Mirage of Academic Seminars as Reflected in the story 'Giroh Ka Brahmbhoj'

The present study explores the artificiality, insincerity, and intellectual bankruptcy of academic seminars as depicted in Indian campus fiction. The paper examines the culture of attending seminars. The research questions guiding this study are: Are the academicians genuinely interested in attending seminars? Do seminars serve as platforms of scholarly discussion? Do academic seminars succeed in achieving their academic goals? To seek answer to these question, Shashank Shukla’s short story “Giroh Ka Brahmbhoj” has been selected for the study. The critical analysis of the story will be done from postcolonial perspective. The study adopts a descriptive and explanatory research method. The secondary sources include literary texts, postmodern studies, research papers, articles, reviews and newspapers. The study shows that the academic activity of seminars is carried out in unacademic manner, making it a mockery of the scholarship in academia. It reveals that seminars have been reduced to mere means of enjoyment, and merry-making. Instead of serving academic purposes, they serve tourist purpose. The study also shows that the objective of attending seminars is to increase publication counts to secure jobs, and not to produce any genuine academic results in terms of enhancing knowledge and advancing learning. The paper makes some recommendations for improving the culture of seminars.