Assignment
.
Name: Maheta Arati R.
Roll No: 3.
Class: M.A.-1
Semester -1.
Paper: 4 (Indian Writing in English).
Topic: History, Colony,
nation& Nationalism: Revisiting RajaRao&his Kanthapura.
Submitted to: Respected ME’M-Heenaba
Zala. & Department Of English (MKBU)
Raja Rao
Writer
Raja Rao was an Indian writer of
English language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in
Hinduism. Wikipedia
Born: November 8, 1908, Hassan,
Karnataka
Died: July 8, 2006, Austin,
Texas, United States
Education: University, University
Awards: Padma Vibhushan, Nested International Prize for Literature
History: A history is an account
of events that have happened in the past.
Colony: A colony is a country which is
controlled by a more powerful country.
Nation: A nation is an individual
country considered together with its social and political structures.
Nationalism:
Nationalisam is the desire for political independence of people who feel they
are historically or culturally a separate group within country.
‘Indian nationalism is a somewhat misleading shorthand phrase to describe a remarkable era of intellectual and cultural ferment and experimentation inaugurated in the late19th century.
The beginning of the
1930s mark an important benchmark as far as Indian Nationalism is concerned
because Indian National Congress ,under the stewardship of Gandhi, emerged as a
true ,national ,pan-Indian body, encompassing in its fold all the cross-sections of the society that were hitherto denied an entry into the
mainstream politics. The Indian National Congress had forged to a considerable
extent, a sense of Indianness across the vast stretch of the land, unifying and
preparing the people to accept the transition from regional to national in
their approach and attitude. This resulted in the emergence of national
imaginings of identity. Thus it became a period that witnessed a national
urgency to foreground the idea of a unified nation as it was at the core of the
decolonization project India had taken
up. And incidentally, Indian English novel too emerged as a major voice to reckon
with during the same time. As Meenakshi Mukhrjee notes, it was not a
coincidence that Indian English fiction emerged in India in the 1930s, the
decade prior to independence, when there was an urgency to foreground the idea
of a composite nation.
Nationalism is
indeed; on of the forces that shapes the cultural identity of a people.
Congress and its leaders a smooth shift in the understanding of identity from
religion to nationalism is ensured in a natural way, as the concept of nation
and competing version of nationalism become the defining factors of the period.
But Nationalism predominantly meant two things 1)It meant the armed resistance
to the Imperial Government.2)It also meant the psychological and cultural
resistance to the idea of colonialism. In significant manner this resulted in
the emergence of a unified nationalist identity; hence the novels written during
the period deal with this idea of ‘one nation’ and one identity.
Commenting upon the
necessity of constructing such a pan- Indian identity, Meenakshi Mukhrjee write
in her Anxiety of Indianness that “any
project of constructing a national identity is predicted upon two
simultaneous imperatives;1)an erasure of
differences within the border,2) and accentuating the difference with what lies outside”. As a language ,English in
India achieves the first goal of
erasing the internal difference, which constitute regional
identities within India.When it comes to
Indian nationalisam, therefore non other
than a personality like Gandhi takes up this task of unifying Indian diversities
on the one hand ,and positing unified Indian tradition in an oppositional
relation to the Modern Civilisation , which the west symbolises .This is precisely the
socio-literary interregnum where the anxiety of Indian English Literature
becomes visibly manifest:Indian English
Literature has to perform on the one hand, the task of erasing the
minor constituents of identity and on the other,also stress over the importence
of a pan –Indian identity.In the Indian context , during the national imagining
of identity Gandhi forms the locus of
identity because he stands for a pan –Indian symbol of india’S peacekeeping and non-violent heritage: the
whole of India ,with its thousand of years of tradition,comes to identity
itself with this frad figure. By adhering to the western realistic mode of
biographical sketch , Indian EnglishLiterature can at best capture the
political face of Gandhi but not the extent to which Gandhi occupie;the
mass consciousness of India.Gandhi for
the Indian masses is not merely a political
leader ;he is their saviour ,a legend ,who they believe is divinely ordained to
release India from the bondage of west .
And in order to bring out all these dimensions of Gandhi.A writer has to be
electic in his sources choocing from
history,fable,tradition etc.Therefore
the Indian English writer resorts to
mixing fact and fiction,myth and reality.This is were we can locate the
significance of Raja Rao who combines in his writings traditional techniques of narrating
history with the contemporary history
such a technique speaks volumes for the
successful combination of the historigraphic practices of the West with the
autochthonous narrative traditions of India.This thesis begins precisely from this point of
historical that connect s Indian writers in English to the ancient literary
traditions of India as well as to the more
contemporary and cosmopolitan tradition
of west.
Between these two
pulls Raja Rao finds a plausible answer by surrendering to what might be called a ‘Literary middle path’.Successfully
adhering and emulating the tradition of creative narrativisation of the past,he
brings the historical insightedness of
the Western historiography into the
creative and Literary folders of Indian
tradition; this RajaRao does by
Infusing within English ,the Indian
sensibility and Indian vision to form Indian identity.In his much cited article
“The Meaning of India”Raja Rao unambiguously defines India and Indian identity.
In this novel the novelist
attempting to define India,not through the geographical and tropical landmark
that are in India; not through its flora and fauna ,not also through the kings
who ruled in India. While it is true that all these are truly Indian. they
become Indian because they essentially share the vision called India. They are
the manifestation of a Darshan called India. In order to define the history of
such an abstract concept Raja Rao invariably makes use of all the modes of
recording the past whether it is a myth,
a legend, a story, a narration…he mixes all these forms to portray the
present history of his time. His works
demonstrate how even a contemporary political event such as Indian Freedom
struggle
Raja Rao’s Kanthapura enacts
some of the motifs of post colonialism. In my previous post here I point out
that Raja Rao critiques the simple position that
the discourse of colonialism instituted a notion of the natural superiority of
the colonizing race and this was internalized by the colonized. In the second
piece on the novel I point to how the novel problematizes viewing colonial
modernity as having had a liberating impact on the Indian society. Let me take
this reading further. When Rao turns even Gandhi into myth, a major deviation
is introduced within the structure of the novel. It is worth nothing how he
describes Gandhi in his short story “Narsiga”. Who was this Gandhiji Narsa had
asked “an old man-a bewitching man, a saint you know!...he looks beautiful as morning sun and he wears only a little loincloth
like a pariah…he is a great man. They say he is an incarnation of God and that
is why everybody touches his feet, even Brahmins, In the story the
boy sees Gandhi as Rama and Red ruler as a Ravana-the monster for whose
extermination Lord Vishnu had to
reincarnate as Rama .When Gandhi is released from the prison ,he likens the
event to rama’s return from exile; The Mahatma is going to fly in the air like
goddess Sita and in a flower chariot drawn by 16 steeds…they will fly through
air and the heavens will let fall a rain of flowers. This is how the Indian
sensibility affects the way one looks at things, In the naïve observation of a
boy pure contemporary political event is absorbed into the mythic tradition of
the land ,a political movement such as Indian nationalism assumes a religious
significance in the observation of the boy, thus signaling a new note in
understanding an ideology called
Nationalism from an Indian perspective.
The novel highlights with no subtlety the collusion between colonialism
and Brahmanism. The manner in which Moorthy becomes an outcaste in the Brahmin
quarters with his campaign against untouchability indicates the tension between
Brahmanism and nationalism. For Brahmanism, the colonial ruler is not the enemy
but Gandhi’s anti-untouchable movement is. The collusion between Brahmanism and
colonialism is suggested through the alliance between Bhatta, Bade Khan the
policeman and the Sahib of the Estate. Swami, who is waging a war against
‘caste pollution due to this pariah business, sees British rulers as protectors
of the ancient ways of Dharma. Swami receives a large amount from the govt as
Rajadakshina and is promised that he would receive moral and material support
in his war the novel highlights with no subtlety the collusion between
colonialism and Brahmanism. The manner in which Moorthy becomes an outcaste in
the Brahmin quarters with his campaign against untouchability indicates the
tension between Brahmanism and nationalism. For Brahmanism, the colonial ruler
is not the enemy but Gandhi’s anti-untouchable movement is. The collusion
between Brahmanism and colonialism is suggested through the alliance between
Bhatta, Bade Khan the policeman and the Sahib of the Estate. Swami, who is
waging a war against ‘caste pollution due to this pariah business, sees British
rulers as protectors of the ancient ways of Dharma. Swami receives a large
amount from the govt as Rajadakshina and is promised that he would receive
moral and material support in his war against caste pollution. Gainst caste
pollution.
Raja Rao’s’ Kanthapura ‘is best cited to illustrate this purpose. The
novel records Gandhi’s mass
movement during the freedom struggle aimed solely at arousing a nationalistic
consciousness which would help in forming up a unique national identity
constructed by uniting the masses. Achieving this is not an easy task
considering the diversity in religion, caste, creed, etc. of the nation. In
order to bring together those diverse sects under a common roof, Gandhi feels
the need for secularism and religious tolerance. He professes his secular notion
of religion and incites to the mind of the masses, the oneness of men, negating
any sectarian religion and caste and class based divisions. As he observes:
Man’s ultimate aim is the realization of God,
and all his activities, political, social
and religious, have to be guided by the ultimate
aim of the vision of God. The
immediate service of all human beings becomes a
necessary part of the endeavor
simply because the only way to find God is to
see Him in His creation and be one
with it. This can be done by service of all. And
this cannot be done except through
one’s country. (Chakrabarti 35)
This aspect of the Gandhi an thought had an
impact on the creative impetus of the Indian novelists in English.
In this paper I will discuss on how Gandhian blending
of politics and religion gives an impact on the minds of the Indian masses,
especially of the villagers. Taking instances from Raja Rao’s novel Kanthapura,
I will seek to show how Gandhian political thoughts and teachings come in the
guise of traditional religious terms and how it stirs the innocent and
superstitious imaginations of the village folk. Gandhian secularism and
spiritual teachings aim to dismantle the rigid social caste based structure,
thereby enabling the masses to unite under a common religion, the religion of
Truth and Love. The social and political programs of Gandhi converge with the
religious aspect of his thought thereby making them appealing to the religious
and superstitious Indian masses.
The writer records Gandhian impact on typical
Indian village through an informal but very intimate narration of an elderly
widow, Acchakka.Gandhi is again portrayed here as Rama, Krishna and Shiva whose
birth has a divine significance. As the novel says, once Valmiki the great sage
and the writer ofRamayana,in the novel they goes to the lord Brahma and says,
‘O Brahma you who have sent us the Prince …………..incarnate on the Earth
and free my beloved daughter from her
enforced slavery.(p.15).
In what appears to be an interpolation into the religious tradition of
India, the novel treats Gandhi as a divine reincarnation of Shiva, whose birth
in Gujarat is meant just to kill the Red man and free Mother India from the
clutches of oppression. The colonial intrusion as halen Tiffin notes is seen in
the novel ‘s oral structure as one story of the vanquishing of a demon by
goddess within the framework of timeless comparable legends and Gandhi is
portrayed as one such avatar, a reincarnation, who is born to save India from
the bondage and tyranny of Ravana –the Red ruler. The entire novel speaks volumes for how a
creative writer assimilates and
transcends a contemporary political
reality into the cultural consciousness of a tradition race and people.Alessandro
monti observes in this context.
In Kanthapura, religion an
integral part of culture has been used
for a secular and political purpose such as attaining Independence. Here religion has got a very significant role
to play in defining the identity of people and also of the nation. but its
scope has been limited and meaning restricted only towards meeting a secular
and political end-achieving Independence. Raja Rao exquisitely appropriates the
Indian religious tradition of
Harikatha to promote the cause of nation and also to accord this cause a sacred
dimension. In fact the novel makes use of two kinds of appropriates 1) it
appropriates the religious tradition of
the country, such as Harikatha to further the contemporary issues such as Swaraj and Nation,2) it also appropriates the contemporary history such as Indian
National Movement and brings it to the fold of the religious tradition of India.
Jay ram char’s Harikatha on the birth of Gandhi Mahatma.
In this novel he talks about the four part of society .the novel dormant
pattern to the treatment of cast and communities of Kanthapura, a tiny village
represent of any other village of South India. In the beginning of the novel we
encounter the whole village stratified and hierarchised on the basis of caste,
creed and religion .There is a Brahmin street, Pariah quarter, Weavers colony,
Potter’s community etc. The use of the
religious metaphor helps
Raja Rao’s narrator to explain the subtleties of freedom movement. It is
a part of Raja Rao’snarrative technique. The narrator blends the past with the
present. Myths coexist with contemporary reality. The strength to fight the
British comes from the religious faith. For the illiterate villagers, the
contemporary problems like those of the freedom struggle can be explained
through scriptures which form the psyche of the Indians. The appeal of these
religious books has the efficacy to inspire the simple villagers to join the
Satyagrahis. The villagers, now and then, invoke the spirit of goddess
Kenchammafor for the success of the freedom movement. Ram festivals, Krishna
festivals, Gandhi Festivals with all religious fervor, the Bhajans and
Hari-Kathabecome popular and sustain the spirit of theKanthapurians. They
ascribe the success of the movement to the blessings of these deities. Temples
are used to recruit members for the Congress, and they administer the oath of
allegiance to the party and its ideologies, particularly, of Ahimsa, Love and
Truth in the sanctum sanctorum Gandhi is a vast symbol of ideal life-code, of a
holy and noble person. Achakka, the narrator is like Shelley’s West wind, a
symbol of rebirth and regeneration. Moorthy becomes a symbol of a modern
progressive and spiritual leader. At time she is a Bhakt Prahalad, a messiah of
the pariah, a symbol of new life in Kanthapura. if and that is Love of mankind,
and there is one God in life and that is God of all. Moorthy says that he is
just “a pebble among pebbles of the river, and when the floods come, rocked by
rock may be buried. This statement suggests his victory over egoism. His
recitation of “Shivoham, Shivoham” is purely Vedantic.
The
total destruction of Kanthapura towards the end of the novel is symbolic of new
life emerging out of the dead one. Just as a new Phoenix arises out of holy
ashes of the burnt one, Kashipura becomes new one. It is a purgatorial process
that gives a new life. Rajesh K. Pall an summarizes the entire process: ...The
end of novel is like the end of Kalyuga with the Parlays or inundation
engulfing the whole village. All the villagers leave Kanthapura to settle in
Kashipura. Range Gowda, the one-time head of the village, goes to Kanthapura
only to find,’ there is neither man nor mosquito in Kanthapura.’This is
undoubtedly a change from yuga cradling into another, and parlays indicates the
end of cyclical civilization and the preparation for the new beginning and the
trumpet call of change; is head by RangeGowda in the end of the novel whose
hear ‘beat’ like a drum.’Kanthapura is
an epic of freedom struggle, encompassing India’s vastness within its artistic
battles fought on the field of the villages. The role of the villages in
freedom struggle has not, hitherto, been adequately appreciated by historians.
It is a marvel of narrative technique, a blend of puranicstyle, symbols, myths,
religious metaphor and linguistic experiments.
In this novel Raja Rao also talks
about the freedom struggle experiments.. Raja Rao is one of the most widely acclaimed Indian English novelists
whose fame rest son wide range of his intellectual, spiritual, national,
political & social thought content. Kanthapura (1938) which depicts the
mirror images of contemporary Indian society emerges as an ancient classic
narrates all affairs of social milieu; through the picture of small village
Kanthapura Rao reveals his intense He strongly displays deep & firmly
roofed passion nationalistic zeal and spiritual concerns begin with his first
novel Kanthapura. It is believed as an epic and the creative construction of a
work of fiction through nationalism and spirituality. Meenakshi Mukhrjee
expresses her views in this regard as: Kanthapura is narrated by an old woman
to a hypothetical listener....Raja Rao’s choice of this narrator serves several
purposes at once. Making this old woman the narrator enables Raja Rao to mingle
facts and myths and in an effective manner. For the old woman, Jawaharlal is a
Bharata’s to the Mahatma who she believes will slay Ravana so that Sita may be
freed. For her Gandhi has attained the status of God and Moorthy is regarded
Avatar in Kanthapura. The characteristically concrete imagination of the uneducated
mind pictures the Mahatma as large and blue like the Sahyadn Mountain on whose
slopes the pilgrims climb to the top, while Moorthy is seen as a small
mountain. Toner the Satyagraha becomes a religious ceremony to which she
devotes her sacred ardour.It is known fact that the Indian freedom movement
gained true pace under the able leadership of Mahatma Gandhi since 1920s which
made powerful impact on Indian life and sensibility and is even marked in the
novel where Rao attunes himself with his philosophical concern for Gandhian
thoughts of non-violence, untouchability, truth and shows fascination for Vedanta’T
he fact is that very concept
of nationalism means alien to India before the 19th Century as a reaction to
the British colonial rule in India. Alan’s Kohn in Nationalism: Its meaning
& History Comments: Nationalism in India is not as a vehicle of individual
liberty but as adoration of collective power. (Kohn, 2 Rao brings out the fact about Gandhi’s
belief that politics and religion are inextricably mated together; Kanthapura
evinces this divine truth that man’s status in the society is spiritual as much
as it is political. Kanthapura emerges to be a laboratory of the Gandhian
thought and theory. Raja Rao’sacute awareness of the spiritual ideals and values
of ancient India and its place and impact on the emotional make-up of the inhabitants of this
South Indian Village during the period when Gandhi’s personality and thought
was a force to be reckoned with. Iyengar aptly comments that he novel is a veritable
grammar of the Gandhian myth. (Iyanger,87) Religious fervor in Kanthapura is
blended with social realism in such a way that the ideas of Gandhiji are easily
comprehended by the villagers. The impact of Harikatha is ennobling and
innovating and even the old women cannot remain detached. Gandhiji had been a
divine man and a saint. Kanthapura, the little village, forms the microcosm of
the Indian subcontinent is shown to come to life where movement for national
freedom during twenties and thirties worked on successfully. The village is
located in the province of Kara, situated high on the Ghats and the steep
mountains facing the Arabian sea Like Kanthapura, thousands of villages of
India had woken up to fight the alien rulers.
The remote village is caught in the maelstrom of the freedom struggle of
the 1930s and is transformed into living symbol of Gandhism. R.S. Singh’s
observation is noteworthy in this regard of nationalism and spirituality: It
may be clarified at outset that Kanthapura, is not an allegory because the
comparison between Gandhi-British rule and Rama-Ravana situation is not
elaborate and complete. It is only a convenient comparison. A villager born and
brought up in Indian Tradition understands easily a contemporary problem if it
is explained through fable or an episode of the Ramayana or the Mahabharata or
the Gita etc.Moreover, the narrator, being an old woman found it easier to
explain subtle thoughts of Man
Thanks for the assignment.
ReplyDeleteIt contains some good thoughts about Kanthapura.
ReplyDeleteYour assignment it is nice i like it.
ReplyDelete