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A. K. Ramanujan

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A. K. Ramanujan
Born
Attipate Krishnaswami Ramanujan

(1929-03-16)16 March 1929
Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
Died13 July 1993(1993-07-13) (aged 64)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityIndian
SpouseMolly Daniels
AwardsMacArthur Fellowship, Sahitya Akademi Award and Padma Shree
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Mysore
Indiana University
ThesisA Generative Grammar Of Kannada (1963)
Academic work
DisciplineDravidian linguistics and Indian literature; English poetry
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago
Notable worksThe Striders (1966)
Second Sight

Attipate Krishnaswami Ramanujan (16 March 1929 – 13 July 1993)[1][2] was an Indian poet and scholar[3] of Indian literature and linguistics. Ramanujan was also a professor of Linguistics at University of Chicago.

Ramanujan was a poet, scholar, linguist, philologist, folklorist, translator, and playwright.[4] His academic research ranged across five languages: English, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Sanskrit. He published works on both classical and modern variants of this literature and argued strongly for giving local, non-standard dialects their due. Though he wrote widely and in a number of genres, Ramanujan's poems are remembered as enigmatic works of startling originality, sophistication and moving artistry. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award posthumously in 1999 for The Collected Poems.

Early life and education

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Ramanujan[5] was born in Mysore City on 16 March 1929. His father, Attipat Asuri Krishnaswami, an astrologer and professor of mathematics at Mysore University, was known for his interest in English, Kannada and Sanskrit languages. His mother was a homemaker.

Ramanujan was educated at Marimallappa's High School, Mysore, and at the Maharaja College of Mysore. In college, Ramanujan majored in science in his freshman year, but his father persuaded him to change his major from science to English. Later, Ramanujan became a Fellow of Deccan College, Pune in 1958–59 and a Fulbright Scholar at Indiana University in 1959–62. He was educated in English at the University of Mysore and received his PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University.[6]

Career

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Ramanujan worked as a lecturer of English at Quilon and Belgaum; he later taught at The Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda for about eight years. In 1962, he joined the University of Chicago as an assistant professor. He was affiliated with the university throughout his career, teaching in several departments. He taught at other US universities as well, including Harvard University, University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan, University of California at Berkeley, and Carleton College. At the University of Chicago, Ramanujan was instrumental in shaping the South Asian Studies program. He worked in the departments of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Linguistics, and with the Committee on Social Thought.[citation needed]

In 1976, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri,[7] and in 1983, he was given the MacArthur Prize Fellowship[8][6] and appointed the William E. Colvin Professor on the Departments of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Linguistics, and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. As an Indo-American writer, Ramanujan had the experience of the native as well as foreign milieu. His poems such as the "Conventions of Despair" reflected his views on the cultures and conventions of the east and west.

A. K. Ramanujan died in Chicago on 13 July 1993 as result of an adverse reaction to anaesthesia during preparation for surgery.[9][10]

Contributions to Indian studies

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A. K. Ramanujan's theoretical[11] and aesthetic contributions span several disciplinary areas.[12] In his cultural essays such as "Is There an Indian Way of Thinking?" (1990), he explains cultural ideologies and behavioral manifestations thereof in terms of an Indian psychology he calls "context-sensitive" thinking. In his work in folklore studies, Ramanujan highlights the inter-textuality of the Indian oral and written literary tradition. His essay "Where Mirrors Are Windows: Toward an Anthology of Reflections" (1989), and his commentaries in The Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology (1967) and Folktales from India,[13] Oral Tales from Twenty Indian Languages (1991) are good examples of his work in Indian folklore studies.[6][14]

Controversy regarding his essay

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His 1991 essay "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation" courted controversy over its inclusion in the B.A. in History syllabus of the University of Delhi in 2006. In this essay, he wrote of the existence of many versions of Ramayana and a few versions that portrayed Rama and Sita as siblings, which contradicts the popular versions of the Ramayana, such as those by Valmiki and Tulsidas.[15]

The comments written by A K Ramanujan were found to be derogatory by some Hindus[16] and some of them decided to go to court for removal of the text from the Delhi University curriculum. ABVP, a nationalist student organisation, opposed its inclusion in the syllabus, saying it hurt the majority Hindu sentiment, who viewed Rama and Sita as incarnations of gods and who were husband and wife. They demanded the essay be removed from the syllabus. In 2008, the Delhi High Court directed Delhi University to convene a committee to decide on the essay's inclusion. A four-member committee subsequently gave its 3-1 verdict in favor of its inclusion in the syllabus.

The academic council, however, ignored the committee's recommendation and voted to scrap the essay from its syllabus in October 2011.[17] This led to protests by many historians and intellectuals, accusing Delhi University of succumbing to the diktat ("views") of non-historians.[18]

Selected publications

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His works include translations from Old Tamil and Old Kannada, such as:

Translations and Studies of Literature
  • The Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology, 1967
  • Song of the Earth, Writers Workshop. 1968.
  • Speaking of Siva, Penguin. 1973. ISBN 9780140442700.
  • The Literatures of India. Edited with Edwin Gerow. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974
  • Hymns for the Drowning, 1981
  • Poems of Love and War. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985
  • Folktales from India, Oral Tales from Twenty Indian Languages, 1991
  • Is There an Indian Way of Thinking? in India Through Hindu Categories, edited by McKim Marriott, 1990
  • When God Is a Customer: Telugu Courtesan Songs by Ksetrayya and Others (with Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman), 1994
  • A Flowering Tree and Other Oral Tales from India, 1997
Essays
  • Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation[19]
  • Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan[20]
  • "A Flowering Tree: A Women's Tale". In: Syllables of Sky: Studies in South Indian Civilization. Oxford University Press, 1995. pp. 20–42. ISBN 9780195635492. (posthumous article)
Poetry
Appearances in the following poetry Anthologies
Kannada
  • Samskara. (translation of U R Ananthamurthy's Kannada novel) Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1976
  • Hokkulalli Huvilla (translated to English - "No Flower in the Navel"). Dharwad, 1969
  • Mattu Itara Padyagalu (translated to English - "And Other Poems"). Dharwad, 1977
  • Kuntobille (translated to English - "Hopscotch")
  • Mattobbana Atma Charitre (translated to English - "Yet Another Man's Autobiography")
  • Haladi Meenu (Kannada Translation of Shouri's English Novel)
  • A. K. Ramanujan Samagra (Complete Works of A. K. Ramanujan in Kannada)
  • A. K. Ramanujan Avara Aayda Kavitegalu
  • A. K. Ramanujan Avara Aayda Barahagalu
  • "In the kingdom of fools" ( 9th class english (supplementary)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Guide to the A.K. Ramanujan Papers 1944-1995". lib.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ^ "A.K. Ramanujan: a lonely hero". livemint.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Ramanujan, Attipat Krishnaswami". scholarblogs.emory.edu. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. ^ Kulshrestha, Chirantan (1981). "A. K. Ramanjan: A PROFILE". Journal of South Asian Literature. 16 (2): 181–184. JSTOR 40873731.
  5. ^ "A K Ramanujan (1929 – 1993)". indiaonline.in. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Attipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan, Biography and works Emory University.
  7. ^ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013.
  8. ^ "MacArthur Foundation : A. K. Ramanujan". macfound.org. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. ^ Lambert, Bruce (16 July 1993). "Attipat K. Ramanujan, 64, Poet And Scholar of Indian Literature". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  10. ^ "OBITUARY-A K Ramanujan". Economic and Political Weekly. 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 28 (23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 31): 7, 7, 7, 7, 7–8, 8, 8, 8, 8. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  11. ^ "A. K. Ramanujan's theory of translation". nptel.ac.in. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Reading The Small Print : The literary legacy of an Indian modernist". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  13. ^ Narayan, Kiran (2008). "Showers of Flowers: A. K. Ramanujan and an Indian Folktale". Jung Journal. 2 (1): 5–22. doi:10.1525/jung.2008.2.1.5. JSTOR 10.1525/jung.2008.2.1.5. S2CID 170435061.
  14. ^ Daruwalla, Keki N. (17 March 2018). "Under the Ramanujan tree". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. ^ Parashar, Arpit and Vishwajoy Mukherjee (24 October 2011). "Which version of 'Ramayana' would Ram read?". Tehelka. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Ramayana, an 'epic' controversy". BBC News. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  17. ^ "DU to scrap Ramanujan essay on Ramayana that incensed right wingers". First Post. New Delhi. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  18. ^ "Academics Upset by Oxford's Stopping Essay on Indian Epic". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  19. ^ "Three Hundred Ramayanas". publishing.cdlib.org.
  20. ^ "Three Thoughts on Translation" (PDF). trans-techresearch.net. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  21. ^ Raffel, Burton (1966). "Reviewed Work: The Striders by A. K. Ramanujan". Mahfil. 3 (2/3): 85–88. JSTOR 40874140.
  22. ^ Guptara, Prabhu S.; Ramanujan, A. K. (1978). "Selected Poems by A. K. Ramanujan". World Literature Today. 52 (2): 344. doi:10.2307/40132984. JSTOR 40132984.
  23. ^ Perry, John Oliver; Ramanujan, A. K. (1987). "Second Sight by A. K. Ramanujan". World Literature Today. 61 (2): 349–350. doi:10.2307/40143285. JSTOR 40143285.1986
  24. ^ "A.K. Ramanujan's 'The Collected Poems'". indiatoday.in. 30 June 1995. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  25. ^ "The Collected Poems of A. K. Ramanujan". cse.iitk.ac.in. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  26. ^ "Ten 20th Century Indian Poets". cse.iitk.ac.in. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  27. ^ "The Oxford India Anthology of Twelve Modern Indian Poets". cse.iitk.ac.in. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  28. ^ "Book review: 'Twelve Modern Indian Poets' by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra". indiatoday.in. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  29. ^ Mandal, Somdatta (15 June 2009). "Rubana Huq, ed. The Golden Treasury of Writers Workshop Poetry. Review". Asiatic. 3 (1): 126–129. Retrieved 4 September 2018.

Further reading

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  • Guillermo Rodriguez, When Mirrors are Windows: A View of AK Ramanujan’s Poetics ( OUP, 2016)[1]
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  1. ^ "Speaking of Ramanujan". indianexpress.com. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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