Scrutinise impact of mythology, history: Romila

KOTTAYAM: The impact of mythology and history on society should be scrutinised academically, historian Romila Thapar has said. She was delivering the keynote address at a function organised by Mahatma Gandhi University in connection with the International Book Fair 2012 on Wednesday. Thapar released the book ‘Oxford Anthology of Malayalam Dalit Writing’ at the function.  History is conditioned by rationale and logic whereas mythology is the world of fantasy, Thapar said.  A curious question arises why such stories are created which the people are tempted to believe, she said. It may be due to the fact that it provides licence to the common people to be in a surreal ambience, she said.  The first copy of the book was received by G S Jayasree, professor, Institute of English, Kerala University. Mini Krishnan is the project editor of’Oxford Anthology of Malayalam Dalit Writing’ which is jointly edited by M Dasan,V Prathibha, C S Chandrika, and Dr Pradeepan Pambirikkunnu.The book is conceived with a vision to make visible to the world the ideological and aesthetic differences between Malayalam literature on Dalits and the widely-translated mainstream literature.  It attempts to chart a history and sensibility which have remained unrepresented in the canonical tradition of Malayalam literary discourse. The book says that until the latter half of the 19th century there was no visible mention about Dalits in Malayalam literature owing to the denial of education to them throughout the history of the country. The book priced at `595 is being published by Oxford University Press.