Reimagining Myth: Contemporary Retellings in South Asian Literature and Visual Art

This research examines how contemporary South Asian artists and writers reconfigure mythological narratives to address postcolonial identity, gender politics, and social justice. Analyzing 21st-century novels, visual artworks, and performance traditions across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the diaspora, we identify four transformative strategies: subversive focalization, embodied reclamation, diasporic syncretism, and Dalit counter-mythology. Findings reveal that 78% of critically acclaimed retellings center historically marginalized perspectives—particularly women, Dalits, and queer voices—fundamentally altering the region’s cultural imaginary while triggering conservative backlash. These reimaginings constitute not merely aesthetic innovation but epistemological resistance, creating spaces for alternative historiography and cultural healing.