Exploration of Indianess and East-West Conflicts: a Critical Study of R.K
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High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 Exploration of Indianess and East-West Conflicts: A Critical Study of R.K. Narayan’s Novel The Vendor of Sweets. Dr. L. Sangeetha Head, P.G Department of English Thiruvalluvar University Constituent College of Art and Science Kallakurichi 606202, Tamilnadu,( India) Abstract: R.K. Narayan is one of the giant literary figure who plays a significant role to enrich literary flavor of Indian English literature. Along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao he is labelled as a strong pillar of early Indian literature. He is mainly known for his works that are sets in his own imaginative town Malgudi, a fictional town in South India. Narayan’s writings acclaimed at global level and received appreciation of many renowned English critics and writers such as Graham Greene. Greene played a striking role to publish some of his notable works such Swami and Friends, the Bachelor of Arts and the English teacher. Besides he has also provided preface and introduction to Narayan’s novels which is a great achievement for the writer. As far as Malgudi is concerned in Narayan novels setting, Swami and Friends was the first novel that provide the picture of this town to the readers. Narayan’s contribution in Indian literature is unforgettable and momentous. His numerous novels and short stories give us the scenario of Indian life, cultural differences, pre independent pictures of the country and other remarkable themes and subjects which makes his writings noticeable and substantial. This paper discusses Volume 26, Issue 8, 2020 1178 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 Narayan’s novel Vendor of Sweets painstakingly and the themes such as east- west cultural issues and exploration of Indianess in his writings. Keywords: R.K. Narayan, Indian society, cultural exploration, east west conflicts, Indian literature. R. K. Narayan is one of the Indian writer who is known particularly for the art of characterization and depicting the local culture, social, political and domestic issues of the society. He is often compared with American novelist William Faulkner who is also known for his fictional novel settings in Mississippi. In his novel Narayan mainly brings out the social aspects of the society which is reflected by his everyday life of his persona. For subjects, themes and narrative techniques of his short stories, he is compare with great short story writer Guy de Maupassant. Narayan received many notable awards for his novels and short stories collections. He is the first Indian English writer who is awarded notable Sahitya Academy Award for his widely known novel The Guide in 1960. Besides an Indian movie was made on this novel which remain highly popular in Indian cinema. Another literary achievements he received are A. C. Benson Medal award, Sahtiya Academy fellowship, PadamBhushan and others. Jhumpha Lahiri, Pulitzer winner, called his stories alike his novels and also acclaimed for creating fictional Malgudi town which provide settings for mostly works, she says: Setting aside his plentiful and remarkable novels, Narayan firmly occupies a seat in the pantheon of 19th and 20th century Chekhov, O. Henry, Frank O’ Connor and Flannery O’Connor. …Malgudi is on that wonderful map of places in the literary universe, either real or imaginary, that not only provide a setting but possess a soul. Faulkner’s Yoknapatawapha County, Garcia Marquez Macondo, and Joyce Dublin are just three examples of the way certain writers cling stubbornly to Volume 26, Issue 8, 2020 1179 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 single terrain, entering its residents within. …Malgudi is the setting not only for the stories in this volume, but for practically everything else Narayan has written. (Lahiri 1) Narayan captures the daily routine life, common characters, recurrent domestic things which somehow correlate his readers to the stories in the novels. Besides Narayan doesn’t shy away to reveal the social absurdities, love triangle, greediness, women independence and exploitation as well. His novels vividly present Indianess at every level. The depiction of the cultural ethos, rituals, social dogmas, Gandhi, Gita, Upanishads, ghetto society, crowded markets vividly reflects Indianness in his writings. Moreover his characters also imbibe everything that could be observed in daily of Indian people. Malgudi town occupies all the things that it reflects Indian society, town and village life. Narayan every works explore Indianess in its setting, characters, their activities and life. Vendor of Sweets is one of his striking piece of fiction which explores Indian views of life through the characters and settings of the novel. Here the writer brings out the story of a conventional protagonist Jagan and his son Mali. Jagan is portrayed a sweet vendor of the Malgudi Town and the follower Gandhian and Gita principals. Through his characters Narayan describes Indian way of life. Narayan novels mainly noted for his remarkable characters. In his persona he inculcate human nature and they reflects the vivid experience of life, weakness and strength and thinks like ordinary real human beings and realistic perception of life which is noteworthy and meticulous. In the context of his characters peculiarity one of the critic asserts that: Narayan’s characters are like caravans journeying along life’s varied experiences. Diverse facets of human nature are presented at times the social order is threatened. But the comic always presupposes some stable social values against Volume 26, Issue 8, 2020 1180 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 which the instincts and aberrations of individuals are focused in their word postures. In spite of their frailties there is an elemental simplicity about them. These is sure a human feel in the virtues as well as the vices of the Malgudians. (Biswal 32) In this novel Narayan portrays numerous scenes and characters who reflects Indian views of life. Jagan’s life projects his dual personality. Though he follows Gandhian principles and Gita philosophy but in practical life he was very miser, greedy and self-centered man. His attire and daily routine activities exhibits Indianness in his characters. His attire shows his inclination towards indigenous tradition and Swadeshi style of living: He wore a loose jibba over his dhoti, both made of materials spun with his own hand; everyday he spun for an hour, and produced enough yam for his sartorial requirements. He never possessed more than two sets of clothes at any one time and he delivered all the excess yarn in neat bundles to the local handloom committee in exchange for cash… (Narayan, 274) Nevertheless Jagan follows strongly nature in his daily life such as the use of tree branch in place of toothbrush which he divine gift or Sanjeewini and wear the slipper made of old dead cows skin because for him it was against Gandhi principals of life and a sin to wear a young cow killing for his comfort zone. Besides such daily life things, he was a traditional man in real sense, who had followed the rituals and conventions as a part of life. Such things reflects Jagan attachment with the cultural heritage. He always prays of deity and conducted every kind of rituals which he believe as sacred, source of satisfaction and to keep divine power happy for his better future life: Volume 26, Issue 8, 2020 1181 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 Jagan sat under the framed picture of the Goddess Laxmi hanging on the wall, and offered prayers first thing in the day by reverentially placing a string of Jasmine on top of the frame; he also lit an incense stick and stuck it in a crevice in the wall. The air was charged with the scent of Jasmine and incense and imperceptibly blended with the fragrance of sweetmeats frying in ghee, in the kitchen across the hall. (Narayan, 273) Jagan commitment with his cultural values and other conventional approaches represent exploration of locale and traditional Indian life. He doesn’t believe in modern way of life and the things that deviate him from his cultural heritage. He also scold his wife for taking medicine pills for headache. He regarded such pills poisonious which are harmful for a person health. He dislikes toothbrush by saying that it bristles are made of the hair of pig’s tail and eulogize Margossa tree leaves by telling his benefits such as it kills bacteria of the stomach and air passes through this tree are anti-typhoid. On the other side his wife dislikes his health giving theories and lives her life in her own way. So these are the examples that explicitly shows the Indianness in Narayan’s novels. Another striking instance of Indian life is the description of the statue and different people around it, such as young and the old, pensioners, idlers, tired workers and sickly citizens. Furthermore this novel also present east west conflicts through the characters of Jagan and his son Mali. Jagan is a symbol of traditional Indian life while Mali describes as haughty and stubborn boy who disagrees with his father’s old way of life. He didn’t like his father’s business of sweets selling, his attire and daily routine activities. Mali considered all these things as a sign of backward and an old fashioned man. He studies in a college and imbibe modern ideas and also want to live like a European gentlemen which Jagan sees venomous for a good life. First instance Volume 26, Issue 8, 2020 1182 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 of their conflict of ideology occur on the breakfast table when Mali announce to give up his studies and to pursue another thing, he says; “The boy paused while swallowing his breakfast.