Title
The River is Three-quarters Empty: Some Literary Takes on Rivers and Landscapes in India and Australia
Document Type
Conference Paper
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
This paper takes its title from the historical novel by Ranga Rao, The River is Three-quarters Full, itself apparently borrowed from a Telugu proverb about the beneficent powers of riverine nature and the ultimate benevolence of the cosmos. The phrase is invoked repeatedly by villagers despite a major drought and connects to East India Company idealists envisaging controlled water management while their profiteering colleagues mismanage famine and pursue their own advantage.
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Publication Details
This conference paper was originally published as Sharrad, P, The River is Three-quarters Empty: Some Literary Takes on Rivers and Landscapes in India and Australia, Eastern Indian Association for the Study of Australia (IASA), Kolkata, India, 22-24 January 2009. Original conference information available here