Shashi Tharoor
"In writing of Indian culture, I am highly conscious of my own
subjectivity; arguably, there is more than one Indian culture, and certainly
more than one view of Indian culture."
Introduction
As a diplomat and writer, Shashi Tharoor has explored
the diversity of culture in his native India. By exploring the themes of
India's past and its relevance to the future, he has produced both
works of fiction and nonfiction. In reaction to his works The Great
Indian Novel and Show Business, Tharoor has been referred to
as "one of the finest writers of satirical novels currently operating
in English" (Shashi Tharoor). Though his works are pointedly satirical
and comedic, Tharoor contends that his novels "... are to some degree,
didactic works masquerading as entertainment" (HAPR). His most recent
work, India: From Midnight to Millennium, is a nonfiction account of India's
past and projected future inspired by the 50th anniversary of India's
independence.
Biography
Shashi Tharoor was born in 1956 in London and educated
in Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi (BA in History, St. Stephen's College),
and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (Shashi Tharoor 2).
Since May 1978,
Tharoor has worked for the United Nations. He served over 11 years with
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose Singapore office he headed
during the "boat people" crisis (SAJA). In October 1989 he
was transferred to the peace-keeping staff at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York (Shashi Tharoor 2). In this position, he served as Special
Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations.
Dealing with a range of issues in this capacity, Tharoor addressed a variety
of peace-keeping issues around the world and led the team responsible for
the United Nations peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia (Shashi
Tharoor 2). On January 1, 1997 Shashi Tharoor was appointed Executive Assistant
to Secretary of the United Nations Kofi Annan (Shashi Tharoor 2).
As an author, Shashi Tharoor has written many editorials, commentaries,
and short stories in Indian and Western publications (SAJA). In addition,
he is the winner of several journalism and literary awards, including a
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (SAJA).
He is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in
London, the India International Centre in New Delhi, and the American PEN
Center (SAJA). He is also an elected Fellow of the New York Institute of
the Humanities 1995-96 (SAJA).
Shashi Tharoor is married to writer Tilottama Tharoor and is the father
of twin sons (SAJA).
The Author in His Own Words
On his earning his Ph.D. at age 22: "I finished
my Ph.D. at 22, but I had a powerful incentive: fear. I was terrified that
my scholarship would run out while I was halfway though research and I
would spend the rest of my life working too hard to find the time to write
it. The day I got to the States on a scholarship I was earning more (after
conversion to rupees) than my father earned in India to support a family
of five in what most people would consider style" (The Shashi Tharoor
Chat).
On his call to write: "I have far more book ideas than books,
or evenings and weekends to write them in. Basically I see myself as someone
with a number of responses to the world, some through my work" (The
Shashi Tharoor Chat).
About his writing
method: "I do it on the computer. I tend to write pretty
fast (and no doubt unkind critics will say it shows)...with all of my books
I have known bursts of frenzied writing on weekends when I've woken
up and written pretty much straight from 7 am to midnight, pausing only
for meals and tea. So you see that my working methods are not to
be recommended to any sane writers out there" (The Shashi Tharoor
Chat).
On Indian subcontinental literature: "I think the general crop
of Indian writers in English is amazingly good. I think they're
doing some of the most exciting, innovative writing being done in English
today, breathing new life, new concerns, and yes, new language into English
literature" (The Shashi Tharoor Chat).
On Indian expatriates: "...his [the expatriate's] nostalgia is based
on the selectiveness of memory...his perspective is distorted by exile...
his view of what used to be home is divorced from the experience of home.
Expatriates are no longer an organic part of the culture, but severed digits
that, in their yearning for the hand, can only twist themselves into a
clenched fist" (in The Washington Post).
On Indian nationalism: "Indian nationalism is a rare animal indeed.
It is not based on language. . .geography. . . ethnicity. . . religion.
Indian nationalism is the nationalism of an idea, the idea of an ever-ever
land that is greater than the sum of its contradictions" (Tharoor
The New York Times).
On Indian diversity: "If America is a melting-pot, then to me
India is a thali, a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each
tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they
belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making
the meal a satisfying repast" (Srinivasan).
On the United Nations: "I believe the UN is still the one indispensable
world organization we have. Sure there are wars going on, but the UN can
only stop those wars where it has a mandate to do so, which means the parties
are willing (or persuadable) to stop...Within those limitations I think
we have a pretty good track record" (The Shashi Tharoor Chat).
Works
Reasons of State (1982), a scholarly study of Indian foreign
policy making
The Great Indian Novel (1989), a political satire which interprets
the Mahabharata as India's modern history
The Five-Dollar Smile and Other Stories (1990), a collection
of short stories
Show Business (1992), a satire of the Bombay film industry which
was subsequently adapted into the motion picture "Bollywood"
India: From Midnight to the Millennium (1997), a historical commentary
of India published on the 50th anniversary of India's independence.
The Great Indian Novel
The
Great Indian Novel uses the great Hindu epic, The Mahabharata,
to retell the history of modern India. Characters and situations are thinly
veiled caricatures of well known elements of myth and politics; Ved Vyas/Vyasa,
Ganapathi/Ganesh, and Gangaji's Epic Mango March/Gandhi's
Salt March (Goldman). Even the title The Great Indian Novel is a
loose translation of the word "Mahabharata." In commenting
on his own work, Tharoor writes that "... the concerns in the book emerged
from years of indiscriminate reading and slightly more discriminate study
of Indian history and politics... [The Mahabharata] had such a contemporary
resonance that I instantly thought, here is a vehicle for the book that
I want to write about the forces that have made (and nearly unmade) our
country" (The Shashi Tharoor Chat).
Tharoor affirms and enhances Indian cultural identity through his novel
by reflecting on pluralism and openness in India's kaleidoscopic
culture. He also aims to broaden the understanding of Indian culture and
historical heritage. Tharoor writes that "the task of altering and
shaping such resonant characters and situations to tell a contemporary
story offered a rare opportunity to strike familiar chords while playing
an unfamiliar tune" (HAPR). Thus this novel, by interpreting reality
through myth and history, concludes that India has a vast heritage from
which much can be learned.
What the Critics Have to Say about The Great Indian Novel:
"Tharoor astutely fastens fiction to politics, and myth
to reality ultimately put forth a tale arisen from the depths of his soul
and scope of his political career at the United Nations" (Rajay).
"I found The Great Indian Novel an entertaining and occasionally
moving book that will certainly repay the time of anyone interested in
and moderately knowledgeable about two somewhat disparaging subjects, the
Mahabharata and the history of modern India which are so cleverly and pointedly
intertwined in this remarkable book" (Goldman).
Show Business
Concerning
his novel Show Business, Tharoor writes that he was "looking
for a new creative metaphor to explore aspects of the Indian condition"
(HAPR). He considers film to be "the primary vehicle for the transmission
of the fictional experience to the majority of Indians," and
thus "particularly useful for such exploration"(HAPR).
The novel, explores the Bombay movie industry. Tharoor explains the
culture of this industry as "contemporary myths invented by popular
Hindi cinema" (HAPR). He uses these myths to portray his perspectives
of the diversity contained within India (HAPR). The Bombay movie industry
thus becomes the context for this perspective.
What the Critics Have to Say about Show Business:
"Exuberant and clever...both affectionately and fiercely done...
What makes Show Business particularly impressive and accomplished is its
elaborate structure, [which] replicates the crazy razzle-dazzle of the
Hindi film world" (What the Critics say about Show Business of "Bollywood").
"A wacky, satirical tale of hits and misses in the worlds of
politics and cinema...engagingly presented... Through a montage of shooting
scripts, narrative and monologues, he invents a fictional world that is
a metaphor for deeper concerns" (What the Critics say about Show
Business of "Bollywood").
India: from Midnight to the Millennium
Tharoor's
latest work, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of India's
independence provides analysis of both India's past and future.
In writing, Tharoor felt that a book was needed which explored what Independence
really meant for India (Srinivasan). Tharoor's themes include India's
rich cultural heritage, India's contribution to the Western world,
and the far-reaching role of past in present day problems. He explores
these through a variety of issues such as affirmative action, the caste
system, governmental corruption, and the strength of Indian democracy.
Tharoor's observations about India are extremely optimistic.
Tharoor provides this assessment: "[India has] tremendous strengths...energy,
dynamism, skills, and great will to work and to achieve, and astonishing
capacity to save and invest, perhaps, above all, the freedom to
express our views, change our leaders and determine our own fates" (The
Shashi Tharoor Chat). The modern India he describes possesses entrepreneurial
sprit, diminishing corruption, and a strong sense of democracy. India has
survived all these years because "it has maintained consensus on
how to manage without consensus" (Srinivasan).
What the Critics have to say:
"In this charming book which combines elements of political scholarship,
personal reflection, memoir, fiction and polemic, the author deals with
a wide range of subjects...contemplating fifty years of Independence from
afar in the context of his own upbringing and future hopes" (Kamath).
"Blending memoir, essay and empirical argument, Tharoor carefully
reviews the core questions about IndiaÕs unfinished experiment in
self-governance--the durability of its constitutional democracy, its persistent
struggles over caste, the rise of Hindu extremist politics, and the recent
and historic attempt to catch up to AsiaÕs economic tigers through
adoption of free-market reforms" (Coll).
Works Cited
Coll, Stephen W. "A Nation Comes of Age." The Washington
Post 3 Aug. 1997, X05.
Goldman, Robert. P. "The Great Bharata War in Recent Film and
Fiction." On-line. Indiastar. 12 Feb. 1998.
http://www.indiastar.com/goldman1.html
Kamath, M. V. "Sashi Tharoor's India: From Midnight
to the Millennium." On-line. India World Short Stories.
23. Mar. 1998.
http://www.indiaworld.co.in/subscribe/rec/stories/jan21-98kamath.html
Rajay. "Reviw of The Great Indian Novel: A Twice Born Tale.
On-Line. Panwala Web. 16 Feb. 1998.
http://www.panwala.com/greatnovel.html
SAJA (South Asian Journalists Association). "Bio of past SAJA guest
speaker Shashi Tharoor." On-line. SAJA. Columbia University.
1997. 12 Feb. 1998.
http://moon.jrn.columbia.edu/SAJA/shashi.html
"Shashi Tharoor." On-line. Rutgers
University. 1997. 12 Feb. 1998. Notation in text: (Shashi Tharoor).
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~lcdean/about/tharoor.htm
"Shashi Tharoor." Serve.Com. 1997. 12 Feb. 1998. Notation
in text: (Shashi Tharoor 2).
http://www.serve.com/netipaus/shashi.html
Srinivasan, Rajeev. "Freedom: An Interview with the author of India:
From Midnight to Millennium." On-line. Rediff On The Net.
1997.
http://www.redifindia.com/freedom/08tharur.htm
Tharoor, Shashi. "Growing Up Extreme: On the Peculiarly Vicious
Fanaticism of Expatriates." On-line. Mnet [from The
Washington Post]. 12 Feb. 1998.
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/i_aii/tharoor.html
Tharoor, Shashi. "India's Odd, Enduring Patchwork."
The New York Times. 8 Aug. 1997. A31.
Tharoor, Shashi. "Whose Culture Is It Anyway? The role of culture
in developing countries: an Indian writer's view."
On-line. Harvard Asia Pacific Review (HAPR). 12 Feb. 1998.
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hapr/tharoor.html
"What the Critics say about Show Business of 'Bollywood'."
On-line. Arts-Online.Com Film.
http://www.arts-online.com/videotv/bolywood/bolly3.htm
Links to articles by/with Shashi Tharoor on the web
"Confronting Ancient Animosities"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/25/084l-012598-idx.html
"Growing Up Extreme: On the Peculiarly Vicious Fanaticism of
Expatriates"
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/i_aii/tharoor.html
India: From Midnight to Millennium, the entire text of chapter one
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/indiafrommidnighttothemillennium.htm
"India's Odd, Enduring Patchwork"
http://www.englishfirst.org/indianytimes.htm
"India, Poised to Become an Economic Superpower"
http://www.positiveindia.com/articles/ecosuperpower.html
"Whose Culture Is It Anyway?"
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hapr/tharoor.html
"India Turns 50: A Transcript of an interview with Shashi Tharoor"
by David Gergen
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/august97/india_8-17.html
Author: Brian Oubre, Spring '98.
Links
within this site
Postcolonial Studies at Emory
(Image of an "Homme Carrefour" from Donald J.
Cosentino's Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou [Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler
Museum of Cultural History, 1995].)
