Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Details

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

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.