Reflection of Balaji Sir's Lecture

Professor Balaji Ranganathan an extreme learned scholar and gifted by teaching skill.  He is from Central University of Gujarat. Our Professor  Dr.Dilip Barad has invited him in our Department of English MKBU. and it’s really very beneficial for us. Balaji Sir has deal with post colonial literature. In the very beginning of his session he informed that era of colonialism is dead and study of post colonial literature is also have more trouble some and It’s almost gone now. We are in an era of Globalization. World moves toward new inventions It means not only that he is negative toward this subject. He very interestingly teach us on the all points which is in our syllabus of post colonial studies paper. Broadness in his thinking give us new visions.

In these three days he gone through many topics like,
1) Frantz Fanon’s Black skin white mask
2) Edward Said’s Orientalism
3) Amie Cesaire’s A Tempest
4) Salman Rushdie’s Imaginary Homelands and several other essays…( Commonwealth Literature, On Palestine,  The New Empire within Britain an Unimportant fire home front)
Major ideas which I liked most from three days session.
Idea of State and Nation.
First he entered in subject with beautiful connection of State and Nation. State have  fixed  geography, always structured by governance, parliament or dictatorship. And nation us imagination Nation can not be fixed in reality. Visualization of nation changes time to time.
New Humanism
What is means human? Human is not who have only  thinking power reason is that Dolphin and chimpanzees also has a self consciousness. Human is who have material development, language and technology. And humanism is that larger inclusive philosophy; higher state of awareness and New Humanism is free from binary.
(in discussion of this point, I come to know about Balaji Sir’s deep  knowledge of Archelogy. And his interesting research on this)

Colonial Binary
What does a man want? What does the black man want?
This kind of question shows binary and Binary being an important part of colonialism and color or gender discrimination. Strong connection between the gender binary and colonialism. Historical sense of superiority it’s not racial biological sense like black and white same with Britishers, that is coloring their life and it’s create problem.


Middle class mentality
Middle class, not rich not poor. What they are doing?  Nothing much just struggling for existing and try to show everyone how good they are in their culture, in a way custodians of fake rules of society. They are living  in well and never has seen an ocean. Balaji sir has said that revolution will never emerged from middle class society. They are like Trishanku, in between, just hanging. They also don’t try to change their status and that’s why Balaji sir has said that, intellectual alienation is a creation of middle class society.

Desire  Conflict
Desires are the motives of life. Desire constructs life and our behave.  Desires are good and bad but without desire life is sunny desert. There is theory based on desire conflict.
(+ +) Approach Approach conflict
(+ -) Approach Avoidance conflict
(- -) Avoidance avoidance  conflict
1. Able to achieve desire
2. No possibility of resolution
2. Desire and reality never goes to meet.

These are the major points which I liked most throughout of his three days session. His idea on philosophy and spiritualty inspires me a lot. His style pf answering to student’s question reflects his knowledge on various topics. To make class interactive or live he also ask Interesting questions like,    How would you construct your presence,? What is your views on rebel and revolution? And idea of presence that  We  live in nostalgia of past because Past take place of your present anxiety.
So, that’s all brief about  Balaji Sir’s lecture….