Published
Arts & Social Sciences Journal
I published an article titled NAIPAUL’S REPRESENTATIONS OF ISLAM AND CULTURE IN AMONG THE BELIEVERS AND BEYOND BELIEF in the Journal of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University Malaya, back in 2012.
My head of department then asked if I could write a submission for this journal.
I had previously completed my MA thesis on V.S. Naipaul, and thus was inspired to write about his journey again.
V.S. Naipaul has often been under criticism for his dark, pessimistic and sometimes brash portrayals of Third World countries, specifically postcolonial societies like India, Trinidad, Africa and even South America. He has been critiqued for these same reasons for his Islamic travelogues, Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (1981) and Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted People (1998). It is the aim of this article to show how Naipaul’s multiple roles as a traveller, travel writer, an ethnographer, an intellectual, an interpreter, a narrator, and a Western representative, together with his new literary style that is a fusion between ethnographic and travel writing, play a crucial part in his interpretation and representation of foreign cultures. It is concluded that Naipaul’s portrayals are undertaken with a moral and social responsibility of representing those subaltern peoples who are without a voice, which arises from his own experiences as a colonial subject.
Here is a link to this publication: https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/SARJANA/article/view/11042
In the works….
Vegetarian Cookbook
I’m also writing a Vegetarian cookbook. This is a very special project inspired by and dedicated to my children, who are vegetarians, like their father, since the day they were born. I am a staunch non-vegetarian!
My meals prove that vegetarian cooking does not have to be less tasty or mundane!
The recipes in this book are meals that I have created over the years to either satisfy my non-vegetarian palate, to add variety to mundane vegetarian dishes, or simply a re-creation of a non-vegetarian dish that the children saw on TV or a menu at a restaurant. I began to trial and test a variety of dishes as the children were growing up simply because there just weren’t enough restaurants that catered for vegetarians.
This book will include simple recipes and meal plans for a quick school or weekday, and a little more elaborate recipes for the weekends or when family is over, or that special birthday.
Product Communications Strategies How-to Book
I’m currently writing a book on the effective strategies of product communications, in the field of technical communications.
With over 15 years of extensive experience in technical writing, editing and proofreading, content management, and team management, it is time for me to put my experiences and expertise into writing.
This book will be helpful for technical writers just starting out in the industry, team leads for a growing technical writing team, and technical content managers looking to execute content strategies to increase the communications reach.
Sharmila Rajagopal 