Of Matters Modern: The Experience of Modernity in Colonial and Post-colonial South Asia

by Debraj Bhattacharya (Editor)

Of matters Modern analyses the experience of modernity in South Asia. Arguing that South Asia´s experience of modernity has to be understood in a global context, the book explores a wide range of topics: the emergence of ‘Assam Fever’ in colonial discourse; an experiment with fusion music in early colonial India; The emergence of detective fiction in colonial Punjab; the search for authenticity among nationalist and post-colonial thinkers; the critique of the Bhadralok by a Bhadralok writer; the experience of modernity in Kolkata during early twentieth century; the emergence of a cosmopolitan ‘underworld’ in Kolkata during the nineteenth century; the Italian connections of a Bengali poet, Michael Madhusudan Dutta; the ambivalence of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan; the construction of Gandhari in Amar Chitra Katha, a comic strip series for children

402 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2007

About the author

I am a Calcuttan, living in Bengaluru.

I grew up in a bilingual tradition of reading books in English and Bengali. By "English" I mean books written in English and also books translated into English.

I write both fiction and non-fiction.

Apart from three books I have also written reports, essays, op-eds and blog posts.

I am an alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata.

I work in development sector, specialising in research and evaluation on rural development issues.

I also enjoy photography.