Amrita Pritam
2. The Revenue Stamp (Raseedi Ticket): An Autobiography by Amrita Pritam; Translated by Krishna Gorowara; Published by Wide Canvas, an imprint of Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
Amrita Pritam (1919-2005) was the first prominent woman writer who was loved on both sides of the India-Pakistan border. With a career spanning over six decades, she produced over 100 books of poetry, fiction, biography, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs, and an autobiography that were translated into several Indian and foreign languages.
Khushwant Singh, the acclaimed writer, once told Pritam that the story of her life was so inconsequential and tiny that it could be written on the back of a revenue stamp. Keeping this jest in mind, when Pritam penned her autobiography, she gave it the title Raseedi Ticket, or The Revenue Stamp. As it turned out, this inconsequential and tiny memoir would go on to become one of the most translated books of Punjabi Literature.
In this book are her friendships and
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She had an admirable influence on Punjabi literature and is known as the most important voice for women in Punjabi literature. In 1956, she became the first woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for her long poem, Sunehe (Messages). Later, she would become a recipient of the Bhartiya Jnanpith for Kagaz Te Canvas (The Paper and the Canvas), the Padma Shri, the Padma Vibhushan, and India’s highest literary award, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship given to the “immortals of literature” for lifetime achievements in the field of literature. She would also go on to receive the International Vaptsarov Award from Bulgaria and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officier) from France. She was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha (1986–92) and she received honorary degrees from many universities including Delhi University, Jabalpur University, and Vishwa
Vast majority of Indian reservations are suffering from chronic poverty. According to American Indian Relief Council, the reservations have been cited as, “Comparable to Third World”, in terms of living conditions. In the novel written by Sherman Alexie, entitled, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, the main character, a fourteen year old, Native American teenager, which belongs to the Spokane tribe named Junior; stated that, “Poverty does not give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.” This indicates that poverty can turn an individual to become a pessimist. On the contrary, poverty is not a destiny. Instead, it is a source of power, an encouragement that through hard work, patience and dedication, a person can succeed in every aspect of life.
Defense of the American colonies in the French and Indian War in the years 1754 -1763 and Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763-64 were unbearable to Great Britain. As a means of financing the activities, Prime Minister George Grenville hoped to recover some of these costs by taxing the colonists. The move came known as the Stamp Act of 1965 to be active from November 1956 though passed and enacted on 1964. The act came in place 11 years before America’s independence something that triggered American revolutionary action to oppose tax without representation. The act was passed by Britain parliament and it was to affect all Britain colonies. The essay will give insight of the degree of oppression of the Act to colonies, the radical responses, and American Revolutionary acts that are implicit against the Stamp Act.
Have you ever wanted something really badly, but couldn’t afford it? This is a common occurrence, but what about food? Have you ever went to be hungry because you couldn’t afford to eat? Unfortunately, Junior, the main character in the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, felt exactly this way for food. Even though Junior didn’t have as many resources as the other “white kids,” he still chose to look at the positives. This novel shows that even in times of great hardship, people can still choose to have hope and look at the good in their lives.
The Stamp Act was an act that was passed by the British Parliament that was to go into effect on November 1st, 1765. This act was created to help pay the costs to govern and protect the American colonies. The Stamp Act required stamps to be placed on all legal and commercial documents and various articles. Many colonists did not want the act to be implemented. For that reason, Samuel Adams put together the Sons of Liberty to help abolish this law. Then the Stamp Act Congress was composed to completely repeal the act. The Stamp Act was one of the many taxes that the British Parliament put on the colonies as a source of wealth. This act made it necessary for colonists to put stamps on almost all written documents and other various articles.
Adolescents experience a developmental journey as they transition from child to adult, and in doing so are faced with many developmental milestones. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes are occurring during this tumultuous stage of life, and making sense of one’s self and identity becomes a priority. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian addresses the challenges of adolescence in an engaging tale, but deals with minority communities and cultures as well.
“Awake! Save your liberty!” exclaimed B.W. (Copeland 196). While some people were horrified with the Stamp Act, others were completely accepting of this new act. Janis Herbert stated that after the French and Indian War, England had many debts, which obviously needed to be paid (3). England’s Parliament decided the American colonists needed to pay their debts for them. England went about this matter by raising taxes and requiring a stamp for 50 different documents (Gale Encyclopedia ¶ 2). Since America was not yet a country, and had no representation, they were stuck with whatever law Parliament passed. Why weren’t the thirteen colonies willing to abide by England’s laws? Even though England was trying to pay off their debts from the French & Indian War, they went about it the wrong way, because they expected the American colonists to pay by increased tax dollars. This is an example of taxation without representation, because the American colonists didn't have representatives, or the opportunity to vote.
In the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions of 1765 the Virginia colonists state their grievances against the newly charged Stamp Act issued by Parliament. Patrick Henry creates a set of resolves against the Stamp Act to deem it formally unconstitutional in the colonist’s eyes. Henrys resolves address the issue of Parliament unjustly taxing the colonists. The five resolves state that the colonists should be treated as fellow Britons in the mother country and they should have the same “liberties, privileges, and immunities.” They are Englishmen and should be treated as such. The Virginia Resolutions to the Stamp Act were crucial in the development of the idea of independence for the American Colonists because it created the principle of no taxation without representation and the understanding that Parliament was running unconstitutionally.
New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print. The. Singh, Jaswant. Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence.
Believed to have written many of her novels in a single sitting, Aphra Behn has made history in the English language for being the first female English writer. Aphra Behn was a spy for Charles II in the Second Dutch War, followed by a life in a debtor’s prison when she returned to England, due to Charles failing to pay her properly. In prison is where she wrote books that sold well. Although this story, Oroonoko: Or, The Royal Slave, was not entirely successful in her lifetime, she was able to support herself when Charles II did not pay her for her time serving him. Oroonoko is a story about a hero, an African man, who is enslaved in Surinam.
One evening in India, a colonial official and his wife decided to have a dinner party with some friends. So, they invited Mrs. Wynnes, officers, government attaches, and an American naturalist. Conversation sprung about how males and females would handle a moment of crisis. A young girl seated at the table claimed that women are now over the stage of screaming over things, such as rodents. However, a colonel stated no, their reaction in a crisis is indeed to scream and that men have more control in situations like these. Meanwhile, while an argument arose over how men and women react in the state of a crisis, a hostess noticed they weren’t in the room alone. There was indeed a cobra in there with them. The hostess summoned a native boy standing
scandals, several major political corruption. "HISTORY OF INDIA." A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety ::Indianchild.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. .
She is not just an activist, but a performer, a Bharatnaytam Dancer; she has walked the ramp and written her autobiography (Me Hijra, Me Laxmi) in Marathi which has been later translated into Gujarati and English. She writes the disturbing truth about her not so happy childhood in her book followed by her journey to leave her parents house to reform society. She discusses the grief of being unloved, unaccepted by their own families, and society. She feels that it is her responsibility to fight for the equality, dignity, and inclusion of her community into mainstream
Ramamoorthy, P. “My Life is My Own: A Study of Shashi Deshpande’s Women” Feminism and Recent Fiction in English Ed. Sushila Singh. New Delhi: Prestige, 1991.
“Her first full-length play, Gandhi Marg, won 2nd place in Writers Digest’s 75th Annual Stage Play Competition and was a finalist for Chicago Dramatist’s Many Voices Project” (South Asian Playwrights). She has won more than eight awards for her plays and is a part of 5 membership boards and councils. She has only written 6 plays, but also directed and participated in some films. She was an actress in “Promise Land,” which was a large film in Hollywood (IMDb). Three of her plays deal with a South Asian Woman being the lead character and having strong roles. This is similar to the belief she holds herself, that a woman should be independent and capable of standing up for themselves. While in her final years of work in Chicago, she was founding executive director of Rasaka and co-producer of Jeff-winning The Masrayana. Just like other playwrights, she uses her complete background and beliefs to shape her plays. Her plays hold strong views and messages, which can be seen by the awards she has received for those
He was the only person to have written the national anthems of two countries. Two famous songs composed by him Amar Sonar Bangla and Jana Gana Mana became national anthem of Bengladesh and India respectively after their independence. Aside from this, the greatest legacy of the poet to his country is the world renowned institution known as ‘Vishwa-Bharti University’.