Jump to content

A. K. Ramanujan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A. K. Ramanujan
ಎ.ಕೆ.ರಾಮಾನುಜನ್
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
AwardsMacArthur Fellowship,Sahitya Akademi AwardandPadma Shree
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Mysore
Indiana University
ThesisA Generative Grammar Of Kannada(1963)
Academic work
DisciplineDravidianlinguisticsandIndian 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]ofIndian literatureandlinguistics.Ramanujan was also a professor ofLinguisticsatUniversity of Chicago.

Ramanujan was apoet,scholar,linguist,philologist,folklorist,translator,andplaywright.[4]His academic research ranged across five languages: English,Tamil,Kannada,Telugu,andSanskrit.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 theSahitya Akademi Awardposthumously in 1999 forThe Collected Poems.

Early life and education

[edit]

Ramanujan[5]was born inMysore Cityon 16 March 1929. His father,Attipat Asuri Krishnaswami,an astrologer and professor of mathematics atMysore University,was known for his interest in English,Kannadaand Sanskrit languages. His mother was a homemaker.

Ramanujan was educated at Marimallappa's High School,Mysore,and at theMaharaja 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 ofDeccan College, Punein 1958–59 and aFulbright ScholaratIndiana Universityin 1959–62. He was educated in English at theUniversity of Mysoreand received his PhD inLinguisticsfrom Indiana University.[6]

Career

[edit]

Ramanujan worked as a lecturer of English atQuilonandBelgaum;he later taught at TheMaharaja Sayajirao UniversityinBarodafor about eight years. In 1962, he joined theUniversity of Chicagoas an assistant professor. He was affiliated with the university throughout his career, teaching in several departments. He taught at otherUSuniversities as well, includingHarvard University,University of Wisconsin,University of Michigan,University of California at Berkeley,andCarleton College.At theUniversity 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, theGovernment of Indiaawarded him thePadma Shri,[7]and in 1983, he was given theMacArthur Prize Fellowship[8][6]and appointed the William E. Colvin Professor on the Departments of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Linguistics, and theCommittee on Social Thoughtat theUniversity 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 toanaesthesiaduring preparation for surgery.[9][10]

Contributions to Indian studies

[edit]

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 inThe Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology(1967) andFolktales 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

[edit]

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 theUniversity of Delhiin 2006. In this essay, he wrote of the existence of many versions ofRamayanaand a few versions that portrayedRamaandSitaas siblings, which contradicts the popular versions of the Ramayana, such as those byValmikiandTulsidas.[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 viewedRamaandSitaas incarnations of gods and who were husband and wife. They demanded the essay be removed from the syllabus. In 2008, theDelhi High Courtdirected 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 Oct 2011.[17]This led to protests by many historians and intellectuals, accusing Delhi University of succumbing to thediktat( "views" ) of non-historians.[18]

Selected publications

[edit]

His works include translations from OldTamiland OldKannada,such as:

Translations and Studies of Literature
  • The Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a ClassicalTamilAnthology,1967
  • Song of the Earth,Writers Workshop. 1968.
  • Speaking of Siva,Penguin. 1973.ISBN9780140442700.
  • The Literatures of India.Edited with Edwin Gerow. Chicago:University of ChicagoPress, 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?inIndia 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.ISBN9780195635492.(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

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Guide to the A.K. Ramanujan Papers 1944-1995".lib.uchicago.edu.Retrieved27 August2018.
  2. ^"A.K. Ramanujan: a lonely hero".livemint.com.22 September 2017.Retrieved28 August2018.
  3. ^"Ramanujan, Attipat Krishnaswami".scholarblogs.emory.edu.Retrieved27 August2018.
  4. ^Kulshrestha, Chirantan (1981). "A. K. Ramanjan: A PROFILE".Journal of South Asian Literature.16(2): 181–184.JSTOR40873731.
  5. ^"A K Ramanujan (1929 – 1993)".indiaonline.in.Retrieved28 August2018.
  6. ^abcAttipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan, Biography and worksEmory University.
  7. ^"Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)"(PDF).Ministry of Home Affairs.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 May 2013.
  8. ^"MacArthur Foundation: A. K. Ramanujan".macfound.org.Retrieved28 August2018.
  9. ^Lambert, Bruce (16 July 1993)."Attipat K. Ramanujan, 64, Poet And Scholar of Indian Literature".The New York Times.Retrieved29 August2018.
  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.Retrieved29 August2018.
  11. ^"A. K. Ramanujan's theory of translation".nptel.ac.in.Retrieved28 August2018.
  12. ^"Reading The Small Print: The literary legacy of an Indian modernist".caravanmagazine.in.Retrieved29 August2018.
  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.JSTOR10.1525/jung.2008.2.1.5.S2CID170435061.
  14. ^Daruwalla, Keki N. (17 March 2018)."Under the Ramanujan tree".The Hindu.Retrieved27 August2018.
  15. ^Parashar, Arpit and Vishwajoy Mukherjee (24 October 2011)."Which version of 'Ramayana' would Ram read?".Tehelka.New Delhi. Archived fromthe originalon 29 October 2012.Retrieved29 October2012.
  16. ^"Ramayana, an 'epic' controversy".BBC News.19 October 2011.Retrieved3 October2016.
  17. ^"DU to scrap Ramanujan essay on Ramayana that incensed right wingers".First Post.New Delhi. 10 October 2011.Retrieved29 October2012.
  18. ^"Academics Upset by Oxford's Stopping Essay on Indian Epic".The Chronicle of Higher Education.28 November 2011.Retrieved29 October2012.
  19. ^"Three Hundred Ramayanas".publishing.cdlib.org.
  20. ^"Three Thoughts on Translation"(PDF).trans-techresearch.net.Retrieved27 August2018.
  21. ^Raffel, Burton (1966). "Reviewed Work: The Striders by A. K. Ramanujan".Mahfil.3(2/3): 85–88.JSTOR40874140.
  22. ^Guptara, Prabhu S.; Ramanujan, A. K. (1978). "Selected Poems by A. K. Ramanujan".World Literature Today.52(2): 344.doi:10.2307/40132984.JSTOR40132984.
  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.JSTOR40143285.1986
  24. ^"A.K. Ramanujan's 'The Collected Poems'".indiatoday.in.30 June 1995.Retrieved28 August2018.
  25. ^"The Collected Poems of A. K. Ramanujan".cse.iitk.ac.in.Retrieved28 August2018.
  26. ^"Ten 20th Century Indian Poets".cse.iitk.ac.in.Retrieved23 August2018.
  27. ^"The Oxford India Anthology of Twelve Modern Indian Poets".cse.iitk.ac.in.Retrieved23 August2018.
  28. ^"Book review: 'Twelve Modern Indian Poets' by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra".indiatoday.in.3 January 2013.Retrieved23 August2018.
  29. ^Mandal, Somdatta (15 June 2009)."Rubana Huq, ed. The Golden Treasury of Writers Workshop Poetry. Review".Asiatic.3(1): 126–129.Retrieved4 September2018.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Guillermo Rodriguez,When Mirrors are Windows: A View of AK Ramanujan’s Poetics( OUP, 2016)[1]
[edit]
  1. ^"Speaking of Ramanujan".indianexpress.com.28 July 2017.Retrieved28 August2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A._K._Ramanujan&oldid=1228366644"