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BACKGROUND STUDY
PART I
HISTORICAL REVIEW OF INDIAN
WRITING IN TRANSLATION

Unit Structure:
1.0 Objectives of the unit
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Literary Translation in Ancient India
1.3 Literary Translation in Pre -independent India
1.4 Literary Translation i n Colonial Period in India
1.5 Literary Translation in Postcolonial Period in India
1.6 Literary Translation in Postcolonial Period in India
1.7 East - West Encounter, Impact of Western Trends and Movement on
Indian literature
1.8 Literary Translation and Dalit Literature
1.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE UNIT: 1. To make the students aware of Historical Review of Indian Writing in
Translation and Indian literature in Translation .
2. To make the students acquainted with the regional translated literature
in India
3. To help s tudents learn the impact of Western trends and movements on
Indian literature.
4. To have an understanding of partition literature
1.1 INTRODUCTION: A study of the background to the History of Indian Translation Literature
reveals the various aspects of the ancient Indian literature and its effect on
the contemporary scene of Indian literatures written in English. This can
be seen through an examination of the background to the History of Indian
Translation Literature. In addition to this, it focuses on and explores the
fundamental essence of translation as it relates to the Indians, Indian
culture and Indian philosophy. munotes.in

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Indian Writing in Translation
2 When we look at the Indian situation in particular, we may see both
endotropic and exotropic situations. The former applies when one Indian
language is translated into another) and latter applies when one Indian
language is translated into English. It explains the origins of translation in
Indian history and concludes that translation,is an impressionable interface
of cultural traffic, which i s an excellent tool for intercultural synergy.
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two brilliant examples of
ancient Indian literature that have been preserved owing to the practice of
translation, which dates back to ancient times. Because of increas ing
interaction and contact with native Indian languages has proven to be one
of the inevitable activities of communication and interaction to the extent
that it has become an indispensable part and parcel of any language and its
literature in India to be translated, and therefore whether it be translation
or transliteration or transcreation that has now gained a particular place in
Indian literature written in English. This is due to the fact that translation
is now considered to be an important part of In dian literature. For instance,
the recent publication of the world -famous biography of Steve Jobs
written by Walter Isaacson is available not only in English but also in
more than fifty other languages at the same time. This amply vouchsafes
how translatio n has evolved into a major phenomenonthat hasenabled and
metamorphosed and transformed the literature written in English and at
the same time it has not only decolonized English but widened and
expanded the scope of Indian English. As a result, conducting a literature
assessment of Indian translations is of critical importance.
1.2 LITERARY TRANSLATION IN ANCIENT INDIA: India's translation history has a mixed bag of results. Some of the oldest
known translations appear to have occurred between the ancient Indian
languages of Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit. Islamic texts, such as the
Panchatantra, Ashtangahridaya, Hitopdesa, Yogsutra and the Ramayana
and Mahabharata , were translated into Arabic between the eighth and
ninth centuries as a result of an active exc hange between Indian narratives
and knowledge texts and Persian manuscripts. Bhasha texts such as
Jnaneshwari , the Marathi poet J naneshwari translation of the Gita and
several free translations of epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata
by the saint -poets of various Indian languages came into contact with
Sanskrit texts during the Bhakti period and produced great bhasha texts
like Jnaneshwar i. Among these are Pamp, Kambar, Malla and
Ezhuthacchan's versions, as well as those by Tulsidas and Premanand, as
well as MadhavKandali and the Krittibas retelling of the
Ramayana.Taking into consideration, India's translation history, which has
a mixed bag of results. Some of the oldest known translations appear to
have occurred between the ancient Indian languages o f Sanskrit, Pali, and
Prakrit. Islamic texts, such as the Panchatantra, Ashtangahridaya,
Hitopdesa, Yogsutra and the Ramayana and Mahabharata, were translated
into Arabic between the eighth and ninth centuries as a result of an active
exchange between Indi an narratives and knowledge texts and Persian
manuscripts. munotes.in

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Background Study Part I Historical Review of Indian Writing in Translation
3 Bhasha texts such as Jnaneshwari , the Marathi poet Jnaneshwari
translation of the Gita and several free translations of epics such as the
Ramayana and Mahabharata by the saint -poets of various Ind ian
languages came into contact with Sanskrit texts during the Bhakti period
and produced great bhasha texts like Jnaneshwari. Among these are Pamp,
Kambar, Malla and Ezhuthacchan's versions, as well as those by Tulsidas
and Premanand, as well as MadhavKan dali and the Krittibas retelling of
the Ramayana.
1.3 LITERARY TRANSLATION IN PRE -INDEPENDENT INDIA: Buddhist texts were first translated into Chinese in the early centuries of
the Christian era, and then subsequently into Tibetan. Besides from these
associations in the north, there was a significant amount of interaction
between the Hindus and pre -Islamic Arabs on the western side of the
region, as evidenced by Arab sources. Although there is not much direct
evidence left, it is generally accepted that Hi ndu mathematics, astronomy,
and philosophy made their way to western civilization during this age.
According to Alberuni's statement, the connection of give and take lasted
even after the arrival of Islam. Since the eleventh century and onwards,
with the r ise of modern Indian languages, Sanskrit technical and cultural
texts have begun to be transferred to those languages as a method of
preserving those texts through diffusion. These languages include
Assamese, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, and many oth ers. Zain -Ul-
Abedin (1420 -1470), the enlightened monarch of Kashmir, founded a
translation bureau for bilateral rendering between Sanskrit and Persian
around the same time as translations began to be made into Persian. Zain -
Ul-Abedin was active between the years 1420 and 1470. The Persian
translations of the Upanishads done by DaraShikoh and the rendition of
the Mahabharata done by Mulla Ahmad are two of the most important
sites located along this stream. The famous Sikh Guru, Guru Govind
Singh, established a bureau between the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries and had a huge quantity of Sanskrit works translated into
Panjabi. This occurred during the time period.
An intricate, two -way, cultural and intellectual exchange developed
between eastern and west ern societies in the latter half of the eighteenth
century and throughout the nineteenth century. English became the donor
language for translations into Indian languages in the fields of science and
engineering, as well as in emerging subjects such as pol itics and
economics. Sanskrit has reclaimed its place as a donor language for
translations into English and other European languages in the areas of
philosophy, religion, linguistics, and literary theory. In point of fact,
throughout the nineteenth century , Europe discovered India at the same
time that India discovered Europe, and it is possible that each culture had
an equal amount of effect on the other.
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Indian Writing in Translation
4 By the year 1820, all of Europe's most prestigious universities had
established chairs in Sanskrit. Sanskrit Studies exerted an increasingly
significant influence on the mentality of Europeans as the century
advanced. The most influential thinkers in Europe during the nineteenth
century were either Sanskritists or, as they freely admitted, had been
deepl y involved in Indian thought. These thinkers included Humboldt,
Fichte, Hegel, Goethe, Schopenhauer, Kant, Nietzsche, Schiller, Shelling,
Saussure, and Roman Jacobson. The list has a lot of impressive items.
Otto Bohtlingk published an edition of Panini's Astadhyayi in 1839 –1840.
This book included German commentary on the game's rules as well as an
index of technical words with definitions. A version of the Dhatupatha,
which is an enumeration of Sanskrit verb roots, was published by N.L.
Westergaard in 184 1. This edition included Latin gloss and references.
AtharvavedaPratisakhya was first published in English thanks to W.D.
Whitney's translation, which came out in 1858. Paribhasendusekhara,
written by Nagojibhatta, was given an English translation and publ ished
by Lorenz Franz Kielhorn in the year 1874.
1.4 LITERARY TRANSLATION IN COLONIAL PERIOD IN INDIA: It will now be apt to know how the translation was done during the
British period. Even though Macaulay's Minute and the Anglicists' victory
in the deba te with the Orientalists meant that translations from English
into regional languages were no longer encouraged, translation work
around Sanskrit still went on because Sanskrit was a donor language, as
we said earlier. Even though Indian communities spoke many different
languages, most of the people did not know how to read or write, but they
were very involved in their oral cultures. They did not have to go outside
of their own languages because almost all of them had their own versions
of classical epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. So, even
though the British did not do much to help translate between Indian
languages, and that has not changed much even though people talk about it
and feel the need for it, the awareness created by the filter lang uage,
English, and the fact that the freedom movement brought people from all
over India together led to a lot of translation work. In their own languages,
people could read the nationalist writings of V.S. Khandekar in Marathi
and Bankim Chandra Chatterje e in Bengali. Also, as part of the effort to
get more people interested in science, European textbooks were translated
into Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, and other local languages. During
this time, translation became part of a larger movement against foreign
rule. It was also a key part of expressing cultural identity and reclaiming
the native self.
During the colonial era, there were a lot more translations between
European and Indian languages, especially Sanskrit. While people spoke
German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Indian, they also traded words with
each other. Because the colonisers spoke English, it was seen as the most
important language. William Jone's translation of Kalidasa's
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Background Study Part I Historical Review of Indian Writing in Translation
5 Indian works into English. Shakuntalam is now seen as a sign of India's
cultural prestige and is one of the most important texts in the Indian mind.
This is why, in the 19th century, it was translated into more than ten
Indian languages. The (coloni al) British attempts to translate were driven
by the orientalist philosophy and the need for the new rulers to understand,
define, categorise, and control India. They made up their own version of
India, while Indian translators of texts into English tried to add to, correct,
change, and sometimes even contradict what the British thought they
knew. This was a battle over old texts, not new ones. Shankara's Vedanta
and the KenandIsavasya Upanishads were translated into English by Raja
Rammohan Roy. These were the first Indian texts to be translated into
English by Indian scholars. R.C. Dutt then translated the Rig -Veda, the
Upanishads, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and a few classical
Sanskrit plays. The idea behind these translations was to challenge the
Rom antic and Utilitarian ideas that Indians were weak and lazy. Then a lot
of other people, such as DinabhandhuMitra, Aurobindo, and RabindraNath
Tagore, translated it. Around this time, translations between Indian
languages also began, though they were not v ery good at first. In India,
however, even the majority of people who can read and write do not have
access to English. The only way to really give these people power is to
translate important literary and knowledge texts into Indian languages.
Gandhi's th oughts on translation are significant:
I consider English as a language for international trade and commerce and
therefore it is necessary that a few people learn it… and I would like to
encourage those to be well versed (in English) and expect them to tr anslate
the masterpieces of English into the vernaculars.” He even felt that the
adoption of English as the medium of education might prevent the growth
of Indian languages.
1.5 LITERARY TRANSLATION IN POSTCOLONIAL PERIOD IN INDIA: Language and translatio n activities transformed because of the
postcolonial scene. In this context, one of the most important decisions
was to divide the states based on their regional languages. This sparked
regional pride in their languages and made it harder for any single
language to replace English as the national language. Translation is still
the best way for people from different cultures to understand each other
better. In postcolonial settings, translation can be seen as policy, setting
priorities, empowering people, en riching lives, and learning about other
cultures. To bring our attention back to the situation in India in the years
after independence, or "new nationhood," as Sujit Mukherjee calls it,
Indian literature has been published in English translation in differ ent
ways. There have been both private and public businesses. The
government of India fully funds both the Sahitya Academy and the
National Book Trust. Under the public enterprise, these organisations
support literary publications.
The development of commu nication theory, the expansion of the field of
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6 translation all brought about significant changes in the fundamental
principles and theoretical underpinnings of translation throughou t the
course of the twentieth century. Excellent literature published in any
region of the world and in any language is now able to be read by people
in other parts of the world thanks to the process of translation. Gitanjali,
which Tagore had originally c omposed in Bengali and then translated into
English, ended up becoming the work that earned him the Nobel Prize in
literature in 1913. The history of Indian literature in translation is
presented below.
As a result of the intimate relationship between the history of the world
and the history of translation, there is no doubt that the majority of the
world's past has come to us through translation. Throughout history,
translation has enabled dominant social groups to understand and control
the dominated soci al classes; it has also provided access to otherwise
inaccessible writings that have contributed to the enrichment of their
knowledge while also changing people's lives and perspectives regardless
of social class or standing. The unending importance and ne cessity of
translation as a weapon for economic, political, cultural, and religious
growth in current times is confirmed by technological advancement, the
need for quick worldwide communication, and the never -ending migration
of people around the world.. H ence:
“Translators have invented alphabets, helped build languages and written
dictionaries. They have contributed to the emergence of national
literatures, the dissemination of knowledge, and the spread of religions.
Importers of foreign cultural values a nd key players at some of the great
moments of history, translators and interpreters have played a determining
role in the development of their societies and have been fundamental to
the unfolding of intellectual history itself.” (Woodsworth 65).
1.6 LITER ARY TRANSLATION IN POSTCOLONIAL PERIOD IN INDIA Emergence of Regional Translated Literature in Indiaand
PartitionLiterature :
Following the historical analysis, it is time to analyse how Indians respond
to the practice of translating. The academic concept of 'translation' has
become more accessible. During our daily speech activity, we often are
translating from one language to another. Many of us speak at least three
languages: one at home, another on the street, and yet another at work.
When we tell our f amilies about what happened at work, we are
interpreting, and vice versa. This is not merely a symptom of city life.
There are numerous examples of this from antiquity, like as AdiShankara
spoke two languages: Malayalam in Kaladi and Sanskrit elsewhere. An d
he travelled a long distance from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, navigating a
complex network of languages.
DilipChitre, a well -known bilingual poet, spoke at least three languages:
Marathi at home, Hindi at work, and English everywhere he went. Many munotes.in

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Background Study Part I Historical Review of Indian Writing in Translation
7 Marathi p oets and writers did the same, because of living in a multilingual
country. The term "mother tongue" does not have the same connotation as
it has in Europe. Conrad is an exception when it comes to writing in a
foreign language. In Europe, such geniuses are few and few between.
However, many of our authors in India, some of whom were among the
best of their generation, spoke a different language at home. Masti and
Putina spoke Tamil at home, but Bendre, the famous poet noted for his
wonderful use of languag e, spoke Marathi. This is true for a great number
of Hindi writers who speak Rajastani, Bhojpuri, Panjabi, Awadhi, and
many other related languages. The characters in their novels may truly
speak these languages, which are represented in Hindi for us. More
important in our understanding of what comprises a text is a distinctive
Indian phenomenon that is sometimes overlooked. Shakuntalam by
Kalidasa is not a single -language text. Some writers, for example, have
written poems in three languages. Kannada poet S hishunalSharief has
poems with the first line in Kannada, the second in Telgu, and the third in
Urdu. He came from a region where these languages are spoken, therefore
his compositions were understandable to his audience. They were referring
to the stillne ss that existed beyond the spoken word, particularly the
silence that was cherished in a variety of ways. Along with this free play
of languages, which existed in an environment that allowed for shifts,
poets of the past in Indian languages might acquire t he territory of Sanskrit
for their vernaculars. The usage of vernaculars did not appear to jeopardise
free communication with others, instead isolating each linguistic group in
its own territory. For over a thousand years, India has been through a
process of cultural inclusion and synthesis. It was once the language of
Gods that gave way to common people's languages; now, it is the official
realm of English that, if grudgingly, gives way to vernaculars in the
process of people empowerment.
1.7 EAST - WEST E NCOUNTER, IMPACT OF WESTERN TRENDS AND MOVEMENT ON INDIAN
LITERATURE : Translation, both oral and written, was the primary mode of such talks in
the past and in the present. When languages that do not travel (due to a
lack of imperial power) still embark on spiritual and intellectual journeys
into the experiential richness of other languages, we do not seem to care
much about being literally true to the languages from which we translate.
We must digest these power languages in any case, or they will dominate
us. The Sanskrit word -as-mantra, in which the shabda is supposed to
provide both sound and sense to the believer, was rarely translated. But we
modify and change the story texts without hesitation, even when they are
written in the language of Gods or the white men who governed us. The
cursed Ahilya in Kamba's Tamil Ramayana becomes a stone, rather than a
disembodied voice like in Valmiki's Ramayana . And it was not just Dryden
who attempted to turn Shakespearean tragedies into comedies; numerous
Hindi, Mara thi, and Kannada writers did as well. Throughout her long
history, India has been able to ingest a variety of influences; this was munotes.in

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Indian Writing in Translation
8 mostly due to the vernaculars, the unquenchable imaginative hunger of the
people who speak these languages.
To that end, thes e are languages with a twist: they have a self -aware
literary tradition in the front yard, as well as a backyard of unselfconscious
oral folk traditions that have never died out throughout the centuries. The
oral traditions that thrive in the backyard have energy as well as an
unfailing sense of what is alive on men's and women's tongues, without
which a literary language can become extremely artificial. To back up
these claims, considering the small town of Udupi on the coast of
Karnataka, a name made famo us by its residents who have opened eateries
all throughout India. In and around Udupi, at least three languages are
spoken. Tulu is the language of many of its population, including peasants
and workers, and it is also a folkloric language. This language is spoken
by both lower and upper classes. Konkani, a variety of Marathi that is now
a separate language, is primarily spoken by traders and residents of coastal
areas. As a result, these languages produced a substantial body of native
literature. However, when a Tulu or Konkani speaker meets other speakers
of those languages, the speaker will invariably utilise the language native
to the speaker.
When it comes to English literature, most of the best fiction is produced
by Indian authors. Salman Rushdie is being translated from Mumbai Hindi,
a mash -up of numerous languages and dialects that appears in many of his
inventive and beautiful passages.Arundhati Roy's greatest impact is her
ability to imitate Syrian Christian Malayalam. Although written in
English, Raja Rao's ground -breaking Kanthapura is really a Kannada
novel in texture and narrative mode -drawing both from Karnataka's oral
traditions. With most of the truly creative Indian writers in English who
appear to have contributed to the way the language E nglish is handled,
creating a distinctive work in English is transcreating from an Indian
linguistic setting.
We see a steady decline of translation within Indian languages after
independence. The translation space between Indian regional literatures
steadily shrunk, and English began to intervene. Despite the fact that the
postcolonial period belonged to translation from Indian languages into
English, the translation scene in English remained rather stagnant in the
first three decades after independence. Besides from the Akademi, the
UNESCO Collection of Representative Works financed numerous notable
translations during this time period. BibhutibhushanBandopadhay's
Bengali novel PatherPanchali : Song of the Road translated by T.W. Clark
and TarapadaMukherji in 1968, made famous by Satyajit Ray's film
adaptation; ManikBandopadhyay's Bengali novel, The Puppet's Tale
translated by. S.L. Ghoshin1968; ShridharPendse's Marathi novel
translated by Ralph Russell in 1971.
Because there was no discourse among translat ors about their art, and no
tradition of documenting problems experienced by individual translators,
they operated in a type of vacuum, relying primarily on their instincts and
their own resources. Omission and compression are the two primary munotes.in

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Background Study Part I Historical Review of Indian Writing in Translation
9 tactics used by translators during this time period, including the well -
planned translation efforts made by UNESCO. The translators added,
omitted, and reordered materials, often arbitrarily, with the typical excuse
that they were attempting to make the work more appro priate for the target
readership. ChhaManaAthaGuntha (1902), by Fakir Mohan Senapati, is an
unusual case in the history of Indian fiction translation into English.
Between 1967 and 1969, three English versions were published of Das,
C.V. Narasimha 1967; Se napati B.M &Senapati A.M. 1967; andMisra,
Nuri 1969, each with a dramatically different presentation of the text. The
translators of two versions changed the title and presented their versions as
"rewritten" in English; additionally, one translator present ed it as a
Victorian English novel, embellishing it with epigraphs in the form of
quotations from English classics at the beginning of each chapter and
including references to English literature in the body of translation that
were absent from the original text. Furthermore, the translator's nineteen -
page "Introduction" attempts to contextualise it in the tradition of English
novel a specific period, stripping it of all anti -colonial resonance and
exhibiting what it means to translate into the language of p ower/former
conquerors.
In the mid -1980s, the establishment of Penguin Books India was a
watershed point in the history of Indian literature in English translation.
When it began publishing Indian authors in English translation, primarily
fiction, transla ted fiction gained attention it had never had before. The
short stories and novellas of Satyajit Ray from Bengali, beginning with
Adventures of Feluda (1988) and then running into several other volumes,
BhishmSahni's novel, Tamas:Darkness (1989) from Hindi , Classic Telugu
Short Stories (1995) edited by RangaRao, all of which went on to become
bestsellers and have registered steady sales ever since they were
published, are among the many success stories of Penguin.
Penguin's debut into translation and expand ing clout prompted others like
as Rupa& Company (later merged with Harper Collins) of Delhi and
Seagull Books of Kolkata to extend their translation library. Rupa's three -
volume Stories About the Partition of India (AlokBhalla (ed) 1997),
which featured mo re than sixty short stories in English translation from
almost ten Indian languages, became an instant bestseller as it was
released on the occasion of the fifty -year anniversary of India's partition, a
cataclysmic event that forever changed the complexion of the Indian
subcontinent. Seagull Books in Kolkata has been translating Mahasweta
Devi's whole corpus, including short tales and novels, and approximately
twenty volumes have been published thus far.
Macmillan India Ltd undertook the most ambitious and systematic
endeavour of translating Indian books into English in 1996 with a series
dubbed 'Modern Indian Novels in English Translation .' It has now
released almost 100 novels. These translations are accompanied by a
scholarly introduction by a critic of the original language, a Translator's
Note, and extensive (compensatory) glossing in footnotes. Some of these
novels have already been added to university curricula in India and
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10 1.8 LITERARY TRANSLATION AND DALIT LITERATURE: Translation into Engl ish can sometimes be used to empower the
marginalised sections of society - dalits, tribals, women - by increasing the
visibility of writers who deal with the struggles of the disenfranchised in
society and creating solidarity across the multi -lingual and multi -cultural
Indian society. The foremost of such writers in India isMahasweta Devi,
who has been well -served by her English translators. Others writers have
been writing with regularity and commitment for decades but are unknown
outside their language b orders due to a lack of translations. When R.R.
Borade's Marathi novel Fall was translated by SudhakarMarathe in 1998,
or Bama's Tamil novel Karukku was translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom in
2000, or DarshanaTrivedi and Rupalee Burke translated and edited the
collection Tongues of Fire: Dalit Stories in English (2000), they raised
considerable awareness and interest in the lives of these people who had
been living on the margins of society. These books are currently taught in
classes on oppressed literature in India and around the world.
Throughout the twentieth century, there was a significant stream of
feminist writing in India, but it never achieved the prominence it deserved
since it was not available in English translation. Kali for Women, a
feminist publ ishing business, was founded in 1984 with the goal of
"making available - and visible - the hitherto little known work of women
writing in different (Indian) languages" (Menon 1995:16). It featured a
significant body of work by two Urdu fiction writers, Is matChughtai and
Qurratulain Hyder . TahiraNaqvi's translation of a collection of Chughtai's
stories, The Quilt and Other Stories (1990), and a novel, The Crooked
Line (1995), were instantly accepted for inclusion on university syllabi in
India and worldwide. Hyder is an excellent example of self -translation.
Her own English 'transcreation' of her novel, River of Fire (1998), inspired
Times Literary Supplement to position her 'among her precise
contemporaries, Milan Kundera and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as one o f the
world's major novelists' . Stree, a feminist press based in Kolkata, has
published books such as Cast Me Out If You Will: Stories and Memoirs
(1998) in Malayalam, a collection of Jyotirmoyi Devi's Bengali stories,
The Impermanence of Lies (1998), and The Stream Within: Short Stories
by Contemporary Bengali Women (1999), all of which deal with women's
spirited struggle against patriarchy. The two -volume anthology, Women
Writing in India (1993), edited by Susie Tharu and K. Lalitha, presented
women's wri ting, a significant portion of it is fiction, from 600 B.C. to the
present. The project is also notable for having a defined translation policy,
as seen by the following:
We endeavoured (not always successfully) to resist reductive and
stereotypical homog enization in the translations... We favoured
translations that did not domesticate the work into a pan -Indian or
"universalist" form, but instead forced a translation of the reader into
another sociohistorical ethical. We went to great lengths... to keep t he
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Background Study Part I Historical Review of Indian Writing in Translation
11 The translation technique, which is more akin to rewriting, poses critical
considerations about authorship, loyalty, and authenticity. The translator's
'colonial cringe' also contradicts the fundamental objective of literary
translation, which is to introduce a foreign text and culture to readers in
the target language. One ray of optimism is that, in this postcolonial era of
strict copyright rules, current translators cannot do whatever they want
with an author's work
We are now experiencing a surge in translation, primarily of Indian
language translation into English. Even while it is disappointing that
literary translation within Indian languages has not seen such a translation,
we should not be afraid of translating Indian literatures into English.
English plays a vital role as a connecting language, and translation into
English can undoubtedly assist the development of a comprehensive
picture of Indian literature. It will also help to eliminate the common
misconception enco untered while travelling overseas that Indian literature
is only published in English. However, we must be clear about the goals of
the translations we are undertaking, as these will influence our selection of
writers and texts for translation.


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12 2
BACKGROUND STUDY
PART II
CONTEMPORARY TRENDS AND
MOVEMENTS IN INDIAN WRITING IN
ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Unit Structure:
2.0 Objective s
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Growth of Marginalized Literature
2.3 Development of Women's Writings and Gender Studies and Subalter n
Voices
2.4 Post -Colonialism and Decolonization
2.5 Dalit Literature
2.6 Translated Works of Native Writers from Different Languages in India
2.7 Tribal Literature
2.8 Protest Literature
2.0 OBJECTIVES:  To give readers a brief historical review of Indian writing in translation
 To trace the spread of English languageand democratic values in Post -
Independence India
 To understand partition literature
 To trace the emergenceof regional and translated literatures in India
 To examine the impact ofWestern trends a nd movements on Indian
literature and culture.
2.1 INTRODUCTION: The 20th century brought a paradigm shift in nearly all fields including
literature. Literature is not confined by geographical, national, or cultural
boundaries. Global issues, changing pers pectives and shifting paradigms
have transformed nature and interpretation of literature. The seminal munotes.in

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Background Study Part II Contemporary Trends and movements in Indian writing in English Translation
13 occurrences of the century have metaphorsed life altogether. Literature is
the indicator of hues and colours of life, and has witnessed watershed
moments over time. Reading material diversity has transformed readers'
desires and expectations. A boom of writings indicates the
interdisciplinary nature of literature and fosters innovation under
unjustified demands. It is led to writings that challenge categori zations of
standard literary canons. Indian English Literature is undergoing major
changes with new literary movements and exploding with creativity,
translation, transcreation, Dalit Literature, Diasporic writing, postcolonial
writing, postmodern and femi nistic writings. There are English -writing,
translating, and transcreating writers. Foreign technocrats and
management professionals are writing bestsellers in India. Marketing and
creative writing talents can be credited, as can social media. Many authors
have Facebook fan pages, including Amish Tripathi, Chetan Bhagat,
Shobha De, Anita Desai, and Kiran Desai. This helps them understand the
audience and interact indirectly. E -reading includes books. Authors
publish internet extracts to boost sales. In decl ining reading habits, writers
have to keep up with fast -paced lives taking into consideration maximum
fun with minimum time and effort. Indian English popular fiction shows
Indian writers' tastes and can be studied as a cultural artefact.
Peter Childs righ tly remarks in Modernism that life, literature, thought,
and language are interconnected. Ever -changing global paradigms have
provided literature a world to re -examine its theories and practices and
charted a road for new ones to arise. Societal, cultural, political, and
gender issues must be evaluated in light of changing needs. The advent of
a global world has made imitation a complex phenomenon as linguistic
diversities have opened the way for multilingualism that co -exists with the
ever-expanding territ ory of a single Global Language, English, which has
its own adaptations and "Englishes."
Indian English literature (IEL)or Indo -Anglian literature is referred to as
the writings by Indian writers whose native or co -native language is
among one of India's m any languages. These include early Indian fiction
writers in 1930s like R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, and also
Indian -origin authors V.S. Naipaul, Kiran Desai, JhumpaLahiri,
RohintonMistry, and Salman Rushdie.
Postcolonial literature is literatu re from formerly colonised countries like
India which smacks of the process of decolonization and also of
decolonizing English . Original English creative writing is popular in India
and abroad. After Raja Rao, R K Narayan, and Mulk Raj Anand in the
20th c entury, many talented and gifted writers have emerged in India.
Indian writing in English has got its own identity with the emergence of
new talents who have produced significant novels, making a mark in the
literary world. The psychological and societal r epercussions of growth
became a key interest for writers since R K Narayan till now. Writers who
live abroad and share their time between India and abroad have
contributed significantly to Indian Literature, which is now a subgenre of
English literature. I ndian English literature is no longer limited to "son of
the soil" writings. It has expanded these fictional concerns and munotes.in

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14 perspectives of writers from Indian to international concepts.
The distinguishing features of Indian writing in English are that the
setting, background and ambience is typically Indian. English language
has adapted to the needs of the Indians. Indian English writing has a
distinctive voice and contemporary Indian novelists have contributed
significantly to creative writings and have lik ewise transformed. Their
works show global concerns through cultural -cultural reality, rather than a
conventional Indian cultural basis and ethos. Changing perceptions have
increased their readership. Expansion of their thematic concerns and
development of new forms of expression have garnered the writers like V.
S. Naipaul several prominent international awards. Instead of presenting
traditional Indian sociocultural background and typography, these writers
focus on other aspects of existence. Similarly, tr aditional Indian middle -
class society and its contradictions have been replaced by prosperous,
socially liberated people. Their efforts are not restricted to the epistemic
world of the impoverished and downtrodden. In the 1980s, the Indian
novel in English made a second comeback with Salman Rushdie’s
Midnight Children in 1981 which sparked resurgence in Indian writing
that surpassed the literature of 1930s. Its influence has been seen in
postmodern playfulness, a turn to history, a fresh exuberance of lang uage,
the reinvention of allegory, sexual frankness, and even Bollywood
references. Imagining the nation, the fate of independence's midnight
offspring, which is a critical problem in India. It is a global concern.
Rushdie indeed revived Indian English wri ting. An English writer and
critic K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar says:
When an Indian writer of fiction uses a learnt second language like
English, he is actually recording a kind of half -conscious translation (from
mother tongue into English) that has taken plac e in the mind. Most of our
writers are bi -lingual, some equally proficient in English and the mother
tongue, and some more in one than in the other. The background and the
situations are usually Indian but the characters may often be drawn from
bilingual m ilieus. The need for expressing the values verities and
heartbeats of one culture in the language of another poses its own
problems and there is doubtless the inner urge to render in English the
rhythms, idiosyncrasies, images, idioms and proverbs of the l ocal speech.
Cross -cultural setting also changes Indian English fiction. Earlier this
subject focused on East -West conflict. The exotic characteristics of Indian
living were highlighted for western readers. The writings of early Indian
English fiction wri ters contrasted western reason and science with the
Indian faith in spiritualism and emotional response to life. It created
cultural stereotypes portraying two main cultures in close political touch.
This theme was depicted from a binary perspective. The c olonisers viewed
the two cultures. The core traits of both cultures reportedly caused strife.
In this fiction, Eastern and Western transcendental distinctions are
fundamental, transcendent, and eternal. Novelists of the 1980s such as
UpamanyaChatterjee (b. 1959) have tried to show that the Indian "tang" is
not a pure essence but the masala mix of a culture that has always been
able to absorb other influences. From this perspective, English is involved munotes.in

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Background Study Part II Contemporary Trends and movements in Indian writing in English Translation
15 in the polyphony of Indian languages, which relativizes its colonial power.
Translations across languages in this polyphony will not be easy. Indian
languages have hierarchies. English language becomes important to Indian
culture as it is the language of the coloniser and yet remains an
aristocratic, business, and modern language. Best novelists write about
unequal access to English and communication challenges across classes
and cultures in India.
2.2 GROWTH OF MARGINALIZED LITERATURE India is multicultural and multilingual, with strong morals and ethics at its
core. Its basic tenet is unity in diversity. India's pluralism has declined
rapidly in the modern world. The unfair treatment of minorities and
weaker individuals or groups by the majority or stronger group of the rest
of the society is known as marginali sation, and it is ostensibly done for the
benefit of the stronger groups in question. Oppression, gender
discrimination, subjection of the lower and working classes, disdain for
women, and deprived parts of society are all themes in marginalised
literature . Third World countries are experiencing poverty and injustice in
the age of globalisation.
As Thomas Hardy constructed Wessex for his writings, Narayan created
the fictitious town of Malgudi. Mulk Raj Anand stories were harsher, and
engaged, often bruta lly, with caste, class, and religious issues. Anand
garnered attention for his brilliant works in English set in rural India.The
message of marginalisation and Indian English literature is about
community, not individuals, struggle, not passivity, and grow th, not
regression. This message is communicated to the entire world regarding
their position in society by depicting them as exploitative, weak, beset
with sadness, repressed, enslaved, and a subaltern state. Regarding genital
mutilation, the Indian Dalit can be compared to African Americans to a
certain degree. The united political stance of these authors is opposition to
the hegemony of upper - and middle -class Hinduism and support for the
power of the individual against repressive societal norms. In thei r works,
Dalit authors questioned religion and Identity. Dalit literature attained a
solid basis in the middle of the twentieth century, but its framework was
built in the early nineteenth century. Today, Dalit authors have an
ideological literary base an d publish multiple publications.
The word 'subaltern' comes from a German word that implies 'inferior
rank'. The concept of ‘subaltern’ is also defined by Julian Wolfreys, “It
contains the groups that are marginalized, oppressed and exploited on the
cultur al, political, social and religious grounds.”In modern worldwide
research, subaltern theme is employed in history, sociology, psychology,
anthropology, and literature. The 'subaltern' genealogical research refers to
three great philosophers. Antonio Gramsc i, RanjitGuha, Gayatri
Chakravorthy Spivak.
Antonio Gramsci defined the 'subaltern' classes in The Modern Prince and
The Prison Notebooks as individuals who are excluded from any
meaningful role in a power regime that subjugates them. These 'subalterns' munotes.in

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16 engage in the hegemony formed and controlled by the dominant group
through agreement. Because hegemony forces subalterns to believe in
dominant values, they lack an independent place to express themselves.
Gramsci felt that the intellectual must "look for s igns of subaltern
initiative, class consciousness, and effective political action."
The Subaltern Studies group, led by Ranajit Guha, developed an area of
historical study 'from below' in South Asian, primarily Indian,
historiography. The 'subaltern,' acco rding to Guha, is the demographic gap
between the "dominant indigenous elite" and the masses. The "elite" is
made up of "feudal magnates, industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, and
recruits to the highest levels of the bureaucracy."
2.3 DEVELOPMENT OF WOME N'S WRITINGS AND GENDER STUDIES AND SUBALTERN VOICES Modernization and globalisation in independent India have affected
women from different backgrounds to varying degrees, resulting in
inequitable distribution of opportunities and resources and a non -uniform
pattern of social change not only among men and women, but also among
women from different social ranks, hierarchies, and backgrounds. Modern
development processes have deepened inequities, subjugating "women" as
a wider category and its subsets. The s tructural economic shifts, increasing
markets, cutting -edge technology, greater schooling options, and
"development" processes have produced mixed and inconsistent results.
These have created space for women's participation in social, economic,
and politic al processes and created wealth and opportunities for a section
of the population. They have also deepened poverty, intensified social
crisis, and increased vulnerability for large spheres of society. Changing
social processes have removed certain limits o n women's lives, but they
have also caused resistance to the desired improvement in women's status.
Contemporary Indian English fiction has been changed by feminism's
focus on women's concerns. Women writers emphasise women's
experiences. The fictionalisat ion of women in their works shows their
concern for marginalisation and subjugation. Different women characters
from their traditional counterparts show a difference in their portrayal of
women. In contemporary Indian English works, we discover assertive a nd
aggressive women instead of timid, docile, and passive women.
Postcolonial perspectives have influenced analytical and creative features
of Indian English fiction. How colonial rulers portrayed their subject races
to maintain control is a key element o f evolving narratives. Contemporary
writers from historically colonised nations, especially India, re -investigate
British -era life. They highlight the subtle techniques used to persuade
colonial people accept their subjugation as natural and transcendental .
These writers also show how power politics shapes the relationship
between the powerful and the marginalised after political imperialism.
Diasporic writers like Bahrathi Mukherjee, ChitraDivakaruni Banerjee,
JhumpaLahiri, and Kiran Desai have different w indows on the world of munotes.in

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17 their lives in India and abroad, they share the common concerns of Indian
writers in terms of cultural bonds and bindings that help and hinder us
from evolving into a higher level of life, especially a higher standard of
peaceful lif e for all Indians around the world. The Inheritance of Loss by
Kiran Desai is about an Indian who cannot dwell here, there, or at any
place because of social and political factors.
These women seem free from economic difficulties and moral dilemmas
from mi smatched marriages. Marriage and domesticity no longer sap
women's energy or prioritize marriage. They threaten women's traditional
moral values. They rule life, especially female sexuality. Novels by
Nayantara Sahgal, Shobha De, Kamala Markandaya, Anita N air, Manju
Kapur, Namita Gokhale, Geetha Hariharan, Kiran Sawhney, Anita Desai,
Bharati Mukherjee, Shashi Deshpande, Kiran Desai, Arundhati Roy, and
others fictionalised fresh elements of women's existence.
Women poets from marginalised segments of society demonstrated their
presence across the spectrum of Indian literature in English. From Toru
Dutt to Kamla Das, there is an astounding range of subject matter and
style. Poetry written by women need not be considered exclusively
feminist poetry. It provides examples of how marginalisation occurs in
society, such as the segregation of downtrodden classes in India. In each
work, the influence of society on the protagonists is examined with a focus
on the situations of the protagonists' communities. The uneven reception
of women's publications, however, has the effect of marginalising
women's literature. In patriarchal societies, women are granted private but
not public space, a private but not political or rhetorical voice in writing
and poetry composition.
In Modern Literature, Kamala Das stands out as a rebel against the
tradition of women's marginalisation in Indian society. She was widely
praised as a revolutionary poet for speaking out against patriarchal
oppression, which is prevalent in Indian society. Ka mala Das attacked
openly in her poetry the tradition that enabled the male to force women to
subservience and limit their individual rights in order to abolish this
fortress of age -old patriarchal domination over the matriarchal sector of
society. Das' wor ks have openly and outrageously expressed her
indignation and reaction against patriarchal superiority and power, which
has resulted in sex discrimination and the marginalisation of women in
their social, cultural, and family relationships.
Kamala Das has portrayed herself as a dissatisfied lady in love in her
marriage and extramarital life in the majority of her poems. She blames
masculine ego for her disillusionment and failure in love. As she paints in
her poems, both her husband and her lovers are greed y, fleshy hungry, sex
mongers, and, above all, betrayers. According to Julie Mullaney, Roy's
writing in " The God of Small Things " employs a variety of alternatives and
choices, whether complicit, resistant, or both, in a dominant order that
frames each of their individual life stories as well as their relationship to
familial and societal history. munotes.in

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18 Toni Morrison and Arundhati Roy, both Afro -American writers, let their
survivor characters, Claudia and Rahel, bear witness to the silence of their
devastated cou nterparts. Estha and Pecola. Both authors symbolise the
tangle of social, economic, and familial situations that brutalise subaltern
youth. They portray their characters as follows: Claudia holds the African
American society guilty for parents' obsession w ith white ideals that ruin
subaltern children. In The God of Small Things , Rahel survived the horrors
of caste -based violence and death she witnessed as a youngster and sees
her twin brother. Estha, who has been stunned into silence by the adult
world. Roy investigates how Ammu, the mother of the twins, symbolises
the caste system's foundational tenet of endogamy by marrying outside the
society and then committing the most transgression act of loving a Dalit
man. The twins are pushed to the periphery of the family as her offspring,
too young to understand the customary norms and hierarchies, and as
subaltern children are wounded by the legacy of exclusion their mothers
had to adopt.
2.4 POST -COLONIALISM AND DECOLONIZATION: Magic Realism, absent from pre -independence works, became the
dominating genre after independence. Magic Realism weakened social
realism. M.K. Naik states, "Magic realism is a jealous mistress; social
realism is an unwelcome guest." (1984: 123). The best example of Magic
Realism is G.V. De sai's "All About Hatterr." The post -independence
novels followed the tradition of Magic Realism established by G.V. Desai,
which was strengthened by Salman Rushdie. The Midnight's Children ,
Salman Rushdie's first novel, which received the Booker of Bookers Prize,
is an exemplary example of the Magic Realism movement. Although he
used this style in future works such as 'Satanic Verses ,' 'The Moor's Last
Sigh,' and 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet ,' he was not as successful in this
genre as he was when he wrote 'The Midnight's Children .' Typical
examples include Shashi Tharoor's 'The Great Indian Novel ,' Boman
Desai's 'The Memory of Elephants ,' Ranjit Lal's 'The Crow Chronicles ,'
Amitav Ghosh's 'The Circle of Reason ,' G.J.V. Prasad's 'A Clean Breast,'
Tabish Kher' s 'An Angel in Pyjamas ,' RukunAdvani's ' Be. Another
tendency is the English translation of regional literatures. For example,
practically all of Premchand's, Rabindranath Tagore's, Subramania
Bharathi's, Vijay Tendulkar's, and Vasudevan Nair's works are av ailable in
English not just for English speakers but also for those around the world
who know English as a second or foreign language.
TakazhiSivasankaraPillai's Chemmeen , Kesava Reddy's 'He Conquered the
Jungle’, Sundara Ramasamy's 'Tale of a Tamarind Tree ’, U R Anantha
Murthy's ‘Samsara’ , and others have made significant contributions to
English translation literature. There is a distinct trend of women writers
rising on the national scene among these translated pieces. Dalit literature,
which has also bee n translated into English, is a new trend and latest
development. Contemporary fiction writers focus on the minute and subtle
characteristics of human behaviour that cause diasporic persons to feel
alienated and kept at a distance. Various writers have att empted to capture
the nuances of this experience. There are writers who focus on the munotes.in

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Background Study Part II Contemporary Trends and movements in Indian writing in English Translation
19 diasporic experience in a foreign area, shaping the supremacist attitude of
natives toward them. Other writers consider this experience as the result of
cultural exchange that supports the establishment of a universal
civilization.
Postcolonial literature includes subaltern literature." Postcolonialism
establishes theories in philosophy and literature that grapple with the
legacy of colonial power. Postcolonial perspectives mark the emergence of
a different trend in Indian English fiction. It does not present the British
empire as the culture representing colonial oppression and the eastern or
Indian culture, as the other. The contemporary writers tend to bring out
internal contradictions of the national culture. The conflicting interests of
different communities and the fear psychosis resulting from minority or
majority syndrome find expression in their recent fictional works. The
presentation of this theme involves the expr ession of a sense of
resentment, in the sub -cultures within the main culture, against the false
sense of inclusion of their voice by the majority culture. The clashing
interests of various communities, as well as the fear psychosis caused by
minority or ma jority syndrome, are expressed in their contemporary
literary.
Indian English writers focus on creative interpretations of Indian society
and culture and 'forming and projecting the Indian image' Indian society
divides into upper -caste, non -upper -caste, a nd downtrodden sections.
Among them, several castes and subcastes followed many practises and
usages; each is unique. Over time, upper -castes have influenced the socio -
religious and cultural life of marginalised groups.
2.5 DALIT LITERATURE: Human rights issues have put a spotlight on literary depictions of
marginalised people. Modern Dalit literature in India tries to highlight
prejudice, violence, and poverty. These experiences have been buried in
silence, frequently with religious and social sanction, a nd considered non -
literary. Recently, they have been denied entirely. The expanding corpus
of Dalit literature, poems, novels, and autobiographies examines Dalit
culture. Dalit literature is an important post -independence literary
movement. The transformat ion of these branded 'untouchables' into dalit
was a centuries -long collective struggle. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar coined the term.
Indian Dalit literature refers to literature of the oppressed, mainly
connected with a broad group of peo ple historically regarded the lowest
among the Indian population and known as "untouchables." Dalit literature
emerged in response to Indian social and cultural history, but translations
into English have given it a place in the World Republic of Letters. In an
era when human rights are a focus, literary portraits of marginalised
communities are important. Recent Dalit literature in India aims to
highlight inequality, violence, and poverty. These experiences have long
been silenced, often with religious and social sanction, and considered
non-literary. Recently, they have been denied entirely. Political groups munotes.in

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20 back them. The Dalit panthers (begun in 1975) have taken much from
America's Black panthers. Dalit status and sensitivity determine the
destiny of Dal it literature. New reforming waves are blowing for Dalit
literature as resistance literature. Dalit literature is a new dimension in
modern literature. Dalit literature, a new charismatic dimension in
literature, fascinates many.
The primary goal of Dalit literature is to liberate Dalits. Dalits have a long
history of fighting against casteist traditions. In Kannada, for example, it
dates back to Chennaiah, the cobbler, the first Vachana poet of the 11th
century. The upper castes were challenged by the Dali t saint Kalavve in
the 12th century, who said, "Those who eat goats, foul and tiny fish: Such,
they call caste people." Outcastes are those who eat the Sacred Cow,
which rains foaming milk for Shiva."Dalit writers' poems, short stories,
novels, and autobio graphies provided valuable insights into the issue of
Dalit identity. Now, subaltern communities have adopted a new attitude,
'Dalit is Dignified,' rejecting the Hindu social order's subhuman status.
When human rights are a focus, literary portraits of mar ginalised
communities are important. Recent Dalit literature in India aims to
highlight inequality, violence, and poverty. These experiences have long
been silenced, often with religious and social sanction, and considered
non-literary. Recently, they have been denied entirely. The expanding
corpus of Dalit literature, poems, novels, and autobiographies examines
Dalit culture. Dalit literature is an important post -independence literary
movement. The transformation of these branded 'untouchables' into dalit is
a narrative of centuries -long struggle. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar were the first to use Dalit as a noun and an adjective to
denote untouchables' oppression. In 1958, at the inaugural Dalit
conference in Bombay, the phrase 'Dalit liter ature' was first used. As an
identity marker, 'Dalit' became popular in 1972 when a group of young
Marathi writers -activists created Dalit panthers. The name symbolised
kinship and connection with Black Panthers who fought for African -
American rights in th e U.S. Arjun Dangle, a Dalit panther leader, writes:
“Dalit is not a caste but a realization and is related to the experiences, joys
and sorrows and struggles of those in the lowest strata of society. It
matures with a sociological point of view and is rel ated to the principles of
negativity, rebellion and loyalty to science, thus finally ending as
revolutionary.”
The term "dalit" literally means "oppressed" and is used to describe to
India's "untouchable" casteless sects. Dalit, also known as outcaste, is a
self-designation for a group of individuals who have traditionally been
considered untouchables. Dalits are a mixed population of many caste
groups found throughout India, South Asia, and the world. Many
alternative names have been proposed to describe t his group of
individuals, including 'Ashprosh' (Untouchable), 'Harijans' (Children of
God), 'Dalits' (Broken People), and so on. The origins of the word 'Dalit'
Dalit is a Sanskrit word that means "downtrodden," "suppressed,"
"crushed," or "broken to piece s." It was coined by Jyotirao Phule in the munotes.in

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Background Study Part II Contemporary Trends and movements in Indian writing in English Translation
21 nineteenth century to describe the oppression of the old "Untouchable"
classes of twice -born Hindus. To identify the previous untouchables,
Mahatma Gandhi coined the term 'Harijan,' which loosely translates as
"children of God.
The religious literature 'Manu Smriti' described the society's 'Varna
system' based on occupation. It is a four -society varna system made up of
four different types of people from Lord Vishnu's body. According to this
legend, Brahmin was bor n from the head, Kshatriya from the arms,
Vaishya from the abdomen, and Shudra from the feet. It stressed shudra as
a slave and servant because he was born without feet and was thus obliged
to serve the rest of society. As a result, shudra (Dalit) was ackn owledged
as a lower society of society, an outcaste.
By this so -called civilised Hindu society, Dalits have been intended for
lower vocations such as leather work, butchering, or the clearance of
debris, animal corpses, and waste. Dalits clean streets, la trines, and sewers
as manual labourers. These actions were thought to be damaging to the
individual, and the pollution was thought to be contagious. As a result,
Dalits were frequently separated and prohibited from fully participating in
Hindu social life.
DALIT MOVEMENTS IN INDIA: Lord GautamBudha, who preached
the abolition of untouchability, was the first known Dalit reformer. The
oldest documented reformation within Hinduism occurred during the
mediaeval period, when Bhakti organisations actively promot ed dalit
involvement and inclusion. The Brahmo samaj, Arya samaj, and the
Ramakrishna mission actively contributed in the emancipation of Dalits in
the nineteenth century. In Maharashtra, Saint Kabir, the Mahanubhava
sect, and the Varkari sect all rejected the word "untouchability" and
welcomed Dalits as brothers. Maharashtra was a pivotal state in the
reformation of dalit or the change of the untouchable to the touchable. The
significant social reformers of Maharashtra included Mahatma
JyotibaPhule, Rajash riShahu Maharaj, V. R. Shinde, and the towering
figure Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Ambedkar switched his emphasis to
Buddhism in the 1950s, and he converted thousands of untouchable people
to Buddhism alongside himself. In West Bengal, Chaitanya Prabhu started
the 'Namoshudras movement' (bow to Dalit), which transformed people's
attitudes about the untouchable population. Dalit reform movements have
existed in India since the time of Gautama Buddha. It is still in the process
of changing the state through the c reative efforts of social reformers.
CONTEMPORARY DALIT LITERATURE:
Dalit literature is a new phenomenain literature in which the torturous
experiences of Dalit, Untouchable writers are exposed to portray the
contemporary social, mental situation to Dalit and non -dalit readers. Mulk
Raj Anand was the first to isolate Dalit literature with novels such as
'Untouchable' and 'Coolie,' both of which were simultaneously translated
into English and other languages. Dalit literature is written in a variety of
literary forms. Maharashtra Dalit poets and authors popularised Dalit munotes.in

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22 literature in Marathi. Its primary purpose is to raise awareness among all
conscientious readers about the social status of dalits in society.
Dalit poetry: There is a plethora of Dalit poe try that successfully
expresses the poet's violent lashing experiences. Narayan Survey was a
well-known poet in early Dalit literature. 'vidhyapith' was his most
renowned poem. KeshavMeshram wrote "Utkhanan" (Excavation),
DayaPawar wrote "Kondwada" (suffoc ating Enclosure), NamedeoDhasal
wrote " Golpitha" (The Red Light Zone), TriyambakSapkal wrote
"Surung" (dynamite), and so on. The modern generation of Dalit poetry
evolved as a revolt or protest against the oppressive conventional
restraints.
Dalit folk po etry: In contrast to the enormous Dalit poetry as a powerful
means of Dalit expression, folk poetry is also used to promote Dalit
sensitivity. Dalit folk poets include Vaman Dada Kardak, BhimraoKardak,
VitthalUmap, and others. Folk poetry comprises ballads that captivated the
Dalit community's common people. It also raises awareness of Dalit
reform movements.
Dalit short stories : Short stories and novels are key genres of literature
that Dalit writers portray Dalit sensibilities effectively. Short storie s such
as 'Fakira' by Anna BhauSathe, 'Davandi' by ShankarraoKharat, and
'JevahMiJaatChorli Hoti' by 1963 Hot AaheMaran Swast -1969 The best
examples of Dalit short stories by Dalit writers are (Death is becoming
cheap) by BaburaoBagul and Red Stone by N. G . Shende. D) Dalit
autobiographies: Dalit writers primarily used autobiographies to interpret
their own experiences with social injustice. It is known as Dalit Auto -
narrative. This type of literature is best suited for Dalit authors.
Dalit literature con veys a message about their group rather than
individuals, about insurrection rather than apathy, and about progress
rather than backwardness. This message is to the entire world about their
standing in society by depicting them as exploitative, helpless, a nd
engaged in grief, oppressed and subjugated, and in a subaltern state. In
terms of mutilation, Dalits in India can be compared to African Americans
to some extent. The authors' joint political perspective is against the
hegemony of upper and middle class Hindu ideas and in favour of
personal power over restrictive social restrictions. Throughout their
literature, Dalit authors questioned religion and identity. Dalit literature
gained a solid foundation in the mid -twentieth century, but its structure
was developed in the early nineteenth century. Dalit writers now have a
literary foundation based on ideology and publish in a variety of
periodicals. They are also supported by a number of political
organisations. The Dalit panthers (founded in 19705) are the most visible
of them, borrowing much of their ideology from America's Black
panthers.
Dalit literature future is predicated on the current condition of Dalits and
their sensitivity. New reforming winds are blowing for the radical growth
of Dalit literatu re as protest literature. Thus, Dalit literature is a new munotes.in

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Background Study Part II Contemporary Trends and movements in Indian writing in English Translation
23 dimension and literature. People are fascinated by this new charismatic
dimension in literature, namely Dalit literature. Dalit Literature has taken
on a new dimension, encompassing literature about oppressed Indians, and
other groups around the world who are put to a secondary position by the
affluent. Dalit literature includes works about the exploitation of nature
and the environment, the racial discrimination of Afro Americans in
America, women's subordination, LGBT rights, and the neglect of the
elderly. Dalit has a broad meaning and a powerful healing power. The
central issue woven into the Dalit fabric is the strong rejection of religious
justification of poverty and untouchability by those who have suffered at
its hands since the inception of the caste system.
Dalit literature has made a significant contribution. It has effectively
challenged Brahmanic predominance in literature, isensitised Dalit masses
to assert, protest, and mobilise,) stimu lated thought in Dalit intellectuals
and fostered the formation of organic Dalit intellectuals. Despite the low
level of literacy among Dalits, the birth of Dalit literature, in which both
writers and readers are predominantly Dalits, is proof of a deep t ransition
taking place in Indian society. Dalit identity and sensitivity will determine
the destiny of Dalit literature.
Dr. M. B. Gaijan evaluates the outcast in Rabindranath Tagore's poetry.
He demonstrates how Tagore has often poeticized outcast stories in order
to recognise the offended as fellow human beings. M. R. Anand's novels
revolve around the struggle for life and the exploration of one's own
identity. His heroes, the oppressed, do not have tragic defects, but they are
prey to society, and their fates are dictated by genetics.
New reforming waves are undoubtedly blowing for the radical growth of
Dalit literature as protest literature. Thus, Dalit literature represents a new
dimension in the literature of today and the past. People are mesmerised
by this new charismatic dimension in literature.Dalit is a socially
significant society. Since ancient times, it been subjugated as a
subordinate, inferior component of Hindu society. Dalit literature is an
explosion of centuries of oppressed people's repre ssed wrath. Dalits are no
longer Dalit (helpless); they are as strong as other persons in society. Their
inventiveness makes them rich society's pinnacle. Caste -based system
restricted people from changing jobs. In this contemporary era, where
money decid es status, upper - and lower -class structures evolved. The
'Dalit movement' changes the face of society and eliminates subordination
of the downtrodden class.
Jyotirao Phule, a Marathi Dalit (then known as an Untouchable), published
his book Gulamgiri (Sla very) in 1873 and dedicated it to the then -Negroes
in America as a "'token of admiration for their sublime disinterestedness
and self -sacrificing devotion in the cause of Negro Slavery,'" as noted by
S.D. Kapoor . The example of the development of African American
consciousness and its expression in literature, particularly slave narratives,
served as an effective model for Phule in resisting the oppressive caste
system that had left the ati -shudras (the untouchables) in India without a
sense of self -identi ty and consciousness. Phule's lifelong endeavour to munotes.in

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24 educate the lowest castes about their plight as a result of the Brahmin caste
system continues to be an inspiration today. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, India’s
greatest Dalit leader, who framed the Constitution of a free and new India
and served as the country's first Law Minister, recognisedPhule's work by
dedicating his own book, Who Were the Shudras? to him. Ambedkar, who
was prominent in Indian national politics and created the country's first
constitution, also saw parallels between African Americans and Dalits.
Ambedkar witnessed the developing consciousness among Blacks and
their battle to establish their identity and humanity against white
supremacist tyranny as a graduate student at Columbia University from
1913 to 1916. Such firsthand experience helped him develop a
"framework" for the "issue of caste segregation back home", says
Sudarshan Kapur. When Lala Lajpat Rai, a famous Indian anti -British Raj
activist and "founding member of the Hindu reformist movem ent, Arya
Samaj”, compared the lynchings of Negroes in America with the attitudes
of the Brahmins toward the pariahs, the untouchables. Ambedkar thought
that the emergence of an American conscience enabled ex -slaves to write
their pain as narratives in ord er to expose the atrocities of slavery.
However, he contended that in India, "Hindus" lack a conscience that
prevents them from realising the unfairness in the caste system to which
they belong.
Sudarshan Kapur traces the history of the well -known relation ship
between Gandhi's Satyagraha and Dr. Martin Luther King's nonviolent
Civil Rights movement in the United States during the 1950s -1960s to
much earlier connections between the African American community and
Gandhi's activities through the 1920s in his c ritically acclaimed book,
Raising Up a Prophet: the African -American Encounter with Gandhi. As
Kapur argues, such a rich history of connections prior to King's
"discovery" of Gandhi in his seminary years in 1950 two years after
Gandhi's assassination not o nly demonstrates the early awareness in the
United States that "struggles for transformation may be shared across
cultural and political boundaries," but also demonstrates the early
recognition in the United States that "struggles for transformation may be
shared across cultural and political boundaries."
2.6 TRANSLATED WORKS OF NATIVE WRITERS FROM DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN INDIA Amit Chaudhuri remarks on Indian writing, in The Guardian :
“As to the writers from the more troubled regions outside the metropolita n
suburbs in which English alone was spoken, ... if you scratched the surface
of their slightly bureaucratic veneer, that they possessed an eclecticism of
taste and literary predilections, a formal curiosity, as well as a true
multilingualism, that made th em quite akin – paradoxically for brown men
wandering about the streets of Frankfurt and Paris – to the breed of writers
once called “European.”
Ananthamurthy has received the Padma Bhushan and the Jnanpith Award
for his outstanding work in Kannada literatu re and is one of the most well -munotes.in

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Background Study Part II Contemporary Trends and movements in Indian writing in English Translation
25 known Indian regional authors.According to AmitChaudhuri, there are
following important Indian Writers in Translation:
Ambai: In A Forest, A Deer -Short stories drawing on mythology,
feminism and the lives of ordinary women
Ashapoorna Devi: The First Promise (PrathamPratisruti) -This is one of
the few novels by the prolific and highly esteemed author that has been
translated. It follows the development of Satyabati, a child bride who
grows to expect much more from her new life in a changing but still
repressive Calcutta.
Bama: Karukku -Bama’s account of growing up untouchable, a dalit in
modern India.
Bhisham Sahni: Tamas - Sahni drew on his experiences working in
refugee camps to create the narratives of Nathu, the sweeper who se
unintentional killing of a pig sparks a riot, Jarnail, and a number of other
characters.
BibhutibhushanBandopadhyay : PatherPanchali (The Song of the
Road), Aparajito) -As Bibhutibhushan followed his protagonist from the
little village of Nischindipur to the demands and temptations of the city,
Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy was based on these well -known and beloved
classics.
Fakir Mohan Senapati: Six Acres and a Third -Senapati’s wickedly
funny tale of colonial India
Girish Karnad: Collected Plays -one of Ind ia’s most intelligent and
engaged writers, plays that sweep through history and myth to address
today’s audience.
GopinathMohanty: Paraja -from the 1930s, it examines the steady
collapse of a tribesman deprived of his lands by the state, who turns first
to the familiar forest and eventually to drunkenness.
Harivansh Rai Bachchan: In the Afternoon of Time -From the trials of
growing up in the regions to the success of Madhushala and the
superstardom of his son, Amitabh, the renowned poet recounts his life
with candour and emotion. The English translation of the four -volume
original was a highly effective reduction.
Jibananda Das: Selected Poems and Collected Short Stories - Jibananda's
multilayered and frequently revolutionary poetry produced a multitude of
horrifyingly awful imitations, but few matched his vision's precision. His
short stories are less well -known, but they provided a generation of
Bengalis with an escape from Tagore's gentle dictatorship.
Kamleshwar: Partitions -One of the finest examinations of the wounds
of Partition in Indian literature; piercing, agonising, and highly provoking.
KiranNagarkar: SaatSakkamTrechalis (Seven Sixes Are Forty -Three) -
The protagonist of Nagarkar's first work was KushankPundare, an
unpublished author who lived in a slum. Pundare's beautiful blend of munotes.in

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26 nihilism and wide humour failed to delight the Marathi literary
community, but Nagarkar's readers continue to be amused.
Krishna Sobti: MitroMarjani, EiLadki (translated as To Hell With You,
Mitro and Listen, Girl ) -Sexu ality and the urge for independence are the
subject of Sobti's richly comedic, occasionally gloomy studies.
M. Mukundan: On the Banks of the Mayyazhi -In this timeless classic,
Father Alphonse, Dasan the freedom fighter, Chitralekha the dancer, and
the vi llagers of Mahe come together.
Mahasweta Devi: Titu Mir, Rudali, Breast Stories, Mother of 1084,
‘Draupadi’ -shows her wrenching, engaging perspective on history.
Mahesh Elkunchwar: Holi, Yuganta, Pratibimb, Party.
M T Vasudevan Nair: Naalukettu -Literal ly "the house around the
courtyard," Naalukettu uses MT Vasudevan Nair's own memories to
portray the ambience of a South Indian village and a young boy's struggles
to find his way through a maze of tradition.
Nabaneeta Deb Sen: Defying Winter (in Five Nove llas by Women), A
Nabaneeta Reader -The writings include children's fiction, travelogues,
literary criticism, and mainstream fiction. Defying Winter is a witty and
cosy novella set in a retirement community.
NaiyerMasud: The Essence of Camphor -These stori es, translated from
Urdu, preserve some of that language's fragrance: they are delicate,
precise, and mournful, notably the title storey and "SheeshaGhat."
NamdeoDhasal: Poet of the Underworld -This Dalit poet's work is
beautifully translated by Dilip Chit re.
Nirmal Verma: Selected Stories; The Last Wilderness (translated by
Pratik Kanjilal) -Verma, the founder of the "NayiKahani" literary
movement, was a writer of uncommon depth and sensitivity. In 'The Last
Wilderness,' Pratik Kanjilal's translation portr ays Verma's story set in the
highlands and narrated by the retired civil servant's secretary -companion.
This is one of Verma's finest works; he uses the terrain to evoke a sense of
threat and possibility.
O V Vijayan: Legends of Khasak -Vijayan made Khasak as "real" as
Marquez's Macondo, and it possesses a similar degree of depth.
Premchand: ShatranjkeKhiladi (The Chess Players) -Shatranj remains a
personal favourite due to its depiction of a friendship challenged during
the last hours of an empire.
Premendr a Mitra: Mosquito and other stories -"Ghanada" is an
outstanding literary figure known to Bengalis; this collection
demonstrates some of Mitra's wit and odd fluidity.
QurratulainHyder: Aag Ki Dariya (River of Fire) -This mammoth book
covers 2.5 millennia of Indian history and connects it with four munotes.in

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27 protagonists who travel through the years and observe the changing of the
guard. Hyder's greatest work.
Rabindranath Tagore: Selected Short Stories translated by Sukanta
Chaudhuri and others, The Home and the Wo rld, Chokher Bali -his short
stories are the best introduction to his work. his novels, including Ghare -
Baire (The Home, the World), and Nashto Neer (The Broken Nest, filmed
as Charulata) inspired Ray’s films.
Rahi Masoom Reza: A Village Divided -Reza's de scription of the
conflicts between competing families in Gangauli is incisive, crisp, and
quite humorous..
Saadat Hasan Manto: the collected short stories -Manto used grim
humour to frame Partition and the riots; in his tales, inmates of a mental
instituti on must understand the new borders, a guy discovers he has no
taste for cold meat, and a youngster sees jelly in a pool of blood.
Sankar: Chowringhee -This expert translation brings to life the inner
tales of a large hotel in Calcutta from Sankar's hugely acclaimed book.
Sharatchandra: Debdas, Srikanta, PatherDabi -Sharatchandra's
reputation for sarcasm and his incisive criticism of the social conventions
of his time is remarkable, Bengal's most well -known novels, and his
characters continue to live in the public imagination.
Shivram Karanth: Ten Faces of a Crazy Mind - one of the greats of
Kannada literature, and his autobiography is as unorthodox as was his life.
ShrilalShukla: RaagDarbari -This timeless parody of small -town India
looks closely at the co rrupt political system without holding its nose.
Sunil Gangopadhyay: Sei Samay (Those Days), Pratham Alo (First
Light) -Two of the more well -known works of the prolific Gangopadhyay
are historical fiction that walks a delicate line between gossip and an
actual account of the life and times of Bengal's best.
ThakazhiSivasankaraPillai: Chemmeen -This led to the meeting of two
star-crossed lovers in a Keralan fishing village.
U R Ananthamurthy: Samskara -The central event in Samskara, the
challenging and, for its time, revolutionary novel by U R Anathamurthy, is
the funeral of a Brahmin who had abandoned the society.
Vaidehi: Gulabi Talkies -Short stories translated from Kannada; the title
story, in which a village cope with the loss of its midwife, Lillibai, w hen
she chooses to operate the only -for-women cinema, Gulabi Talkies, finest
exemplifies Vaidehi's signature style.
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer : My Granddad Had An Elephant, Walls -
Freedom fighter, nomad, and author Basheer had a talent for distilling the
ludic rous, the humorous, and the tragic into a few spare phrases. The short
story collection My Granddad Had An Elephant by Walls follows two munotes.in

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28 convicts who may not ultimately wish to leave for "the larger jail outside."

V K Madhavan Kutty: The Village Before Ti me
VijaydanDetha: A Straw Epic and other stories -VijaydanDetha's stories
are based on Rajasthani folktales, which do not translate well, but this
collection captures some of the flavour of the originals. Particularly in
"Duvidha," the well -known tale of a love triangle involving a bride, her
husband, and the ghost who momentarily takes the form of the husband.
Vilas Sarang: The Women in the Cages (short stories) -He had it
translated from its original Marathi into English. His Bombay is a strange
city wh ere Ganesha's statue may flee from his own procession and where a
man might get in trouble for putting his hands on a funeral fire to warm
them on a chilly day.
Vijay Tendulkar: GhashiramKotwal, Sakharam Binders or The
Collected Plays --Few playwrights hav e utilised current events and biting
satire as successfully as Tendulkar did in his brave and fierce plays, which
are essentials of any self -respecting Indian theatre company.
2.7 TRIBAL LITERATURE Adivasis or tribals have a strong tradition of oral storyt elling but has
remained in the shadows since long. Adivasi literature is the literature
written in more than 100 languages by the tribal people of the Indian
subcontinent. The tradition of tribal literature comprises oral and written
literature in tribal languages. Tribal literature, imbued with Tribal
consciousness, attempts to carve out a place for itself in the world of
literature and criticism . Tribal literature has now been translated into
English and made accessible, owing to the efforts of publish ers such as
adivaani, Zubaan, and even mainstream publishers. This is a collection of
tales about their culture, nature, philosophy, the human condition, and
their interconnectedness. From TemsulaAo's short stories to
EasterineKire's novels, these books by Adivasis are extraordinary works
of scholarship. Tribal literature is the literature of a search for identity, the
exposure of past and present forms of exploitation by outsiders, threats to
tribal existence and identity, and resistance.Adivasi Sahitya, o r tribal
literature, is generally available in the form of songs or dance forms.
These songs have been passed down from generation to generation and
have persisted for a long time. Even some folk songs have been lost
forever. Susheela Samad, one of the ear ly Adivasi authors, edited the
magazine Chandni from 1925 to 1930 and produced two poetry collections
in 1935 and 1948.
In India, the last three decade saw the development of a slew of new
movements. Tribal literature is the creative energy developed at th e
national level after 1991 to defend tribal identity and existence in the face
of increased exploitation as a result of economic liberalisation. Both tribal
and non -tribal authors have contributed to it. This literature's geographical, munotes.in

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29 cultural, and lingu istic environment is as distinct from the rest of Indian
literature as Tribals are from the rest of Indians. This uniqueness is its key
factor driving the market.
The evolution of literature and many art forms in tribal cultures preceded
the emergence of l iterature and arts in so -called mainstream society.
However, the tribal literary heritage was primarily oral. Even after being
thrown into the jungles, tribal communities continued their creative
literary pursuits. However, because this literature was writ ten in simple
folk languages and the Tribals were located distant from centres of power,
their literature, like they themselves, was mostly overlooked. Tribal
literature is still being produced in hundreds of indigenous languages
today, but we know very li ttle about it.
The genuine demands are increasingly being voiced in tribal literature.
Tribals cannot be dispossessed of their water supplies, forests, and land
and forced to live in squalor as existence dwellers. The Tribes' existence
has been threatened by the government -market nexus. Those who remain
in their homes have been caught between the government's devil and the
deep sea of extreme Left. Those who have relocated have become like
trees with no roots. With rivers, hills, and forests no longer nearb y, their
distinct identity based on language and culture is fading. Never before had
the Tribes faced such a profound crisis of identity and existence. It is
natural for any community to fight against threats to its existence. This
resistance manifested it self socially and politically, as well as in art and
literature. As a result, contemporary tribal literature was born.
Tribals fought undue meddling in their lives wherever it occurred. A series
of tribal uprisings have occurred during the last two centuri es. These
revolutions also sparked creative energy, but it was primarily oral. It could
never gain pan -Indian recognition due to a lack of communication
channels. Non -Tribal authors occasionally wrote about Tribal life and
civilization. This entire heritag e of depicting tribal life in literature is the
background of contemporary tribal literature. No literary trend begins on a
specific day. Its emergence and development are a slow, frequently
indistinguishable process impacted by a variety of variables.
Contemporary tribal literature began in 1991. As the Indian government's
economic policies aggravated tribal oppression and exploitation, so did
opposition to it. Because exploitation and resistance were pan -Indian
phenomena, so was the creative energy that r esulted from it.
Tribal literature is the literature of identity exploration, exposing past and
present forms of exploitation by outsiders, threats to tribal identity and
existence, and resistance. This is a pro -change, constructive intervention
that stron gly opposes any form of prejudice against the descendants of
India's original people. It backs their right to protect their water, forests,
and land, as well as their right to self -determination. Although current
tribal writings and discourse are in their early phases, it is encouraging to
see that pointless disputes like "empathy versus sympathy" are on the
fringes. There is no reason to place such a premium on the genuineness of
sympathy and empathy. The honesty of expression is more essential than munotes.in

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30 the si ncerity of feelings. Honest expression is impossible without
extensive experience, personal interaction, and sensitivity, particularly in
the case of tribals. Empathy cannot be used as the sole factor for
determining authenticity. Because tribal literary d iscourse is still
developing, its issues are also getting shape. Over the previous decades,
the conversation has addressed topics of tribal society, history, culture,
language, and so on. Magazines play an important role in the initiation and
growth of eve ry literary movement. The following magazines have played
key roles in publicising tribal concerns in the world of literature and
supporting creative literature relating to them:
AnujLugun is a poet and writer from India. His lyrics advocated for
indigenou s renaissance and fierce resistance to Nazism and oppression.
Anuj's social justice activism earned him the distinction of Tribal Poet and
some include YuddhratAamAdmi (Hazaribagh, Delhi; editor: Ramnika
Gupta), Aravali Udgosh (Udaipur; editor: B.P. Verma ‘Pathik’),
Jharkhandi Bhasha Sahitya, Sanskriti Akhda (Ranchi; editor: Vandana
Tete) and Adivasi Satta (Durg, Chhattisgarh; editor: K.R. Shah).
Besides, Pushpa Tete through Tarang Bharati , Sunil Minj through Deshaj
Swar and ShishirTudu through the eveni ng newspaper Jharkhand News
Line are also promoting Tribal discourse. Numerous mainstream
publications have also produced special tribal issues, fostering the growth
of tribal conversation. These include Samkaleen Janmat (2003),
Kathakram (2012) and Ispatika (2012). Leading Hindi periodicals initially
exhibited little interest in Tribal concerns, but as the conversation has
grown, so has the Tribal life in their columns. Small periodicals also
publish tribal writers.
Tribal texts are varied. The oral lit erary tradition has benefited tribal
authors. Tribal literature has no primary genre like women and Dalit
autobiographies. Tribal and non -Tribal writers have depicted Tribal life in
poetry, stories, novels, and dramas. The Tribal writers use poetry to figh t
for Tribal existence and identity. Autobiographical writings are rare in
Tribal literature because the Tribal society values the group over the self.
Most tribal communities did not understand "private" and "privacy" for a
long time. Tradition, culture, history, exploitation, and resistance are all
shared. Folk poetry expresses group feelings better than autobiography.
Tribal pen is growing quickly.
In colonial India, Tribals' difficulties included a ban on gathering forest
produce, varied land revenues, moneylender exploitation, and police
abuses. After independence, the misguided development approach of
government deprived Tribals of water, forests, and land and evicted them.
Today, Tribals face displacement. This threatens their identity and
existence. If they try to protect their identity, their existence is threatened,
and if they try to ensure their existence, their identity is lost. Hence, Tribal
discourse is about existence and identity.
Tribal literature gets its impetus from the tradition of triba l uprisings,
therefore the language and geography of such upheavals are important. munotes.in

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31 Tribal authors write in tribal languages. The vast literary tradition of
indigenous languages influences Hindi Tribal literature. This literature has
been translated into ot her languages. Tribal literature is translated into
Hindi, Bangla, and Tamil, becoming national. Tribal literature is
advancing, imbued with the rebellious spirit of Birsa, Sidho -Kano, and
other revolutionary Tribal leaders and their movement.
Laburnum For My Head by TemsulaAo -TemsulaAo'sSahityaAkademi
Award -winning short story collection is amazing. It evokes many
emotions and helps us understand Adivasipain.These stories take us into
north -east India's fascinating region and highlight the injustice native s
face. Death of a Hunter is about a hunter haunted by his prey's ghost,
whereas A Simple Question is about how a woman released her husband
from the army.
The Mysterious Ailment of RupiBaskey and The Adivasi Will Not Dance
by HansdaSowvendraShekhar -. Rup iBaskey's mystery illness renders her
bedridden. Gurubari, her husband's lover, is suspected of black magic.
Rupi's life seems grim with an alcoholic mother -in-law and a stubborn
child. His debut novel is set in a Santhal hamlet. The drama of a family in
Jharkhand and their interactions with other Santhalis keeps us engaged
with its story of gods and human emotions. It is a must -read Adivasi
literature.
A Girl Swallowed By A Tree : Lotha Naga Tales Retold by Nzanmongi
Jasmine Patton
Nagaland's Lotha tribe preserves its culture through traditional stories.
Nzanmongi Jasmine Patton has translated 30 of these stories while
retaining Lotha language. In Ranphan, The Brave, a man kills the tiger
that killed his wife, and in Longtsarhoni and The Snake Man , a shap e-
shifting male snake marries a human woman. These tales reveal a little -
known society. This work of Adivasi writing, with an introduction by
EasterinKire, is remarkable.
Becoming Me by Rejina Marandi -Liya is a young girl who strives to
survive in riot -ridden Assam while keeping her goals and dreams alive.
Rejina Marandi's debut novel is "a coming -of-age story" of an Adivasi in a
place full with horrors, discrimination, and biases. The hardships of the
tribals in Assam are exposed through the story of a gir l, and it will be a
wake -up call for people ignorant of our country's politics.
Painted Words: An Anthology of Tribal Literature by G. N. Devy -This
collection of tribal poems, songs, folk stories, and tribal renditions of
Ramayana and Mahabharata by G.N. D evy reveals how closely tribal
culture is entwined with mainstream culture and how Adivasis are
exploited in India.
The Black Hill by Mamang Dai - In the 1850s, when the British wanted to
conquer India, they attacked the north -east. Abor and Mishmee tried i n
vain to keep "outsiders" off their land. Gimur and Kajinsha fall in love as
war looms and decide to marry. Their plan is foiled by the murder of a munotes.in

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32 monk who wants to reach Tibet. Mamang Dai's The Black Hill is a
survival story that shows how vital land is to tribals.

A Respectable Woman by EasterineKire -Eastern Kire's work recreates
WWII using Naga storytelling traditions. After the crucial battle of
Kohima, residents must pick up the pieces. Political upheaval and social
changes have caused alcoholism and domestic violence. 45 years later,
Khanuo informs her daughter about the past while underlining the present
concerns. Khanuo's voyage reveals Nagaland's past and a changing
society.
2.8 PROTEST LITERATURE Protest is evolving with time. Protest is show ing disapproval or opposing
any concept. People have often protested economic, social, and religious
injustice. It may be because man has an innate tendency to protest.
Individual protest is often social protest. Protest is when a man faces an
unjust and i nhuman condition and decides to deal with it it by speaking
out and taking action.
The Bhakti traditions and literature have influenced Indian society for
millennia. On one side, they have expressed existential and social
suffering in gendered terms. Inju stice of class and caste happens to be a
common issue. Vernacular poets from diverse castes, regions, and
religions have developed a rich corpus of literature, songs, vachanas,
bhajans, keertanas, and padams since the seventh century AD. As a varied
group, they are distinguished by non -sectarian attitude, vernacular idiom,
confidence in God, disdain of rituals and caste, and connection with the
disadvantaged. According to Aijaz Ahmed, Bhakti democratised literary
language, pushed cultural forms of caste heg emony in favour of craftsmen
and peasants, and problematized the gender construction of all dialogic
relations. The Bhakti Movement has roots in the ninth century BC, when
Alvar saints of the South appeared. It is diffused across the subcontinent
and suppo rted regional movements. It sparked social, religious, and
spiritual enquiry. It was spiritual, not religious. This democratising
movement is marked by the emergence of several religious communities
and movements with a revolutionary spirit. This new spiri t was a result of
the Muslim conquest, which established a more egalitarian faith, Islam.
Bhakti Movement as Protest Literature:
Bhakti Movement literature and Indian protest literature are intertwined.
The Bhakti Movement Literature, India's first protes t literature, explores
voices of discord, rhetoric, and cultural contexts. It helps to examine and
contrast distinct Bhakti poets' aesthetic moves in protest. Examining the
protest spectrum, especially in regional and nationalistic literature, is very
helpful and places Bhakti Literature in context with worldwide protest
literature, ideologies. the historical connections between methods of
protest in different Bhakti Poets in various regions of India and meanings
of their individualistic literature. Bhakt i movement literature in general munotes.in

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33 and Bhakti Poetry in particular has worked as Protest literature in India
and provided a strong base for many other socio -political and religious
movements to combat social injustices. Bhakti movement poetry was more
spirit ual than religious. Bhakti Poets did not just protest and their protests
were similar in tone and passion. Different styles, expressions, times,
regions, and religions. Several poet -saints in India chronicled and
propagated the Bhakti Movement and literat ure till the 20th century. Their
literature is unique in that each bears their distinctive imprint of a distinct
idiom in their conversation with God, who is like any other human as He
exchanges the roles of a lover, beloved, companion, benefactor, and gui de.
The poets Ravidas, Kabir, and Nanak belong to the nirguna branch of
mediaeval Indian spiritual saints. They claim that God, more than any
other reality, exceeds the shapes human senses use to interpret the world,
and that to move toward truth is to le ave those senses behind, especially
those that convince us the world is solid, distinct, and real. Taste and touch
are examples, but sight is the best. In ordinary perception, seeing is a huge
component of believing, especially in Hinduism with its great i conic push.
The nirguna poets strove to resist this illusion. For if one trusted the
senses, especially sight, one objectified God, saw him "out there," rather
than understanding that the only real access is through the heart and soul.
Nanak's understandin g of faith is so inner that he hardly mentions God or
Ram, its mediaeval north Indian equivalent. He encourages us to set aside
our usual eyes to see the reality. Sansaguna The Bhakti family tree also
includes saints of a different faith. The saguna group asserts that illusion
in this world has less to do with our senses than with how we use them: we
manufacture our dreams and delusions from the inside out, driven by
appetite and desire. God restores proportion and direction by assuming a
sensory manifestat ion, one that can be seen and visualised. Saguna poets
and theologians think it is a marvel of religious life that what people see
can permanently calm them, as similar visions emerge within. The Hindu
temple collection of icons encourages this miracle sin ce worshipers have
'sight' (darsan) of the divinities there. The saguna worldview holds that a
major aspect of divine grace is God's approval to become available to
human perception "with attributes," not merely in temple pictures but in
full self -manifest ations that have rescued and inspired history. No one
doubts that God beyond what humans can imagine, but saguna thinkers
find it more significant and surprising that God joins us in our world,
broadening our understanding of what is imaginable. Surdas, Mi rabai, and
Tulsidas are saguna poets, or devotees linked with a personal form of God.
Krishna's joyful childhood and romantic adolescence and adulthood
fascinate Sur and Mira. As a newborn, Krishna performed amazing
exploits against frightening demons; as a young man, he battled the evil
king who had taken the throne of Mathura, a city in Braj south of Delhi;
and as a mature figure, he played a vital advisor role in India's classic epic,
the Mahabharata . Krishna's heroic character, however historically more
venerable, acts only as a backdrop for Sur and Mira's main worries.
Krishna's passionate playfulness attracts them.
All the poets discussed shared a common identity before God during
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34 regional languages. Singers tour, and then as now, people throughout India
could speak more than one language, so it was no mystery that these
Bhakti poet -singers and others who sang their songs after them could be
understood. It states all the poets were kn it together in a seamless fabric of
shared identity. As they journeyed, they connected India's regions at the
grassroots level. Bhakti emerges as an independent, living being that rides
above power and prestige with its own agency — a persuasive, at times
overwhelming presence that can influence history to its goals. To see
things this way is to undermine a crucial way Hindus have understood
their religious heritage: Santana Dharma, the belief that Hinduism is
uniquely stable. Hindus want anything that move s, travels, and develops.
In the Bhakti movement, we see organic, living Bhakti. It is changeable
and has moved history.


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35 3
CRITICAL STUDY OF SONGS OF KABIR
BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE
Unit Structure:
3.0 Objectives
3.1 About R.N. Tagore
3.2 About Kabir: Kabir ’s Biography
3.3 About His Poems and Style
3.4 Kabir ’s Philosophy
3.5 Dignity of Labour in His Poems
3.6 SONG NO.1 Mo ko kahân dhûnro bande
3.7 SONG NO. 5 Avadh û, mâyâ tajî na jây
3.8 SONG NO.12 hams â, kaho purâtan vât
3.9 SONG NO.21 ghar ghar d îpak barai
3.10 SONG NO.38 bhram k â tâlâ lagâ mahal re
3.11Exercises
3.0 OBJECTIVES 1. To acquaint the students with the beauty of the songs of Kabir and his
philosophy, Sufism and mysticism.
2. To acquaint and familiarize students with the beauty of the English
translation by Rabindranath Tagore.
3. To acquaint the students with the finer nuances the lyrical quality,
music resonance and asso nance of the language and help them identify
and learn the symbolism and imagery employed by Kabir and RN
Tagore
3.1 ABOUT R.N. TAGORE: Rabindranath Tagore (1861 -1941) is also known as Gurudev, Kabiguru,
and Biswakabi, among other titles. He is a prominent Bengali poet,
playwright, novelist, short story writer, essayist, educator, composer of
music, and painter. In 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
for his work Gitanjali. Gitanjali is a collection of 103 devotional hymns by
Patanjali. He co mposed our national hymn, 'Jan Gana Mana.' munotes.in

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36
Tagore's poetic collections are well -known which are The Gardener, The
Crescent Moon, Fruit Gathering, Stray Birds, Lover's Gift and Crossing ,
and The Fugitive and Other Poems . His works include plays Chitra, Th e
Post Office , and Sacrifice and Other Plays , novels The Home and the
World, Gora , and The Wreck and a collection of short stories Hungry
Stones , and an autobiography Reminiscences.
Professor R.K.S Iyengar has righly remarked about R .N.Tagore which
amply throws light on the great potential and importance of R .N Tagore
as a writer and an Indidvidual .
“Tagore was a poet, dramatist, actor, producer; he was a musician and a
painter; he was an educationist, a practical idealist who turned his dreams
into re ality at Shantiniketan; he was a reformer, philosopher, prophet; he
was a novelist and short story writer, and a critic of life and literature; he
even made occasional incursions into nationalist politics although, he was
essentially an internationalist. H e was thus many persons, he was a darling
of versatility, and stil he was the same man, he was an integral whole, the
Rshi, the Gurudev. His fecundity and vitality were amazing…Next only to
Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, Tagore has been the supreme
inspiration to millions in modern India”.
Tagore's translation of Kabir's poetry, released in 1915, is well known in
the West. The validity of the volume's 100 "Songs of Kabir" has been
called into question, but there is no such thing as an authentic body of
Kabir's words. Kabir employed a variety of imagery to portray concepts of
religious ecstasy, but images of music and marital love are particularly
prominent. Kabir was clearly a musician himself, and his poems were
most likely sung rather than spoken. In 1 900, there were approximately
one million members of these "Kabirpanthis".
Tagore used Kabir as an example of how in India spirituality transcended
community boundaries as early as 1910. Saints such as Kabir, Nanak, and
Chaitanya preached similar lessons a bout their communities' relationship
with the divine.
Tagore often cited Kabir while discussing the individual -divine link. In
Personality, based on lectures he gave in the USA in 1917, he wrote that
Man has also known direct communication of the person wi th the Person,
not through the world of forms and changes, the world of extension in
time and space, but in the innermost solitude of consciousness, in the
region of the profound and intense."
Kshitimohan Sen influenced Tagores interest in Kabir (1880 -1960 ). In
Indian Mysticism, he told how Tagore encouraged him to publish Kabir
lines he had been writing on when he arrived in Shantiniketan in 1908.
Tagore's interest in Kabir as an example of Indian religious unity, he
translated Kabir's poetry during this time.
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37 3.2 ABOUT KABIR: KABIR ’S BIOGRAPHY : Kabir, a key figure in Indian mysticism, is regarded as one of India's
greatest poets. a saint and a mystic poet. He is so well -known that he is
regularly quoted. Legends surround Kabir's birth and death. Kabir was
Born in or near Benares to Mohammedan parents in 1440. He is supposed
to have lived for more than a century. He was raised in a Muslim weaving
family, according to legend. Others, though, believe he was the son of a
Brahmin widow. Kabir's mythology recounts his persecution by Muslim
monarch Sikander Lodi and his initiation by a Hindu saint named
Ramnand. The most renowned narrative of Kabir is his death and
cremation in Magahar, near Gorakhpur in northeastern Uttar Pradesh . As
Kabir was dying, two a rmed groups of his followers descended on
Magahar, preparing to fight for his body. Kabir died in a tent and his body
disappeared quickly. When Sant Kabir died, it is believed that his Hindu
and Muslim disciples began fighting over the last rituals. Accord ing to
folklore, Flowers were distributed between the two parties as they raised
the shroud, they discovered flowers instead. The Muslims buried their half
of the flowers and erected a cenotaph over it, while the Hindus incinerated
theirs at the Kabr Chaur Mah in Banaras as they cremated their share and
eventually built a samdhi. His tomb and samadhi are still located in
Maghar. Kabir's popularity among Hindus grew afterwards. In an attempt
to "Hinduize" the saint, worshippers said he was miraculously born to a
brahman widow, who threw him into the Ganges. Julahas saved and raised
him. Kabir married and had children.
He became a disciple of Ramananda who brought to Northern India the
religious resurgence started by Ramanuja, a 12th -century Brahmanism
reforme r. This resurgence was a reaction against the increasing formalism
of the orthodox religion and an expression of the heart's desires against the
profound intellectualism of Vedanta philosophy and its exaggerated
monism. In Ramanuja's preaching, it took the form of fervent personal
devotion to the God Vishnu as the personal element of the Divine Nature:
that mystical "religion of love" that creeds and ideologies can not kill.
Though such devotion is intrinsic to Hinduism and found in the Bhagavad
Gita, its mediaeval resurgence involved a lot of syncretism. Ramananda,
who powerfully influenced Kabir, was a man of great religious culture and
missionary enthusiasm. At a time when the passionate poetry and deep
philosophy of Attar, Sadi, Jalalu'ddin Rumi, and Ha fiz were influencing
Indian religious thought, he dreamed of integrating Mohammedan
mysticism with Brahmanism. Some have viewed both of these religious
leaders as influenced by Christian thinking and life, however competent
sources hold wildly varied opini ons on this. In their teachings, two or three
apparently conflicting streams of high spiritual culture met, as Jewish and
Hellenistic thought did in the early Christian Church. Kabir's genius was
to fuse them into one in his poems.

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38 3.3 ABOUT HIS POEMS AN DSTYLE: Kabir's poetry is remarkable for its ecstatic feeling and rejection of both
Hinduism and Islam in favour of a direct communion with the almighty.
His poems exude a wonderful brilliant fire. His writings had a significant
impact on the Bhakti moveme nt. He had a huge impact on Indian
philosophy and Hindi poetry. Kabir made masterpieces that are ageless
and possess an element of universality and they are true at all times.
People of various faiths have found his mystical and religious poetry to be
uplifting. He used imagery from everyday life and universal experience.
His poems have an appealing simplicity to them. He attempted to bridge
the gap between Hindus and Muslims. Today, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs
all admire Kabir, and his melodies are beloved by people of all religions.
Kabīrvāṇīs , the "words of Kab īr." Have no authoritative version . Kabir
was illiterate, and never wrote anything. His utterances were doha
couplets or pada melodies . His language was Old Hindi, which might
have served as a lingua franca for itinerant spiri tual men of his time. His
eloquence spread like fire from Bihar in the east to Panjab and Rajasthan
in the west. the the "words of Kab īr." Were always mimicked and
interpolated.
Kabir's style is rough, terse, and brilliant. His stunning images and
rhythm s move listeners. Kabir's voice was probably the greatest on Indian
land since Buddha's. His negative view of secular life, scorn for sacred
literature and gurus, and exhortation to inwardness are remembered. If
"God" is a divine personality, his mysticism may seem godless. Kabir is
an iconoclast a master of "interior religion."
3.4 KABIR ’S PHILOSOPHY: Kabir happened to be a religious reformer and creator of a sect to which a
million northern Hindus now belong, lives for us as a mystical poet. His
fate is like many Reality -showers. Hater of religious exclusivism and
seeker of the freedom of God's children. His great melodies, spontaneous
manifestations of his vision and love, endure, and it is through them, not
the didactic teachings connected with his name , that he appeals to the
heart.
Kabir's view on the world is a tragic one . In the domain of transmigration,
life is ephemeral, fleeting and merely a brief period between two deaths.
Family bonds are meaningless and founded on self -interest. Death
embrace s everyone; the living are compared to "the parched grain of
Death, some in his mouth, the rest in his lap." There is no hope or escape
for man save within his own heart. Man must look within himself, free
himself of arrogance and egotism, and delve deep w ithin to find the
"diamond" buried within his own soul. Then, and only then, can the
enigmatic, indescribable level be reached within the body itself .
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39 Many of Kabir's "words" are comparable to those of liberal and
unorthodox Indian Sufis. Modern Hindus a nd Muslims see him as the
champion of Hindu -Muslim unity, yet he rejected the "two religions" and
fiercely criticised their representatives. He dismissed all scriptural
authority and warned against seeking knowledge in "holy books":
"Reading, reading, the whole world died —and no one ever became
learned!"
Kabir has condemned all of India's existing sects. He was opposed to
dogmas in both Hinduism and Islam. He advocated for the practise of
'Sahaj Paths.' He was opposed to social and economic discrimination. He
accepted the Vedantic concept of atman but condemned the Hindu caste
system and Murti -pujan. The Kabir Panth is now carrying on Kabir's
heritage. His poetry's ideological messages were directed for the
impoverished and disadvantaged.
In his poems, mysti cal emotion ranges from lofty abstractions and
otherworldly yearning for the Infinite to the most intimate and personal
realisation of God, conveyed in homely analogies and religious symbols
from Hindu and Mohammedan beliefs. Their creator was neither Brah man
nor Sufi, Vedantic nor Vaishnavite. "I am both Allah's and Ram's son," he
claims. That Supreme Spirit he knew and adored, and to Whose joyous
friendship he sought to induct other men, transcended while He included
all metaphysical categories; yet each contributed something to the
description of that Infinite and Simple Totality Who revealed Himself,
according to their measure, to the faithful lovers of all creeds.
3.5 DIGNITY OF LABOUR IN HIS POEMS : Kabir was an illiterate weaver. The manual work backg round influenced
Kabir's poetry, which uses family and environmental imagery to reveal
deep puzzles and conundrums about the holy. Kabir pursued his trade
even after embracing mysticism. In the introduction to Bengali poet
Rabindranath Tagore's English tr anslation of Kabir's poems, Evelyn
Underhill wrote:
"Like Paul the tentmaker, [German mystic Jacob] Boehme the cobbler,
[English preacher John] Bunyan the tinker, [and German religious writer]
Gerhard Tersteegen, he knew how to combine vision and industry; the
work of his hands helped rather than hindered the impassioned meditation
of his heart." Other writers, however, have pointed to words ascribed to
Kabir in which he appears to recount arguments with his wife, or his
mother, over the problems a religiou s sage experienced in supporting a
family. Kabir was married at least once, and had one or more children".
Other writers have cited remarks attributed to Kabir in which he appears to
relate disagreements with his wife or mother concerning a religious sage' s
difficulties supporting a family.

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40 About His Songs : Translated by Ravindra Nath Tagore
3.6 SONG NO.1 MO KO KAH ÂN DHÛNRO BANDE O SERVANT, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in
Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a
moment of time.
Kabîr says, “O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath.”
EXPLANATION:
Regardless of th e many methods of all religious and philosophical
teachings, the all -pervading, omniscient, omnipresent element is
ultimately God. We simply address Him by different names because of our
cultures, traditions, and languages. Despite this awareness, we waste a lot
of time arguing about God and trying to impose traits on Him.
This centuries -old phenomena was also recognised by Kabir during his
time. And in the preceding verse, this great Master emphasises the basic
premise that God is everywhere.
Kabir here ou tlines the numerous search techniques used by people. And
each appears to be justifying his method of choice. Some argue that
pilgrimages will lead to the realisation of God, while others argue that idol
worship is justified. Some believe He is in the moun tains, while others
believe He is in places of worship. Some assert that prayers and
meditation are the way to go, while others believe that fasting is the way
to go. Many people discuss yoga exercises (activity) and renunciation.
Kabir asserts that God is not in any of these. But Kabir is saying that God
is everywhere and so in all of these. His saying "No" merely implies that
we should apply our faith to One and follow through on it truly. It means
God is everywhere. It means God is within us. He lives in us. Rather than
looking outside, we should look inside as we are his reflection and part. .
We have God inside us not somewhere outside. This will result in an
instant recognition of the divine inside ourselves. However, if we "switch"
our approach from o ne road to another, we are merely performing a
gymnastic. Kabir demonstrates God's omniscience in his normal mystical
manner.
3.7 SONG NO. 5AVADH Û, MÂYÂ TAJÎ NA JÂY TELL me, Brother, how can I renounce Maya?
When I gave up the tying of ribbons, still I tie d my garment about me:
When I gave up tying my garment, still I covered my body in its folds.
So, when I give up passion, I see that anger remains;
And when I renounce anger, greed is with me still;
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41 When the mind is detached and casts Maya away, still it clings to the
letter.
Kabîr says, “Listen to me, dear Sadhu! the true path is rarely found.
Explanation:
Normally speaking, Maya conjures images of luxury and material
possessions. Maya's lust for ma terial possessions is well -documented.
Maya, on the other hand, now contains considerably more, including
everything the physical desires or humanweaknesses. There are many
things that one must give up in order to attain God's grace, such as ego and
concei t, as well as anger and jealousy. A person who is self -centered will
never discover God. It is not an easy journey. In order to discover him,
one might imagine that if he removes this or that from his body, he will be
able to find God. He must go into this with an open mind and an
unclouded conscience.
To ask God to move into an already -occupied space seems like a
meaningless request especially when there would be no room for the
Almighty if the heart is already occupied with self -love. It is also about the
search for perfect being, the detachment from worldly distractions, and a
seeking of the pure spirituality of being that is within each one of us.
‘Know thyself’ is the motto, then knowing oneself will be coming to know
God in the true sense.
In other wor ds, the poem by raising questions is suggesting the answers by
implicature:
how can we escape ourselves?
how can we escape our bodies?
when we escape temptation our hopes remain
when we relinquish our hopes our fears continue
when fear is gone our thoughts are still deceiving
to allow the spirit to shine requires us to extinguish all of these
how difficult and rare this must be
In other words, we can also say that:
Is there a way out of this situation?
Is there a way to get out of our bodies?
We keep our h opes alive when we resist temptation.
Our concerns persist even when we give up on our hopes.
Even when the fear has passed, our minds can still trick us.
we need to extinguish all of these things in order to allow the spirit to
shine
how rare and tough th is must be
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42 3.8 SONG NO.12 HAMS Â, KAHO PURÂTAN VÂT Tell me, O Swan, your ancient tale.
From what land do you come, O Swan? to what shore will you fly?
Where would you take your rest, O Swan, and what do you seek?
Even this morning, O Swan, awake, arise, follow me!
There is a land where no doubt nor sorrow have rule: where the
terror of Death is no more.
There the woods of spring are a -bloom, and the fragrant scent "He
is I" is borne on the wind:
There the bee of the heart is deeply immersed, and desir es no
other joy.
EXPLANATION:
In this poetry, Kabir conveys his belief that heaven will contain "... the
fragrant scent... the woods of spring ... the bee of the heart... " Also, he
opens this poem by speaking to the swan, which represents his soul, and
asks it, "Tell me, O Swan, your ancient tale." The swan then proceeds to
tell him about its history. Given that it makes reference to its age as well
as its connection to the swan, this may be an allusion to heaven.
The " ᴡᴀɴ" which is both ancient and timeless, can be thought of as a
metaphor for the "soul" The person who is speaking is curious about
where it is headed, what it wants, and what its ultimate goal in life is. He
asks our soul to follow him in knowing that "G od" is "Us" and the answer
to the question "Who Am I?" that was written on the wind of God's whim
to know Himself that blew over His being at the beginning of creation.
"Who Am I?" was written on the wind of God's whim to know Himself
that blew over His be ing in the beginning of creation. And to connect to
God consciously while on the way to understanding Him is the delight of
loving Him, like a bee that will grow and end our miseries by ending
desire. This joy comes from loving God. When viewed in this lig ht, the
existence of "God" and "His" throughout all of time is beyond any shadow
of a doubt.
The lines also provide a magnificent description of the aspects of
"Heaven" that can be as here —
"There is a place in the world where neither uncertainty nor grie f are
masters:
where the dread of death is no longer anything to fear.
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43 There, in those forests, the flowers of spring have not yet appeared.
...as the enticing aroma of 'He is I' is carried on the breeze:
There, where the heart's worker bee is completely submerged,
and seeks no other happiness in life."

3.9 SONG NO.21 GHAR GHAR D ÎPAK BARAI Lamps burn in every house, O blind one! and you cannot see them.
One day your eyes shall suddenly be opened, and you shall see:
and the fetters of death will fall fr om you.
There is nothing to say or to hear, there is nothing to do: it is
he who is living, yet dead, who shall never die again.
Because he lives in solitude, therefore the Yogi says that his
home is far away.
Your Lord is near: yet you are climbing t he palm -tree to seek
Him.
The Br âhman priest goes from house to house and initiates people
into faith:
Alas! the true fountain of life is beside you., and you have set
up a stone to worship.
Kabîr says: "I may never express how sweet my Lord is. Yoga and
the telling of beads, virtue and vice --these are naught to Him."
Explanation:
O oblivious one, lamps are burning in every house! whereas you are
unable to perceive them.On a certain day, your eyes are going to suddenly
be opened, and you are goi ng to see: and the fetters of death are going to
fall from you. Nothing can be said or heard, and there is nothing that can
be done; it is completely silent. he who is alive but has passed away, who
will never pass away again.
Since he does not interact wi th other people on a regular basis, the Yogi
believes that his is a long way to get home. Your Lord is close, and yet
you continue to search for him atop the palm tree. People are initiated into
the Brahman religion by a priest who travels from home to h ome. into the
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44 Alas! The real source of life is right there next to you, but you have turned
your back on it, a stone as an object of worship. Kabir says: "It is possible
that words could never do justice to how kind my Lord is. Yoga and the
counting of beads, practising virtue, and engaging in sin are all
meaningless in his eyes."
Kabir says in this song that every house has a light on, you blind person!
you can not even see them. One day, your eyes will open all of a sudden,
and you will see. Then, t he chains of death will fall off of you. There is
nothing to say or hear, and there is nothing to do: it is a dead end. He who
is alive and dead at the same time, and who will never die again. Because
he lives alone, the Yogi says that his mind is pure. It is far from home.
Your Lord is close, but you are climbing a palm tree to find him. The
Brahman priest goes from house to house and gives people their first
initiations. into belief: Alas! The real source of life is right next to you,
and you have set out to find it up a rock to pray. Kabir says: "I might
never be able to say how good my Lord is. Yoga and He does not care
about telling stories with beads or being good or bad."
3.10 SONG NO.38 BHRAM K Â TÂLÂ LAGÂ MAHAL RE The lock of error shuts the gate, o pen it with the key of love:
Thus, by opening the door, thou shalt wake the Beloved.
Kabîr says: "O brother! do not pass by such good fortune as this."
Explanation:
Kabir says: "O brother! Do not pass by such good fortune as this." We all
love to hear s ongs that can teach us something from our surroundings and
also inspire us to be better. This song of Kabir teaches us how we can
open the door of error with the key of love ,so that we may wake up our
beloved ,and thus prove that our lives are filled wit h abundance. “The lock
of error shuts the gate, open it with the key of love:” and so, from the
depths of my heart I wish thee all happiness in this world and in the other!
Kabir asks the reader to open a "gate" between the past and present and
create opp ortunities for growth, freedom, and knowledge. This poem
center around four basic points: trust (bhav), effort (dedication), service
(love), and forgiveness.
3.11 EXERCISES: A. Objective Type Questions:
a. When was R. N. Tagore born in?
Ans : 1861
b. When did R. N. Tagore die?
Ans 1941
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45 c. When did Tagore receive the Nobel Prize ?
Ans : 1913
d. How is Tagore known as?
Ans: Gurudev
I. Which of the following statements given below are true or false?
1. It is a must to know the caste of a saint – False
2. The poet points to thirty six castes – True
3. The washer woman has not sought God – False
4. The end of Hindu s and Muslims stands similar – True
II. Short Answer Type Questions:
1. What does the word " seeker of God" mean?
Ans - The meaning of the phrase " seeker after God" is that everyone can
seek God.
2. What caste did Rishi Swapacha belong to?
Ans -Caste -wise, Rishi Swapacha was a tanner.
3. What is shared between Hindus and Muslims?
Ans - The End or death is a common concept in Hinduism and Islam.
4. What is the poem's message?
The poem's theme is that in God's eye s, all people are equal.II. Some
important Words:
i. Saint – A person of great holiness
ii. Barber – Trimmer and dresser of hair
iii. Tanner – A person whose occupation is to tan hides
iv. Achieve – Accomplish
v. End – Terminus
vi. Carpenter – Repaire r and builder of wooden structures.
IV. Give Meanings of the words given below and use them in your
sentences:
Belong, folly, tanner, distinction, seek
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46 ii. Folly – It would be folly to ignore their w arnings.
iii. Tanner – Swapacha was a tanner by caste.
iv. Distinction – There are no distinctions between the two designs.
v. Seek - Snakes seek the sun to warm their bodies.
Give the synonyms of the following words:
Needless, Alike, achieve, mark, end.
Ans:
i. Needless - Unnecessary, Useless
ii. Alike - Similar, Identical
iii. Achieve – Attain
iv. Mark – Blot, Spot
v. End – Finish

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47 4
A CRITICAL STUDY OF
ARUNKOLATKAR’S JEJURI (1974) PART I
Unit Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Jejuri as a Critique of Blind Faith and Institutionalised Religion
4.3. Conclusion
4.0 OBJECTIVES

In this unit, we will examine ArunKolatkar’s Jejuri (1974) as a landmark
modernist experimental poem in the tradition of modern Indian Poetry in
English.After a brief introduction to the poet and his work, we will
consider its themes, in particular its attitude to faith and religion as it
emerges throu gh the perspective of its first -person narrator.
4.1. INTRODUCTION
Jejuri ’s creator,Arun Balkrishna Kolatkar, was born in Kolhapur,
Maharashtra in November 1932 and died in September 2004. He was a
bilingual poet who wrote both in Marathi and in English. B orn into a
traditional Hindu family, he studied at Rararam High School in Kolhapur,
graduated in 1949, and then completed a diploma from the JJ School of
Arts in 1957.He worked as a graphic designer in the advertising industry
before he turned to poetry. W here Kolatkarhad a reputation for being a
recluse as a person, as a poet, he was famousfor his keen eye for details
and for producing work that was contemporary, critical, and incisive, in
both Marathi and in English. His poetry is often described as exper imental
for its avant -garde influences, and as radical and shocking for its
unconventional perspectives. Kolatkar is most well -known for works such
as his Kala Ghoda Poems and SarpaSatra (2004), as also for BhijkiVahi
(Marathi) for which he won the Sahity aAkademi Award in 2004. Jejuri ,
perhaps his most well -known work, first appeared in the Opinion Literary
Quarterly in 1974 and then in 1976, 1978 and 1982 as publications of
Clearing House. It won the Commonwealth Prize in 1977, and is routinely
anthologize d in volumes of modern Indian Poetry in English.
Jejuri consists of 31 imagistic poems about Jejuri, a place of pilgrimage
near Pune in Maharashtra, famous for its worship of Khandoba who is
believed to be a manifestation of Lord Shiva. Jejuri is a long nar rative
poem but without a plot of any kind. Its poems vary in length and style but
it is cohesive because it is located in a specific geographical location and
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48 Although set in a pl ace of religious pilgrimage, Jejuri presents a sardonic
take on nearly everything the narrator sees. It is not long before the reader
comes to realize that what is on offer is not a lively tour of Jejuri, but a
journey of subversion of what its landscape a nd its people signify to the
narrator. Few details, if any, can be taken only literally. For this reason,
Bruce King sees Jejuri as a poem primarily about perception and
alienation, and“less a poem of scepticism and a poem about a modern
wasteland’s loss o f faith than a poem which contrasts deadness of
perception with the ability to see the divine in the natural vitality of life”
(170). Even the dry, arid landscape of Jejuri receives attention.In “Hills,”
the majestic hills are animated by a repeated referen ce to them as demons
on account of their harsh surfaces dotted with sharp cacti and sedimentary
rocks such as limestone and shale (28 -29). The narrative point of view is
able to energise all it sees even if it is something as plain as the hills or
even an inanimate object such as a water pipe aided by energetic verbs
that give it a life of its own:
a conduit pipe
runs with the plinth
turns a corner of the house
stops dead in its tracks
shoots straight up
keeps close to the wall
doubles back
twists around
and comes to an abrupt halt (18).
One understands then why King sees Jejuri as an unusual kind of bhakti
poetry, “an ironic parody of a pilgrimage which while mocking
institutionalized religion affirms the free imagination and the dynamism of
life” (170).
There are many ways in which one can read and interpret Jejuri but, as
Rajeev S. Patke says,“Perhaps it (Jejuri) is best read as a glass poem: what
you think you see through the glass is the place, what you really see is
your own reflection trying to look th rough”(qtd. in Datta).
4.2. JEJURI AS A CRITIQUE OF BLIND FAITH AND
INSTITUTIONALISED RELIGION
The first -person narrator, who habitually refers to himself in the second -
person, establishes his identity as a sceptic in the very first poem, “The
Bus,”when he sets himself in opposition tothe old man who flaunts his
religious identity through external signifiers such as the caste mark on his
forehead. In a later poem, “Makarand,” the narrator refuses to take off his munotes.in

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Part I
49 shirt to perform the pooja, preferring to smo ke a cigarette outside in the
courtyard instead (43). The poems that conclude Jejuri are even more
eloquent in their rejection and criticism of conventional religious rituals
and practices. In the short poem “vows,” one finds a caustic criticism on
thetend ency of the faithful to make vows or promisesabout what they will
offer the gods if their wishes come true. Exasperated that no one on the
railway station can tell him when the next train is due to arrive, the
narrators is driven in desperation to make sim ilar vows, althoughto no one
in particular. In claiming that he is ready to carry out an animal sacrifice,
make offerings in gold, or bathe statues (in this case, the station master) in
milk, he mocks the methods dejected believers resort to in the convict ion
that such measures can convince the gods to deliver the miracles they
desire.
Institutionalised religion is derided not just for the performance of the
mandatory, perfunctory rituals but also for the priests who act as heads of
religious communities. The eponymous priest of the poem that comes after
“The Bus” is seen eagerly awaiting the busload of devotees in the manner
of a cat anticipating its prey. Animal metaphors such as “lazy lizard stare”
and a “catgrin” on his faceinscribe the priest as the a bsolute antithesis of a
man of god. His thoughts are fixed on the possibility of the rich food
(puranpoli) that the devotees might have brought for him, and his
religiosity is severely undermined with the image of him turning,not a
sacred mantra, but a bet el nut over and over in his mouth. The
unfavourable animalistic representation reaches its height in the
concluding lines that firmly underscorehis predatory character:
A catgrin on its face
and a live, ready to eat pilgrim
held between its teeth. (15)
In “A Low Temple,” the narrator is unable to convince the priest that the
statue of the goddess inside the temple has eighteen arms. Not given to
blind faith, the narrator keeps lighting matchsticks to see the statues more
clearly, but the priest insists that she has eight arms despite the evidence to
the contrary. Stubbornly ignorant and complacent in his unchallenged
status, the priest chooses to stay in the dark, literally and metaphorically,
even after the narrator has pointed out the obvious. On realising the futility
of protesting, the narrator goes out into the sun, choosing to distance
himself from the rigid, unyielding, and immutable stance of the priest and
his concomitant disregard for the truth, preferring instead to bask in the
sunlight outside the temple and in the lively sight of little children playing
on the back of a 20 -foot tortoise. In“Between Jejuri and the Railway
Station,” it is the licentiousness of the priest’s son that is subtly critiqued
by a veiled insinuationabout his association wit h the temple dancer. We
are given to understand that heraffluence is probablythe result ofthe sexual
favoursshe provides him, something he would (naturally) prefer to keep
mum about(54).
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50 Although the temples of Jejuri and its priests cut a sorry figure, Jejuri does
not reject faith and belief altogether. The three poems dedicated to
Chaitanya, the 15th century Bhakti saint, draw attention to what could be
called a maverick spirituality considering that Chaitanya was famous for
his impatience with appeara nces and decorum when it came to religious
devotion, much like the narrator himself. In the first Chaitanya poem, the
saint impatiently orders a stone to stop pretending it is a god by painting
its face. He then reassures the stone that he will continue to adorn him
with flowers even if it looks like the plain stone it is. The same droll tone
and enigmatic texture characterises the second Chaitanya poem that tells
of how the saint spat out gods after eating the stones of Jejuri. According
to King, the poem “offers an ironic contrast between the decayed,
commercialized -for-tourists temple complex and the astonishing, living
faith of the saints and devotional poets” (168). For Dominico, Chaitanya’s
ability to find the stones of Jejuri as sweet as grapes gives us a “hint of the
wondrous: only a Chaitanya can relish stones” (525). The third and final
Chaitanya poem contrasts the lack of enthusiasm of the “herd of legends”
who look up when Chaitanya makes an appearance on the hill side only to
continue grazing onc e he passes by (53). Taken together, the three poems
privilege an approach to religion that sees and values the sacred and the
miraculous in its more grounded, non -pretentious forms.
Despite the critical attitude towards organised religion, Jejuri affirms t he
divine butin its own peculiar way. As Janet Powers Gemmill notes about
Jejuri ’s narrator, “ His soul is urbane, sullied by the knowledge of too
many contradictions, yet still willing to acknowledge the sacred as a
possibility” (207). It is simply that fo r the narrator, the divine manifests
itself not in the man -made temples or in the performance of what he sees
as meaningless rituals (satirised most strongly in the last few poems in the
collection) but in nature, animal -life, and children. The invigoratin g spirit
of children is always a symbol of hope in Jejuri . In “A Low Temple,” the
poem concludes with the image of children playing on the back of the 20 -
foot tortoise, an image that provides a stark contrast to the stultified,
inflexiblepriest all too com fortable in the darkness of the temple. The
exuberance and vitality of the former reinforces the rigidity and spiritual
inertia of the latter. A ray of hope is again inscribed in the priest’s son who
appears tohave evaded cultural and religious indoctrinat ion, suggested by
his uneasy looking away when asked about whether he truly believes the
mythic story about the demons that Khandoba had apparently killed (30).
Instead of the usual stories about the gods, his attention is taken up withthe
butterfly flutte ring around, indicating that he has retainedhis innocence
and capacity for wonder in nature.
Like little children, animals also feature prominently in Jejuri . In “Heart
of Ruin,” the mongrel bitch who has made the temple of Maruti her home
along with her p uppies, and the dung beetle stand out against the backdrop
of the lifeless crumbling temple they have made their home. As opposed
to stray references to animal life in Jejuri , an entire poemis devoted to a
description of the sprightly temple rat in “The Te mple Rat.”As it darts
across the temple and the over the body of the statue of the god
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Part I
51 and adopts its gaze. If the young bride and the priest capture the attention
of the narrator, it is only because he sees what the rat sees, such as “the
trace of a smile on the priest’s face” as he watches the young bride
crushing the banana on the linga (45). In “Between Jejuri and the Railway
Station,”the narrator is awestruck, not by the priests an d the temples he
has now left behind, but by the sight of a dozen cocks and hens jumping
up and down in a jowar field. Transfixed, the narrator cannot take his eyes
off this extraordinary “harvest dance” (55). Throughout Jejuri , one finds
that the narrator exhibits an attitude that comes close to reverence when it
comes to the world of nature and ofchildren, while conversely, an attitude
of irreverence is reserved forthe temples and the priests of Jejuri. It is not
surprising, then, that the poem that ends Jejuri is one in honour of earth’s
life-giving source —the sun. Jejuri had begun with “The Bus,” a poem in
which the narrator had noted how the rays of the rising sunentered through
the cracks in the tarpaulin sheet covering the bus and lightened up the
darkness inside, even if only partially. In the final poem in Jejuri, we
return to the sun, although this time we are left withtheimage of the setting
sun, “large as a wheel” (62). The poem pays homage to the sun as the
source of all life on earth, reminding u s itsomnipotence and omnipresence.
While children, animal life, and nature are valued for the divine that
resides in them, the gods themselves leave the narrator unimpressed for
the most part. No poem in Jejuri sings praises of the numerous gods whose
statues adorn its temples —with the notable exception of Yeshwant
Rao.The narrator’s unconventional approach to religion ishere reflectedin
his taste for unconventional gods such as Yeshwant Rao.Relegated to the
status of a second -class god, Yeshwant Raois also a victim of the
hegemonic structures that govern institutionalized religion. The poem
illustrates howpreferential or discriminatory treatment,as the case may be,
is meted out to the gods in accordance with the socio -economic status of
the people who worsh ip them. Little wonder that the gods of the poor and
the marginalised are treated as lesser gods.“YeshwantRao” takes a digat
the manner in which religion is used to exploit the devotion of the faithful.
The Hindu pantheon has a god for everything —a god who can who can
“double your money/or triple your land holdings,” or “put a child inside
your wife./Or a knife inside your enemy” (49). All this for a price, of
course, for there are “Gods who soak you for your soul” or “make you
walk/ on a bed of burning co al” (49). As the faithful do their best to please
them, the gods on their part “can barely suppress a smile” at the desperate
lengths their followers will go to get what they want. The narrator
expressesscant regard for such demanding or unforgiving gods; they are
“either too symmetrical/ or too theatrical for my taste” (49). A god like
YeshwantRao is his god of choice because heexpects nothing but gets the
job done just as well: “If you’re short of a limb,/YeshwantRao, will lend
you a hand./and get you bac k on your feet.” (50). His misshapen form and
unattractive appearance, resembling an amorphous blob, is perhaps his
biggest advantage; as a god who is himself ugly and broken, he can
understand the pain of the broken, disheartened populace.
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52 ArundhatiSubra maniumargues that if Jejuri rejects a certain kind of faith,
it embraces faith of another kind:
I believe it is based on the faith – and one that I find inspiring – that an
unwavering attention to the specific, the unremarkable, the marginal, the
evanescen t, will lead you eventually to revelation. And in Kolatkar's
poetry, it always does. But the insight never arrives through flabby
generalisation or creaky editorialising. A larger picture, you discover, is
simply implicit in the quiet, determined and incis ive documentation of
detail. And so, while Jejuri does subvert the conventional notion of the
pilgrimage, it does not leave you without a glimpse of the sacred —even if
we find it in the least expected places. (21).
Jejuri ’s overall attitude of scepticism a nd irreverence is evident in its
questioning and puncturing of the grand narratives of conventional
religious practices rooted in temple worship, performances of rites and
rituals, and reverence for priests who are anything but saintly and devout.
If there is one thing that Jejuri makes amply clear, it is that the divine
residesin the smallest and strangest of places and people, if only one is
willing to see what most would rather not see —those hovering on the
periphery of society and hence, of one’s vision too. Jejuri sanctifies the
ordinary, the marginalised, the dispossessed, the disfigured and the taken -
for-granted humans and nonhumans of Jejuri, determinedlyturning the
spotlight on them instead of objectifying them as they have always been.
The old woman , the rats, the mongrel bitch, the mangy dog on the railway
platform, the butterflies, the old woman, the broken doors, the 20 -foot
tortoise,the toothless singer and the pock -marked half - brother, all become
focal points in Jejuri , worthy of respect and re verence.
4.3 CONCLUSION
We have seen how, from the first poem“The Bus”to the last poem “the
setting sun,” Jejuri takes delight in thwarting the reader’s expectations at
every turn. Its juxtapositions never fail to startle the reader into awareness
about the nondescript elements that dot Jejuri’slandscape and the forms of
life that give it shape and are shaped by it in turn. Its remarkable
achievements notwithstanding, Jejuri has had its fair share of criticism.
The Indian poet, Vilas Sarang, for example, appreciated it for its “rare
sense of unity and completeness,” its “fine naturalistic precision and
detachment,” and its “tantalizing play between the physical and the
metaphysical”but claimed that it fell short to the extent that “ the tensions
between god an d stone, priest and stationmaster, have not been explored
with much rigor or anguish. Too often we are offered merely surprise and
the play of intellect” (680).Marathi critics like RavindraKimbahune and
BhalachandraNemade have claimed that it was written t o humour foreign
readers. However, in the light of Jejuri ’s many strengths, as pointed out by
Sarang himself, such flaws, whether legitimate or not,have not detracted
from the pride of placethat Jejuri has earned in the body of modern Indian
poetry in Engli sh.
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53 5
A CRITICAL STUDY OF ARUN
KOLATKAR’S JEJURI (1974)
PART II

Unit Structure:
5.0. Objective
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Satire in Jejuri
5.3. Experimentation in Jejuri
5.4. Conclusion
5.0 OBJECTIVE After having examined ArunKolatkar’s Jejuri (1974) for its criti cal
approach to religion and its intendent rites and rituals as well as the
commercial use it is put to in a place of pilgrimage such as Jejuri, let us
now discuss its language, form, and style.

5.1 INTRODUCTION Janet Powers Gemmil identifies the narrator of Jejuri as an “artist -poet”
who has the eye of an artist singling out particular pieces of wood, stone,
and conduit pipe for their grain shape, or whimsy. Like the imagists,
Kolatkar causes us to see what he has seen and to experience Jejuri
through the ver y quality of his vision. (208)
The narrator’s point of view in Jejuri is conveyed in a tone that alternates
between the comic and the serious, through the twin modes of irony and
satire, and by intriguing experimentations in form and language. The
interest ing mix of these techniques makes Jejuri a work that is demanding
but also rewarding to the extent that one is willing to rise to the challenge
it offers to its readers.
5.2. SATIRE IN JEJURI ArundhatiSubramanium commends Jejuri for its narrative voice, o ne she
describes as “casually sophisticated, wry, colloquial, with a slyly
dexterous ability to turn a line in all sorts of unexpected directions” (20).
One of these directions Jejuri takes is a route where the sacred and the
profane jostle and clash with each other. In “The Door,” the reference to
broken wooden door that hangs on its hinges as a prophet or a “dangling
martyr,” invokes the image of the battered body of Jesus Christ nailed to munotes.in

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54 the wooden cross (19). While the stature of the ramshackle door is
elevated by its implied association with Christ, it is similarly degraded as
he was, except in this case, by the pair of shorts left to dry on it as also by
the narrator’s comparison of it with a local drunk leaning against an old
doorway for support. The inversion of the sacred and the profane is even
more conspicuous in the lexical choices that deliberately confuse registers.
For example, the expletives in the line “Hell with the hinge and damn the
jamb” are completely at odds with words like prophet and martyr which
belong to the semantic domain of religion (19). Similarly, in “The Blue
Horse,” the local dance performance organised by the priest is referred to
as a “bit of sacred cabaret” (52). Even more remarkable examples are
found in the poems in “The Railway Station” —the description of the
decrepit indicator on the railway platform as a “wooden saint in need of
paint,” the suggestion that the dog that lives there is probably “doing
penance” for his sins, the reference to the boy who washes who the t ea
cups at the tea stall as a “young novice” who has taken a vow of silence,
the comparison of his washing of the tea cups as akin to the performance
of an exorcism ceremony, or the reference to the station master as a two -
headed monster and a member of a particular religious sect given how he
stares at the setting sun “as if the sunset were a part of a secret ritual” that
could go wrong if he looked away —in all of these examples, the
deliberate misapplication of religious vocabulary when speaking of the
mundane shocks the reader into attention on the one hand, while
simultaneously making the ordinary eventful and worthy.
Satire and irony are routinely deployed in Jejuri to mock the
commercialisation of Jejuri as a religious tourist destination. The narrator
sees how the people of Jejuri, whether religious or secular, seek to profit
by exploiting the devotion or curiosity, as the case may be, of the visiting
tourists. In “A Scratch,” he tells it like it is —“there is no crop other than
god that is harvested he re around the year” (32). Selling religion is a
favourite pastime and occupation in Jejuri considering how the line that
separates god from stone is a thin one there because “every other stone/ is
god or his cousin” (32). If it is possible to make people b elieve that natural
phenomena are, in reality, physical manifestations of what the gods did in
times gone by, then so be it. The locals survive by turning every aspect of
an otherwise bland landscape into a minefield of stories and legends with
some kind o f religious signification to them: “scratch a rock/ and a legend
springs.” The story of the rock is a case in point:
that giant hunk of rock
the size of a bedroom
iskhandoba’s wife turned to stone
the crack that runs across
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55 once in a fit of rage (32)
In “The Cupboard,” the narrator notices that golden statues of the gods are
neatly lined up inside the locked cupboard. Commercial establishments
such as barber shops and cafes are given holy -sounding name s such as
Gorakshanath Hair Cutting Saloon and Mhalsakant Café respectively to
enhance their appeal through their association with the sacred.
The dilapidated condition of the temples and its gods in a place that
thrives as a religious tourist destination is often underscored in a tongue -
in-cheek, no -nonsense tone of voice. Noting the crumbled roof of the
temple in “Heart of Ruin,” the narrator is compelled to conclude: “No
more a place of worship this place/is nothing less than the house of god”
(16). Oth er examples of verbal satire include lines such as “The roof
comes down on Maruti’s head. /Nobody seems to mind.//Least of all
Maruti himself” (“Heart of Ruin”), “A low temple keeps its gods in the
dark” (“A Low Temple”), and “Are you looking for a god?/I know a good
one./His name is YashwantRao/ and he’s one of the best/Look him
up/when you are in Jejuri next” (“YeshwantRao”). The casual, irreverent
tone is sometimes comic and sometimes scathing but always with the
intention of nudging readers out of their deadened perceptions and
fossilized attitudes —once jolted awake, perhaps we can see again, see
anew.
5.3.EXPERIMENTATION IN JEJURI Bruce King categorises ArunKolatkar as an experimentalist along with
other poets such as DilipChitre, JayantMahapatra, and A. K. Mehrotra in
his seminal work Modern Indian Poetry in English (first published in
1987). He identifies Kolatkar’s “tendency to play with vision or a scene
for its abstract qualities, as a painter to designer might, and a tendency
towards a cool, non -committal attitude in what is said” as two important
characteristics of his poetry since the mid -60s (164). The presence of both
these are easily noticeable in “The Bus,” the first poem in Jejuri. This
poem is significant because it not only sets the tone f or the poems that
follow but also because it contains some of the most noteworthy motifs
that characterise Jejuri as a whole: the use of the second person narrative
mode, the narrator’s attention to apparently insignificant details, the dry,
sceptical tone in which the narrator’s perspective is conveyed, and a
privileging of the natural world (the sun in particular) over the man -made
one (the torn tarpaulin sheet that covers the bus and the bus itself). The
reader’s attention is drawn to details such as the tarpaulin flaps that cover
the bus’ windows, the cracks in the tarpaulin that allow the narrator to feel
the wind blowing outside, the sun beams that filter through the holes in the
tarpaulin, the caste mark on the forehead of the man sitting opposite, an d
the narrator’s reflection in the man’s spectacles. Such seemingly minor
details could signify a more profound meaning that goes beyond surface
appearances. That the narrator sees his face reflected back to him in his
co-passenger’s spectacles as a “divid ed face,” for instance, could hint at an
inner duality; the narrator’s “search for signs of daybreak in what little
light spills out of the bus” could signify a deeper motive for his journey to munotes.in

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56 Jejuri, one that goes beyond idle curiosity; while the conclud ing
observation that when the narrator gets off the bus, “you don’t step inside
the old man’s head” despite his face being reflected in the old man’s
glasses, could suggest the narrator’s determination to retain his individual
perspective no matter what hi s (outwardly) devout co -passengers choose
to believe in.
Some of the poems are more in the nature of a fleeting observation or
thought. Consider, for example, “The Doorstep”:
That’s no doorstep.
It’s a pillar on its side.
Yes.
That’s what it is. (17)
Anot her example is “The Reservoir”
There isn’t a drop of water
in the great reservoir the peshwas built.
There is nothing in it.
Except a hundred years of silt. (40).
The extremely prosaic and pithy style of such poems defies conventional
established ideas ab out poetry, and also makes difficult the task of
interpreting them. The exceptionally cryptic nature of a poem like “The
Pattern,”in which the narrator simply mentions the checkerboard pattern
that some old menhave drawn on the back of a 20 - foot tortoise:
a checkerboard pattern
some old men must have drawn
yesterday
with a piece of chalk
on the back of the twenty foot
tortoise
smudges under the bare feet
and gets fainter all the time as
the children run (22)
A poem of less than 4o words, “The Pattern” le aves the room wide open
for interpretation, perhaps so wide that one is not sure quite what to make
of it. A symbolical reading might work: the smudged drawing that gets
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57 erasure o f the old men’s drawing by the play of children as a welcome
trend where the old makes way for the new. However, although such
poems pose a severe challenge to the usual efforts to decipher what they
“mean,” therein lies perhaps one of the most striking ch aracteristics of
Jejuri as a modernist experimental poem —its stubborn refusal to “mean”
something at all times. It is possible that this is a deliberate effort on
Kolatkar’s part to do what Susan Sontag claims modern art and poetry
sometimes takes recourse to in order to escape the interpretive trap. The
effort of critics to continually dig for the ‘deeper meaning’ sometimes
leads poets and artists to make their art parodic, abstract, or simply
ornamental;or non -art, in other words(7). Like abstract paintin g which
defies the interpretive effort by offering no content that can be interpreted,
or Pop Art, which uses content that is so blatantly straightforward that it is
exactly what it appears to be, modernist French poetry also sought to
avoid interpretation by putting “silence into poems” in order to “reinstate
the magic of the word” (7). Sontag claims that
it is possible to elude the interpreters in another way, by making works of
art whose surface is so unified and clean, whose momentum is so rapid,
whose address is so direct that the work can be…just what it is. (7)
In Jejuri , Kolatkar could have attempted a similar project.
Another kind of experimentation takes place when a poem begins as a
literal description or narration of the landscape and the people that inhabit
it, but quickly moves into the domain of the non -literal. “An Old Woman”
is one such poem. The narrator tells of how he tries to rid himself of the
pesky beggar woman who begs for a fifty paise coin to take him to the
horse -shoe shrine. When s he is undeterred by his refusal to take up her
offer, the narrator decides to confront her instead of trying to avoid her.
Things change, however, when the old woman anticipates his hostility and
asks him, “What else can an old woman do on hills as wretche d as these?”
(25). Faced with the resilience he sees in her eyes, the narrator’s stature
reduces in proportion to his increased awe of her. This surrealistic moment
is rendered through an irrational exaggeration: the cracks around the old
woman’s eyes begi n to spread beyond the physical form of her body and
embrace the contours of the larger landscape, causing not only the hills
and the temples to crack but also the sky until it shatters and falls to the
ground but miraculously leaves unharmed the tough, un breakable woman.
The visual image of the gradually expanding cracks and the sky finally
shattering like a plate of glass make concrete the otherwise abstract idea of
the old woman’s tenacious ability to withstand the unforgiving landscape
of Jejuri.The res ulting devaluation of the narrator’s status is ironically
undercut through his own awareness that he is the one reduced to “so
much small change in her hands” (26).
Another example is “the station master,” the fourth poem in “The Railway
Station” poems. Th e narrator finds himself increasingly vexed because no
one on the railway platform is willing to tell him when the next train is
due. In a final attempt to get an answer, he approaches the station master.
Unlike the boy at the tea stall who had refused to even look up, let alone
speak, the station master has a lot to say. Unfortunately, his speech is so munotes.in

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58 convoluted that the narrator is left as clueless as he was before the station
master had spoken. The sarcasm of the opening lines —“The booking clerk
believe s in the doctrine/ of the next train” —quickly gives way to
surrealism:
When conversation turns to time
he takes his tongue
hands it to you across the counter
and directs you to a superior
intelligence (59)
A different kind of experimentation occurs in “Be tween Jejuri and the
Railway Station,” which is a shape poem (also called concrete poetry)
where the visual appearance of the poem mirrors its content. A well -
known example of this type of poem is “Easter Wings” by the 17th century
English metaphysical poe t George Herbert. Where Herbert’s poem
visually resembles the shape of a bird’s wings, in “Between Jejuri and the
Railway Station,” the words “up” and “down” appear up and down on the
page several times as a way of mimicking the manner in which the dozen
hens and cocks were jumping in the field. Instead of a describing the
scene, the poem recreates (and effectively so) for the benefit of the reader
what the narrator sees before him. In the same poem, one finds a similar
attempt at direct imitation as a meth od of replicating the narrator’s
experience. The lengthy, garbled jargon used by the station master in
answer to the narrator’s query is presented verbatim for greater effect so
that the reader can clearly understand how this gibberishobfuscates more
than it illuminates:
all timetables ever published
are simultaneously valid
at any given time and on any track
insofar as all the timetables were inherent
in the one printed
when the track was laid (60)
While the sheer variety in theme and form of the poems in Jejuri is
impressive, there is nonetheless a feeling that it is a somewhat disjointed
work given its rather loose structure on the whole. If the poems are held
together, it is partly because they are presented in sequence of the
narrator’s experiences whi le at Jejuri. According to Elizabeth Delmonico,
“The poems are arranged in a way which suggests a lone observer
meandering among sometimes tawdry priests and pilgrimage spots” (520).
She also notes that while each of the 31 poems is discrete in itself, the
individual poems do connect with the other poems in the collection to
form a cohesive narrative (523). Emma Bird notes that most of the
commentaries on Jejuri “share an implicit assumption that the meaning of
the poems can be located in the events of the sequence” (232). She munotes.in

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59 believes that temporally and spatially, Jejuri precludes “the possibility of
reading the poems as representative or allegorical in any way” (232).
If such is the case, one wonders how one can interpret a poem like
“Ajamil and the Tige rs,” if not allegorically. As it is, the poem seems out
of place in comparison to the other poems in Jejuri . It tells of the good -
intentioned but naïve and bombastic tiger who is no match for the astute
shepherd Ajamil. The sharp and savvy Ajamil knows how to strike the
right balance between the needs of all concerned —the tigers, the sheep,
and himself. If he is to have the freedom to play the flute all day long
instead of continually fending off the hungry tigers who keep attacking his
sheep, he must compr omise and sacrifice a few sheep for the greater
common good. Only then will he achieve the impossible ideal where “well
fed tigers and fat sheep drink from the same pond with a full stomach for a
common bond” (16). In Bird’s view, some of the poems in Jejuri demand
that it be read in its specific historical and cultural context. One such poem
is “A Song for Vaghya” told from the point of view of a vaghya, or a male
follower of Khandoba. Bird notes examples of cultural specificities in the
poem such as the p ouch of turmeric powder the vaghya carries or his one -
stringed musical instrument, both of which are particular to the vaghya
community (233).Further, his comment about knowing the word god
backwards and forwards is a reminder of the vaghyas’ historical
association with dogs, something the vaghyas pride themselves on (233).
In the light of this knowledge, Bird argues that “The cultural specificity of
this reference thus calls into question the seemingly irreverent tone of the
poet’s inversion of God/dog, an d unsettles any attempt to read the text as a
straightforward reaction against religious hegemony” (233). But then,
“Ajamil and the Tigers” occursan example of one of those poems in Jejuri
that incorporates a range of contemporary images and international , trans -
historical styles, unsettling the idea that the sequence should only be read
as a locally situated text. Instead, the trans -historical range of the images
suggests the unsustainability of analysing the poems in terms of fixed
regional or national l iterary models.(234)
“Ajamil and the Tigers” can be situated “within a regional framework,”
because it is a representation of the vaghya community and tells of their
origins, but at the same time, the fact that its images “refer directly to
contemporary gl obal culture: when the tiger people are given “gifts of
sheep, leather jackets, and balls of wool”, the anachronistic reference to
“leather jackets” demonstrates that the poem is not simply a re -telling of a
single, ancient story, but is instead a peculiar space in which the local and
global, the historical and the contemporary, can co -exist” (Bird 234). It
seems then that Jejuri seamlessly combines the local and the global within
its bounds, in both content and in form, marking another feature that has
given it the reputation of an avant -garde experimentalist work in post -
independence Indian poetry in English.
5.4. CONCLUSION As we have seen, the poems in Jejuri defy simplistic interpretations and
neat categorisations. While some poems have a lyrical quality , some are munotes.in

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60 inordinately cryptic and prosaic. Some are almost romantic in their
privileging of the beauty of nature and the innocence of children but also
modernist in the dominant use of irony, experimentation in form, mixing
of registers, use of symbolism and imagism, qualities which are
accompaniednot by a sense of loss but of play. These features, once could
argue, bring Jejuri closer topostmodernism than modernism. Subramaium
puts it eloquently when she notes
Kolatkar's poetic preoccupation with the low ly, the incidental, the
inconsequential, his ability to create an anthem to the everyday, a poetry
of the prosaic, and to make the peripheral central to his art. Most
importantly, this surfaces in his work not as a trite recycled certitude about
the blesse dness of the meek, but as an insight arrived at through the inner
logic of poetry. (22)
This “inner logic of poetry” is, however, is especially elusive in Jejuri ,
given its stylistic range and linguistic dexterity. In her postcolonial reading
of Jejuri as a work that poses a challenge to the usual methods of
interpretation,Bird claims that while “Jejuri compels readers to continually
re-orient and re -position themselves in relation to the text, and question
their assumptions about the processes and methodol ogies of
interpretation,” it also “compels the reader to acknowledge that his or her
own interpretation will never be comprehensive” (230). If, as Bird argues,
the reader is central to Jejuri’s interpretive dense artistry, it would be
worthwhile exercise t o make the effort, however daunting, to penetrate
Jejuri ’srich and dense artistry.
Works Cited
Bird, Emma. “Re -reading Postcolonial Poetry: ArunKolatkar’s Jejuri .”The
Journal of Commonwealth Literature 47(2) 229 –243
Datta, Sudipta. “Jejuri by ArunKolatkar. ” March 17, 2018.
kolatkar/article23280089.ece >
Delmonico, Elizabeth Otten. “‘Rasa’ in ArunKolatkar's “Jejuri”: An
Appli cation of Classical Indian Aesthetics.” Soundings: An
Interdisciplinary Journal , Fall/Winter 2000, Vol. 83, No. 3/4 (Fall/Winter
2000), pp. 519 -542.
Gemmill, Janet Powers. “Fine Poetry in Fine Wrappings.”Journal of South
Asian Literature , Summer, Fall 198 1, Vol. 16, No. 2, MISCELLANY
(Summer, Fall 1981), pp. 207 -214.
Kolatkar, Arun. Jejuri .PRAS, 1974.
King, Bruce. Modern Indian Poetry in English .OUP, 2001.
Subramanium, Arundhati. “ArunKolatkar.” Indian Literature, Sep -Oct
2004, Vol. 48, No. 5 (223) (Sep -Oct 2004), pp. 19 -25
munotes.in

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61 6
INTRODUCTION TO DALIT LITERATURE
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Graded Social System in India
6.3 Defining DalitIdentity
6.4 Beginning of Dalit Movement
6.5 Impact of the Truth Seeker’s Society
6.6 Dalit Literary Movement
6.7 Dalit Ae sthetics
6.8 Conclusion
6.9 Suggested Questions
6.10 References
6.0 OBJECTIVES After going through this unit the learners will be able to:
1. Understand the historical perspective of the Dalit movement
2. Explain the concepts of Dalit identity, literature and aesthetics
3. Examine the contribution of social reformers like Phule and Ambedkar
to the Dalit movement and literature
4. Describe the various types of protest movements of the marginalized in
India
6.1 INTRODUCTION In this unit, the learners will st udy the concepts of Graded social system in
India, Dalit identity, Dalit consciousness, Dalit literature, Dalit Movement,
Dalit aesthetics etc., against the historical background of Dalit movement
organized bythe social reformists like Jyotiba Phule, Dr. B . R. Ambedkar
and Bhakti poets. The culmination of the reformists’ movement is found in
the rich and varied forms of Dalit literary manifestations that document
Dalit consciousness and experience of suffering, protest and anger
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62 6.2 GRADEDSOCIAL SYSTEM IN INDIA The composition of Indian society is based on the graded system caste.
Many western as well as Indian thinkers havepropounded their theories
onthe caste system prevalent in India. The ancient vedic scriptures
especially Rigveda proclaimed that the four Varanas existed i.e. Brahmins -
the priests; Kshatriyas - the warriors; Vaishyas - the traders; and Shudras -
the skilled or unskilled labourers. Initially, this social order was basically a
class system and that it was a worldwide phenomenon. According to Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar those vernas /classes gradually becameenclosed later
to be recognized as castes which were accessible only by birth. In the
beginning verna system was strictly adopted by the Brahmin s and slowly
it spread across the other classes by way of the process called ‘infection of
imitation’. He further argued that, the development of caste system cannot
be understood unless it is viewed as a part of the prevailing social
conditions of time. T he verna system, which later became the caste
system, was given religious sanctity through religious texts written by the
Brahmins. Brahmins spread the theory that they were born out of the
mouth of the Brahma; the Kshatriyas from his shoulders; the Vaishy as
from his thighs and the Shudras from his feet. Therefore, Brahmins were
considered superior to others. Moreover, they put this theory in vedas
which were claimed to be the hymns of the god or creation of the god.
The socio -economic and religious codes d ecreed by the ancient
Brahmanical religious texts were implemented by the subsequent kings or
warrior clan sas the sacred duty of the kshatriyas . Thus, to follow the
duties allotted to a particular caste became a religious sanction and
obedience for all the vernas . As a result the Shudra class, the lowest rung
of the society, was subjected to a lot of inhuman treatment and
exploitation. In this connection, G. N. Devy opines: “The menial nature of
the work, the exclusion from the forms and institutions of lea rning, the
perverse notion of pollutions attached to the occupations in which the
Shudras were engaged, and the perpetual economic inequality, all of
which continued to exist for centuries, made the life of the Shudras
relentless story of suffering and inj ustice.”9
As a result of the verna system, atishudras (avernas) or untouchable
communitiesin particular had no land to toil nor could they follow any
profession. They did menial work ordered by the higher castes, come rain
or shine. Treated like animals, th ey lived apart from the village, in the
outskirts, and had to accept leftover food from the higher caste people in
return for their endless toil. Their physical contact was considered to be
polluting by the upper castes, and even their shadow was believed to have
the same effect. The later scriptures like Manusmriti had forbidden them
to wear good clothes or ornaments or even the footwear, and prescribed
severe and humiliating punishments for violating the ordained
commandments. Even for the basic necessity like water, they were made
helplessly dependent on the higher castes’ goodwill. At one point of time
in the dark history of India during the Peshawa’s regime, the most
perverted practice of untouchability forced untouchables to tie earthen munotes.in

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63 pots around the ir necks so that their sputum should not fall on the ground
and pollute it. Another was the compulsion to tie a broom behind their
body so that their footprints would be erased before others set their eyes
on them.
6.3 DEFINING DALIT IDENTITY In the introd uction to the second edition of her book entitled ‘From
Untouchable to Dalit: Essays on the Ambedkar Movement’ Eleanor
Zelliot,a prominent scholar on Dalit movement and literature, justifies the
appropriateness of the term ‘Dalit’ in the following lines: “ The
Untouchables of India had themselves chosen a new identity, that of
“Dalit”—ground down, oppressed —to indicate their lack of belief in being
polluting, their sense that their condition was the fault of the caste system,
and their inclusion in the Ambed kar movement of all those subordinated
by their religious, social and economic status.”10 As per the views of
Pradeep K. Sharma11, the word Dalit is taken for Marathi or Hindi
translation of English term called Depressed Classes. Dalits are also called
Harijans , weaker section of the society, Atishudras, Avaranas, Antyajans ,
servile classes and scheduled castes.
The term ‘Depressed Classes’ refers to those castes, which belong to the
lowest layer of the Hindu caste system and whose touch and proximity is
considered to be polluting to the caste Hindus. Dalit Panther’s Manifesto
defines the term ‘Dalit’ in the following manner:
“Members of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, Neo -Buddhists, the
working people the landless poor peasants, women and those who ar e
being exploited politically, economically and in the name of religion are
called Dalits.”12
This terminology is accepted by the community itself and even the English
Press used the term Dalit without its translation. Eleanor Zelliot further
argues that“n one of the normal words untouchables, scheduled castes,
depressed classes, Gandhi’s euphemism Harijan had the same
connotation. Dalit implies those who have broken, ground down by those
above them in a deliberate and active way. There is in the word itself an
inherent denial of pollution, Karma, and justified caste hierarchy.”13
Gangadhar Pantawane, the founder -editor of Asmitadarsh , the
majorliterary magazine of Dalit literature, defines the term Dalit in the
following manner:
“To me Dalit is not a caste. He is a man exploited by the social and
economic traditions of this country. He does not believe in God, Rebirth,
Soul, and Holy Books teaching separatism, Fate and Heaven because they
have made him a slave. He does believe in humanism. Dalit is a symbol o f
change and revolution.”14
According to Dilip Chitre “the word Dalit is used in Marathi to mask the
stigma inherent in the word asprushya . This is done in deference to
political correctness; for asprushya means untouchable – and that category munotes.in

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64 of human bei ngs regarded as loathsome by caste Hindus in India does not
legally and constitutionally exist in the Indian republic.”15
Before Independence, to project Hindu majority,M. K. Gandhi and his
followers in Congress party also tried to appropriate Dalit commun ity.
Gandhi used the term Harijan as euphemism to refer to the untouchable
community in India. However, these mere terminological alternatives
neither extended any change in the pathetic condition of untouchables nor
did they bring any mental transformatio n among the upper caste Hindus.
Unfortunately, Dalits are still considered loathsome and continue to be
treated badly even in the 21st century India.
Pradeep Sharma says that there are different views about Dalit community
which struggled for its liberatio n and was exploited for centuries together.
Despite these changes occurred at the definitional level of the movement,
today the word Dalit is widely accepted and used in the socio -political
system. Thushe writes - “Dalit consciousness is the political cons ciousness
that is expressed politically during the course of the Dalit movement.”He
further pinpoints that Dalit literature is undoubtedly influenced by the
Dalit movement which was evolved out of the vision of Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar.“Dalit consciousness i s guided by the Ambedkarite ideology,
programmes, leadership and organization and incorporates both
institutionalized and non - institutional individual and collective actions
initiated and adopted by the community to achieve desired goals.
Leadership provi ded by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had powerful impact on the
community and subsequent course of Dalit movement draws inspiration
and strength from his vision.”17
For Ali Ahmed Khan, human identity is always transitory in nature,
however, he emphasizes on the fact that in the country like India one’s
identity is constructed on the basis of his caste, religion and ethnicity.
“Human identity is never been very stable... In a diverse society such as
India, the problem of concretizing identity concerns relating to ethni city,
language, caste, religion, etc., involves consideration of intrinsic value of
these identifications.”18
He further maintains that the Hindu doctrine of the caste system in Rig -
Veda draws a clear line between the ‘Arya Varana’ and the ‘Dasa Varana’
and that there are many hymns invoking Lord Indra to destroy the Dasas
who are no other than the Shudras . Gradually, in later scriptures the
Shudras were further divided into the touchables ( Sprishyas ) and the
untouchables ( Asprishyas ). The untouchables subs equently recognised as
Antyaja (the last born / living at the periphery), Avaranas (outcastes),
PanchamaVerna (the fifth Varana ), Dalit (the suppressed/oppressed),
Harijan (men of God), Depressed classes and Scheduled Castes. But more
frequently used terms are Scheduled Caste, Harijan and Dalit. The
Scheduled Caste is emotionally and officially a neutral term used since the
Government of India Act 1935, whereas the terms such as Harijan and
Dalit have been casteist in flavour. After the Poona Pact, Mahatma Gandhi
coined the term Harijan in order to refer to the untouchables as he wanted
Hindus to accept them as a part of Hindu society. However, Dr. Ambedkar munotes.in

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65 rejected Gandhi’s term as mere useless euphemism and maintained that
the term Harijan for referring to his community was very insulting and
abusing as it denoted that they were illegal children born out of the
physical relationship between the Devdasis (the dancing girls) and the
Brahmin priests of Hindu temples. Etymologically the term Dalit is
derived fro m the Sanskrit word ‘ Dal’ which means to ground down / to
break / to suppress / to crush. Perhaps it was used, for the first time, by
Jyotiba Phule and that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar may have revived it to
defy the popularity of Gandhi’s term Harijan . In 1970 s, the Dalit Panther
movement in Maharashtra popularized the term Dalit to ‘describethe
untouchables of India as a single and cohesive fraternity’. Dalit panthers
believed that Dalits are the original inhabitants of India, constitute more
than 20% of India n population and that because of Dr. Ambedkar they
have acquired a recognizable amount of socio -economic, political,
educational and cultural identity in India.
The term ‘Dalit’ is now extensively used by both academicians and non -
academicians in India and across the world. Today, Dalit movement and
literature is studied, including the virtual Dalit Studies, from different
viewpoints i.e. Dalits’ struggle for socio -political equality, their battle for
reservation, power, and equal status etc. Ali Ahmed Khan thus believes
that ‘Dalit is a perspective’, “why should Dalit Studies be confined to
studying Dalits? Instead of viewing Dalits as an object of study, the
category Dalit can also be used as ‘a perspective’ for approaching the
study of Indian / Hindu soci ety and history, colonialism and nationalism,
democracy, modernity and the larger world.”
6.4 BEGINNING OF DALIT MOVEMENT There are different views about the beginning of Dalit movement in India.
Some scholars claim that Dalit movement is originated from B hakti
movement, while some others consider that Mahar movement of
Maharashtra is an important event of the movement. However, Dalits’
struggle againstthe inequality gained momentum after the arrival of Dr.
Ambedkar on the Indian socio -political scene. Prad eep Sharma points out
that “there is evident a consensus among scholars that Dalit struggle
during the colonial period, particularly after the arrival of Dr. B. R.
Ambedkar gained momentum where the main issues were gaining
recognition, representation and power within the changing political order”.
According to Ghanashyam Shah Dalit movement consists of two types i.e.
i) reformative movement and ii) alternative movement. The Reformative
movement tries to reform and eradicate the castesystem in India and
attempts to resolve the problem of untouchability, whereas Alternative
movement attempts to create an alternative socio -political and cultural
structure, where equal social justice is ensured to every mankind and caste
hierarchy is destroyed. Under the reform ative movement there have been
other popular movements like Bhakti movement, Neo -Vedantic movement
and Sanskritisation movement. The Alternative movement can be further
classified intotwo types i.e. Proselytization movement and Secular
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66 Reformativ e movements:
i) Bhakti movement (12 to 18th Century AD) fought against caste system
and tried to purify Hinduism. After Buddhism this movement left a great
impact on Indian society. It tried to create an egalitarian society. The great
saints like Chokhamel a and Eknath were the main catalysts in the social
awakening of Dalit communities. Chokhamela was the only Mahar saint
from Maharashtra state. Eknath was a Brahmin saint, who ate with
untouchables, wrote about Chokhamela, and also allowed outcastes into
his Bhajan sessions. Chokhamela followed traditional duties of Mahar
community. Although his Bhakti songs reveal the traditional devotion and
piety of the Bhakta, there is an inherent element of protest against
untouchability. The central argument of Chokham ela’s poetry was protest
and questioning supremacy of the Brahmanical order, though he lived in
his traditional role as a Mahar with its traditional limitations. The spirit of
most of the abhangas is delight in the Lord, deliverance from suffering
through devotion. Although there is expression of agony in his devotional
songs, the central message is that even a Mahar could experience the grace
of God.Saint Eknath wrote about three hundred Bharuds , poems and plays
to be enacted out. Some of the poems create i mpression that their author is
an untouchable. Some Bharuds called Johar poems have protagonists from
the outcastes.“In Eknath’s Bharud , the Mahar preaches morality, necessity
of a Guru, company of the Saint, and calamity of rebirth inevitable for
those who do not follow the Bhakti path.
For Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar the Bhakti movement led by saint poets was
concerned of the spiritual equality and not the worldly equality and
therefore, they could not change the caste based character of Indian
society. In his book ‘Who Were Shudras?’ Dr. Ambedkar writes -“though
the saint -poets had a purely humanitarian agenda before them, and
propagated the equality of beings, the basis of their world view was
metaphysical rather than material. The Bhakti movement therefore did not
succeed in reforming the Indian society and its caste based character.”
ii) Neo-Vedantic movement tried to purify Hinduism and bring it back to
its original position. For that purpose it re -interpreted the doctrines of
Hinduism. This movement tried to eradicate untouchability and
endeavored to absorb untouchables in the four -folds of the Hindu Verna
system. Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Vivekanand were the
chief proponents of this movement. They believed that untouchability was
not essentially a p art of Hinduism and the caste system. On the contrary
however, Arya Samajists were against the political movements of the
untouchables. They went against any move initiated by the untouchables
for their solidarity and integration.
iii) Under the sanskritiz ation movement Dalits took over, as far as
possible, the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins and the adoption
of the Brahmanic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent,
though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called
sanskritisation. Through this movement the untouchables, who could
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Introduction to Dalit Literature
67 with the age old traditional occupations, launched the struggle for higher
status in the caste system.
Alternative move ments:
i) Proselytization movement is an alternative movement. Under the
magnetic leadership of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who made
announcement of conversion in 1935, Dalits converted to Buddhism in
1956. The conversion to Buddhism gave them new identity i.e. Buddhists.
The conversion to Buddhism has been a remarkable event in the life of
Dalits. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar strongly believed that the conversion to
Buddhism was for him a kind of returning to home. The rise of Magadh
Mauryan Empire was the ‘Buddhist Revolution’ which denied Vedic
tradition of caste and gender inequality. Dalits were originally Buddhist
people who had been made untouchables in the process of Brahmanical
‘Counter Revolution’.
According toDr. W. R. Mujawar, Dalits’ conversion to Buddhism was a
kind of social rebirth. Thus he writes - “Conversion to Buddhism became
one of the aspects of Dalit negation of the appropriation by the hegemonic
forces of Brahmanism. Through conversion Dalits sought to counteract the
imposed external definitions a nd have strived to assert their humanity as
both the autonomous makers of their identity and contributors to the
making of Indian society. Conversion has been a kind of social rebirth.
Conversion was a form of escape from internal colonialism by the Hindu
upper castes.” The conversion movement liberated Dalits from the strong
clutches of mental slavery of Hinduism which propagated caste system.
ii) Secular movements : Dalits have tried to propagate the ideas of
equality, liberty, fraternity, justice, love a nd maîtree through literature in
the form of Dalit poetry, prose, fiction and plays. Dalit literature became
the major instrument of protest against Hindu intellectual tradition, Hindu
religion and Hindu ethics. These movements also addressed economic
issues and have witnessed Dalits’ efforts to create an alternative socio -
cultural identity for themselves.

6.5 IMPACT OF THE TRUTH SEEKER’S SOCIETY The Satyashodhak Samaj is a social reform society founded by Jyotiba
Phule(1826 -1890) in Pune, India, on 24 Sep tember 1873. Its purpose was
to liberate shudra and untouchable castes from exploitation and
oppression. Through his writings and activities Jyotiba Phule condemned
caste hierarchy and privileged status of Brahmin castes in it. He
condemned inequality in t he religious books, orthodox nature of religion
and exploitation of masses, blind and misleading rituals, and hypocrisy in
the prevalent Hindu religion. His aim was to establish ethics of human
well-being, happiness, unity, equality, and easy religious pri nciples and
rituals. He started his reform movement by establishing schools for the
untouchable boys and girls. His famous work Gulamgiri dealswith the
caste system in India, Shetkaryancha Asud gives a vivid account of the
ordeals of the peasants, Sarvajanik Satya Dharma teaches egalitarian munotes.in

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68 religion to the Indian masses. He also wrote a ballad which praises the
deeds of King Shivaji. Throughout his life he tried to unite Shudras
andAtishudras (untouchables) to protect them from the
Brahmanicaloppression. He be lieved that Dalits are oppressed and
exploited for many centuries because earlier they had fought against the
Brahmin aggression with utmost bravery and heroism. He compared the
exploitation of Dalits with that of Native Americans and black Africans in
Ame rica.
Most of his writing deals with the wretched situation of women in India
and their oppression in Hindu patriarchal system. In his later years, he was
greatly influenced by the feminist radicals like Tarabai shinde and Pandita
Ramabai. He argued that t he miserable condition of women was not
prevalent in Bahujan Samaj alone, but the pitiable condition of women
was equally existed in Brahmins as well.His personal life strikingly differs
from that of the other social reformers. He educated his wife Savitri bai,
encouraged her to become a teacher to teach girls and untouchable boys
and adopted a child from a Brahmin widow. His life represented a role
model for other radicals, reformers and revolutionaries in India.
6.6 DALIT LITERARY MOVEMENT In the introduct ion to Sharankumar Limbale’s autobiography called
Akkarmashi (The Outcaste), G. N. Devy maintained that “Dalit literary
movement has made Marathi society think afresh about religion, justice,
dignity and a social relationship, the single most important con cern on
which it has expended its energy has been ‘caste’.” The literature which
resulted out of Dalit consciousness is called Dalit literature. It seeks the
freedom of human being and represents a sort of protest against
subjugation, torture and humiliati on suffered by Dalits in the Hindu social
system which is regulated by the Varna system. Hence, Dalit literature is
rebellious, optimistic and revolutionary as it attempts to bring about
positive changes in the social consciousness.The nature of Dalit
consciousness is not subjectivealthough the pains and pleasures are lived
and experienced by individuals alone but suffering ofthe Dalit is common
to the entire Dalit community because they have been subjected to the
common predicament. Therefore, the content of Dalit literature is
essentially social in nature.
According to Sharadchandra Muktibodh,the Dalit point of view constitutes
a clear diagnosis of a particular social reality and a sanguine hope for its
desirable transformation. The Dalit sensibility shows a deep concern for
the Dalit point of view and an outstanding work of Dalit literature would
be born if Dalit life isrepresented from the Dalit point of view. That means
the Dalit artist should not merely possess the Dalit point of view but he
must have a n insight or the vision of his own. A great literary piece of
work cannot be produced until it is written from the Dalit point of view
which results out of the Dalit insight or vision of life. Therefore, Dalit
literature without Dalit vision or Dalit point of view is obviously lifeless.
A writer can be said to have Dalit insight only when he has experienced a
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69 which are full of pleasure and pain. He further asserts that the great work
of Dalit Literature cannot be created by merely having the Dalit point of
view and the Dalit consciousness. It would emerge only when the Dalit
point of view isenvisioned itself through the concrete living experiences of
Dalit life.
According to Ali Ahmed K han Dalit literature is closely associated with
the matter of Dalit identity; a political device for developing unity and
organisation, that at times demands ‘sharing of common culture’ and
‘harping on the separateness from others’. “Dalit literature provi des
critical insights on the question of Dalit identity. Emerging as a special
stream in a literary landscape, it tends to cover a wide range of ideas and
insights governing the social mindset of the Dalits. It also contains a
critical evaluation of the pr evailing social and cultural practices.” Dalit
literature is thus the result of Dalits’ struggle for socio, economic and
political changes. This literature has close affinity with the hopes for
freedom of the untouchables who are the victims of vicious and unjust
caste system in India that advocates socio -economic & cultural inequality.
The history of the Dalit literary movement goes back to the 11th century
AD, to the first Vachana poet Madara Chennaiah who was a cobbler by
profession. Dalit literary movem ent in India thus has a long history which
ideally unfolds Dalits’ secret struggle against the casteist traditions of
India. While tracing the origin of Dalit literature many researchers have
put forth their different viewpoints. Some scholars believe that it began
during the Buddhist period, to some it was started by Chokhamela in 14th
century AD. Some give credit to Jyotiba Phule (1828 -90) while some
others maintained that S.M. Mate (1886 -1957) was the precursor of the
Dalit literature. They argued that t hough Dalit literature did not exist
during these periods, the concern for the untouchables did reflected in
their writings, so logically they could be called the progenitors or the early
creators of the Dalit literary movement.
In Maharashtra, however, Da lit literature got impetus due to the strong
legacy of Jyotiba Phule, Prof. S. M. Mate and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
(1891 -1956). In Maharashtra with the advent of leaders like Jyotiba Phule
and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who brought forth the issues of Dalits
through their works and writings, Dalit movement got a forceful
representation. They started a new trend in Dalit writing and inspired
many Dalits to come forth with their writing in Marathi. In this
connection, Arjun Dangle strongly argues - “while both Gau tam Buddha
and Mahatma Phule revolted against the unjust class (social) structure and
while it is true their teaching and ideas are inspiring even today, a
historical and objective examination of the situation reveals that it was Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar who was the enabling factor in Dalit literature
because of his ideas, outlook towards life and his indelible struggle to
achieve what he felt just… Through his struggle against untouchability
and socio -economic inequality, he liberated the Dalits in India fro m
mental slavery and abject wretchedness, thus giving them a new self -
respect”. Although Dalit literary movement started in an unorganized way,
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70 revolutionary ideology which stirred into actio n all the Dalits in
Maharashtra. His statue in suit and tie, the dress of the most educated one,
holding a book that represents the Indian constitution is a symbol of pride
and inspiration for the present as well as future generations. He has
inspired and initiated creative minds of India to bring about the socio -
cultural revolution for the total emancipation of Dalits.
Today Dalit literature is growing rapidly in almost all the Indian
languages. It emerged in Maharashtra especially in Marathi language.
Though Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was born at Mahu in Madhya Pradesh,
he was brought up and grown up in Maharashtra. Dalit community of
Maharashtra has been very loyal to him. It strongly supported Dr.
Ambedkar in his mission. The first generation of Dalit litera ture, social
activists and revolutionaries was inspired by him. Therefore, it is obvious
that the father of Dalit Literature is none other than Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar.
6.7 DALITAESTHETICS There is an urgent need for Dalit aesthetics to evaluate and interpr et Dalit
literature. Dalit writers have been observing and experiencing from the
very beginning of Dalit literature thatit has been neglected by the
traditional criticism. The way the progressive upper caste nationalist
leaders had neglected Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s movement, in the same
manner, due to caste -based prejudice, the traditionalists and their
aesthetics has neglected Dalit literature. The traditional aesthetics of
literature is inadequate to capture the essence of Dalit life. So, Dalit or
Ambedk arite writers demand for the separate theory of aesthetics to
evaluate their literature.
Kanwal Bharati believes that the literature is not classified on the basis of
language alone but it is classified on the basis of different isms and
ideologies such as Marxist literature, Christian literature etc. So, there can
be Dalit literature, which represents the voice of the majority people of
this country. Like Sharankumar Limbale, he also maintains that only
Dalits can write Dalit literature as they are the suf ferers or victims of the
multiple oppressions perpetrated by the unjust caste system. Therefore, he
says that the sympathetic writing about Dalits by the upper caste authors
cannot be included in Dalit literature because they have not experienced
the traum a of untouchability. In this sense, Mulk Raj Anand’s famous
novel ‘The Untouchable’ does not fall into the category of Dalit literature
as it is written by the elite and upper caste writer who is influenced by the
Marxist ideology, though he was a great hu manist. In this connection,
Pradeep K. Sharma’s point of view is worth to be noted -“The guiding
force for the Dalit literature becomes the Ambedkarite philosophy that
represents a comprehensive worldview different from the upper caste
hegemonic philosophy and incorporates Buddhism, Bhaktism and other
protest traditions prevalent in the Indian society... The guiding ideology of
Dalit authors cannot be centrist, leftist or rightist not and even Dalitist but
can only be the Ambedkarite vision.” munotes.in

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Introduction to Dalit Literature
71 He attempts to summarize the essence of Dalit aesthetics by quoting
Sharan Kumar Limbale who sets the following tests for the formation of
the Dalit aesthetics:
1. Author experiences be authentic
2. Author experiences be generalized/universalized
3. Those experiences sho uld not be just region specific
4. Texts should instill inspiration for the egalitarian social system
Dalit aesthetics evaluates expressed cardinal values of independence,
justice, equality and fraternity and therefore, Dalit literature must be
studied wit h this perspective in mind rather than considering it just a ‘caste
literature’ or that the literature which does not express itself in any
sophisticated literary forms. Dalit literature represents real picture of
community, its trauma and its struggle for social change. The discourse
also recognizes the fact that literary aesthetics has been transcended from
its sophisticated perspective to a more realistic one that attempts to
demolish the supremacy of a structured form of literary aesthetics. In other
words, Dalit literature is creating its own literary space with a high level of
thinking which possesses the sense of freedom, essence of realistic
aesthetics, constructive approach and highlights the ground realities of
Dalit communities. Its reading and st udy makes us restless and leads for
social change and solidarity towards the establishment of an egalitarian
society.
6.8 CONCLUSION Dalit literature is the outcome of Ambedkar’srelentless struggle for social
equality. Therefore, it is inevitable to compre hend Dalit literature against
the historical background of Dalit movement led by him. Moreover, there
is an urgent need for separate parameters of aesthetics to evaluate Dalit
literature because traditional criticism is inadequate to encompass its
unique l iterary manifestations of agony, protest and suffering.
6.9 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 1. Comment on the historical background of the Dalit movement in India.
2. Discuss the contribution of Phule and Ambedkar in the development of
Dalit literature.
3. Explain the various types of reformative movements fought for the
cause of social equality in India.
4. Explain the concept of Dalit identity with reference to the various
definitions given by the intellectuals and literary scholars.

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72 6.10 REFERENCES 1. Elean or, Zelliot. From Untouchable to Dalit: Essays on the Ambedkar
Movement (1992) New Delhi: Manohar Publishers & Distributors,
2001 (Introduction to the 3rdedition) P. v
2. Dr. Babasaheb, Ambedkar. Who Were the Shudras? Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar Writings and Sp eeches: V ol.7, Education Department
Government of Maharashtra, 1990 Edited by Vasant Moon P. 12 -14
(Preface)
3. G. N., Devy. The Outcaste (Akkarmashi) (2008) Oxford India
Paperbacks, 2008. P. 15 (Introduction)
4. Pradeep, Sharma. Dalit Politics and Literat ure (2006) Delhi: Shipra
Publications, P. 52
5. Dilip, Chitre. Namdeo Dhasal - Poet of the Underworld - Poems 1972 –
2006 (2007) New Delhi: Navayana Publishing Pvt. Ltd, 2007 P. 7
6. Ali Ahmed, Khan. Identity Crisis in Dalit Literature: An Appraisal
(2013) Jaipur: Yking Books publication, 2013 PP. 15 -37
7. Ghanashyam, Shah. Social Movements in India: A Review of the
Literature, (1990) Delhi: Sage Publications, 1990 Ibid P. 61 -80 (Please
see for the complete reference on the types of Dalit movement)
8. M. R. , Mujawar. Speeches and Writings of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar V ol. 4
(2011) Delhi: Mangalam Publications, 2011 P. 1325
9. Gail, Omvedt. Dalit Visions -Tracts for the Times/ 8, (1995) Orient
Longman, 1995 P. 18
10. Arundhati, Roy. “The Doctor and the Saint.” The Ca ravan V ol. 6,
Issue. 3, March 2014 P. 31
11. Eleanor, Zelliot. Ambedkar’s World: The Making of Babasaheb and
the Dalit Movement (2013). New Delhi: Navayan Publishing Pvt. Ltd,
2013 P. 199
12. Sharankumar, Limbale. The Outcaste - Akkarmashi (2008) New Delhi:
Oxford University press, 2008. P. xiv (Introduction)
13. Arjun, Dangle. Poisoned Bread (1992) Hyderabad: Sangam Books ltd
1992, P. 267 68 Ibid P. 268
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73 7
CRITICAL STUDY OF SELECTED POEMS
FROM ARJUN DANGLE’S POISONED
BREAD
Unit Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Dalit Fiction and Self -Narratives
7.3 Dalit Poetry
7.4 Contribution of Major Dalit Poets
7.5 Analysis of Select Poems from Poisoned Bre ad
7.6 Conclusion
7.7 Suggested Questions
7.8 References
7.0 OBJECTIVES After going through this unit the learners will be able to:
1. Understand the overview of the various Dalit literary genres like, self -
narratives, fiction and poetry
2. Recall and unde rstand the major Dalit literary writers and their
contribution to the overall Dalit literature
3. Critically appreciate the selected Dalit poems prescribed in this unit
7.1 INTRODUCTION Dalit literature records the historical trajectoryof Dalits’ exploit ation under
the caste based social system of India for centuries and thereby documents
their emotional responses of protest, anger and agony. In this unit the
learners will closely study the select Dalit poems by the poets such as
Yashwant Manohar, Keshav Meshram, Namdeo Dhasal, L. S. Rokade and
Arjun Dangle.
7.2 DALIT FICTION AND SELF -NARRATIVES Dalit literature was acknowledged by the mainstream literature in India
with the appearance of the English translations of Marathi Dalit writing.
‘An Anthology of Dalit Literature’, edited by Mulk Raj Anand and munotes.in

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74 Eleanor Zelliot, and ‘Poisoned Bread: Translations from Modern Marathi
Dalit Literature’, originally published in three volumes and later collected
in a single volume, edited by Arjun Dangle, both published i n 1992, were
perhaps the first books that popularized the genre throughout India
Dalit autobiography emerged as a category in the 1970s, along with a new
kind of protest poetry. Many of these writings foregrounded the vicious
history of caste prejudice. It was resistance literature, emerging out of and
building on recognized traditions of political and intellectual resistance.
The very titles of numerous Dalit life -writings indicate the history of
stigmatization, oppression, and poverty.
According to Pradny a Daya Pawar, Dalit autobiographies or memoirs
served two purposes. It brought to life a Dalit hero and bestowed upon him
validity. At the same time, it established Dalit history and Dalits as
dignified. No one was such a fool as to believe that the writin g would
liberate the Dalits but it was capable of giving an ethical underpinning to
our socio -political movement. Following are some of the major Dalit
narratives popular across the country.
Zhenva Mi Jaat Chorali Hoti (When I Concealed My Caste) by Babura o
Bagul; Baluta (The Discarded Share) by Daya Pawar; Upara (The
Outsider) by Laxman Mane; Uchalya (The Branded) by Laxman
Gaikwad; Jina Amucha (Our Life) by Babytai Kamble; Aaydan (The
Bamboo Basket) by Urmila Pawar; Mazhya Jalmachi Chittarkatha (The
Kaleido scopic Story Of My Life) by Shantabai Kamble; Akkarmashi (The
Outcaste) by Sharankumar Limbale; Aamcha Baap Ani Amhi (Our Father
and We) by Narendra Jadhav; Joothan by Omprakash Valmiki (Hindi);
Dohra Abhishap by Kaushalya Baisantari (Hindi); Ooru Keri by
Siddalingaiah (Kannada); Karukku by Bama (Tamil); Sangati by Bama
(Tamil)
7.3 DALIT POETRY The first generation of Dalit poets wrote revolutionary poetry. They were
activists as well as poets. As a result of Ambedkar’s constitutional
safeguards and efforts towards the betterment of the downtrodden in India
many of these poets acquired formidable education. The prominent poets
like Baburao Bagul, Waman Nimbalkar, Namdeo Dhasal, Daya Pawar,
Yashwant Manohar, Arjun Dangle, Raja Dhale, Pralhad Chendawankar,
Keshav Meshram, J. V. Pawar strongly protested against the established
unjust social system in India. Many volumes of Dalit poetry were
published during this period such as Waman Nimbalkar’s Gavkusabaheril
Kavita (1973), Mahayuddha (1987); Yashwant Manohar’s Utthangumfa
(1977), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Ek Chintan Kavya (1982),
Murtibhanjan (1985); Namdeo Dhasal’s Golpitha (1972), Murkh
Mhataryane Dongar Halavale (1975), Tuhi Yatta Kanchi? (1981), Khel
(1983), Gandu Bagicha (1986); Daya Pawar’s Kondwada (1974), J. V.
Pawar’s Nakebandi (1976); Arjun Dangle’s Chhavani Halate Ahe (1977);
Pralhad Chendvankar’s Audit (1976), Tryambak Sapkale’s Surung (1976),
Bhimsen Dethe’s Horpal (1977), Ram Dotonde’s Rapi Jenvha Lekhani munotes.in

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Critical Study of Selected Poems from Arjun Dangle’s Poisoned Bread
75 Banate (1978), Prakash Jadhav’s Dastakat (1978 ), Nareshkumar Ingale’s
Angara (1972) etc. Dalit poetry was a new phenomenon in the world of
traditional Marathi literature. It was very innovative literature with its
consciousness of protest; its new content or subject matter; and its form of
expression. It stirred the entire world of traditional poetry. In other words,
Dalit literature successfully created a separate space for itself andhas
enrichednot only theregional literatures in India but also the entire protest
literature across the world.
7.4 CONT RIBUTION OF MAJOR DALIT POETS Baburao Bagul
In Dalit literature, Baburao Bagul (1930 -2008) is known as the great short
story writer. His fiction is considered to be a turning point in the history of
Dalit literature. As great Dalit fiction writer, he becam e the standard for
overall Dalit literature. Though Baburao Bagul was known for his
powerful short stories, basically he was a poet by heart. His poetry has
undoubtedly provided a philosophical foundation for the entire Dalit
poetry. In 1968, Baburao Bagul ’s fifteen poems appeared in the periodical
called Fakt under the title called Vidrohachya Kavita (Protest Poetry).
Some of his poems have also been published in the periodical called Aakar
while few poems are lying scattered here and there. The peculiar q uality of
his poetry is the expression of anger against the practice of caste
discrimination and untouchability. According to him the worst impact of
verna system is evident in this country.
Waman Nimbalkar
Waman Sudama Nimbalkar was born on 13th March 194 3. He was the
president of the 9thAkhil Bhartiya Dalit Sahitya Sammelan held at Nagpur.
His volume of poetry called Gavkusabaheril Kavita was published in 1973
and Mahayuddha in 1979. He also published non -fiction, books such as
Dalit Sahitya Swarup Va Bhu mika, Ambedkari Vicharanchi Disha and
Asmitadarshachi Navu Varsha . In Gavkusabaheril Kavita Nimbalkar
depicts the life of Dalits living in the outskirts. His poetry shows suffering,
protest, anger and fury of Dalits. It reveals the sorrow and agony of Dali ts
who are living in the outskirts.
His poetry foregrounds the world which is filled with terrible hopelessness
and melancholy. While depicting socio -economic, religious and political
injustice and exploitation his poetry unfolds the delicate threads of D alits’
consciousness. For centuries together they have been forced to live as
untouchables in the village outskirts. This blot of untouchability is a
selfish and deceitful legacy of Manu. His poetry revolts against
Manu’stradition as well as warns to the u pper caste people that hereafter
Dalits will not tolerate any injustice and exploitation. Now the life of
Dalits is changing rapidly, they have acquired the power of expression;
Ambedkar has shown them the new path towards enlightenment i.e.
Buddhism. As a result ofconversion to Buddhism they have renounced the munotes.in

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76 life of slavery. Thus, Nimbalkar’s poetry revolves around the man and it
strives for his total liberation.
Daya Pawar
Daya Pawar’s poetry has given a new dimension and strength to the Dalit
literatu re. His volume of poetry called Kondwada (Blockade) was
published in 1974.His poetry is more contemplative in nature and attempts
to find answers to the questions such as - Who has created inequality
amongpeople? Who was responsible for Dalits exploitation? His poetry
remarkably depicts a newly acquired sense of revolt, protest and self -
identity among Dalits.
Keshav Meshram
Keshav Meshram (1937 -2007) was born in a very poor Dalit family in
Akola, Maharashtra. His volume of poetry called Utkhanan (excavation )
brought him the status of an important Dalit poet. In his most popular
novel Jatayu he portrayed the anguish of a brilliant poor Dalit boy called
Abhiman, who was marginalized despite being a highly talented student.
His othertwo volumes of poetry are tit led as Jugalbandi and Akasmat
respectively. His poetry is centered on the Dalit agony and suffering both
at individual and social level. The application of words with multiple
meanings, emotional ups and downs and usage of the fresh imagery are
the salient features of his poetry.He has also published the books on
fiction and literary criticism.
Arjun Dangle
Arjun Dangle is one of the founding members of Dalit Panther movement.
He has been active in social and political life since his college days. He
wrote p oetry, prose and fiction i.e. Chhavani Halate Ahe which is a
collection of poetry,edited books like Hi Bandhavarali Manas and Dalit
Sahitya: Ek Abhyas which later appeared in English translation under the
title ‘Poisoned Bread’. It is an anthology of the se lect Dalit poetry, prose
and fiction. His poetry depicts the disgusting reality of Indian society.
Chhavani Halate Ahe represents his anguish when Dalit Panther
movement was broken into pieces. The title of this volume of poetry is
symbolic. The title sugg ests that the traditional social system is being
jolted and is increasingly getting weakened with every strike at its roots.
His poetry seemsto be composed in the form of revolutionary slogans
pronounced by the activists during the rising period of Dalit P anther
movement which tried to emancipate Dalits from the vicious clutches of
the upper caste aristocratic landlords and rulers.
Pralhad Chendawankar
Pralhad Namdeo Sonde Sultan – Chendawankar (born 1927) wrote two
volumes of poetry called Audit (1976) an d OrderOrder . He has also
published fictional and critical writings. His poetic diction is sharp and
penetrating since he has a first -hand experience of Dalit life. About his
first volume of poetry called Audit , he writes that the world, the life and munotes.in

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Critical Study of Selected Poems from Arjun Dangle’s Poisoned Bread
77 the e xperiences which he had in his life are so horrible that as a poet he
must write on them. He should speak of them openly, frankly and loudly.
And he has done that through public speeches, gatherings and movements,
yet, the fire in his burning heart is not appeased. His poetry effectively
represents the sense of disillusionmentthat followed after independence
among Dalit community. The common man is not happy even after
independence and thathis life has been so degraded by the poverty.
J. V. Pawar
Jayaram V itthal Pawar (born 1944) was graduated in Arts. He is one of the
important activists ofDalit literary movement and founder member ofDalit
Panther movement. He published his first volume of poetry called
Nakebandi (translated into English as ‘Blockade’) in 1976. He edited
acollection of poetry called Utchhavas Yugandharache . He also published
a novel called Balidan . His poetry expresses strong faith in Ambedkar
whose philosophyof life and the movement has the power to break all the
vicious traditions in Indi a.
His poetry depicts how everywhere Dalits’ life has been blocked by the
age-old unjust traditions in India. He strongly believes that Dalits should
leave the tendency of surrenderingthemselves when injustice is incurred
on them; rather he wishes that th eirprotest against injustice should erupt
like volcano.
Yashwant Manohar
Yashwant Rajaram Manohar was born in Nagpur on 26 March 1943. He
completed his MA, PhD and taught Marathi in Nagpur University. He
presided over Akhil Bhartiya Dalit Sahitya Sammelan in 1988. He was
also the president of Sahitya Sanskruti Madal in 1989 -90. He edited the
periodical called Samuchit . His volumes of poetry are titled as:
Utthangumfa (1977), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Ek Chintan Kavya
(1982), Murtibhanjan (1985) etc. He also published several books of non -
fiction and literary criticism such as: Swad Ani Chikitsa, Dalit Sahitya:
Siddhant Va Swarup, Sahitya Ani Bandhilaki, Sahitya Bandhilaki Ani
Vidroh, Bal Sitaram Mardhekar, Marathi Kavita Ani Adhunikata etc.
A very few poets a fter Namdeo Dhasal have given a new artistic form to
Dalit poetry and have taken it to the new level of competency. Yashwant
Manohar’s poetry is a significant milestone which has given an
extraordinary tone of protest to Dalit poetry. His poetry is primari ly an
expression of Dalit consciousness which protests againstexploitation in the
name of god, spiritualism and karma -vipak (Hindu concept of fruition of
one’s own deeds after his/her death).
Tryambak Sapakale
Tryambak Sapakale’s volume of poetry called Surung was published in
1976. His poetry effectively expresses the strong rhythms of the outburst
of inner mind. His poetry is militant in nature yet sensible; aggressive yet
generous; and fierce yet poetic. His poetry is very authentic and truthful to munotes.in

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78 its experience. The poetry in Surung primarily depicts the sensitive and
deprived mind of the poet who has been expelled by the society and
rejected by this culture -loving country. His poetry is not only about his
past experience of agony but also about his st rong protest against social
inequality. His protest is resulted out of an awareness of self -dignity and
therefore, his poetry is at times muchthought provoking for its readers.
Narayan Surve
In 1926, Narayan Gangaram Surve was born in Mumbai. He completed
his formal education till his primary seventh class. He worked as a mill
worker, as a peon in the school and later as a primary teacher. He
published his following volumes of poetry such as Aisa Ga Mi Brahmha
(1962), Majhe Vidyapith (1966), Jahirnama (1975 ) and edited poetry
collection called Sanad (1982). Moreover, he published his book of
articles called Manus Kalawant Ani Samaj and has also edited books such
as Dalit Kavyadarshan, Kavita Sramachi and Gani Chalavalichi . He was
awarded by the Soviet Land N ehru Trophy and was also entitled to the
chair of president at Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan ,
Parabhani, Maharashtra
Narayan Surve was probably the first poet who depicted the life of labors
and mill workers in Marathi poetry. His poetry depicts conflicts between
oppressed and oppressor class. The various forms of emotions and
difficulties of the working class (i.e. their suffering, poverty in city life,
frailties, deprivation, tolerance and protest against capitalists etc) appear in
his poetry. T he conflict between the oppressed and the oppressor is age
old and perpetual but it became very decisive and global in the twentieth
century. Narayan Surve is the first poet who effectively as well as
artistically expressed this conflict in his poetry.
Narayan Surve is essentially the poet who depicts life of the oppressed
Dalits, labors and workers in his poetry. He strongly believed in Marxism
and communism. In his poem entitled Kavita Ani Mee from his volume of
poetry called Jahirnama , Narayan Surve writ es that Marx and Engels are
the great thinkers of this era. They gave us scientific perspective towards
life. They answer the questions which are faced by us in life. He believed
that the best art directs life. Similarly, Marxist philosophy directs and
evaluates human life. Marx and Engels explain the abiding relationship
between man, his physical situation and nature. They also inform us about
the relationship between man and art.
Narayan Surve was an activist in the Communist Party Movement and at
the sa me time he was also active in his poetic creativity. His poetic
inspiration is Marxism which he accepts from a very thoughtful and
broader understanding of life; therefore, his poetry is not extreme and
bitter. Though the principles of Marx and Buddha were different, their
final goal was same i.e. human welfare. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism
for the welfare of mankind.
In his volume of poetry called Aisa Ga Mi Brahma there are 50 poems
written during 1954 to 1962. This period is very close to the time of Indian munotes.in

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79 independence. It was the time when the Government of India had
implemented its first Five Year Plan; China had waged war against India
and the movement for Samyukta Maharashtra had gathered its
momentum. At the same time the working class people, wh o had a dream
of democracy and had actively taken part in the Indian freedom
movement, were taking part in the Indian politics. Pandit Nehru, the first
Prime Minister of independent India, had announced to form a socialistic
social order. Narayan Surve was also a part of this process of change that
was taking place. He was the active member of Communist Party. Shahir
Amar Sheikh, Annabhau Sathe and Gavankar had stirred the entire
Maharashtra with their patriotic songs. Narayan Surve acquired the art of
writing poetry while he was writing songs in close association with these
great singers.
Narayan Surve’s second popular volume of poetry is Majhe Vidyapith
which appeared in 1966. It consists of 40 poems. The revolutionary
consciousness of protest against huma n exploitation and the contemplation
of individual’s identity are at the roots of this poetry. The aim of the poet
with Dalit consciousness is to fight against both the social and economic
inequality. His strong protest poetry reveals his experience of soc ial and
economic suffering. Owing to his humanitarian and progressive
perspective, consciousness of protest and cosmic awareness his poetry is
closely associated with Dalit experience. Though his poetic consciousness
is nurtured on Marxism, his poetry is v ery close to Dalits and oppressed
people for its humanistic and flexible attitude.
Namdeo Dhasal
Before his Golpitha (1972) was published he wrote conventional poetry.
The decade of 1960s was the period of Baburao Bagul’s Vidrohi
(rebellious) poetry and Na rayan Surve’s poetry of the class consciousness.
Their poetry appeared in Little Magazine.Namdeo Dhasal’s revolutionary
poetry is based on the foundation of the poetry of caste and class
consciousness, the Little Magazine movement which revolted against th e
established elite literature, and the life he lived in his village and in
Mumbai city. Most importantly, his consistent association with the
revolutionary movements for the total change in established system gave
impetus to his creativity. Golpitha is epoch making poetry in the history of
Marathi poetry and literature. It had shaken the entire Marathi literary
world from its roots. It was bitterly criticized and equally appreciated by
the contemporary literary critics. According to Arjun Dangle, to
unders tand his poetry we require a new dictionary and the new values of
literary criticism. His poetry achieves a certain level of high point because
of his unique poetic diction, vigilant and rich social understanding and the
radical sensibility.
The publicatio n of Golpitha brought a new wave of literature in the
provocative language which swept and dismantled all the standards of
aesthetics of the traditional Marathi literature. It took Marathi literary
world by storm. As William Wordsworth advocated rustic lan guage as the
medium of creativity in ‘Preface to Lyrical Ballads’, Namdeo Dhasal’s munotes.in

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80 Golpitha employs the language spoken by his own community from his
village and other rural parts in Maharashtra. His poetic diction is a mixture
of various vernaculars inclu ding Urdu, and is fully loaded with imagery,
used in the red light areas as well as other suburban parts of Mumbai.
Golpitha has been translated into many Indian and foreign languages.
Most of the poems are translated into English by Dilip Chitre in his bo ok
called ‘Namdeo Dhasal: Poet of the Underworld’. His poetry is also
translated by Mulk Raj Anand, Eleanor Zelliot,D. B. Karnik, Jayant
Karve, A. K. Ramanunjan etc. Namdeo Dhasal’s literary enterprise
consists of nine volumes of poetry, three scholarly vo lumes of essays and
articles, two short fictions and memoirs. His published literary works are
as follows: His volumes of poetry are Golpitha (1972), Murkha
Mhataryane Dongar Halvile (1975), Amchya Itihasatil Ek Apariharya
Patra: Priyadarshini (1976), Tuhi Yatta Kanchi (1981), Khel (1983),
Gandu Bagicha (1986), Ya Sattet Jiv Ramat Nahi (1995), Mi Marle
SuryachyaRathache Sat Ghode (2005), a collection of selected poetry
called Tuze Bot Dharun Chalalo Ahe mi (2006), Mi Bhayankarachya
Darwajyat Ubha Ahe (2007), Chindhyachi Devi Aani Itar Kavita (2012)
and Nirvanaagodarchi Pida (2010). His published three novels are
Negative Space, Hadki Hadawala and Ujedachi Kali Duniya. His
published five non -fictional prose works i.e. Andhale Shatak (1995),
Ambedkari Chalw al Aani Socialist , Communist (2001) Sarvakahi
Samashtisathi (2006), Buddha Dharma: Kahi Shesh Prashna and Dalit
Panther Ek Sangharsha (2014). He has also written a drama entitled
Andhar Yatra .
Namdeo Dhasal’s poetry deals with the wretched condition of Dal its’ life
which was never a matter of concern for the elite literature. His poetry is
the strong voice against popular taste of the contemporary mainstream
upper caste literature. He wrote poetry which imprisons the upper castes
and condemns their poetical aesthetics. His poetry is not just a
‘spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’, but a fearless expression of
anger and protest against injustice caused by the age -old unjust social
system in India. In fact, his poetry speaks the language of social
recon struction. His poetry is not limited to Dalit literature and Indian
social system alone but it attempts to refer to the society at global level.
His poetry is the voice of the voiceless, oppressed and the exploited and
instead of generating negativity it a lways declares a battle for justice. On
the one hand his poetry agitates the readers while on the other hand it
makes them turn within for introspection. His poems are always fiery like
the burning fire. Indeed, there have been very few writers in the worl d
who have fought on the various levels at a time. Namdeo Dhasal did not
sit within the four walls of his house and wrote poetry but his real battle
was always fought on the streets and that makes him unique as a creative
writer and the social reformer. He founded a militant Dalit Panther
movement on the style of Black Panther movement in America. He gave
new energy, new political awareness and new leadership to Dalit
movement. Dalit panther neither exploits others nor does he tolerate
injustice; rather he protests against injustice with full force. ‘Tit for tat’
was the motto of Dalit Panther movement. munotes.in

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81 7.5 ANALYSIS OF SELECT POEMS FROM POISONED BREAD 1
YASHWANT MANOHAR
An Ultimatum
See this row ofsunsets in the cracks of my eyes
Tell me how to live if at e ach moment one dies,
In this decisive darkness I seek for words, brother
like one enclosed in a forest offlames forever I smother
And what ifI raise a piteous cry
in this well -appointed cemetery
Or rage against this settlement
of leafless cannibal trees
On these accursed lips summer fires arise, brother
set aflame by stormy winds
And each vein is alight with lamps of deadly venom
Tell me what seas would cool this burn
Or tell me how to live as I die at each moment’s turn.
The day attacks, a terrorist in the land of my brain
And nights never cease, the soul is aflame
Serried ranks of bone confront me at every step;
They surround me, laughing hideously,
throughout my generations.
Tell me what place of rest this barred breast can earn
Or tell me how to live as I die at each moment’s turn.
The sky here owns not a spot
that would afford a shade
to my beheaded breaths
The roads look strange, brother,
and so is the air
The rains do not let me
break into a moonlight clear
What kinships should I dwell on for a moment
as I draw a covering of ocean over me
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82 Bearing the burden ofsuch a bastard life
Steaming lava has dashed against my lips
O tell me what answer I should return
Or tell me how to live as I die at each moment’s turn.
Transla ted, by Charudatta Bhagwat
COMMENTARY:
Yashwant Manohar’s poetry speaks fiercely against the caste based
oppression of Dalits and upholds the ideas of equality, fraternity and
liberty. He is a highly influenced by Ambedkar’s life and works which
gets refle cted in his entire creative output. In the present poem ‘An
Ultimatum’ the poet reflects on the sense of helplessness and disgust
experienced by Dalits and also their persistent struggle for survival in the
unequal society of India. The narrator represents the collective voice of the
entire Dalit community. The poem seems to be a dramatic monologue in
which the narrator addresses to both the readers as well as his friend
whom he calls brother. Dalit life is filled with a lot of suffering and
struggle that e ach moment for him is like the experience of death. He finds
himself enclosed in the forest of flames to smother forever and struggles to
find words to express his agony. The images like ‘row of sunsets’, ‘cracks
in my eyes’, ‘decisive darkness’, and ‘for est of flames’ represent the
piteous condition of Dalits’ lives where ‘each moment one dies’.
The agony of the Dalits is so tragic that the speaker feels as if his ‘piteous
cry’ would go unheard in ‘this well -appointed cemetery’. His life is a
curse so ev en if he tries to ‘rage against this settlement of leafless cannibal
trees’ or burn himself inside out with the protest against injustice ‘nothing
would cool this burn’. The imagery of ‘Well -appointed cemetery’ and
‘settlement of leafless cannibal trees’ r epresent an age -old unjust social
system of which Dalits are victims for centuries together. So the speaker
vents out his frustration helplessly by repeatedly asking to the other person
rhetorically ‘tell me what seas would cool this burn’, ‘tell me how to live
as I die at each moment’s turn’.
The Dalits are subjected to eternally insatiable hunger and poverty across
their generations. The speaker is never at rest as his soul is constantly
burning with fire come day or night. He is persistently confronted by ‘the
serried ranks of bone’ at every step. The ’Day’, the ‘Nights’ and the
‘Serried ranks of bone’ are personified to represent the difficulties the
Dalits face in the form of discrimination, hunger and injustices. Hence, the
speaker thinks that he is l ike a ‘barred breast’ who can never find a place
of rest.
A sense of utter helplessness and deprivation prevails over the speaker as
he finds no place of rest or solace as ‘the sky owns not a spot’ that can
‘afford a shade to (his) beheaded breaths’, the ‘roads’ and the ‘air’ look
strange and the ‘rain’ don’t allow him to ‘break into a moonlight clear’. In
other words, the speaker as a Dalit feels deprived, completely alienated
and isolated in this land of his birth where he is constantly searching for munotes.in

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83 the kinship to dwell on at least for a moment. And even when he tries to
cover him under the ‘covering of ocean’ he finds himself a stranger among
the people. He feels that his very existence is like the burden of ‘a bastard
life’. Thus, in ‘An Ultimatum’ the poet depicts a very grim reality of a
Dalit’s subhuman existence in a society where there is no equality, liberty
and fraternity. Yashwant Manohar addresses the themes of alienation,
deprivation, isolation, helplessness, discrimination and rootlessness in
Dalit’s life.
2
KESHAV MESHRAM
In Our Colony
In our colony
the postman gets bamboozled
teachings get confused
civilization stumbles
The sun — even he is darkened.
Our houses stand
like footprints of cattle in the mud.
In the midst of it all is a soul
eager to swim along the current.
Our colony —
a roaring, foaming, riotous sea
of black bodies and black hair,
wearing away in the moulds of tradition
sinking in the soil
The people of this place —
carrying the loads ofsoft cotton on their should ers,
their hands rough but weak,
the bangles jingling with the crooked sky
the kids perspiring all over in sweltering heat.
Some working on the open trucks
their veins swollen — eyes half -closed
Our colony — drowned in the pegs of ‘country’ wine
subsisting on the hot chillied pieces of meat —
floating in the spicy, hot gravy
living half -fed despite working full hours
Yet surveying closely in the mellow light of munotes.in

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84 the candle the future of each coming new day.
Our colony gets stirred on hearing the footsteps
of the postman.
The postman —
he is simply harassed
in deciphering the name and address
scribbled out illegibly in purple
got by dipping the tip of the copying pencil in saliva
The postman frustrated in searching Ranu Narayan
surrounded by naked guides
groan ing in agony as though hit on the knee
he keeps on wandering mutely in search of Ranu Narayan
bending and moving through mud and marsh
sweating in the clumsy livery.
The search is over.
‘Ranu’s granny has expired.’
The colony grapples with the message
like an eagle pouncing upon its prey.
In our colony —
Reforms get confused
paths are bruised, schemes stumble
now — only now have boys started learning.
They write poems — stories — Indian literature
The axes of words fall upon the trees of tradition,
the warm , experienced hailstones
of strange realities rain
on the dreams of literature
Once again begin
the rounds of the police and the postman
Darkness is sizzling swallowing the sun
In our colony the postman is
bamboozled — even now.
Translated by V.G. Nand

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85 COMMENTARY:
In the poem ‘In Our Colony’ Keshav Meshram portrays a very realistic
and vivid picture of Dalit life and its settlement. The settlement of Dalit
people usually lies in the village outskirts so that the upper caste people
will have the least chan ce of getting polluted by them. Ambedkar
proclaimed that if they want to liberate themselves from the caste
discrimination, they will have to educate themselves and migrate to the
cities. As a result many of them tried to escape the vicious caste bound
works in the villages and migrated to urban cities like Mumbai. But in the
cities as well they lived like worms in the gutter, swarming in the crowded
slums of the cities.
In this poem the speaker very precisely observes a subhuman life of Dalit
people in th eir colony of which he is also an integral part. He sarcastically
says that ‘in our colony the postman gets bamboozled, teachings get
confused, civilization stumbles’. These words pinpoint the grim reality of
Dalit life even after independence as they are miles away from the
mainstream of society. In order to alleviate the gravity of his tone he says
‘the sun- even he is darkened’. The sun is one of the recurrent images
appear in Dalit literature as for Dalit people the sun symbolically
represents a new lif e, light, enlightenment and hope. The theme of endless
poverty and dark ignorance in the life of Dalit is emphasized in the
beginning of the poem. He compares their houses with the cattle’s
footprints in the mud and imagines himself as a soul which is ‘eag er to
swim along the current’. In other words he is struggling to overcome this
pathetic life fallen to his lot. He continues describing his colony by
comparing it with ‘a roaring, foaming riotous sea of black bodies and
black hair’ which has been wearing in the moulds of tradition, sinking in
the soil’.
The people of his colony work hard for their survival. He describes them
with the help of vivid images like ‘carrying the loads of soft cotton on
their shoulder’, ‘hands rough but weak’, ‘bangles jingling with crooked
sky’, ‘kids perspiring all over in sweltering heat’, some people ‘working
on the open trucks (with) their veins swollen (and) eyes half closed’ being
exhausted etc. Besides other problems alcoholism is yet another problem
his colony is grappli ng with. The people are surviving ‘half -fed despite
working full hours’. Nevertheless, the people of his colony are very
optimistic about life as they kept ‘surveying closely in the mellow light of
the candle the future of each coming new day’.
The speake r highlights on a specific occasion when his colony is visited
by a postman who ‘is simply harassed in deciphering the name and
address scribbled out illegibly in purple got by dipping the tip of the
copying pencil in saliva’. While searching for Ranu Nara yan, the postman
is surrounded by the ‘naked guides’ which is yet another very common
and vivid image of the naked children in the slums both eager to know and
help the postman in his search. The speaker describes postman’s agony
very clearly before he fin ds her. ‘Ranu’s granny has expired’, the entire
colony ‘grapples with the message like an eagle pouncing upon its prey’. munotes.in

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86 The speaker now focuses on the present time with all the problems in his
colony still persisting like ‘reforms get confused’, ‘paths a re bruised’,
‘schemes stumble’ etc. But ‘now — only now have boys started learning.
They write poems — stories — Indian literature’, and this new learning has
enlightened them. Now they are vehemently writing against the age -old
traditions of inequality in In dia. The speaker is basically referring to the
first generation of Dalit writers who are now destroying ‘the trees of
tradition’ by ‘the axes of words’. Now, the heinous traditions guarded by
the upper castes are being jolted at the very roots and for the first time ‘the
warm, experienced hailstones of strange realities rain on the dreams of
literature’. As a consequence of this new acquired sense of Dalit
consciousness against the unjust social system in India, the so called
guardians of the traditions are equally trying to suppress them therefore
the speaker says ‘once again begin the rounds of the police and the
postman’. In other words, Dalits still continue to suffer even now as the
‘darkness is sizzling swallowing the sun’ which also means that Dalits are
still victimized by the monster of unjust traditions.
3
L. S. ROKADE
To be orNot to be Born
Mother, you used to tell me
when I was born
your labour was very long.
The reason, mother,
the reason for your long labour:
I, still in your womb, wa s wondering
Do I want to be born —
Do I want to be born at all
in this land?
Where all paths raced horizon wards
but to me were barred
All of you lay, eyes fixed on the sky
then shut them, saying
calmly, yes,
the sky has a prop, a prop!
Your body covered
with generations of dire poverty
Your head pillowed
on constant need
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87 and in the day you writhed
with empty fists tied to your breast!
Here you are not supposed to say
that every human being comes
from the union of man and woman
Here, nobo dy dare
broaden the beaten track.
You ran round and round yourself
exclaiming YES, of course
the earth is round, is round.
Mother, this is your land
flowing with water
Rivers break their banks
Lakes brim over
And you, one of the human race
must shed blood
struggle and strike
for a palmful of water.
I spit on this great civilization
Is this land yours, mother,
because you were born here?
Is it mine
because I was born to you?
Must I call this great land mine
love it
sing its glory?
Sorry, mother, but truth to tell
I must confess I wondered
Should I be born
Should I be born into this land?
Translated by Shanta Gokhale
COMMENTARY:
The speaker in this poem addresses to his mother who belongs to the
lower caste Dalit family. Being Dalit she is subjected to a subhu man life
of utter poverty. The title of the poem ‘To be or Not to be Born’ reminds
us of the famous opening phrase of a soliloquy given by Prince Hamlet in munotes.in

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88 William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. In the speech Hamlet contemplates
death and suicide, bemoaning th e pain and unfairness of life but
acknowledging that the alternative might be worse. Similarly, in the
beginning of this poem the speaker is trying to justify his mother’s long
labour before he was born since as a fetus in his mother’s womb he was
wanderin g- ‘do I want to be born… do I want to be born at all’. This
justification throws a light on the stark reality of Dalit’s life in India
‘where all paths raced horizon wards but to me were barred’. The graded
social system of India doesn’t allow a lower cas te person like the speaker
to realize his potentials. Once born a Dalit always a Dalit in this country.
The mother knows the hardships that lay before her child but she gives
him birth hoping that ‘the sky has a prop’. The sky represents a ray of
hope for Dalits. The sky does not discriminate. This phrase also marks the
Dalits’ determination to overcome all forms of social, religious, and
economic barriers on their way. The speaker says that his mother’s ‘body
is covered with generations of dire poverty’ wh ich suggests that her
poverty and suffering is eternal. The mother is constantly tormented by
hunger and other basic needs. The women in India are deprived of
education and rational thinking, so much so that the speaker’s mother is
‘not supposed to say tha t every human being comes from the union of man
and woman’. The women have been subjugated by the patriarchal society
and their hegemonic traditions prevalent in India. The social system in
India doesn’t allow individual to transcend the age old social and religious
boundaries. The mother’s world is so limited that it revolves around her
struggle to fulfill her basic needs.
The speaker continues saying that this land with its water streams and
lakes is belong to her yet she ‘must shed blood… struggle and st rike for a
palmful of water’. Being born as untouchable his mother is not even
allowed to exercise her fundamental right to drink water from the common
reservoir. The speaker therefore registers his strong protest against this so
called disgusting ‘great c ivilization’ and rhetorically questions his mother -
‘is this land yours, mother, because you were born here? He continues his
series of rhetorical questions asking his mother - ‘is it mine because I was
born to you? Must I call this (so called) great land m ine… love it, sing its
glory?
In the end of the poem the speaker concludes by revealing the truth, rather
he confesses as to why his mother had to undergo a so much labor pain
during his birth because he ‘wondered… should I be born… should I be
born into this land?
4
ARJUN DANGLE
I will Belong to It
That one should, at masturbating age,
sit twisting rope instead
And at the age of eternal gazing
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89 wander the town wearing down soles
At playing -with-grandchildren age
let disease play up on one’s self.
Is this my life?
There, outside the village,
it is my blood that rots
Here in this lean -to I
am the city edition of that same blood.
To whom can I tell this?
To the soil here?
The soil which has not allowed
the footprint of my existence
to make its mark upon her yet?
To the sun and moon here
who wrench away the rays that fall upon my home?
To whom... to whom... shall I tell?
In this land of fifty -eight crores
this is how I must continue to live.
Who will listen to whose agony
in this density of people?
I want a life
that has the vital sap
I want a soil
that, smeared on the brow,
will bring tears to the eyes
I want a sun and a moon
who will with their rays lasso me to them and caress
I don’t want mere crowds, mere land
I want for it a name whos e meaning
may engrave itself upon my heart,
and gently blow upon my endless pain.
It will belong to me and I belong to it.
Translated by Shanta Gokhale

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90 COMMENTARY:
Arjun Dangle’s poem ‘I will Belong to It’ is composed in the form of a
subtle protest agai nst the injustices practiced upon the people who have
been traditionally branded as lower castes, Dalits or untouchables. The
speaker attempts to discuss all the injustices that have been imposed upon
the lower castes in India. In the beginning of the poem the speaker points
out that how an individual in all phases of his life is restricted to a
confined life. He can’t even think beyond the boundaries laid down for
him by the social and religious conventions. He spent his entire life,
through all the stages of puberty, adolescence, youth and old age,
following what society dictates to him. Hence, the speaker vents out his
frustration against this constrained life.
The speaker mentions that his people are rotting in the village outskirts
while his situation in the city is not different than them therefore he says
that he is ‘the city edition of that same blood’. But whom can he tell this?
Can he tell this to the soil ‘which has not allowed the footprint of my
existence to make its mark upon her yet’? Can he t ell this to ‘the sun and
moon here who wrench away the rays that fall upon my home’? At the
same time he is aware that being born as a Dalit ‘in this land of 58 crores
this is how I must continue to live’. There is no one to listen to his agony
and sufferi ng in this densely populated country.
The ending of the poem is so thought provoking in which the speaker
demands a life that has a vitality in it; he demands a soil that hugs him
compassionately and when ‘smeared on the brow’ it ‘will bring tears to the
eyes’. He demands ‘a sun and a moon who will with their rays lasso me to
them and caress’. He doesn’t want mere crowds and mere land but he
dreams of the people of his kinship and the name for the land ‘whose
meaning may engrave itself upon my heart, and g ently blow upon my
endless pain’. The poem ends with the final punch line — ‘it will belong to
me and I belong to it’ which suggests that the speaker desires a land where
he can breathe freely and feel kindred towards his country and
countrymen.
5
NAMDEO DHASAL
Hunger
Hunger
Unable to do this one thing and able
to solve or not solve theorems
Will hunger -fires forge a poem?
Will music die in the fire of hunger?
How difficult music is
to him who cannot count the beat of his own pulse.
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91 for singing songs of hunger.
Hunger
A fruitless thing
However hard you work
the reward is still stones
Ifstones cannot build a house
we’ll not manage to live in it.
Hunger you are mouse, cat, lion in turn
How long can mere mor tals like us stand
in this game that you’ve set up?
2.
Hunger
A shrewd peace is growing everywhere
This is the beginning of our new life sentence
Hunger forgive us that we cannot cut the tree of time
But even cut, the sky will still be blue.
To which marke t can we carry dumb hearts?
Where auction them
Where day sweeps life
Who will buy crushed hearts
Who will profit by the deal?
Hunger, tell us your game, your strategy
If we can muster guts enough
we’ll fight you to the finish
Can’t crawl and grovel on our stomachs
too long with you
How much can we wash the grime off hunger?
How much wash the dust off years?
How much scorn to the very ends ofscorn?
Hunger, if a bridge of iron will not join you to us
then let us fly free like unfettered birds
Hunger, your lan d, the thorns upon your land,
fester in the brain all night
till the brain itself freezes.
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92 is it still fresh?
Hunger your every blood drop is cold
Your every blood drop is mute
Order, let lightning course throu gh the guts
Order, let life get charged
Wounded seas and the long moan of our demands
Hunger, say yes to our dreams
Don’t snuff out the orphan huts upon the shore
We’ll see later
the gold -threaded struggle
between the snail of pain
and the sea.
3.
Hunger
We have made our demand
Let you need us
Will we never grow?
Let us grow
The sun may blithely have forgotten dawn
The river may blithely have forgotten time
We wanted more from light
than mere life
But light turned false
Hunger
We will not allow a column of cloud to stand,
indifferent, at our door
How much more can we thank
Pain
The music in pain
If we have not made ourselves a tidy life
what right do we have to quarrel with the flowers?
How much can we excite pain
How much can we burn
How much can we catch t he fire that burns forever?
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93 in this stream ofsun
we’ll salute you like defeated soldiers
Whoever said that every soldier in the army
fights like a man?
4.
Hunger
There’s not a single grain in our house today
Not a single cle ver brain in our house today
Hunger
If one sings till the last light of the innermost being
will it turn off hunger -light?
Hunger if one takes care of you now
will it darken?
Hunger, your style is your own
No other calamity comes our way
but you.
Hunger, i f we cannot mate you
cannot impregnate you
our tribe will have to kill itself
Hunger we have all the aces
Why talk of the songs of the half -sexed jacks?
Here’s our manhood before you now.
Let’s see who wins this round
You or we.
5.
Hunger
Which came first, seed or tree?
Hunger you make things too difficult
Hunger just tell us what breed this monkey is
And if you can’t
Then we will screw
Seventeen generations of you
Hunger, you and your mother...
Translated by Shanta Gokhale
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94 COMMENTARY:
Hunger is devoid of all sorts of romanticism and academic blanketing but
not devoid of compassion. The speaker is addressing hunger only one
thing one could or couldn’t do be able to prove the theorem or fail to do
so. Can’t the fire of the hunger be turned into poetry? Will the fire of
hunger destroy music? He who can’t count his own pulse beats finds
music inaccessible. Somebody that who is feeling the throbbing of his
stomach cannot enjoy the music. Hunger, we didn’t realize that a fee
would be charged for singing a song fo r capital assets. Those who are
dealing, those who are creating these capital assets have to pay a price to
even look at them, so will music die in the fire of hunger? The speaker is
talking about the basic denials to the right of life, a fruitless thing.
However hard you work your wages you get in pain, in stones. If one
cannot build a house of stones one cannot live in it. Hunger, at times you
assume the form of a mouse, at times you become a cat and a lion
sometimes. Look at the way the speaker is buildi ng on the adversarial
position of hunger in his life and he is personifying it in degrees from a
mouse to a cat and a lion sometimes. How can we, the weak ones face this
game started by you, and dare to play it even. Those who have been
denied their basic rights of life, those who have sacrificed their dignity at
the altar of caste based society and have become puppets of systematic
societal caste based persecutions, how can they even play the game that is
given to them as hunger. There is a desire to satis fy this unquenchable
hunger of the stomach and hunger is compared to a game which the poor
have to solve in spite of their steady and sincere efforts they remain unable
to defeat hunger.
In the second stanza, the speaker is trying to tell that the poor are unable to
get rid of their oppressing situations as the economic dependence on the
high caste people does not allow them to raise their voice against the
severe injustice that they meet every day. Their circumstances of life have
compelled them to learn t he meaning of calm acceptance of their dream of
social equality which is yet a nightmare for them. The speaker says if a
bridge of iron will not join them, how this bridge of iron probably the
independence that was promised to the entire nation which also promised
equality will not join them. The democracy is mocked at here and because
it is still owing to the attitude of the custodians the kind of equality that
our constitution promised has not been offered and therefore there will
always be a bridge betwe en you and us. So they let us fly like unfettered
birds, hunger, your land, the thorns upon your land festered in the brain all
night till the brain itself freezes. Now it is the stomach that is directing the
brain. When your stomach has not been fed your mind cannot work and
that is why he says that even if they are allowed to behave like free
unfettered birds the mind is only absorbed in perching and pecking
because, hunger when a thing is taken from a fridge is it still fresh. It is
also a hint at the fa ct that when food is taken from those who need it more
does it gives the desired effects to those who have it. So this is the
difference here. This is how the speaker’s universe is different. It is still
untouchable; it is still loathsome and nauseating. I t is creating a difference
between one journey and another, from sacred to profane, from clean to munotes.in

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95 dirty, from sanitized to unsanitary, from healthy to diseased, from the
haves and have -nots, from two different sides of the bridge one that is gold
threaded, struggle between the snail of pain and the sea. The speaker’s
universe is different. It is still untouchable. It is loathsome and nauseating.
It is creating a difference between one journey and another from sacred to
profane, from clean to dirty, from san itized to unsanitary, from the healthy
to diseased, from haves to have -nots, from two different sides of the
bridge one that is gold threaded between the snail of pain and sea. Some
people get everything whereas others are destined to stay hungry. The
sunlight brings hope, light but for them even the light itself has let them
down because there is another thing that is illuminating their life more,
there is another thing that is yet not taken roots and that is hunger. He says
we won’t allow the clouds to st and at our door merely as indifferent
pillars. How much longer should we be grateful to our sorrow for the
music that our sorrow contains? What right do we have to fight with
flowers? We have been even unable to set up our homes, how long should
we go on t rying to light the fuse of our sorrow? How long should we
continue to burn ourselves? How long should we try to catch the flames of
our fire? We shall salute you as defeated soldiers. If we can find our own
cognition is the fiery flow of the sign who says all soldiers in the army
fight as heroes do. These young men and women, who have been thirsted
to live a life of abject poverty and wretchedness, how can you expect them
to crave for hunger every day. Now this is why Dhasal’s poetry is
different. He once d escribed in one of his interviews that he visited
brothels, he went to mujra dancing women’s establishments, to the houses
of ordinary prostitutes. The whole ambience and the ethos of it was the
revelation of a tremendous form of life. It was life accordin g to them and
then he threw all rule books out saying no longer rules of prosody for me,
because he was very impressed by European writing but that day he
decided that his poetry was as free as he was. He decided to write what he
felt like writing and that is why he says that he prefers to call his poetry as
container carriers, something which is filled with a message, and
something which is sharp and hurting just like the hunger.
In stanza four he says we haven’t got a grain of food left to eat, today
there is not a single wise soul left in our house. Hunger, if one went on
singing till one reached the last flickering of the soul; would the light of
our hunger go out? Hunger, if we preserve you any longer anything will
turn dark. Hunger, your fashion is un ique; you are the last whore we can
make love to. If we can’t get laid with you, if we can’t get you pregnant
our entire tribe would have to kill itself. Hunger, we hold the ace. Nothing
to say about the music eunuchs make, our virility confronts you. Let’ s see
who wins, we or you. This is what we get, a sense of disgust, a
bhibhatsarasa according to Dilip Chitre. Hunger, you are a whore, either
we get laid with you or we get you pregnant. We kick you out of the way.
We are not those eunuchs who will clap t heir hands and make some music.
We are those masculine people who will confront you with our virility and
we will fight you till our last breathe. Let’s see who wins we or you.
This is how the political poems were given in the hands of the working
class. Namdeo Dhasal says that the downtrodden will arise with renewed munotes.in

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96 rage after reading his poems. He was right because he meant that words
are like bullets and not a pistol to be used in Diwali. They should be aimed
at right place and used for the protection o f friends. With this poem,
hunger, Dhasal has given us a wide range of voices from the Mumbai’s
underbelly, he has written for the ugly and the savage, the criminals and
the nefarious. He has given hunger a shape, a shape that comes back to us,
that haunts us and gives us a feeling of being alienated and dejected. No
wonder his work earned him the Padmashree award and the Sahitya
Academy Lifetime Achievement award.
7.6 CONCLUSION Thus, Dalit poetry reflects on the miserable condition of the marginalized
section of Indian society. It highlights their indelible suffering, eternal cry
of pain and varied forms of protest. After independence owing to the
constitutional safeguards and affirmative action in the form of reservation
the first generation of Dalits acquired formidable education and by 1970s
many of them were recognized as Dalit poet -activists. They registered a
strong protest against atrocities and unequal treatment afflicted by upper
caste communities on them through literature and ground level act ivism.
The examined select poems in this unit are representative of marginal
voicesthat focus on the core theme of Dalit consciousness in Dalit
literature.
7.7 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 1. Critically appreciate Yashwant Manohar’s poem ‘An Ultimatum’ by
highlight ing its major themes.
2. Why does the postman feel bamboozled in Keshav Meshram’s poem ‘In
Our Colony’?
3. Critically comment on the title of the poem ‘I will Belong to It’ by
Arjun Dangle.
4. How did L. S. Rokade depict the miserable and melancholic cond ition
of Dalit life in ‘To be or Not to be Born’?
5. Comment on the personification of hunger in Namdeo Dhasal’s
prescribed poem.
7.8 REFERENCES 1. Dilip, Chitre. Namdeo Dhasal - Poet of the Underworld - Poems 1972 –
2006 (2007) New Delhi: Navayana Publi shing Pvt. Ltd, 2007
2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit_literature#:~:text=Dalit%20literature
%20emerged%20in%20the,and%20the%20Dalit%20political%20scene.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80xAlsOJMI
 munotes.in

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97 8
CRITICAL STUDY OF MOHAN RAKESH’S
ONE DAY IN THE SEASON OF RAIN
PART I
Unit Structure:
8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 About the Author
8.3 His Contribution
8.4 Critical Summary of the Play
8.5 Critical Analysis of the play
8.6 Questio ns
8.0 OBJECTIVES • To introduce Mohan Rakesh as a playwright
• To introduce his major contemporaries
•To famailiarise students with the cultural, social and political
backgrounds of the country
• To elaborate the formative influences of Mohan Rakesh
• To help students understand Mohan Rakesh’s contribution toliterature
8.1 INTRODUCTION: Ashhad Ka Ek Din (One Day in Ashadh) is a debut Hindi play byMohan
Rakesh in 1958 and is considered the first modern Hindiplay. The play
received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Aw ard for theBest Play in 1959 and
has been staged by several prominentdirectors to critical acclaim. A
feature film based on the play wasdirected by Mani Kaul and released in
1971, and went on to winFilmfare Critics Award for Best Movie for the
year.
Before Ashhad Ka Ek Din Hindi plays, based on literarythemes, were
either idealistic or didactic or devoid of connectionwith contemporary
reality. And above all their language remainedthe language of literature,
which was not suitable for stage. But Ashadh Ka Ek Din proved quite
suitable for film as it was deeply connected with contemporary reality of
life, despite its highlySanskritised and well ornamented language. Mohan munotes.in

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98 Rakesh wenton to write two more plays, and left one unfinished by the
time ofhis death in 19 72, but he had shifted the landscape of Hindi theatre.
8.2 AUTHOR: Mohan Rakesh, whose real name is Madan Mohan RakeshGuglani, was
born on February 8, 1925 at Amritsar. His father ShriDharmachand
Guglani was an eminent lawer, who was deeplyinterested in li terary
pursuits. His mother was very simple womanwho was highly spiritual and
committed towards her duty as motherand wife. Mohan Rakesh’s father
would invite scholars from everysphere and discuss thouroughly various
aspects of art, music and
literature fo r hours together. This continuous parley with thescholars
indirectly shaped the career of Mohan Rakesh as an artist.He post
graduated in Hindi and English literature from PunjabUniversity. Initially,
he started writing in Sanskrit, as he was astudent of Sa nskrit and he
practiced prose and poetry in Sanskritonly. But in due course of time, he
realized that Sanskrit is not thelanguage to be commonly read and
understood and he switchedover to Hindi as medium of his expression. He
felt that hisexperiences will be better conveyed to people in Hindi, being
acommon place language in India.However, this pleasant literary feast
could not continue for along time, as his father died on February 18, 1941.
He was just years old and had to shoulder the household responsib ilities of
looking after his aging mother and younger brother. In his words,“There
was no opotion left. I was fitted in the yoke of life at the ageof just 16. I
had to adjust myself to the set frame of life. ” He startedcarrying out his
duty as responsible head of the family by takingtuition and other ways
which would fetch him some money to runthe house. During the days of
mental and economic crises causedby the burden of responsibility, he was
consoled and emotionallysupported by a girl of 17 years Premika Divya
(which is perhaps notthe real name of the girl). Mohan Rakesh used to
share thesufferings of life with her to distress himself from his routine
goingson.To alleviate his mental agony, she used to come from Amritsarto
Lahore to meet him at the cost h er lectures.
At the age of 22, Mohan Rakesh had to face two tragedies inhis life – one
was partition of India and the other one was suddendemise of his intimate
friend, Premika Divya. The first was human tragedy and the second being
the personal tragedy. H e was lefttraumatized by the severity and grossness
of the riots betweenHindu and Muslim and killings of innocent people
who were noteven least concerned with any political agenda. On 15th
August,1947 he was in Amritsar. From there he was forced to come
toMumbai via Delhi in search of employment.In Mumbai, Mohan Rakesh
led a miserable life as he wasnot equipped with the kind of life Mumbai
demanded. He wasdeeply ingrained in morality and hence could not
compromiseeverywhere in his life and this sometimes le d him to quit his
jobfrequently. However, after completing his Master’s degree in Hindi,he
worked as a lecturer in Sydenham College of Commerce,Mumbai,
Elphiston College, Mumbai, Bishop Cottage School,Shimala, and D.A.V.
College Jalandhar from 1947 to 1951 . From1950 to1954, he had the worst munotes.in

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Critical Study of Mohan Rakesh’s One Day in the Season of Rain Part I
99 kind of life as he had neither job notmental peace. He was wrongly
removed from his jobs as he wasnot complying with their terms and
conditions demanded by the job.
Meanwhile, he was married in order to get involved hims elf in familylife
in 1949, but it turned out to be quite unpleasant experience andin 1952
again he had to leave the job. He then was determined tolead life based on
his writings but this adventure also proved a kindof day dream. He then
again started looki ng for a new job. Quite surprisingly, he was invited by
D.A.V. College as the Head of thedepartment where he was not confirmed
and removed. Afterworking four years in D.A.V. College, he resigned
from the job in1957. It was again a bad phase of his life, as his married life
provedto be unsuccessful and thus the relation between them endedforever
officially. Under the financial crisis again he was forced towork as lecturer
in Delhi University in 1960. In 1962, MohanRakesh took over as editor of
Sarika and sta ndardized it to ahigher level, but in 1963 he left that job
too.Mohan Rakesh’s mother tongue was Punjabi but hiseducation was
through Sanskrit medium. However he did not find either Punjabi or
Sanskrit suitable to be a medium of his literaryexpression. He, therefore,
switched over to Hindi and thuscontributed significantly to the growth and
development of HindiLiterature. However, the impact of Sanskrit is
reflected on hiswritings and his language turns out to be highly modified
andstandardized expression o f his lofty feelings. Despite hisassociation
with Sanskrit scholars, he was familiar with the westernculture and
literature and kept himself free from the shackles oftraditional practices in
contemporary society.
Having reflected on his biographical detail s, it is reasonableto dwell upon
the political, social, cultural and literary situationswhich went a long way
in shaping his career as literary artist. WhenMohan Rakesh was born,
India was entangled in the yoke of Britishgovernment and people in India
charged with patriotic feelings weredetermined to throw aside the shackles
of slavery of BritishGovernment from India forever. On the political
portal, politicalleaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gandhiji emerged,
who weretrying to reawaken the dormant feeli ngs among Indians by
blowingnew message of freedom among common people. By 1942,
thefreedom movement came to be strong driving force resulting in
thefreedom of India in 1947. This was the year when India was
dividedinto two nations, Hindustan and Pakistan, and caused a lot
oftraumatic situations across the borders.Though in 1947, India became
free from the clutches ofBritish Government, the selfish politicians tried to
elevatethemselves politically and did not accomplish the job which
theywere supposed to d o during post independence. It was
commonlynoticed that so - called politicians have involved themselves in
dirtypolitics of vested interest and departed themselves from thecommon
goodness of common people who elected them to be theirrepresentatives
for re solving their recurring problems in life. The trend shows that there
was gradual deterioration in moral andhuman values which further
endangered the unity and integrity ofthe nation. These unhealthy situations
in the country compelled theauthor to express his experiences of life
through literary forms.Twentieth century, which is characterized by the munotes.in

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100 scientificadvancement, has alarmingly affected the unity and integrity of
afamily. It witnessed that people who preferred the ideology of jointfamily
are now in the favor of unit family. Even the materialwellbeing and
independence of wife gave rise to misunderstandingbetween husband and
wife, which dismantled the aura of entirefamily bond and their children
suffered painstakingly the barbs ofthe marital discord o f the parents.
Besides the political and social conditions, literary situationsare credited to
have substantiated his creative sensibility in art ofwriting. Perhaps, Mohan
Rakesh experienced the dying age ofChhayavad (a literary Movement in
Hindi literatur e) and humblebeginning of Pragativadi Yug (a literary
movement in Hindiliterature). In 1935, the extreme imaginative
Chhayavad wasannounced officially stopped and in the same year, the
mostcelebrated Pragativadi writer, Munshi Premchand announced the
manif esto of Pragativadi writing and stressed that literature shouldbe
always written in the context of real life and literatiture should belinked
with the realistic phase of life which is teemed both with joysand sorrows.
He further stressed literature should not be the idealentity to be imagined
but a realistic platform which gives full insightinto the real life led by
common man. During this phase of literaryproduction, there emerged a
literary movement in a context ofstories called New Stories. Prominent
artist like Rajendra Yadav,Kamleshwar and others equally powerful story
writers try to relateliterature with life. These writers did not believe in
emptypresentation of ideas but rather switched over to facts of life.
Manyregional writers like Phanishwar Nath Renu try to present the
regional sensibility and common understanding of regional peoplethrough
their works.
8.3 HIS CONTRIBUTION: As far as the literary genius of Mohan Rakesh is concerned,it was not fed
and fanned any particular political creed or ideol ogy,but it telescopically
captured the reality of common man in society. He also underlined the
recurring disharmony and disagreementprevailing in the contemporary
society and tried to give voicethrough his literary works. The external and
internal conflic ts in hislife shaped his career as a writer, playwright and
his conflicts arefully reflected in his works.His novels Andhere Band
Kamare, Antraal and Na AaneWaala Kal portray the mental conflicts -
internal and external – andexplicate how existing contempo rary milieus
are responsible fororientation and disorientation of man’s life. These
novels bring outthe modern trends and tendencies of contemporary
society, asmost of the characters of these novels are highly educated
andsensitive of urban backgrounds. Th ey are so self centered that theydo
not go to the common people around and get entangledpermanently in
their own problems. These novels underline therecurring problems and
issues commonly faced by urban people incontemporary society.
He has three full play s and one incomplete play to his credit.Whereas his
two plays, Ashadh Ka Ek Din (One Day in Ashadha) and Leheron Ke Raj
Hans are based on historical perspectives, hisother play Aadhe Adhure
underlines and focuses the incongruityand disagreement among the munotes.in

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Critical Study of Mohan Rakesh’s One Day in the Season of Rain Part I
101 members of middle class family overtrivial issues of daily life. For his
historical novels, he has selectedthe plot from the history and tried to
contextualse them in moderntimes. Ashdh ka Ek Din is based on the life of
Sanskrit poet Kalidasand his imaginary beloved called Mallika. He has
brought out thefact that Kalidas of past will behave differently in modern
worldwhich is primarily set out for material pursuits and success.Through
this play, he has tried to establish the fact that the innerurges one has,
should be properly attended to get permanentsatisfaction and peace of
mind, and not the imposed ones whichresult in shattered dreams and
broken heart. Leheron Ke Raj Hans is also a historical play which is based
on Ashwaghosh’s Saundernand . The play is not c ompletely historical as
fewcharacters like that of Ashadh Ka Ek Din are imaginary, and
areselected to fulfill the requirements of the thematic concern whichthe
writer undertakes. The playwright has dramatically presentedthat the inner
conflicts of Nand and Sunderi in the past were nolesser than the modern
people who are confronted with the varied problems in life.
His last play Paer Tale Ki Jamin remained incomplete as hepassed away
when he was half way through of its composition. Hehas also written One
Act play and radio plays which are very fewand far between. His genius is
reflected in excellent capability oftranslating Sanskrit dramas into Hindi.
He has translated Shudrak’s Mrichchkatikam and Kalidas’s Shakuntalam
into Hindi as he wasvery comfortable in S anskrit language and literature.
8.4 CRITICAL SUMMARY OF ASHADH KA EK DIN : Ashadh Ka Ek Din is such a perfect work of art of Mohan Rakesh that it
keeps the audience spell bound from beginning to the end ofthe play. It is
also important from the point of vi ew of stage craft andnovelty of vision
which it has envisaged through this play. Thoughthe title of the play
indicates the happening of one day, it hassuccessfully entwined the events
of a number of years in its plot. Ithas three acts and each act has a ga p of
many years betweenthem. However, they have one thing common in them,
i.e. every act has the same scenic beauty of dense clouds and thunder in a
rainyday.
Ashadh Ka Ek Din is a three -act play which is based on the life ofthe
prominent Sanskrit poet Kal idas, sometime in the 100 BC -400BC period.
In the first act, he is leading a peaceful life in aHimalayan village and is
captivated by the biwitching beauty ofnature which enkindles the fire of
his poetic urge resulting into thecomposition of his first pla y Ritu -
Sanghar . During these days, hehas romantic involvement with Mallika,
who recognizes his poetictalents and tries to promote it to the highest
point. Her movementand love affair with Kalidas is not approved by her
mother, Ambikawho treats him as a v agabond who cannot take care of
hisdaughter being a resource less person. However, the creation of Ritu
Sanghar catapulted the name of Kalidas far and wide and hebecomes very
famous in Ujjayani. Looking to his unbridled poeticgenius, he is invited to
appear at King Chandragupta II's court infar -off Ujjayini to be felicitated
and is offered the designation ofnational poet. Torn between his current
idyllic existence and loveon one hand, and the desire to achieve greatness munotes.in

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102 on the other, heleaves for Ujjayini in a conflicted state of mind. Mallika
wants the best for the man she loves, so she encourages him to go
toUjjayini:“Why don’t you think that new place and position will offeryou
better fertility than here? You have exploited whatevermaximum you
could have d one. At present you need a new pasturewhich will lead you to
perfection”.
In the second act, Kalidas enjoys the royal treatments andproceeds with
literary excellence by writing other works such as Kumar Sambhava and
Meghdoota , Abhigyanshakuntala and Raghuva nsha . Mallika though does
not directly get any informationfrom him, she happens to get information
about his literary activitiesfrom dealers and from whom she manages to
collect the copies ofhis works The emergence of Kalidas as a
distinguished literarylum inary pleases Mallika who justifies the departure
of Kalidas inthese words:
“I am happy that he is busy there. Ritu Sanghar is the only
work which he could do here. The traders who came here two
years ago gave me the copies of Kumarsambhav and Meghdoot .
They were telling that one more epical work is in news but copy of
which they could not get”.
Kalidas has achieved fame and is married to a sophisticatednoblewoman,
Priyangu Manjari. Besides her, he has the liaison witha number of women,
dishonoring the pure love of Mallika. Mallika,on the other hand, does not
sacrifice her love for trivial things andcontinues her affection intact for
Kalidas whom she wants to shine as a poet of distinguished recognition.
Kalidas visits his village with his wife and a small r etinue.While going to
Kashmir, he avoids meeting Mallika, but PriyanguManjari does. Priyangu
Manjari demandingly offers to help Mallikaby making her a royal
companion and marrying her to one of theroyal attendants, but Mallika
declines. Priyangu Manjari co mes tomeet Mallika to know the assets
which honed the poetic skills ofKalidas. She tells Mallika:
“No, I do not want to sit here. Want to see you and your
house. He has time and again reflected on this house and you.
During the creation of Meghdoot , he qui te often recollected this
place”.
The condition of Mallika’s house is very bad as nobody isthere to look it
after. Mallika’s mother is suffering from illness andmental agony of young
daughter to remain unmarried. Looking tothe bad condition of house and
penury, Priyangu Manjari offersthem either to accompany or to get their
house rehabilitated. Butboth of them gracefully decline both the options:
“You are very kindhearted.But we are used to live in this house, so there is
no inconvenience here”. The third ac t starts with dense clouds and thunder munotes.in

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Critical Study of Mohan Rakesh’s One Day in the Season of Rain Part I
103 but nowAmbika is no more on the scene. Suddenly Matul brings the
newsthat the people of Kashmir are rebelling and Kalidas being unableto
suppress the rebellion has left Kashmir. He further informs herthat people
tell that he has renounced the world, and instead ofcoming to Ujjayani, he
has gone to Kashi. Mallika is disheartened toknow that instead of
engaging himself in literary activities, he hasleft the world. This is a
dishonor and gross injustince on her. Theecho o f her inner conflict is
reflected in her soliloquy:“I never said to go away from here for this. I
also did not saythat you should go there to shoulder the responsibility of
kingdom.Yet when you did so, I gave my best wishes - though you did
notdirectly acce pt them. Even if I did not remain in your life, youalways
remained in mine. I never let you wander from my side. Youcontinued to
create and I believed that I too am meaningful, that mylife is also
productive”.
During this dejected mental maneuvering of Mal lika, Kalidasreappears in
the village. Mallika is now married to and has adaughter from Vilom, a
kind of villain whom Mallika and Kalidasalways hated for questioning
their relationship from a worldlyperspective. Kalidas tries to convince her
that he has no trenounced the world but simply has transformed from the
role ofMatrigupta as a king of Kashmir. He also expresses that his wishto
start a fresh life with Mallika cannot be cherished as he hears thechild
crying. He reveals to her that though he was away fr om herbut it is she
who inspired him and that she has been portrayed invarious roles in his
works:“Whatever I have written has been gathered from this life.
The landscape of Kumarasambhav is this Himalaya, and you arethe
ascetic Uma. The Yaksha's torment i n Meghaduta is my owntorment and
you are the Yakshini crushed by longing. In Abhijnanashakumtalam , it was
you whom I saw in the form ofShakuntala. Whenever I tried to write, I
reiterated the history of yourand my life”.
8.5 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY: Modernist Elements:
Ashadh Ka Ek Din contextualizes the modern sensibility despite the fact it
is based on the historical theme of Kalidas’s life,the most celebrated
Sanskrit writer of Ujjayani. The play tends tounderline modern tendency
which evaluates the person’scompetence and ability in terms of money.
Kalidas who is anemerging writer is not appreciated in his village simply
because ofthe fact that his writing does not fetch him any material wealth.
Thisis the reason why Ambika, Mallika’s mother does not approve
herdaughter‘s name to be associated with him. It is her desire that
herdaughter should be married to one who is financially sound and
cantake proper care of her. But Kalidas is treated in village asvagabond
who keeps on moving and looking at the pr istine beautyof nature and does
nothing to support his maternal uncle Matul. Hecomes into limelight when
his work Ritu Sanghar is appreciated forits literary merits and he is
gracefully invited to be the court poet ofUjjayani. Though he is not willing
to leave his village for thishonour, he is convinced by others to go there munotes.in

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104 and accept the royalwish. He is further convinced that talent fully develops
if it is takencare of by some patronage. Nikshep feels that:“Kalidas is
forgetting out of emotion that he wi ll loseeverything by disregarding this
opportunity. Competence contributes to form one fourth of the personality.
Remaining isaccomplished by regal honour. Kalidas must go to the capital
(Ujjayani)”.In above lines, modern key to success is reflected. A
mansucceeds to the fullest if he is well connected. This happens eventoday
that a talented person may not necessarily excel at his ownbut it is ensured
if he has royal patronizing agency to flourish histalent. Vilom who is
always critical of Kalidas and Malli ka expresseshis desire that Kalidas
needs to enjoy royal honour. He craftilyadvises so because he knows that
he may be able to wed Mallikaonly in absence of Kalidas. The other
character Matul, maternaluncle of Kalidas, wants Kalidas to proceed to
Ujjayani so that hemay be benefitted being a relative of Kalidas. He really
enjoys thebenefit of this connection and gets his house well
constructedthough the royal assistance of Priyangu Manjari. In modern
times, itis generally seen that people establish their pol itical and
otherconnection so that they may reap the benefit of such
connectionswhen they require. It is only Mallika who tries to persuade
Kalidasto go to Ujjayani so that his talents may fully blossom. She has
novested interest of her own. She loves him for his poetic talents andthis is
the reason that despite his poverty, she craves to enjoy hiscompany as
portrayed in the beginning of the play. Kalidas is alsotempted to material
well being as he suffered the life of destitutionin his childhood. Although
he is appointed as a national poet, heaccepts the position of a ruler to
become rich and to take revengeon those who had humiliated him in his
bad days. He admits toMallika when he comes back from Kashmir as an
unsuccessfulruler:
“You were surprised that I was going to take over as a rulerof Kashmir.
You might have felt it quite unnatural. But it does notappear unnatural to
me. It was a natural reaction of a povertystrickenlife. Possibly it was the
mood to take revenge on those whohad humiliated and made fu n of me
some times”.The characters like Ambika, Matul and Vilom and Kalidas
himself appreciate the material success in life as they understandthat
wealth is essential for happy life. Thus, the playwright hassuccessfully
exploited the historical event into modern context.
Feminist Perspectives:
The play can be also analyzed and discussed in term of Feminist
perspective which is the major concern of the critics on thecritical portal in
modern age. The main protagonist of the play,Mallika comes out to be a
strong character who is singularly nottempted by the shining glamour of
material success. She is adynamic character who tries to establish her own
identityindependently and responds to the call of her inner soul. She
isromantically in love with Kalidas, which is apparent when shecomes
back home, all drenched in rains. Ambika, her mother, doesnot approve
her love for him, as he does take work seriously. Shewants to control
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105 to explain he r about the poetic talents whichhe has. Whereas Ambika is a
traditional mother who is alwaysworried about her daugher’s marriage
with a suitable person,Mallika, on the other hand, is a progressive and
modern daughterwho wants to exercise her own conscience with regard to
marriageand has given herself completely to Kalidas. She tells her
mother:“But I told you that there is no need of sending Agnimitra
toanywhere. You know that I do not want to marry, then why do youmake
efforts? You think that I talk unnece ssarily”. It is she who is able to
convince Kalidas to accept the request of Ujjayani as apoet. She is least
bothered about her happiness and sensualpleasure and encourages him to
proceed to Ujjayani. She says toKalidas:
“Can you be away from me if you go there….? Where willyou get
opportunity to develop your genius in this ruralsurrounding? Here people
do not understand you. They evaluate
you on very simple scale”.
He goes to Ujjayani and produces a number of texts. Thisgives immense
happiness to Mallika a nd she manages to get thecopies from traders from
Ujjayani. In Second Act, when Kalidasdoes visit her while going to
Kashmir, she feels emotionally hurt butdoes not have grudge against him.
The other female character isPriyangu Manjari, Kalidas’s wife. Whi le
going to Kashmir, shecomes to visit the places and persons who are the
driving forces ofhis creatively and quite often he recollects those things
whilecomposing his works. She comes to meet Mallika and is surprisedto
know that Mallika has all copies of Kalidas’s works. She feels alittle bit
upset:
“I can understand. I know through him that you are hischildhood
companion. Your temptation towards his work is natural.He becomes
forgetful of everything whenever he talks about the lifehere. This the
reason so me time he feel distracted from politics”.
She tries to bait her that she along with her mother shouldaccompany her
but she declines to do so. She also does not acceptthe offer of
rehabilitation of her old house. In this respect Ambikaand Mallika both are
similar and very self - respected as to notaccept any offer pathetically
given by the queen. The queen wantsto orient Kalidas in politics but his
natural talent lies in art, and thushe does not succeed in suppressing the
rebellion of Kashmir.The basic diff erence between Mallika and Priyangu
Manjariis that Mallika recognises his natural talent and promotes it at
thecost of her happiness; on the other hand, Priyangu Manjari, despiteher
knowledge that he is interested in creativity, pushes him intopolitics whi ch
he is not equipped with. She feels that Kalidas is aking, and she will enjoy
all royal pleasures through him. This is thereason that she goes to
Kalidas’s village to bring everything whichKalidas used to appreciate. She
feels that if everything comes th ere in Kashmir, Kalidas’s mind will not be
deviated and he will focus hisfull attention in administration.Thus, it is
seen that there are three female characters whohave various dimensions.
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106 daughter and to restraint her associationwith Kalidas, which is socially
unacceptable. Mallika is the secondcharacter who is powerful, energetic,
and self - respected and self -reliant. She is loyal and honest in her love
towards Kalidas andtakes all posit ive measures to promote his artistic
temperament.
Priyangu Manjari, the third female character, is very weak andselfish who
wants to purchase honour of Mallika and Ambika, whichshe fails to do.
She pressurizes Kalidas to be King but he cannotprove line up and
becomes an unsuccessful ruler. If she hadpromoted artistic temper of
Kalidas, she would have commandedour respect.
8.6 QUESTIONS: 1. Critically analyse One Day in the Season of Rain as a modern play.
2. Examine the portrayal of major characters in the play.

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107 9
CRITICAL STUDY OF MOHAN RAKESH’S
ONE DAY IN THE SEASON OF RAIN
PART II
Unit Structure:
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Major characters
Kalidas, Mallika, Ambika, Priyangu Manjari
9.2 Minor Characters
Vilom, Nikshep, Matul, Dantul, Anuswar and Anunasik , Rangini and
Tarangini
9.0 OBJECTIVES: To acquaint students with major and minor characters of the play
To analyse the sketching of various characters by Mohan Rakesh in the
play
9.1 MAJOR CHARACTERS Ashadh ka Ek Din is a unique play from the point of vie w
ofcharacterization. Each character in the play is dynamic and self -assertive
and different from the other as far as human traits andapproach to life is
concerned. Thus the characters arecomplementary to each other and
provide mobility, beauty andstrength to the plot. The female characters in
the play are renderedperfect, determined and stable; on the other hand,
male charactersare unstable, indecisive, and shaky in carrying out their
assignedroles. Even the male protagonist of the play does not havecapaci ty
to take right decision and is compolled to role on femaleprotagonist to
directe his future action in life. The major characters are being presented
below to facilitate the understanding ofstudents so that students by
themselves can go ahead with theirow n explanation and evaluation while
analyzing the characters ofthe play. The major characters in the play are
Kalidas, Mallika,Ambika, Priyangu Manjari ,and the minor characters are
Vilom,Nikshep, Matul, Dantul, Rangini, Tarangini, Anuswar and
Anunashik
Kalidas: Kalidas in the play is a replica of historical and culturedKalidas,
but unique treatment of his character in the context ofmodern age makes
him altogether different from historical Kalidaswho is known as the
greatest poet of Sanskrit. If one reads th eworks of Kalidas of the past, one
fins him a great scholar, poet andgenius who is well oriented in spirituality munotes.in

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108 even in the worldlypleasures. But the character of Kalidas rendered by
Mohan Rakeshis quite controversial. Mohan Rakesh regards the classical
traitsessential for an ideal hero and presents him having humansensibilities
of modern age. This rendering offers the readers a newKalidas, who is not
accepted to be hero of the play. Even readershave no sympathy for such
Kalidas who is deprived of even bas ichuman traits.
Mohan Rakesh’s Kalidas is portrayed as a young man who is alover of
nature and appreciates its immaculate beauty and grandeurand composes
poems on nature. Besides, he is very kind towardsthe animals and takes
care of them. This is the reaso n that he picksup a wounded fawn and treats
it with all care and affection. He isvery fearless and does not yield to
Dantul, a royal official, whoclaims for the fawn. He wishes to have it from
Kalidas even at thepoint of sword and he chases him but Mallika stops
him from usingsword, as Kalidas does bother muscle power: “ Stop, royal
officer!Don’t insist for the fawn, for you, it is question of right, for
himemotional feeling. Kalidas, without being equipped with weapon,will
never bother weapon”.
The royal pe rson feels apologetic to hear the name of Kalidas, as he is
known to everyone being the author of Ritu Sanghar and tellsMallika:
“The king himself read Ritu - Sanghar and appreciated it.Therefore, the
kingdom of Ujjayani wishes to felicitate him and givehi m the designation
of the national poet. Acharya Varruchi hascome from Ujjayani for this
purpose”.
Suddenly Kalidas is invited to have the honour of national poet
ofUjjayani. He is unwilling to accept the royal invitation because it isnot
possible for him t o either leave the pristine glory of nature or
todisassociate himself from Mallika. However, he finally gets ready togo
to Ujjayani against his wish. There he is married to PrincessPriyangu
Manjari and is lost in the dazzling splendor of capital andbecomes the king
of Kashmir. There he misuses his kingly powerand has illegitimate
relations with a number of women. But despiteall the luxury and affairs,
he cannot remove the impression ofMallika from his heart and sometimes
he craves to enjoy hercompany. He gr acefully narrates her that how he
was inspired by her for composing his work:
“Whatever I have written has been gathered from this life. Thelandscape
of Kumarasambhav is this Himalaya, and you are theascetic Uma. The
Yaksha's torment in Meghaduta is my own torment and you are the
Yakshini crushed by longing. In Abhijnanashakumtalam , it was you whom
I saw in the form ofShakuntala. Whenever I tried to write, I reiterated the
history of yourand my life”.
While going to Kashmir, Kalidas does meet Mallika Priyangu Manjari goes
to have dialogue with Mallika and her mother Ambikaand discusses a
number of issues regarding Kalidas’s life and hisart. In Act III, he justifies
the reason of his not visiting to Mallika,while going to Kashmir: “I did not
come to meet you bec ause I hada fear that your eyes will make me more
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Critical Study of Mohan Rakesh’s One Day in the Season of Rain Part II
109 Kalidas’s talent does not suit to political affairs for which he is
beingconstantly persuaded by his wife. Ultimately, he fails
drasticallyquashing the rebellion in Kashmir and leaves the place to
seekpermanent respite in the company of Mallika. But to his
surpriseMallika is already wedded to Vilom.Thus, Kalidas of Mohan
Rakesh is not the one who conforms to themerits and features of an ideal
protagonist. He is moder n andteemed with contemporary weaknesses like
an ordinary man.Despite contributing to literary domain, he unnecessary
getsentangled in the regal affairs and wishes to earn wealth tocompensate
his childhood deficiency and to revenge on those whohumiliated a nd
disgraced him for his poverty. He admits: “ It was anatural reaction of a
poverty -stricken life. Possibly it was the moodto take revenge on those
who had humiliated and made fun of mesome times”.
Mallika : Mallika, though an imaginary character, is centra l to
othercharacters – male or female. She emerges as a protagonist
frombeginning till the end of the play, and spectators appreciate
herendurance and balanced thinking even in adverse situations. In
thewords of Matul, She is most cultured, modest and inno cent girl inentire
village . She is a round character who tells her mother aboutKalidas’s
talents openly, despite her mother being a traditionalwoman. Her mother
does not like her moving along with Kalidas, ashe is not considered a
competent man materialist ically in moderncontext. But she is blessed with
tremendous power of judging thecharacter and recognizes the poetic
creativity of Kalidas and enjoysis company, despite people’s disgrace and
humiliation. She is notonly the beloved of Kalidas but also the pr omoter of
his literarycreativity. Kalidas’s emergence as a unique poet is
consequentupon Mallika‘s devotion and dedication towards her
sensualpleasure and worldly happiness. Therefore, least bothering
abouther emotions, she persuades Kalidas to accept the invitation
ofUjjayani to be a national poet. She fears that his romantic love for
her may blunt his poetic sharpness and hence advises him toproceed to
Ujjayani immediately: “Do you feel that I will be happy if you reject this
royal invitation andremain her e? I know that your departure will create
blankness inme. Possibly external world might appear barrenness.
NeverthelessI cannot betray you” .
But Kalidas after going to Ujjayani forgets the role of Mallika in hislife
and marries Priyangu Manjari and becomes King of Kashmir.Though his
poetic work continues, he never bothers to send thecopies of his works to
Mallika. Mallika is so concerned about hisworks that she manages to get
their copies from the traders comingfrom Ujjayani. Kalidas, while going to
Kashmir , does not meetMallika, which hurts her emotionally. She does not
express herdispleasure to anyone. But she feels disappointed when she
comesto know that Kalidas has renounced the world having failed
tosuppress the rebellion of Kashmir and has gone to Kash i. Finally,having
left no hopes from Kalidas, she is compelled to accept Vilomas her
lifelong companion and has a daughter.Mallika is very self reliant and self
respected character who doesnot expect any assistance from anyone. This
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110 and offers helpsfor rehabilitating her old house. She quite gracefully turns
down theoffer and tells: “ You are very kind -hearted. But we are used to
livein this house, so there is no inconvenience here”. Priyangu
Manjarieven hurts her by offering marriage proposals and
alsoaccompanying her to Ujjayani along with her mother Ambika. Buther
crafty devices do not work on Mallika and these offers are alsodeclined
jointly by Mallika and her mother, Ambalika. She i s not tied down to old
tradition but is progressive characterwho exercises her right to select life
partnership for her, despite theopposition and humiliation of the people.
But nowhere is she foundto be rude with people and even with her mother.
She alway sconvinces her mother that Kalidas is a talented poet, has
whoreceived invitation from Ujjayani. She discusses about
hisextraordinary talent to her mother.Thus, it can be concluded that
Mallika is the protagonist who liveson the portal of emotions and keep s
herself away from the worldlyrequirements of life and sharpens the poetic
sensibility of Kalidas tobe a great creative writer of Sanskrit literature.
Ambika: Ambika, the mother of Mallika, is an old woman who liveson
realistic situations of life. Her bit ter and factual experiences oflife make
her critical of Mallika who loves Kalidas emotionally.Thus, it is found that
whereas Ambalika lives on the facts of life,Mallika live on the planes of
emotion. Ambika, thus, does notapprove Mallika’s association with
Kalidas as he is not worldly -wiseand can do no good for Mallika if both
get married. Here, forAmbika, materialistic pursuits are essential for a
married life. SinceKalidas appreciates pristine glory of nature and writes
somethingwhich does not fetch him w ealth, she does not consider
himsuitable for Mallika. When Mallika explains her mother that she loves
her own emotions, her mother gives her own experience oflife: “ What you
say emotion is betrayal and self - deception” .Ambika understands that
Kalidas’s re fusal to go to Ujjayani is just apretension because he wants to
promote his honor. Though sheunwillingly asks Mallika to propose
Kalidas, she finds Vilom moresuitable for her. She is a proud woman who
does not accept thehelp offered to her by Priyangu Manj ari for
rehabilitation of her oldhouse. After Priyangu Manjari goes away, she
comments on theintegrity of Kalidas:
“But who is responsible for princess to come here? Undoubtedly,she has
come not here without insistence of anyone. The royalartisans will rep air
the walls of the house. Today he is a ruler; hehas resources what better
ways could have been other than this toshow his power and wealth” .
Thus, Ambika is like a worldly mother, very simple and innocent,who is
always worried about Mallika’s marriage w ith some suitableman so that
she may have quite good, peaceful and happy future.However, her
presence in the play as a traditional woman, honesthe sharpness of Mallika
as a protagonist who asserts her right inmodern context.
Priyangu Manjari : She is the pr incess who gets married to Kalidasand
asserts her complete right on him. She is possessive in herlove, which is in
compliance with the kingly stature. WhereasMallika’s love is based on
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111 authoritative and tough reality oflife. She, unlike Mallika, writhes in
jealousy. She complimentsMallika for her beauty and delicate modesty:
“Really, you are verybeautiful. You know, being stranger to me you do not
appear to be unknown to me”. In spite of he r knowledge that Mallika has
beenKalidas childhood beloved, she hurts her by offering help to mendher
house: “I see that your house is in bad condition, its repairing isrequired.
If you wish I can order for this work”. Besides, she offers her marriage
propo sals in Ujjayani, though sheknows that Mallika has emotionally
given herself to Kalidas :“ Perhaps, you consider none of them to be
suitable for you. But inthe state besides them a number of other officers
are available.You accompany me. With whomsoever you wish…..”
But Mallika without hurting her requests her to keep away fromsuch
discussions.
A comparative analysis between them will give clear picture of
theirpersonality traits. As a matter of fact, there are two forces - Mallika
and Priyangu Manjari in Kal idas’s life. Mallika, though away fromKalidas
helps in shaping him as writer and sacrifices her personalhappiness to
build up his talent. Priyangu Manjari, on the other hand, being close to
him, fails to recognize his genuine talent anddeviates him from li terature
to politics. She feels that politics willlead him to glorious path in life. Here
she drastically fails in herestimation about Kalidas. Thus, in contrast,
Priyangu Manjaristands minuscule as compared to outstanding character
attributesof Mallika.
9.2 MINOR CHARACTERS Vilom: Vilom is a male character who is temperamentally opposedto
Kalidas. Though he is not a villain, he is always set to confronthim with
all possible means to compensate his weakness andincompetence. He
never tries to harm Kalidas ph ysically, but doeseverything to hurt him
mentally. This is why, he is alwaysconsidered as opponent of Kalidas. He
always comments on theromantic relationship of Kalidas and Mallika.
Ambika, Mallika’smother also finds him more suitable than Kalidas. It is a
meaningfulstatement of Kalidas about Vilom: “ Nothing is unexpected
fromVilom. Yes, not doing anything can be unexpected”. But
ultimatelyVilom happens to wed Mallika and becomes the father of a
femalechild.
Nikshep: He is one of the minor characters who al ways questionson the
intimate relationship of Kalidas and Mallika, and is willingthat Kalidas
should go to Ujjayani to accept the royal treatment as anational Poet.
However, he is sympathetic to Kalidas andacknowledges his poetic talent.
He knows about the self repectednature of Kalidas and tells Ambika:
“Kalidas is not pretending,Ambika! I am sure that he has no passion for
the royal felicitation.He really does not want to leave this mountainous
region”. He alsoknows that if anybody who can persuade him to attend to
royalinvitation, it is only Mallika.
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112 Matul : Matul is a minor character who is selfish and narromindedperson
in entire village. He claims to be the custodian of Kalidasbeing his
relative. He is quite unhappy as he does nothing whichcan improve his
financial condition. He is displeased with him andimmediately announces
that he is no more related with Kalidas. But when Kalidas is invited in
Ujjayani as writer of Ritu Sanghar , it is hewho forces him to go there and
accept the offer. He enjoys all k indsof regal benefits and finally gets his
house reconstructed byPriyangu Manjari.
Dantul : Dantul is a statesman and imbibed all qualities warrantedfor a
statesman. The fawn wounded by him is taken away byKalidas to nurse it.
Dantul demands that he should be given backthe fawn. But Kalidas makes
him speechless by telling that huntingis prohibited in that vicinity. He
wants to use power to snatch thewounded fawn, but when he knows that it
is Kalidas, he feelsapologetic for his uncalled for behavior. He says to
Mallika, “I amsorry that I misbehaved with him. I must go to apologize
him”.
Anuswar and Anunasik : They are two officers of the king who come to
make arrangement for Priyangu Manjari’s visit to thevicinity of the
mountain.
Rangini and Tarangini : They a re the research scholars who areset to learn
the tenets which shaped and sharpened the creativetalent of Kalidas.
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113 10
CRITICAL STUDY OF VIJAY
TENDULKAR’S GHASHIRAM KOTWAL
PART I
Unit Structure:
10.0 Objective
10.1 Introduction to the playwright - Vijay Tendulkar
10.2 Introduction to the play - GhashiramKotwal
10.3 Summary
10.4 Conclusion
10.5 Important questions
10.0 OBJ ECTIVE To introduce students to the Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar and his
play GhashiramKotwal. By the end of this unit students would get a brief
idea regarding the play and its significance; and playwright and his
contribution to literature.
10.1 IN TRODUCTION TO THE PLAYWRIGHT - VIJAY TENDULKAR Vijay Tendulkar was born in 1928 and began his career as a journalist. He
took up a job as a sub -editor of a Marathi weekly. He continued in this
profession for a number of years, changing jobs and writing that he took
up alongside. He began with prose but soon switched over to drama.
Grihasth was his first play that appeared in 1955, followed by Silence,
Court is in session !,Shrimant„Sakharam Binder and Safar in 1992. He
has also scripted for films giving stor ies of violence, power and repression
in different forms in the contemporary Indian society.
Tendulkar's concern for machinations of power at various levels and the
effects of oppression kept growing. Sakharam Binder (1972), a study in
human violence and terror, amounted to a powerful dramatic statement.
GhashiramKotwal turned out to be a musical play sated with sarcasm.
Kanyadaan is a complex play about the cultural and emotional upheavals
of a family. It deals with the violence in the subconscious of a Dalit poet
who is married to the daughter of an inexperienced and young socialist.
His plays present a fine blend of fact and fiction rather more appropriately
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114 equally powerful dramatic persona. Tendulkar chose themes, created
characters and situations which filled his plays with the vivacity of
present -day life. The material for his plays came from his own
observations of life, from newspaper reports or incidents narrated to him
which h e customized and tailored to fit his requirements as many
dramatists do.
Tendulkar's contribution in modernizing the traditional theatre is immense.
He has enriched Marathi theatre without completely breaking away from
traditions.
Manyof Tendulkar’s play s have been translated and performed in Hindi
and a number of other regional languages, winning him appreciation and
respect at the national level. In 1970, Silence, Court is in Session won the
KamaladeviChattopadhyay Award. In 1971, he was given the
Sange etNatakAkademi Award for his contributions to Indian theatre and
in 1984, he was awrded the Padma Bhushan. The KalidasSamman award
was conferred by the Maharashtra government in 1991.
Tendulkar was the first playwright of the new age.He discarded the
nuanc es of the theatre of history, mythology and sentiments and converted
the mundane speech into powerful dramatic tool. Shrimant paved way for
new dialogues which were certainly different than the others of the time.
Tendulkar did not allow himself to be sway ed by the contemporary
traditions of playwriting all together though he has never claimed to have
changed in a radical way. His name was counted amongst followers of the
new drama sect. He believed that the greatest importance lay with the
subject of a pla y. The form came second. Any form that created the
desired effect was welcome. He said that it was wrong to suppose that all
departures from the established norms were bad or irrelevant as it was
equally wrong to think that only that which is different is good or
valuable.
Regarded as a pioneer or a forerunner of a new kind of drama his peers
especially John Osborne of England were grouped under the 'angry young
men slot'.
Realism served a unique purpose in the dramas of this age. It evoked
response from the middle class perhaps exhorting the society to accept the
conditions as they were and take steps to change them. Tendulkar's great
strength lies in his dialogues. He seemed to be staging the play when he
was writing it. He indicates every momentand it c arries as much narrative
force as speech, song and action.
Nana Padnavis speech after he had granted Ghashiram the Kotwali is
known for its terseness,precision and shrewdness of a political mind.
NANA: Go Ghasya,old bastard. We made you,we made you Kotwal.
Raise hell if you wish. But you don’t know the ways of this Nana. This
time, there are two bullets in this gun. With the first one. We will fell your
luscious daughter. But with the second we will make the city of Poona
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115 Why ?As a countercheck to all those conspirators. You'll not be able to
join them; they'll never trust you even if you do. Because you're a
stranger.you're an outsider. We just raised a dog at our door to the position
of the Kotwali ! We are your sole support. Oh, you're a bastard. Ghasya.
Your manner will be more arrogant than that of the Chitpavan Brahmans.
You'll manage the difference.
Nicely. You'll create a court —and a half ! No worry about that. What'll
happen is that our Kotwal pays for it. [clapping his hands] The opportunity
comes in the shape of Ghashiram. And that luscious peach is at hand to be
devoured by Nana. Excellent ! Yes, Ghasya, be Kotwal. This Nana blesses
you !
GhashiramKotwal tried to expose the v ulnerable segments of brave
Marathi history. In GhashiramKotwal dance was reintroduced which had
apparently disappeared. It was brought back as a powerful instrument
along with songs, which were integrated with the narrative. They did not
remain the adjunct s to indicate mood but provided criticisms, sometimes
the sharp ones.
GhashiramKotwal was perhaps not written to offend the clergy or to make
fast bucks or to entertain audience with a scandalous legend of a historical
figure but perhaps to focus the seri ous pitfalls and shortcomings of our
political system.
Modern or parallel theater is a more realistic reflection of the existing
Indian environment. The parallel theatre has several ramifications and is
performed in various regional languages. The beginni ng of modern Indian
theatre was made in 1831 when Prasanna Thakur established 'Hindu
Rangmanch' at Calcutta and staged 'Uttar Ramcharitam' in English. The
plays of RabindraNath Tagore, D.L. Roy and a few others were the
beginning of the parallel theatre. O n the heels of Bengali theatre, theatres
of Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada and Hindi were also developing. Marathi
theatre found a great playwright in Vishnu Das Bhave. He was a
forerunner and trendsetter in Marathi theatre. Vijay Tendulkar added a
new dimensi on to not only Marathi but also the Indian theatre. In the
middle of 19th century, Indian theatre was influenced by Western
literature and feelings of nationalism and pride of the country. ‘ National
school of Drama’ founded at New Delhi proved to be a ben chmark.
Slowly and gradually a fusion of medieval folk and western theatre and
techniques and styles continued from Sanskrit plays gave a new form and
character to modern Indian theatre.
Tendulkar’s Marathi play GhashiramKotwal with its brilliant use of fo lk
forms in modern theatre made waves.
The onward march of the Marathi theatre has since been going on,
enriching and growing and setting milestones. The contribution of many a
learned playwright and talented artist is gloriously etched in its history.
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116 10.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY - GHASHIR AMKOTWAL GhashiramKotwal has been in the eye of the storm ever since its inception.
It evoked adverse reaction from different classes of people,historians and
intellectuals for distorting history. It was first staged on 16th December
1972. But after nineteen performances, it was banned by the President of
its dramatic association. It was objected on the ground that the expose was
anti Brahmin, the character of Nana Phadnavis as conjured up by the
playwright was historical ly incorrectand there was fear of revolt in the
audience and a strong possibility that the audience would publically abuse
the play if it was allowed to be staged.However, most of the actors of the
play resigned their membership from the association that b anned it and
staged the play under another association. It was subsequently performed a
number of times not only in India but also abroad.
10.3 SUMMARY: The play begins with the chorus on Holy Ganpati with tribute to
Saraswati —the goddess of wisdom. Ganpa ti and Saraswati enter the stage
dancing; the chorus pays homage and reverence by singing to their praise.
Then enters goddess Laxami who joins the two in dancing and the chorus
now seeks the blessing of the trio for the success of the play. The chorus
attains tempo and reaches the climax and ends with GanpatiBapaMor —ya.
The tone of chorus falls and it slows down. The Ganpati's dancing is
relegated to the background and the chorus representing the Poona
Brahmins bow and parade. The characters of the stage [ the Brahmins]
have been picked miscellaneously and they come from different places as
Tanjore, Rameshwaram, Banaras etc. but they have sunk their nativity and
identify themselves as Brahmins of Poona. One of the Brahmins from the
chorus.who is also acting as a part of the human curtain stealthily tries to
sneak off stage. But he cannot smart under the watchful eyes of the
Sutradhar (the narrator). He calls out to him,
BhatjiBua Where are vou off to ? Hold your horses Must you The
Brahmin misunderstands him and there is a comic scene between the two
arising out of the homophonic pun in their conversation. The Sutradhar
inevitably asks him where he was going he eludes an answer. But after
continuous questioning he reveals that he is going to Bavannakhani, a r ed
light area. The Brahmin disappears and the Sutradhar collides with a
chubby Brahmin who appears on stage. They have an argument regarding
this and the sutradhar makes many comments on the Brahmin mocking
him. Thus the very exposition sets the tone and t he mood of the play and
makes a dig at the priestly class in general and the Poona Brahmins in
particular.
The Sutradhar is still inquisitive about Bralunin's destination and asked
him where he was heading for ?Although initially the Brahmin does not
answ er,Sutradhar tricks him into answering that he is going to
Bavannakhani. After this, three Brahmins enter and on Sutradhar’s munotes.in

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Critical Study of Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal Part I
117 enquiry tell him that they are going to Bavannakhani to see lavni. The
human curtain now dissolves and the Sutradhar sings to the b eats of the
Dholki drum that nightfalls and Poona Brahmins go to the red light area.
The Brahmins once again make a curtain with their backs towards the
audience and the curtain swings and sways.
Rama Shiva Hari ,
mukundamurari
RadhakrishnaHari
The street of Bavanna became for a while
The garden of Krishna.
The Sutradhar now plays the Mridinga drum and sings, 'Brahmins go to
Bavannakhani and their wives stay at home, Oh !they stay at home. They
wait. They cannot sleep.' In his song he asks the -people if they know what
is happening in Bavannakhani, in the house of Gulabi, Gulabi the
courtesan ? The Brahmins' answer is ‘It is like Mathura.
The Brahmin curtain gets dissolved into a group sitting in Gulabi’s hall in
Bavannakhani. She is dancing erotically. Gh ashiram —a Kannoj Brahmin
and alien to the city is dancing with her. He is her counterpart and is
described as 'sycophant and ludicrous'. The group is in erotic mood and
attentive to her. They hum that the place is like Mauthura. After they have
danced, the y whistle and throw turbans in the air. Now they forward a
request for a Brahmin -wife dance. In the end Ghashiram bows, retires to
one side and they reappear as Brahmin and Brahmin's wife. They dance to
the tune of a lavani —an erotic love song. The audienc e throws their heads
in joy and laughter. It is late at night now but the Brahmins are still stuck
up in Bavannakhani and their women are set in solitary confinement at
home. The Sutradhar makes a sharp accusation on them and their wives.
While the Brahmin s have lost themselves up in the cemetery —a
contemptuous term used by the Sutradhar for the Bavannakhani —a red
light area, their women have entered into secret alliances with other
Sardars and welcome them is the absence of their husbands. They make
merry in the confines of their home with other men while their husbands
have a gala time at Bavannakhani. The Sutradhar further saying that while
here Brahmin women spend most of their: there are crowds waiting for the
glimpse of Gulabi.
As night advances, Pesh wa the chief minister and Nana of nine courts,
Nana of wealth and power proceeds to Gulabi’s place. He enters with a
walking stick and a garland of flowers on wrist. Both dance. Ghashiram
stands to one side dreesed as a Brahmin.Both dance. On the stage the
Brahmin wives and their lover Maratha Sardars are also shown dancing.
Nana joins them and then suddenly holds one foot while dancing. He cries
and there is some confusion on the stage and the dance goes offbeat. Nana
dances in the middle holding one foot and becomes the visual incarnation munotes.in

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118 of lechery. Ghashiram immediately swings forward and bends on hands
and feet to allow Nana to rest his injured ankle on his back. Now all ask
together his highness what had happened. Nana tells them that nothing
much save he sprained his ankle a bit while still balancing himself on his
stick with one foot on Ghashiram's back. He now notices Ghashiram and
removes his foot though with difficulty and asks him to get up and further
tells him that he is pleased with him. He giv es him a reward but
Ghashiram refuses saying that lie has already been rewarded when Nana
put his foot down on his back. He asks his name. Gulabi intervenes and
comes forward and tells Nana that he came four days ago and she gave
him refuge. He was a forei gner to Poona and was going without food. He
washes his utensils and does the house hold works. He also sings and
dances with her. Before getting into the palanquin, he takes off his
necklace and throws it to Ghashiram who deftly catches it. The night
passes and the dawn rises on Poona. The Brahmins and Maratha Sardars
go home. Ghashirambegins to leave with the necklace he got in reward but
Gulabi blocks his way and demands the gift. Ghashiram refuses. Gulabi
beckons her muscle men who take the necklace awa y by force and bash
him up and throw him to the front of the stage. Ghashiram is utterly
humiliated.
He stands on the road where the palanquin of an English man is coming.
Three Brahmins come and speak to the Sahib and fught with each other
for getting a c ommission to take Sahib to watch the royal ceremony going
on.At last the English sahib sits on his palanquin and the first Brahmin
nuns after him to place hint comfortably inside where the royal ceremony
is going on. The Sutradhar in his interface tells th e audience that the great
dakshina ceremony is taking place in the park at the foot of the holy hill
of, Parvati where the Peshwa will shortly honour the Brahmins. There 'will
be a great feast and the Brahmins have already started fighting over the
gifts.
Ghashiram looks at them with greedy eyes. Seeing him, the soldiers shout
at him and mock him when he tells them he is a Brahmin from Kannoj.
They ask him to leave the place. Meanwhile a Brahmin comes out and
says that his pocket has been picked. Soldiers catch Kashiram and beat
him mercilessly.Sahib tells others that it was someone else who had
picked the Brahmin’s pocket and gives some coins to console him. Seeing
this others also flock to him.
Ghashiram is imprisonedTheSutradhar now assumes the role of t he fellow
prisoner and asks Ghashiram how he was feeling.Ghashiram barely able to
speak tells him that he is hardly alive and that he had come to seek fortune
with his family to the city of Poona and he is not a thief. Ghashiram asks
the Sutradhar now how did he get there. 'Because of a theft' he retorts_
And then he philosophizes about thieving and the role of the police He
says that everyone is a thief and their only hope is the mercy of the police.
They benefit from the thieves, as it is a regular source of income for them.
Ghashiram is now thrown out of the stage by the soldier with a warning
that if ever he steps into this holy city of Poona he will lose his head. He munotes.in

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Critical Study of Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal Part I
119 throws of his sash and takes a vow. He pledges to come back to Poona one
day and take revenge. He has now forsaken his status of a Brahmin and
has become a shudra.
Mridinga is played andGhashiram dances a boar dance. The Sutradhar
now assumes the role ofKirtankar, a teller of religious stories.Ghashiram
fades away and someBrahmins and wome n enter Iand sit on the stage.
Nana sits on a high seat and men, women and girls' are sitting on the
ground. Nana ogles, at the women and smells the flower. He leers at them
while smelling the flower. The sermon reaches its end with the
pronouncement of go d's name. By now Nana has caught the glimpse of a
pretty young girl and is lost in her. Sermon ends everybody in the
audience falls at the feet of the Sutradhar. Nana now moves towards s the
girl. She gets up and goes to Haridas'sfoot who isSutradhar in di sguise.
Nana tiptoes to her. In the meanwhile everybody leaves except this girl
who prays before Ganpati. Nana gestures to a servant to close the door.
Sutradhar now comes forward on the stage. Nana now left alone asks the
girl lustfully, addressing her as child what does she want. To this address,
she is astounded. He puts his hand on her shoulder. She draws back but
Nana is not to be cowed down so easily. He persists in his shameless effort
and declares, 'Oh, don't be shy. This is our house. This is a pri vate hall. No
one will see. No one in Poona today has the audacity to watch the great
Nana Phadnavis !' The girl resists saying, pointing towards Ganpati that
He will see. Nana says mockingly, That idol of holiness ? That all holy
Ganpati '? The maker of G ood ? Look, he has two wives. One on this side,
one on that side. If You sit on our lap, he won't say anything !' The girl
tries to ward off his advances taking refuge in the fact that he is like a
father to her.The girl is still very scared by his advance s and runs away.
Nana is mad for her and runs after her.
Nana in his lust grabs the hand of a servant (Ghashiram dressed as a
servant). On knowing that the girl has escaped, he becomes furious.
Ghashiram promises to bring the girl back.Nanaviews sex as a p art of
power. He associates it with his majesty and greatness. He makes it a
prestige point to have the girl otherwise his respect would be gone. He
makes certain disgusting comments about the girl. Ghashiram is angry on
hearing this but does not show.He p romises to bring the girl. The chorus
sings religious songs and Nana comes in and the girl he had spotted makes
sensous gestures. Nana gets her and both disappear from stage. Ghashiram
appears on stage and it is revealed that the girl is his daughter.
For a few days Nana is lost into Gauri and thinks of nothing else and does
nothing else. Alter a few days, Ghashiram appears and is ready to leave
with his girl. Nana pleads with him to let her stay but he does not agree
saying that it is time for her to get m arried. And if she stays here, people
will point finger at them. Nana insists and Ghashiram comes out with his
trump card. He suggests Nana that there is only one way if his highness
agrees. He be made the Kotwal of city of Poona. If he has the power no
one can dare point an accusing finger at him..Ghashiram does not relent
unless he has his order is signed and sealed. Nana immediately calls for a munotes.in

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120 servant and gets the order, signs it indifferently and hands it out to
Ghashiram.
As he leaves the palace, the true facet of Nana emerges. He gives the order
to Ghashiram appointing him the Kotwal of city of Poona not only to
procure his daughter but also to keep the revolting Brahmins in check by
appointing an alien as Ghashiram. He knows pretty well that Ghashir am
would be a very suitable person to keep them in check. He cannot join
them, as he is a foreigner. They will never trust him even if he wishes to
join them and as such both will check each other. By this he has killed two
birds with one stone.
The play now plunges into the second act. The Sutradhar proclaims to the
People the arrival of Ghashiram to the city of Poona as itsKotwal. He also
informs that Nana is greatly smitten byGauri and is dancing to her tune.
He has become blind to his duties of adminis tration and Ghashiram's reign
is there. Ghashiram as a Kotwal means his business and has passed an
order that all his rulings should be taken in letter and spirit and those
defying the law of the land would be severely punished. They also know
now that a p ermit raj has descended on the city of Poona, and nobody can
indulge in any activity or business without a permit. Henceforth no
cremation without a permit, no inter -dining without a permit and similarly
to kill a pig, to do an abortion, to be a king, to s teal, to remarry, to hide
one's caste, to commit suicide etc without a permit is a grave sin. A good
woman may not prostitute herself; a Brahmin may not sell without a
permit. Ghashiram takes up his job seriously and begins to make rounds at
night randomly checking people and subsequently whipping on arresting
them if they were on the wrong. As a result the strength in the State's
prison began to swell.
Ghashiram enters stage along wit two policeman and two lamp bearers.On
seeing the Kotwal, Suthradhar trie s to escape but is caught. Upon enquiry
he says that he had ventured out at night to find a midwife for his wife.
The Kotwal doubts if the woman is actually his wife and if he is found to
be lying, he asks the policeman to punish him accordingly. Ghashiram ’s
atrocities against the innocent people increases.
It is rang panchami and everyone is enjoying. Ghashiram along with his
policemen keeps a close eye on anyone enjoying too much so that they can
be punished accordingly. A woman runs on stage and complain s to Nana
that her husband and brothers in law have been handcuffed by Kotwal for
no fault of theirs. He would not let them have a funeral. The complaints of
the woman falls on the deaf ears of Nana who asks her to speak to the
Kotwal regarding such matter s and not interfere with his pleasure.
The Sutradhar comments on the life in Poona. The Poona gentry has
gathered in special garden for royal favours. Suddenly a Brahmin yells
that his money is gone and the Brahmin behind him runs. Kotwal catches
him and p unishes him by placing a heated red hot steel ball on his hands.
The Brahmin curses Ghashiram. munotes.in

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Critical Study of Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal Part I
121 Ghashiram believes that he has straightened the people of Poona and the
only task that remains is to get his daughter married to a good man. Nana
prepares for hi s seventh marriage and Gauri is dead. Nana had bought the
bride with gold and by grant of land. While ceremony is going on, Ghashi
appears shouting for his daughter. When Nana moves towards his new
bride, Ghashi appears and threatens him to divulge informa tion regarding
his daughter. Terrified, Nana reveals that she is with Chandra - the
midwife. Chandra reveals that Gauri has been buried. When Ghashi
encounters Nana regarding this, he pacifies him through his smart words.
When Ghashi leaves, Nana asks his s ervants to throw the body of Gauri in
a river. Ghashiram becomes a complete animal and starts enjoying human
suffering.
Few Brahmins come to Poona to try their luck but unknowingly they steal
some fruits from Kotwal’s garden. He imprisons them and some of them
die in the prison due to suffocation. Next day a powerful Maratha Sardar
breaks them free and takes them to Peshwa. Peshwa asks Nana to look into
this matter. The Brahmin mob demands beheading of Ghashiram and
Nana passes an order for the same.
The mo b shaves his head and puts vermillion over it. He is seated
backwardly on a camel and taken around the city. The mob throws stones
at him. He is tied to the leg of an elephant and stonned to death. Nana
appears on stage and passes an order to let Ghashi’s body rot and be torn
by cannines. He orders all relatives of Ghashi to be expelled from city and
a three days festivity to be celebrated. Everyone dances and enjoys in the
end.
10.4 CONCLUSION: The play depicts the rise and fall of the main character Ghash iram. It is
through power politics that this happens. The play happens to be a strong
commentary on Politics and its nuances. Ghashiram uses his daughter as a
means to ascend to power but in the end his daughter gets sacrificed in the
process. Nana happens to be a shrewd minded politician who makes use of
Ghashi for his personal and political achievements and the moment he
sees an opportunity to shun him, he does that. He even celebrates the death
of Ghashi due to mobbing by declaring three day festivities for the same.
Vijay Tendulkar has distorted historical facts to represent the politics of
power which is universal.
10.5 QUESTIONS: 1.Ghasiram is the glaring example of evils of politics of deputation.
Discuss.
2. Describe the role of Gauri in power politi cs.
3. Write a note on the women characters of the play.
4. Describe the role of Sutradhar in this play.
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122 11
CRITICAL STUDY OF VIJAY
TENDULKAR’S GHASHIRAM KOTWAL
PART II
Unit Structure:
11.0 Objective
11.1 Character Sketches
11.2 Critical Analysis of the Play
11.3 Features of the Play
11.4 Conclusion
11.5 Important Questions
11.0 OBJECTIVE: The unit intends to give students further insight into the play
Ghashiramkotwal . Students are given brief character sketches of the
characters of the play and a critical analysis of the play is also given for
their detailed study. Important features of the play (innovations used and
themes) are also discussed.
11.1 CHARACTER SKETCHES: Ghashiram
Kotwal of Poona city is a stern, uncouth and ruthless official. He is
appointed by Nana as a quid pro quo for his daughter LalitaGauri.
Ghashiram turns out to be a devil incarnate afte r he assumes the charge.
He has taken a vow to set Poona right and he adheres to his words. But in
the process he causes a lot of blood letting and despotic measures. He is a
bad diplomat and lacks intrigues of power. He falls a victim to superior
machinat ions of Nana. Finally he is stoned to death by the mob on the
charge of murder of twenty -two Brahmins.
Nana Phadnavis
The chief counselor and administrator of Poona. The wily politician is
well acquainted with the intricacies of power. Has a great weaknes s for
women. He has numerous wives. Kotwali of Poona is granted to Ghashi
by him on a condition that he would surrender his daughter LalitaGauri to
him.
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Critical Study of Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal Part II
123 LalitaGauri
A sexually attractive, sixteen year old girl who comes to the city of Poona
with her pare nts but ends up falling a victim to Nana's lust. Her father
unscrupulously hands her over to Nana in return for Kotwali of Poona
city. She remains the favourite of Nana for sometime and tastes power
herself. She is abandoned and left to the mercy of an abo rtionist after her
role is over. She gets an unceremonious burial in the play.
Gulabi
A nubile and wily courtesan of Poona.A great erotic dancer who knows
how to make fast bucks in Poona. The whole city flocks to her for
treacherous pampering and fondling . She enjoys special favours of Nana
as he visits her brothel quite frequently and she is summoned on all royal
ceremonies. She gives patronage to Ghashi when he is new to the city.
Incidentally Ghashi also tastes his first humiliation at her hands.
The Su tradhar
An important character and the Narrator of the play. He assumes many -
roles and keeps the audience abreast with the goings on and the
background of the play. He provides the information about the things
happening on stage and off stage as well give s the criticisms. His satires
are sometime very biting.
BhatjiBua
The sacrificial priest. He is the Brahmin who gives the first hand
information about the decadence of Poona city while he surreptitiously
tries to move to the red light area and the latest marriage of Nana
Phadnavis. The interaction between him and the sutradhar is a valuable
source of information on the current state of affairs in Poona city.
Peshwa
Peshwa of Poona city is the titular head. He is just the rubber stamp and
the de facto rul er is Nana. He makes his appearance just once when he
orders inquiry into the deeds of Ghashiram. Nana unquestionably follows
his order and hands over Ghashi to the unruly mob.
11.2 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY: GhashiramKotlwal raised many an eyebrow on its stage performances
primarily because it had dealt a severe blow to a valiant chapter of
Maratha history. It also came under severe criticism for distorting facts
and manipulating history . Nana Phadnavis has been portrayed in dark
shade who as per th e chroniclers was an able administrator and shrewd
politician who with his presight kept the' Maratha Empire integrated for
more than 20 years. His potency as an administrator can be gauged from
the fact that even British could not make a dent on the Marat ha Empire in
his lifetime.Shortly after his death the Maratha kingdom broke up and the
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124 GhashiramKotwal has also tried to sketch the vices and corruptions
rampant in those times and the haughtiness of the Brahmins . The play is
replete with instances of schemings, treachery, violence, brutality and the
machinations of power at different levels. The defences have been put up
by the playwright as well as some historians in reply to the onslaught on
the play. Vijay Ten dulkar the Playwright states that GhashiramKotwal is
not a historical play though it is set in an historical era. He has tried to get
across to the audience that that likes of Ghashiram are the product of the
socio economic forces which transcend the bound aries of time and space.
He has also stated that he does not intend to bring out the loopholes either
in Nana Phadnavis or Ghashiram or even the Peshwa. He has simply used
these historical men as his characters and the morals need not be derived
from them GhashiramKotwal is a strong portrayal of the bitter truths,
which come very close to our society here and elsewhere. That likes of
Ghashiramand Peshwa and Nana Phadnavis, as depicted in the play, do
grow in the modern society cannot be negated.
The religio sity, sex and power often go hand on hand. Nana purchases sex
by dissipating power into the hands of a humiliated man. Ghashiram
procures power by making available the sex where it matters little that it
comes from his own extension(daughter). In the parla ys of power such
vital relations are often ignored. With power in hand people often think
that they can purchase anything. As Ghashiramdid.He felt that after
wresting the power of kotwali and begetting the fear of rod, he can get a
suitable groom for his daughter who is an illegal mistress of Nana. He
even thinks that he can stop the people from gossiping, pointing an
accusing finger either at him or at Gauri by his authority. But it happens
not so. Before he can venture out to arrange the marriage,Gauri d ies at the
hand of a greater evil and people do talk about. Money and power do not
come to Ghashi's rescue. The fact remains that the duo are lethal force
when in combination with its third partner. It depends upon the guile of
people like Nana who are exp ert in using them to fulfill their objectives
and rule over people the way the, want. Nana is a cut above the rest in this
aspect.
Morality and God are the strengths of the weak. The strong need them
only to further their ends. They are thrown to the back burners if the
situation so demands and taken into purview if their use becomes
imminent. Nana ridicules lord Ganeshaas an idol of holiness when Gauri,
points out that he is watching the misdemeanor of Nana. Immediately
comes the reply. 'he will not say a nything if you sit on our lap. He has got
two wives.' The chant of the holy' hymns continuesthroughout the play
whether it is the selection of a girl or a lavni dance or erotic gestures by
the courtesan or the march of Brahmins, to the red light area or th e
perpetuation of violence by the guardians of discipline.
The play is also a portrayal of an average man taking to the life of vices
and crimes. The circumstances and the behaviour of the fellow mortals
coerce one to either take the law into his hand, or connivance with the
power to break the hell loose to avenge himself. People like Ghashi suffer
because they have a tragic flaw. Others pass as successful adventurous munotes.in

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125 sorts escaping the law and the good Sex has come to occupy such a place
that no conquest i s full without it. It is sometimes associated with one’s
chauvinism also. Nana says. ‘ourgrandeur is gone if she is not had’ and
‘this nine court Nana will conquer the whole Hindustan if you get her to
me’.
Sorrowfully it is the women who suffer and contin ue to do so. Throughout
the play the women have been the suppressed lot. Gauri is handed over to
Nana without her volition by her father to satisfy the desires of an ageing
man. She is forced to be the mistress of this man who is already married
six times. She does so even without a faint prospect of getting married to
him. She loses her reputation, compromises her honour and finally dies a
shameful death. They cannot prevent Nana from getting married the
seventh time to a very small girl and is forced to b ecome partners in his
merry making. Gulabi the courtesan is rewarded for pleasing Nana and
dancing erotically. She is called to functions for dancing to the tunes of
this Nana. Ghashi's wife has no say in the matters in which he has taken a
decision even i f it means to hand over her girl to a beast. Women lot
remains subjugated throughout the play.
Sexuality especially the female sexuality has been used to represent loss
and destruction in struggle for power. The Poona Brahmins who represent
the different places of India are degenerated and morally bankrupt. They
are hypocrite, clever schemers and brutal. Instead of treading the path of
spirituality they visit the prostitutes. They do not see the difference
between a Kirtan and a lavani. For them it is inva riably the same. The
Sutradhar in his lampoon describes the gardens of Krishna at Mathura
descend on to Bavannakhani..Nana with his insatiable desires for sex and
with his numerous wives parodies lord Krishna. It is a cutting satire and
monstrous smile. Th e filthy squalor is compared with spirituality to
highlight the moral depravity of Poona.
Historically incorrect though GhashiramKotwal may be, it exudes a
universal theme which actuallv transcends all boundaries dissolving time
and space. The theme fits I ndian context to a great extent and can be
applicable for many other countries as well. The combination of power
and sex has always been very deadly to the corridors of power which are
not sacrosanct. Tendulkar's GhasjiramKotwal had evoked a good viewer -
ship and the performance has run into several hundred shows worldwide.
It has stunned, astonished, set the souls to introspection and won laurels.
11.3 FEATURES OF GHASHIRAM KOTWAL : GhashiramKotwal is a fiction woven out of history. Like many other plays
GhashiramKotwal also finds its structure on history but unlike them, it is
often stated as presentation of distorted facts and sketching a Maratha
patriot in contradictions. The folk drama with its elaborate use of facial
expression, mime, song, dance and sy mbolic use of stage technique makes
the play unforgettable. It is appreciated for its production, design music
and colourful choreography. Tendulkar's assertion that the play though
based on historical legend, does not comment on morality or immorality of munotes.in

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126 Peshwa Nana Phadnavis or Ghashiram however does not find many
buyers. It is a mere statement of degeneration of society, which will find
universality, he avers. The Sutradhar becomes an important character in
the play who adopts several roles and slides in to each one of them very
smoothly. He is also the narrator and the chief commentator. He keeps the
audience abreast with his interjections and interposes. He slides in one role
after another and the curtain does not fall. It is to the ability of the
Sutrad har who makes it happen with ease. He teases and ridicules
Bhatjibuwa feigning respect. The conversation between the Sutradhar and
the Brahmin is facetious, the short rhyming sentences are delightfully
crisp and superficiality is the essence of the scene. The play of words and
repartee sets the mood for a comic encounter between him and the
Brahmin.
Sutradhar is an important tool in the hands of the dramatist to satirize the
contemporary society, Brahmins and Nana amongst othes, which is the
main aim of thi s play. Sutradhar mocks and baffles the Brahmin into
confession that he was going to Bavannakhani. The other Brahmins are
also accosted by him as 'Oho gentleman ! Moneyed men !Mansionedman !
Where are you going ?'The three.handsome Brahmins tried to hoodwi nk
him saying that they were going to a kirtan. They finally relent and come
out with the information that they were going to Gulabi's place. The
seriousness of the offence is conveyed through comic overtures. The play
has been able to strike at a very vul nerable point of the contemporary
society and has been able to bring out the ugly connections between
power, sex and religion. Sex and religion have acquired the status of
'institution' in power. Whether it is Ghashiram or Poona brahmanary or
Nana, they ac quire and delegate power to the institution of sex and
religion. The association though murky, continues to gain an upper hand
nevertheless.
The human wall in the play is another unique feature. It comprises twelve
brahmans whose function is to comment on the proceedings, act as stage
props, dissolve into the various requirements of the play. When they turn
their backs to the audience they are supposed to play no part. It also serves
as a mechanism of secrecy and revelation. It hides the characters, the
scenic developments and other things when the dramatist wills so, to focus
on the other side on the stage and exposes the dramatic movement when it
is so required. It thus prevents the fall of curtain rapidly and is novel in
itself.
The Sutradhar is sometim e part of the human curtain. The human curtain
sometimes temporarily acts as individuals and sometimes function as a
unit. As the play opens twelve Brahmans are seen on the stage invoking
Lord Ganesha to shower the blessings on the Play. Ganesha is said to be
the remover of hurdles and all religious ceremonies begin with invocation
to Wm. The Sutradhar in his conversation with the Brahmin introduces
them to the audience. He starts the singing and fills up the gaps by his
intervention. munotes.in

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Critical Study of Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal Part II
127 Efficacious and power ful language becomes a vehicle of powerful
communication. Tendulkar s strength lies in dialogues which are shoet and
powerful. Writing such language.for the purposes of theatre involves an
understanding of not only the sense and sound of words but also of the
tone and rhythm of sentences. Sometimes the placement of words in a
sentence or juxtaposition of word withanother word or a line with another
line makes a powerful dramatic speech.Language is the vehicle of
emotion, mood and wit.
In GhashiramKotwal , the playwright has been successful to indicate every
movement precisely and in a telling way. The movement has lent a great
narrative force. It is equivalent to the force provided by speech, song or
action. The human curtain is central to the creation of an environment of
intrigue, hypocrisy and greed. It is against this backdrop that the story line
Ghashiram opens up.
GhashiramKotwal is a musical historical. The folk form in which it is cast
is an important feature. The form, which was used in Ghashiram, wa s not
again used by Tendulkar in his other plays. The use of music, song and
dance has blunted the seriousness of the play. It has however, not gone
against the play. In one of its Hindi versions, there is less use of music and
song and the result is that the content of the play came through more
powerfully. That turned out to be a stronger play. Tendulkar has himself
averred that music is a joyous thing. It is capable of giving deep pleasure.
If it is used as a vehicle to say what one wants to say then, ho wever,
serious that may be, it is the impact of music that endures. The music is
attractive but it is the words and visual component that carry the theme.
Anyway the present folk form used in GhashiramKotwal does not
undermine its strength and adds to its Popularity.
Another feature of the play is that it is historical though the playwright
refuses to accept this brand. A historical play seems to be a contradiction
in teens. History requires truth to the events of the past, but art requires
imagination and concentration on the needs of art. This means in other
words that the writer of a historical play, must use the facts of history with
discretion to suit the needs of his drama, while maintaining overall truth to
history, he has to deviate from the facts o f history, and even introduce new
characters in the interest of dramatic effectiveness.
Tendulkar has used the prominent characters of Maratha history and
woven a story around them. The story revolves around the contemporary
Maratha polity.There has been a distortion and deviation and accusations
have come plenty. The playwright’s intention has been to reveal the
individuals playing the game of politics and taking advantage of the
situations to rise to power and cling to it.
The play very succinctly and pe rtinently brings out the connection
between sex, religion and politics. The play is full of violence. Soon after
Ghashi's entry in the play, violence begins. It is Gulabi, the weaker sex
ironically who gets him kicking and abuses. Very soon Ghashi is to be
treated roughly again and this time it's the soldiers who abuse and make munotes.in

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Indian Writing in Translation
128 fun of him.He is put behind bars.Thereafter, the violence continues
unabated. It is now Ghashi who get, into the driver’s seat and lets loose the
hell.
Apart from the physical viole nce, the verbal violence continues well.
Whether it is Nana.Ghashi.and soldiers,Sutradhar or the holy Brahmins the
choicest abuses are used by them. Nana after appointing Ghashi being left
with no choice rakes after him
Go. Ghasva you bastard.we've made y ou, we've made You Kotwal. Go
have a ball. But you have no clue to Nana's moves. Both barrels of this
political gun are loaded full. With the first shot. I’ll lay your luscious girl.
Similarly after being disappointed with the golden city of Poooa and
coming at receiving end, Ghashiram throws his sash on the ground and
takes a vow. 'but I will come back, come back to Poona it will Cost you
!— I have become a shudra, a criminal —now I am a devil.
The mridanga starts a forceful beat and Ghashi dances a war d ance,
banging his fist in the dust. And then he storms out to the audience. Just
before that the soldiers have addressed him as thief and monkey. A
Brahmin affronts calling him 'a shapeless piece of shit' and to get aside. In
the company of an English man he regards himself no less than him.
Numerous other instances can be cited from the play.
Another important feature of the play is that brings out the theme of
politics of deputation. After religion and ceremony, deputation constitutes
another device of p ower. Deputation is used as a camouflage, an
instrument through which power can be exercised. Power is delegated to a
second person who carries the wishes of his master. So if the master is
corrupt he will serve his end through the deputed persons who will act as a
shield and the blame will also come through him. In case of tumult or
problematic situation, this deputed person can easily be sacrificed which is
what happens with Ghashi. Such deputation hides the perpetrators from
the eyes of the public.
'Go Ghasva — child, you're a foreigner. I have put you on Poona's back.
We just raised a dog at our door to the position of the Kotwali ' — What'll
happen is that our misdeeds will be credited to your account
GhashiramKotwal fits into the framework of a realis tic play. The play
comments on the contemporary Maratha society with its vulnerabilities.
The prevalent corruption, degradation and erosion of moral values are
truly echoed in the play.
The title of the play has gone after Ghashiram —the central character
whose story is the play. The title is apt and suggestive. The rise and fall of
Ghashi enfolds the theme, the salient features and other on important
happenings. They end with the end of the character. However, something
lives after him, only is the machin ations of wily politicians, which
however is the aim of the playwright. munotes.in

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Critical Study of Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal Part II
129 11.4 CONCLUSION: The play GhashiramKotwal is a commentary on the pitfalls of politics
which is universal. The play shows how the waywardness of people in
power leads to corruption in th e society through the character of Nana
Phadnavis. The character of Ghashiram represents how being stringent
without any logical reason leads to the suffering of the common man. In
both the cases, authorities meant to protect the common man become their
enemy. Vijay Tendulkar makes use of innovative techniques of dance,
music, human curtain and Sutradhar to convey his theme emphatically.
The play also touches upon the theme of power, female sexuality,
corruption and status of women. Thus, although the play is set in a
historical era, the themes of the play are universal.
11.5 QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the role of Nana Phadnavis.
2. Write a critical analysis of the play GhashiramKotwal .
3. Explain the role of human curtain and music in the play.
4. Discuss some of the theme s of the play.

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130 12
CRITICAL STUDY OF ISMAT
CHUGHTAI’S MASOOMA
PART I
Unit Structure:
12.0 Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Masooma
12.3 IsmatChughtai and the Place of Urdu in Post -Independence India
12.4 Questions
12.5 References
12.0 OBJECTIVES: 1. To introduce a very wel l-known and prolific writer in Urdu
IsmatChughtai to the readers.
2. To analyse Chughtai’s novel Masooma
3. To study the journey and struggle of a young girl in order establish her
identity and place in society
12.1 INTRODUCTION: Ismat Chughtai is considered by many to be the fourth pillar of modern
Urdu fiction along with Saadat Hassan Manto, Rajendra Singh Bedi, and
Krishan Chandar. In terms of notoriety and fame, controversy and
popularity, she is ahead of any other Urdu novelist. Her personality and
her writi ngs are complementary to each other and consist of rebellion,
compassion, innocence, and sincerity. She made a name for herself in the
world of Urdu fiction and novel writing due to her startling themes and
realistic style of writing. The microscopic incid ents of human life are the
subject of her works, but she presents these events with such dexterity and
artistry that a complete and vivid picture of daily life comes to the fore.
Through her characters, she tries to expel the evils of society and make
them a symbol of beauty, happiness, and peace.
IsmatChughtai was associated with the progressive movement of Urdu,
but unlike other communist writers of her time, she made internal, social,
and emotional exploitation the subject of her stories instead of exter nal,
social exploitation. In her writings, Ismat tries to both understand and
make her readers understand the issue of carnal desires with respect to munotes.in

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Critical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Masooma Part -I
131 human psychology. She has also raised the issue of equality between men
and women which goes beyond domest ic equality. Her stories have an air
of a middle -income Muslim household where the everyday woman can be
felt by the reader, but Ismat emphasizes on the point that this everyday
woman, too, is human, and isn’t merely an object of copulation, she has
her ow n physical and emotional needs which need to be understood and
fulfilled. Ismat’s rebellious and fiery tone often leaves our established
social construct high and dry.
IsmatChughtai was born on August 21, 1915, in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh.
Her father, MirzaQa sim Beg Chughtai, was a high -ranking government
official. She was the youngest of nine siblings, all her sisters had been
married until she gained awareness, thus, in her childhood, she only had
the company of her brothers, and she continuously challenged their
supremacy. Whether it was playing street football or horseback riding and
climbing trees, she did everything that girls were forbidden to do. She
studied up to the fourth standard in Agra, and till the eighth standard in
Aligarh, but her parents were not in favor of her higher education, instead,
they wanted to train her to become a decent housewife. But Ismat wanted
to get further educated at any cost, she threatened to run away from home
and become a Christian and enter into a missionary school if h er education
was not continued. Eventually, her father had to kneel in front of her
stubbornness and she went to Aligarh and got admission in the tenth
standard. In Aligarh, she met Rashid Jahan, who in 1932 together with
SajjadZaheer and Ahmad Ali, publis hed a collection of stories called
"Angare" which was confiscated by the Britishers upon the charge of
obscenity and mutiny. Rashid Jahan was a liberal and highly educated
MBBS doctor and women's rights activist, with a communist ideology,
who acquainted I smat to the basics of communism, and Ismat decided to
follow in her footsteps by making her her guru. Ismat later reflected, ‘I
hated moaning women, who bore illegitchildren. Fidelity and beauty,
which are considered a woman’s virtues; I condemn them. Love is a
burden on the heart and nothing else. I learned this from Rashid Aapa.’
Ismat blamed illiteracy for the plight of women. After FA, she enrolled in
an IT college in Lucknow where her subjects were English, Polity, and
Economics. After arriving there, she got the opportunity to breathe in the
open air for the first time and was freed from all the shackles of middle -
class Muslim society.
IsmatChughtai started writing stories at the age of eleven or twelve but did
not publish them under her own name. In 1 939, when her first story titled
‘Fasadi’ published in the distinguished journal Saqi, people thought it was
her brother, a well -known writer, Azeem Beg Chughtai had written this
story under a pseudonym. Later, in the same year, her stories like Kafir,
Dheet, Khidmatgar, and Bachpan stirred the literary circles, and Ismat
became known as an eminent author. In 1941 and 1942, two collections of
her short stories came out titled ‘Kaliyaa.n’ and ‘Chuntii.n’. But her most
talked -about work came in 1941, ‘Lihaf’ which explored the intimate
relationship between two women, and caused havoc in the preserve of
Urdu literature. Ismat was tried for obscenity and such the story became
the focal point of her life’s work, so much so that it overshadowed all her munotes.in

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Indian Writing in Translation
132 remaining w orks like ‘JoDa’, ‘Genda’, ‘Nanhi Ki Nani’, and ‘Bhool -
Bhulaiyan’, which were equally well -written.
After completing her graduation from IT college, teaching in different
places, and some well -talked affairs, Ismat moved to Bombay where she
got a job as an Inspector of Schools. There was also ShahidLatif in
Bombay who used to write dialogues in Bombay Talkies for Rs. 225.
Ismat had met Shahid in Aligarh while he was doing his MA. Arriving in
Bombay, their stormy romance began and they got married. Ismat’s
attitude towards the idea of love was quite unconventional. She said, ‘I
consider love to be a very important thing; it’s the very strength of heart
and mind, but a person should not become stingy in it, one should not
become suicidal for its sake. There is an innate bond between love and
sex, gone are the days when loved used to be a pious thing.’ That’s why
when Shaid proposed her for marriage, Ismat, owing to her thoughts,
replied ‘I am not an ordinary girl. All my life I’ve cut the chains that
fettered m e, I won’t be able to take up another shackle. Obedience,
chastity, and other virtues expected of a woman do not suit me. Lest you
repent in the end.’ But Shahiddidn’t heed to her admonition. About her
relationship with Shahid, Ismat later reflected, ‘A ma n can offer love,
respect, and even prostrations toa woman, but he can’t give her an equal
status; Shahid gave me an equal status’.
ShahidLatif had also introduced Ismat to the film industry. He had turned
from a screenwriter to a producer. Ismat used to w rite stories and
dialogues for his films which include Ziddi, Aarzoo, and Sone Ki Chidiya.
After that, his films began flopping. Even after the death of ShahidLatif,
Ismat remained associated with the film industry. ‘Garm -Hawa’, the
famous film made on Ind o-Pak partition was also written by Ismat, she
had also written and played a small role in ShyamBenegal’s famous film
‘Junun’. Other films that saw Ismat’s writing grace their stories include
‘Chhed -Chaad’, ‘Buzdil’, ‘Shikayat’, ‘Shisha’, ‘Fareb’, and ‘Lal a-Rukh’.
Ismat’s signature skill in her writings is her unique style of expression.
Language is not only a means of expression in her stories but also an
abstract truth in itself. Language can be seen as an animate object in many
of her novels, including ‘ Masuma’, ‘Dil Ki Duniya’, ‘EkQatraKhun’,
‘Saudai’, ‘Jungli’, ‘AjibAdmi’, and ‘Kabutar’. She considered ‘Dil Ki
Duniya’ to be her best novel.
In return for her literary services, Ismat received many important awards
and prizes from government and non -govern ment organizations. In 1975,
she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. In 1990, the
Madhya Pradesh government awarded her the IqbalSamman, the Ghalib
Award, and the Filmfare Award. After illuminating the realm of literature
for half a cent ury, she left the world on October 24, 1991, and according
to her will, her body was cremated at Chandanwari Electric Crematorium. munotes.in

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Critical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Masooma Part -I
133 Those were the days when women were not expected to even think, let
alone speak or write, on social -political is sues. A privileged few could, at
the most, indulge in inane versification or perfunctory reading within the
four walls of their homes. This was especially true of Indian Muslim
women who remained veiled, walled and voiceless. But IsmatChughtai
broke that m ould in a manner that shocked the conservatives and stirred up
the slumbering, shackled feminine populace like never before. Of course,
her Lihaaf scandalised the traditional litterateurs as much as the extant
patriarchal hierarchy. In the process, she cre ated a new literary template
that tore apart the layers of societal hypocrisy; raising issues that were,
later on, fashionably labelled as feminist.
Masooma is a novel that delineates its protagonist Nilofar’s brutalisation
in a male -dominated society. Bor n in an aristocratic family, her childhood
was a protected one. But, one day, her father and brothers migrated to
Pakistan leaving her and her siblings, along with her mother, behind with
no income to sustain them, forcing them to leave for Bombay to seek an
acting career for Nilofar in the movies. But good looks alone were not
enough. They fell into the trap of pimps and seths; and the nubile and
na`EFveNilofar metamorphosed into a high -class call girl – skittish,
foulmouthed and amoral. The narrative is g ripping, taking one on an
emotional rollercoaster along with the protagonist, who goes through soul -
sapping vicissitudes. The translation is so good that you would think that
you were reading the original. Of course, readers would miss some of the
flavours of the Urdu language, including the highly wrought greetings and
graphic gaalis . Fortunately, the sensibility remains intact.
Ismat wrote voluminously till she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
Disease in 1988. Her formidable body of work comprises several
collections of short stories, novels, sketches, plays, reportage, radio plays
as well as stories, dialogues and scenarios for the films produced by her
husband ShahidLateef as well as others. Much of her non -film writing was
autobiographical; if not directl y related to her own life, it certainly
stemmed from her own experiences as a woman, especially a middle -class
Muslim woman. Some critics, like Aziz Ahmed, have viewed this as a
flaw rather than strength, objecting to the constant, overwhelming
presence of Ismat herself in all that she wrote. Regardless of Ismat’s own
larger -than-life persona, while it is true that her interest was primarily in
women, it is also true that she saw women in the larger social context and
not merely within the confines of the zenana . She wrote stories (such
as Jadein ) and plays ( DhaaniBankein) on other issues such as communal
tensions, issues that did not concern women alone, but issues that can be
viewed from a unique perspective because they come from a woman’s
pen.
Like many of her fellow -travellers in the progressive writers’ movement,
Ismat proved over and over again that she was a progressive more by
inclination than indoctrination. We see evidence of this in almost her
writings; in Masooma too we see Ismat depicting the e ffects of a world
cleft by social and economic injustices upon the life of a young girl. The
trade of women and the commodification of a woman’s body, she seems 12.2 MASOOMA : munotes.in

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Indian Writing in Translation
134 to be saying here, is a direct consequence of human frailty and lust but
also of poverty and in equality.
However, Masooma – written in 1962 when the influence of
progressivism had considerably waned and the core group within the PWA
no longer held its members in thrall -- differs from her other writings in
several notable respects. One, the overwhel ming presence of Ismat herself
– noticeable in her early works – is absent here. Yes, she draws upon her
experiences in the film industry; yes, her impressions are refracted through
the prism of her own experience; and yes, she continues to be more
interes ted in women than in men. But here, she has managed to
camouflage her presence. The story of Masooma, a girl from a wealthy
and respectable family from the erstwhile state of Hyderabad, takes centre
stage. Also, in the telling of this story of a girl’s des cent into prostitution,
how innocent Masooma is sold by her aristocratic mother to keep the
home fires burning and how this girl from a decent family turns into
Nilofer, a mistress who changes hands till she becomes no better (or
worse) than a common prost itute, and her mother too is transformed from
a haughty begum to a seasoned madam, Ismat sheds her coyness and her
tendency to use allusion rather overt descriptions.
While Ismat had always written bold stories that challenged traditional
morality and worn -out notions of a woman’s ‘place’ in society,
till Masooma she had not written anything that can be described as overly
‘sexual’ – not even in Lihaaf . Given her interest in sexual matters, and the
fact that both she and the original bête noir of Urdu – Manto – had been
hauled up by a Court in Lahore on charges of obscenity, comparisons
between the two have always been inevitable. Noted writer and critic
Intezar Husain has drawn an interesting parallel between these two enfant
terribles of the Urdu short sto ry:
‘Where Ismat moves away lightly after making a passing reference to
(such) a subject, Manto is like the naughty boy who flings open the door,
claps his hands and say, ‘Aha! I have seen you!’
In Masooma , Ismat is flinging open that door with a vengeance . We have
far more references to ‘such subjects’ here than in any of Ismat’s other
works. If anything, we see an Ismat deriving an almost vicarious pleasure
when she depicts the debasement and moral descent of Masooma, with
insouciant references to trysts in seedy hotels where people watch French
films and perform unimaginable acts of abomination! The incorrigible
gossip in Ismat causes her to leaven her narrative with generous dollops of
spicy snippets about real film stars and real events. Having worked i n the
film industry herself and known at first hand the seedy goings on between
needy starlets and avaricious hangers -on and the unsavoury nexus between
producers, directors, financiers, she flavours her story with a robust
realism.
‘What a strange place t his world is!’ she mock sighs and then embarks
upon a rambling digression about Mazhar, the son of a degenerate nawab
who, like so many other young men and women with stardust in their munotes.in

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Critical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Masooma Part -I
135 eyes, had flocked to Bombay but with his money robbed and youth faded
is now a peddler of young girls, supplier of every whim, ‘indentured to the
fancies of an ageing heroine’. Somewhere, this seemingly rambling tale
hides a stinging observation, sharper than the sting on a scorpion’s tail:
‘When someone who has been the obje ct of toadyism himself has to turn
around and become a toady, then there’s no more to be said. He was now
well versed in the subtle craft of toadyism.’
And, elsewhere, the mock -sermonising hides a sardonic realism:
‘So many avatars and prophets struggled, lost, and relinquished their lives
while trying to teach lessons of goodness; evil is interesting and exciting
while goodness is like chewing tough metallic marbles…But this was not
the fault of evil or goodness. The fault lay with the artificial society i n
which she had been raised. There was fasting, namaz, Haj, and zakat – but
there was also whoring and vice carried out in secrecy.’
Ismat’s language – always her strength as a story teller – is different too in
this novel. Here, she uses biting satire as a tool to sharpen her depiction of
social realities and give an extra edge to her pithy, flavoursome, idiomatic
language, the begumaatizuban that she herself knew so well. In her hands,
Urdu had acquired a new zest, a special zing that made it more readabl e
than ever before; in Masooma she shows how it is also better equipped to
reflect new concerns, concerns that had been hitherto considered beyond
the pale of literature. Also, her Urdu is full -bodied and vigorous, redolent
with the flavours of Bombay, its sights, smells, sounds so different from
the genteel world of chaste Urdu speakers of Upper India.
As we witness a revival of interest in Ismat with several translations into
English crowding our shelves, we must pause to take note of the
translator’s rol e in the continued popularity of a writer. Ismat is
particularly blessed in having in TahiraNaqvi a devoted and able
translator. With several Ismat translations behind her, Naqvi is emerging
as the most faithful voice for Ismat in English
12.3 ISMATCHUGHTA I AND THE PLACE OF URDU IN POST -INDEPENDENCE INDIA: During Chughtai’s lifetime, the venues for publishing and the size of the
Urdu -readingpublic decreased dramatically, in part due to the large -scale
emigration to Pakistan of literate,Urdu -speaking North I ndian Muslims.
While actual estimates vary, official statistics count morethan seven
million individuals, almost all Muslims, leaving India during the four
years after Partition. Nevertheless, Urdu authors like Chughtai who
remained in India began to find newaudiences through translation into
English and transliteration into Devanagari script.
Already in the pre -colonial period, Chughtai expressed a desire to have her
workstranslated into English. “Gaindā” (1938) was translated in 1940 by
Ahmed Ali, contributor to Angāreand writer of Twilight in Delhi, as “The
Little Mother” and published in the Englishliterary digest Folios of New munotes.in

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Indian Writing in Translation
136 Writing. Here, Chughtai was published alongside new short storiesfrom
George Orwell and Virginia Woolf. Next, “Liḥāf” was translated in 1944
by Khwaja Ahmed Abbas and published in the Bombay journal The
Sound . Notably, these twoearliest translations of Chughtai’s writing into
English were done by fellow Progressive writers,and fit well with their
attempts to disseminate Urdu literature to new audiences.
Indian government agencies also played an important role in the
translation anddissemination of Chughtai’s works. The mission of the
SāhityaAkademi, India’s national academy of letters (est. 1954) is in part
to oversee the creation of a national literary canon. Since its establishment,
the SāhityaAkademi has published rep resentative literary works from each
ofthe scheduled languages of the Indian Constitution. In 1957, Chughtai’s
short story, “NanhīkīNānī,” was translated as “Tiny’s Granny” by the
literary scholar Ralph Russell for the firstvolume of the SāhityaAkademi’s
publication of Contemporary Indian Short Stories . Her stories were also
included in the Urdu volume ofthe SāhityaAkademi’s Kathābhāratī project,
which was published simultaneously in several ofIndia’s regional
languages, making Chughtai’s work available to a wide swathe of the
Indianpopulation.
As Chughtai’s fame as a writer grew, her short stories and novels began to
appear inHindi. Owing to the mutual intelligibility of Urdu and Hindi,
adaptations of Chughtai’s work intoHindi are, generally speaking, closer
to transliterations from Urdu into Devanagari script than to independent
translations. Many of the early translations of Progressive Writing into
Hindi werepublished by Nilābh Publications in the city of Allahabad. The
owner of the press, UpendranāthAshk, had begun his career as an Urdu
author before he began publis hing in Hindi in 1932 on the advice of the
author Premchand. Ashk had worked closely with several Progressive
authors atAll -India Radio. In 1948, Ashk moved to Allahabad, where he
founded the publishing houseNīlābhPrakāśan. The introduction to
NīlābhPrakāś an’s 1960 Hindi publication of Chughtai’snovel
Ziddīexpressed the publisher’s desire to bring out more Urdu authors’
works in Hindi sothat they could reach a broader audience, stating, “After
Partition, the publication of Urduliterature received a major se tback.
Because they do not know Hindi, only with a very long delaycould Urdu
authors’ compositions come into Hindi in collected form.”38 The editor
goes on toassert that one of Chughtai’s greatest qualities as a writer was
her ability to capture dialogue i nsimple colloquial language, a feature that
no doubt made her work relatively easy to convey inHindi.
manovaijñāniksatyoṉkobebākī se aṉkitkarnekealāvā,
Ismatkākamālunkībolchāl
kīpravahmānbhāṣāmeṉhai. Ismatkitābībhāṣānahīlikhtīṉ.unhoṉ -neyū.
pī. meṉjanmaliyā, jahāṉurdū -hindīdonoṉjanmīṉ, palīṉaurparvāncaṛhīṉ,
islie
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137
In addition to fearlessly recording psychological truths, Ismat’s
excellence was her dialogue which is in colloquial language. Ismat
does not write in bookish language. She was born in U.P., where
both Urdu and Hindi were born, brough t up, and developed. For
this reason, in Ismat’s language, there is amazing simplicity,
spontaneity, flow, and charm.
By emphasizing the common link between the two languages, the editor
points out thefamiliarity of Chughtai’s speech to his readers —a notio n
very close to Chughtai’s own description of her language. Also worth
noting is his claim that her writing is characterized bysimplicity and charm
rather than bookish erudition. Such a claim can be read in two ways.
Onthe one hand, singling her work out a s possessing charm ( mohinī), a
word which refers to theenchanting power of female beauty, engages in a
gendered reading of Chughtai’s work. Such aclaim mirrors Urdu criticism
on Chughtai that highlights her usage of begamātīzabān (ladies’language).
At the s ame time, the idea of writing in simple rather thanbookish
language was advocated by in the various manifestos of the Progressive
Writers’Movement as a way of overcoming individualist conceits in
literature.Although the colloquial nature of Chughtai’s lang uage might
have lent itself to Hindiadaptation, translators still altered the language of
the text. Reading the same story side -by-sidein its Urdu original and its
Hindi adaptation is a revealing enterprise, one that can tell us muchabout
the perceived bou ndaries of the two registers. In the case of Ashk’sHindi
ublication of Ziddī, my comparison of the texts revealed that the enterprise
of translation resulted in a fairlyunobtrusive rendering of the original text.
While the changes from Urdu into Hindi occur red primarily in words of
Perso -Arabic origin, less than one in ten words had been
changed,including such minor phonetic differences as Hindi tab for Urdu
to. This leads me to conclude that at least in the editor’s eyes, Chughtai’s
work was generally compr ehensible to educatedreaders of Hindi with only
very minor alteration.
After 1947, very few of the Urdu -language literary journals in which
Chughtai hadpublished in during her early career remained in operation in
India. During this period, Chughtaiincreas ingly sent her works to journals
published in Pakistan —Nuqūshand Qāfilain Lahore,
NayāDaur, Afkār , and Naqsh in Karachi. Sometimes her stories would only
appear in India after they had been collected in edited volumes. Yet
increasingly, Chughtai also began to have herwork published in Hindi
translation. The translation of Ziddī(1960) was followed bypublications of
a collection of Chughtai’s short stories entitled Kumārī(1960), ṬeṛhīLakīr
(1967) and AjībĀdamī (1972). According to Ralph Russell, Chughtai
would have her storiespublished in Devanagari even before they appeared
in Perso -Arabic script through Hindi journalslike the Allahabad -based
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138 During the Bangladesh Liberation Movement and the lead -up to the Indo -
Pakistani Warof 1971, debates concerning the relationship between India’s
Muslims and Pakistan ragedthroughout the Indian and Pakistani press. In
particular, the loyalties of the Urdu press were openly called into question
on the Indian side of the border. In this context, Chughtai be gan to write
about the role of Urdu in India and started to advocate for script reform,
echoing olderProgressive efforts to encourage writing Urdu in Roman
script and to transliterate Urdu in Devanagari. In 1971, Chughtai published
a provocative article en titled “Urdūkārasmal -k̲h̲at̤t̤badaldiyājāʼe” (Urdu’s
script should be changed), in the Karachi journal NayāDaur (New Era) .
Publishing such an article in a Pakistani journal at the time implicitly cast
ironic criticism on theefforts of the Pakistani governme nt to impose Perso -
Arabic script on the Bengali -speakingcitizens of East Pakistan, which had
in part led to the Bangladesh Liberation Movement. In it,she writes, “Urdu
is dead in colleges. It has been buried in schools […] but it still remains
ontongues; i t is still spoken and understood in every corner of the nation.
The blame or credit forthis should go to either Hindi films or singers of
Qawwalis.” Chughtai introduces here acritical distinction between Urdu as
a written language, which in her perspective is essentiallymoribund in
India, and Urdu as a spoken heritage, which is alive and well in the Indian
culturalsphere. Chughtai likens the ‘death’ of written Urdu in India to the
decline of Persian —thoughPersian itself is no longer written in India,
expres sions borrowed from the language are still aliveand well in many of
India’s languages.
In her account of Urdu, Chughtai does not address the disestablishment of
the language,or for that matter, the other vernacular languages, by the
postcolonial Indian sta te. Yet, theselection of English and Hindi in
Devanāgarī script as the languages of the federal government had a
demonstrable impact on the opportunities available to speakers of those
languages vis -à-visother Indians. As political scientist Paul Brass
argues,the relationship between possible language choices and life chances
in Indiapresents us with three broad levels: 1) higher level elite speakers of
either Englishor Hindi; 2) intermediate level elite speakers of Hindi only,
or a regionallanguage; 3) low er level non -elite, poorly educated or even
illiterate speakers of aregional language and/or a local ‘mother tongue.’
When asked about the relative privilege of Hindi, Chughtai demurred by
claiming that the realpower belonged to elite speakers of English while the
rest of the population was equally unableto access positions of privilege
and power.
Her lack of attachment t o the Urdu script puts Chughtai in direct conflict
with proponentsof Urdu who strongly identify the language itself with the
script. Yet, script and language are notthe same. A clear example of this
difference is the case of Turkish, where the script was c hangedcompletely
and yet the language continues to thrive. Yet, as Brass argues, for those
who aredogmatically attached to the Urdu script, there may be an
attachment to the privileges that Urduliteracy had bestowed during the
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Critical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Masooma Part -I
139 “came primarily from upper class Muslim families of landlords and
governmentservants, in search of government jobs, for whom the defence
of Urdu against the claims of Hindi served the purpose of maintaining
their privileged access to those jobs.” Writing morebroadly about the
passionate attachment some people have to language, particularly when
thelanguage is seen as being endangered, he continues, “It is one’s sense
of self that is at stake,one’s self -respect, o ne’s sense of importance, the
loss of the sense of centrality of one’s person ina world of communication.
When a person says, ‘I love my language,’ what is meant is, ‘I
lovemyself,’ a statement that cannot be uttered aloud in society.” In this
light, it ap pears that Urdu,or at least Urdu in Arabic script, was not central
to Chughtai’s definition of self and thus she didnot feel the need to defend
Urdu.
Chughtai’s apparent disregard for Urdu script could also be understood as
an attempt todemonstrate her nat ional allegiance. Arabic script is a visible
marker of difference; among the most extreme Hindu nationalists, it is a
marker of Muslim communalism rather than Indian identity. Thus, script
becomes a site for the minority to prove its allegiance to the stat e. When
speaking of the minority dilemma among Pakistani Shias, Akbar Hyder
writes, “Having assertedits separatist identity at one level, the minority
carries the onus of constantly proving its fidelityat another level.” In the
case of Chughtai, though she is identified as Muslim and Urduspeaking,
she does not attempt to assert this difference. Yet, she may indeed be res
ponding to thecontext in which Muslims are marked as different due to the
nationalist histories of India andPakistan and the link between linguistic
and religious nationalism among some Muslim groups.
There are also contextual reasons why Chughtai would not be as interested
in the conflictbetween Urdu and Hindi. Chughtai was removed from the
conflicts and changes in North India, and was focu sed on the context of
Bombay. As far as she was concerned, state patronage ofHindi had not
helped the language. Anyone who could afford it, including her family and
thoseof other prominent Urdu writers in Bombay, sent their children to
English -medium schoo ls.Thus, the real issue for Chughtai lay in the
increasing hegemonic status of English as thelanguage of privilege over
the ‘indigenous’ languages of India.
For Chughtai, English, unlike other Indian languages, could not properly
capture Indian culture. As a vociferous anti -imperialist, English remained
the language of the colonizer, a language which had evolved in an alien
context and which was imposed on India’s subjects. Asan author
renowned for the colloquialism of her dialogues, capturing the idiom and
humor of herstories in English is particularly challenging.
The reason for the decline of Hindi and Urdu compared with English, as
Chughtai saw it, was that the languages had become irrelevant in the job
market. Neither language was a serious competitor f or the secular status of
English. Rather than diminishing in influence after Indian and Pakistani
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140
12.4 QUESTIONS: 1. Critically examine the novel Masooma as a take on the condition of
women in post -independence India.
2. Trace the painful journey of the protagonist as presented in the novel.
3. Evaluate the themes used by Ismat as portraying what is still considered
to be tabooed and obscene to civil society.
4. Evaluate IsamtChughtai’s take on sexuality.
12.5 REFERENCES: 1. Jaffer, Sadaf. 2015. IsmatChughtai, Progressive Literature and
Formations of the Indo -Muslim Secular, 1911 -1991. Doctoral
dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
2. https://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110807/spectrum/book7.htm
3. http://hindustaniawaaz -rakhshanda.blogspot.com/2012/0 7/masooma -
by-ismat -chughtai -review .

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141 13
CRITICAL STUDY OF ISMAT
CHUGHTAI’S MASOOMA
PART II
Unit Structure:
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Chughtai and the Indian Progressive Writers’ Movement
13.3 Conclusion
13.4 Questions
13.5 Reference
13.0 OBJECTIVES: 1. To introduce a very well -know n and prolific writer in Urdu Ismat
Chughtai to the readers.
2. To trace Chughtai’s contributions to Progressive Writers’ Movement of
India.
13.1 INTRODUCTION: Masooma , published in 1962, may well be regarded as a work that
celebrates all of Ismat Chughtai’s talents as a writer. Perhaps her darkest
novel, a narrative of lost hope and endless cycles of corruption and
injustice, it traces the journey of Masooma , a young woman from a
respectable Muslim family who becomes embroiled in a game of
exploitation and tr eachery and becomes Nilofar, a commodity that can be
easily bought and sold. In telling Masooma’s story, Chughtai cuts open the
underbelly of India’s political landscape and the underpinnings of the
Mumbai film world to reveal their shadowy and unsavory si de.
13.2 CHUGHTAI AND THE INDIAN PROGRESSIVE WRITERS’ MOVEMENT: Communism and progressive movements played a major role in
Chughtai’s intellectualdevelopment. Though she was not an economist,
Chughtai did comment in her writings that she thought communism was
the most ethical economic system. In discussing her early involvement
with the Progressive Writers, she wrote:
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142 I learned the ups and downs of class, and for the first time, I was aware
that the enemy of my joys was not my dādī [paternal grandmother] or nānī
[maternal grandmother] but the system of government. At that time I
learned of communism in great detail and I was convinced that the peace
and safety of the world and its happiness could only be achieved through a
socia list system and there is still no crack in that belief. (quoted form an
interview)
Indeed, it was through communism that Chughtai came to support the
Indian National Congressbecause, “I had faith that when the country
obtained freedom, Congress would impos ecommunism because Gandhi
was a leader of the common man. He would secure rights for harījans
[untouchables].” Like many intellectuals of her generation in the late
colonial period,Chughtai had grown up in the wake of the Russian
Revolution, and was an ardent believer in the potential of communism to
bring about social and economic justice . Communism was seen to bethe
best antidote to colonialism.Chughtai claimed that progressivism had been
alive since “the world’s first mancried out when surrounded by the curse”
of “inequality” ( nā-barābarī) and “injustice” ( nāinṣāfī).She also claimed
this movement would included premodern authors such as Kabīr
andMīrābāi. The Indian Progressive Writers’ Movement emerged in the
1930s, comprised of Indiansbased in the subcontinent as well as Indian
students studying abroad. It was one of the mostimportant de velopments
in 20th -century Indian intellectual history before Independence. While
Chughtai was a student at Aligarh Girls’ School, authors Sajjad Zaheer,
Ahmed Ali, Rashīd
Jahān, and Maḥmuduz̤z̤afar published the short fiction collection Angāre
(Embers ). Notably,Sajjad Zaheer, Rashīd Jahān and Maḥmuduz̤z̤afar were
involved with the Communist Party of India and Sajjād Z̤ ahīr was Joint-
Secretary of the All -India Congress Socialist Party at the time,eventually
taking on the position of Secretary of the Commun ist Party of Pakistan.
The publication of Angāre provoked a strong reaction across North India,
especially bythe ʻulamā. In particular, it was the mixing of sexual and
religious imagery that caused the most severe reaction. For example, the
story “Nīnd Nah īṉ Ātī” (Can’t Sleep) by Sajjad Zaheerdiscusses God
stroking his beard with desire and his story “Jannat kī Bashārat” (A Vision
ofParadise) depicts a maulavī [religious teacher] dreaming of naked houris
[heavenly nymphs] in paradise only to be found by his wife clutching his
Qur’an on his prayer mat, having fallen asleep doing prayers on Laylat -ul-
Qadr. In February of 1933, the Central Standing Committee of the All
India Shia Conference condemned the text with this statement:
The Central Standing Committee… at this meeting strongly condemns the
heartrending and filthy pamphlet called Angarey compiled by Sajjad
Zahir, Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jehan, Mahmudul Zafer which has wounded the
feelings of the entire Muslim community by ridiculing God and his
Prophet and whic h is extremely objectionable from the standpoints of both
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Critical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Masooma Part-II
143 attention of the U.P. [United Provinces] Government that the book be at
once proscribed.
(Girja Kumar, The Book on Trial: Fundame ntalism and Censorship in
India (New Delhi:Har -Anand Publications, 1997), 120 –121. [cited in
Snehal Shingavi, “Introduction,” in Angaaray (New Delhi: Penguin Books,
2014), viii.] See also Geeta Patel, LyricalMovements, Historical
Hauntings: On Gender, Colon ialism, and Desire in Miraji’s UrduPoetry
(Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2002), 90 –100.)
The ire that the book aroused led to its being banned in the United
Provinces by the British government in March of 1933. The wounding of
religious senti ments was a major concern in the late colonial period, and
riots and murders often occurred based on such assumed injuries.
The publication of Angāre grabbed the attention of a number of young
Indian writers. In1934, the Progressive Writers’ Association was formed
in London, and in 1936, the first all -India meeting of the Progressive
Writers’ Association was held in Lucknow. In the same year,
theAssociation’s first manifesto in English was published in the Left
Review . Munshī Premchanddelivered the inaugural address at this
conference and the writer Rabindranath Tagore sent aletter of support.
These events are widely seen as the catalysts to the b irth of the
nationwideProgressive Writers’ Movement. With a sharp critique of the
romantic idealism that they feltcharacterized literature of the past two
centuries, the Progressive Writers believed that writingwas a tool that
could be used to instigate so cial reform. Though the definition of what
constitutedprogressive literature changed with time, in its early phase,
progressivism is described as thatwhich examines issues reasonably and
critically, and enables a fundamental reorganization andtransformatio n of
the self. Though the Progressive Writers’ Movement found adherents
fromauthors writing in various regional languages, its most prominent
writers wrote in Urdu.The work and influence of Rashīd Jahān had a great
impact on Chughtai’s development.
She wro te one of her earliest articles in the Aligarh University school
newspaper in support ofJahān. As a student, she attended the first
Progressive Writers’ Conference in 1936, along withseveral others who
were still students at the time, but who would become major literary
figuresin the coming decade: Ali Sardar Jafri, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Khwaja
Ahmad Abbas, and ShahidLatif, her future husband. Writing much later
about Chughtai’s association with the ProgressiveWriters’ Movement, the
author Qurratulain Hyder not ed: “Ismat apa was very much in
itsvanguard. In their enthusiasm, the progressives sometimes went too far
and thus created a strongopposition for themselves in the literary world.
On the whole, they were dubbed as atheists andcommies who were out to
destro y all moral and social values. It was worse for Ismat
Chughtaibecause she was a woman.” Chughtai was a part of the
movement from its early days and shecame to be regarded as the most
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144 Inspired by Angāre, Chughtai attempted to publish essays about social
issues relating towomen’s rights, but without success. Chughtai’s
submission of an essay entitled “Bachpan” (Childhood) to the women’s
journal Tahẕīb-e Nisvān met with rebuke from the editor. Her brother,
‘Az̤īm Beg Chug̲h̲tā’ī, who by that time had already begun to publish
works of fiction,advised her that she would be allowed to write more
freely and powerfully about the issues thatmattered to her through the
medium of fiction than through non -fiction essays. ʻAz̤īm Beg had
published several of his own stories in the literary journal Sāqī
(Cupbearer), edited by ShāhidAḥmad, and it was here that Chughtai
published her first story, “Kāfir,” (Infidel) in 1938. Thefriendships and
networks of patronage to which Chughtai was privy due to her brother’s
literaryconnections certainly played a role in the start of her career.
In 1939, a year after Chughtai published her first story in Sāqī, she
received herBachelor’s degree in teaching and began a job at the Rajmahal
School in Jodhpur. In the sameyear, she completed her first Urdu novella,
entitled Ẓiddī (Headstrong ), which was published asa book by Sāqī. In
1941, Sāqī Book Depot published the first collection of Chughtai’s
shortstories under the title Kaliyāṉ (Buds). Yet her l ife was in the midst of
a period of turmoil. In1941, her brother ʻAz̤īm Beg, the family member to
whom she was the closest, died in the city ofJaora, where he had been
made Chief Justice of the court of the Nawab. In the same year, Chughtai
left her job in Jodhpur to take a new job of Inspector of Schools in
Bombay. She briefly stayed with her brother Jasīm Beg Chug̲h̲tāʼī, an
engineer for the Tata Corporation. Within six months of her arrival in the
city, she married Shahid Latif on May 2, 1942. After a st int working on
Maulavī ʻAbd al -Ḥaqq’s Urdu dictionary project for the Inhuman -e
Taraqqī-e Urdū (Society for the Promotion of Urdū) in Aurangabad, Latif
had moved to nearby Bombay to work in the nascent Hindi cinema
industry.
In Bombay, Chughtai came to mee t many of the progressive Urdu writers
who hadmigrated from North India and Punjab. Authors Khwaja Ahmad
Abbas and Mohsin Abdullah were witnesses to her marriage. Soon after,
the couple became acquainted with Ali Sardar Jafri,editor of Qaumī Jung
(People’s Newspaper), the Urdu newspaper of the Communist Party of
India, and Saadat Hasan Manto, who would be tried with Chughtai for
obscenity in 1946. During the 1940s, Bombay had become an intellectual
hotbed as writers and artists flocked to thecity.
Despite t he fact that Chughtai worked extensively with her husband
Shahid Latif, shecontinued to emphasize her individual autonomy in her
writing and interviews. Chughtaidepicted her decision to get married as
one of necessity. Since she had fallen out with her bro therJasīm Beg and
her parents over her cancelled betrothal to her cousin Dr. At̤har Ḥusain
Us̱mānī(“Jugnū”), Chughtai claimed that she needed her own place to live
in Bombay. In a 1983interview in the journal Manushi , Chughtai was
asked to discuss her marr iage to Shahid Latifand how she had been able to
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Critical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Masooma Part-II
145 Once I was earning, they could not impose anything on me. I met Shahid
when I was staying at my brother’s house in Bombay. Shahid proposed
marriage. At t hat time, I was inspector of schools for the whole Bombay
area, but I could not find a place to stay. No one was willing to rent a
house to an unmarried woman. I was not willing to spend my life in a
hostel so I thought I would have to marry somebody. Here was Shahid
pursuing me. Why not marry him? […] In fact, I told Shahid that I was
willing to live with him without marriage. He said: ‘No, you will leave me
and run away.’ I said: ‘why should I run away? I need somebody, some
friend, some man. It doesn’t h ave to be a husband.’ But since he insisted
on marriage, I agreed.
Nowhere in her writings or interviews does she mention feeling love for
her husband; rather shedescribes their partnership.The attitude Chughtai
expressed towards her own husband in her int erviews andautobiographical
writing is a far cry from the romanticism of the classical Urdu literary
traditiontoward the beloved. Practicality and attending to her own needs
rather than romantic love areparamount in her account of her marriage.
This disavo wal of romantic love was in line with heradvocacy of absolute
equality between the sexes and a response to familial norms that
wouldmake a husband the center of a women’s life. Such an attitude is
found throughout Chughtai’swriting.
It was not only in her own life that Chughtai ridiculed ideas of romantic
love. In a piecereporting on the Progressive Writers’ Conference of 1949,
Chughtai mocked the Progressive poet Majrūḥ for his betrothal in an
arranged marriage to a woman from the village, which she termed “a
regressive ( rajʻat-pasand ) act.” Particularly negative is the idealization
ofsupposedly innocent and uneducated village girls among the male
writers of her circle. Rather than romanticized and idealized relationships,
Chughtai wrote about what she saw as the realistic needs of human beings,
prominent among them economic and sexual needs. Though the
Progressive Writers’ Movement was premised on presenting realities and
social disparities, itwas her integration of sexual justice with a woman’s
needs that made her a controversial figure.
13.3 CONCLUSION: The 1930s and 1940s were a time of great change and efflorescence in
Urdu literature.With the advent of the Progressive Writers’ Movement
inspired by the banned short fictioncollection, Angāre, Ismat Chught ai and
writers of her generation struggled to understand and combat systems of
injustice and explore the significance of literature for progressive social
change. Chughtai was a sometimes -controversial member of the
Progressive Writers’ Movementdue to her treatment of sexuality, termed
by her detractors as sex -worship ( jins-parastī). Yet,close readings of her
stories including “Liḥāf.” “Do Hāth,” and the film Ẓiddī elucidate that
herdiscussions of sexuality were not an end in and of themselves: they
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146 Rather than a prurient obsession with sexuality or a celebration of
alternative lifestyles,her discussions of sexuality was one that called into
question assumptions about women andmen, children and elders, serva nts
and landlords. In her literary and intellectual universe, nounderstanding of
the economic hierarchies and injustice could be understood without an
investigation of the role of sex and sexuality. Chughtai aimed to bring the
tacitlyunacknowledged issues within Indian households the forefront so
that they could be addressed.
For contemporary Indian activists struggling to find precedents and
foremothers for their movements, Chughtai provides a compelling and
convenient focal point. Women’s rights and sexua l rights activist in
particular consistently turn to Chughtai for inspiration, even if sometimes
based on the reputation of her literary celebrity rather than close
engagements withher texts. Sexual autonomy and woman’s freedom from
the structure that bind s her to the homeis essential for woman’s
participation in the modern, secular state because of the notion ofequality
of citizenship irrespective of gender identity and the connection between
Chughtai’swork and issues of gender and sexual justice remains a t the
forefront of progressive social activism in India.
13.4 QUESTIONS: 1. Evaluate the language used in the novel by Ismat.
2. Discuss Isamt Chughtai’s take on Urdu and Hindi language.
3. Discuss the controversial works of Isamt Chughtai.
4. Examinethe contributions of Ismat Chughtai to the Progressive
Writers’ Movement ofIndia.
13.5 REFERENCE: 1. Jaffer, Sadaf. 2015. Ismat Chughtai, Progressive Literature and
Formations of the Indo -Muslim Secular, 1911 -1991. Doctoral
dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
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147 14
CRITICAL STUDY OF SAMSKARA: A RITE
FOR A DEAD MAN BY U.R.
ANANTHAMURTHY
PART I
Unit Structure:
14.0 Objectives
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Life and Works of Anantha Murthy
14.3 Translated from Kannada by A.K. Ramanujan
14.4 Samskara - The Title
14.5 Themes
14.6 Characters
14.7 Art of Characterization
14.8 Bibliography
14.0 OBJECTIVES:  To view the growth of the Kannada novel and identify the chief
concerns and themes of Kannada novels.
 To update your knowledge of Kannada literature and also help you to
get a c omparative perspective.
 To enable you to get to know the thematic preoccupations of the
writer in Samskara.
14.1 INTRODUCTION: Samskara, originally written in Kannada in 1965, sheds light on the caste
system and ways of Brahmanism in a contemporary world. The word
‘Samskara’ has several meanings: rite of passage, ritual, transformation as
well as death rites. In this short novella, it refers to the death rites of a man
as well as the personal transformation of a renowned man living in a
community that refus es to change with times.
Samskara begins with the death of a sinful Brahmin, Naranappa, in
Durvasapura, a close knitted community of Brahmins. Naranappa has
renounced brahmanical ways and spent his time with Muslims; enjoying
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148 apostate of his actions, however, was breaking up with his lawfully
wedded wife to take a lower caste woman, Chandri, as his concubine.
Despite his blasphemous ways, the Brahmins never excommunicated
Naranappa, and he remained one of their own. In death, this becomes a
problem because only a Brahmin can perform his last rites and nobody is
willing to do that.
Modern Kannada literature begins with the arrival of English language
through colonial administration. This literature is called NavodayaSahitya.
Navodaya literally means a new birth. This indeed was the reincarnation
of Kannada literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, after a
period of dormancy in the face of the British occupation of India
Navyott ara (Postmodernist) Kannada literature in the last 50 years has
been closely related to social aspects. The oppressions of the caste system
gave rise to the Bandaaya and Dalit genres of Kannada literature.
14.2 LIFE AND WORKS OF ANANTHA MURTHY: UdupiRajag opalaAcharyaAnantha Murthy was born on December 21,
1932 at Melige, a remote village, in Shimoga District of Karnataka State.
Anantha Murthy had his early Sanskrit education in a traditional
pathashala. He completed his B.A. Honours from Maharaja’s College ,
Mysore and Post -graduation in English from the University of Mysore in
1956. Later in 1966, he earned his Ph. D (English & Comparative
Literature) from the University of Birmingham, U.K. He began his career
as a Lecturer in English in 1956 and continued as such till 1963. Later he
joined the Regional College of Education, Mysore, as a Reader in English
and served there till 1970. During the period 1970 -80 he was Reader in
English at Mysore University. He was Professor of English at the
Department of Engli sh, University of Mysore during 1980 -92. He became
the Vice -Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi Dnmeraiyy, Kottayam,
Kerala in 1987 -91.
Awards U.R. Anantha Murthy has received numerous awards both from
the Government and also Akademis and other academic inst itutions for
excellence in different fields. These include the Masti award in Literature,
Jnanpith Award in 1994, and the Padma Bhushan.
U.R. Anantha Murthy wrote the novel in 1964, when he was in England
doing his Ph.D.He was 32 at that time. Anantha Murt hy recalls how as a
child of 13 he had met a former army man and had come to know of his
romance with one of the loveliest dark girls fromthe untouchable huts and
of their elopement and how he had written a storyabout it.
I told Malcolm that I have begun to write a novel and I did. I finished it
within a week. Being away for nearly two years from my ownland and
people, the language Kannada with all its richness and the peoplewhom:I
knew came back to me and I found myself rewriting the story, which Ihad
written at the age of 13. But with a lot more in it than I could grasp in
mytender years.’ This was how Samskara was born in England. munotes.in

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14.3 TRANSLATED FROM KANNADA BY A.K. RAMANUJAN: Samskara , originally written in Kannada in 1965, sheds light on the caste
system and ways of Brahmanism in a contemporary world. The novel was
Translated from kannada to English by A k Ramanujan.
14.4 SAMSKARA - THE TITLE:  Samskara means religious purificatory rites and ceremonies for
sanctifying the body, mind and intellect of an individual so that he
may become a full -fledged member of the community.
 A rite of passage or life -cycle ceremony; the realizing of
pastperceptions.
 In trying to resolve the dilemma of who, if any , should perform the
death -rite (a samskara), the Acharya begins a samskara (a
transformation) for himself.
 Praneshachar undergoes the process of purification. He shiftsfrom a
hardcore ritualistic Brahmin to a realist.
 A rite for a dead man becomes a rite of passage for the living.
 In life as in death, Naranap pa questioned the Brahmins of the
village, exposed their Samskara (refinement of spirit , maturation
through many lives) or lack of it.
14.5 THEMES: Caste system
The narrative takes place in Hindu society.The castes deal with the status
and conduct of its people. In the novel, the author dwells on the aspects
the caste system affects from identity, and marriage to death. The
protagonist belongs to the Brahmin caste but no longer practices
Brahmanism in any way. However, the reality of everyone in the
commun ity is attached to the system, thereby, Naranappa faces criticism
from the people. The main message of the narrative is to highlight the
restrictive nature and sometimes oppressiveness of the caste system.
Self-Discovery and Transformation
Naranappa and Pr aneshacharya act as the foil to each other which
accentuates their individual characters. Both have a moment of
transformation that at some point through a different path. Naranappa
chooses to embrace all the earthly things that are prohibited by the
Brahm in principles. While Praneshacharya, a devout leader, represents the
righteousness that aligns with their values. Akin to the former, the leader
mistakenly indulges in some vices that lead him to reassess his
devoutness. The narrative highlights a communit y that has stuck to its
ways and rejects the changing world. However, personal transformation is
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150
Greed
Though the Brahmin community is run by strict rules and values that
every i ndividual abides by, Naranappa disrupts the status quo. Since no
activity can take place until the death rituals are performed, the people
become desperate. Praneshacharya lacks the answers since a non -Brahmin
cannot conduct the cremation and no Brahmin is allowed or willing to
participate. Chandri puts her jewelry on the line as the price for
conducting the death rituals for Naranappa. The men in the community
have to grapple with their beliefs and greed but succumb to the latter. It
demonstrates their fra gile faith since earthly possessions corrupt their
minds despite their initial reservations.
14.6 CHARACTERS: • Praneshacharya - learned scholar and priest of Durvasapura
• Naranappa - a Brahmin who leads a non -Brahminical life
• Chandri -a dalit woman wh o lives with Naranappa
• Garudacharya -a relative of Naranappa
• Lakshmanacharya - a relative of Naranappa
• Dasacharya - -a poor Brahmin of the agrahara
• Durgabhatta - a Smarta Brahmin living in Durvasapura
• Anasuya - wife of Lakshmanacharya
• Sitadevi - wife of Garudacharya
• Bhagirati - wife of Praneshacharya, an invalid
• Putta - half caste young man belonging to Malera community
• Padmavati - She is a beautiful young woman belon ging to the
half-caste and has good relation with putta.
Praneshacharya
Praneshacharya is the protagonist of the novel. He is a very learned and
orthodox man belonging to the community of Madhva Brahmins. He has
had his Vedic education. He is living in village of Durvasapura in Mysore.
He is the leader of the agra hara in all matters of religion, ritual and
conduct. His life is a model of self -sacrifice and religious conventions. He
married an invalid girl, Bhagirathi in order to get salvatiron. As advised in
the Gita, he practices Nishkama Yoga, performing his duty without any
expectation. He believes that the merciful Lord has put him to this way of
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151 he accidentally experiences the touch of Naranappa’s concubine Chandri’s
breasts. He tastes sexual pleasure for the first time in his life. T his changes
the course of his life. He tells the Brahmins of his agrahara that he cannot
guide them and asks them to do what their hearts dictate as right. His wife
dies of plague. He cremates her and goes after looking for Chandri. He
meets one Putta, a y oung man from Malera community. He initiates the
Acharya to the world of sensuous pleasures.
Naranappa
He is a Madhva Brahmins. Though he is a Brahmin himself, he openly
defies Brahminhood by taking a low -caste woman Chandri for his
concubine, by eating m eat in the company of Muslims, by desecrating the
pond of Ganapati temple and by abusing the ways of the agrahara
Brahmins and their ridiculous Brahminic ways. As the story begins, he
dies of plague and the problem of cremating him poses a problem to the
village Brahmins as he has openly broken from Brahminic culture and
denigrating its sanctified conventions and codes. Naranappa poses a great
threat to the agrahara both when he is alive and is dead.
Chandri
She is the concubine of Naranappa, the reprobate Brahmin of
Durvasapuraagrahara. Though the orthodox Brahmins of the agrahara take
issues with Naranappa for sleeping with her, a low caste woman, they
secretly hunger for her company. Chandri is very sincere to Naranappa
both alive and dead. When the Brahm ins of the agrahara hesitate to
perform the samskara for Naranappa, she offers her gold to the Acharya
for the funeral expenses of her late lover. She has great regard for the
Brahmins of the agrahara in general and Praneshacharya in particular.
When she t ries to seek his blessings while his returning from Maruti
temple, her beasts accidentally touch the knees of the Acharya and leads to
their mating together. Their mating changes the course of the Acharya
from the life of an ascetic Brahmin to that of a se nsualist.
Garudacharya
He is a Madhva Brahmin belonging to Durvasapuraagrahara.
Garudacharya and Naranappa both are friends. But no relationship lasts
between Naranappa’s family and his after he has fought and won a lawsuit
with his father over the orchar d. They do not attend any functions nor take
even a sip of water between the two families. Naranappa is said to have
been instrumental in Garuda’s son Shyama joining the army deserting his
regular Sanskrit classes under the great Praneshacharya. Lakshmana’ s
wife Sitadevi believes that he has cast a black magic on her relative
Naranappa making him desert his wife and his Brahminhood by taking
Chandri, a low -caste woman for his concubine.
Lakshmanacharya
He is one of the Madhva Brahmins of Durvasapuraagrahara . The deceased
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152 married her sister whom he has discarded soon after his marriage. But he
does not want to undertake the cremation of Naranappa for he has been
responsible for his sister -in-law to become hysterical and die soon after.
Naranappa has not even attended the funeral of his wife. he has been
responsible for ruining his son -in-law Shripati by initiating him into his
ways of living, Lakshmana is a penny pincher and highly suspicious t hat
his wife will be very liberal with her relatives and so he keeps a careful
watch over her dealings with her people whenever they visit their house.
He makes dry banana leaves and cups and sells them to the people of the
nearby villages and towns and ma kes money out of it.
Dasacharya
He is one of the poor Madhva Brahmins of Durvasapuraagrahara who
thrives mainly by ritual meals served in the houses of the agrahara
Brahmins during ritual functions and ceremonies in their houses. He loses
his patience wit h Garuda and Lakshmana for postponing the cremation of
Naranappa on grounds of propriety. He is ready to cremate the body of
Naranappa with the help of four Brahmins if Pranesha permits him to
do so.
Durgabhatta
He has his own prejudice against the orthodoxy of the Madhvas who
consider the orthodoxy of Smartas lower in rank. He does not like
Dasacharya’s suggestion to ask the ParijatapuraSmarta Brahmins to
perform the samskara for the reprobate Brahmin Naranappa. He considers
the suggesti on an affront on the Smarta Brahmins to undertake the
samskara for Naranappa, which the Madhvas of his own agrahara do not
want to perform. He tells Pranesacharya that they need not make much
fuss over Naranappa taking to a low caste woman, Chandri. He say s that a
Brahmin is not lost because he takes a low lowborn prostitute.
Durgabhatta has partiality for the Smarta Brahmins of
Parijatapuraagrahara as he has enjoyed their hospitality to the hilt.
Anasuya
She is the wife of Lakshmanacharya. She is related to late Naranappa
through her sister whom he has married and jilted in favour of the
seductive low -caste Chandri, his concubine. She is angry with Naranappa
for neglecting her sister and causing her premature death. She is equally
angry with him for ruinin g his son -in-law Shripati, an orphan whom they
have brought up and given their only daughter Lilavati. Under the tutelare
of Naranappa, Shripati discontinues his Sanskrit lessons with
Praneshacharya and begins to loaf around by taking to evil company. She
first advises her husband not to undertake the cremation of Naranappa. But
later on seeing Chandri’s gold, she alters her stand and goads her husband
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153 She is the wife of Garudacharya. She bears a grudge against Naranappa
for making her son Shyama go astray and join the army without the
knowledge of his parents. When the question of Naranappa’s cremation
first comes, she cautions her husband Garuda not to be rash to accept to
undertake the cremation of the reprob ate Naranappa.Chandri offering her
gold for the cremation of Naranappa, she wants to grab the gold and
redeem her son Shyama from the army as she is afraid that he will be
forced to deviate from his Brahminic ways as people say that in the army
he will be made to eat meat and drink.
Bhagirathi
She is the invalid wife of Praneshacharya, Bhagirathi often advises
him to marry a healthy and fruitful woman. She is very proud of her
husband and she thinks that anybody will be willing to give his
daughter in marr iage to him as he is just forty and an acknowledged
scholar of Vedanta.
Shripati
Garuda and his wife pick him up as an orphan and bring him up and later
marry their daughter Lilavati to him. He learns Sanskrit under the great
scholar Praneshacharya for som e time. He comes under the influence of
Naranappa, the heterodox Brahmin of his village Durvasapura.
Putta
He is a half -caste young man belonging to Malera community. He is
married but his wife is quite all right in everything except that she often
wants to go to her parents and she makes her stay with them fairly long.
He is a lover of life and company of people. He himself says that he is
known as “talkative Putta’ and ‘riddling Putta. He is very helpful by
nature and volunteers to help people. When he meets Praneshacharya
wandering aimlessly.Putta takes the Acharya to the temple festival at
Melige people and colourful scenes of cockfight and. Putta takes the
Acharya to the house of a beautiful young lady by name Padmavati whose
sexual charms are very di fficult to resist. But after his broken meals at the
temple, the Acharya insists on returning to Durvasapura. him off.
Padmavati
She is a beautiful young woman belonging to the half -caste ,She is on a
good and familiar relationship with Putta and he too ne ver misses to meet
her whenever he visits the town Melige. . Padmavati is a courtesan where
asChandri is a prostitute.
14.7 ART OF CHARACTERIZATION: Ananthamurthy employs two techniques In the depiction of the characters,
- that of (i) contrast, and
(ii) filmic flashback Sitadevi
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154 (1). Naranappa is a figure (whether he is dead or alive), who helps in the
removal of the temporal and spatial distances. The past of Naranappa is
continuously referred to because it constantly trespasses in the present
context of the nov el. The Brahmins of the community debate with each
other whether he shall be cremated according to the religious rules as
Naranappa was potentially disinterested about the dull traditions of the
Hindu community. That is why the past repeatedly trespasses i n the
present context - an amalgamation of the past and present; thus, the
temporal and the spatial distances are overcome.
(2). The "dead man" Naranappaappears to be much more living than the
living Naranappa. The dead man Naranappa shakes the very founda tion
basis of the belief and the age -old trust and faith of the socalled Hindu
society. Therefore, the phrase "The Dead Man" is meaningful to us.
Again, contrast is instituted between three characters - Naranappa,
Praneshacharya, and Putta. Naranappa and P raneshacharya are contrasted
in respect of Praneshacharya's complete devotion to the rules, regulations,
customs, rites, and conventions of the Hindu religious texts. Therefore, his
complete attachment to Hinduism should be contrasted with Naranappa's
potential rejection of anything relating to Hinduism.
(b) Praneshacharya and Putta. Here the contrast is deep -rooted. It is not
only at the physical level but also at the cerebral, intellectual level. Putta is
a commonplace figure - represents the commonplacen ess either hardly
dissatisfied or commonly satisfied with the proceedings of life. Putta is a
very pedestrian character. In stark contrast, Praneshacharya is
intellectually much superior because of his sensitiveness and rational
responses to life. The inte llectual search for self -realization on the part of
Praneshacharya should be contrasted to the ordinariness of Putta.
Praneshacharya transcends what is mundane.
Similarly, Ananthamurthy, in his depiction of women characters, once
again, is exceptionally po etic-very frequently does he impose mythical
touches on them. Women in this novel, save Bhagirathi, are classical and
mythical beauties.
Many of the women characters may be interpreted from the traditional
Indian concept of womanhood as we find in the Pura nas. There, women
stand for elemental Nature (Prakriti). Any kind of union, therefore, either
physical or emotional between man and woman is considered to be the
union between Prakriti and Purush (archetypal masculinity). Hence, a
union between a man and a woman is a union between the archetypal
femininity and archetypal masculinity. Therefore, the union of
Praneshacharya and Chandri in the forest can be viewed in that light.
At the same time, this novel is a social document in the sense that it draws
our a ttention to the ways and means, customs and conventions of the
Hindu society. As usual, one notices the meanness, the professional
jealousy, suppressed greed, the protestations among the Brahmins of the
community. In Samskara, Ananthamurthy has reinterpret ed the meaning of
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155 this, he discovers the poetic, mythic explanation of the human
relationship. Therefore, there is an interfusion of realism and fantasy
(myth). Praneshacharya' s extraordinary amorous adventure in the heart of
the jungle transcends the limits of reality. There is a touch of fantasy, a
fairy -tale, mythical atmosphere in that scene. AnalyzingAnanthamurthy's
art of characterization in Samskara further, we find that Praneshacharya is
not static. we may safely call him a 'round' character.
He retains dynamism through and through. There are distinct stages of
development in his character. Initially, he was calm and quiet; stoically
accepted everything that came his way , but as the story progresses, he
seems to be affected by the whirlpool of different feelings. It appears to us
that he becomes a restless character on the theatre of his mind and this
restlessness is expressed in two ways:
(i) His departure from his native vi llage, and
(ii) In his momentary moral lapses; in his degeneration.
This restlessness continues till the end. 'He was expectant' for self -
knowledge, for his redemption, as Praneshacharya knows that his self -
knowledge will ultimately show him the light amid the pervading and
encircling gloom. The novel is left open -ended and inconclusive.
14.8 BIBLIOGRAPHY: https://www.purplepencilproject.com/book -review -samskara -u-r-
ananthamurthy/
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Samskara
https://egyankosh.ac.in/
https://www.eng -literature.com/



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156 15
CRITICAL STUDY OF SAMSKARA: A RITE
FOR A DEAD MAN BY U.R.
ANANTHAMURTHY
PART II
Unit Structure:
15.0 Objectives
15.1 Chapter wise summary and analysis
15.2 Conclusion
15.3 Bibliography
15.0 OBJECTIVES:  To view the growth of the Kannada novel and identif y the chief
concerns and themes of Kannada novels.
 To update your knowledge of Kannada literature and also help you to
get a comparative perspective.
 To enable you to get to know the thematic preoccupations of the writer
in Samskara.
15.1 CHAPTER WISE SUMM ARY AND ANALYSIS: Part One
Chapter I: death of Naranappa and the complications connected with
the issues of discrimination.
Samskara is the story of a Madhva Brahmin colony, led by Pranesacharya.
The name of thecolony or agrahara was Durvasapura. Pranesach arya led a
lifelooking after his invalid wife. For twenty years he had followed a
routine thatconsisted of taking a bath, saying prayers, cooking for himself
and his wife,giving medicines to her and reciting sacred legends before.
the Brahminsassembled in his house. He thought his salvation lay in his
willingperformance of duties to his ailing wife.
One morning Naranappa’s concubine Chandri came and told
Pranesacharya ofthe death of Naranappa.The news created a confusion in
theagrahara. Pranesacharya’s firs t task was to go and tell all the
Brahminfamilies in the agrahara that Naranappa had died, for no Brahmin
could takemeals while the body of a fellow Brahmin lay uncremated. Later
theBrahmins assembled in Pranesacharya’sverandah to hear his verdict on
whowo uld do the funeral rites.Naranappa had no children. So, the
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157 Pranesacharyasaid that, according to the shastras, any relative could,
failing which anyBrahmin could offer to perform them. Garuda and
Lakshmana were related toNaranappa but each of them had quarreled with
him and were not interested inperforming the rites.
Chapter II: Durvasapura Brahmins searching forsolution from
Parijatpura Brahmins.
The contrast between Naranappa and other Durvasapura Brahmins
extendseven to the flowers grown by them. Flowers in other brahmins’
homes weremeant for the worship of god but those that bloomed in
Naranappa’s yard_ were meant for Chandri’s hair.The brahmins of
Durvasapura, crossed the three -prongedstream of Tunga, entered the
forest, and journeyed for an hour to reachParijatapura. There they went to
Manjayya’s house. Manjayya welcomedthem warmly. When he heard the
news of Naranappa’s death, Manjayya feltsorry and correctly inferred that
he had died of plague, the disease. The Parijatpura folks were happy to get
achance to cremate a high -caste: Brahmin but felt that Pranesacharya was
thebest person to decide on the question of morality involved in the
task.Manjayya on his part unhesitatingly said that Naranappa was his
friend andthat he would spare no expense in performing the funeral rites
properly.
Chapter III: the attitude of Pranesacharya towards Naranappa
While the Brahmins were away at Parijatpura, Pranesacharyawas trying to
find a solution to the dilemma they faced. Naranappa had always been a
problem for the agrahara. The Acharya had promisedNaranappa’s mother
as she lay dying that he would look after her erring sonand even fasted two
days a week for him. Once when the Acharya visited tocounsel him,
Naran appa told him irreverently that since the Congress wascoming back
to power, they would have to open the temples to all outcastes.When the
Acharya told him not to separate Shripati from his wife, he’ laughedloudly
saying that only barren Brahmins lived with women who gave nopleasure.
He too had discarded his hysterical wife for the same reason. Hebelonged,
he said, to the hedonist school and lived by the precept of Borrow,borrow
and drink your ghee.
He was critical of Garuda’s greed that had made him rob a p oor widow of
herproperty. Three months before his death, the Acharya visited
Naranappaagain in response to a complaint that he had fished in the sacred
temple pondalong with his Muslim friends. The Acharya feared that this
desecrationmight set a bad exampl e for the lower classes, who he thought,
followed theright path out of fear. On that occasion Naranappa asked his
concubineChandri to bring liquor and had the effrontery to offer it to him.
And hechallenged him again saying that he would destroy
brahminism .Naranappa drew the conclusionthat it was he, the Acharya
who had corrupted brahminism. The Acharyascolded him but later stopped
reciting luscious puranic stories to his listeners.Naranappa advised them to
discard their sick wives and take those that gavet hem pleasure.
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158 Chapter IV: Focus on greed and Hunger in the character ofGaruda
and Lakshmana and Dasacharya
Two incidents held against Naranappa are Garuda’s son Shyma joining
thearmy and Lakshmana’s son -in-law Shripati’s separation from his
wifeLilavati, for both of which Naranappa was held responsible. This
chapterfocuses on the accusations leveled by Garuda and his wife Sitadevi
againstNaranappa and the counter -accusations made by Naranappa’s
enemies.Garuda’s eye was on the money that would come to him i f he
were asikedtocremateNaranappa. He would then be able to secure the
release of his onlyson from the army.
The second part of the chapter focuses on the thinking in
Lakshmana’shousehold and on Lakshmana’s miserliness. His wife
Anasuya was in tears atthe loss of her sister’s jewellery to Chandri and
blamed Garuda for ruiningNaranappa through what she called black
magic. At the same time, sheaccusedNaranappa of making him go astray
— he kept the company of Yakshgana players, visited a prostitute, and
causi ng him to separate from hiswife.
Chapter V: Shripati discovers Naranappa’s death while Shripati meet
Belli
This chapter takes us inside the consciousness of Shripati as he comes
back toDurvasapura after spending a happy week with a drama troupe
from Kelur . Itwas night and he was carrying a flashlight while crossing the
forest.We get to know about Shripati’s secret friendship with Naranappa,
his love ofdramatics, his desire to escape the Brahmin dump, and his
liaison with Belli,an outcaste girl. Pranesachar ya’s description of the
erotic beauty ofShakuntala during his recital of puranic legends had
excited him so much thathe went and took Belli at the river (‘He had
personally, carnally enjoyed the - Acharya’s description.”) (38). It seems it
was his story tha t Naranappawastelling the Acharya when the latter had
come to counsel him to behave (Chapter III).
Chapter VI: The seventy -year old widow, Lakshmidevamma,
cursesGaruda for robbing her
This chapter introduces the seventy -year old child widow
Lakshmidevamma , known in the Brahmin colonies around for her sore
temper, her resoundingbelches and her curses and offers proof of Garuda’s
greed in taking awaywhatever little property she had.Chandri was waiting
at Pranesacharya’s house for his verdict. She had livedwi th Naranappa for
ten years but the delay in cremating him unnerved her. Asa prostitute she
was considered to be sinless. “Born to prostitutes, she was anexception to
all rules. She was ever -auspicious, daily -wedded, the one without
widowhood. How can sin d efine a running river’ (43)? She ate bananas
toallay her hunger and slept curled up on the floor.
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159 Chapter VII: Pranesacharya leaves agrahara and goesto the Maruti
temple for divine guidance.
The rotting body of Naranappa filled the agrahara with unbearabl e stench
andthe Brahmins with superstitious fears. The rats leaped and tumbled and
died,much to the unthinking delight of the children. The Brahmins
distressed byhunger approached Pranesacharya again and he told them of
his plan to go tothe Maruti temple. Chandri followed him, waiting for his
word at a safedistance in the forest.
Chapter VIII: Dasacharya goes and eats at Manjayya’s house
inParijatpura.
Dasacharya, dying to eat, flattered Manjayyafor being as good a Brahmin
as anyone else and criticized his own community for asking the
Parijatpurabrahmins to do what they wouldn’t do themselves. He also
criticized GarudaandLakshmana for their greed. Manjayya offered him
something to eat. Atfirst he confined himself to uncooked food but later
his appetite got t he betterof him and he ate whatever was offered, to his
fill.
Chapter IX: The Brahmins waiting for Pranesacharyafor final
decision.
The death of rats, which was a result of the plague in Durvasapura.the
outcaste, A vulture on the roof was an omen of death. And when
Garuda’swife spotted one sitting on their roof, she feared for her son and
the coupleprayed to the household god to forgive them for coveting the
god’s gold.AtDasacharya’s suggestion they beat the bronze gongs and
blew their conches asthey did du ring the great offerings of flaming
camphor making the vultures flyaway. But they came back leading the
Brahmins to beat their gongs and blowtheir conches again. This continued
till nightfall when the vultures finallydisappeared.
In the meantime, Chandri s at in the forest near the temple waiting for
wordfrom the Acharya. She blamed herself for causing all this trouble for
him. Butshe did not forget to eat the plantains that she had brought.
Chapter X: Pranesacharya’s prayers to Lord Marutiandmeets and
mates with Chandri.
Pranesacharya came back from the temple disappointed. The Maruti God
hadgiven him no sign. It was night. As he moved through the dark forest,
he metChandri. She felt compassion for him and embraced his feet in
gratefulnessand wept. He on his part bent down to bless her and caressed
her loosenedhair. She held him close, made him lean against her breasts
and fed himplantains. “Touching full breasts he had never touched,
Pranesacharya feltfaint. As in a dream, he pressed them’ (62). Then they
made love to eachother.

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160 Part Two
Chapter I
Naranappa was cremated by Chandri
Pranesacharya woke up in the forest at midnight, his head in Chandri’s
lap. Atfirst he thought he was in a dream and wondered where he was and
how hehad got there. When he was fu lly awake, he asked her to tell all the
Brahminswhat had happened in the forest. He said that he himself had not
the courageto tell this to them.
Chandri, however, did not want to do what the Acharya had asked her to
do. She went to her master’s house but finding that his dead body had
changed beyond recognition, rushed out in fear to the farmer’s section and
approachedSheshappa to help her cremate the dead body. Sheshappa
however refused. Then she went to the Muslim section where Abdul Bari,
the fish merc hant,agreed to do the job.
Chapter II
Plans of the Parijat Drama Group members to cremate Naranappa
Shripati and other members of the Parijat Drama. Group were
holdinghearsal of a play in Manjayya’s house. From the conversation we
learn thatNaranappa had b een the prime mover of the Group, had donated
a harmonium,was an expert drummer and was a source of inspiration for
it. After therehearsal, the five members of the Group went to the riverside
and drankliquor. They acknowledged that Naranappa was a dear fri end of
theirs, thatChandri was a matchless beauty. The least that they could do -
was to take hisbody and cremate it secretly. With this intention in mind
they went up toNaranappa’s house but found that the dead body had
disappeared.
Chapter III
Pranesachar ya’s new self -awareness — confusion in ideas
Pranesacharya’s world had changed suddenly. All old beliefs seemed
topsyturvy.At sixteen he had sought to achieve salvation through self -
sacrifice andhad deliberately married an invalid woman so that he could
serve her and thusearn merit. But his unforeseen experience of sex with
Chandrichangedeverything. He had lost the old certitude of brahminism.
Instead of a clear pathhe saw only an abyss.
The experience also gave him a new self -awareness. While giving a bath
tohis wife, he became aware of her ugliness. ‘For the first time his eyes
werebeginning to see the beautiful and the ugly’. Flowers, female beauty
andsexual pleasure — all had earlier been associated in his mind with
divinity butnow he wanted a share in t hem for himself. He still looked for
Chandri. Hefelt light that he was no longer the guru.
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161 Chapter IV:
The Brahmins go to Kaimara without Pranesacharya .
Subbannacharya is unable to help — then they go to the monastery. Two
brahmins are taken ill on the w ay.The Brahmins went to Kaimara without
Pranesacharya. He stayed backbecause of his wife’s periods. At Kajmara,
PanditSubbannacharya offeredthem food. They walked twenty miles to
reachanother agrahara where they dined spent the night. In the morning
they s tarted for the monastery, which was ten miles away but without
Snatiaeacnnyewho had also been taken ill.
Chapter V :
Pranesacharya’s self -examination
For a good part of the chapter we are inside the mind of Pranesacharya. He
is all alone in the agrahara — except for his ailing wife and some crows
andvultures.
The horrible stench in the atmosphere was unbearable. He saw a rat die
andthrew it out of the house. He felt extremely hungry and took some
plantainswith him, bathed and crossed the stream and sat and ate the
plantains there.He then tried to analyse his motives in taking Chandri.
Chapter VI
Discussion about Naranappa’s property
All Naranappa’s property must go to the monastery, says thechief.At the
monastery, all the Brahmins ate the big meal prepared f or the
occasion.Later when they all sat around with the chief in the midst of
them, heannounced that Naranappa was still a Brahmin even if he had left
brahminismand that it was their duty to cremate him. He also ruled that all
Naranappa’s property must go to the monastery. Garudacharya and
Lakshmanacharya bothtried to press their claim to the property but the
chief rebuked themharshly.They apologized and hurried back to the
agrahara for the cremation.
Part Three:
Chapter 1
Pranesacharya’s self -analysis cont inues
A half caste youngman Putta joins him in his journey.We are inside
Pranesacharya’s restless state of mind. He had decided to gowherever his
feet took him.
He met a young farmer herding buffaloes to the tank, his mouth full of
chewed betelnut. He had one fear — fear of being recognized. Fortunately,
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162 The thought of Naranappa brought into focus how he came to make love
toChandri. It was an undesired moment.
Chapter II;
The story of the Durvasapura Brahmins
Pranesachar yaarrives at a new equation with himself, decides to confess to
his fellowBrahmins.In Parijatpura, Manjayya realized that the deaths of
Naranappa, Dasacharyaand Pranescharya’s wife indicated the outbreak of
plague.The Brahmins, disappointed at the monaster y, made their way
towardsDurvasapura.
In Durvasapura, Belli lost her parents to plague. The neighbours set
thethatched hut with the dead parents inside on fire. Belli, frightened, ran
awayfrom the village. -Putta stuck to the Acharya like sin. The Acharya
wanted to be alone and thinkbut Putta wouldn’t leave him.
Putta then told him about the death of Shyama, an actor of the
Kundapura‘troupe. They came to a place where the road branched. The
Acharya saw achance to evade Putta. When Putta chose one, he chos e the
other but Puttasaid that both roads led to Melige, one of them was a little
longer than the other and stayed with him. Putta started becoming more
familiar with the Acharya. He asked him about his marriage and told him
that he had two children. But h is wife was alwaysclamouring to go to her
parents. He beat her but that didn’t seem to have anyeffect on her. But for
this one weakness, she was very clean and good ineverything.
The familiarity with Putta continued. Putta gave him coconut and
jaggery.The n he asked him another riddle. The Acharya solved it but his
mind wasstill on his own situation. He realized that he could free himself
from theTrishanku -state. But finally he wants to go wherever his legs took
him. Meanwhile Garuda, Lakshmana and the othe r Brahmins returned
toDurvasapura. Fortunately, there were no vultures on the roofs
anymore.Performing the death rite for Naranappa was the first priority.
But they didn’tfind Pranesacharya there. He had probably gone to the
river. They were afraidto go in to his house. So they decided to wait for
him and started making astretcher for the body.
The narrative of Samskara can be summarized as follows:
(a) The first part of novel contains ten chapters. In these ten chapters we
have the opening of the novel and the first stage of development in the
character of Pranesacharya. It ends with Pranesacharya failing to fulfil his
Brahminical duty.

(b) The second chapter has six chapters and leads us to the second stage
of transformation of Pranesacharya. It ends with death of Pranesacharya's
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Critical study of samskara: a rite for a dead man by U.R. Ananthamurthy part II
163 (c) The third part of novel has two chapters. The second chapter of this
part is the longest. This part ends with Pranesacharya going back to
Durvasapura to confess and take re sponsibility of his actions.
15.2 CONCLUSION: Anantha Murthy is very selective and careful in the field of
characterization. The names of various characters are also meaningful and
symbolic. Praneshastands for being united, Naranappa means Lord
Vishnu, Cha ndri a beautiful woman like moon. Major roles in the novel
have been assigned to Praneshacharya, Naranappa, Chandri and Putta and
the rest of the characters inthe novel are presented referentially and appear
as mere reflections in the background. They mere ly add to the tale of the
main protagonists. The minorcharacters in the novel are Bhagirathi,
Garudacharya, Sitadevi, Lakshmanacharya,Anasuya, Shripati Belli,
Durgabhatta, Dasacharya, lakshmidevamma, ManjayyaandPadmavati .
Samskara is located in the followin g places: Durvasapura,Parijatapura,
Tirthahlli, Kaimara, Shivamogge, Jhirnali, Kundapura and Melige.The
multiple focuses are absent and secondary characters just exist in
thenarrative. The gallery of characters is not big and it is not difficult to
locate themain action and the protagonist.
Man-woman relationship is one of the dominant concerns of the novel.
Murthy represents it through the portrayal of Naranappa and
Praneshacharaya’s relationship with Chandri. Chandri -Naranappa love
relationship becomes a central point of discussion for the villagers and the
whole Brahmin community because they have rejected all the customs and
norms of the Brahmin society. Their living relationship becomes a
constant source of fear and menace to the villagers because they lived
boldly, breaching every taboo. The relationship between Chandri and
Acharya also is one of the significant incidents of the novel which helps in
the development of the story, and this accidental union of Acharya with
Chandri continues to grip the att ention of the readers throughout the novel.
The chief trait of the narrative technique in Samskara is the running of two
parallel stories of Praneshacharya and Naranappa. These two
complementary stories enrich the plot with a rich variety of symbols and
allusions. Murthy alsopresents a distinction between the high caste and the
low caste women. He depicts the commanding character of low caste
women like Chandri and Belli insharp contrast with a sick and bed -ridden
Brahmin woman. Murthy is successful in keepi ng the suspense till the end
of the novel and grasps the interest of the reader throughout the novel. The
second half of the novel concentrates more on the philosophical and
metaphysical speculations. The physical gratification is not very important
but th e centre of attraction is the tension between matter and spirit which
is reflected in Acharya's dilemma. Praneshacharya after communion with
Chandri reflects more on the real meaning of life and his quest. The quest
for Chandri turnsout to be a quest for h is identity and the self.
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164 15.3 BIBLIOGRAPHY: https://www.purplepencilproject.com/book -review -samskara -u-r-
ananthamurthy/
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Samskara
https://egyankosh.ac.in/
https://www.eng -literature.com/


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