The Contemporary Novel and the City

The Contemporary Novel and the City

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The Contemporary Novel and the City Re- conceiving National and Narrative Form Stuti Khanna Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi palgrave macmillan

Stuti Khanna 2013 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-33624-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-46340-4 ISBN 978-1-137-33625-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137336255 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.

For my parents

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Contents Acknowledgements viii 1 City Chronicles 1 2 Cities of Conflict 23 3 City, Nation and the Politics of the Possible 39 4 The Lettered City 69 5 Divided Cities 101 6 Artist s City, City s Artist 124 7 Some Other City Chronicles 151 8 Conclusion 166 Notes 172 Works Cited 209 Index 220 vii

Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the Felix scholarship that enabled me to pursue a D.Phil. at Oxford University. Thanks are also due to Wolfson College for several timely grants in the course of my tenure there. Rajeswari Sunder Rajan has been a mentor in the truest and best sense of the word all along, and I take this opportunity to thank her for her warmth, support and encouragement. I am also grateful to Udaya Kumar, whose intellectual generosity over the course of many years has helped me with not just this project but a great deal else besides. The origins of this book lie in my time spent as a graduate student and then lecturer at Delhi University: I owe an especial thanks to Sambudha Sen and Tapan Basu for their keen interest in my work. Thanks are also due to my colleagues and students at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi, who have provided valuable inputs and feedback in many forms both inside and outside the classroom. Neelam Srivastava and Samira Sheikh deserve special mention not just for their friendship but their active support in getting this project going. Words cannot say what I owe to my family. Jawahar and Rekha Khanna s implicit belief and confidence in me have been a deep and constant source of motivation throughout my life. In what can only be a very small gesture of appreciation and gratitude, I dedicate this book to them. Aarti and Kuldeep Khetarpal could always be counted upon for good, plain common sense and a kick in the pants, much needed at several stages of this project. Aaditeshwar Seth has, in addition to unflagging patience and unconditional love, given me the best kind of encouragement possible that of his own example. I have learnt much from, and been humbled by, his deep commitment and passion for his work. And finally, I must thank little Iram, who has only just entered my life and already brought so much joy and wonder to it. Previous versions of Chapters 3, 4 and 6 appeared in Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 45: 4 (2009), The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 46: 3 (2011) and ARIEL, 37: 4 (2006). viii