Study the Abha Dawesar’s Novels: Social Values, Sexuality and Interpersonal Relationship

In modern era, we experience changes faster with time and space. Today‘s information technology and digital space are continuously shaping and modifying the mindset of individual, family and society. In fact, the alteration has given the practical narrative for each and every individual, family, and community in India and abroad that presented in the writings‘ of Abha Dawesar. While we believe that, India is a multicultural, multilingual and conservative society; forgetting the changing aspects of it. However, society as a whole experience the existence of wearing a way of value, culture, custom and tradition. In addition to social values in everyday life has a tremendous impact on the individual per se. The social values are mostly reflected in the optic of positive, negative, success, active, fatalist and motivated paradigms. Despite the challenges and difficulties thrown into and a gamut of hurdles come before individual; it is the values systems that aspire to strengthen and motivate to live. Most of us are familiar with novel values such as family love, friendly love, wife-husband love, boy-girl love, concern for each other, feeling for sorry and joy, having equal opportunity, freedom to express to others, having peace of mind to work, eat and sleep, always truthful to others, having respect and honesty for others and loyalty as virtue. In spite of abovementioned qualities, it is the upbringing of children and offspring‘s that determine. Since modern western influence, the social value system in India is deteriorating abruptly in terms of sexuality, interpersonal relationship and social values. Even though, each narrative provides sketch moral behind it. Each moral somehow includes some sorts of ethical storyline to compensate daily life relating the human and animal problems. Although the literature reflects the lives of an individual in society by constructing the different norms and values to have good character as being a good human being, it is the possibilities to strengthen the life of an individual. Her writings are very inspiring and catchy. She has won the audience in literature in India and abroad. Her writings spread out in the themes of sexuality and interpersonal relationships. For her good work, she was awarded many awards. Presently, she lives in New York City. She has been working on photography, visual and video art where she challenges the social and speaks up about topics like digital technology and its special effects on social behaviour and experience that has an everyday impact on individual, family and society at large. She is a person of existentialist who believes in existentialism rather in the phenomenological world. Every individual hope for the best life and desire in order to move on their obstructed ladder

of the individual, family, group, community and society to reflect and work on them to solve the issues. Life is not easy; there would be lots of hardship and trials popping up often and again. Even, we cannot deny the fact of social issues and problem that every individual face an everyday basis. So, there come the issues of sexuality, interpersonal relationship and values. Social problems are unending that caused through social engineering by having social and cultural gaps, unemployment in the job fields, not educating offspring and letting them be uneducated, not getting proper awareness about health at larger spectrum. We tend to have less tolerance towards our neighbours, friends, and others forgetting their goodness and happiness. Society as a whole we are failing to incorporate others. Therefore, understanding of value has weakened. In order to imbibe the value system, one needs to reflect, meditate and learn things slowly and gradually observing the action of others. The source of this value also reflects in the writings of Abha Dawesar where she exhibits her to teach to the society about social values. It is also believed that most of the values systems are a reflection of literature in everyday life. The literature provides a platform to learn and unlearn things and have a claim and reclaim over emotion, beliefs, and sentiments. Hence, literature is known for its self- expression in the optic of advertisement, social media, digital platform, family and society. However, literature is a source of excitement and enthusiasm over different parable, folklore, short story, tales, and other kinds of romantic, fictional and erotic writings. Ever since the orientation of social values exist the human endeavour will be good. It is the position of an individual who decides what and what to follow according to the taste of an individual. So, here the proposed research is going to attempt and critically put forth the thoughts about social values, sexuality, and interpersonal relationship through the optic of fictions. The fictions are heavily borrowed from Abha Dawesar writings and the thesis is critically studying his writing following the changing trends of value system through the fictional narrative of four books. Despite, the description arrive from her in the storm of social value, family themes which are a reflection of sexual relationship in marital life, strengthening faithfulness between husband and wife, father and son, parental love within the family, love affairs with married partners. Having provided the conceptual and theoretical understanding of the themes, the proposed research is part of the critical and best narrative to see everyday life through the writings of Abha. The prominent writing for this research project originates from Dawesar‘s which views on two society; the Indian and American. When we look at these two societies, both are totally different in their values, sexuality, and interpersonal relationship?

Despite many writings on social values, sexuality and interpersonal relationship many writers have alienated some crucial point to add on how long-lasting family life would be cherished in spite of gamut of hurdles. Although there are several researchers, academician and scholars wanted to give away the better idea of life to the society but what really happens in life is not static but dynamic in its nature. Every individual experience their life different and unique way, everyone has their taste on culture, tradition, religion and faith are different. While comes to interpersonal relationship and sexuality they do accept the fact of the social and cultural construction of social values, leaving the very notion of other or foreign influence. In order to substantiate the background and alleviate argument to this study; there is numerous literature which talked about in their own way. However, the study is heavily borrowing most of the ideas from Abha‘s writings. A play titled ‗Ghosts‘ which opens up a discussion about social issues that prevailed in every society. The play holds back the original content to illustrate the narrative of different flavour of ideas, good and bad, different belief systems that are scattered in society to believe in. Despite the ups and downs, the role of the play continues to strengthen the social values and narrative of it (Ibsen, 1881). In another study of Lawrence (1915), who discussed in his novel from the everyday perspective about the living relationship of men and women concentrating the themes around sexuality. As per his writing, every human nature is a hunger for physical needs; we do desire to have a sexual relationship. So, he critically brought out the discourse of relationship between a man and woman in their marital and sexual experiences. In his novel ‗rainbow‘ symbolizes many things; say for example it is the sign of the possibility of reconciliation, a sign of self-confident, sign of a human community that existed for long. It reminds everyone to have good social values despite new emerging values in coming days. The writings strengthen everybody to allow and follow the bits and piece of joy and sorrow and reunite. In order to provide a concrete example, the author drew a narrative of three generations of the Brangwen family. They lived in a small town called Nottinghamshire which is known for sexual activities and relationship as per novel indication. The novel totally captures the character of the people involved in sexual activities. But he fails to recognize the nuances that are going on at the localities; the interpretation of the situation is totally denied the with physical involvement was at the larger context. It was the human desire, and wants despite being there are separate; they come together to have a love and sex as human physical needs. In a play titled as ‗Women in love‘ where D. H. Lawrence (1920) writes a complex statement about the philosophy of sex. He presented two love stories of two sisters through the dramatic and conceptual frame. The characters played were Ursula Brangwen and Gudrun who were of good educated and intelligent, but society sees the downfall contrasted nature of them. The contrasted conversation happening about them in marriage is reflected in the novel which reveals the best-suited romance of the day. Even, the theme ‗women in love‘ clearly portrayed the contemporary trendy of life in our age about the relationship we live. Although this kind of love and relationship existed before as well the recognition was absent; today we can observe things through the optic of real scenario that every individual has their own wish and fancy about love, relationship and sex. Every society is slowly and gradually accepting and respecting the life of the very nature homosexual trends. The novel is cosy way interpreted the relationship about homosexual in the optic of just in the frame of sex, love and romance forgetting the long-run relationship that endures them to live, share, and be honest to each other as a life partner. In another book named as ‗Norms, Values and Society‘ where Herlinde Pauer-Studer (1994) discusses the conceptual frame such as justice, norms, values and society. These concepts are implying to moral and immoral acts of the life in which a definite reaction flows to bind the adequate and inadequate compliments, having both just and unjust things. The punish and reward are the social and cultural constructed norms and values which determine the reaction to happen in the society in terms of moral and immoral aspects. These particular feelings mostly correlate with emotions, gratitude and indignation. However, sometimes this also explains why an inadequate emotional reacted to a moral fact which we so-called it as unjust. Never mind, life is always the paradigm of both just and unjust. The novel ‗Cat on a Hot-Tin Roof‘ is a contribution of Tennessee Williams (1955) who explains hysterical discontented women who are left prostrated in front of brickman. Although, the woman‘s desire was to have some sexual favour from him the man never recognized her will. So, the woman had the bitter and half worried about her body thinking why the man is not willing to involve in the act. Ultimately, the woman was so horny to have sexual favour but in a home as well the husband was not capable of satisfying her desire of physical need, so later the woman involve her in homosexual activities. Here, the author interprets and provides the situation of her as the sexual relation like a cat on a hot-tin roof. But she was a woman of barrenness which adds her life more vulnerable and marginalized in society. Mahesh (1990) exemplified a play named as ‗Tara‘ which is his third dramatic work. The play addresses the question of gender in numerous ways making in a complex narrative of human relationships. He also discusses the modern lifestyle and their coming predicaments, all the same not necessarily though banal categorizes of ‗prejudice in contradiction of the girl child‘ which normalized mostly in India. The play also deals with homosexual; men persistently withheld their career in the field of dance, music and art form. Further, it explains as well the unavoidable circumstances that revolve around pain and suffering of conjoined twins and man and woman relationship. This very notion of suffering led them to social and psychological issues in society; it is not that very easy for an individual or group to come out from social and cultural stigma. A study of Dennis Chong (2000) explains the conflicting situation of two groups where the matter is unsolved based on norms and values. As per the play, society is governed by the principle of the economic and rational choice model. Despite the unwanted occurrences, political activism is readily and easily connected to motivated challenges that are expressive desires, symbolic goals and long-term values for them rather than just an emotional and sentimental politics. They have the correct instrumental calculations what they have to do in the long run following the values and norms of society and politics. So, they believe economic models or rational choice models are the best-suited options to study the conflicting situation in the political arena. This provides better material interests to sustain the politics in society rather than just telling the differences over a way of life. Seven Ove Hansson (2001) wrote a book called ‗The Structure of Values and Norms‘ where he clearly explains the development of a unified formal representation of values and norms. The system of values and norms often and again reflects in society as static and dynamic properties. These very particular features explained for two reasons; firstly, it formalized to treat and contribute clarification for certain issues in the basic philosophical theory of values and norms. Although the relationship between them is part and whole that are connecting with the norms an values in the structure of normative codes or themes; the second is a formal representation of values and norms that are employed in several academic disciplines and specialties such as notably economics, jurisprudence, decision theory, and social choice theory. Even, some of the foundational issues are correlated to subjects with philosophical centric.

values which would be of consideration from the moral ground perspective. However, all moral ground perspective in the forms of values does not meet the service for entry into ethical desires. Hence, many of the morally deserved happiness of someone clearly replicate the generosity over the year to come through the friendship bond that attire in the form of gratitude and moral values. Although the recognition of those values and gratitude are fewer values when there are there when they are absent those values and moral gives the realization of the person concerned. Despite many would say that it was the cunning things to observe and reflect but the nuances that intertwined with them are very impactful because of social practices, expression of personal ideals, and their behaviour and so on. Even the citizenship, enforcement of laws and behaviour comes through the consultation of the rule of the thumb. However, those facts, values and norms never seem to encounter with the normative position of the society as it supposed to be. In writing of Robert Kane (2010)‗Ethics and the Quest for Wisdom,‘ that deals with the ethical search for the goodness and better life. This writings of him clearly mention the fact and value both theoretical and empirical inquiry to connect the society by having some ethical consideration and the critical quest for the wisdom. The author, however, tries his best to link the politics in society to evaluate the ethics and wisdom that are generated through the culture of pluralism in modern society. Although, some ignore and abandon the face value of modernity and cultural pluralism in the society not recognizing the changing trends of ethics and quest of wisdom. For him, cultural pluralism and modernity are the best face values to strengthen society by reconceiving it. Therefore, Itamar Even-Zohar and Tel Avin (2011) both of them discuss the ‗culture contact and making of culture‘ to bring out the notion of modernity and local culture those are integrating, assimilating and absorbing between them as the esteem of cultural production. The culture-making is the strength of the fundamental process to form a new culture called cultural reproduction and modern culture. They maintain and form new hope for society to acculturate. These forming and reproducing of culture brings contradiction output in the society which gives two narratives; firstly, the ‗making of culture‘ as the indicator to investigate and invest in the creation of discrete social entities, secondly, it marked the cultural boundaries as ‗cultural contacts‘ to evaluate the search of fluidity in the frame of entities. These both narratives also provide an understanding of different constant transfer of culture and exchange of contact as complex between them. theories of social policy. In contemporary times, social policy is requiring to include many aspects of human rights, gender, and dignity. The book catches holds the themes in the understanding of broad subject areas that encompass with social relations, political governance, cultural identities and popular discourse. In short, it is the alternative disciplines to question the ethical and social problems in the moral ground (Tony Fitzpatrick, 2008). In another writing of Gordon Graham (2011) explains the narrative of ethics by considering two-component of life; they are good and bad or right and wrong. Graham would ask the question, is really the concept of moral and right could be distinguished from wrong and bad. In spite of different narration of morality, never know what exactly the moral conduct of human life. We always put an end to tell that morality is ultimate to science and beyond which nothing exists because they deal with facts. But they are the matter of things that could be interpreted as personal and bias opinion. As per the philosophy, it is said what an individual think, say, and speak is highly motivated by some occurrences, experiences in the paradigm of politics, culture, social, religious and economic entity. Therefore, many would opinion those ethics as moral philosophy that reveals for intellectual inquiry and it said to be originated and debated through the truth and falsehood in society. A book ‗culture, development and social theory towards an integrated social development‘ is a good design thought about social, economic and environmental concern in our time (John Clammer, 2012). He describes the positive narrative about thoughts that bind together in the development of an imaginative, existential, and philosophical anthropology. Furthermore, he also introduces the new way of conceptualizing culture through linking the development studies in the frame of a social movement, religion and nation buildings. For him, development is always concentrated on the nation-state.

The customs, traditions and culture are always reproduced often and again as a society evolve. Therefore, it requires a proper understanding of the social values through social and cultural context narrating the values system through the theory of socialization. Even, it strengthens to build up an argument to look forward to new changing facets of social values in the modern era. Further, these facets unfold the prominent figure in contemporary literature Abha Dawesar. Although the literature reflects the lives of an individual in society by constructing the different norms and values to have good character as being a good human being, it is

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Research Scholar, Department of English, Kalinga University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh