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" In a rare exception to the general theme of immorality..." In this sentence, it seems the name or mention of the exception is missing. Which one was exceptional?
Ok, but which one was the exception. I mean, which play/drama was the exception to the general rule? In what play his love was portrayed to be genuine?--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
18:23, 25 March 2013 (UTC)reply
" In the first meeting scene, Elokeshi is sometimes depicted as a courtesan..." In plays, farces or the paintings, or in newspaper reports? --
Dwaipayan (
talk)
15:28, 21 March 2013 (UTC)reply
Also, I see that in Swati Cjattopadhyay's wrtining, there is some discussion/commentary/discourse on the event from a historical/social perspective, such as the theme of loss of traditional Indian culture in the face of colonialism. Also, some comments while dissecting the event from different planes (village versus city, priest versus bhadralok, colonial state versus nationalist community etc) are available. These can be mentioned in assessment section.--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
19:41, 21 March 2013 (UTC)reply
Can you please give me a reference (like book, pages, your source of info) about what needs to be added. Are you referring to Representing Calcutta: modernity, nationalism, and the colonial uncanny or some other book?
RedtigerxyzTalk12:26, 24 March 2013 (UTC)reply
the lead says that the scandal occurred in Calcutta. I feel Bengal would be a better term. Although the court case took place in Calcutta, the scandal was in public memory throughout Bengal. Moreover, the place where the incident happened, Tarakeshwar, is not in Calcutta, it's probably more than 50 km away.
"At least 34 farces were published by the "popular press" on the events of the Tarakeswar affair—the rape, the murder and the trial. At least four of these were reprinted several times and Mohanter Ei ki Kaj! became a money-spinning play on stage.". A few sentences later, " At least 19 plays were also based on the scandal, all of which became very popular and big money-makers". Was Mohanter Ei Ki Kaj a farce or a play?
In the lead, I feel the presence of two phrases within dashes is causing some unnecessary break in reading. IMO, "then the capital of the British Raj" can be removed.--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
05:35, 30 March 2013 (UTC)reply
Also, the lead may be slightly expanded by incorporating some stuff from the section "Assessment and portrayal of the characters".--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
05:37, 30 March 2013 (UTC)reply
CorrectKnowledge (
talk·contribs) posted some comments on the article in my talk page. I am copy-pasting those here:
A few minor prose clarity issues remain. For instance, "the mahant allegedly seduced and raped her".. who alleges this? If it was Nobin or someone related to him, it would be significant enough to be mentioned here. "Despite the rape, the affair continued with..."... this is ambiguous. This is the first sentence about the affair. If the affair has continued then when did it start, did it start before or after the rape? There are at least two places where the Mahant has been called a Brahmin (for instance "immoral activities of the Brahmin mahant") and in one sentence it is said the pleas for mercy came from "the lower social hierarchy". Reading the whole article there appears to be a caste angle to the topic, but with surname like "Banerjee" (I'm not trying to do a
Guha here :)), that too in 19th century Bengal, I would doubt this. If such an angle doesn't exist then it perhaps some kind of clarification right at the beginning would help.--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
13:25, 3 April 2013 (UTC)reply
(modified comment)
allegedly -> The ref says that he was "accused". by whom is not said explicitly, but probably the village folk.
affair is any sexual relationship. The seduction/rape is the first mention
I could not detect a caste angle mention in ref anywhere explicitly.
The ref says that the behaviour was thought to be unworthy of a Brahmin.
The first "Brahmin" is part of definition of mahant.
the lower social hierarchy is an antithesis of elite in the sentence. To convey the highest as well as the lowest agreed. No caste connotation.
Sarkar cites the Quenn vs Nobin Chandra Banerjee as her source. The accusation must have been made by one of the parties involved in the trial. Unfortunately, Sarkar hasn't made this explicit, so we can't
draw any conclusions from this.
Yes, seduction/rape is mentioned first, but only as an accusation. No continuity chronological or otherwise is implied with the following sentences. You have used "the affair continued" which I don't think is appropriate. IMO, the description of the affair in Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation: Community, Religion, and Cultural Nationalism starts at "The Mohunt had established...". Don't connect it to the accusation of rape.
You have used "lower social hierarchy" whereas Sarkar uses "lower middle class". There is a substantial difference between the two terms. One cannot be used as a substitue for another. Besides, if you are suggesting that "the behaviour was thought to be unworthy of a Brahmin", "activities immoral for the Brahmin Mahant" would be better phrasing than "the immoral activities of the Brahmin mahant". A rider here, I have not read Ref #2, so I can't comment on which would be the more accurate paraphrashing of the source.
"An affair began with the "connivance" of..." onwards can probably go into a separate paragraph. All other issues raised by me have been adequately addressed. As I have pointed out
elsewhere, I like the way this article has been written.
Correct Knowledge«৳alk»22:50, 5 April 2013 (UTC)reply
In the lead, "The murder victim Elokeshi is sometimes blamed as the seductress, who is the root cause of the affair, but sometimes absolved her of all guilt, describing how she falls prey to the mahant's trickery and is raped." Is this correct grammar-wise? The part "sometimes absolved her of all guilt", what is the subject of this verb "absolved" here?--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
23:03, 5 April 2013 (UTC)reply
The phrase should be "sometimes absolved of her guilt". The sentence would still be incorrect though, "describing how she falls prey to the mahant's trickery and is raped" is just hanging there at the end with no connection to anything before it. The sentence probably needs to be broken into two.
Correct Knowledge«৳alk»23:17, 5 April 2013 (UTC)reply
The article opens with "The Tarakeswar affair... refers to the public scandal.." So, the affair here is referring to the scandal itself. However, second para of lead starts with "The affair led to the decapitation of Elokeshi by her husband...". In this case, what "the affair" is referring to? Definitely not the public scandal in Calcutta, as the scandal happened afterwards, during the trial. So, this "affair" needs to be re-worded.
"Elokeshi's parents, with whom she stayed in Tarakeswar while Nobin was away on work in Calcutta, are considered guilty for the event.". They are always considered so, or, in some farces?--
Dwaipayan (
talk)
20:37, 6 April 2013 (UTC)reply