Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to write book review on 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' by Arundhati Roy. Along with five types of citations.
What is citation?
According to Oxford dictionary,
Citation is a quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work.
In another words, citation is a mention of a praiseworthy act in an official report, especially that of a member of the armed forces in wartime.
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, Citation is a specific reference in a military dispatch to meritorious performance of duty.
Citation is something that one can talking any information or referring related source while doing research work and mentioned that sources that are referred by his/her in research paper that is called citation.
Types of Citation
There are four main types of citation.
1) MLA - It’s widely used across various humanities disciplines. Full form of MLA is Modern Language Association. This type of citation is useful in literature and humanity fields. It has two editions MLA 8th and MLA 9th edition.
2) APA - This Style is defined by the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. It was designed for use in psychology, but today it’s widely used across various disciplines, especially in the social sciences.
3) AAA - The American Anthropological Association (AAA) recommends citing your sources using Chicago author-date style. AAA style doesn’t have its own separate rules. This style is used in the field of anthropology.
4) Chicago - Chicago author-date style is one of the two citation styles presented in the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition). It’s used mainly in the sciences and social sciences.
Book Review
'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' by Arundhati Roy.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is the second novel by Indian writer Arundhati Roy, published in 6 June 2017. The novel was originally written in English.it is a Fiction. The novel was published by Hamish Hamilton (UK & India) and Alfred A. Knopf (US). The novel set in India and covers wide range of India and some part of Canada also.it contains 449 pages.
The novel weaves together the stories of people navigating some of the darkest and most violent episodes of modern Indian history, from land reform that dispossessed poor farmers to the Bhopal disaster, 2002 Godhra train burning and Kashmir insurgency.Roy's characters run the gamut of Indian society and include an intersex woman (hijra), a rebellious architect, and her landlord who is a supervisor in the intelligence service.(Wikipedia)
The story begins with A strange older woman living in Grave Yard named Jannat. There is one another man named Imam Ziauddin who is old blind man became frequent companion of Anjum. Who came to know that the woman’s name is Anjum. She is a Hijra, a transwoman, who left Khwabgah many years ago. Then there is a story of Anjum's birth. Who born as a intersex, but her mother, Jahanara, gendered the child a boy and named him Aftab.
In a childhood Aftab was very good singer that causes the neighborhood kids to tease him about being too feminine. His father Mulaqat gave him suggestion to undergo a gender-change surgery, also tell him stories about his great warrior ancestors to inspire him towards masculinity. One day he noticed one Hijra girl walking beautifully and he followed her which lead him to Khwabgah, after that he keep visiting the place until he get 15 years old and then permanently moved there to live. In Khwabgah Aftab becomes Anjum permanently. She also gone through the gender transition surgery and becomes Female finally. She also became very famous among NGOs, human rights groups and journalists because of her beauty and aggressive feminity. All the way she becomes a successful Hijra.
One day Anjum finds one abandoned baby girl outside the mosque and took her with her. She treat the baby like her child and became her mother. She naming the baby Zainab. She mostly telling her realistic stories of her life. When Zainab reached at the age when she is ready to go to school suddenly she goes through a bout of ill health. So anjum decided to take her for pilgrimage with Zakir Mian to a holy Muslim site in Gujarat. In pilgrimage, Anjum and Zakir Mian face worst massacre, in which Zakir Mian was killed, but Anjum spared because they believe that to killing Hijra is bad luck. Anjum after returning from Gujarat stated behaving strangely. She started wearing clothes of boys and trying to dress Zainab as a little boy to protect her from suffering violence. When Ustad Kulsoom Bi Opposed this division, Anjum left Khwabgah, moved to Graveyard behind government hospital and started living there. She leaving Zainab in Saeeda’s care.
Slowly Anjum built a house in graveyard, where after some time Saddam Hussain, an unemployed Dalit young man on a mission to murder the police officer who caused the death of his father came and started living there. Who once witnessed his father's murder. Saddam Hussain also suggested Anjum that she should start charg to guests and for funeral services, And Anjum started calling her home Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services.
After that we find there is a a character of Biplab, a bureaucrat in the Indian government discovers that a tenant of his, Tilottama, has gone missing. He secretly loves Tilottama throughout his life. He met Tilottama in play performance as a student of university. But unfortunately Tilottama was dating Musa, a Kashmiri architect. There is one another character Naga who is journalist, who also is in love with Tilottama.Biplab is involved in the Kashmir conflict as a bureaucrat whose work serves primarily to cover up the atrocities committed by the Indian Army in the region. But soon he find himself a puppet of the government, who reveals only as much as the government want him to reveal. Naga is a journalist, and although he doesn’t see himself as corrupt in any way. One day Biplab received a message of Tilottama that army has captured her so Biplab sent Naga to save her, and naga save her from jail and soon Naga and Tilottama marry. But soon they divorced and Tilottama ask Biplab that if she rent one of his apartment. Here Biplav thought may now it's his chance for Tilottama. Before Biplab come to Tilottama's apartment, there is a wide public protest at Jantar Mantar. It was started as an anti corruption protest by Gandhian. And later turned into hunger strike against corruption in India. There are many other causes and groups also joined the protest to get media coverage. Anjum and Hussain move to Jantar Mantar to see what is happening there. There is group called the Mothers of the Disappeared finds a baby abandoned on the pavement in front of the protest. Anjum decided to take baby with her but other protester Mr.Aggarwal. Anjum got fight with him as Mr. Aggarwal wanted to handover baby to police officer but Anjum was against it and wanted to take baby with her. In between the conflict baby disappeared and no one knows who taken the baby so Anjum and Hussain leave Jantar Mantar to find baby.
Later on readers comes to know that the baby was taken by Tilottama. The baby was named as Miss Jebeen the Second by Tilottama. The name is given after Musa's daughter who was murdered in massacre by the Indian government in Kashmir. Also her mother Arifa died in same massacre. Tilottama was also involved in Kashmir massacre after meeting Musa. After Musa and Tilottama returned from the houseboat, the boat was raid by military police.Gulrez, a friend of musa killed by the military police.the military was led by Major Amrik Singh. Tilottama and Musa vows to take revenge of deaths. But Amrik Singh fled to California with his wife and childrens.
After taking baby from Jantar Mantar, The police are after her so Tilottama wants safe place to live, her friend Dr. Azad Bhartiya suggested her to Jannat Guest house and gave number of Sadam Hussain. Tilottama move to Jannat Guest House and started living there. She begins to work as a teacher for the poor, local children, and greatly enjoys her work. At another hand Sadam Hussain and Zainab falls in love and married. Many outcasts people came and start living in Jannat guest house. All the people at Jannat guest house are very happy. Jabeen the second raised surround peace, love and safety. The story ends here.
Watch this video for more information on 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'.
Citations
Video
“Arundhati Roy: The Ministry of Utmost Happiness .” Performance by Roy Arundhati , YouTube, Chicago Humanities Festival , 19 July 2017, https://youtu.be/JTXC0HYLPrs. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
Websites
Caulfield, Jack. “Citation Styles Guide: Examples for All Major Styles.” Scribbr, Jack Caulfield, 7 Nov. 2022, https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/citation-styles/.
“Citation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citation. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
Book - The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy.
Roy, Arundhati. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. India, Penguin Random House India Private Limited, 2018.
Image
"Verve Magazine" , 3 June 2017, www.vervemagazine.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Arundhati-Roy.jpg.
