Title: Our Time Revisited
Author: Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee
Published by IIP, Bangalore, 2025
Page 625 ISBN 978-1-68576-562-0
Reviewer : Prof. Mallika Tripathi
Our Time Revisited by Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee is an expansive and intellectually rigorous critical work that undertakes the formidable task of mapping literary, cultural, political, and socio-ethical discourses of the contemporary world. The volume stands at the intersection of literary criticism, cultural studies, and social commentary, offering a panoramic view of global literature while simultaneously grounding its analyses in the specificities of historical moments and lived realities. As such, the book positions itself as a significant contribution to contemporary literary studies and interdisciplinary humanities scholarship.
At the core of this volume lies Dr. Bhattacharjee’s conviction that literature is not an autonomous aesthetic construct but a dynamic, historically situated practice that both reflects and interrogates social consciousness. The book revisits “our time” not merely in a chronological sense but as a conceptual space where literature engages with urgent questions of identity, power, ethics, marginalization, resistance, and human dignity. This theoretical orientation aligns the work with humanistic and socially engaged criticism, moving beyond formalist readings to embrace contextual and ideological analysis. One of the most striking features of Our Time Revisited is its remarkable scope and inclusivity. The volume engages with a wide range of literary figures—spanning classical, modern, and contemporary traditions—across geographical, linguistic, and cultural boundaries. Canonical writers such as Shakespeare, Rabindranath Tagore, Charles Dickens, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, T. S. Eliot, Alexander Pushkin, and Emily Dickinson are read alongside Nobel laureates and globally recognized authors such as Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, Louise Glück, Annie Ernaux, and Han Kang. These engagements are neither perfunctory nor reverential; rather, they are analytical re-readings that situate canonical texts within evolving socio-cultural frameworks.
Equally significant is the book’s sustained engagement with contemporary writers and thinkers, many of whom are still actively shaping present literary discourse. Dr. Bhattacharjee’s criticism here performs an archival function—documenting and critically evaluating voices of our time that might otherwise remain marginal in mainstream academic discourse. His analytical approach foregrounds thematic concerns, ideological positions, and stylistic strategies, thereby enabling a deeper understanding of contemporary literary production. The inclusion of critical essays on living writers enhances the immediacy and relevance of the volume while underscoring its role as a chronicle of contemporary literary response.Dr Ayyappa Raja Sattanathan , Associate Professor of Annamalai University in his Introduction to the book wrote : “ The brilliant research articles written on different premises focus on different continents and contexts. Their research articles reveal to the readers the richness and diversity of literary creativity. These research essays have a social bearing and contemporary relevance” The writers have focused upon issues such as Diasporic Sensibility, Dalit Consciousness , Ecological Concerns and Religion. Dr.Chetan Trivedi ,Vice Chancellor of Bhakta Kavi Narasinh Mehta University Gujarat also wrote a Foreword in which he described the book ‘ an exquisite collection of articles “ .He wrote , The articles in the book evoke in us a desire to rethink on the subjects in a new light in an original and unconventional way as Dr. Bhattacharjee usually does it in his prose and poetic writings on diverse subjects,talking from gender discriminations and fourth world literature to film and music.” The book review section in the book is really impressive where he encourages a lot of new young writers along with the well –known poets and novelists of India and abroad.
Book reviewer Dr. Mallika Tripathi
As an International Visiting Faculty in the American Universities , Dr. Bhattacharjee has gained wider experiences of men and writers and as a multilingual poet and columnist , he deals with an infinite variety of issues , which are accommodated partially in this precious book. “His articles are all a record of our contemporarty times , but they gain a timelessness in the presentation of ideas, providing us scope for fresh thinking and enabling us to reframe our vision with clearer ideas, reexamining those previously formulated on them.”said Dr. Chetan Trivedi. In his essay on Amitav Ghosh Dr. Bhattacharjee mused deeply on postmodern elements in Indian English literature – a preoccupation with insecurities in the existence of humanity. The picture of life delineated by them accommodates meaninglessness,purposelessness and absurdity of human existence through the employment of devices such as Contradiction, Permutation, Discontinuity , Randomness , Excess , Short Circuit and so on. Amitav Ghosh as a practitioner of post modernism in novels focuses entirely on the colonialism’s impoverished and usually non-white victims. They are given the central position not the white masters. The book has a wonderful discussion on Mahasweta Devi’s Mother of 1084. Dr. Bhattacharjee wrote ;” Mahasweta Devi’s Mother of 1084 concentrates on the issues of exploitation and marginalization as lon continuing socio- historical process embedded in social and cultural practices , a focus on the interlocking structures of oppression , the criss –cross of multiple hierarchies of class , caste and gender.
The article on Mulk Raj Ananad ,the Charles Dickens of India focuses on the peculiar question raised by him through the most important character Bakha in The Untouchable” How queer the Hindus don’t feed their cows although they call he cow ‘mother”!. Mulk Raj Anand was a master in depicting the social consciousness and he analaysed adroitly the feelings of Bakha in a poignant manner “ His feelings would rise like spurts of smoke from a half-smothered fire in fitful , unbalanced jerks when the recollection of some abuse or rebuke he had suffered kindled a spark in the ashes of remorse inside him.” Side by side the book gives us details of Alexander Pushkin’s contribution as the founder of Russian fiction. His contribution to Russian literature was described by Maxim Gorky as ‘ the beginning of beginnings”.Pushkin rejects Byron’s subjective , romanticized treatment in favour of objective description and shows his hero not in exotic surroundings but at the heart of a Russian way of life. Yevgeny Onegin written in 1833 unfolded a panoramic picture of Russian life. Onegin is the disenchanted skeptic. Dr. Bhattacharjee took a special care to write on Pushkin’s use of the Russian language formed on the basis of Ivan Turgenev and Leo Tolstoy. His novel pointed the way to the Russian realistic novel. T.S.Eliot’s poetic vision is analysed in the book. Dr.Bhattacharjee rightly says, “ The Waste Land is often read as a representation of the disillusionment of the post –war generation and a poetic counterpart to James Joyce’s Ulysses. Side by side we get her the contemporary masters of literature such as Nobel Laureate 2020 , Louise Gluck the first Amerian woman since Toni Morrison took the prize in 1993.Ratiner wrote :’ Gluck’s poems 1962-2012’ is weighted with the dark matter of the human universe , invisible in our everyday interactions but at the core of our conscious experience. Dr. Bhattacharjee rightly says, Though Gluck lays bare the most intimate moments of longing and loss, these poems are not what we think of as confessional . They are more like the record of a shipwreck survivor trying to come to terms with the strain of isolation and the stark horizon of her island. Language is the castaway’s only refuge.” We get in the book a heart engaging discussion on Makam in the context of Sino-Indian Conflict Dr.Rita Choudhury who had her doctoral thesis on Society and Women Psychology Depicted in Nirupama Borgohain and Ashapurna Devi’s Novels, took interest in Chinese Diaspora and 1962 Sino-Indian War in this novel. The public history is interspersed with the private history of the protagonists from botht he Chinese and the Assamese Communities whose lives are transformed in the social assimilation. Dr. Bhattacharjee brilliantly wrote in this book on Derek Walcott and said, He had no Nation but Imagi- Nation”.Derek was a natural poet in the Keatsian sense. Keats wrote in a letter to his friend , John Taylor , “ If Poetry comes not as naturally as Leaves to a tree it had better not come at all. “ Derek too naturally wrote about the landscape .flora and fauna which is unforced and fluent since the very first poem that he wrote at the age of 14. As a postcolonial writer he had both white and black ancestry because his birthplace was a British Colony as he asked in a 1962 poem,’A Far Cry from Africa’ “I who am poisoned with the blood of both /Where shall I turn , divided to the vein?”.
The structural organization of the book further reinforces its interdisciplinary ambition. Divided into sections encompassing literature, politics, society, environment, pandemic reflections, film, music, and book reviews, Our Time Revisited reflects a holistic understanding of culture as an interconnected system of meanings and practices. Such an organization resonates with the methodologies of cultural studies, where literature is examined in dialogue with socio-political events, media, and ideological formations. The essays addressing political movements, governance, citizenship gender justice, environmental crises, and educational policy reveal Dr. Bhattacharjee’s commitment to examining literature as a site of ethical inquiry and social critique. Particularly noteworthy is the section on Pandemic Musings, which captures literary and cultural responses to the COVID-19 crisis. These essays document how global literature grappled with themes of isolation, fear, loss, resilience, and collective vulnerability during an unprecedented historical moment. From a scholarly perspective, this section holds archival value, preserving literary interpretations of a global catastrophe that reshaped human relationships, institutional structures, and creative expression. Dr. Bhattacharjee’s analyses here move beyond surface-level commentary to explore how crisis literature reconfigures notions of selfhood, community, and survival.
Stylistically, the prose of Our Time Revisited is characterized by clarity, coherence, and argumentative precision. While the author draws upon a wide range of literary and cultural references, he avoids excessive theoretical jargon, thereby maintaining accessibility without compromising intellectual depth. This balance makes the volume particularly useful for a diverse readership, including researchers, teachers, postgraduate students, and serious readers of literature. The essays are informed by critical awareness and scholarly discipline, reflecting the author’s extensive engagement with literary history, criticism, and contemporary debates. Another important dimension of the book is its ethical and humanistic orientation. Across the volume, literature is consistently framed as a moral force—capable of questioning hegemonic power structures, articulating marginalized voices, and fostering empathy across cultural and ideological divides. Whether addressing feminist discourse, postcolonial identities, regional literatures, or global humanitarian concerns, Dr. Bhattacharjee foregrounds the transformative potential of literary expression. His criticism is thus not detached or purely academic; it is deeply invested in literature’s capacity to influence social consciousness and ethical reflection.In evaluative terms, Our Time Revisited may be seen as both a critical compendium and a cultural archive. It documents literary engagements across time and space while offering interpretative frameworks that invite further scholarly inquiry. The volume’s strength lies in its breadth, interdisciplinary vision, and commitment to contemporaneity, making it a valuable reference for ongoing research in literature, cultural studies, and the humanities at large.
In conclusion, Our Time Revisited emerges as a significant scholarly contribution that reaffirms the relevance of literary criticism in an era marked by rapid social change, political uncertainty, and cultural fragmentation. Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee establishes himself as a perceptive critic and cultural commentator who understands literature as an evolving dialogue between text and context, past and present, aesthetics and ethics. The book not only revisits our time but also invites readers to critically engage with it, ensuring its lasting relevance within academic and intellectual discourse.
About the Reviewer
Dr. Mallika Tripathi Professor of English and Director Humanities Firoze Gandhi Institute of Engg and Technology Rai Berili is an award winning poet and academician known for her introspective, socially conscious, and emotionally resonant writing. She is the Founder and President of Anjani Welfare Society, reflecting her commitment to social responsibility and humanitarian work.She won ‘Best Pensmith Award’ and the ‘International Brooklyn Award’
