Lummer Dai's 'Prithibir Hahi

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN-2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 06, 2020 LUMMER DAI’S 'PRITHIBIR HAHI' SOCIAL SYSTEM AND FESTIVALS OF THE ADIS AS REFLECTED IN THE NOVEL: A DISCUSSION Parimita Das Ex student of Gauhati University, Assam, India. Abstract: Novel is the most modern addition to Assamese literature. Assamese novel was born in the second half of the nineteenth century. Of course, a suitable environment and the backdrop required for establishment and development of the novel in Assam were created only in the twentieth century. The novel in Assamese literature is a contribution from Western literature. A novel unveils the picture of a society. The backdrop of Lummer Dai’s novel PrithibirHahi too is the tribal Adi community of Arunachal Pradesh. Along with the social mindset of the simple Adi people, personal hopes and aspirations also get reflected in the novel. A clear idea of theAdisociety’s daily lifestyle, customs and traditions, faiths and beliefs, festivals and occasions, natural environment, etc., is derived from the novel. The village headman’s son Kardug falls in love with Gachi and marries her as pertradition; later he falls for Liyi and when, taking advantage of Gachi’s simplicity he tries to put her (Gachi) in trouble by spreading canard against her, the truthful Liyi exposes his conspiracy before the Kebang. In the meleethat ensuesshe dies in front of the Kebang. It can be said that through this story the writer has showcased the entire history of the Adi community. Unalloyed, natural clarity is seen in the language of the novel; of course, considering the simplicity of some of the characters, the language seems to have taken a mature form at places. Through female characters considered to be the epitome of tribal simplicity, the typical endurance, sense of dutyand frankness of tribal women have become prominent in the novel. The main objective of a novel is to portray the real picture of life.In this respect it can be said that PrithibirHahi has succeeded in portraying the actual lifestyle of the Adi community. Introduction: The individualism brought about by commercial civilisation into a society and the desire to learn from personal experiences can be said to be the main reasons behind the birth of a novel. Don Quixote by Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) is generally considered to be the first novel in the West. The first part of the novel was published in 1605 and the second part appeared in 1615. Daniel Defoe’s (1660-1731) Robinson Crusoe published in 1719 is considered as the first novel in the English language. That is, birth of the novel took place in Europe in the seventeenth century and in England in the eighteenth century.1 After that mention may be made of French and Russian novel literature. It was only after the French Revolution that French novel saw real development. In this context the first name that comes to mind is that of Voltaire. On the other hand, Russian novel was born in the hands of Puskin in the beginning of the nineteenth century. His novel The Captain’sDaughter is considered to be the first Russian novel.2 Novel literature made its appearance in different Indian languages as soon as they came in contact with Western education. The same can be said of Assamese novel also. A city-centric culture grew from the middleclass business/working community that arose from the Industrial Revolution. Along with it a scientific mindset and reasoning also took roots in the human psyche. Novel literature is born on the basis of city-centric culture. A conducive environment towards that end is created by values of individuality and spread of humanism.3 The period from the birth of Arunodoy (1846) to the launch of Jonaki (1889) can be regarded as the preparation time for Assamese novel. In this context mention must be first madeof YatrikorYatra that appeared in Arunodoy in parts from 1850 to 1851. Though not a novel,YatrikorYatra did carry future prospects of the novel. After that, mention may be made of novel-like writings like AK Garnier’sKaminikanta (1877), AlokesiBeshyarKotha (1877),RuthorBivaranaruJosephorBivaran (1880) and MrsGarnier’sFulmoniaruKaruna (1877). These novels were mainly in translated form and their chief 2566 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN-2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 06, 2020 purpose was propagation of Christianity. Hence there was no similarity of Assamese taste and mentality with these writings. So far preparation for Assamese novel was concerned, HemchandraBaruah’sBahireRongsongBhitoreKuwaBhaturi (1876) and Padmavati Devi Phukanani’sSudharmarUpakhyan (1884) can also be mentioned. Assamese novel in the real modern senseof the term began to be written in the last decade of the nineteenth century.From the ornamental and artistic points of view, Bhanumoti can be regarded as the first real Assamese novel. After that LakshminathBezbaroa, RajanikantaBordoloi, HiteswarBarbarua, Sarat Chandra Goswami, DandinathKalita, Harinarayan Dutta Barua and quite a few notable novelists of the post Second World War era made noteworthy contributions to Assamese novel literature. After Independence many new streams of Assamese novel came into being. These included streams of tribal novel, biographical novel, Puranic novel, regional novel, science-based novel, river-based novel, etc. In the midst of these developments, one writer who has carved a niche for himself by writing tribal novels is Lummer Dai. Any novel written basically on the social system, customs and traditions, folklore etc., of a particular tribeis called a tribal novel. LummerDai’s novel PrithibirHahi (1963) written on the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh is one such tribal novel. Aims or objectives of study: Many Arunachali writers have enriched Assamese literature by making literary creations in the Assamese language. Among themLummerDai’s name comes to the mind first. The purpose and relevance of this research paper is to discuss the manner in which the lifestyle of the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh has been vividly portrayed in LummerDai’s novel PrithibirHahi. Scope of study: Lummer Dai has enriched Assamese literature with four novels. These are: PaharorHileHile (1961), PrithibirHahi (1963), Mon aru Mon (1968) and KoinarMulya (1984). All these four novels are centred round the Adis, a prominent tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. This research paper will deal with only the Adi way of life as mentioned in PrithibirHahi. Research Methodology: An analytical process is being mainly adopted while discussing this research paper titled Social life of the Adis as portrayed in LummerDai’s novel PrithibirHahi’. Subject: LummerDai’sPrithibirHahi portrays a clear picture of theAdipeople’s daily life, faiths and beliefs and the natural environment of the land inhabited by this tribe. The social customs, traditions and practices, festivals etc., of the Adi people are clearly portrayed through an attractive story of love and marriage in a simple and appealing language. The story is the life of a novel. An orderly arrangement of the storylends a tremendousamount of variety to a novel. Among all of LummerDai’s novels, PrithibirHahihas beenthe most successful so far the style of arranging the story is concerned. Brief dramatic descriptions, use of settings, placement of ancillary incidents, etc., have lent variety to the story of the novel.On the basis of the novelist’s personal experience, the social mental expression and personal hopes and aspirations of the plain and simple Adi community have been shown distinctly in PrithibirHahi. The story of the novel is set on the basis of the traditional social system of the Adis far from modern urban civilisation. A quote from Hudson is relevant in this regard: “A novel is really great when it lays its foundations broad and deep in the things which most constantly and seriously appeal to us in the struggle and fortunes of our common humanity.”4 In this respect Prithibir Hahi has been able to achieve tremendous success. The story of the novel goes in the following manner – Kardug, the son of the village’s well-to-do residentMinkar, accepts Gachi as his wife as per Adi custom. Later he gets secretly drawn to Gachi’s friend Liyi. Kardug, who has a weakness for beautiful women, also impregnates Karpung, another friendof Gachi’s. He loses interest in Gachi and spreading rumours against her, proposes to Liyi. Recalling the favour she had received from Liyi and her elder brother Libo, Gachi requests Bankong to marry Liyi and get his younger sister married to Libo. She meets Bankong on two nights to discuss the matter. Taking advantage of this, Kardug wins over the powers that be at the Kebang and lodges a complaint against Gachi. Moreover, in order to fulfil his own purpose, Kardug tactfully takes Liyi’s brother Libo to Dibru town and abandons him there. Later when the Kebangmeets, Liyi proves the innocence of Gachi and makes public Kardug’s conspiracy. The enraged 2567 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN-2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 06, 2020 Kardug attacks Liyiferociously. As a result, Liyi faints and subsequently dies. For the sake of his only sister, Libo walks all the way from Dibru without food and finds his sister in that condition. The story of PrithibirHahi ends in a tragic circumstance. Innumerable nondescript developments that determine the Adi society, lend a helping hand as the story progresses. Even though the love affair of Kardug and Gachi finds prominence in the early part of the novel, in the later stages issues concerning Karpung, Liyi and Libo, Bankong, Gachi’s mother take over. The writer has succeeded in carrying forward the story naturally through varied activities of the characters. The social system of the Adi community has been well reflected in PrithibirHahi. Man is a social being. In the interest of discipline in a society, people frame certain rules and regulations.

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