SELECTED NOVELS OF R.K. NARAYAN: A STUDY OF SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES A Thesis In Fulfillment of The Requirements For The Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In English Submitted to UNIVERSITY OF KOTA, KOTA (RAJ.) 2015 Supervised By Submitted By Dr. (Mrs.) Jatinder Kohli Sanjay Kumar Department of English Govt. P.G. College, Kota, Kota (Rajasthan) i SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE I feel great pleasure in certifying that the thesis entitled Selected Novels of R.K. Narayan: A Study of Socio-Cultural Perspectives embodies a record of the results of the investigation carried out by Mr. Sanjay Kumar under my guidance for the fulfillment of the DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of English, Govt. College Kota, Kota (Rajasthan). I am satisfied with the analyses of the data, interpretation of results and conclusions drawn. It is an original piece of research work carried out by the candidate under my supervision. To the best of my knowledge no part of this thesis has previously been submitted in any university or institute for award of any degree, diploma or fellowship. He has completed the residential requirement by residing (and appearing before me at Government College, Kota) at the headquarters of my workplace i.e. Kota as per the rules of the University of Kota, therefore, residential obligation as per rules has been satisfied by him. Date - Dr. (Mrs.) Jatinder Kohli Place - Kota Research Supervisor Department of English Govt. P.G. College, Kota, Kota (Rajasthan) ii CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work embodied in my thesis on Selected Novels of R.K. Narayan: A Study of Socio-Cultural Perspectives prepared for Ph.D. degree has not been submitted for any other degree of this university or any other university on any previous occasion and to the best of my knowledge, no work has been reported on the above subject. The work presented in this thesis is original and whenever references have been made to the work of others, they have been clearly indicated as such and the source of information is included in the bibliography. Date - Place - Kota Sanjay Kumar Research Scholar iii PRE Ph.D. COURSE WORK CERTIFICATE iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” --William Arthur Ward I deem it a matter of great pleasure to express my profound indebtedness to my esteemed supervisor Dr. Jatinder Kohli, Lecturer in English, Government College, Kota (Rajasthan) suggesting me the research problem, invaluable guidance, deep and sustained interest throughout the research work. Her kind suggestion and advice which were readily and freely available to me round the clock have been of immense help in the completion of this work. Further, I am also thankful to those who have helped me with their valuable guidance and support in the making of this thesis. My special thanks are also due to Dr. S.C. Verma and Dr. Vikash Pareek for their valuable help from time to time during the course of this work, and my friend Rajender Singh Arya for providing me the requisite material and books. I am also thankful to Dr. Ram Singh Verma, and Dr. R.P. Singh for giving me advice and worthy suggestions in course of my preparation of this work. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Anita Verma, Dr. J.P. Chaudhary for their moral support during my research work. I am equally grateful to Mr. Harish who works meticulously for typing my thesis. My dearest better-half Gunjan Tiwari too has always been a source of inspiration for me. She is the one who has prodded me on when I failed to deliver what I wanted and encouraged me in moments of fits of disappointment. I owe a great deal to my son Ishan too. v During the entire course of my research I would like to thank everyone who gave me their time, energy and confidence directly and indirectly in due course of time for the completion of the whole work. Last but not the least, I cannot and never be able to pay in return to have such a supportive and encouraging Parents; My ever regard for my Father Ex. N/B Subedar Sh. Munshi Ram and ever affectionate Mother Mrs. Santra Devi for the pride they confirmed towards me for achieving such an elite Academia Degree. I thank God for seeing me through this journey, always being there when I most needed him. Sanjay Kumar Dedicated to My Wife & Son Mrs. Gunjan Tiwari & Ishan LIST OF CONTENTS CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO. SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE I CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION II PRE Ph.D. COURSE WORK CERTIFICATE III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IV 1. INTRODUCTION 1-44 2. THEMATIC STUDY 45-96 3. SOCIAL CONCERNS 97-146 4. CULTURAL ASPECTS 147-187 5. NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE 188-235 6. CONCLUSION 236-245 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 246-261 APPENDIX 262-267 CHAPTER - 1 INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION Indian English literature originated as a necessary outcome of the introduction of English education in India under colonial rule. In recent years it “has attracted widespread interest, both in India and abroad.”1 It is now recognized that Indian English literature is not only part of Commonwealth literature, but also occupies a “great significance in the World literature.”2 Today, a number of Indian writers in English have contributed substantially to modern English literature. Ram Mohan Roy who heralded the Indian renaissance and Macaulay who recommended English language education in India were probably aware of what was in store for the Indians in terms of literary awareness. Today it “has won for itself international acclaim and distinction.”3 Fiction, being the most powerful form of literary expression today, has acquired a prestigious position in Indian English literature. It is generally agreed that the novel is the most suitable literary form for the exploration of experiences and ideas in the context of our time, and Indian English fiction occupies its proper place in the field of literature. There are critics and commentators in England and America who appreciate Indian English novels. Prof. M.K. Naik remarks: …one of the most notable gifts of English education to India is prose fiction for though India was probably a fountain head of story-telling, the novel as we know today was an importation from the West.4 It was in Bengal that a literary renaissance first manifested itself, but almost immediately afterwards its traces could be seen in Madras, Bombay and other parts of India. The first Indian English novel was Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Raj Mohan’s Wife (1864). It is different from his Bengali novels such as 2 Durgesh Nandini or Kopal Kandla. In fact, it paved the way for Anand Math (1884), Indian’s first political novel which gave the Indians their national anthem, “Vande Mataram.”. Then came Manoj Basu’s Jaljangal in the form of English translation as The Forest Goddess by Barindra Nath Bose. The novels published from the eighteen sixties up to the end of the nineteenth century were written by writers belonging to the presidencies of Bengal and Madras. Most of these novels are on social and few on historical issues, and for their models they drew upon eighteenth and nineteenth century British fiction, especially that of Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding and Walter Scott. The twentieth century began with novelists of more substantial output. Romesh Chandra Dutt translated two of his own Bengali novels into English: The Lake of Palms: A Study of Indian Domestic Life (1902) and The Slave Girl of Agra, an Indian Historical Romance (1909). The first, a realistic novel, seems to have been written with the aim of social reform with its theme being widow remarriage, while the latter is set in the Mughal period. Sarath Kumar Ghosh and another Bengali novelist wrote Verdict of Gods (1905) and The Prince of Destiny: The New Krishna (1909). A. Madhaviah and T. Ramakrishna Pillai, belonging to Madras presidency were two important contemporaries of these Bengali novelists. Another Indian English novelist of prominence was a Punjabi writer Jogendra Singh. His fictional work includes: Nur Jahan, The Romance of an Indian Queen (1909), a historical novel: Nasrin, An Indian Medley (1911), a realistic novel depicting the fall of aristocratic life in North India, Kamala (1925) and Kamni (1931), dealing with social themes. The first three were published in London and the last in Lahore. Then appeared on the scene novels such as S. T. Ram’s The Cosmopolitan Hindusthani (1902), L. B. Pal’s A Glimpse of Zanana Life in Bengal (1904), S. B. Banerjee’s The Adventures of Mrs. Russell (1909), Balkrishna’s The Love of Kusuma: An Eastern Love Story (1910), B. K. Sarkar’s Man of Letters (1911), M. M. 3 Munshi’s Beauty and Joy (1914) and T. K. Gopal Pannikar’s Storm and Sunshine (1916). The Gandhian whirlwind blew across the country during 1920-1947. Under the dynamic leadership of Mahatma Gandhi established political notions started vanishing from the scene and in turn new ideas and methods appeared, not only in the political field but in almost every walk of Indian life. The inevitable impact of the Gandhian movement on Indian English literature was the sudden flowering of realistic novels during the nineteen thirties. Novelists turned their attention away from the past to concentrate on contemporary issues. In their novels prevailing social and political problems that Indians found themselves in were given prominence. The nation-wide movement of Gandhi not only inspired Indian English novelists but also provided them with some of their prominent themes, such as the struggle for freedom, the East-West encounter, the communal problem and the miserable condition of the untouchables, the landless poor, the downtrodden, the economically exploited and the oppressed.