Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The notion of multiculturalism has invoked the organic assimilation of myriad of cultures having different values. But the point of diversion here is that multiculturalism is inherently a self-contradictory dimension. Further extending to transculturalism, it is a phenomenon of homogenization constituting liberal assumptions. At the hindsight, power relations does not seem to occupy a pedestal position in this regard, yet the veiled presence or absence alludes to undertones of power-play in transculturalism. This is evident when gender culture is probed through this theory (transculturalism) in Devdutt Pattanaik’s “Shikhandi”. The intention of this paper is: 1. To investigate the concept of transculturalism and gender culture in his work; 2. To analyze the similarities through the differences between the two; and 3. To foreground the queer aspects in terms of transculturalism in the various characters that Pattanaik has drawn from ancient Hindu mythology in his work. It has been found that the Indian mythologist (Pattanaik) has amalgamated queer culture such that the absence of distinct cultural diversity leads to a deferred presence of cultural discrimination.