[ilds] ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 12

Thu Nov 19 13:42:48 PST 2015

Angst: no, that isn't what I meant. There never was a "home" for Durrell - anywhere, after the Indian childhood, and, as we know, what he told us about that was partly fabricated and partly mistaken - but who does not mis-remember childhood and who does not imagine a childhood that was more golden than it really was. By "angst" I meant literally that LD did not like to return to places where he had been happy. How many of us have returned and found the place a disappointment, or one where old ghosts are less than welcoming? So it was a mixture of (a) knowing that he COULDN't go "home" (because if it had ever existed, it could no longer offer him the succour he needed all his life, and (b) simply the fear of disillusion, which, as I said, he certainly felt not merely on his return to Kalami (on which he wrote, including the essay "Oil for the Saint" but on several other subsequent visits, some (but not all) of which are recorded by MacNiven. (The unrecorded involved a few weeks,on 2 occasions, on the dry, while he was working hard on the QUINTET, on both of which I have personal evidence from people he met and who are still living in Corfu)
BTW, has anyone seen the DVD film "The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway" (BDV 018 made by a company named 'Beckmann', 80 minutes)) which has evocative shots of Kurseong. And there's another, a BBC series, 3x60 minute programmes, "Indian Hill Railways" which includes the Darjeeling line and 2 others (EIE10718)
And I repeat my reference to Ravi Nambiar's book - after we met him in San Diego, Jay Brigham went to stay with him in Kerala and I think this book is the fruit of Ravi's long contemplation of LD's "India" and was boosted by his conversations with Jay. 
RP
-----Original Message-----
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Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2015 03:01 PM
To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca
Subject: ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 12

Send ILDS mailing list submissions to	ilds at lists.uvic.caTo subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit	https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ildsor, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to	ilds-request at lists.uvic.caYou can reach the person managing the list at	ilds-owner at lists.uvic.caWhen replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specificthan "Re: Contents of ILDS digest..."Today's Topics: 1. Re: (no subject) (Bruce Redwine) 2. Re: ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 11 (mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.org) 3. Durrell's India (Bruce Redwine) 4. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell's India (G. R. Taneja) 5. Durrell's Angst (Bruce Redwine)----------------------------------------------------------------------Message: 1Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 18:58:50 -0800From: Bruce Redwine To: marc at marcpiel.fr, James Gifford Cc: Bruce Redwine Subject: Re: [ilds] (no subject)Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"Thanks, Marc, for the analysis. First, my deep condolences to the recent horrific events in Paris. I have been following the events closely. Second, we all make grammatical errors (moi in particular). I?m wondering if Ghislaine?s French is idiomatic, in the way that an impostor?s wouldn?t be.Bruce> On Nov 14, 2015, at 6:02 PM, Marc Piel  wrote:> > hi Bruce and RP,> I have only had time to skip through these letters;> was very surprised to see the words "these letters" a few lines from the end of N?9... I found this suspicious. Also in Letter N?11 in the French, there are several gramatical errors that don't make sens coming from Ghislaine... also her English considering her education should be better. In letter N? 13 the mispelling of the town of Reims is not logical.> Hope to have time to read the letters slowly in the next week.> Best regards,> Marc> > Le 13/11/15 21:17, Bruce Redwine a ?crit :>> Richard,>> >> Thanks for the clarification on the provenance of the Durrell-Miller letters. This seems to prove authenticity. I guess "Larry" was still "Larry." He was remarkably consistent to the very end. I hope the U of Victoria Library will purchase. That's where the letters belong.>> >> Bruce>> >> Sent from my iPhone>> >> On Nov 13, 2015, at 12:33 PM, mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.org  wrote:>> >>> >>> I AM NOT SURE WHETHER THIS MESSAGE REACHED YOU, AS IT HAS NOT APPEARED IN MY INBOX >>> -----Original Message----->>> From: mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.org  [mailto:mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.org ]>>> Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2015 04:31 AM>>> To: ilds-owner at lists.uvic.ca >>> Subject: Durrell-Miller letters>>> >>> Our secretary contacted Clouds Hill Books, asking for the provenance of these letters, and she received the following reply, which seems to settle the matter. (I still think some of them 'sound' too much like Larry being Larry.)>>> RP>>> >>> """"Dear Ms. Vlachou,>>> >>> Thank you very much for your interest in the collection of Lawrence Durrell letters to Henry Miller that we are currently offering for sale. Please see the attached file for details on the content and number of the letters in the collection.>>> >>> The letters originate from Henry Miller?s personal archive, which was first offered for sale by his children in the early 1990s. When the archive failed to sell en bloc the decision was taken to break it up in a series of sales held at Pacific Book Auctions in the mid-1990s. As a consequence of this, the majority of the archive was sold in individual lots to private collectors. The Durrell letters were acquired at that time by the Canadian collector Robert Shulman. I asked Mr. Shulman a few years ago what would be the asking price if he were to sell the letters and he quoted me $57,500 for the archive. I thought the content of the letters was excellent but the price too high, so I declined his offer. Unfortunately Mr. Shulman passed away recently and the ownership of the letters transferred to his wife Sharon. I acquired some Tenneessee Williams playscripts from Sharon earlier this year, and after that transaction was completed I asked if she would reconsider the price o! f the Durrell letters. She has now agreed to sell the letters for $17,500 which, given both the content and the strength of the association between two such significant authors, I consider to be much more reasonable.>>> >>> To the best of my knowledge, only four of the letters have been <> published ? items 3, 4, 5 (and this only partially, omitting Durrell?s comments on Erica Jong) & 12 in the catalogue ? which all appear in The Durrell-Miller Letters, 1935-80, London: Faber & Faber, 1988, edited by Ian S. MacNiven.""">>> >>> _______________________________________________>>> ILDS mailing list>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds >> >> >> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 2Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 09:42:55 +0000From: mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.orgTo: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 11Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"To the quedtion of LD's putative return to India, we must bear in mind that he felt it was not a good idea to revisit a place where one had been happy. But he told me (and this was confirmed to me by Raymond Mills) that when Raymond Mills was stationed in (I think) Nepal (this would have been in the late 1970s) there was some question of LD being invited to Northern India on a British Council tour which never materialised. So it's possible that he might have been able to overcome the angst (for I'm sure that is what it was) of returning to a much-loved place. His misgivings about returning to Corfu in the 1960s (when the Athanasios family were already undertaking the commercialisation which has overtaken the place today) were expressed in the essay "Oil for the Saint"RP-----Original Message-----From: ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca [mailto:ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca]Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 03:00 PMTo: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 11Send ILDS mailing list submissions to	ilds at lists.uvic.caTo subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit	https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ildsor, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to	ilds-request at lists.uvic.caYou can reach the person managing the list at	ilds-owner at lists.uvic.caWhen replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specificthan "Re: Contents of ILDS digest..."Today's Topics: 1. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Denise Tart & David Green) 2. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)) 3. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Kennedy Gammage) 4. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Denise Tart & David Green) 5. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford) 6. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford) 7. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Denise Tart & Davi! d Green) 8. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)) 9. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Denise Tart & David Green) 10. Re: ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10_An Indian View of Durrell's links with India (Sumantra Nag) 11. Re: ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10 (mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.org) 12. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford) 13. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)) 14. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Bruce Redwine) 15. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford) 16. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Kennedy Gammage) 17. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)) 18. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford)----------------------------------------------------------------------Message: 1Date: We! d, 18 Nov 2015 06:46:30 +1100From: Denise Tart & David Green To: "ilds at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <31B54EC1-3F3F-4873-8E6D-B879FBD071C4 at bigpond.net.au>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"It is interesting then that Durrell never went back to India. Are there theories, scholarly or otherwise about this? Was a Tibet of the mind enough?did Indian independence have anything to do with it? David.Sent from my iPad> On 18 Nov 2015, at 5:38 am, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:> > Yes, James.....you are right. Taoism always reminded Durrell of the maroon clothed Tibetan ascetics of the Himalayan hills of Darjeeling and Kurseong where he spent a part of his childhood and brought within him a sense of peace and tranquility.> All the best always> Sharbani> >> On 17-Nov-2015 7:53 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:>> If I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also extensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which appeared in /Mosaic/.>> >> /Pied! Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first gave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.>> >> All best,>> James>> >>> On 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's>>> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted>>> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>>> >>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" >> > wrote:>>> >>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>>> >>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging>>> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the>>> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective>>> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and>>> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the>>> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing>>> collections of the literature on Durrell.>>> >>> There are s! ome enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to>>> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I>>> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the>>> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>>> >>> Regards>>> >>> Sumantra Nag>>> >>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________>>> ILDS mailing list>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 2Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 07:22:42 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: te! xt/plain; charset="utf-8"David has a point there. With the British Raj ending in 1947. and Durrellbeing an employee of the British High Commission....it could have been adeterrent.BestSharbaniOn 18-Nov-2015 1:48 am, "Denise Tart & David Green" wrote:> It is interesting then that Durrell never went back to India. Are there> theories, scholarly or otherwise about this? Was a Tibet of the mind> enough?did Indian independence have anything to do with it?>> David.>> Sent from my iPad>> On 18 Nov 2015, at 5:38 am, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) <> sharbanibm at gmail.com> wrote:>> Yes, James.....you are right. Taoism always reminded Durrell of the maroon> clothed Tibetan ascetics of the Himalayan hills of Darjeeling and Kurseong> where he spent a part of his childhood and brought within him a sense of> peace and tranquility.> All the best always> Sharbani> On 17-Nov-2015 7:53 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:>>> If I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also>> extensively d! iscusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which>> appeared in /Mosaic/.>>>> /Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first>> gave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.>>>> All best,>> James>>>> On 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>>>> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's>>> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted>>> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>>>>>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" >> > wrote:>>>>>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>>>>>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging>>> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the>>> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective>>> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and>>> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the>>> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing>>> collections of the literature on Durrel! l.>>>>>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to>>> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I>>> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the>>> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>>>>>> Regards>>>>>> Sumantra Nag>>>>>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________>>> ILDS mailing list>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>>>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ----! --------------------------Message: 3Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 18:51:38 -0800From: Kennedy Gammage To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Did he have any close friends there?Cheers - KenOn Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 5:52 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)  wrote:> David has a point there. With the British Raj ending in 1947. and Durrell> being an employee of the British High Commission....it could have been a> deterrent.> Best> Sharbani> On 18-Nov-2015 1:48 am, "Denise Tart & David Green" > wrote:>>> It is interesting then that Durrell never went back to India. Are there>> theories, scholarly or otherwise about this? Was a Tibet of the mind>> enough?did Indian independence have anything to do with it?>>>> David.>>>> Sent from my iPad>>>> On 18 Nov 2015, at 5:38 am, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) <>> sharbanibm at gmail.com> wrote:>>>> Yes, James.....you are right. Taoism always reminded Durrell of the>> maroon clothed Tibetan ascetics ! of the Himalayan hills of Darjeeling and>> Kurseong where he spent a part of his childhood and brought within him a>> sense of peace and tranquility.>> All the best always>> Sharbani>> On 17-Nov-2015 7:53 pm, "James Gifford" >> wrote:>>>>> If I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also>>> extensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which>>> appeared in /Mosaic/.>>>>>> /Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first>>> gave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.>>>>>> All best,>>> James>>>>>> On 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>>>>>> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's>>>> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted>>>> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>>>>>>>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" >>> > wrote:>>>>>>>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>>>>>>>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a ! significant, wide ranging>>>> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the>>>> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective>>>> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and>>>> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the>>>> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing>>>> collections of the literature on Durrell.>>>>>>>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to>>>> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I>>>> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the>>>> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>>>>>>>> Regards>>>>>>>> Sumantra Nag>>>>>>>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________>>>> ILDS mailing list>>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >>>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________>>> ILDS mailing list>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman! /listinfo/ilds>>>>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>>>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 4Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 15:32:40 +1100From: Denise Tart & David Green To: "ilds at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <7C194FF9-8F4E-4566-81A9-69B8CC6C5DF4 at bigpond.net.au>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"I don't think so. He left when quite young and never went back. His friends seem to have primarily been ex pat or semi ex pat Brits, his wives and other European ar! tists with Mediterranean local characters thrown in. Durrell's love of France needs further exploration. He lived there for 32 years, more time than anywhere else and yet we talk constantly of Egypt, Greece blah blah, but la belle France? His true home ? But if I was him, I'd have lived in Uzes or stayed at Mas Michel. Sent from my iPad> On 18 Nov 2015, at 1:51 pm, Kennedy Gammage wrote:> > Did he have any close friends there?> > Cheers - Ken> >> On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 5:52 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>> David has a point there. With the British Raj ending in 1947. and Durrell being an employee of the British High Commission....it could have been a deterrent.>> Best>> Sharbani>> >>> On 18-Nov-2015 1:48 am, "Denise Tart & David Green" wrote:>>> It is interesting then that Durrell never went back to India. Are there theories, scholarly or otherwise about this? Was a Tibet of the mind enough?did Indian independence have anything to do with it? >>> >>> David.>>> >>> Sent from my iPad>>> >>>> On 18 Nov 2015, at 5:38 am, sharbani bane! rjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>>> >>>> Yes, James.....you are right. Taoism always reminded Durrell of the maroon clothed Tibetan ascetics of the Himalayan hills of Darjeeling and Kurseong where he spent a part of his childhood and brought within him a sense of peace and tranquility.>>>> All the best always>>>> Sharbani>>>> >>>>> On 17-Nov-2015 7:53 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:>>>>> If I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also extensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which appeared in /Mosaic/.>>>>> >>>>> /Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first gave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.>>>>> >>>>> All best,>>>>> James>>>>> >>>>>> On 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>>>>> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's>>>>>> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted>>>>>> this. Ian's Biography is also a p! ointer.>>>>>> >>>>>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" >>>>> > wrote:>>>>>> >>>>>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>>>>>> >>>>>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging>>>>>> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the>>>>>> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective>>>>>> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and>>>>>> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the>>>>>> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing>>>>>> collections of the literature on Durrell.>>>>>> >>>>>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to>>>>>> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I>>>>>> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the>>>>>> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>>>>>> >>>>>> Regards>>>>>> >>>>>> Sumantra Nag>>>>>> >>>>>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________>>>>>> ILDS ! mailing list>>>>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >>>>>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>>> _______________________________________________>>>>> ILDS mailing list>>>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>>>>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>> _______________________________________________>>>> ILDS mailing list>>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>>>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>> >>> _______________________________________________>>> ILDS mailing list>>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>> >> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds> > _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 5Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 21:02:50 -0800From: James Gifford To: ilds at li! sts.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564C067A.1020203 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowedGood points on all sides... He spoke of India often in interviews -- there's a fascinating one with Lyn Goldman in which she calls him on it (they laugh it off, both knowing what it really was). India's also there in the Quintet, "From the Elephant's Back," and right at the very beginning in /Pied Piper of Lovers/ (his most autobiographical novel).Rather than being reluctant to return, either because he didn't know anyone in India anymore or because his British work might create trouble, I'd suggest something a bit more uneasy -- maybe Durrell didn't like travel? How often did he move to new places because he wanted to rather than needed to?There's also the real possibility that he knew the India of his memories wasn't real. How many of us know the same thing about our own childhoods, no matter where we spent them? Going back would make him confront that unreality..! . There's something akin to this in his story "Oil for the Saint; Return to Corfu."For David's point, was France his favorite place, or just the first one he wasn't made to leave?There's also that matter of his non-patrial status as a British subject. When the British immigration act went through amendments in the 1960s, like so many of those from the West Indies, India, & Pakistan, he became a non-patrial.All best,JamesOn 2015-11-17 6:51 PM, Kennedy Gammage wrote:> Did he have any close friends there?>> Cheers - Ken>> On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 5:52 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)> > wrote:>> David has a point there. With the British Raj ending in 1947. and> Durrell being an employee of the British High Commission....it could> have been a deterrent.> Best> Sharbani>> On 18-Nov-2015 1:48 am, "Denise Tart & David Green"> > wrote:>> It is interesting then that Durrell never went back to India.> Are there theories, scholarly or otherwise about this? Was a> Tibet of the mind enou! gh?did Indian independence have anything> to do with it?>> David.------------------------------Message: 6Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 21:06:22 -0800From: James Gifford To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564C074E.3080200 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowedBTW, it's delightful to see this kind of response to Gulshan's article! Should we invite him to join the conversation?-James------------------------------Message: 7Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:23:16 +1100From: Denise Tart & David Green To: "james.d.gifford at gmail.com" ,	"ilds at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <9F33A1AF-D268-4AF5-ABB7-375BD08D01DD at bigpond.net.au>Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=us-asciiOui.Sent from my iPad> On 18 Nov 2015, at 4:06 pm, James Gifford wrote:> > BTW, it's delightful to see this kind of response to Gulshan's article! Should we invite him to join the conversation?> > -James> ___________________________________! ____________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds------------------------------Message: 8Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 10:59:05 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca, James Gifford Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Why not? He could throw some more light on this.I might add that Ian's Biography reveLs Durrell's sense of betrayal as achild when he was sent to England as a young boy of 11. His dislike of hismother country made him call it 'Pudding Island'. Was this why he neverwent back?BestSharbaniOn 18-Nov-2015 10:37 am, "James Gifford" wrote:> BTW, it's delightful to see this kind of response to Gulshan's article!> Should we invite him to join the conversation?>> -James> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>-------------- next! part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 9Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:46:30 +1100From: Denise Tart & David Green To: "james.d.gifford at gmail.com" ,	"ilds at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=us-asciiJames, good point there. He was not made to leave France. Suspect he would have stayed on Cyprus had be not been forced out, but he could have gone back. No, Claude was French, so France it was and I do think he liked southern France, the climate, the wine the people. Of course , he liked the French approach to art and life and his works were popular there. I think by the time Durrell got out of Cyprus, he had had enough of being an exile, a displaced person. So now I am coming to my negative feeling and his own negative feelings about the vampire house in sommieres - just couldn't be bothered moving and he had the bottle for company.DavidSent from my iPad> On 18 Nov 2015, at 4:02 pm, James Gifford wrot! e:> > Good points on all sides... He spoke of India often in interviews -- there's a fascinating one with Lyn Goldman in which she calls him on it (they laugh it off, both knowing what it really was). India's also there in the Quintet, ">From the Elephant's Back," and right at the very beginning in /Pied Piper of Lovers/ (his most autobiographical novel).> > Rather than being reluctant to return, either because he didn't know anyone in India anymore or because his British work might create trouble, I'd suggest something a bit more uneasy -- maybe Durrell didn't like travel? How often did he move to new places because he wanted to rather than needed to?> > There's also the real possibility that he knew the India of his memories wasn't real. How many of us know the same thing about our own childhoods, no matter where we spent them? Going back would make him confront that unreality... There's something akin to this in his story "Oil for the Saint; Return to Corfu."> > For David! 's point, was France his favorite place, or just the first one he wasn't made to leave?> > There's also that matter of his non-patrial status as a British subject. When the British immigration act went through amendments in the 1960s, like so many of those from the West Indies, India, & Pakistan, he became a non-patrial.> > All best,> James> >> On 2015-11-17 6:51 PM, Kennedy Gammage wrote:>> Did he have any close friends there?>> >> Cheers - Ken>> >> On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 5:52 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)>> > wrote:>> >> David has a point there. With the British Raj ending in 1947. and>> Durrell being an employee of the British High Commission....it could>> have been a deterrent.>> Best>> Sharbani>> >> On 18-Nov-2015 1:48 am, "Denise Tart & David Green">> > wrote:>> >> It is interesting then that Durrell never went back to India.>> Are there theories, scholarly or otherwise about this? Was a>> Tibet of the mind enough?did Indian independence have anything>> to do with it?>> >> David.> _______________________________________________> ILDS! mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds------------------------------Message: 10Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 14:01:17 +0530From: Sumantra Nag To: ilds at lists.uvic.caCc: James Gifford , sharbanibm at gmail.comSubject: Re: [ilds] ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10_An Indian View of	Durrell's links with IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"I read the responses from James and Sharbani with interest.I have only just gone through Gulshan Taneja's paper with the attention itdeserves.After covering numerous references mostly from Durrell's biography and fromDurrell's links with Tibetan or Indian spiritualism, Gulshan Taneja rightlyconcludes that, in fact, references to subjects connected with India aresparsely distributed over Durrell's works, and, by implication, oblique innature.He correctly points out after his extensive review of these references,that having left for England at the age of 11, without ever returning toIndia thereafte! r, Durrell actually became 'Europeanised'.I would say that the influence of the Levant was much more long lasting forthe adult Durrell.I cannot speak as confidently about the novels following the AQ, butreferences to India in the AQ are basically anecdotal and not central tothis considerable work of fiction.I think this holds true for instance, to Mountolive's father and hissettling in India as a Pali scholar, which has little bearing on theintensity with which Alexandria and the protagonists of the city areportrayed.The Book of the Dead, the title of the original crucible from which thenovel Justine apparently emerged, presents a mystery for thoseunacquainted with Durrell's early drafts. But a reader of Justine and theother novels of the AQ cannot make a link with that initial blueprint for anovel.There is a suggestion of Tibetan religion in that preliminary title, butsurely Justine and the novels of the AQ are steeped primarily in the spiritof Alexandria. Even the "cults" of Alexandria - such as the Cabal run bythe distinctly Jewish Balthaza! r - do not directly dwell on anythingspecifically Indian.A thorough reading of Gulshan Taneja's paper will provide a usefulperspective in my opinion.Regards to allSumantraSent from my Asus ZenfoneOn 18 Nov 2015 01:39, wrote:Send ILDS mailing list submissions to ilds at lists.uvic.caTo subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ildsor, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to ilds-request at lists.uvic.caYou can reach the person managing the list at ilds-owner at lists.uvic.caWhen replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specificthan "Re: Contents of ILDS digest..."Today's Topics: 1. An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Sumantra Nag) 2. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)) 3. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford) 4. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee))-------------! ---------------------------------------------------------Message: 1Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 10:44:20 +0530From: Sumantra Nag To: ilds at lists.uvic.caCc: James Gifford , Bruce Redwine Subject: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"http://ebc.revues.org/2477Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging inquiryinto Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the continuing if latentinfluence of India on his spiritual perspective of the world. Peoplefamiliar with the work of Ian MacNiven and others mentioned in the paper,might of course be familiar with the material in this paper, which mightalso be included in existing collections of the literature on Durrell.There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to getJustine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I have oftenfelt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the colour and intensityI would associate with a Bengali writer!RegardsSumantra NagSent from my Asus Zenfone----! ---------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 2Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 13:11:50 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.caCc: James Gifford , Bruce Redwine Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce'sarticles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted this.Ian's Biography is also a pointer.On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" wrote:> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging inquiry> into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the continuing if latent> influence of India on his spiritual perspective of the world. People> familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and others mentioned ! in the paper,> might of course be familiar with the material in this paper, which might> also be included in existing collections of the literature on Durrell.>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to get> Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I haveoften> felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the colour and intensity> I would associate with a Bengali writer!>> Regards>> Sumantra Nag>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 3Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 06:22:39 -0800From: James Gifford To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564B382F.4030705 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=fl! owedIf I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ alsoextensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article,which appeared in /Mosaic/./Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan firstgave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.All best,JamesOn 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" > wrote:>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the> material in t! his paper, which might also be included in existing> collections of the literature on Durrell.>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>> Regards>> Sumantra Nag>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>------------------------------Message: 4Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 00:08:30 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca, James Gifford Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Yes, James.....you are right. Taoism always reminded Durrell of the maroonclothed Tibetan ascetics of the Himalayan hills of Darjeeling and Kurseongwhere he spent a part of his childhood and brought within him a sense ofpeace and tra! nquility.All the best alwaysSharbaniOn 17-Nov-2015 7:53 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:> If I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also> extensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which> appeared in /Mosaic/.>> /Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first> gave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.>> All best,> James>> On 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's>> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted>> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>>>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" > > wrote:>>>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>>>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging>> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the>> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective>> of the world. People familiar with! the work of Ian MacNiven and>> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the>> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing>> collections of the literature on Durrell.>>>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to>> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I>> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the>> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>>>> Regards>>>> Sumantra Nag>>>> Sent from my Asus Zenfone>>>>>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Subject: Digest Footer____________________! ___________________________ILDS mailing listILDS at lists.uvic.cahttps://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds------------------------------End of ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10*************************************-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 11Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 08:45:11 +0000From: mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.orgTo: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"Gulshan's article echoes the full-length study by Ravindran (Ravi) Nambiar, "Indian Metaphysics in Lawrence Durrell's Novels" (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014) - anyone read it?RP -----Original Message-----From: ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca [mailto:ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca]Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2015 03:00 PMTo: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10Send ILDS mailing list submissions to	ilds at lists.uvic.caTo subscribe or unsubscri! be via the World Wide Web, visit	https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ildsor, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to	ilds-request at lists.uvic.caYou can reach the person managing the list at	ilds-owner at lists.uvic.caWhen replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specificthan "Re: Contents of ILDS digest..."Today's Topics: 1. An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (Sumantra Nag) 2. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)) 3. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (James Gifford) 4. Re: An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s India (sharbani banerjee(mukherjee))----------------------------------------------------------------------Message: 1Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 10:44:20 +0530From: Sumantra Nag To: ilds at lists.uvic.caCc: James Gifford ,	Bruce Redwine	Subject: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian Vie! w: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"http://ebc.revues.org/2477Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, ! wide ranging inquiryinto Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the continuing if latentinfluence of India on his spiritual perspective of the world. Peoplefamiliar with the work of Ian MacNiven and others mentioned in the paper,might of course be familiar with the material in this paper, which mightalso be included in existing collections of the literature on Durrell.There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to getJustine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I have oftenfelt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the colour and intensityI would associate with a Bengali writer!RegardsSumantra NagSent from my Asus Zenfone-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 2Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 13:11:50 +0530From! : "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.caCc: James Gifford ,	Bruce Redwine	Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durr! ell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce'sarticles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted this.Ian's Biography is also a pointer.On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" wrote:> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging inquiry> into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the continuing if latent> influence of India on his spiritual perspective of the world. People> familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and others mentioned in the paper,> might of course be familiar with the material in this paper, which might> also be included in existing collections of the literature on Durrell.>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to get> Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I have often> fel! t that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the colour and intensity> I would associate with a Bengali writer!>> Regards>> Sumantra Nag>> Sent ! from my Asus Zenfone>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 3Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 06:22:39 -0800From: James Gifford To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564B382F.4030705 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowedIf I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also extensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which appeared in /Mosaic/./Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first gave the paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.All best,JamesOn 2015-1! 1-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's> articles on Durrell's! leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" > wrote:>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing> collections of the literature on Durrell.>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>> Regards>> Sumantra Nag>> Sent fro! m my Asus Zenfone>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/li! stinfo/ilds>------------------------------Message: 4Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 00:08:30 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca, James Gifford Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Yes, James.....you are right. Taoism always reminded Durrell of the maroonclothed Tibetan ascetics of the Himalayan hills of Darjeeling and Kurseongwhere he spent a part of his childhood and brought within him a sense ofpeace and tranquility.All the best alwaysSharbaniOn 17-Nov-2015 7:53 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:> If I might add, Ray Morrison's /A Smile in His Mind's Eye/ also> extensively discusses Durrell and Taoism, as does his last article, which> appeared in /Mosaic/.>> /Pied Piper of Lovers/ is a fascinating novel. I believe Gulshan first> gave t! he paper at one of Corinne Alexandre-Garner's conferences in Paris.>> All best,> James>> On 2015-11-16 11:41 PM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)! wrote:>>> Durrell's Indian influence is especially marked in AQ. Carol Pierce's>> articles on Durrell's leanings towards Taoism have also hidhlighted>> this. Ian's Biography is also a pointer.>>>> On 17-Nov-2015 11:07 am, "Sumantra Nag" > > wrote:>>>> http://ebc.revues.org/2477>>>> Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging>> inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the>> continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective>> of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and>> others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the>> material in this paper, which might also be included in existing>> collections of the literature on Durrell.>>>> There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to>> get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I>> have often felt that in the AQ at least, Du! rrell writes with the>> colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!>>>> Regards>>>> Sumantra Nag>>>> Sent from my Asus Ze! nfone>>>>>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Subject: Digest Footer_______________________________________________ILDS mailing listILDS at lists.uvic.cahttps://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds------------------------------End of ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 10*************************************-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 12Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 07:40:36 -0800From: James Gifford To: "ilds at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564C9BF4.7070202 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=w! indows-1252; format=flowedI don't think I'd see that as a very contentious point to make, David. Indeed, why move? You're right.That said, France is also there from the beginning, in /Pied Piper of Lovers/ and /Panic Spring/, so the affection for the French world seems very genuine as well, long before 1956 ('57?). His intentions seem to have been very much to stay on Cyprus, but then the world intervened. He hadn't chosen Egypt, but would he have left Rhodes or Corfu? Yugoslavia and Argentine were clearly never "home," but he did write a very tender piece about Yugoslavia that's been quite overlooked. The wound over "home" that Sharbani gestures to is, I think, very real for Durrell -- his position between locations rather than /in/ any of them is telling, and the first divide was between father England and mother India, sent "home" to a land his parents had never seen.You have much to say on the vampire house that I think needs to be said.Best,JamesOn 2015-11-17 9:46 PM, Denise Tart & David Green wrote:> James, good point there. He was not m! ade to leave France. Suspect he would have stayed on Cyprus had be not been forced out, but he could have gone back. No, Claude was French, so France it was and I do think he liked southern France, the climate, the wine the people. Of course , he liked the French approach to art and life and his works were popular there. I think by the time Durrell got out of Cyprus, he had had enough of being an exile, a displaced person. So now I am coming to my negative feeling and his own negative feelings about the vampire house in sommieres - just couldn't be bothered moving and he had the bottle for company.>> David> Sent from my iPad------------------------------Message: 13Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 00:20:43 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca, James Gifford Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"I agree with David and James that he was, perhaps, happiest in Cypress andCorfu..! ...the ambience somehow alleviated the occidental sense ofoppression that he abhorred. This brings me back to the Indian influenceupon his psyche. Places like Jamshedpur, Jullunder where he was born,Mymenshing, presently in Bangladesh and most importantly Kurseong andDarjeeling somehow shaped and coloured his preference of the topos. In hisinterviews while visiting USA.....he mentions how the hills and theBuddhist ascetics keep revisiting his subconscious mind. He even shows howhe could do the Indian Yoga by sitting in the Lotus position!On 18-Nov-2015 9:12 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:> I don't think I'd see that as a very contentious point to make, David.> Indeed, why move? You're right.>> That said, France is also there from the beginning, in /Pied Piper of> Lovers/ and /Panic Spring/, so the affection for the French world seems> very genuine as well, long before 1956 ('57?). His intentions seem to have> been very much to stay on Cyprus, but then the world intervened. He hadn't> chosen Egypt, but would he have left Rhodes or Corfu? Yugoslavia! and> Argentine were clearly never "home," but he did write a very tender piece> about Yugoslavia that's been quite overlooked. The wound over "home" that> Sharbani gestures to is, I think, very real for Durrell -- his position> between locations rather than /in/ any of them is telling, and the first> divide was between father England and mother India, sent "home" to a land> his parents had never seen.>> You have much to say on the vampire house that I think needs to be said.>> Best,> James>> On 2015-11-17 9:46 PM, Denise Tart & David Green wrote:>>> James, good point there. He was not made to leave France. Suspect he>> would have stayed on Cyprus had be not been forced out, but he could have>> gone back. No, Claude was French, so France it was and I do think he liked>> southern France, the climate, the wine the people. Of course , he liked the>> French approach to art and life and his works were popular there. I think>> by the time Durrell got out of Cyprus, he had had eno! ugh of being an exile,>> a displaced person. So now I am coming to my negative feeling and his own>> negative feelings about the vampire house in sommieres - just couldn't be>> bothered moving and he had the bottle for company.>>>> David>> Sent from my iPad>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 14Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 10:55:45 -0800From: Bruce Redwine To: Sumantra Nag , James Gifford	Cc: James Gifford ,	Bruce Redwine	Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <1496394B-37C1-4411-A855-8D4FA314155A at earthlink.net>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"All,I?ve just returned from New York City. My thanks to Sumantra for Gulshan Taneja?s article on Durrell and India. It raises many issues that need to be discussed (and already has as the numerous responses indicate). Here?s my take.Taneja has appar! ently read all of Durrell?s major works and has extracted about every possible reference to India, no matter how brief, obscure, or tangential. This is a useful compendium. In defense of Durrell, however, I think Taneja?s conclusions are completely wrongheaded and egregiously indebted to Edward W. Said?s notion of ?Orientalism.? (Said is uncited in the essay but whose methodology is obvious.) I simply don?t know what Taneja means that Durrell ?does not have a view of India.? Durrell has his childhood memories, and I see nothing wrong with hugging them like a teddybear, as Taneja mocks (?Durrell turned to India as a child turns to a stuffed toy to hug to go to sleep?). Aren?t those memories often idyllic? Hasn?t Wordsworth taught us that the ?child is father to the man.? Granted, Durrell?s memory is faulty and given to exaggeration. Ian MacNiven often corrects Durrell?s ?claims,? and James Gifford has codified some of these errors in his edition of ?! From the Elephant?s Bac! k.? I do not find that this weakness invalidates Durrell?s India.More to the point, Durrell?s view of India is spiritual, anti-materialistic. Not for nothing was he a life-long practitioner of yoga, the Indian form of meditation. But Taneja faults Durrell for not relating any real experiences of India. So, he echoes Said?s assertion that ?Orientalism? represents imperialist fantasies about the East and is not based on the ?actual,? the ?real? India. He finds Paul Theroux, a realist of the first order, a better describer of the Indian experience. Theroux, however, has little good to say about India and often focuses on the country?s dirt and poverty. In his first big success, The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train through Asia (1975), he has a typical story about traveling by rail in the south of India: Because it was still early, and because Indian villagers seem to think of railway tracks as the margin of their world, there were people crouched all along the line, shitting. At first I thought they were simply squatting comfortably to watch the tr! ain go by, then I noticed the bright yellow hanks under them. I saw one man; he portended a hundred more, all facing the train go by for the diversion it offered, unhurriedly fouling the track. (p. 137)Theroux lets a ?man in Delhi? put the finishing touches on this description, when the latter calls such scenes exemplifying ?The Turd Word.?As the vignette illustrates, I would call Theroux?s approach immersed in merd-culture. That culture is what Durrell opposes. Why didn?t he ever go back to India? I think the clich? applies, you can?t go home again.Bruce> On Nov 16, 2015, at 9:14 PM, Sumantra Nag wrote:> > http://ebc.revues.org/2477 > Gulshan Taneja's paper appears to be a significant, wide ranging inquiry into Lawrence Durrell's connection with India and the continuing if latent influence of India on his spiritual perspective of the world. People familiar with the work of Ian MacNiven and others mentioned in the paper, might of course be familiar with the material in thi! s paper, which might also be included in existing collections of the literature on Durrell.> > There are some enlightening revelations, such as Durrell's wish to get Justine translated into Bengali by a prominent Bengali writer. I have often felt that in the AQ at least, Durrell writes with the colour and intensity I would associate with a Bengali writer!> > Regards> > Sumantra Nag> > Sent from my Asus Zenfone> -------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 15Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 11:01:58 -0800From: James Gifford To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564CCB26.5080401 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowedIndeed! It's probably also worth noting that Durrell makes his alter ego, Walsh, racially anglo-indian as well in /Pied Piper of Lovers/, which I think speaks to his views.There's a scene that's always struck me as important in the novel as the boat bringing Walsh (Durrell) t! o England for the first passes the White Cliffs of Dover ("white as white" indicates Walsh's difference). Walsh is disappointed with this first vision of England in contrast to India, and he's alienated from the country-love the returning British subjects feel -- in the same moment, he tries to speak to an Indian girl saying he, like her, is from Kurseong. She looks back at him as an alien as well...That liminality strikes me a crucial to Durrell. Neither British nor Indian, never French and not Greek, sometimes dubiously calling himself Irish. I tried to point to the peculiarities of Durrell's "From the Elephant's Back" in contrast to Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant." Both pointing to Empire, but Durrell and Sadu (the elephant) are both children and resist the divisions. Surely much of that was his own imaginings, but what else would one put in the space between?All best,JamesOn 2015-11-18 10:50 AM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:> I agree with David and James that he w! as, perhaps, happiest in Cypress> and Corfu.....the ambience somehow alleviated the occidental sense of> oppression that he abhorred. This brings me back to the Indian influence> upon his psyche. Places like Jamshedpur, Jullunder where he was born,> Mymenshing, presently in Bangladesh and most importantly Kurseong and> Darjeeling somehow shaped and coloured his preference of the topos. In> his interviews while visiting USA.....he mentions how the hills and the> Buddhist ascetics keep revisiting his subconscious mind. He even shows> how he could do the Indian Yoga by sitting in the Lotus position!------------------------------Message: 16Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 11:04:40 -0800From: Kennedy Gammage To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Yes - but his friend Yehudi Menuhin could do it standing on his head!:>)Cheers - KenOn Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 10:50 AM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)  wrote:> I agree with David and James that ! he was, perhaps, happiest in Cypress and> Corfu.....the ambience somehow alleviated the occidental sense of> oppression that he abhorred. This brings me back to the Indian influence> upon his psyche. Places like Jamshedpur, Jullunder where he was born,> Mymenshing, presently in Bangladesh and most importantly Kurseong and> Darjeeling somehow shaped and coloured his preference of the topos. In his> interviews while visiting USA.....he mentions how the hills and the> Buddhist ascetics keep revisiting his subconscious mind. He even shows how> he could do the Indian Yoga by sitting in the Lotus position!> On 18-Nov-2015 9:12 pm, "James Gifford" wrote:>>> I don't think I'd see that as a very contentious point to make, David.>> Indeed, why move? You're right.>>>> That said, France is also there from the beginning, in /Pied Piper of>> Lovers/ and /Panic Spring/, so the affection for the French world seems>> very genuine as well, long before 1956 ('57?). His intentions seem to hav! e>> been very much to stay on Cyprus, but then the world intervened. He hadn't>> chosen Egypt, but would he have left Rhodes or Corfu? Yugoslavia and>> Argentine were clearly never "home," but he did write a very tender piece>> about Yugoslavia that's been quite overlooked. The wound over "home" that>> Sharbani gestures to is, I think, very real for Durrell -- his position>> between locations rather than /in/ any of them is telling, and the first>> divide was between father England and mother India, sent "home" to a land>> his parents had never seen.>>>> You have much to say on the vampire house that I think needs to be said.>>>> Best,>> James>>>> On 2015-11-17 9:46 PM, Denise Tart & David Green wrote:>>>>> James, good point there. He was not made to leave France. Suspect he>>> would have stayed on Cyprus had be not been forced out, but he could have>>> gone back. No, Claude was French, so France it was and I do think he liked>>> southern France, the climate, the wine the people. Of course , he liked the>>> French approach to art and life and ! his works were popular there. I think>>> by the time Durrell got out of Cyprus, he had had enough of being an exile,>>> a displaced person. So now I am coming to my negative feeling and his own>>> negative feelings about the vampire house in sommieres - just couldn't be>>> bothered moving and he had the bottle for company.>>>>>> David>>> Sent from my iPad>>>>> _______________________________________________>> ILDS mailing list>> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca>> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 17Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 00:42:24 +0530From: "sharbani banerjee(mukherjee)" To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca, James Gifford Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID:	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"! Durrell's elder generation had strong Indian roots which also made him feelmore Indian. He was never strongly pro-Indian, never overtlyanti-Indian......as James said, you can not take sides with your 'home'.Why he never went back is circumstantial.....but he did carry the memorywithin him.On 19-Nov-2015 12:33 am, "James Gifford" wrote:> Indeed! It's probably also worth noting that Durrell makes his alter ego,> Walsh, racially anglo-indian as well in /Pied Piper of Lovers/, which I> think speaks to his views.>> There's a scene that's always struck me as important in the novel as the> boat bringing Walsh (Durrell) to England for the first passes the White> Cliffs of Dover ("white as white" indicates Walsh's difference). Walsh is> disappointed with this first vision of England in contrast to India, and> he's alienated from the country-love the returning British subjects feel --> in the same moment, he tries to speak to an Indian girl saying he, like> her, is from Kurseong. She looks back at him as an alien as well...>> That liminality strikes me! a crucial to Durrell. Neither British nor> Indian, never French and not Greek, sometimes dubiously calling himself> Irish. I tried to point to the peculiarities of Durrell's "From the> Elephant's Back" in contrast to Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant." Both> pointing to Empire, but Durrell and Sadu (the elephant) are both children> and resist the divisions. Surely much of that was his own imaginings, but> what else would one put in the space between?>> All best,> James>> On 2015-11-18 10:50 AM, sharbani banerjee(mukherjee) wrote:>>> I agree with David and James that he was, perhaps, happiest in Cypress>> and Corfu.....the ambience somehow alleviated the occidental sense of>> oppression that he abhorred. This brings me back to the Indian influence>> upon his psyche. Places like Jamshedpur, Jullunder where he was born,>> Mymenshing, presently in Bangladesh and most importantly Kurseong and>> Darjeeling somehow shaped and coloured his preference of the topos. In>> his interviews! while visiting USA.....he mentions how the hills and the>> Buddhist ascetics keep revisiting his subconscious mind. He even shows>> how he could do the Indian Yoga by sitting in the Lotus position!>>> _______________________________________________> ILDS mailing list> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds>-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 18Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 11:25:11 -0800From: James Gifford To: ilds at lists.uvic.caSubject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell?s IndiaMessage-ID: <564CD097.3010408 at gmail.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowedIt's probably worth noting that Gulshan's piece was published in 2011, and I believe he wrote it a year or two earlier, perhaps more.Cheers,James------------------------------Subject: Digest Footer_______________________________________________ILDS mailing listILDS at lists.uvic.cahttps://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds------------------------------End o! f ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 11*************************************-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 3Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 04:29:24 -0800From: Bruce Redwine To: James Gifford Cc: Sumantra Nag ,	Bruce Redwine	Subject: [ilds] Durrell's IndiaMessage-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"Sumantra, I would argue that Taneja's article follows in the Saidian tradition of Orientaliaism. I would also argue that India was an abiding and deeply personal concern for Durrell, hence its frequent appearance throughout his oeuvre. In a fashion typical of the Saidian approach, Taneja wants to trivialize Durrell's use of the trope. That, I believe, is a big mistake.BruceSent from my iPhone> On Nov 18, 2015, at 8:24 PM, Sumantra Nag  wrote:> > Dear Bruce,> > Herewith my independent views of Taneja's paper after reading it more carefully. As you will see this second mail on Taneja's paper has also been posted on ILDS.> > And it is not influenced by Said's views on orientalism which I have not read in any detail. I'm barely familiar with anything he has written, although I believe I might, some years ago, have bought one of his books and left it unread.> > Best wishes> > Sumantra> > Sent from my Asus Zenfone> > -------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 4Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 20:14:43 +0530From: "G. R. Taneja" To: "ilds at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: Re: [ilds] An Indian View of an Indian View: Durrell's IndiaMessage-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"I had assumed that I was not a subscriber to the List any more as I havereceived no mail for a long time. But my attempt to subscribe has elicited thereply that I am already subscribed to it. So it must be that I have foolishlytinkered with my settings to deprive myself of the mails. Or my ancientsystem no longer wishes to be helpful in keeping me in touch with old friends,colleagues, and Durrell scholars and enthusiasts. I am very grateful to Jamesfor drawing my attention to the discussion on the List which has taken note ofan old article of mine. Denise Tart and David Green asked a question that I should have raisedmyself in my paper except that it didn'toccur to me then. One reason for Larry?s not going back to India could havebeen that even a writer who goes around the globe in search of material and stimulusto create feels the need to strike roots and settle down somewhere. The secondreason could be that he was seriously short of money and had no income. Itappears that he made a thorough survey of the south of France?weather was a factor?andMontpellier and Nime among other placers were rejected because Durrell foundthem totally unaffordable. Sommi?re, amuddy, unhealthy village, stuck beside an ancient castle, prone to inescapable annualflooding, some thirty kilometres away from Montpellier, was chosen because itoffered cheap space and inexpensive food. Sommi?re is _now_ an hour?s train away from Montpellier?s but not _then_.I think Durrell?s relative financial handicap was one reason he settled down there. He apparently, then, simply couldn?t afford to travel. Comingback to India would be out of question, I think, purely for monetary reasons. I think several suggestions have been made that Indian independencewould have made it impossible or undesirable for an Englishman to hang about inthe post-partition Independent India. The events leading to the partition ofthe erstwhile British empire and the bloodshed that followed did not affect theEnglish in any significant manner (as it did a hundred years earlier in 1857 whenIndian and British soldiers fought and English civilians were mercilesslybutchered). The power was ?transferred? from the British to the Indianleadership and it wasn?t as if a prolonged revolutionary war had preceded in whichwithdrawing British armies were expected to be butchered. A good number of Englishmen holding jobs and positions stayedon or in many cases were asked not to abandon posts administrative. The peace,as always, was shattered by rumours, fears, and acts of cruelity perpetrated byIndians themselves upon each other. Durrell?s fear of being an Englishman in ?Indian?India wouldn?t have been a reason for his choosing to keep away from India. SomehowI think it is just that India was one of those things that were not on hiswishlist anymore. Gulshan -------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Message: 5Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 08:07:21 -0800From: Bruce Redwine To: James Gifford , mail at durrelllibrarycorfuCc: Bruce Redwine Subject: [ilds] Durrell's AngstMessage-ID: <57E619C8-7984-4628-BF87-CC0490DC2BA2 at earthlink.net>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Richard?s description of Durrell?s ?angst? is another way to say, ?You can?t go home again.?Bruce> On Nov 19, 2015, at 1:42 AM, mail at durrelllibrarycorfu.org wrote:> > To the quedtion of LD's putative return to India, we must bear in mind that he felt it was not a good idea to revisit a place where one had been happy. But he told me (and this was confirmed to me by Raymond Mills) that when Raymond Mills was stationed in (I think) Nepal (this would have been in the late 1970s) there was some question of LD being invited to Northern India on a British Council tour which never materialised. So it's possible that he might have been able to overcome the angst (for I'm sure that is what it was) of returning to a much-loved place. His misgivings about returning to Corfu in the 1960s (when the Athanasios family were already undertaking the commercialisation which has overtaken the place today) were expressed in the essay "Oil for the Saint"> RP-------------- next part --------------An HTML attachment was scrubbed...URL: ------------------------------Subject: Digest Footer_______________________________________________ILDS mailing listILDS at lists.uvic.cahttps://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds------------------------------End of ILDS Digest, Vol 103, Issue 12*************************************
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