The Book : This volume of essays is brought out in honour of Professor C.D. Narasimhaiah, an eminent scholar-critic and one of the pioneers of English Studies in India. Of its two sections the first interrogates several major concerns of contemporary critical discourse such as identity, diaspora, hybridity, decolonization, cross-cultural encounters, translatorial practices and gender relations, locating them in an indigenous but eclectic and vibrant cultural ambience of the country. This theoretical perspective is followed (in Section Two) by a number of vigorous and nuanced case studies of several texts and authors, mostly Indian and a few Western. Jargon-free and insightful, these essays reflect on a wide range of literary productions and their sources as an autonomous yet culture specific intellectual enterprise, which is what has been the lifelong pursuit of Professor Narasimhaiah.