The Home and The World: Rabindranath Tagore

The Home and The World: Rabindranath Tagore

It is rarely that one gets an opportunity to read good books; and it is even scarcer that we can connect, almost immersing ourselves with the ideas portrayed in them. I was skeptical in reading Tagore at first. Given his literary genius, one expects something entirely perplexing and requiring significant clarity of thought to even comprehend what he wishes to convey, but that wasn’t quite the case. The Home and The World was among the few books I would readily call absorbing.

The Home and The World is appealing right from the very beginning – the title itself. It is always difficult to decide on a correct title for a novel, or even a short essay. It has to give enough, but leave out enough as well. The title of this novel is in fact, more than just an aptly kept summary.  One can assume the title a comparison, a stark contrast between the society of one’s own, and the one outside, a theme that carries throughout the book, through the characterization of two of the male protagonists, symbolic in several interesting ways.

The narration begins with Bimala, in the first person manner, and then vacillates between the three characters as the story progresses. First person narrative has a special attribute, which magnifies the impact of a character on the reader, that is, people generally familiarize with the character in first person, and can relate better to it. This particular feature in writing has been capitalized on greatly by Tagore; the intricacy in the detail of each character’s development eventually leads the reader to be engrossed in the story, with different narratives highlighting the differences in the basic thought process of the three main characters of the story, which is refreshing as well as insightful.

The plot is simple, so to speak. The two characters, Nikhil and Sandip, share a common love interest, Bimala. Married to Nikhil, Bimala is rudimentarily a simple, familial person, whose entire life revolves around Home, her husband Nikhil, and her household responsibilities.

Nikhil is in essence a simple, humble person. Pragmatic and hardworking, he is successful in his business, being the owner of several estates. His societal ideology is unpretentious; he holds no biases against anyone and he respects and honors people from all societal strata.

Sandip, on the other hand, is probably the best-developed character in the novel. Radical in principle, he could be taken to be the actual opposite of what Nikhil’s personality is like. He believes that the means to achieve something may be immoral and deceitful as long as they justify the outcome. Trickery and theft can be used without hesitating even once to get what one wants, because the world isn’t fair.

The story develops steadily though subtle dialogue between the characters, and Tagore has punctuated the narrative with intense philosophical subcurrents, which are immensely thought provoking. You will, throughout the plot, pause and reflect at Tagore’s writing.

The philosophical debates between Sandip and Nikhil on the variety of issues ranging from the Truth to Nationalism, from Want to Passions are greatly interesting and my personal favorites in the book. Bimala’s stance and the vividly philosophical take on her confusion between the two are also admirable. She in some arguments sides with Sandip, because of his radical, more progressive attitude towards every issue, and accuses Nikhil of impotency, and the national affairs and the state of the nation seem more important to her than her marriage, and her domestic life. Her mind changes when she sees Nikhil as her lover, as her caring husband, and she then shuns Sandip for his brusque nature.

The novel is an interesting love triangle; probably the most diversely described one I have ever come across. Interspersed with allegorical references, intelligent metaphors, beautiful imagery, the narrative would appeal to anyone with a heart for logic. The arguments in the narrative are beautifully written, and deeply philosophical, yet spell-binding.

The character development is something that would validate the diversity in Tagore’s writing skills. The three primary characters are so different in principally different things, and each of them is handled extravagantly. Apart from this intricate love relationship between the three, the novel also brings out the national situation at the time, through Nikhil’s character. Tagore brings out the inconsistencies of the Nationalist movement, with several incidents in the story, which highlight the injustice to the common man. Communal violence, oppression by the rich, refusal of foreign goods, and the intermingling of religion and politics are some among the other issues Tagore has conveyed intelligently through this character.

As I mentioned before, the title of the book forms the essence, and is visible throughout. The contrast between the ideologies of Nikhil and Sandip forms the spine of the book – and how Bimala is caught queerly in their midst. She does, however, return to ‘Home’ in the end, after she realizes how Nikhil is the one who truly loves her, and just wants to see her happy, even if he would have to let her go if that is what it would take.

Despite the story being starkly simple and the absence of heightened drama, the book is undoubtedly, an interesting read. The language, the characterization and the narrative are things one would enjoy at any rate. The book might not be a thriller, but it is definitely something that would get you thinking.

-Mehul Katiyar

Raag Darbari - A Review

An Analysis of Raag Darbari
(Author : Shrilal Shukla, Translated by Gillian Wright)

-          Aniruddh Singh Jammoria
2009CH70123

 “Raag Darbari” was written by Shrilal Shukla in 1968. It got a Sahitya Academy award in 1970. Its immense popularity can be gauged from the fact that since the time it was published it has been translated to nearly 15 languages and has been adapted for television as well! The novel has gained popularity thanks to its accurate (and very graphic) description of the village, its elders (who, keeping in step with their western counterparts, are bitten by the deadly sins of greed, sloth, pride envy and so forth) and their day – to – day activities (which, of course, are not always in the best interests of the village folk). Shukla writes about a fictional village called Shivpalganj located in UP – and as described by the translator Gillian Wright, the location of the village, its description, and to some extent its characters originate from a series of experiences he had while he was working as a government officer in some rural areas of the state.

First of all, I would like to point out the historical importance of the novel. It was published 4 years after the death of Nehru. His tenure, as we all know, was one full of idealism and visions of a developed India. For many historians, the death of Nehru was seen as the final nail on the coffin of Indian idealism. Bluntly speaking, more and more people (in the 1960s) were realising the fact that at the ground level, things were not going to be as shiny and nice as had been planned in the elaborate “5 year plans” by Nehru. Therefore, one may say that the satire and the fun poked at the people in power is actually a result of the disappointment felt by the average citizens of India, something that is also called “post – Nehruvian Cynicism”.

The village has several characters, most notable of who is Vaidyaji – the big daddy of the village. He is assisted by his sons Badri Pehelwaan (or in English, Badri the Wrestler) and Ruppan. A few more notable characters are the teachers at the village school, and the principal (whose characteristic trait is to burst into Awadhi, his native tongue, whenever he is very angry or excited)

The story does not have a fixed plot as such – it is merely a series of anecdotes. It also does not have any hero or protagonist. Vaidyaji’s nephew, named Ranganath, visits his native village after completing his M. A. His health has been failing, and the doctors have advised a visit to his native village for him to gather his strength. It is funny how Vaidyaji (which means “healer”) heals the young boy’s mind in more ways than one. After his masters, Ranganath, who is a big believer in high ideals and “poetic justice”, comes face to face with the hypocrisy and the meanness of the village gang. The very first incident highlights his innocence and blind faith. In order to travel to his uncle’s place, Ranganath boards a bus. The driver is a rash fellow, who drives carelessly without regard for the pedestrians. After witnessing him nearly run over a few cows and sleeping shepherds, the young man is finally elated when a few police officials pull the bus over (from the car stepped out three peon – like – officials and one official – like – peon). From a distance, Ranganath watches them question the driver. Actually, they are trying to extort money out of him, but to mister high ideals it seems as if the driver is being punished by god for his foul deeds (as you shall sow, so shalt thou reap). There are several such incidents, one after the other, that shatter Ranganath high ideals and faith in Justice. He is a mere spectator – unable to make a mark or stand up for himself.

One of the most interesting things about the book is the fact that it still manages to keep you interested, in spite of lacking a crisis and its resolution. The narrative is held together by Shukla’s satire and excellent sense of humour. One can only marvel at the extent to which the author details his description – to the point that the imagery sometimes becomes too vivid and grotesque. From the holes in Sanichar’s underwear (and the fact that him wearing a vest signified a desire to be “formal”), to the description of Badri’s scrotum which was “displayed to the entire universe”, Raag Darbari never runs out of laughs. However, my favourite is the description of Mr. Khanna (a teacher at the school): “suddenly sitting up with knees bent and chest thrust forward in a pose made famous by the late Marilyn Monroe”

However, there is something to be said about “Lost in Translation”. I have read both the English and the Hindi versions of the novel, and personally I found the Hindi version much more engrossing (in spite of the fact that thanks to reading only English for the last 6 years has diminished my fluency somewhat). The quick – witted descriptions and the tone of the satire which is seen in the Hindi version cannot be replicated by English. Especially, the principal’s Awadhi rants (which, by the way, contain some foul and uncouth sounding words) cannot be replicated by replacing the dialogue in Yorkshire English (God bless ye). Another instance, which I just mentioned above, is the rather graphic description of Badri. In Shukla’s words it reads, “andakosh brahmand me pradarsit ho rahe the”. The use of “andakosh” (of course we all know what it means!!) keeps a certain sense of decency within the novel. Gillian bluntly translating it to “testicles displayed to the world” just does not have the same humorous impact.

I would like to conclude with my opinions on the relevance of the novel in the present times. When it was released in the 1960s, it reflected the disappointment every Indian had at the failure of the pre – independence ideals which they all had placed so conveniently on a pedestal. Then, this work would have been very much in place. Now, however, it looks very much like a comedy show. We know for the last 50 years now that our politicians are corrupt (at least most of them are) – poking fun at them, and making it into a satire will simply not be enough. What the novel fails to mention – and what is needed now – is WHAT TO DO? The story never takes a stand (Shukla being the politically correct author, always) and this is what I did not like. This diminishes the relevance of the book in the present times, in my opinion. Political satire is good, yes, and is necessary also, but present day authors must go a step further and try to explain to the public (in humorous tones, if necessary) what to do. Books can cause a great subconscious impact, mind you, and any small idea disseminated like this can go a long way.

Thank you!!

Review on Devdas

Devdas

 Saratchandra Chattopadhyay

Translated by Sreejuta Guha

Devdas is a story written by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay in the early 20th century. It is a tragic love story about a man who fells in love with his childhood friend but is unable to marry her due to pressure of parents and society.The novel touches you deeply at emotional level not only because the turns that the story takes but also how it is presented. Saratchandra Chattopadhyay has carved each character and then presented it to us in a beautiful manner. Nowhere in the novel you feel that it is a work of fiction, it is rather like a biography of people compiled together.

The novel is a realistic fiction, the characters behave in a way as they would have in real world. Nothing is idealized, each character has his own flaws and each one of them act in an unpredictable manner. This makes you relate to the characters easily. The characters are not described to us they are revealed to us in the coarse of the story. We have the full freedom to develop our own understanding of the characters, they are not imposed on us. Even the dialogues give us a feel that they were actual conversation between two people. This makes us get involved in the story and also give us the freedom to reconstruct the characters with our own imagination.

Another beautiful tool used by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay was dramatisation of interactions between characters throughout the novel. For example when she asks Paro to run away with him even after she was married or when he asks Chandramukhi if he could call her his wife and never gives any reason. This makes reader think about them as there is no fixed structure given to the characters by the author.

An interesting fact that was evident in the novel is that Paro referred to Devdas as Dev-da meaning elder brother. This was because the two were playmates in childhood days and this is how she referred to him. But this gives a complexity to the relation. Devdas towards his ending days once says that Paro was more like a sister to him. He chooses to call Chandramukhi his wife and not Paro. This confuses the readers and the status of their relationship is never clear even towards the end of the novel. This however is never enlightened in the novel. This doubling draws the reader more into the novel.

The translation of the novel is done by Sreejata Guha. The translation of the novel is smooth. Never in the novel we have to go back to understand the text. The novel just goes in a flow, in fact once we start the novel we never feel like leaving it before finishing it.

The novel starts of with childhood days of Devdas mostly describing how he used spend his days with Paro. This gives us a better insight of the relationship between them and gives a sound reasoning for whatever that came next.Hence, the novel beautifully drifts from their childhood to adulthood explaining the sequence of each event.

Devdas, the main character of the novel is neither the romantic hero nor he is an ordinary man in any sense. Devdas had a very flexible character, he was uncertain in his actions. He rejects her proposal and realizes that he loves her only after he drops the letter.When he rushes to her and proposes to her he finds that she has already been married. Helpless Devdas takes up drinking and becomes miserable. Through his friend he meets Chandramukhi who then supports him in his ending days.

The women in the novel are strong, proactive and indomitable. We see transformation in both the women in the novel. The transformation in Parvati is from that of a girl to a women. We see that the experiences in her life makes her more matured than women of her age. Although deep down she loved Devdas, she served her lawfully wedded husband with all her soul and mind. She never looked to her step children as her husband's children, she rather saw them as their own although they were elder than her. Parvati finally turns to charity and helps every needy that comes to her door steps. Similarly, Chandramukhi also goes through a transformation after she meets Devdas, she leaves her business and goes back to the village, there she used to get money from Devdas regularly which she used to give away to villagers as loan without asking for any interest. Ultimately she goes back to the city to search for Devdas and after finding him she helps him get better.

Devads is a novel of love, loss, desolation and destruction. Devdas's tale evokes pathos more than anything else. It deeply touches us and even while reading it our heart remains sunken maybe because at points we are able to relate to the characters. Though it was a novel of just thirty thousand words it evokes in us emotions of more than a million words.

Book Review of 'Farewell Song' (translated from Shesher Kabita by Tagore)

Rabindranath Tagore was a great short story writer, playwright, novelist, essayist and composer of beautiful songs apart from being an immensely versatile poet.
Shesher Kabita was written by Tagore in 1928 and is a very surprising offering from Tagore when he was under the scanner and was being criticed over his age and retirement from writing particularly by the Kallol group and others and his reputation in the west was also dwindling. His writings were continuously attacked by critics for using colloquial Bengali.
Out of the insecurity caused by all this criticism, Shesher Kabita is an answer from Tagore defending his standing as a poet. The way it has been written I found Shesher Kabita as a very clever and innovative idea from a veteran poet to silence his critics.

Farewell Song is a very accomplished translation from Bengali by Radha Chakravarty as it tries it's best to keep the romance as well as satire in the original novel intact.
The story starts as a tender romantic novel with Amit and Labanya as the main characters where they have a slowly unfolding romantic start. However soon enough the author takes the reader back in time to show each of their pasts, that is, their past lovers. A very strong bond starts to form between the two, but their past starts to crop up  between their relationship. Labanya is a wise and strong charactered woman, as is the case in most of Tagore's other stories and she wants to give their relationship more time before she commits further. In between all this, Tagore has meticulously incorporated the main objective of his novel, which was to silence his critics and this  he did by assigning Amit the side of his critics and used Labanya as a device to voice out his defense for continuing to write even at a very old age with a dwindling reputation.
The story narrows to the end as their past seperates the two main characters and they go their own seperate ways before writing to each other beautiful and touching poems, which
justify the title of the book, Farewell Song.
I found the book captivating from a poet's point of view and more importantly it is a masterpiece, an excellent example that really makes 'the pen mightier than a sword' as Tagore uses his pen to silence his critics.

- by Shivank Rawat

BOOK REVIEW : THE RED TIN ROOF BY NIRMAL VERMA 

The novel  ‘The Red Tin Roof ’ is a very creative idea to express the feelings which a particular age group people have. The author focuses on a particular  time of life of a person in this novel. It’s age when one transits from childhood to teen age. The novel beautifully describes the location(Shimla) which author  takes as a choice of location  which creates a realistic impression and make closer to our imagination.

        Set in Shimla , verma’s novel the Red tin roof tells of a young girl growing into adolescence in the company of mostly older woman and a trailing  younger brother. This is a story of a teenage girl Kaya. She visits her Uncle’s house occasionally once a year which is in Shimla. The script depicts the process of puberty kaya undergoes. Kaya made herself as a company and discovers the path from a child to an adult. In this process she always got her unrepaired thoughts and desires, unsolved queries. She finds alone herself in this journey with her difficulties. She is lost in loneliness of her soul and herself . this novel mainly describes the struggle of kaya to come out from this shield of her thoughts and imaginations and discover herself as a individual .  Her endless thoughts comes to a halt when she feels her first menstrual bleeding.

         Kaya wander in different places in her , alone winter holiday. She unfolds her past dreamed memories. Now she has entered a strange part of life besides childhood , this life is full of new sign and secrets. The coming time is full of symbols and the indications of the mysteries which lie ahead in her life.

 This novel is not just about Kaya, its more about sensation and feeling one person have in this teenage. The binding  of anyone to his/her childhood , fear of losing the dreams that were looks nice in childhood about adult age. This story reveals the truth of life that we don’t always get what we wished for. Sometimes we are lost like a stranger in a new place in this life. The whole novel depicts the confusions, feelings in age of puberty which everyone feels in personal ways.

            The novels has three main part, the first two parts are in third person narrative with seven chapters each, while the third part is in first person narrative and has a single chapter. In the third part kaya discovers herself . The story has a brooding tone. Nirmal verma explores an inner world of a person. The world of dreams, the world of imagination, the world of thoughts and also feeling  about  that  world. The characters are simple. The first part is the mainly introduction of the characters. The main character development is in second part of novel and a symbolic ending in the third part. The translated novel retains some Hindi terms which give some Indian flavour to the text and making more comfortable and appealing to local readers.

       But the title of the novel “THE RED TIN ROOF”   has not much important impact on this novel.  this is like the part of the surroundings as all things in this novel. the main reason for this title may be that whole story lies in the sort location Shimla and all the characters lies mainly a single house. So the ROOF signifies that the story has not much location movement in itself. So the title of the story is acceptable. 

Book Review: Raag Darbari by Shrilal Shukla
(Translated by Gillian Wright)

Raag Darbari is perhaps the most celebrated novel of Shrilal Shukla. It is a no-punches-pulled description of village politics and working of government machinery in post-colonial India in the Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh. The author himself described his approach as the antithesis of contemporary Hindi writing on rural life, which ‘either emphasized misery and exploitation or presented an idyllic rustic picture’. It is for this reason and its satirical and ironic quality that it managed to bind my interest right till the end.

Politics and government are the two main themes of the novel. Having lived a majority of his life in Uttar Pradesh and being a cog in the wheel of government, an Indian Administrative Services officer, Shrilal Shukla describes the politics and the bureaucracy at the very rudimentary level in a satirical manner. He exposes how politicians, businessmen, criminals and policemen collude to exploit society for selfish reasons. The title itself alludes to the political emphasis of the plot. Raag Darbari is one of the most majestic melodic modes used in Indian classical music. It literally means the melody of the court. In the novel it refers to the melody sung by the courtiers of a contemporary raja, viz. a village politician, Vaidyaji. His sitting room (baithak) is the ‘darbar’ of his camp-followers.

The story is set in Shivpalganj, a fictional village typical of the Raebareli district, near Lucknow. The action takes place over a period of six months during which Rangnath, a young research student in history, comes to stay with his uncle, Vaidyaji, to recover after an illness. It is narrated in third person from the point of view of Rangnath. Much of the action revolves around the extended family with which Rangnath lives in Shivpalganj and its struggle for power. The patriarch is Rangnath’s maternal uncle Vaidyaji, a Machiavellian leader who controls the grain co-operative and the intermediate college, and is the apex of the village’s feudal structure.

There are hardly any women in the novel apart from one Bela, who too is mostly off-stage. The society in ‘Raag darbari’ is a male-dominated one. In the author’s opinion ‘… male characters are much more attractive if your aim is to satirize distorted values in political life’. The novel is devoid of a main plotline and merely comprises several sub-plots. There is no hero, or an anti-hero for that matter. Rangnath is merely an observer who finds himself in moral dilemma on several occasions. At the end of the novel he intends to escape the bizarre reality that is constantly ‘chasing’ him and this too is mocked upon. ‘Run, run, run! You’re being pursued by reality’. The novel depicts the immutability of human behaviour in the daily struggle for survival – ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’.

Some critics feel that the novel is being ‘contemptuous of rural life’ while others described it as a ‘bunch of humorous episodes’. However, the novel is a lot more than that – it is one of the first instances that the romanticized perception of the rural milieu as a quiet and innocuous place got problematized in such a comprehensive way. It is a sharp and honest criticism of the Indian political class. Shrilal Shukla, in ‘Raag Darbari’, through a satirical backbone, effectively manages to juxtapose the regional theme with a universal appeal making it a wonderful read.

The Survivors by Gurdail Singh (translated by Rana Nayar)

The beginnings of the Punjabi language go as far back as the 10^th century. Its emergence in the Indo- Gangetic plain, strangely enough, coincided with the growth and development of the English language in a far- off island inhabited by the Anglo-Saxons. Gurdial Singh, the Jnanpith Award Winner radicalized Punjabi novels or re-inscribed its ideological by infusing into it the new consciousness about the underprivileged and the oppressed. An inveterate progressive, he subscribes to the Darwinian notion of continuous, uninterrupted struggle with the circumstances as also to the principle of positivism- of evolution minus its ruthless competitiveness- as much as his characters often do.

The Survivors (originally published in 1966 as Unhoye in Punjabi), is his second major novel. This novel revolves around Bhisna, a man of rare courage and deep, passionate convictions, who stands committed to and incessantly strives for the assertion of essential human dignity by choosing the path of confrontation over that of abject orthodoxy in thoughts and belief prevalent in the society. Author depicted Bhisna as a stubborn, seemingly irrational character who revolts against the defunct societal values. He believes the entire system is poised for a severely destructive social change. The novel itself begins with an act of protest by Bhisna and his wife Daya Kaur against the tyranny of a hierarchical social system that works on suppressing the subaltern. Author starves to draw our mind to the fact that many such anonymous figures lived among us who fought bravely against the evils prevalent in the society but are erased from the memory of people among whom they might have once lived.

The novel is set in the administering of the colonial system that is the pre – independence India. However, as the novel proceeds it changes its phase almost quasi statically into the post – independence India, when the neo- colonial practices have secretly replaced the colonial ones.

Unhoye (The Survivors) is like an unframed tale, depicting the multi-layered complexity of life through the lives of two brothers Bhisna and Bhagta and their confrontation with the harsh colonial society filled with corrupt thanedars and the constables. The story opens with the latter trying to catch hold of Bhisna which he resists, supported by his wife Daya Kaur. The relation between the two brothers is restrained with the entry of Bhagta’s wife, Kartari. What rises is the author’s powerful attempt of imperceptibly depicting the breakdown of whole network of personal and social relations under the corrosive influence of modernization. On being dispossessed, Bhisna is abandoned by his younger brother Bhagta, whom he and his wife, Daya Kaur had literally brought up like his own son. Author exposes the hollowness of the social relations in the society by the prospect of brother turning against a brother. The novel is set in a township named Mandi which is portrayed realistically along with the entire geographical location of the houses of the marginalized. There is a proper division with the affluent and wealthy at the centre of the township and underprivileged pushed to the margins. As is seen from its descriptions, “By choosing to live in a house on the periphery of this township, Bhisna confirms his status as a proverbial outsider, an outcaste in a state of wilful self - retreat,”.     Such description creates an impression as one is not only simply looking at one of the towns in Malwa region of Punjab but instead is seen throughout in the Indian society, with all its falsehoods still in place. The book is full of realistic characters like Bhudha which help us relate to section of people in Punjab unaffected by urbanisation.

The narrative style used by Gurdial Singh in the novel is typical Malwai a dialect of Punjabi, with all its lexical and syntactical idiosyncrasies intact. The translation is smooth while some elements have been kept unaltered like “ kaure”  (representing a girl) , “peo”  (father) and others like “Weh, Deya, Henh, Paire Paune” in the translated version which create an feel of presence of  Punjabi touch in the novel. Even within the dialect , each character is identified by virtue of his/her idiolect, which is further compounded with the use of Bhagri, popular In a backward region of Rajasthan, which is done in the case of Bhisna’s friend, Hetiya. Thus due to the use of different voices the novel has an ambience of “polyphonic discourse”. In translators own words, “excessive reliance upon the spoken word, definite preference for the dramatic mode of narration (authorial intrusions are always kept to the bare minimum in his narratives) make chaotic demands upon the translator’s resourcefulness. “

The multi-layered reality unfolds itself in the novel through a layered structuring of the events, meticulously arranged with a view to maximise the effect of slow disclosure which both the character and situation demand. The story eventually shows how the urbanisation and modernization threaten to engulf and destroy completely a man like Bhisna first leading to the death of his wife Daya Kaur then following his retarded behaviour towards society and story ends with his abrupt death walking on a road alone. Bhisna’s fate is vaguely resonant of the undocumented, unsung of the lives of countless millions who suffered deprivation and dispossession interrogating our naïve, inane notions of modernity.