Chapter Six Conclusions • Chapter VI

Conclusions

Why do people write autobiographies? One can understand why biographies or even travelogues are written. A biography studies a life from outside and a travelogue is essentially a depiction of experiences and encounters with places and people unknown, often from out of a tourist interest of curiosity and wanderlust. Not so with an autobiography. Autobiographies from non-literary fields like politics, science, education, administration Eire firmly specific in their frame of reference. However, autobiographies of literary figures become more inclusive, comprehensive as literature touches all. There is an image of the social, cultural, aesthetic, regional, religious, familial life of the writer revealing eventually the factors that went into his/her making as a writer. A writer's autobiography is then, a very human document, whatever motives it may have been written with. Often the evidence of this "making" is reflected in the literary creation itself The autobiographical novel is evidence in support. When some writer was asked why he did not write an autobiography he promptly quipped, "What else have I done in my writings?"

Does the economic status decide the approach? Except for and Dom

Moraes who came from wealthy families, the other four writers faced financial problems.

Khushwant Singh and Amrita Pritam are models of what may be called "Punjabiat", with a life- loving, fun-fond, care-free, liberal, sensuous or even sexual—approach to life and times. R. K.

Narayan, on the other hand, has the genes of a god-fearing, straight laced middle class, tradition- loving Brahmin. The framework of such a life is firmly marked and adhered to. Bachchan's is an elitist, proud, self-conscious, self-portrait. Dom Moraes lived life of a nomad. His rather harsh

230 opinions about , his excessive love for England made him a controversial figure. However, as a journalist he had done many adventurous assignments which any contemporary Indian has ever done. Baby Kamble hails from a different world altogether. She does not demand sympathy or denounce the way the upper castes crushed or demeaned her. No shrill curses, no temper tantrums than often mark Dalit writing.

The rather derogatory term, "Narcissistic" has crept in the discussion in the core chapters above. However, it is not meant to be so in the present context, because if there is no self-love, autobiographies may not be written at all: Here I am, someone among many. I have dominated the field I worked in and my contribution cannot be neglected. The world has to take cognizance of my existence, without which an understanding of its own self will not be complete. Thus, I am more than an individual; I am an institution in myself! This may be the psychology -or philosophy— behind the self-love.

But, then, howsoever towering the self may be, it has to exist within a frame of reference which has social, economic, political and such dimensions. A life cannot exist significantly without being spent in some space and time marked by social particulars. Thus a creator of time becomes a creature of time also.

The present study has tried to investigate into this process of being and becoming with reference to six creative lives. Taken together, they compose the mosaic of India with its multiple diversity. It is a portrait of India. They represent different languages, different regions, different religions, and different familial and sociocultural backgrounds. Bachchan, Khushwant

Singh and Amrita Pritam hail from the North while R. K. Narayan represents the South in all its

231 finer shades. Baby Kamble and to some extent Dom Moraes, belong to , the central region of India.

Certain similarities and differences are observed in the life and the writings of these writers. First the similarities in their life are discussed. R. K. Narayan and Khushwant Singh spent their early childhood with their grandmothers, R. K. Narayan, with his maternal grandmother and Khushwant Singh with his paternal one. They show a deep influence of these significant years. They had big families and there was a complex bond of relationship. Both R.

K. Narayan and Khushwant Singh were supported by their families. After her mother's death

Amrita was brought up by her father in strict conditions for a girl imposed by traditional Punjabi society. She could not free herself for a long time. It was only after she came to that she got chance to live a free life, and to meet new poets and friends. She also had the company of her grandmother. Harivansh Rai Bachchan also lived in a big family with younger brother, sisters, uncles and aunts and grandmother Radha Bua. Though he writes about his ancestors and his family, he went away from it and lived his life in his own way. Later, when he married Teji, a

Punjabi girl, he buih his nest away from the society which did not accept his marriage. Dom's was a 'nuclear family' in the real sense of the term. Even in his house where they were only three people, there was no emotional bonding among them as seen in Indian families. His was a

'broken home' due not only to his mentally disturbed mother but also due to his father's global assignments away from home for many days together. It is but natural that his memories of

'home' are associated with servants and his pets. However, Dom Moraes refers to his paternal grandfather who taught him Latin and he liked his grandfather at that time. Babytai spent her childhood with her grandparents as a pampered grandchild. Hers was also a big family.

232 None of these writers were scholars at school or college and faced failures. Babytai even did not matriculate. However, they were voracious readers and read widely from childhood.

Narayan's head master father had a good personal library and his school also had a good collection of books. Narayan took full advantage of it. Later in the Maharaja's College, he got chance to enter the college library. Khushwant Singh became an ardent lover of English language in schooldays. Afterwards he became a good reader and read almost every book came in his hands. He loved English poetry very much and memorized many poems by heart.

Hariwansh Rai Bachchan was a poet through and through. From his school days he read a lot: books, journals such as Saraswati, Young India, Nav Jeevan etc. He cultivated his and very early became a part of the Hindi literary world. Being a lonely child Dom Moraes took to reading and read at home as well as in the R. A. library. Babytai also borrowed books from library and read them sitting in their shop. This helped them to develop their style and the effect of their reading is certainly reflected in their writing.

Almost all the writers referred to in this research work experienced the pre- Independence era, its restlessness and the post- Independence crisis of the free India. Every writer expressed it differently. R. K. Narayan gives only some references from his childhood, when he participated in a procession with his friends leaving the school and was reprimanded by his maternal uncle and the headmaster. Khushwant Singh, as a college student, gave slogans 'Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Bhagat Singh ki Jai!' in his college, ran by Christians. Hariwansh Rai left his education in the middle as he was influenced by the freedom movement. Dom Moraes ignored all the major events of the struggle for freedom of India as he did not think himself as an Indian at that time.

At one place in My Son's Father he says, "I had no real consciousness of a nationality." (p. 100)

Amrita gives only some passing remarks. But she is a witness to the Partition and expresses it

233 emphatically in her writing. Baby Kamble was deeply influenced by the thoughts of Babasaheb

Ambedkar. She and her community started to taste the fruits of freedom from caste consciousness, and exploitation by the so called high caste. She also has not mentioned freedom of India in the true sense of the term.

None of the writers selected here discusses politics or writes in favour of any politician or any political party although all of them have witnessed the freedom struggle and are associated with politicians as friends. Among them R. K. Narayan, Khushwant Singh, Amrita Pritam and

Hariwansh Rai Bachchan are selected as members of . All of them and Dom

Moraes, who has writen biography of have good relations with many well-known politicians. Khushwant Singh has worked as a diplomat in Indian embassies in countries such as

UK, Canada and was familiar with many diplomats and politicians. Rai Bachchan has family relations with the Nehrus and later Indira Gandhi.

They are self-willed, self-styled. R. K. Narayan, Khushwant Singh and Hariwansh Rai

Bachchan do not have any literary background. Baby Kamble does not even have literacy in her family. Amrita Pritam's father was a poet, he taught her first metrical composition. Though at first she writes according to her father's wish, she breaks the shackles and writes boldly. Dom

Moraes has got the legacy of writing as his father was a well- known journalist and author.

However, Dom finds his own way as his is the genius of a poet and though he has suffered from the disappearance of the Muse, he waits long for the return of the Muse. All of them have sought their way to success meticulously and have achieved their place in literary world and in the contemporary society.

234 Considering the differences one thinks of the financial condition of these writers. There is a variety. R. K. Narayan comes from a lower middle class family and experiences financial problems right from his childhood. Khushwant Singh's is a very rich family, and he enjoys the benefits of a son of a rich father. Dom Moraes also enjoys wealth of his parents. He has visited many countries with his father. As a young boy he goes to Cambridge for his graduation. Though

Amrita Ptitam does not write about their financial status, she refers to the sum given to her husband as dowry and a help offered by some relative, both the things she despises. Rai

Bachchan narrates his attempts to support the family by giving private tuitions and working in the press and in schools. Babytai's situation is different. In her childhood her caste was supposed to subsist on the left overs given by the high caste people. There was no other ahemative at that time.

The status of their education is also different. After graduation R. K. Narayan and Dom

Moraes decide not to continue their studies. Khushwant Singh, on the other hand, goes to

England for higher studies in law. There is no reference to Amrita Pritm's completing any course up to graduation. Rai Bachchan completes his post-graduation after a gap and then completes his

Ph. D. in the Cambridge University. Babytai goes to school up to the fourth standard only, as she has got married at the age of thirteen. However, she is one of the first generation learners after the enlightenment of the downtrodden brought about by Dr. Ambedkar.

An interesting difference is the extra marital affairs of some of them. After the death of his wife, Narayan remains unmarried. Khushwant Singh is married but he had many short affairs.

Dom Moraes has married thrice but none of his marriage is permanent. He has many short-lived affairs all his life. In Sharayu Srivastav he finds a right companion in and he has spent last fourteen years with her. Though Amrita Pritam gets married in her young age, she loves

235 passionately; she leaves her husband in her forties and lives with an artist Imroz for the rest of her life. Rai Bachchan accepts that he had been influenced by women. After the death of his first wife he married Teji and had a happy life. Babytai has no choice as hers is a child marriage and a steady one.

Obviously their life-styles are also unequal. R. K. Narayan lives a very simple, disciplined life, his needs are very limited. Khushwant Singh lives life fully enjoying everything.

Except for Babytai, they are globe trotters with a stable and dignified status at home. Global exposure seems to be a common feature with most of them. Though R. K. Narayan visits many countries, his creative writing does not have any reflections of his experiences abroad.

Khushwant Singh has spent many years abroad as a student, and as a bureaucrat. Many of his stories have their setting in foreign countries. Amrita Pritam has settled in Delhi after the

Partition, is active as a writer and has visited many countries as a member of various delegations.

Her poetry has the glimpses of her journey to the countries such as Russia, etc. Rai

Bachchan has London as a Ph.D. scholar and then many countries as a member of delegations.

Though he completed his collection of poetry Buddha aur Nachghar in England, his main concern is his native country and its milieu. They are not nostalgic and there are only passing references to his stay abroad. Dom Moraes becomes a journalist and becomes a wanderer in the world. His prose writing depicts the situation of the world as he witnessed it in his travels. Many of his poems also express his wanderings and various experiences which are simply out of the imaginative experience of any common person. Babytai never left India but she has visited many places in Maharashtra as an activist to deliver lectures to make people aware of the thoughts of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

236 In their world of writing all of them are masters of their own style. R. K. Narayan created the town Malgudi and it is inhabited by his immortal characters. His fiction is unusually close to, and intimate with his personal life. Narayan is predominantly autobiographical and utilizes the experiences of his life to organize them in his work of art. Including the early novels Swami and Friends, The Bachlor of Arts, The English Teacher, collections of short stories such as

Malgudi Days up to The Grandmother's Tale and even Guide prove it. The story teller in R. K.

Narayan clearly makes his presence felt in his autobiography too.

Khushwant Singh has written novels, short stories, history of the , autobiographies, and many famous columns for newspapers. One cannot say that his fame rests merely on any one of them. However, he is chiefly remembered for his novels Train to and Delhi for his column 'Malice Towards One and All'. Khushwant Singh's writing primarily exhibits his being a journalist. He selects incidents from his life or from his experiences, or of others and writes in documentary way. The collections of short stories such as 77?^ Portrait of a Lady: Collected

Stories, The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories, The Voice of God and Other Stories, A Bride for the Sahib and Other Stories are some examples of it. He had been a raconteur and he has proved it in his fiction as well as in Truth, Love and a Little Malice. The journalist in him always dominated the writer.

Anyone who reads Amrita Pritam's fiction can say that she is a poet first. Even the reading of her autobiographies also gives the reader this sense. At the same time her anguish at the predicament of women in rural and urban area is depicted emphatically and even boldly in all of her writing. It is seen in her books such as Dharti, Sagar aur Seepian, Terahwan Suraj, Yaatri,

Kachche Resham Si Ladki etc. Her autobiography The Revenue Stamp is no exception to it.

237 Harivansh Rai Bachchan shows the influence of Nayi Kavha Hterary movement

(romantic upsurge) of early 20th century Hindi literature in his early poetry. However, later he develops his owoi identity and world view. He has introduced Halavad (bachchanalism) in Hindi poetry. Apart from these poems, his poetry expresses his awareness of all the important events he witnessed. For instance, he has written collections of poems on the thoughts and life of Gandhiji,

Sut Ki Mala, and Khadi Ke Phool. Another collection Bangal Ka Kaal expresses the stark reality in West Bengal. In Hindi literary world his name has become immortal as one of the most popular and most admired poets. He will be remembered for his sweet, sonorous and pregnant poems such as: "Koshish kamewalon ki kabhi har nahi hoti", "Kya karun samvedana lekar tumhari", "Iseeliye khada raha ki tum muze pukar lo" "Gima bhi achcha lagta hai, aukat ka pata xhalta hai", inspirational poems like "Agnipath", stanzas from Madhushala, Madhukalash,

Nisha Nimantran and many more .

Dom Moraes is an example of how deeply traumatic childhood haunts a person throughout his life. He never forgets the insanity of his mother. He always tries to go away from her and from India. In his adolescence he related his mother with India and hated both. His eccentric remarks about India and Indians are perhaps the result of it. He finds many reasons to be away from his mother and becomes a wanderer. It suits his career as a journalist. One can see how the shattered roots of a comfortable home unsettle a small boy turning him into a nomad.

He never feels at home anywhere. His poetry and his autobiographies reflect his anguish. The titles he uses for some of his books reflect this: Gone Away, Never at Home, Absences etc.

Babytai's life is constricted by many situations, not only because she comes from a

Mahar family, but also because of being the wife of a man who beats her and harasses her trivial reasons. Cosidered alongwith the stature and the success of the other writers in this

238 selection, Babytai Kamble has no credentials to stand comparison. Even so, her true strength is not any voluminous literary output; in fact she has only one slender collection of poems to her credit. In addition, there may be a few stray poems (both published and other wise), more of which are untraceable. Her true strength is her work as an activist in the Ambedkarite progressivist movement for the enlightenment of the still benighted segments of our society. This is connecting literature to life. Her writing was noticed by Maxine Bemtsen, an American-bom linguist, settled in Phaltan, Maharashtra. She liked it very much and took her to Vidya Bal, the editor of Stree, a women's magazine in Marathi. Then it came into limelight as a serial and afterwards published in a book form inl986.

Every writer has to do something in order to earn livelihood as it is not easy to make a full-fledged career as a WTiter or a poet. Everybody has done something or the other work, except for R. K.Narayan. It was only Narayan who continued to live by the pen throughout.

To be a writer demands disciplined habits. As it is often quoted, poetry (art) is ninety percent perspiration and ten percent inspiration. The careers of these writers are no exception to this rule. Begirming from a modest career Narayan reached a unique place which he has created with his own endeavors. After he resolved to live by writing he made it a habit to write at least two to three hundred words a day, and slowly it increased. This discipline is also seen in

Khushwant Singh. Though he spent his youth recklessly and enjoying every day of youth, he started to value time and became disciplined when he was invited to lecture on the Sikh and other religions of India in the universities of Oxford, Prinston and Swathmore. Rai Bachchan had the habit of sitting at his desk at certain hours and did not want to be disturbed. Dom Moraes never mentions any such discipline followed by him. Babytai wrote in the afternoon when her

239 husband was away to buy vegetables for the shop. But she had to hide it lest he should see it and beat her.

Everyone here has made his/her mark not only as a writer or a poet but also as an

individual contributing to the society in which he/she lived. For instance, Khushwant Singh was very much sensible about the social and political issues of our country and talked and wrote

about it in his columns. He openly condemned Operation Blue Star though he was a member of

the Rajya Sabha. Babytai Kamble founded an orphanage for the children of the backward class;

she had also established a school. She devoted herself to the Ambedkarite Activist Movement.

Dom Moraes took risks many times to cover serious assignments such as the flood in the East

Pakistan(Bangla Desh), the imprisonment of ten thousand people on the remotest island of Buru

of even the riots in Gujarat.

Bhavbhuti praises Karun Rasa as being the greatest of all rasas. Shelley says, "our

sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought" in 'To a Skylark'. Literature is said to be

often an expression of some deep sorrow, some pain of the writer. Such incidents leave a lifetime

impression on the psyche of the writer; sometimes they prove to be turning points in the life of

writers. The writers selected here faced some of such incidents.

Narayan had to face the blow of the death of his wife. It hit him severely and threw him

away from his normal life and his writing for many days. In early days of sorrow he even tried a

'medium', a person, who taught him to communicate with his dead wife. This 'contact' enabled him to regain his control. It is through the novel The English Teacher that he achieved his catharsis. However, this blow is so intense that he is unwilling to repeat it in his autobiography.

After he came out of this trauma, his writing became more inclusive.

240 Bachchan's life is full of many events and he was influenced greatly by them. He faced the blow of his friend Karkal's and his wife Champa's deaths, his delicate relation with Prakasho

and break up in his relation with Prakasho and Shrikrishna. The reflection of this is seen in some

of the poems in his book Madhubala. He also faced the trauma of his first wife's death. The

poems written sitting near the death bed of Shyama are collected in Madhukalash. He became

very lonely. Even when he started to write poetry, he expressed his agony. The titles of his books

convey the condition of his mind: Nisha Nimantran, Ekant Sangeet and Akul Antar. His

marriage with Teji rekindled in him the hope to enjoy life once again and the tone of his writing

became happy which is seen in his collections entitled Satrangini, Milan Yamini etc.

For Khushwant Singh and Amrita Pritam the cruelty at the time of Partition is an

everlasting impression. Both express their anguish in their own way. With Train to Pakistan,

Khushwant Singh gives the way to the feelings of all who suffered in the Partition, who lost

everything in it. Singh digs into a deep local focus, providing a human dimension which brings to the event a sense of reality, horror, and believability. This historical novel is the master piece

on this theme and Khushwant Singh has awarded the Grove Press Award for the Best Work of

Fiction.

Amrita Pritam becomes a victim of Partition in the sense that she has to leave her native place as a refugee. In Lahore and while travelling by train from Dehra Dun to Delhi she witnessed the horror of the Partition. Her immortal poem 'Ajji Akkhan Nu'

expresses her agitation. Her novel Pinjar depicts the predicament of women who became prey to the blind and brutal lust of men. Like Ibsen's Nora, in A Doll's House, who became a symbol of

the new woman, Amrita Pritam's Puro becomes the symbol of the Indian women who were

241 raped and abducted and rejected even by the people of their household during the time of

Partition. Her poems on this theme give vent to her anguish.

Dom Moraes's psychopath mother and his childhood days with her is an everlasting traumatic experience. It left a deep impact on him. He is never able to free himself from it. In many of his poems he refers to his mother. In a poem 'A Letter', he says in a line 'My mother mad, and time we went away'. Another poem 'Letter to My Mother' is directly addressed to her.

Though the death of his mother comes as liberation, the disturbed childhood has dogged him

always. Among other influences, England is an important one. In a way it has shaped him as a poet and also related him to the world of poets which he is crazy of

Babytai's life before Ambedkarite era is an unforgettable traumatic experience. It is only

after the enlightenment by Dr. Ambedkar that she feels capable to express her anguish in the

form of writing. In fact, the emergence of Dr. Ambedkar as a young, dynamic and aggressive

leader of the downtrodden is a turning point in the lives of all of them. Babytai not only takes benefit of this situation, she helps others to uplift themselves, she starts a school and an

orphanage for the children of the deprived.

The candid tone of these autobiographies is an asset in itself as it increases the

authenticity of an autobiography. Dom Moraes writes about his love-hate relationship with his mother ingenuously. He is cruelly honest in depicting his life as a teen ager in London. At the

same time he is honest with his instinct as a poet. In both autobiographies he expresses his restlessness when he was 'dried up' and could not write poems. Amrita Pritam forthrightly narrates her conjugal conflict, urge for true love, love failure in Saheer's case and at last self-

contentment in Imroz's love. Khushwant Singh writes about the memories of his happy-go-lucky

242 days in his college and, later, in London very frankly. He is very frank to tell about his rather censorious relationship with his wife. He also writes about his experiences as a diplomat. R. K.

Narayan is a thorough gentleman and narrates his experiences sincerely, laced with his typical wit and humour. Harivansh Rai Bachchan goes on writing about his being a Kayasth and gives the genesis of his 'clan', his sense of being a 'high caste'; he also narrates about his ancestors, his family and his relationships with different women. Baby Kamble has portrayed more or less everything about her community forthrightly, she is proud of being a member of her community, the Mahar. She wholeheartedly expresses her reverence for Dr. Ambedkar who illuminated the age-old darkness in the lives of the downtrodden and made them aware of their right to live as human beings.

Amrita Pritam and Baby Kamble are the two women autobiographers in the present study. Though they come from different regions and familial and sociocultural background, what brings them on a similar plane is their womanhood. They represent 'suffering', the badge of a woman's life. Both have suffered the pangs of frustration and separations. Even so, what a strong fibre they are made of! They have not surrendered, not broken down under their emotional burdens. They have withstood them, survived them, and triumphed over them.

No exhaustive study of a writer's life is possible in the present context because the approach is focused and specific. A good work of art is usually inexhaustible in its appeal, significance and implications. Therefore it is reasonable to point out a few areas where independent extended study can be undertaken by scholars. The focus of the present study is on the content. They should further be studied for their form as well as style. Moreover, they can be studied with a linguistic point of view, the narrative techniques, the depiction of society, man-

243 woman relationship, the historical perspective etc. Some of these books can be studied for the purpose of translation.

It has been a unique experience to read the autobiographies of these stalwarts. Every

book has given interesting inputs. The writings have the potential to enrich the understanding of

life's intense creative moments. They have acquainted the researcher with the wide and varied

world which would have been missed without reading these books. The world each writer has

depicted as he/she experienced it is exciting though varied, and yet they give a feeling of a united

whole as they show life in its essence. It reminds one of a line from the Marathi Geet Ramayana

of G. D. Madgulkar: 'Pratyakshahuni pratima utkat' (the image is more ardent than the real).

What else is expected from good autobiographies? For all such precious moments one feels

grateful.

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