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Anita Desai, a luminary of Indian English Literature, is regarded as one of the most influential novelists of modern times. Her literary oeuvre, spanning several decades attests to her masterful ability to delve into the complexities of the human psyche. She is also renowned for skillfully creating engaging and intricate narratives. She has carved a niche for herself with her earnest exploration of human emotions, relationships and circumstances through her celebrated novels. Her contribution to the world of Indian English Literature is truly significant.

With her very first novel, her characters have resonated with the readers. Her novels are a rich tapestry of Indian culture, vivid landscapes, and deeply emotional and relatable characters. Her works are rich in characters with psychological turmoil and existential predicaments. Feminists and post-colonialists have especially been interested in the issue of feminine sensibility, and post-colonial subjectivity in her works. To say that Desai’s work is limited to feminism, alienation and post-colonialism would be to ignore the fact that she deals with the complexity of human existence in general.

From the enthusiastic but disillusioned teacher Deven of In Custody, the conflicted psyche of Maya in Cry, the Peacock, or strong women manoeuvring the social fabric in Fasting, Feasting, Desai deals with universal themes and dilemmas. Desai’s exploration of the issues of love, loss, home, alienation, homeland and marital discord, have captivated the readers for a long time.

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As we reflect on Anita Desai's illustrious career and her contributions to literature, it is evident that her novels continue to hold relevance and resonance in today's world. I am delighted to present this special issue of Muse India on The Writings of Anita Desai. This issue brings together papers authored by a diverse community of researchers, teachers, and students from across the country. All the papers present a wide range of critical readings, theoretical and practical issues, and novel research findings. Together they celebrate the diversity of Desai's work.

Adrija Basu’s Family Voices - A Critical Reading of the Female Characters of Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting offers an insightful exploration of Desai’s Fasting and Feasting. The author illustrates how women are oppressed and forced to conform in the novel, as well as the terrible outcomes that follow — such as being denied an education, having a terrible marriage, having a difficult pregnancy, being unhappy with one's body, and even dying. Additionally, the author demonstrates existential predicaments among the female characters in the novel. Avani K’s Identity, Isolation and Inner Struggle of Indian Women in Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting also explores female identity, isolation, inner turmoil, and suffering in the novel.

Bedika Rai in her paper Identity and Isolation - An Exploration of Anita Desai’s In Custody aims to “explore the characters of Deven and Nur, their bond and their existential crisis expressed throughout the novel. It also aims to understand the theme of isolation in relation to the identity-making process”. Additionally, the paper offers a “detailed study of interpersonal ambience for the recognition of ‘I’ for Deven specifically”. Jaydeep Sarangi’s Trendsetting in Style and Language - A Study of Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day and Fasting, Feasting is an insightful perspective on the language of Anita Desai. Sarangi notes that “The more heterogeneous a society is, the more heterogeneous is its language. Clear Light of Day reflects the heterogeneity of Indian society. The paper looks at the use of “hybrid nature of Indian English” by Desai.

Kumarika Roy’s Politics o f Representation - Complexities of Postcolonial Identity and Linguistic Power Dynamics in Anita Desai’s Translator Translated explores the “interplay of postcolonial identity, linguistic power dynamics and the politics of representation in Anita Desai’s novella”. She looks at the issue of postcolonial subjects through the concept of hybridity and third space. Mansi Plaha’s Disguise of the Domestic - Anita Desai’s Cry, The Peacock from a Gothic Lens tries to situate the novel under the genre of Gothic Literature. She opines that Desai’s “contribution to Indian Gothic fiction continues to remain unacknowledged. Desai’s exceptional writing style and precise contextualisation of the Gothic form are crucial to understanding the Indian Gothic structure”.

Sapna Dogra’s Contrasting Realities and The Struggle for Survival - Hari's Experience in Bombay City in Anita Desai's Village by the Sea studies Desai’s nuanced critique of commercialism and its impact on traditional rural communities. Shamayita Sen’s Autism and Caregiving in Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day examines the issue of disablism. Sen argues that “Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day may be read as a depiction of the social Othering of an ageing Autistic Baba through his relationships with siblings.” She further opines that “Desai argues that in the absence of government support and lack of resources, continuous caregiving becomes a burden borne only by the women of the household.” Shatabdi Mondal’s Existential Reading of Anita Desai’s Clear Light of the Day offers a perceptive overview of the influence of existentialism on Desai. Shatabdi says “Even though almost all of her work contains vivid and unforgettable illustrations of women, caught in the mire of existential crisis, she refuses to be segregated as a feminist. It is also an undeniable fact that the term ‘feminist’ would be a little limiting for a humanitarian writer of her status.”

Sudeshna Majumdar’s The Village by the Sea - A Search for Identity Through Adaptation looks at the novel as a bildungsroman. It is through the trope of ‘change’ and ‘adaptation’ that Sudeshna reflects on Hari’s identity. In Suparna Roy’s Body and the ‘Othered’ I - Isolating the Gender in Anita Desai’s Writings the author says “The subject position given to characters in Desai’s works often reciprocates the cultural violence that the othered ‘I’ suffer. The mnemonic acceptance of the social mandates of gender constructions and validations results in the creation of entities whose scuffles are isolated and hardly retracted.”

On behalf of Muse India , I would like to express my gratitude to the contributors whose expertise and commitment have brought this Feature to fruition. By bringing together various perspectives and experiences, I trust that their efforts in writing these papers have furthered a dialogue that will continue to make Desai relevant to present times. I express my gratitude to GSP Rao for his guidance and for trusting me with this Feature. I dedicate this Feature to my teacher Prof. GJV Prasad, retired Professor, at the School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and former Contributing Editor, Indian Writing in English for Muse India. I learnt from him that poetry is not to be ‘paraphrased’ but ‘felt’ and that literary criticism can actually be enthralling and deeply engaging.

My best wishes to all of you.