exception to it. The regional novels The Upheaval by

Pundalik Naik, Dweep by N.A. D’Souza, The Book of

a Hunter by Mahasweta Devi and Gift in Green by

Sarah Joseph not only describe the hazards which

pose a threat to environment but also provide

probable solutions to these concerns. It also creates

awareness among the younger generation that they

may play their part in sustenance of the environment

by promoting critical thinking skills.

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REFERENCES

Buell, Lawrence. ‘The Environmental Imagination:

Thoureau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of

American Culture,’ Cambridge, MA: Havard

University Press, 1995.

Glotfetly Cheryll and Harold Fromm (eds). The

Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology.

Athens GA and London: University of Georgia Press.

1996.

Pachkawade, Darshana. “Deep Ecological Reading of

Mahasweta Devi’s The Book of Hunter:An

Ecoconscious Approach.”IAFOR Journal of Arts and

Humanities, vol.8 issue 1,2021,pp.73-81.

Pandey, Abha “An Eco-critical Study of Indian English

Poetry.” Langlit-An International Peer-reviewed Open

Access Journal, vol. 3, issue 3, Feb 2017, pp. 129-134.

Yardi,Akshay A. “Mining Activity as a Self-invited

Disaster of Man in The Upheaval.” Epitome

journals.vol.2, issue 11, Nov 2016, pp.101-108.

https://literariness.org/2016/11/27/ecocriticism

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