Spread the Wings: Globalising India

"In the backdrop of globalization India too has witnessed changes in the value system. Aruna, a scholar of history and art visits Paris and falls in love with two western guys, Philip and William, simultaneously. She experiences the somberness in Philip and adores it all along. On the other hand, the lustrous attraction of William is inescapable. Aruna does not want to bind her mind to one at the expense of another. She believes in leaving the heart unleashed so that the gems she gathers from the ocean of life are genuine. However, Aruna's passion for freedom is not selfish. She understands the depth of love that Alice has for Philip and also the bisexuality of William. William's involvement with Dimitri does not inflict jealousy or rejection in her mind. William also discovers that both Aruna and Dimitri are a part of his existence - one is not substitute for another. He, therefore, extends space to both without secrecy and hypocrisy. Though the present legal system is not adequate to give space to these changes the characters in the fiction are happy with what they have chosen to be cohesive and comfortable. "

＂Arup Mitra is professor of Economics, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. His area of research interest includes development, labour, urban, gender and industrial economics. He has published a number of books and more than one hundred research papers in various international and national journals. His recent book on inclusive growth, employment and wellbeing has been published by Springer and his co-authored book on corruption and development in the Indian economy is published by Cambridge. Besides, he writes in various business dailies. He received the Mahalanobis memorial gold medal from the Indian Econometric Society for his outstanding contribution to quantitative economics. His activities extend beyond economics. In the field of literature he has published four volumes of poems and a fiction: Awakening (1998) by Commonwealth publishers, In Search of the Lotus-Feet (2002) by Atlantic Publishers, Light on the Lotus (2007) by Readworthy, Poverty Profile (2009) by Mind Melodies and A Letter to Mother: From Destruction to Construction (2002) by Atlantic Publishers.He has been trained as a classical dancer in the Odissi style by Guru Dibakar Khuntia and earned Nritya Visharad from the Prachin Kala Kendra. He has performed in many important centers. He also pursues philosophy and spiritualism and writes in the Speaking Tree section of the Times of India. ＂