Knowledge in Literature
6 characteristics or features of O.B.
6 characteristics or features of O.B.
Vikrant Gangwar
Emotional Diarrhoea in Organizations
This clip delves into the inconsistencies between human nature and present day work-culture.
Ayush Agarwal
Mahabharata and its learnings
Mahabharata is a source of wisdom and knowledge and the learnings are omnipresent for all. Let us relive some moments of thought in the holy literature.
Raheen Taj
Quiddity
A piece of writing that attempts to explore the essence of human relations!
Literary Club, IIM Ranchi
Aspirations
A piece of writing that conveys the struggles, one goes through, to fulfill one's aspirations!
Kindness
A piece of work that communicates the power of kindness
Book Recommendations
A set of classic book recommendations.
Guide To Success
A list of book recommendations that forms a perfect guide to success.
movie review
Movie review of dallas buyers club
Rashid Imam
literature review
Movie review of curious case of Benjamin button
Delhi university BA Program ,CBCS
Detailed notes of English under BA Program course under Delhi university. These notes are of semester1 which includes literature in the content attached above. These are the notes for students having English as their main or elective course in BA Program.
Sahibjyot Singh
Analyzing the themes of precarity and purity in the Dystopian novel ‘ Leila’
‘Leila’ is a dystopian novel that was written by Prayaag Akbar. It was published in 2017. Dystopian literature can be defined as the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction. ‘Leila’ is set in a futuristic and a dystopian world where the society is divided into different sectors, with each caste community having its own sector. Although a variety of tropes belonging to the dystopian genre were expressed in this novel, the themes of precarity and purity will be analyzed in this essay. The idea of ‘Indianness’ will also be explained through the quotes that have been cited from the novel. The theme of precarity can be identified through three factors- mainly social, political and ecological. The setting of the novel is set in futuristic Delhi/Mumbai. This connection can be made as throughout the novel, the term ‘sectors’ are used to describe different sections of society. This is a similar case in Delhi, where there are many locations that use the term ‘sector’ as a suffix. The novel can also be categorized as an ecological-dystopian novel. Global warming has finally taken its toll as it can be identified throughout the novel that the futuristic society has changed irrevocably due to climate change. The beginning of the climatic shift can be seen as- Every year the temperatures rose and the water problem worsened. Our fifth summer in the East End- Leila closing on three- the air was so dry you could hardly sweat. The newspapers led with panicked articles about the record-breaking heatwave. ( Akbar2017, p. 86) Through this quote, we can identify certain terms that reveal the declination of the environment. The rising of the temperature is a common characteristic of global warming. The ‘water problem’ is also a recurring issue in most of the metropolitan cities in India, especially some parts of Delhi in recent years. Also, the terms ‘panicked’ and ‘record-breaking’ are used to describe the heatwaves that are affecting society. This shows a rapid but consistent degradation of the environment. The theme of precarity, in relation to political and social factors, can be noticed through some of the terms that are used to describe buildings or a certain group of people- such as ‘The council’, ‘The Repeaters’, ‘The Walls’ etc. All of these terms work as an allegory to the current political and social structure of India. ‘The Walls’, which in the novel are used to separate the ‘pure’ sections from the ‘impure’ sections, are allegorical to some of the gated communities that exist in Gurgaon and Delhi that are used to separate the elite class from the lower strata of the society. ‘The Council’, who represent the most respected members of the society, ‘Purity One’, are the ones who implement the laws and certain rules that everyone needs to follow. ‘The Council’ works an allegory for the radical political parties in India who base their foundation in orthodox beliefs. ‘The Repeaters’ are the group of people, who act more like a violent mob, who make sure that the rules implemented by ‘The Council’ are compiled by everyone. Thus, ‘The Repeaters’ are directly allegorical to the followers of these radical political parties. The capturing of Shalini and the killing of Riz by ‘ The Repeaters’, because she was a Hindu and he was Muslim and they got married, is a representation of the communal violence that still exists between Hindus and Muslims in India. ‘The Council’ in this sense, might represent a radical political party such as the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ), who propagate the idea of inter-religious marriages. Thus these terms and their functions in the novel reflect an exaggerated version of the already dystopian reality we live in. The second trope of dystopian fiction that was predominant in ‘Leila’, was that of purity. The futuristic city itself was named ‘Purity One’. As previously mentioned, the entire society was divided into separate communities called ‘sectors’, which were divided by walls. Also- Each sector had its own caste insignia, distinctive edges, signatures, backgrounds. The tricky part must’ve been the watermark: the pyramid and, underneath that, ‘ Purity for All’.( Akbar 2017, p. 61) Through the above quote, we can grasp at the semblance of the caste system that exists in India. The dominance of the caste system can be felt as each sector was divided on the basis of caste, and each person’s position in the society was held by his/her caste. There are mentions of different sectors belonging to different castes, such as- sectors belong to ‘ Guptas’, ‘ Kanpuri Brahmins’, ‘ Salsette Catholics’, ‘ Patels’ etc. As each of these cases had their own ‘caste insignias’ and ‘signatures’, a person’s ID would also include their caste. At the same time, there was also the ‘scavenger caste’, who live outside the walls as they were ‘impure’. The thought of ostracizing a group of people on the basis of their birth is in itself dystopian. Thus the phrase ‘Purity for all’ is a perfect example of situational irony. These fictional castes in the novel can also be interpreted as being categories or even sub-categories of the four Varnas ( Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra). The elites classes, such as the ‘Kanpuri Brahmins’ belong to the upper strata of the society as they are of the Brahmin caste, while the ‘ scavenger caste’ belongs to the lower strata of the society and have to live outside the ‘Skydome’ as they belong to the Shudra caste. This is also a reflection on the current caste issues in India. The Indian fixation with purity is not only from birth but also from morality. This can be seen in the novel in the way a woman's body is always connected with this sense of ‘purity, and how it must be protected. ‘When woman gives in to carnality’, Mr. Vijay continues, a choke in his voice once again, ‘ imagine if all women gave in. You know what will come? Utter confusion. Bedlam. We are a society that needs rules. Boundaries. The ancient lines are there for a reason. ( Akbar 2017, p.172) Here the words ‘give in’ is used when expressing women’s sexuality. This portrays women as having an innate desire for sexual intercourse, and that it is a desire that one must not give in too. The terms ‘utter confusion’ and ‘Bedlam’, that are used to describe the effect of all women giving in to carnality, are also terms that could be used to describe the dystopian concurrent events. Thus the interpretation can be made that the entire dystopian society revolves around the purity of the female body. This also has the idea of ‘Indianness’ as in India, parents are overly protective of their daughters so that they remain ‘pure’. Thus, we can see identify how the tropes of precarity and purity are expressed in the dystopian novel ‘Leila’. One can also examine how some terms and instances in the novel are allegorical to the unpredictable and the unstable foundation on which India’s politics and society are embedded in. Another observation that can be made is how ‘purity’ is expressed in the novel through the caste system and through a female body. In conclusion, although the novel ‘Leila’ has its foundation in dystopian fiction, it can also be considered as speculative fiction. REFERENCES- Akbar, Prayaag. 2017. Leila. Simon & Schuster India: New Delhi
Kartik Mathur