The Wounded Hamlet: Exploring Ecocritical Views in Ambikasutan Mangad’s Swarga : A Posthuman Tale

Abstract

The research paper titled “The Wounded Hamlet: Exploring Ecocritical Views in Ambikasutan Mangad’s Swarga : A Posthuman Tale” deeply engages with questions of environment, development and the fate of marginalized communities. The novel, written in the context of the pernicious pesticide disaster in the Kasaragod district of Kerala, reflects the author’s consistent environmental concerns. When the skies rain poison, our world turns into a wasteland and the beautiful hamlet ‘Swarga’ transforms into a ‘hell’. Swarga reflects how the idea of ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise’ promised by modernity becomes illusory when ecological destruction results in displacement and loss. The paper consolidates the connection between nature and man and how far environmental degradation disrupts the sustenance of human beings. The fictional work voices the struggles of the poor people to defend their land and environment, making it a text of ecoresistance. The study encourages readers to reconsider their relationship with nature, advocating for a more sustainable and harmonious coexistence.