TEACHING ECOLITERATURE: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALS

(Abstract of the paper)

Dr. M. L. Jadhav Associate Professor Department of English Shivaji University Kolhapur 416 004 8th April 2010 Literature is an expression of social psyche. It mirrors various phenomena. The major preoccupation of literature in general and the scientific studies in particular had been the materialist development and the related fields to place man in comfort and in the lap of luxury at the cost of his environment. Creative writers wrote about all kinds of human relationships. Human sphere as it appears in literature is so comprehensive that it has covered all the genres including science fiction, exploration of space and everything that is related to the benefit of man. It has seldom cared for the environment and tried to create texts that would enhance environmental awareness and inspire the youth to take every possible effort to preserve this planet from the ecological crisis it is likely to face in near future. Literary creativity laid emphasis on the aesthetics of a higher taste, and the elitist sensibility. It concentrated on the temporal and on only those aspects that would facilitate the speed of material development and never cared for the other aspects i. e. the spiritual and the cultural dimensions that cannot be separated from the predicament of humanity and the fate of this planet. The scientists and the creative writers engaged their talents to please the worldly affiliations at the centre of which lay all that was inspired by an immediate profit and a temporal joy. They never cared for the place upon which they stay, survive and sustain. What they treated important for all the time was the sensual, the carnal and the romantic to promote emotional and physical indulgence pressing man to the frontiers from where no safe return is possible. The present paper seeks to explore the possibility and conditions under which ecoliterature could be explored from Indian writing in English and also from various regional languages and pressed into the agenda of the major educational institutions so as to enhance the environmental awareness, justice and ecoliterary scholarship in the country. Literature is a major tool of education, edification, cultural refinement, and one of the most powerful medium through which value education could be imparted to the masses and the younger generation. It can inculcate faith in the quality of life and the importance of devotion, love, self-respect and respect to the other world that comprises all the entities, living and non-living, the nature and its beauty, bounty and magnanimity. Indian youth occupies two third of the demography of our country. It can, if canalised properly change the future of this country and keep it always in a privileged position in the hierarchy of the so-called powerful nations in the world. India being a country having biodiversity and the riches of natural resources needs to have a policy of sustainable development. This policy should lay emphasis not only on the exploration and the management of the natural resources but also should take care of its aftermath particularly in terms of its consequences on demography, biodiversity and human ecology. The major challenge before our creative imagination today is to create a space and place for the growth and palpitation of environmental ethics. What we need today is a synthesis between the two ethics i. e. the anthropocentric and the ecocentric. I believe that inclusion of ecoliterature i. e. Nature writing, ecopoetry, ecofiction ecodrama, ecoliterature for children in the syllabi of schools, colleges and the major institutes of higher learning would help change the homocentric attitude to Nature and contribute to the kind of development that would sustain our culture and the longevity of our planet earth.

TEACHING ECOLITERATURE: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALS

Dr. M. L. Jadhav Associate Professor Department of English Shivaji University Kolhapur 416 004 8th April 2010

With the growing consciousness about environmental issues it is quite natural that the intellectuals all over the world are expressing their ecological concerns through various media such as films, documentaries, television serials, seminars, conferences, and workshops. Enviro-clubs at school, college and university level are coming up with the incentives given by the central and the state governments. NGOs and similar organizations at the behest of local governing councils like grampanchayats and municipal corporations are holding and assisting social awareness campaigns in order to create awareness about our responsibilities to our planet earth. The present paper seeks to explore the possibility and conditions under which ecoliterature could be explored from Indian Writing in English and also from various regional languages and pressed into the agenda of the major educational institutions so as to enhance the environmental awareness, justice and ecoliterary scholarship in the country. Literature is a major tool of education, edification, cultural refinement, and the most powerful medium through which value education could be imparted to the masses and the younger generation. It can inculcate faith in the quality of life and the importance of devotion, love, self-respect and respect to the other world that comprises all the entities, living and non-living, the nature and its beauty, bounty and magnanimity. Environmental degradation is one of the most burning issues today. It is treated as a top priority on the agenda of both the developed and the developing countries in the world. Scientists and technologists are trying to fight it on

different frontiers such as the invention of alternative and non-conventional energy resources, minimum consumption and optimum production, generation of energy and maximum utilization. Along with the power sector the field of management and mobilization of human resource are being given special emphasis. The focus is being laid on the minimisation of the environmental hazards in the aftermath of the consumption of natural resources. Technocrats are busy in developing models that would suit the power crisis and strike a balance between the demand and the supply of power for industry and domestic sectors. The growing demands have their adverse consequences on not only the power sector but also on human demography, social and human ecology. Degradation of environment has pushed the world on the edge of its apocalypse. The drastic climatic changes such as intolerable warming, sweeping waves of Tsunami, turbulent quakes and cyclones are hitting at various continents killing and damaging innumerable life and property. Man's urge to explore and exploit has resulted in an imbalance between the creative and the destructive forces of nature. It has resulted in the destruction of the ozone layer and consequently global warming. Deforestation accelerated the depletion of oxygen, ground water level and most importantly the extinction of the flora and the fauna as well. It is reported that seventy-four species of animals are affected to be extinguished everyday. In short we are responsible for the environmental crisis and should come forward to restore, reform and retrieve our ecosystem. As people of literature and teaching community it is high time for us to contribute our share towards building up this planet and take every possible effort to restore the losses we have suffered from and also devise the ways and strategies to overcome the dilemma i.e. the balance between development and sustainability of natural resources. The paper seeks to explore as to how and in what way English literary studies can help solve the environmental problems.

Nature and culture do not exclude each other but are entangled with each other in multiple ways. (Glotfelty: 1996: XXI) and Literature as we know all does not exist in a vacuum. Every creative action is decided by the kind of environment in which it takes place. Environment and creative impulse are inevitably linked with each other. Man, whose being is forged out of the five elements is a microcosm of the outer reality which consist everything that exists in the form of material. So far as the faculty of thought, imagination and action is concerned, man is bestowed upon by nature with extraordinary ability to create good things but it is very unfortunate to realise that he is engaged in jeopardising nature and disturbing the harmony of the various interdependent ecosystems. Indian literary heritage has got a very rich tradition which is found to be deeply rooted in the ancient past of the country. The four Vedas i. e. Rigveda, Yujurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda talk of yoking together the spirit of man and the spirit of Nature. Indian literature is the purest voice of her history and heritage in which there is a unique blend of the culture of nature and the culture of man. In the present situation there is an immediate need to check the growth mania leading to intensive indulgence of man into the affairs of nature resulting in depletion of natural resources and this has landed us on the brink of apocalypse. Nature as it is stated above is a part and parcel of our literary landscape. Naturally then it is not possible for us to teach and study literature without references to the natural conditions of the world and the basic ecologicl principles that underlie all life.(Love: 2203:16) Cheryll Glotfelty in The Ecocriticism Reader : Landmarks in Literary Ecology has expressed her concern upon the present state of affairs and called upon the intellectuals of the world to

organise themselves under the aegis of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) which came to be established in 1992, in the University of Nevada, Reno, the US. The greening of science and

humanities has been focussed to a greater extent. Major business houses in the production of power, medicine, automobiles, consumer goods and appliances for industrial and domestic use, are following ecofriendly techniques in order to minimise the risks of environmental hazards. Literature too had been green enough earlier even before the 1970s but its focus was on extraction of joy and the enrichment of the aesthetic sensibility of the elite community. The creative genius of the poets could hardly engage their readers to transcend the romantic level and make them realise the pathos, the gesture of sacrificial value in nature and the bounty of it. Ecocritical approach to the study of Literature underlies the significance of ecological concerns reflected in it. It craves to re-establish, redefine and rediscover the ties between man and nature. It also aspires to explore the impact and the relationship between literature and physical environment. Literature is primarily a human affair, whereas ecology is the affair of nature. Nature and man are intimately related to each other. We cannot conceive the being of one in the absence of the other because this other consists of not only the outer reality but also signifies the intuition and inspiration of the person reflected through his writings. The teaching of literature in our classrooms, its materials, methods and principles need to be oriented from global perspective. The mere pen portraits of wilderness in nature writing are not sufficient. It is expected that their teaching should generate love and sympathy, honour and respect for the surrounding and more importantly pave way for the growth of environmental ethics. Seminal texts on environmental ethics, justice and awareness of

ecological issues etc. need to be written and prescribed in the syllabi of schools, colleges and universities. Thought provoking books on nature writing like A Sand Country Almanac by Aldo Leopold and Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey delineate the heartening reality of the depletion of natural resources and its impact on world economy. They describe it as ecological credit crunch and hold us responsible for the same. Also Leopold is considered to be the father of environmental ethics and is known for his practical approach and experiments in farming. He has elaborated the idea of community comprehensively and brought out the significance of the role of non human world in the constitution of this planet and its sustainability. By community he means not only the human beings but the whole plethora including the land, waters, trees, plants, birds and animals. He calls upon us to be the member of this family of nature and change our role from conqueror of the land to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow members and also respect for the community as such. (Leopold: 2001:171) What Aldo believes that man in his role of a conqueror has lost his battle against nature and now its time for him to either accept total defeat and surrender before it or to continue the battle to perish for ever. Texts like this are available in abundance. The only thing is that we should search and select them according to the respective age groups of the students and prescribe at various levels. Special emphasis also could be laid on field work and active involvement in training and experiments on the farms. Incentives could be granted to motivate the students for the same. Eco-poetry unifies our sentiments with the surrounding. It connects us with the sacred in the nature and purifies our baser self and elevates it to ecstatic joy. As Rakesh Saraswat points out, in one of his articles, titled Ecopoetry: A Unique Unification, says,

It can be best described as an intuitive attempt to harmonise oneself with the world, a talk with God, enacted through nature. . It is God who speaks to us through nature. (Arun & Saraswat, 2009, p. 88) The study of poetry from an ecocritical point of view may enhance the understanding of nature and its importance in our life. Poetry from British, American and Indian English literature could be taught and explored from this point of view. Poets like Emily Dickenson, Silvia Path, and Margaret Atwood and at home poets like Dilip Chitre, Gieve Patel, Kamala Das, Kamala Markandeyand Sarojini Naidu could be studied for their ecological and environmental insights. Apart from poetry in English the regional languages also could be included in this agenda and studied at various universities. This would be possible by undertaking translation projects on a larger scale. Studies like this will help building regional cooperation, understanding and identifying cultural values that might strengthen the regional and even communal harmony along with the growth of environmental consciousness. There are a good deal of poets in Marathi literature like Shirwadkar, Borkar, Tambe, Balkavi Thombare, and a great majority of women poets like Indira Sant, Kusumawati Deshpande and Bahinabai Chaudhari that could be translated into English and interterritorial languages and explored to a greater extent for creating respect for our mother earth and evolving a code of conduct based on environmental ethics. Poetry can undertake a crusade against the act of violence unleashed by man against nature and environment. The poets like Give Patel and Dilip Chitre through their poems like On Killing the Tree and The Felling of the Bunyan Tree respectively record their concerns over the violence against nature. As is the case of poetry, Indian English Fiction also bears a tremendous potential for greening our thoughts and creating environmental consciousness. The comment made by Seaman in this connection is noteworthy. He says,

Fiction a far more popular form (of writing) than nature writing may be the ideal conduit for introducing ecological thinking to the common reader. In my reading I have noticed an intriguing correlation between what non-fiction writers report from the field and how nature is depicted in contemporary novels and short stories. Many works of fiction either deliberately or intuitively explore our conflicted feelings about the wild in an age in which the profound consequences of our bourgeoning population and insatiable appetites are becoming visible to even the most reluctant eyes. (Seaman: 2009:01) Several novels in Indian English Fiction exemplify ecological wisdom. Regional novels written in English with bioregionalism and also those written in the respective regional languages are grounded not only in the culture of that particular region but also the land, the flora and the fauna of it. Every natural entity plays its own role at the backdrop of that narrative and makes it as a wonderful piece of literature with an environmental purpose. One of the most striking examples of such a narrative could be seen in Amitav Ghoshs The Hungry Tide. The novel is set in Sundarbans, a region known for its bioregional characteristics and biodiversity, its archipelago of islands that connect India and Bangla Desh The depiction of nature, the rivers and their tides making and unmaking the islands, the play between the preserving and the destructive forces of nature are brought out with an uncommon insight and humility. Ghoshs perceptions of the ecological concerns especially the threat caused to the species like the Tiger of Bengal and Irawaddy Dolphin render the novel as a critique on environmental crisis. The novel could be treated as a text with pedagogical value having potential of creating ecocritical scholarship. It fulfils the criteria in terms of its coherence and usefulness as a response to environmental ehtics. (Garrard: 2004:04)

Apart from Eco-poetry and Eco-fiction, Eco-drama is also full with potential to explore it from ecological perspective. A dramatist like Ravindranath Tagore undertakes to criticise mans attitude to nature and the violence done to it. In his paly Mukta-dhara Tagore brings out the conflict between the two attitudes i.e. the urgre for development and an extreme desire to preserve the natural wealth in Uttrakarut. Tagore dramatizes the relationship of the people of Shiv-tarai with their surrounding as a result of the threat posed because of the construction of a huge dam on the river, the purpose of which is equivocal for the prosperity of the local people. Thus the teaching of literature from this perspective will enhance a crusade against Ecoterrorism the world is vulnerable today. In conclusion it could be said that Indian youth occupies two third of the demography of our country. It can, if canalised properly, change the future of this country and keep it always in a privileged position in the hierarchy of the so-called powerful nations in the world. India being a country having biodiversity and the riches of natural resources needs to have a policy of sustainable development. This policy should lay emphasis not only on the exploration and the management of the natural resources but also should take care of its aftermath particularly in terms of its consequences on demography, biodiversity and human ecology. The major challenge before our creative imagination today is to create a space and place for the growth and palpitation of environmental ethics. What we need today is a synthesis between the two ethics i. e. the anthropocentric and the ecocentric. I believe that the inclusion of ecoliterature i. e. Nature writing, ecopoetry, ecofiction ecodrama, ecoliterature for children in the syllabi of schools, colleges and the major institutes of higher learning would help change the homocentric attitude to Nature and contribute to the kind of development that would sustain our culture and the longevity of our planet earth.

Notes and References:

1. Love, Glen A. Practical Ecocriticism: Literature, Biology and Environment. London: Virginia University Press, 2003. 2. Leopold Aldo. A Sand County Almanac: With Essay on Conservation. New York, Oxford University Press, 2001. 3. Glotfelty, Cheryll and Harold Fromm. Eds. The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Georgia. Georgia University Press, 1996. 4. Seaman, Donna. Ecofiction Storytelling,Social Change and Literacy. 08th Feb. 2009.http://wwwbioneers.com/ 5. Garrard, Greg. Ecocriticim. London: Routledge, 2004. 6. Arun Neerja and Saraswat. Ecology and Literature Global Perspective. New Delhi: Creative Books, 2009. 7. Sumathy U. Ecocriticism in Practice. New Delhi, Sarup Books Publishers PVT. LTD., 2009