Anandamath by Bankim Chandra Chatterji is one of the most
important novels in the history of Indian literature. Originally written in
Bengali and published in 1882, is set on sanyasi revolt for independence from British Empire. Through
this novel Bankim Chandra Chatterji expresses his dream of free India, free
from British rule. Despite the Sanyasi revolt of 18th century being
unsuccessful, Bankim Chandra in this work imagined the untrained Sanyasis
defeating the highly trained British Army. Further, the novel is able to
inspire the patriot in the reader. The novel had huge social and political
impact on India specially Bengal and was of great importance for the nation. The novel’s importance is heightened by the
fact that it contains the origins of Indian national song ‘Vande Mataram’ which
is the song of the militant sadhus in the novel. I came away from this novel
having a better understanding of my relationship with my country.
The
story Anandamath unfolds itself in four parts.The novel at the beginning is
loosely set around the devastating Bengal femine of 17th century under
the tyranny of British, local villagers turning into cannibals in search of
food, left with nothing they earned through years, forced to leave their homes.
Progressing through the first part we read about a young landlord from the
village of padachina, Mahendra Singh,his wife and his newly born girl child.
(in later parts one discovers that the protagonist in the novel is Jiban).
Meanwhile it describes about a group of sanyasis, known as the order of
children, headed by Mahatama Satya who have decided to take on the British. Later
the story shifts from Mahendra to Jiban and his wife Shanti and “children” of
mother India. What makes this novel different from the streamline are the
characters. The fighters in this novel are not from the mainstream Bengali
social class but sanyasis from temples and later thousands of others also join
the cause. By introducing us to an array
of new to us and unique characters the
novel grabs the interest of the reader very skilfully. The later parts of the
novel are filled with war scenes and that part of the novel too is described
very truthfully in the novel.
According to
me, Bankim Chandra Chatterji should not have kept the story this short. Keeping
in mind how quickly the story turns and the lack of details at points, had it
been more descriptive, it would have been better. While reading the novel,the
reader can easily say that the story favouring the freedom fighters, as I have
already written above that the author described an unsuccessful movement as a
success. The British army is described fleeing from ground in a war while the
Indians are dying a brave death,everyone who died took many lives. Bankim
Chandra favouring the Indians in a way inspires the patriot within the reader.
The story on the other hand is a unique blend between war and love. Children of
mother India were supposed to stay away from the families and author writes instances of their love for
their families. As stated earlier the novel is filled with new to us and unique
characters which are, despite their common motive are very different from each
other. A unique character Bhuvan shows Bankim’s effort of making the novel more
interesting for a reader, Bhuvan’s description of being a loose and free guy
and his flirting with Mahendra’s wife certainly catches more and more interest
of the reader. Continuing the characters, another very important character in
the story is Mahatama Satya. He is the leader of the children of mother india,
this is what the reader gets from the story. He is the man with great love for
his country, he has devoted his life for the service of god and mother India.
There are two noticeable female characters in the novel-Kalyani and Shanti,
according to me both being patriotic have many similarities and dissimilarities
between them, which made the reading experience more unusual and interesting.
Kalyani on one hand showed immense love for her husband and kid, took poison thinking
that might help mother India gaining her independence. Shanti on the other hand
was more of rebellious kind. She went out learning defence, later coming to the
Ashram and helping the children in their war for independence. The novel
basically revolves around three major male characters- Mahendra, Jivan and
Bhuvan. The comparison drawn between mother India and three goddesses Jagaddhatri, kali and durga is very
interesting . The novel uses poems and songs way too much which enhances the fun while reading. The songs and the poems in the novel are sometimes very patriotic and worth praising.
Anandamath could well be called as one of the
very first political novels in India. Apart from the extra-literary importance, Anandamath
has a very great story line, dialogues and the way of expressing. “It is legend in the tradition of the Mahabharata, where
dialogue is as important as the story” stated by Mulk Raj Anand for the
original work by Chatterji, but even the translated version we read was no
less. Its style and format is worth praising. I would recommend this book to
everyone, it is bound to leave an impact which will linger long after you have
finished reading it.
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