Kāma's Flowers : Nature in Hindi Poetry and Criticism, 1885-1925

Kama's Flowers documents the transformation of Hindi poetry during the crucial period of 1885-1925. As Hindi was becoming a national language and Indian nationalism was emerging, Hindi authors articulated a North Indian version of modernity by reenvisioning nature. While their writing has previously been seen as an imitation of European Romanticism, Valerie Ritter shows its unique and particular function in North India. Description of the natural world recalled traditional poetics, particularly erotic and devotional poetics, but was now used to address sociopolitical concerns, as authors created literature to advocate for a "national character" and to address a growing audience of female readers. Examining Hindi classics, translations from English poetry, literary criticism, and little-known popular works, Ritter combines translations with fresh literary analysis to show the pivotal role of nature in how modernity was understood. Bringing a new body of literature to English-language readers, Kama's Flowers also reveals the origins of an influential visual culture that resonates today in Bollywood cinema. Kāma’s Flowers: Nature in Hindi Poetry and Criticism, 1885–1925......Page 1 Kāma’s Flowers: Nature in Hindi Poetry and Criticism, 1885–1925......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 20 Transliteration Conventions and Abbreviations......Page 22 Note on Translations......Page 24 Abbreviations......Page 26 Chapter 1: Terms of Engagement: A Guide to the Assumptions of Hindi Poetics......Page 28 Chapter 2: Critical Nature: Defining Hindi Poetic Modernity......Page 60 Chapter 3: Nature in Translation: Goldsmith and Pope in Hindi......Page 92 Chapter 4: Realizing Classical Poetics: Recasting Sanskritic Landscapes......Page 118 Chapter 5: Independent Subjects: Modern Modes of Nature as a Literary Subject......Page 144 Chapter 6: Embodying the World: A Macrocosm of Natural Objects......Page 170 Chapter 7: Women Problems: Poetics without Śṛṅgāra......Page 188 Chapter 8: A Critical Interlude: Rāmacandra Śukla and “Natural Scenes in Poetry” (1923)......Page 222 Chapter 9: The Prospect of Chāyāvād, 1920–25: Developing Perspectives on Natural Poetics......Page 246 Concluding Remarks......Page 270 Notes......Page 278 Select Bibliography......Page 324 Index......Page 336 Valerie Ritter. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.