Gayathri Prabhu – författare

A Genre of Her Own offers an alternative account of literary beginnings in modern India through a surprising range of self-fashioning by women in genres such as pamphlets, letters, travelogues, essays, autobiographies and novels. Paying close attention to style and intentionality, this study traces mixed affective notes of pride, despair, lament, nostalgia, anger, hope and celebration in texts written in Marathi, Bengali, Urdu and English. These include Savitribai Phule''s Kavya Phule (1854), Tarabai Shinde''s Stri-Purush Tulana (1882), Anandibai Joshee''s letters (1883 – 1884), Rukhmabai''s "Reply" (1887), Krupabai Satthianadhan''s Saguna (1888), Rashsundari Debi''s Amar Jiban (1897), Swarnakumari Debi Ghosal''s Kahake (1898), Dosebai Cowasjee Jessawalla''s The Story of My Life (1911), Binodini Dasi''s Amar Katha (1912), and Atiya Fyzee''s Zamana-i-Tahsil (1921).These writers crafted a full-fledged, introspective and formally sophisticated aesthetic in conversation with a normatively male literary milieu. In doing so, they overtly engaged with the centrality of writing, the dangers and secrecies involved, against an emerging proscenium of world literature. The narrative motifs encompass marriage and motherhood, domestic labour and caretaking, romance and sexuality, public service and intellectual prowess, religious quests and scrambles for livelihood, illness and aging, and often in the mode of wit, vigour and ingenuity.

A Genre of Her Own offers an alternative account of literary beginnings in modern India through a surprising range of self-fashioning by women in genres such as pamphlets, letters, travelogues, essays, autobiographies and novels. Paying close attention to style and intentionality, this study traces mixed affective notes of pride, despair, lament, nostalgia, anger, hope and celebration in texts written in Marathi, Bengali, Urdu and English. These include Savitribai Phule's Kavya Phule (1854), Tarabai Shinde's Stri-Purush Tulana (1882), Anandibai Joshee's letters (1883 1884), Rukhmabai's "e;Reply"e; (1887), Krupabai Satthianadhan's Saguna (1888), Rashsundari Debi's Amar Jiban (1897), Swarnakumari Debi Ghosal's Kahake (1898), Dosebai Cowasjee Jessawalla's The Story of My Life (1911), Binodini Dasi's Amar Katha (1912), and Atiya Fyzee's Zamana-i-Tahsil (1921).These writers crafted a full-fledged, introspective and formally sophisticated aesthetic in conversation with a normatively male literary milieu. In doing so, they overtly engaged with the centrality of writing, the dangers and secrecies involved, against an emerging proscenium of world literature. The narrative motifs encompass marriage and motherhood, domestic labour and caretaking, romance and sexuality, public service and intellectual prowess, religious quests and scrambles for livelihood, illness and aging, and often in the mode of wit, vigour and ingenuity.

The years between Indian independence (1947) and the dominance of colour cinema (early 1960s) saw the emergence and fruition of a distinct, confident, and nuanced black and white aesthetic in Hindi mainstream cinema. Shadow Craft is an ardent and immersive study of cinematic craftings that emblematise the oeuvres of Kamal Amrohi, Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, and Abrar Alvi. Films such as Aag (1948), Mahal (1949), Seema (1955), Pyaasa (1957), Sujata (1959), Kagaz Ke Phool (1959), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Bandini (1963) remain formative to the visual psyche of generations of South Asian viewers. This enduring visual language demonstrates a minutely attuned and sympathetic camera, evocative pools of shadow, affect-rich atmospheric composition, and the visual autonomy of performance.With seventy five rare and curated images from the archives, Shadow Craft offers for the first time a consolidated and intimate journey through this pioneering black and white cinema aesthetic at its most expressive and climactic moment.

The years between Indian independence (1947) and the dominance of colour cinema (early 1960s) saw the emergence and fruition of a distinct, confident, and nuanced black and white aesthetic in Hindi mainstream cinema. Shadow Craft is an ardent and immersive study of cinematic craftings that emblematise the oeuvres of Kamal Amrohi, Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, and Abrar Alvi. Films such as Aag (1948), Mahal (1949), Seema (1955), Pyaasa (1957), Sujata (1959), Kagaz Ke Phool (1959), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Bandini (1963) remain formative to the visual psyche of generations of South Asian viewers. This enduring visual language demonstrates a minutely attuned and sympathetic camera, evocative pools of shadow, affect-rich atmospheric composition, and the visual autonomy of performance.With seventy five rare and curated images from the archives, Shadow Craft offers for the first time a consolidated and intimate journey through this pioneering black and white cinema aesthetic at its most expressive and climactic moment.