International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16)
The Householder : A Comedy within the Times of Nehruvian Nationalism
Jayalekshmi N S. 1Research Scholar, Dept. of Humanities, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Kerala Dr. Babitha Justin. 2Assistant Professor, Dept. of Humanities, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Kerala
Abstract: It is obvious that the Bollywood movies of the early postcolonial period had a poignant played up social angle as they served as excellent commentaries on the socio-political conditions of the new-born nation. In contrast to Bollywood movies of the time, James Ivory’s The Householder documents Nehruvian nationalism through a transnational lens. As the debut feature film of Merchant-Ivory Productions, it orientalises the ethos and class struggles through the middle class Prem, who later becomes the mouthpiece of Nehru, in his attitudes and achievements. This paper critically analyses the gendered portrayal of Indian middle class in an age of various socio-cultural transitions,with reference to the conflicts of tradition and modernity, Eastern and Western philosophy of life and nostalgia of the perplexed protagonists.
Key words:
Post-Independent India, Bollywood films, Nehruvian nationalism, nostalgia, class struggles.
Introduction Bollywood films of the 1960s replicate various socio-political ethos and anxieties of the new born nation, India. Through irony and sarcasm, these films chronicle“a class angle, with the commonplace experience of the relatively powerless youth opposed with the obstacles of class, gender, caste, societal norms and time” (Marteinson, 2006). According to Mridula Mukherjee, the former Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) “the
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) Nehruvian years (1947-1964) were an extremely creative and innovative period of Bombay cinema that demonstrated exciting developments in all its fields.’(Appendix A)Both the Indian and foreign film production companies of the time document the ebullience and lethargy of the Nehruvian dialectics. This paper discusses the representation of Nehruvian nationalism in The Householder (1963), the debut film of the Merchant- Ivory collaboration , with respect to the Bollywood movies of the selected year. It also critiques the subtle comic reverberation of the Nehruvian India, portrayed through the initial complications of a newly married couple- Indu and Prem. Ismail Merchant’s “fascination for the English way of life” and James Ivory’s experiences with Delhi along with Isobel Lennart’s interest in Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s novel The Householder resulted in the creation of the Merchant-Ivory Production (MIP) and their first feature film in 1963. 1 Inspired by SatyajitRay’s film pattern, MIP madetheir first Indian movie“in the English language which is much more international and has a bigger market” (Merchant, 4).
The Householder , an adaptation of Jahabvala’s novel (1960), begins with quotes from Manu Smrti , a text in Hinduism which was elevated to unimaginable canonical heights by colonial scholarship. This quote underpins the role of a householder ( Grihastha) as superior to other Asramas of human life- Brahmacharya, Vanaprasta and Sanyasa . Through flashbacks and reminiscences, the movie satirizes the Hindu philosophical definition of the householder. Though the basic theme of the movie is centered on the changing nuances of familial bonding and responsibilities among middleclass Indians, as the plot evolves, the protagonist becomes the mouthpiece of Nehru, struggling to perform his role effectively. This paper critically analyses the movie as a visual representation of Nehruvian cultural landscape in an age of conflicting ideasin the new born cities,which are “not only the symbol of a new sovereignty but an effective engine to drive India into the modern world.” (Khilnani, 1998). Tradition vs Modernity Dilemmas of the newly Independent nation under the leadership of Nehru include displacement of the rural migrants, their maladjustment with the rapidly industrializing urban spaces, and, “dissatisfaction with the culture of the present” (Hutcheon, 1998). As an independent production company, MIP has created “an intimate group of characters” 2 (Trojan, 43), symbolic of different attitudes and cultures’ (Ivory 43).The expository shots of the movie place the protagonists, Indu and Prem, discussing of a marriage function on the open terrace of their rented home, in a misty morning. This awakening of slumbering India is portrayed in the background of the dome of Zeenat Masjid. Through this scene, the movie introduces an antique India; a symbiotic blend of Hindu and Islamic cultures. The stereotypical portrayals of Indu, as a rustic belle, anxious to travel by bus and to settle in city 3and her dissatisfied mother-in-law, represent the clashes of emerging modernity and fading tradition. Contrasting gender perceptions of landscape and the changing modes of travel enforce the middle-class confusion prevalent in India during that time. Prem’s mother, as an embodiment of obsolete belief systems, scornfully calls Indu a ‘modern girl’, who can’t keep a house, as she fails to ‘put everything in order’. Collisions of the past and the present
1Raw, Lawrence. (Ed.) 2012. Merchant-Ivory Interviews . University Press of Mississippi. Titled, “James Ivory and Ismail Merchant: An Interview” by Jag Mohan, Basu Chatterjee, and ArunKaul/ 1968 (From Close-Up no. 2 (October/December 1968): 5-19, 46.) 2 Raw, Lawrence. (Ed.) 2012. Merchant-Ivory Interviews . University Press of Mississippi. “The Merchant-Ivory Synthesizers” by Judith Trojan/1974 (From Take One 4, no. 9 (January-February 1974): 14-17.) 3As she “has seen enough cows, fields, wells… and wants to see more people, cars and buses”.
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) are ambivalent in the professional life of Prem also, as he faces problems from his seniorhumiliating colleague, Prof. Chadha. While Prem and Indu struggle as displaced youth, Bobo symbolizes the disturbed upper- middle class girl, going beyond the traditional biases of womanhood as she smokes and dances in public, in an exotic way. Bobo’s western demeanor differentiates her from other Indian women, as she goes beyond the ghar -bahir dichotomy prevalent in the time. In the words of Partha Chatterjee, any encroachment towards modernity is considered as ‘synonymous to eradication of one’s identity’ (Chatterjee, 239). Bobo’s twist dance complicates the Eastern and Western concepts of aesthetics and self-expression. Prem’s astonishing commentary on her dance to Indu and Indu’s imitation of that in an Indian version bring to screen the cultural cleavage of different classes in India. Prem’s mother’s intrusion to the screen exemplifies “urban anxiety about women’s sexuality” (Mazumdar, 2007) and the prevalent biases on women’s connections with the public space. Confrontation of nationalism and colonialism resulted in the definition of new margins for women. Like the house-owner’s wife, women of the upper-middle class were secluded in the andarmahals, indulged in needle work, as an imitation of the West. 4
The narrative of the movie revolves around the public and personal lives of Prem as he moves between his official and domestic spaces, i.e., the puram and akam spaces of his personality. The problems and conflicts he faces resemble the chaos one has to experience as a householder. Long criticizes Prem, an embodiment of the “ingenuous Indian youth, previously sheltered by his family” assuming the responsibilities of a householder as he seeks “guidance from his elders, whose examples of blunted sensibility or resignation close all avenues to expansion” (43). Compared to Prem, his wife’s less involvement in the public sphere illustrates the contemporary status of middleclass housewives. She is placed against the women of upper- middle class with respect to her lack of exposure in the public space. Indu’s behavior in the tea-party organized by Mr. Khanna illustrates her timidity.
Absence of women characters, either as students or as teachers in Prem’s college reflect the limited educationalexposure of women. In Nehruvian time, ‘challenging the patriarchal ethos of our society had never been on the agenda of the Indian state … women were back to their iconic roles within the family (where women education as a means to) better homes, better family and better society’ (Banerjee 1998, 2-6). 5Popular fictions of the Nehruvian time also shares the ‘ambiguous’ women, preserving their ‘traditional roles and conventional gender relationships’ (Ghosh, 2001). At the end of the movie, as an indication of modernity, Indu rises to the level of the house owner’s wife as she engages in needle work during her free time.As Chaudhuri mentions, though men are normally not defined in terms of traditional or modern, their “purported attitude” (Chaudhuri, 278) towards women, especially on their names, as Prem is interested in modern names like ‘Nimmi’ than ‘Indu’, define it. Though he cannot accept Bobo as an Indian women because of her behavior in public (open) space, he cannot consider Indu as a modern women, who does not know how to behave in the public. That is, a perfect Indian women are destined to keep a balance between traditional and modern ideals. Gendering Nostalgia Nostalgia, a “sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations” (Boyem, 2002), plays an important role in The Householder . Through
4It is also mentioned in ParthaChattejee’s The Nationalist Resolution of Women’s Question .
5It is delivered in a speech at the Girls’ College in New Delhi, in 1950.
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) flashbacks of the main characters, the plot unravels the initial conflicts in the life of a newly married couple in their rented house in New Delhi. Long compares Prem and Indu as “children, unacquainted with the realities of the world” than other self-centred characters (1991). The protagonists’ emotional responses to the situations exile them“from the present as it brings the imagined past near” (Hutcheon, 1998), as Prem cherishes memories of his friends watching the films of his favorite actress Nimmi 6 and Indu of her happy moments with her rustic friends. As Pym quotes the Montage , (Winter 1963)- ‘there is no pillar of virtue heroine, no dyed-in-wool villain… They are all slightly perplexed human creatures trying to grapple with hard fact and … to retain a warmth of feeling without resorting to banalities and implausible melodrama…’In the flashbacks of the hero the passive and dull life of Indu, as a housewife reading books and posing in front of mirror, places her in contrast with the ‘troublesome’ life of Prem, who struggles to manage undisciplined students and strives to increase salary. Prem’s timid erotic lookson Indu as she changes her dress makes her a sexual object “to be looked at and displayed” (Mulvey). Flashbacks within the flashback of the hero marginalizes the role of Indu as a “(passive) raw material for the (active) gaze of man, takes the argument a step further into the structure of representation, adding a further layer demanded by the ideology of the patriarchal order” (Mulvey, 843). Continuous longing of the characters for the past in the “unexpected and untoward” (Lowenthal, 1985) present reflect reactions towards the nation under Nehru. History and Landscape Merchant-Ivory collaboration is renowned for its interest in history, especially of India in the early years of its creation, explicit in The Sword and the Flute 7 (1959), The Delhi Way 8 (1964) and in Heat and Dust 9 (1983). In The Householder too Ivory makes use of the history of India through the lectures of Prof. Chadhaof the Moguls and of the colonial period. His disciplined class is placed in contrast with the Hindi class of Prem, with respect to the teaching style and topic of discussion. While the History classes deal with the ‘glorious history’ of India under the reign of Mogul emperors like Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan,etc., Prem’s Hindi class is on the Sanskrit origin of Tatsam words 10 . Prem’s undisciplined students make him inferior to both Prof. Chadha and to the Principal Mr. Khanna, who exerts his superiority says, ‘this is how a college should be conducted’. The camera eyes “organizes images, musters arguments and tells the story” of the Mogul dynasty and British Raj, margins the vast history of India in the Pre-Mogul era. Prof. Chadha’s power over his students symbolize the superiority of foreign powers over the nativesthrough. Though Prem tries to inculcate the rich tradition of Hindi, he seems feeble in his rhetoric. Thus, the History class discriminates the oriental tongue in the movie. Class struggles Merchant Ivory Productions are renowned for its portrayal of the elite class around the world. Unlike other movies of the MIP, The Householder brings to limelight the day-to-day affairs
6Excerpt of a song from the movie Daag (1952), the film exerts the longing for a secure place, as “ Aye mere dilkahinaurchal…”
7 James Ivory’s first documentary of the development of Medieval Indian paintings- Mogul and Rajput.
8Historic documentation of the history of Delhi through ages.
9A parallel history of pre and post-independent India.
10 These are Sanskrit words, which are used without any change in Hindi.
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) of middle class Indian families in the Nehruvian India. Jhabvala, the screenwriter,has never seen any Indian film from 1951 to 1975 (62), but her fascination for Ray’s style presents a “European view” (68) 11 of Indian life in The Householder .In this movie, the identity of India is pictured through the ‘interacting components of physical elements, observable activities and the symbol or meanings of the place’ (Taylor). Prem and Indu become the mouthpieces of the middleclass workingman, struggling to meet the ends and the housewife isolated within the biases of a dutiful wife. Long comments the movie as a “comedy of self-involvement”, as it depicts “the failure of understanding among characters (like) the martinet headmaster, the incredibly pompous elder teacher” (2005).The film makes a comparison of the troublesome life of the protagonist by placing him in par with his colleagues, friends and house-owner. Prof. SohanLal, teacher of Mathematics is another representative of the suffering middle class. He has to cycle and cycle from early morning to reach college by time, and has to look after his diseased brother’s family too with his low income. It’s for him that Prem requests the Principal to increasethe salary, than mentioning his case, saying ‘it’s not good for one man to have everything and another nothing…life is a hard struggle…and it’s the duty of those whose struggle is lighter to give a helping hand to those ….’Through Prem and SohanLal, the film brings to light the dilemmas of the working-class men with respect to the transport facility, lack of proper job opportunities, familial issues like poverty and disease. Prem, who is lucky to get a job in a nearby college by the influence of his late father, is ill- treated by the History teacher, as a ‘barren of utility, nothing to do except to gratify senses’ 12 . Mr. Chadha’s words echo the incapability of Prem to stand on his own feet, epitomize the ability of India to stand alone after long periods of imperialism and Prem’s status is parallel to Nehru’s, as “the domineering Motilal adored and spoiled his son” (Tharoor, 197). Prem’s friend, Raj, an ‘experienced’ householder is another face of the middle class Indian. Being a government employee, he advises Prem that, ‘women can be troublesome. You have to keep them in check and the children too’. From Raj we can understand the difficulties to get a government job in India and its merits.His patriarchal perception of women, ‘they come like lamps and before long, they are tigers at your throat’, reverberates the biased notion of women of the time.By placing a beggar woman with her baby in a coffee-shop scene, the film also showcases the presence of downtrodden people in India. Prem’s troublesome life is placed in contrast with Mr. Khanna’s and Mr. Sehgal’sluxurious lives. While Mr. Sehgal, the house-owner and his benevolent wife represent the upper middle class society, their young son becomes an embodiment of brahmscharya stage of life, as he enjoys his student-life by watching movies. Mrs. Khanna, wife of the Principal also expresses her superiority over the staffs, who are under the ‘generosity of Mr. Khanna’, by ordering them to keep the room neat. She is very rude when she says ‘advantage must not be taken of people’s greatness’. She even insults Prem while he comes to meet the Principal, by opening his request for for an increment in salary from 180 rupees per month, in front of her sneering
11 Raw, Lawrence. (Ed.) 2012. Merchant-Ivory Interviews . University Press of Mississippi. “Where Could I Meet Other Screenwriters? A Conversation with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala”, by John Pym/1978 ( Sight and Sound 48, no.1 (Winter 1978-79):15-19.) 12 He quotes Smile’s Theft, “Of all wretched men, surely the idle are the most so those whose life is barren of utility, who have nothing to do except to gratify their senses. Are not such men the most querulous, miserable, and dissatisfied of all, constantly in a state of ennui, alike useless to themselves and to others mere cumberers of the earth, who, when removed, are missed by none, and whom none regret? Most wretched and ignoble lot, indeed, is the lot of the idlers.”
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) friends. Mr.Sahgal also rejects Prem’s request to reduce the rent severely by lamenting,‘60 rupees for one bottle…. cost of living has gone terribly…’. Prem finds solace by realizing the absence of a “space for non-exploitive relationships between people, individuals and society” (Ghosh, 2009), in a world of power exploitation.
Eastern and Western Philosophy of Life The international collaboration of Merchant-Ivory Productions pictures the clashes of Eastern and Western philosophies of life in the Independent India, in The Householder . While the Bollywood movies of the 1963 like TereGharkeSamne , portray the bad effects of modernity on Indian tradition, the selectedmovie compares the oriental and occidental philosophies. Just like other movies of the MIP, The Householder also quotes Shakespeare to compare the seven stages of man (a helpless infant, a whining school boy, an emotional lover, a devoted soldier, a wise judge, a clueless old man and finally a corpse) with Manu’s principles on the duties ( karma ) of men from birth to death. In addition to Shakespeare, the film also utilizes a few Hippies,the displaced English people as real caricatures (Ivory, 46). 13 They questioned the Western middle-class norms and are interested in the East,filmize a Western perception of India.Jhabvala’s emigrant foreign characters are attempting to elude from a “boring English background (materialistic)” (97). 14 For example, Ram Yantra, a stony cylindrical instrument to measure altitude and azimuth of celestial things, symbolizes cosmic energy for the American Earnest. He describes the ‘fabulous India’ to Prem, as he is interested in the Indian sunset, tigers, women and songs. For him, India has a thrust on spirituality – realization of becoming, the presence of everything in human beings and reverse. While Prem, as a mouthpiece of Nehru exhorts India’s material and agricultural developments through the implementation of five-year plans, Earnest thrusts on the development of the soul to eternity, says, ‘you got the soul and we the flesh’! His words affirms the West’s interest in Indian spirituality. His imitation of Indian custom to wish with folded hands, while Prem tries to give him a failed shake-hand also mention India’s adaption of Western culture and vice versa. Prem’s interest in English literature also exemplifies it. Kitty, another face of the Hippie culture invites Prem by praising his enchanting name, ‘prem’ , divine and spiritual love! She even quotes Marlowe’s The Passionate Shepherd to His Love for the same.Kitty and the American Professor, who are interested in yoga and meditation, and in the ‘drone of continuity’ of the Gupta sculpture, 15 objectify the concept of East. While the Hippies are ‘such a cozy group…all united in (our) quest’, Indian Bobo, ‘a little mixed up’ dejects these people’s interest in a ‘backward’ India. Kitty’s demeanor in sari, Earnest’s interest in yoga to ‘allow the eternal essence to knock at the door’, and the Professor’s excavation of five thousand years of Indian civilization unify the collective notion of Indianness.
13 Raw, Lawrence. (Ed.) 2012. Merchant-Ivory Interviews . University Press of Mississippi. “The Merchant- Ivory Synthesizers” by Judith Trojan/1974 (From Take One 4, no. 9 (January-February 1974): 14-17.)
14 Raw, Lawrence. (Ed.) 2012. Merchant-Ivory Interviews . University Press of Mississippi. “Interview with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala”,by Michael McDonough/1986 (From San Francisco Review of Books 11, no.4 (Spring 1987):5-6) 15 He compares Prem’s cranium (head formation) to Gupta architecture, renowned for its perfection and sublimity and emphasizes the drone of ‘continuity’ of life after life to the drone of a tanpura .
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) In order to compliment the West’s view of Indian spirituality, the film chapters the role of a Guru, who advises his devotees to perform theirassigned duties and to realize the call of god. The excerpts from a bhajan, “ Sharan Ram their aayo ... 16 ” proclaims the renunciation of material life for salvation. While Prem decides to realize his role as a dutiful householder, Earnest chooses the flash of eternity.Though the film produces a “discerning Western eye, made both believable and comprehensible”, Pym criticizes the “failure of generalities, especially the conflicts of East and West through the “distinctly unrooted household of truth- seekers” (Pym, 34). Thus, the film portrays the cultural scenario of India, divergent in its thoughts and deeds, and the emergence of a hybrid culture, especially in the middleclass. Conclusion Through flashbacks within flashback, the narrative pictures the nostalgia prevalent among the middleclass, with respect to their way of life and belief systems in The Householder . Thus it satirizes the Hindu concept of Grihasthasrama life, in the context of Nehruvian India. ‘The characters are all made excellent targets of satire. In fact it is sarcasm more than satire that predominates… however, this wealth of sarcasm being too subdued is bound to go over the head of the Indian cine-goer, accustomed as he is to loud melodrama and broad comedy.’ 17 It exposes, “individual human complexities quite convincingly… hypocrisies of traditional bourgeois and upper-class social conventions… the pernicious anxieties that can keep the cultural markers and distinctions of class positions in place” (Hipsky, 100).The “architecture, landscape, furniture, interior design and costumes” (102) used in the movie creates a socio- realistic backdrop for the movie. By releasing this movie in the USA, Australia and UK, the MIP screens and satirizes Nehruvian India in the West (Appendix B). Thus, “once a certain idea of landscape, a myth, a vision, establishes itself in an actual place, it has a peculiar way of muddling categories, of making metaphors more real than their referents, of becoming in fact, part of a scenery” (Schama, 1995) .While the Bollywood movies of the time express “new imaginaries of selfhood that the modern moment with its liberating sense of individual freedom made possible”, 18 MIP documents the troublesome lives of the middleclass, trodden under the powerful. As an ‘electronic storyteller’ (SrividyaRamasubramanian), the movie caricatures Nehruvian India through Prem’sphilosophical and emotional dealings. Nehru even confesses his attitude to India as “emotional one, conditioned and limited in many ways” (44) in The Discovery of India . The impractical Prem, failed as a householder and as a teacher, replicates the “impractical (Nehru), who survive, who understand desire, hope and dream” (Shiv Visvanathan). Political influences that placed Nehru as the first Prime Minister is similar in the case of Prem, who becomes a lecturer by the influence of his father. Nehru’s preference of China with respect to various international issues is also satirized here as Prem put forwards SohanLal’s pathetic state than his to increase salary. The harsh criticisms of Shankhanaad also elucidate Nehru’s failures as an administrator. Remarkably, Ivory’s silence on the prevailing caste systems of
16 Can be broadly translated as‘ Hey, Ram, I came to your shelter, detaching from the family, and leaving behind the fort and palace of Lanka and the temples, home, there in Lanka. Just for the sake of your holy name., Tulsidasji says, he got incredible and fearless position just due to submitting himself , to the Almighty's shelter.Hey Ram, I am in your shelter, I quit my family and relatives, I am in your shelter’.
17 (Pym, 31-32) cites Screen (17 August 1964)-
18 MadhurTankha reports in The Hindu , “Celebrating Nehruvian Vision”, on 4 th November 2009.
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) India illustrates Nehru’s rejection of those ‘traditional ruts’. 19 Prem’s patriotic words on the material development of India echo Nehru, for whom ‘science was in part a literary strategy, a means of giving narrative structure and thematic coherence to Indian history’ (Arnold, 361). As the protagonist finds solace from his nostalgia and flashbacks, the movie also leads the audiences to ‘the past in terms of time, not of place, a real escape from the concreate realities of the present’ (Hutcheon). Nehru has even commented on the mindset of his people as “a rational spirit of inquiry, so evident in earlier times, which might well have led to the further growth of science, is replaced by irrationalism, and a blind idolatry of past” (p. 46). By deliberatively shadowing the technical and industrial development of the time, the film mocks at ‘Nehruvian India with its egalitarian pretentions and dismal outcomes’, though Nehru values modernity as “India’s national philosophy”. 20 Prem’s compassion to his suffering colleague and to a beggar woman resembles Nehru’s sympathy for the downtrodden, “the life of the people, which flows in a dark current beneath political events attracted his attention- the circumstances, sorrows and joys of millions of humble men and women”, as Mushirul Hasan quotes. Though the movie tries to incorporate Ray’s “poetic realism and his ability to endow simple characters and their lives” (Long, 1991), in Hindi and in English, it was a box-office flop, as it lacks the melodramatic theme endorsed by Indian audience, though it portrays the common day-to-day affairs and problems of a middleclass family. Lack of proper educational opportunities for women, problems of dislocation, clashes of traditional biases in the wake of modernity and the failed rural development programs along with the class hierarchies of the time complicates the life of the middleclass. It is well satirized in the selected movie through the struggling Prem. Shahsi Kapoor’s role as an optimistic Prem, at the end of the movie breeds new spirit for India through Nehru, who … “by education an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim, and a Hindu only by accident of birth “ (Sundaram, 2009).
19 “I want my country to be a first class country in everything. The moment we encourage the second-rate, we are lost the only way to help a backward group is to give opportunities for good education”, writes Nehru to the Chief Ministers on 27 th June 1961. 20 This involves seven national goals –‘national unity, parliamentary democracy, industrialization, socialism, development of the scientific temper, secularism and non-alignment’, mentioned by Bikhu Parekh in “Nehru and the National Philosophy of India” in Economic and Political Weekly .
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International Multidisciplinary e –Journal.Author:( Jayalekshmi N S, Dr. Babitha Justin )(07-16) Reference 1. Arnold, David.“Nehruvian Science and Postcolonial India.” Chicago Journals 104 .2 (2013):360-370. Print. 2. Banerjee, Nirmala. “Whatever Happened to the Dreams of Modernity? The Nehruvian Era and Women’s Position.” Economic and Political Weekly 33.17 (1998):2-7. Print. 3. Boym, Svetlana. The Future of Nostalgia . New York: Basic Books, 2002. 4. Ghosh, Devleena. “Water out of Fire: Novel Women, National Fictions and the Legacy of Nehruvian Developmentalism in India.” Taylor and Francis 22.6 (2001):951-967. Print. 5. Khilnani, Sunil. The Idea of India . New Delhi: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd, 1998. 6. Long, Robert Emmet. The Films of Merchant-Ivory . New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers,1991. 7. ------. James Ivory in Conversation: How Merchant Ivory Makes its Movies . University of California Press, 2005. 8. Lowenthal, David. The Past is a Foreign Country . UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 9. Mazumdar, Ranjani. Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2007. 10. Nehru, Jawaharlal. The Discovery of India . New Delhi: Penguin, 2010. 11. ______. Letters to chief ministers 1947-1964 . 5 Vols. USA: Oxford University Press, 1989. 456-7. 12. Parekh, Bhikhu. “Nehru and the National Philosophy of India.” Economic and Political Weekly 26. 1/2 (1991): 35-39+41-43+45-48. 13. Pym, John. The Wandering Company: Twenty-one Years of Merchant Ivory Films . BFI Publishing, 1983. 14. Raw, Lawrence. Eds. Merchant-Ivory Interviews . University Press of Mississippi. 2012. Print. 15. Schama, Simon . Landscape and Memory . Toronto: Random House, 1995. 16. Tankha, Madhur . “Celebrating Nehruvian Vision.” The Hindu 4November 2009. 17. Tharoor, Shashi . Nehru: the Invention of India. New Delhi: Penguin, 2003. 18. The Householder . Dir. James Ivory. New York. 1963. 19. Visvanathan, Shiv . “Poetics of a nation: Remembering Nehru.” The Hindu . 15 November 2014. Online Access: • Ghosh ,Avijit. “ Nehru's vision shaped many Bollywood golden oldies”The Times of India 16 November 2009. 13. October2014.
• Hasan,Mushirul. “ Nehru: The writer” The Hindu: historian 13 November 2014.
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• Marteinson, Peter George. “ On the Problem of the Comic: A Philosophical Study on the Origins of Laughter”. Ottawa: Legas Press . 15November 2014.
• 1960s Film History 15 October 2014.
Appendices Appendix A: MadhurTankha reports (in The Hindu) that the Nehruian era witnessed the emergence of a mature and distinctive cinematic aesthetic form with the power and potential of communicating with mass audiences and initiating debates on several pressing political and social issues of the day.
Appendix B: IMDb catalogues the releasing dates of The Householder as ° In USA, on 21 st October 1963 (New York City, New York) ° In India, in July 1964 (Bombay) ° In Australia, on 29 th May 1965 (Adelaide Film Festival) ° In UK, in February 1966.
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