In the Beginning is Desire: Tracing Kali’s Footprints in Indian Literature

Neela Bhattacharya Saxena has a Ph.D. in English from Allahabad University, Allahabad, India where she also taught before moving to the US. She has been teaching in American universities since 1987, and currently she is Assistant Professor of English at Nassau Community College. She is also a visiting faculty member at the Center for India Studies, Stony Brook University, NY. She has developed and taught courses on South Asian literature and culture. Her professional interests include literature, religion and philosophy, postcolonial criticism and critical theory. Her essay, “Border in the Courtyard: Partitioned India and My Mother’s Home,” was published in the Nassau Review in 2002 and won its best essay award. She has been a member of the International Association for Philosophy and Literature for the last eight years and has presented papers at several conferences around the world. She lives with her family in Brewster, NY.