Volume II Special Issue VI June 2022

Name of Author : Dr. R Karthika Devi

Title of the paper : Reflections on Shashi Tharoor’s The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone

Abstract: Shashi Tharoor, one of the greatest contemporary Indian writers , endowed with the rich knowledge of Indian cultural heritage and its past, has authored several books dealing with the issues related to Indian history , politics and society. While his An Era of Darkness deals with the atrocities encountered by Indian subcontinent during the British Colonial rule , his The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone discusses the various political situations, cultural practices, social changes, etc,. that occur in India during the twentieth century in an objective, casual and in a comical way. Tharoor’s reflections on cricket, cinema, politics, etc. with keen ianalyzed its past as well as observes the present with a critical eye. For example, his analysis of the name change of Indian cities reveals his historical knowledge, language proficiency in other Indian knowledge and sense of presence. He elaboratively analyses the change of the name Madras to Chennai with a historical and a linguistic perspective in a humorous manner with an ironical touch. On the whole the collection of reflections of Tharoor are thought provoking and interesting with plain truth.

Keywords : Cultural Heritage, Historical, Knowledge, Ironical, Linguistic, Reflection

DOI :

Page Number : 10-12