Decolonising Elements in the Poetry of Vikram Seth

Abstract

Decolonisation is a process of debunking the colonial legacy in indigenous literatures and cultures. The contemporary postcolonial writers remarkably respond to hegemonic attitudes in literary narratives and cultures. Vikram Seth is among those writers who have carved a significant niche in postcolonial writing. In this paper the focus of analysis are some poems overlapping three poetry collections of Seth, namely, Mappings (2021), All You Who Sleep Tonight (2021) and The Humble Administrator’s Garden (2021). Seth has tried to decolonize his language by using indigenous terminology and words. He has written on Indian themes highlighting social, political and cultural issues. The signification of common concepts such as ‘Love’ and ‘Nature’ has been dealt with a particular attitude. They are no more seen with a colonial perspective. The poet has been realistic in his poetry on Indian subjects, subverting stereotypical attitude of the West towards India. Given his oeuvre, Seth is a cosmopolitan writer who is not bound to any particular culture or country hence, his very approach towards the life is decolonial. His predilection for Indian culture and faith evinces his literary vision. The paper deeply analyses how Vikram Seth has presented decolonial poetics over the years in his different poetry collections.