Editorial

Veni, vidi, vici (I came ,I saw ,I conquered) is a Latin phrase popularly attributed to Julius Caesar who, according to Appian, used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate around 47 BC after he had achieved a quick victory in his short war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela ,so did assailed Corona the lives of all of us in the year 2020 and jeopardised our most of the plans and schedules. The lockdown period witnessed unprecedented era of fear and insecurity among all classes of society, and left all humanbeings not only shaken physically but also spiritually. The closures of markets, offices, schools and colleges ushered in a feeling of bizarre existence and sinking thoughts in the rank and file. We
painfully bore the trauma of losing jobs of many educated youths and the unceremonial return of thousands of labourers from the metro cities of the country to their home towns- a repetition of the dark saga of neglect and apathy after the Partition of the country. It left some of us face it with the deaths of our dear ones, some were fortunate who were caught up with Corona and survived but the fear still looms large in our minds and hearts and checks the spontaneous flow of our genial souls. Who could expect literary output in such a scary time? Corona overruled not only schedules of admissions and exams in academic institutions but delayed publications of books and journals. Owing to closures of academic institutions and press on one hand and the general feeling of depression among the academicians , Dialogue could not be published in the year 2020 and is coming out delayed as a joint issue of June and
December 2020.It is meant to be more an apology than anything.
Despite all odds, Corona has taught us how to survive our creative spirits.The papers in the
present Issue have variety of approaches to authors, widely different in themes and styles. Dialogue is indebted to Prof. Jasbir Jain for contributing a Guest article, ruminating on the positions of philosophers from Kierkegaard to Sartre on the dialectics of faith and non-faith. Nisha Indra Guru and Prof. Bhavatosh Indira Guru have presented a brilliant comparison of the Bhagvadgita and the poetry of Robert Browning. Dr. Aloka Patel has discussed African Caribbean poet, M. Nourbe Se Phillips' poem, exposing the colonial
exploitation. Dr Sumana Mehendele and Dr. Bal Krishna Anjana have presented an explication of Shashi Deshpande's short story, 'The Duel'. Dr Shubha Dwivedi has presented an analysis of the universality of Prof. Susheel Sharma's poetry- anthology 'Unwinding Self'. Jaya Chetnani and Dr. Roobal Verma have presented critically the feminine perspective of Zimbabwean writer Yvonne Vera's novel 'Butterfly Burning'. Meenakshi Srivastava and Dr Roobal Verma have critically examined Alice Munro's famous short story 'Free Radicals'. Ritu Saxena examines sibling rivalry in some of the select works of English
Literature. Pradeep Mondal has beautifully attempted to examine the cinematic adaptation of Joyce's famous novel, 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.' Besides these critical articles, there are very senior academicians like Prof. C. N. Ramachandran, Prof. Ragini Ramachandra and Prof. B.S. Naikar who have enriched the issue by writing reviews on some very important books. The reviews by Dr. Poorvi Panwar, Dr. Siddhartha Singh and Dr Sudhir K Arora have added new insights to the readings of books reviewed. Hope the readers will like them.
The issue is dedicated to Amitav Ghosh who received highest Indian Literary Award Jnan Pith for his literary achievements very recently. This is an honour to all Indian writers who have achieved international recognition by dint of their sheer merit, focusing on India and its concerns in global perspectives. The forthcoming issue of Dialogue is commemorating the birth centenary of Prof. C. D. Narasimhaiah, who was an institution in himself by rendering a lifelong service to Indian English literary studies and research. We earnestly look forward to receiving your papers on the different works of Prof. C. D. N., it would be a sincere acknowledgment to the contribution of one of the literary doyens of Indian English studies. Wishing you all the best of health and spirits in this corona times!
Sudheer C Hajela