M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II COURSE-XIV SEMESTER-IV INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH RAJA RAO LESSON NO. 1.1 AUTHOR : DR. PRABH DAYAL

RAJA RAO : KANTHAPURA – INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Raja Rao is acknowledged as one of the great Indian novelists who has written fiction in English. He was born on November 5, 1908, at Hassan in Mysore. In one of his interviews published in The Illustrated Weekly of India (Sept. 25, 1956, p. 15), Raja Rao gave an interesting account of his birth in a Dharamsala : My house was near a temple adjoining a Dharamsala .... it was a Shiva temple. I was born in the Shiva temple. We had the privilege of receiving the Maharaja of Mysore. He used to come to our village (town) once in 10 to 15 years. My mother was expecting me and I was late in coming. Then suddenly the pain started and there was no place in the house. There were 60 people living in the house. So they took mother to Dharmsala and I was actually born when the Maharaja was standing at the door, and father offered him a lemon. As the Maharaja was about to accept it, I was born. That is why I am called Raja. It is because of this Maharaja. Raja Rao belonged to a noble Brahmin family of Mysore. His forefathers were Vedantists. One of the ancestors Vidyaranya Swami was the greatest teacher of Advaita Vedanta after Shankara. Raja Rao spent the impressionable years of his childhood in the compay of his grand father at Hassan and also at Harihalli where his family owned ancestral land. He, therefore, had a first-hand knowledge of rural life. His understanding of rustic mind is reflected in his novel Kanthapura. Raja Rao received his school education at Hyderabad and Aligarh. At Aligarh, Raja Rao came into contact with Eric Dickinson who made him love France. After his graduation he won the Asiatic Scholarship and proceeded to France with the idea of conducting research on "Mysticism of the West." Raja Rao is a spiritually inclined writer. His spirituality is reflected in the statement that he made on the eve of his departure to France: “I wanted to become a monk in France. I came under the influence of a character Alceste, in Moliere's play Le Misanthrope. I thought France was the place where people only spoke the truth. So, I went there. But it took me about a week to find out that it was not so. I became Indian immediately afterwards. I was ... an orthodox Brahmin. I was also interested in spiritual matters. I wanted to become sanyasi, so I went to France.” It was during his visit to France that Raja Rao met Camille Mouly at Montpeille University. He married Camille who, he admits, played a very important part in his

1 M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 2 COURSE-XIV literary career. Then my writings were in Macaulayan English and I thought it was good. But my wife said it was rubbish. She advised me to give up writing if I had to write that way. Then I started writing in Kannada. I wrote a novel in Kannada and then started writing in English again. Then my Macaulayan English was left behind. I started translating my Kannada texts and began to find the richness of the English Language. Raja Rao now started writing in English. To begin with he wrote short stories which were later collected in The Cow of the Barricades and Other Stories (1947). He wrote his first novel Kanthapura in 1938.Then there was a long and ususual silence of almost two decades. This period may be said to be the consequence of author's artistic reticence. In 1960, Raja Rao produced his magnum opus, The Serpent and the Rope, which created a great stir in the world of Indian Novel in English, for it was the only novel that confronted the East and the West so vigorously. In 1965, Raja Rao brought out another interesting novel, entitled The Cat and Shakespeare. His next novel, Comrade Kirillov which was actually written in nineteen fifties was published in 1976. Two years later, Raja Rao brought out another collection of short stories, The Policeman and the Rose which contains a few interesting metaphysical parables. Another novel he wrote is The Chessmaster and His Moves. Raja Rao was an expatriate who had spent nearly two decades in France and other twenty years in America. However, he never lost his contact with Indian culture. At a 'Get-together of Literary persons' organised by Kannada Sahitya Parished at Bangalore in 1964, Raja Rao confided to Sitaramiah : "Living there (in France) he soon discovered that his love for India was increasing.France, in some social way seems to do that for all. Lapped in the sophistication of its own culture, witness to its seething experiments in acts and thought, the visitor rediscovers his philosophy." He frequently visited India, and his periodic visit to his motherland, as Raja Rao himself pointed out, were the attempts to replenish his inner resources by vitalising contact with his motherland. He meticulously upheld Indian culture under the Western sky. He wore a Jodhpur close- collar coat, ate vegetarian food, abstained from alcohol and sat in meditation everyday. Raja Rao possessed an ardent desire to explore the truth. This quest took him from one ashram (hermitage) to another. He visited Sri Aurobindo's Ashram at Pondichery, Ramana Maharishi's at Triuvannamelai and Mahatma Gandhi's ashram at Sevagram.He stayed at Gandhi's ashram for quite sometime and devoted time to creative writing. In his youth, Raja Rao was highly attracted by Gandhian thought and philosophy. During the Quit India Movement, launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942, Raja Rao was associated with under-ground activities of the young socialist leader. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 3 COURSE-XIV

He was a member of a cultural organization called Chetana which offered training in Bharata Natyam and sold books on Hindu religion and culture.Raja Rao's association with Mahatma Gandhi and belief in Gandhian philosophy are reflected in Kanthapura which primarily projects the Non-violent Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. Raja Rao was a spiritually inclined person and as already pointed out he was always filled with the desire to know the Truth. He studied Vedas and the Bhagaved Gita in his childhood. Raja Rao's younger sister, Saroja Murthy has given an interesting account of his activities in childhood : Raja Rao has always been a serious person, a man with a purpose, the purpose being the quest for truth which took him both to an intensive study of ancient Indian Philosophy and literature and to several ashrams of modern Indian saints. At the same time he has loved “all beauteous things” and has been quite an 'aesthetic'. He prefers the company of beautiful women to that of men, because he says he cannot stand the crudity of men. Nor can he face the ugliness of quarrel, and that is why he is so gentle, kind and understanding. Raja Rao believed that Literature is Sadhana (spiritual discipline) and a writer is a Sadhika (devotee). A writer should lead a metaphysical life, for by devoting to the Metaphysical alone can he/she be fully creative: For me literature is Sadhana-not a profession but a vocation.That's why I have published so few works. Also this explains why, since 15 years ago- except for The Cow of the Barricades, my writing is mainly the consequence of a metaphysical life, what I mean by Sadhana - I had this conflict in me-should a man be a writer first and then a man, secondarily, or a man first and a writer afterwards? And by man I mean the metaphysical entity. So idea of the literature as anything but a spiritual experience... is outside my perspective. I really think that only through dedication to the absolute or metaphysical principle can one be fully creative.... Literature as Sadhana is the best life for a writer. Then Indian tradition which links the words with the Absolute Saddabrahaman has clearly shown the various ways by which one can approach literature, without the confusion that arises in the mind of the Western writer viewing life as an intellectual adventure. Basically, the Indian outlook follows deeply satisfying, richly rewarding and profoundly metaphysical path. All this may sound terrible, but it is not so, really. Valery, Rilke, and Kafka for instance, are as close to this view as Tagore in looking upon literature as Sadhana. Raja Rao's spiritual inclinations and his belief in a metaphysical life have M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 4 COURSE-XIV made his writings complex and philosophical. His first novel Kanthapura deals with Gandhian thought. Comrade Kirillov is a parody of communism professed by an Indian. The Serpent and the Rope projects the intensity of metaphysical thought alternating between Vedanta and Tantra. The Cat and Shakespeare is a Tantric prayer. Since Raja Rao had a philosophical mind, he may be distinguised from other contemporary Indian novelists Mulk Raj Anand and R.K. Narayan, who have projected man primarily in relation to social order, tradition and environment. Promoted by his humanistic commitments, Anand proclaimed his love for the poor. He has described the miserable voice of protest against the exploitation of the underdogs. His Untouchable (1935), Coolie (1936) and Two Leaves and a Bud (1973) portray the suffering of man in society. R.K. Narayan has projected the oddities of characters and incompatibilities of situations through the ironic mode of narration. In the words of K.R. Srinivasa lyengar, R.K. Narayan is “a master of comedy who is not unaware of the tragedy of the human situation; he is neither an intolerant critic of Indian ways and modes nor their fantastic circumstance, and tragi-comedies of mischance and misdireciton.” In contrast to both Anand and Narayan, Raja Rao was concerned with metaphysical exploration. William Walsh observes, “If Anand is the novelist as reformer, and Narayan the novelist as moral analyst, Raja Rao is the novelist as a metaphysical poet.” Raja Rao's Works Raja Rao has not produced many works. In fact, he wrote slowly, reviewed his works frequently, and his works were published at great intervals. Raja Rao's aim had been to achieve perfection. Raja Rao has written five novels in total: Kanthapura (1938), The Serpent and the Rope (1960), The Cat and Shakespeare (1965), Comrade Kirillov (1976), The Chessmaster and His Moves (1988). He also brought out three collections of short stories. i.e. The Cow of the Barricades and other Stories (1947), The Policeman and the Rose and Other Stories (1978) and On the Ganga Ghat (1999). Now we shall discuss all these works briefly. 1. Kanthapura is the first novel written by Raja Rao and is considered to be his perfect, artistically the best and most satisfying work. Though Raja Rao wrote it in France yet it gives a very vivid, graphic and realistic portrayal of the Gandhian struggle for the freedom of the country in the 1930's and its impact on the Indian masses of South Indian village. It is a novel about the freedom movement. The whole narrative is recorded in the chatty language of an elderly woman and we are made to see everything through the film of her memory, sensibility and temperament. There is a fine mixture of fact and fancy, poetry and whims, history and legend. In a remote M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 5 COURSE-XIV

South Indian village named Kanthapura, people rise in a big non-violent army, against British imperialism under the leadership of a young Brahmin Moorthappa, nick-named, Moorthy, who as a spokesman of Gandhi's ideals pledges to fight for the uplift of the poor and the untouchable following the non-violent and non- cooperation movemevt launched by Gandhi at a bigger level. Though he faces a strong rebuttal and hurdles from the staunch Brahmins and the touts of the British Government, still he is able to bring awakening among the majority of the masses alongwith his active associate Ratna, 'a widow with bangles'. Both of them fight for Independence boldly, in spite of the tortures and atrocities caused by the Britishers.' With their brave resistance and ever-high morale, they give a jolt to the government. Such jolts were being administered all over the country. The British Governement was bound to be shaken and over- thrown in course of time and it was ultimately overthrown in 1947, when the British were forced to withdraw. (The details of the story of the novel will be discussed in the next lessons). 2. The Serpent and the Rope is the second novel of Raja Rao, published twenty- two years after Kanthapura, in 1960. The novel has been hailed as a classic and has been called the spirtiual-autobiography of the novelist. By writing this novel Raja Rao has founded a new genre of Indo-Anglian novel- the philosophical novel. It very vividly and forcefully depicts the confrontation of eastern and western culture through the narrative of a sensitive young man named Ramaswamy, born and brought up in a conservative Brahmin family. When he goes to France for higher studies, he can not adjust easily to the new social milieu. Though being more inclined to nature, and trained to think like a Vedantist--- he could not resist the temptation of flesh and the material life of the west. But at the same time he could not accept the codes of western culture and marriage. His love affair with Madeline, a college teacher of History, could not last long. His love for his culture and his obsessive concern with himself make him live like a recluse. The mental conflict and the resultant anguish of Ramaswamy are the cultural concepts of the novelist. The death of his father, who left behind him his third wife of twenty six years and two marriageable daughters while Ramaswamy was in Europe, make him an unfit for his family at home and for his married life. The performance of his father's last rites at Benaras on the banks of the Ganges, with his little mother makes him ponder the mysteries of life and death. He goes back to Europe but cannot settle there properly. His philosophical mind has no solution to the worldly problems, and the only option left to him is to spend his time pondering the mysteries of the universe. The essence of the novel lies in the philosophy and metaphysics that run through it and in its presentation of the East-West encounter. At places, Raja Rao's philosophical and metaphysical and religious concerns become too obstrusive, marring the readability of the novel. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 6 COURSE-XIV

3. The Cat and Shakespeare This is the third novel of Raja Rao which is set against the background of the famine of 1942. It has been called by the novelist 'a philosophical comedy' and is subtitled, 'A Tale of Modern India.' It is a tale of two friends, Govindan Nair, a poor clerk in the rationing office, and Rama Krishana Pai, also a clerk, and the two live in adjoining houses in Trivendrum. Govindan Nair when charged with corruption and fraudulent practices and produced before the court, gets himself freed playing the philosophy of kitten who surrenders before his mother cat, who takes care of its kitten. Nair surrenders himself before God and finds himself exonerated from the charges of bribery. He gives the same advice of surrendering under the circumstance, let God take care of him, when Pai faces the problem before the public to keep his mistress Shanta (already a married woman and a school teacher) with him. Miraculously, everything turns out to be satisfactory at the end. Pai's daughter comes to stay with him, he buys a house and his beloved is entirely his. Both Nair and Pai are relieved off their burden since they had followed the philosophy of the kitten. The plot of the novel is loose and incredible. There are numerous digressions and much that is entirely superfluous. 4. Le Comrade Kirillov Le Comrade Kirillov, Raja Rao's French novel, was first published in English in 1976. It was written in the early fifties to express the novelist's disapproval and dismay with the Communist movement in India during the final phase of the freedom struggle under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. It is a novel about life and adventures of a South Indian Brahmin intellectual and Vedantist named Padmarabhan who turns a Communist Comrade Kirillov. The writer here relies on the ironic structure with an undercurrent of deep pathos. Irony is more suited to expose the dichotomy of the confused Indian shuttling between the Vedanta and the principles of Marx. Though apparently ironic, the portrait of the Indian Vedantist turned Communist is marked by intense pathos. Apparently a record of the novelist's own waverings in the realm of ideas and his first hand knowledge of the characters he knows, the novel presents an intimate characterization of the expatriate Indian. The novelist makes a personal appearance in the novel as a character to present a foil to the confused Kirillov. Whereas the latter is a victim of acute confusion, drifting towards a blind alley, the former is an authentic spokesman of the Vedantic way of life in India. The novel also provides glimpses of the novelist's temporary association with the underground activities of the Young India Socialist Movement during the Quit India Movement in 1942. Frustrated by extremist activities, the novelist affirms his firm commitment to the Vedantic way of life. The theme of Le Comrade Kirillov is, to a large extent, based on the conflict between the East and the West. Whereas the conflict in the The Serpent and the Rope is essentially on the spiritual or metaphysical M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 7 COURSE-XIV plane, in Comrade Kirillov it is confined to the political level. In fact, politics and not metaphysics is the cause of Kirillov's departure from the national scene. His inclination towards Marxism is part of his quest for a panacea of the ills of his motherland. His dejection may be identified with the political pessimism that gripped the Indian intellectuals during the second and third decades of the century. The Chessmaster and His Moves (1988) is primarily the story of unfulfilled love between Sivaram Sastri, an Indian mathematician and Jayalakshmi, a Rajput princess. The novel has dramatic exposition. It opens on the motif of love. The protagonist Sivaram is hunted by remembrance of love, and the narrative unfolds itself in the manner of retrospective flashbacks. However, the non-fulfilment of love between Siva and Jaya gives way to frustration and evokes metaphysical deliberations on love, death, time, truth and God. The novel portrays Sivaram's quest for truth and his fascination for Buddhism, Vedanta and Tantra. Short Stories : Raja Rao has written three collections of short stories : (a) The Cow of the Barricades and other Stories (1947). It is a collection of nine stories written between 1933-34 in France. (b) The Policeman and the Rose and other Stories (1978). (c) On the Ganga Ghat (1999). Among his important stories are 'Javni', 'Akkyya', 'The Little Gram Shop', 'The Cow of the Barricades', 'Narasiga', 'Nimca', 'The Policeman and the Rose', 'India : a Fable', 'The Premierre of Shakuntla', 'Khadese', 'Companions', 'Kankapati : The Protector of Gold.' Most of the short stories reveal at every step the writer's love for his motherland, and the social concerns of the times. Raj Rao died on July 8, 2006. SUGGESTED BOOKS 1. Iyengar, K.R. Srinivasa : Indian Writing in English, 1962, rpt, New Delhi, Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 1985. 2. Singh, R. S. : Indian Novel in English. A Critical Study, New Delhi Arnold Heinemann 1977. 3. Naik, M. K. : Raja Rao, 1972, rpt. Bombay, Blackie and Son Publishers Private Ltd., 1982 4. Narasimahaiah, C. D : Raja Rao. New Delhi : Arnold Heinemann 5. Sharma, K. K. : Perspectives on Raja Rao, Ghaziabad Vimal Parkashan, 1980. 6. Mukherjee, Meenakashi : The Twice-Born Fiction, New Delhi, Arnold Heinemann, 1974. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II COURSE-XIV SEMESTER-IV INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH LESSON NO. 2 AUTHOR : DR. PRABH DAYAL

RAJA RAO – KANTHAPURA : A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Kanthapura is primarily the story of a village known as Kanthapura. Raja Rao has appropriately named his novel after the village, Kanthapura. Kanthapura describes the tale of the inhabitants of the small Indian villages. In fact, Kanthapura is India in microcosm, for "what happened there is what happened everywhere in India during those terrible years of our fight for freedom". Raja Rao's mythical sensibility lends an element of universality to the tale of Kanthapura : There is no village in India, however mean, that has not a rich sthala- --purana, or legendary history, of its own. Some god or godlike hero has passed by the village----Rama might have rested under this pipal-tree, Sita might have dried her clothes after her bath, on this yellow stone, or the Mahatma himself, on one of his many pilgrimages through the country might have slept in this hut, the low one, by the village gate. Kanthapura describes the rustic life of villagers. Raja Rao says that the background of the novel is "my village Harihalli, or Hariharapura, near Kenchammana, Hoskere taluk, Hassan district". Raja Rao spent the impressionable years of his childhood in Harihalli. Hence his description of the rustic life is authentic and accurate. The narrator in the novel is an old woman, the grandmother who describes the sad tale of Kanthapura. Kanthapura is situated high on the ghats, high up the steep mountains on the Malabar coast in province of Kara. The village had twenty four houses. Post master Suryanarayana had a double-storeyed house by the Temple Corner. Patwari Nanjundia had a house with two rooms and a verandah. The Kannayya-House people had a high verandah attached to an old house. The corner house Moorthy had also a little house situated in a corner. The Potter's street was the smallest of all the streets. Lingayya, Ramayya, Subbayya and Chandrayya owned the four big houses and old Kamalamma had a little broken house. Different kinds of people lived in Kanthapura. In this small village, there lived the Brahmins, the potters, the weavers, the pariahs and the sudras. The village Kanthapura had a life of its own. The people lived a conservative life with orthodox beliefs and superstitions. They said their prayers in Kanthapureshwari temple which was famous for social and religious gatherings. "The villagers worshipped the goddess Kenchamma, the mother of Himavathy. They believed that the goddess could always protect them against famine, and disease, death and despair. They said that Kenchamma had killed a demon who had come to swallow their sons as food and take away their young women as wives. They also 8 M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 9 COURSE-XIV believed that it was "the sage Tripura who had made penance to bring her down and she waged such a battle and she fought so many a night that the blood soaked and soaked into the earth, and that is why the Kenchamma Hill is all red." If there was a famine and there was no rain, the people would pray to the goddess Kenchamma who, pleased with their prayers, would give them rain. And if there was a cholera or small-pox broken out in the village, the inhabitants would offer a sari and a gold trinket to the goddess and the goddess would protect their children from epidemics. The people had astute and firm faith in the benediction of the goddess. They would offer their first rice and their first fruit, and would offer her saris and bodice-cloth on the eve of every birth and every marriage. When the harvest was ripe, the people would dance all night before the goddess, would clap their hands and sing : Kenchamma, Kenchamma, Goddess benign and bounteous, Mother of earth, blood of life, Harvest-queen, rain-crowned, Kenchamma, Kenchamma, Goddess benign and bounteous. C. D. Narasimahaiah observes that the action of the novel begins with the consecration of a half-sunken linga. It was Moorthy, the Corner-House Narsamma's son, who first looked at the linga hidden in earth. Then the villagers raised a temple to protect the god. Bhatta, who enjoyed great popularity in the village, performed the consecration ceremony. Then the villagers gathered and decided to celebrate their annual festival like Sankara-Jayanthi and some of them offered a dinner for 'each day of the month'. The old and learned Ramakrishnayaa would read out the Sankara- Vijaya day after day. The villagers would discuss Vedanta (ancient philosophy of India) with him in the afternoons. There used to be Harikathas (the story of gods) on Paravati's winning of Siva and on the sojourn of Rama and Sita in the hills. Then Moorthy, the Gandhi-man, suggested that the villagers should celebrate Rama festival, Krishna festival and the Ganesha festival every year. He went from house to house to collect money and in this way he collected one hundred and forty-seven rupees. The Ganesha-jayanthi was celebrated with great enthusiasm. There were reading parties and camphor ceremonies every evening and the young men performed Bhajans. Jayaramachar, the famous Harikatha, man was invited to narrate the stories of gods. Kanthapura is extremely rich with myths and legends. Jayaramachar describes the story of Siva and Parvati. The novel primarily projects the Freedom Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi, to liberate Indians from the imperialistic hegemony of the British. Therefore, a great importance is lent to Swaraj which is compared with three eyed Siva. Siva is the three eyed and Swaraj too is three eyed : Self- M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 10 COURSE-XIV purification, Hindu-Muslim unity and Khaddar. Raja Rao demonstrates his enormous love for his motherland, then enslaved to the British. He personifies India as the goddess of wisdom and the very daughter of god Brahama. He pays the richest tribute to Mahatma Gandhi who is considered a superman and compared with the gods Krishna and Rama. Jayaramachar says that it is the Mahatma, Gandhi who can slay the serpent of foreign rule. People are with him. They follow him as they followed Krishna, the flute-player. The Mahatma advises us that we should harm no soul. We should love all, Hindu, Mohammedan, Christian or Pariah, for all are equal before God. We should speak the truth and be not attached to the riches. The Skeffington Coffee Estate was situated near the village Kanthapura. This estate was owned by the British who were exploiting the poor Indians working as coolies in their employment. The poor illiterate Indians were satisfied with the meagre wages that they got as labourers and they never resented against their exploitation. It was only through the efforts of college-going youngmen like Moorthy that the people began to acquire a little awakening. They began to realise that their lots could be better if they acquired political freedom. Moorthy, therefore, becomes the torch-bearer among the inhabitants of Kanthapura. After a few days, policeman, Bade Khan, is sent by the British Government to live in Kanthapura to watch the political activities of the villagers. The young Moorthy enlightens the inhabitants of Kanthapura about the teachings and aims of Mahatma Gandhi. The Mahatma is a saint, a wiseman. He says his prayers and goes on fasts regularly. Even his enemies fall at his feet. Jayaramachar too preaches the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Most of the villagers such as Dore, Sastri's son Puttu, postmaster Suryanarayana's sons, Chandra and Rama, Pandit Venkateshia and Swami's sons Srinivas and Kittu and Seenu all throw away their foreign clothes and become the followers of Mahatma Gandhi. Jayaramachar, the Harikhathaman, is taken away by the policeman. He is never to be seen again in the village. The expulsion of Jayaramachar from Kanthapura created a big noise in the whole village. The Gandhian movement began to acquire strength and momentum. Rangamma's house had turned into something of a Congress House. Here the books on Gandhian Thought and spinning-wheels were piled. The Congress distributed free spinning-wheels among the people and Moorthy inspired the village women to spin the cotton during their free hours in the afternoon. The Brahmin women were reluctant to spin because there were weavers in the village. Moorthy explains to them that British buy foreign yarn with 'our money' and this money goes across the ocean. Our gold should remain in 'our country'. We should utilize the cotton produced in our country. Most of the village women undertake spinning. Moorthy visits Pariah street. All the Pariahs welcome him because they are M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 11 COURSE-XIV happy to receive a Brahmin among them. Cheena, Bhima, one-eyed Linga and Jacktree Trippa, all of them follow him home and to each one of them Moorthy gives a spinning wheel and a seer of cotton to spin the yarn. Bhatta was the only one who did not associate himself with Gandhian activities. Since he was greedy and money-minded, he saw no monetary benefit in political or social activities launched by Moorthy. He lent money to poor villagers at exorbitant rate of interest and the illiterate villagers mortgaged their land to him. Bhatta's wife suddenly died of an accident. Several offers for marriage came to him. Ultimately Bhatta married a minor girl of twelve and a half year. Now he was the richest man of the village. He owned thirty-seven acres of wet land and ninety acres of dry land in most of the nearby villages in Kanthapura, Santpur, Puttur and Honnalli. Bhatta was very narrow-minded and orthodox. He condemned Pariah's admission in colleges for studying Sanskrit and throwing open temples to them. He supported the Swami who ruled the innocent and credulous villagers and opposed Mahatma Gandhi for trying to remove untouchability. On the recommendation of the Swami, Moorthy was excommunicated from his Brahmin community, because the latter had freely associated himself with Pariahs. One day, Moorthy had a vision of God-beaming Mahatma Gandhi. He felt that the very skin of the Mahatma seemed to send out a 'mellowed force and love'. There was a vast sea of humanity which had gathered to listen to the great Mahatma. There were shouts all around "Gandhi Mahatma ki Jai! Jai Mahatma". Then Moorthy listened to the Mahatma saying in perfect silence: "There is but one force in life and that is Truth, and there is but one love in life and that is the love of mankind and there is but one God in life and that is the God of all". Moorthy decided to serve Mahatma Gandhi as his disciple. He continued mixing up with pariahs and working for their social uplift. His mother was upset on the excommunication of her son though Moorthy was least scared. Soon Moorthy's mother Narsamma died of the shock and heart-failure. There was a Skeffington Coffee Estate situated near Kanthapura. Some villagers from Kanthapura and other villagers worked as labourers in this Coffee Estate.These coolies, who were "half-naked, starving, coughing, shivering" were ill- treated by the English officers. They were subjected to all kinds of humiliation and physical torture. The Skeffington Coffee Estate was infested with snakes and its climate caused fever. The English officers paid meagre wages to the workers : they paid a two-anna bit for each woman and a four anna bit for each man. They sometimes used guns and pistols to control the rebels and traitors. Even if an officer killed an innocent coolie, he was acquitted by the Red-Man's court. The coolies suffered a lot in the Coffee Estate. Some of them died of bad climate. Mada died leaving three children and a poor wife. Chandrayya died of a snake bite in the garden. Most of the workers were beaten mercilessly by the English officers. The young British officers M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 12 COURSE-XIV would molest the Indian women, "this daughter and that wife, and everyday a new one and never the same within a week." Once the officer demanded Seetharam's daughter, Mira, for his sexual gratification. But Seetharam said, "I am a Brahmin I would rather die than sell my daughter." The Sahib shot him through his belly, with his pistol, and the Red-Man's Court forgave him for the murder. Rachanna, who opposed the policeman Bade Khan for his atrocities, was driven out of the Skeffington Coffee Estate and his clay-pots were thrown after him. Moorthy, with the help of Range Gowda made arrangement for his stay in Kanthapura. Moorthy enkindled awakening among the people. He told the policeman, Bade Khan, that according to the laws of any Government no man could own another. The Kanthapurians were now becoming bold in the wake of their ever increasing awareness : "Why should not Pariah Ranchamma and Sampanna learn to read and write? They shall What is a policeman before a Gandhi's man? Does a boor stand before a lion or a jackal before an elephant" ? Now Moorthy got serious and calm. He propagated 'Don't touch the Government campaign.' Since Moorthy felt that much violence had been done because of him, he went on fast in the temple. He said his gayathri mantra thrice a thousand and eight time. He entered deeper and deeper into meditation and concluded : "I shall love even my ememies. The Mahatma says we should love even our enemies.' Moorthy's exaltation grows intenser and tears come to his eyes. He rises up and falls prostrate before the god, chanting Sankara's Sivoaham, Sivoaham. I am Siva, Siva am I". Moorthy acquired enlightenment. He identified himself with child Prahlada who had seen Hari (God) everywhere. Moorthy says, "I shall see Hari too." He then recalls the mystical experience of his childhood how he, "floated away like child Krishna on the pipal leaf." On that very evening, he said to his mother, "Mother now you can throw me down the mountains. Hari will fly down and hold me in his arms as I roll down the mountain." Next time when there were terrible floods, Moorthy seated himself by the side of the river and said, "I may be drowned, but I shall not rise Mother Himavathy, till thy waters are sunk down to the daily shores." And the water did sink back that very evening. Moorthy now inspired the inhabitants of Kanthapura to pray with him so that the sins of others could be purified. As he continued his fast and meditation in the sanctum, the village women prayed for his long life. Upto this portion of the novel,the grandmother has narrated how the inhabitants of Kanthapura suffered in the pre-independence days and how they acquired political awakening under the guidance and patronage of Moorthy, the true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 13 COURSE-XIV

Now concrete steps are taken by the people of Kanthapura to lodge their protest against their political and economic exploitation. With the help of Range Gowda, the Patel of the village, Moorthy starts a Congress Group in Kanthapura. Anybody who pays four annas or spins two thousand yards of yarn per year will become a member of the Congress. The first principle of the Congress is the observance of non violence or ahimsa. The members of the Congress should practise ahimsa, speak Truth and spin atleast two thousand yards of yarn per year. Moorthy now visits the Weavers' Street and approaches the Weavers' Elder, Ramayya, and Potters' Elder, Siddaya and asks them whether they would become the members of the Panchayat of All India Congress. As they learn that the Patel of the village, Range Gowda is with Moorthy, they readily join the Congress. Then Moorthy goes to the Pariah street and mixes up with the Harijans. He even accepts a cup of milk from Rachanna's wife, a Pariah woman. Then he talks of the huge Panchayat of all India, called the Congress. The Congress belongs to Mahatma Gandhi who says that every village should have a Panchayat like this. Most of the village men and women join the Congress and some of the women take oath before the goddess in the temple to spin atleast a hundred yards of yarn per day. The people shout and the voices come from the Pariah's corner, the Brahmin's corner and the Weaver's corner, saying, "Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai!" SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS Q.1. Who is Kenchamma ? Ans. Kenchamma is the great and bounteous goddess of the people of Kanthapura. People believed that ages ago, because of the prayers of the great sage, this goddess came from Heaven to kill the demon that had come there to swallow their sons and to take away their young women as wives. Kanthapurians believe that Kenchamma alone has the power to protect them against famine, disease and despair. Q.2. How were the Indians working at Skeffington Coffee Estate treated by the Britishofficers? Ans. Indians working at Skeffington Coffee Estate were ill-treated by their British officers. They were subjected to all kinds of humiliation and torture.Their wives and daughters were not safe, for the British officers often demanded them for their sexual gratification. If anyone tried to resist or protest, he was mercilessly beaten and even killed. Q.3. Why was Moorthy excommunicated from the Brahmin community? Ans. Under the influence of Gandhi, Moorthy started mixing up with pariahs and preached abolition of untouchability. This was not tolerated by the narrow- minded orthodox high caste people like Bhatta and the Swami. Such people started their fight against "anti-untouchable campaign" and Moorthy was M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 14 COURSE-XIV

excommunicated from the Brahmin community on the recommedations of the Swami. Q.4. How did Moorthy's first vision of Mahatma Gandhi affect him? Ans. Moorthy's first vision of God-beaming Mahatma Gandhi had a great effect on his personality. When he listened to the Mahatma saying in perfect silence, "There is but one force in life and that is Truth, and there is but one love in life and that is the love of mankind, and there is but one God in life and that is the God of all, " he felt spiritually elevated. When he stood by the side of the Mahatma, the very skin of the Mahatma seemed to send out a 'mellowed force and love.' After listening to the godly Mahatma, Moorthy at once decided to become his disciple. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II COURSE-XIV SEMESTER-IV INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH LESSON NO. 3 AUTHOR : DR. PRABH DAYAL

RAJA RAO – KANTHAPURA : A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Under the guidance of Moorthy, the inhabitants of Kanthapura established the Congress Panchayat Committee. Twenty three persons enlisted themselves as members and five rupees and twelve annas were sent to the Provincial Congress Committee as membership fee. Moorthy being the true disciple of Gandhi was elected President of the Congress Panchayat Committee of Kanthapura to work with trustworthy members like Range Gowda, Rangamma, Rachanna and Senu. The news pertaining to the establishment of the Congress Committee at Kanthapura alongwith a photograph of Moorthy was published in the newpaper. The innocent villagers hailed this news with a spirit of enthusiasm and cheerfulness. They felt that they were recognised by the Mahatma himself. Most of the members pledged their loyalty towards Moorthy and resolved to work for him. When Bhatta heard of the Congress Committee, he said to himself, "Now this is bad business." He was an orthodox Brahmin and he disliked the Gandhian principle of mixing with the pariahs. After a lot of reflection, Bhatta found that he was not alone to oppose the Congress. Rangappa, the School master, Devarayya and the Swami, they all were also against this pariah business. Bhatta thought of Venkamma and an auspicious idea struck him : "I shall find a bridegroom for her daughter, and she will be always with us, and what with her tongue and her tail, she will set fire where we want." (p. 113). He felt that Advocate Seenappa who had just lost his wife would be most suitable for Venkamma's daughter. Seenappa was thirty -four and had three children but he looked younger than his age. Venkamma would be glad to have an advocate as her son-in-law. The villagers assembled and rejoiced, on the prospect of the imminent wedding of Venkamma's daughter. Suryanarayana's wife Akkamma, Ratna and Satamma all sang songs and admired Bhatta, for his wisdom and farsightedness. Moorthy was not invited and he felt neglected. As he was excommunicated from the community, he kept wandering by the riverside. "When dusk fell and evening came, he stole back home, hurried over the meal that Rangamma served, spread his bedding and laid himself down, thinking, "How, how is one an outcaste?" In this section of the novel, Raja Rao describes the religious beliefs of the inhabitants of Kanthapura. Kartik came "with glow of lights and the unpressed foot steps of the wandering gods". The people believed that the gods walked by lighted streets, "blue gods and quiet gods and bright eyed gods". For them Kartik is a month of gods and as the gods pass by the Potter's Street and Weavers' Street, lights are lit 15 M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 16 COURSE-XIV to see them pass by. The people were jubilant to welcome the gods. But their cheerfulness was marred by the interference of police which had raided the house of Moorthy. There was a lot of noise in Rangamma's house where Moorthy lived. Moorthy's room was thoroughly searched. The policeman was standing beside Moorthy with a note-book in his hand. In the middle of the room, there was a heap of books and charkhas and cotton and folded cloth. The trunks were laid open and boxes were slit through; the villagers saw from a distance that Moorthy was nodding and smiling. The police inspector ordered Bade Khan to arrest Moorthy. This command was greatly resented by the people. There came forward Range Gowda and Mada followed by pariah Rachanna, Madnana, and Lingayya. They all cried and asked the Inspector, "Hili' Hela! what are you doing with our master?" The policeman grew so furious that he waved his lathi. Rachanna came forward and said, "Hey, beat me if you have the courage." A word spread in the whole village that the policemen were taking away their master Moorthy. Men and women came from all streets and surrounded the police Inspector and shouted, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai." The policemen rushed at them. "The women raise such a clamour and cry that the crows and bats set up an obsequial wail, and the sparrows join them from the roofs and caves, and the cattle rise up in the byre and the creaking of their bones is heard. And then men rush from this street and that street and the police inspector seeing this hesitates before coming down, and Rachanna shouts, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai." The police inspector shouts, "Arrest that Swine", and when they come to arrest him, everybody gets round him and says, "No, we'll not give him up." And the police inspector orders, 'Give them a licking', and from this side and that there is a bang of the lathi and men shriek and women weep and children begin to cry and groan, and more and more men go forward towards Moorthy and more policemen beat them. Then Moorthy addresses the people, "Brothers, in the name of the Mahatma, let there be peace and love and order. As long as there is a God in Heaven and purity in our hearts, evil cannot touch us. We hide nothing. We hurt none. And if these gentlemen want to arrest us, let them. Give yourself up to them. That is the true spirit of the satyagrahi. The Mahatma has so often gone to the prison." At this, the police inspector gives a slap on Moorthy's face. The women react and rush up behind the police inspector crying, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai" and demanding" give us back our men and our master". But the policemen kick them in the back and on the head and the stomach, and insult them. Range Gowda cannot bear the humiliation of the village women and gives a bang on the head of a policeman. Now the policemen beat the whole of crowd and arrest seventeen men of Kanthapura. The men were soon released after they were furiously beaten. But Moorthy was taken away to Karwar. Moorthy reflected endurance, patience and understanding. Sadhu Narayan, who had renounced his home and was practising M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 17 COURSE-XIV meditation, admired Moorthy, "You are a brave soul and a holy soul, and there is in you the hunger of God and may He protect you always". The students formed a Defence Committee and there was a collection of copper and silver, and advocates and barristers came forward to defend Moorthy. But Moorthy refused help from any quarter. After Moorthy's arrest, enthusiasm of the people did not decline. Sankar, the secretary of the Karwar Congress Committee, decided to convene a meeting to muster the strength and support of the people. He approached Advocate Ranganna, Khadi shop Dasappa and the president of the College Union, and they organised a meeting in the Gandhi maidan. The meeting was attended largely by Congress volunteers and people outside Kanthapura. There were speeches about the significance of charkha, ahimsa (non-violence), Hindu-Muslim unity and uplift of the untouchables. However, a toothless old man wearing rudrash beads around his neck interfered and sought permission to address the gathering. Coming to the platform, he admired the great Queen Victoria and described the British as the protector of dharma. He pointed out that if the British rule disappeared there would be no distinction between Brahmins and pariahs and between vaishas and sudras and between Mohammedans and Christians. But before he could conclude the speech, somebody amongst the crowd pointed out that he was Swami's man and the Swami had just received twelve hundred acres of wet land from the Government as a gift. Advocate Ranganna pointed out that he himself and Moorthy were excommunicated by the Swami because they were followers of Gandhi and because they had thrown open temples to the pariahs. In this manner, other weaknesses and irregularities of the Swami were exposed. The people decided to boycott the fattened Brahmins like the Swami who were paid by the Government. They resolved to follow the saint Mahatma Gandhi who had given up land, lust, honours, comfort, and dedicated his life to the country. Then a Police Inspector arrived suddenly and arrested Advocate Ranganna on the orders of a British magistrate. There were huge cries and loud slogans. “Gandhi Mahatma Ki jai ! and Vande Mataram!” Immediately after the slogans, there were processions with volunteers on either side and they marched through lanes, streets and bazaars. Near the Imperial Bank Building, the police were already waiting and the crowd was violently dispersed. Through newpapers the people learnt that Moorthy was implicated in a false case and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. They prayed to the goddess Kenchamma for the early release of Moorthy and for the abolition of the British Governemnt. Rangamma went to stay with Sankar at Karwar and began to look after, “the Congress Correspondence.” Sankar's father, old Venkataramayya, who was a retired Talok Office clerk, addressed envelopes of Congress meetings and the sometimes sold Khadi cloth in the absence of Dasappa. He narrated stories of Gandhi, Tilak and M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 18 COURSE-XIV

Chittaranjan Das to the school children and they called him Gandhi-grandpa. Sankar himself was a devoted Congressman. As an advocate, he would never take up a false case. When he got free from the court in the evening, he gave lessons to the students in the absence of Hindi teacher, Surya Menon. Sankar advised the students to learn Hindi which would become the national language of India. He himself spoke Hindi with everyone including his old illiterate mother who did not understand a word of it. He would not allow his friends to speak English. When invited to attend a marriage party, Sankar would insist that everyone must be in Khadi. He would go on fast frequently and would also advise people to observe fast on the anniversary of the day the Mahatma was imprisoned and on the day of Jallianwala Bagh massacre or on another day in the memory of the day of Tilak's death. A few days later, the people heard that the Red Man's judges had given Moorthy 'three months' rigorous imprisonment. During the rains, Ramakrishnayya, the learned man of Kanthapura stumbled against a pillar and died. With a lot of difficulty his body was washed and burnt. The people chanted Narayan! Narayan and said, “He goes the way of the saints”, for he had a peaceful death. The death of Ramakrishnayya created a vacuum in the life of Kanthapura. He was well versed in Indian philosophy. The people of Kanthapura were now worried who would explain to them Vedantic texts after his death. But death was readily accepted as an inevitable phenomenon and hence a part of life. Therefore, there were soon suggestions for finding a substitute. Ratna was proposed for reading the scriptures, for she had a great interest in philosophy. Rangamma who was a good and noble soul was also associated because she gave a good explanation of Vedantic texts. She would take a story from the Veda and the Purana and correlate it with the contemporary situations : “Sister, if for the thorny pit the illusioned fall into, you put the foreign Government, and for the soul that searches for liberation, you put our India, every thing is clear.” (P.147) Such explanation of contemporary problem gave a new strength and inspiration to the women of Kanthapura. Rangamma also taught them the principles of Yoga, i.e. how to control the breath and practise meditation. The village women like Nanjamma, Satamma, Vedamma and Ratna “began to feel stronger, and stronger, the eyes stuck brighter in the sockets and the mind deeper in the spirit." Rangamma narrated them stroies of the sublime sacrifice made by Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and Tantia Tope, during the Revolt of 1857. The description of Lakshmi Bai's bravery, the way she rode the horse like a Rajput and the way she beat the British to get freedom filled the village folk with a spirit of determination. The sacrifices made by the heroic daughters of India like Kamala Devi, Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant impelled the women of Kanthapura perform similar feats for the freedom of their M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 19 COURSE-XIV motherland. Therefore, women decided to organise a volunteer corps or sevika sangh under the guidance of Rangamma to resist the violence of Red Man's Government. They resolved to boycott the foreign cloth and picket the cigarette shops and toddy shops. But the rebellion was to be raised in a peaceful manner. Rangamma advised them, “Now if the police should fall on you, you should stand without moving a hair,” because the goddenss Kenchamma would protect them.The women felt encouraged to take the pledge, “Well we shall fight the police for Kenchamma's sake, and if the rapture of devotion is in you, the lathi will grow as soft as butter and, as supple as silken thread, and you will hymn out the name of Mahatma.” They all felt so much satisfied because they would be fighting against the British rule and unjust atrocities. The chapter ends on a note of cooperation and togetherness as the people of Kanthapura decide to chant hymns and bhajans. As Seenu blows the conch, men, women, and children rush to the temple and it is going to be bright again in Kanthapura. In the month of Baisakh, rains came and the farmers of Kanthapura got ready to plough the fields. Priest Rangappa looked into the calendar and said that tomorrow would be the rohini star and hence it would be the auspicious day to yoke the bulls to the plough. The farmers prayed to Kenchamma to give them a rich harvest. Priest Rangappa came forward with his holy jug on his head, opened the door of the temple, bathed the goddess and worshipped her with devotion. Lingayya and Ranmayya blew the horn. With the roar of the horn, farmers were seen rushing with their ploughs and bulls. They all prayed to Kenchamma in perfect silence and began ploughing the fields. They also planned to welcome Moorthy on his release from the prison. Rangamma said she would offer a feast at the river and Nanjamma said she would offer syrup and banana libation at the temple. Pariah Lingayya said he would offer Moorthy a red Khadi shawl,and Seenu said, “Why, I shall make the boys sing, 'Oh ! such were our men of 1857'.” Pariah Rachanna proposed that they should build a pandal at the entrance of the village to welcome Moorthy. Lingayya said that they would have the camphor lighted. Soon the postman, Subbayya, brought the good news that Moorthy was released and he would be coming soon. The people sang, “The Blue-god he comes prancing and playing.” The pariahs went to the mango tree and bore down leaves and twigs and banana trunks. They built a yellow arch-gate of banana leaves and a great festoon of mango leaves to welcome Moorthy. But Waterfall Venkamma tried to divide the attention of the people by fixing the marriage of Rangappa's daughter on the day Moorthy was to be accorded welcome by the people. The policemen surrounded Rangamma's house till the dinner was over and the couple blessed. Moorthy was seen in the morning at the river. He was as agile as ever, as fresh and gay as he was before. This section of the novel highlights the orthodox religious M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 20 COURSE-XIV beliefs of the people of Kanthapura. Now Moorthy addressed the inhabitants of Kanthapura. He told them that Mahatma Gandhi had undertaken a pilgrimage with eighty-two of his followers to the Dandi beach to manufacture salt. He further says : “Day by Day we shall await the news of Mahatma, and from day to day we shall pray for the success of his pilgrimage, and we shall pray and fast and pour strength into ourselves, so that when the real fight begins, we shall follow in the awake of the Master.” Moorthy urged the Congressmen to swear again to speak truth, to spin their daily one hundred yards and to forget the discrimination between a holy brahmin and the untouchable pariah. There is no difference between a brahmin and bangle- seller or between a pariah and priest and we all are one : “one as the mustard seed in a sack of mustard seeds, equal in shape and hue and all.” (p. 171) As Mahatma had started the Dandi March, thirty thousand men, women and children had gathered at roadside to have the supreme vision of the Mahatma. The people of Kanthapura were hopeful that the Britishers would now grant them freedom and there would be no policeman in Kanthapura. However, sceptics like Dore were still not sure whether Indians would attain freedom. "This is all Ramayana and Mahabharata; such things never happen in our times." But most of the inhabitants of Kanthapura were very much excited over the pilgrimage of Mahatma Gandhi. They couldn't sleep the whole night and all the night they heard the sea conches cry" like the announcing cry of the Belur Conch that goes trailing its OM through the winkless night." They gathered on the river side and shouted 'Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai!" Next day, the news flashed in the newspapers that Mahatma had taken a handful of salt after his ablution, and he had brought it home and then everybody went to the sea to prepare salt. Cartloads of the salt began to be brought back and distributed from house to house. Everyday thousands of men would go to the sea to make salt and they were beaten back and put into the prison. The people of Kanthapura were excited to march to the sea like the Mahatma. They were only waiting for orders from the Karwar Congress. The village women thought that the Mahatma was like "the Sahayadri Mountain, blue, high, wide and the rock of the evening that catches the light of the setting sun" and that Moorthy was the small mountain. They were awaiting the call of the Sahayadri Mountain. The call of the Mahatma never came. The Karwar Congress Committee sent a messenger to convey that the Mahatma was arrested on the charge of manufacture of salt. And so "Don't touch the Government Campaign" was to be started in letter and spirit. The inhabitants of Kanthapura under the guidance of Moorthy decided that they would not pay the taxes even if the government attached their lands. They also resolved to picket the toddy booths to deprive the government of its income. But Moorthy advised the people not to be violent and harsh with the government officials M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 21 COURSE-XIV who came to collect taxes from them. They also decided to form a parallel government in place of the British government to run the administration. Next day, one hundred and thirty-nine people of Kanthapura assembled and marched out to Boranna's toddy grove under the leadership of Moorthy. On the way, the Police Inspector came and said, "You are forbidden to march to the toddy grove." But Moorthy answered that they were following the instructions of the Congress. Reaching the grove, Moorthy and Range Gowda tried to push the gate of the grove. But the police pushed them back. The people shouted, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai!" and rushed forward to climb the toddy tree. But the policemen, deployed there, attacked the processionists with lathis, arrested them and took them away in lorries in different directions and left them at odd places in the forest so that they faced hardships in reaching back home. Men were separated from women. The women were left in the middle of the Jungle. They, however, displayed marvellous courage under the patronage of Rangamma. They all sang loud to frighten away the panthers and porcupines. Their song revealed their unswerving faith in God : "Wheresoever we look, you are there my Lord?" While returning home, the processionists were greatly admired by the other people of nearby villages for their courage and patriotism. The following Tuesday was the market-day in Kanthapura. The inhabitants of Kanthapura had now decided to picket the toddy shop of the Skeffington Coffee Estate. Their primary aim was to stop people from drinking at the Government managed toddy booths. Though it was raining, the processionists were marching towards the toddy booth. The coolies working in the Skeffington Coffee Estate also were compelled to have drinks at the toddy booth. Moorthy's men squatted before the booth. The policemen splashed lathis on the men and women and they began to cry and scream. When the market people heard their noise, they covered their heads with gunny bags and ran towards the processionists. The crowd shouted, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai." Rangamma commanded "Lie down brothers and sisters." They all lay down so that not a palmwidth of space was left uncovered. The police got nervous and they began to kick the men on their backs and stomachs. The Police Inspector rushed at the coolies and they began to search their way. The processionists appealed to the coolies not to have drinks at the toddy booths : Our men pulled the coolies down Oh! don't go, brother! Don't go sister! In the name of the Mahatma! Oh don't go in the name of Kenchamma. The Police Inspector gave a kick to Rangamma and she fell down unconscious. Ratna too received a blow on her face. Among the blows of lathis the processionists prayed, "May the goddess dance over the corpse of the Red Demon!" M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 22 COURSE-XIV

The movement against toddy-drinking was a great success. The people of Rampur picketed the Rampur Toll-gate toddy booths and the people of Siddapur picketed the Siddapur Tea-Estate toddy booth and the people of Maddur, the Maddur- Fair toddy shop. Every day, men, women and children would go to the toddy booths and appeal to the drinkers, "Brothers and sisters and friends, do not drink in the name of the Mahatma". The appeal had a great effect on the people. Most of the toddy shops had been closed because there were no customers. About twenty-four shops were closed in the vicinity of Kanthapura. It was a great achievement. Now the British Government decided to collect revenue from the farmers. The farmers of Kanthapura were served notices. But they refused to pay despite beatings and humiliations by the police. The women of Kanthapura sang aloud : There's one Government, sister There's one Government, sister And that is the Government of the Mahatma. The satyagrahis barricaded all the roads, lanes, paths and cattle-tracks to prevent the entry of police into Kanthapura. Stones upon stones were piled on the road and trees were cut and laid besides the stones and "Canal banks were dug and the water let through, and thorns were laid where cactuses grew and earth was poured over it all..." This irritated the government officials and they decided to collect revenue at all cost. Now there was every possibility of a dangerous clash between the police and the villagers. Therefore, "Rangamma and Ratna and Moorthy went from house to house and asked the villagers to ring the sanctum bell whenever the policemen or the Patel or any agent should enter their house." The people spent a sleepless night. The next morning the people of Kanthapura saw that the police had become vindictive and revengeful. The coolies of the Skeffington Coffee Estate who had fought with the satyagrahis were tied hand to hand and arm to arm and were being dragged mercilessly through the streets of Kanthapura. They were terribly frightened. However, some women from the Pariah street and the Potters street shouted and screamed loudly to stop the march of coolies. Some of them threw stones at the police and a soldier was hurt on his face. Now the policemen insulted the women. Moorthy and Rachanna were arrested. Rachanna's grandson was beaten and blood flowed from his mouth. Puttamma was gagged and humiliated. The women and children were beaten mercilessely. Almost all the men were arrested. The women and children ran here and there to seek refuge. The women were tied to the pillars and their mouths gagged. Radhamma gave birth to a pre-mature child. She lay crying and screaming. The women shifted from one place to another continuously but the policemen chased them like wild animals. Ratna was found fallen on the floor, her legs tied ankle to ankle and her bodice torn. Ultimately, the women and children M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 23 COURSE-XIV sought shelter in the village temple. Ratna sang bhajan of Siva and was hopeful that the people of Rampur were coming to free them. Ratna narrated the stories of the courage displayed by the women of Bombay in the struggle for the freedom. The women who had been raped were unhappy over the loss of their chastity. A few days later when the people of Kanthapura were getting normal, a few government officials arrived in cars to attach their fields for their failure to pay the revenues. In the absence of Moorthy, the villagers felt absolutely helpless to defend themselves. Ratna, who was functioning as a leader of Satyagrahis in place of Moorthy, was also feeling helpless to argue with the British officials. Moreover, she was considered a 'bangled widow' who would lead them all to 'Prostitution'. Meanwhile, the news spread that the hundreds of Congress Volunteers would be shortly coming to the rescue of villagers and the auction would never take place. It was on the request of Moorthy that the Karwar Congress had decided to send the workers to help out the farmers of Kanthapura. The Non-Cooperation Movement has acquired strength and momentum. In Karwar, the courts and the banks were closed. From Karachi to Kachar all shops were closed. Only Khadi was sold. There were regular processions, picketing and prabhat pheries of Congress workers. Although millions of people were put into prisons, yet they pledged their loyalty towards the Mahatma. The disciples of the Mahatma had already conquered Peshawar and it was conquered sheerly through peace and non-violence. The people bared their breasts and marched towards the machine guns but the Indian soldiers in the service of the British, refused to shoot them. Despite these tidings, the people of Kanthapura were afraid lest they should lose their small piece of land. The cars of the British officers were still going up the Bebbur Mound, the soldiers and policemen were present in the village streets and sanctums. The farmers of Kanthapura had lost faith in the prayers of Moorthy and in the commands of Ratna. They left prayers, would never pay revenue dues. Some of them condemned Moorthy: "Mad we were, daughter, and to follow Moorthy." On the whole, the people were willing to lend their support to the Mahatma. They uttered : "Moorthy forgive us! Mahatma forgive us! Kenchamma forgive us : We shall go to the end of the pilgrimage like the two hundred and fifty thousand women of Bombay." So the preparations for Satyanarayanan procession were made and the men and the women had gathered to participate in the field of Satyagraha in the name of Satyanarayan puja. Soon Sankar, the General Secretary of Kanthapura Panchayat Congress, appeared. He was followed by the larger number of young who had really come to help the farmers of Kanthapura. The procession was led by Ratna. She blew the conch from the top of promontory and there was a slogan, "Satyanarayan Maharaj Ki Jai! The processionists marched through the streets of Kanthapura, and in their excitement they shouted out "Vande Matram" and "Inquilab Zindabad". The policemen got infuriated and before they could beat the processionists, the city boys M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 24 COURSE-XIV and young men with Gandhi caps surrounded them like veritable mother elephants to protect their young ones. The police showered lathi blows while the people shouted 'Vande Mataram' and 'Inquilab Zindabad.' The Congress volunteers from the city were heading towards Skeffington barricades. They had planned to conquer the Skeffington Estate. One of the volunteers took the flag in his hand and cried out : Lift the flag high O, lift the flag high, Brothers, sisters, friends and mothers This is the flag of the Revolution ...... O, lift the flag high, Lift it high like in 1857 again And the Lakshmi of Jhansi And the Moghul of Delhi, Will be ours again. As the flag was being passed on from one hand to another, the police were showering lathi blows on the unarmed Satyagrahis. As the crowd went uncontrolled, the policemen kicked and twisted the limbs more fiercely. Seethamma and Vedamma were thrown upon the cactuses and one could hear their wailings. A few men went to their rescue. But the procession moved on. The Red Man's soldiers shouted, "You can't march this side of the fields", and the boys answered, "Forward, brothers in the name of Mahatma." As the satyagrahis marched forward, the Red-Man's soldiers fired and several innocent men were killed. The Satyagrahis rushed behind Bhatta's sugarcane field, though it was inhabited with snakes. Then a flag was seen moving in the hands of a white clad Satyagrahi who was rushing towards the barricades. The coolies of the Skeffington Coffee Estates were also seen rushing at the barricades with a flag in their hands. From every nook and corner, there were slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Inquilab Zindabad.' Vedamma was injured in the leg and put in the Congress ambulance which was carrying away the wounded for the first aid. The policemen launched another attack on the non-violent satyagrahis who were making a peaceful struggle for freedom. A fleeing man was shot in the chest and he fell down dead crying 'Amma, mother.' Then someone from amongst the satyagrahis broke open the gas cylinders of the city lights and there was such a roar that the British officer thought it was a gun-shot from the side of Satyagrahis. Now the Red-Man's soldiers came to attack the processionists with guns and bayonets in their hands. The Congress volunteers refused to salute the British flag, though they were promised freedom if they obeyed the British Government. There were repeated slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Inquilab Zindabad'. The mob got violent, and there was a hand to hand fight, and some men fell into the canal. The British officer was M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 25 COURSE-XIV hurt. The coolies of the Bebbur Mound were carrying gas cylinders on their heads and sickles and lathis in their hands. Ratna cried, "No violence in the name of Mahatma." Soon the soldiers fell on the coolies and the coolies retaliated. There was such a confusion that men gripped men and men crushed men. Shots after shots rang out and man after man fell down. The struggle ended with the miserable plight of the satyagrahis. "And crouching, we creep back through the village lane, behind lantana and aloe and cactus, looking at the Bebbur Mound, where the Gandhi flag is still flying beneath the full-bosomed moon, and the Canal-bund beyond which three thousand men are shrieking and slaying, weeping, wounding, groaning, crawling, swooning, vomiting, bellowing, moaning, raving and gasping.... And then more and more men crawl up, and more wounded are brought up, on shoulders and arms and stretchers are they brought up, naked, half-covered, earth-covered are they brought up, with dangling legs, dangling hands and bleeding hands and with bleeding mouths... and then more and more women and men joined us, wounds in stomachs and wounds in breasts and wounds in faces, with bullets in thighs; and bullets in the toes, bullets in the arms----men carried men, men carried wounded women and yelping children...." Only thirty satyagrahis were left alive. They marched towards Maddus and there they were warmly welcomed and hailed as the great freedom fighters of India's struggle for independence. These freedom fighters were now settled down in Kashipura to cherish the sweet memories of their sublime sacrifices in the struggle for freedom. They were expecting Rangamma, Seenu, and Ratna to be released soon. However, all the satyagrahis were released. Moorthy was also set free. Ratna left for Bombay after a week. Mahatma Gandhi was planning to go to the Red Man's country for negotiations about the Swaraj. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS Q.1. How did the people of Kanthapura behave when the police-men came to arrest Moorthy? Ans. When the police raided the house of Moorthy and put him under arrest, people protested against it. They could not see their master being taken away by the police. They all cried and asked the inspector, "Hili! Hela! what are you doing with our master?" They surrounded the inspector and shouted, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai!" They were beaten mercilessly but they tolerated all this and continued their protest against the arrest of their master. Q.2. What did Moorthy tell the people when there was a clash between the people and the police-men who wanted to arrest Moorthy? Ans. Moorthy, on seeing the people being beaten and killed by the policemen, M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 26 COURSE-XIV

asked them to remain peaceful. He appealed to them in the name of the Mahatma to maintain peace and order. He told them that so long as there was God in Heaven and purity in their hearts, evil could not touch them. He explained to them that the true spirit of the satyagrah demanded that they should let the police arrest them. Q.3. How did people take the death of Ramakrishnayya? Ans. Ramakrishnayya was a learned man and well versed in Indian Philosophy and Vedantic texts. His death created a vacuum in the life of Kanthapurians. They all asked, "And now who will explain to us Vedantic text and who will discuss Philosophy with us?" They knew well that Temple Ranganna could hardly read the great texts and could not explain to them about Vidya and Avidya. But soon the people accepted Ramakrishnayya's death as inevitable phenomenon and hence a part of life. Q.4. How did the people of Kanthapura feel when they got news of Moorthy's release from the prison? Ans. When the people of Kanthapura heard the good news that their master, Moorthy, was released from prison, they felt very happy. They sang, "The Blue-God he comes, prancing and playing". They built a yellow archgate of banana leaves and a green festoon of mango leaves to welcome Moorthy. They even removed pebbles from the path. All were very excited and thought that the day Moorthy would arrive in the village, it would be "Like the Swing festival of the goddess." Q.5. What happened when Red Man's soldiers came to attack the satyagrahis? Ans. When the Red Man's soldiers came to attack the satyagrahis with guns and bayonets in their hands, the people shouted that they too were soldiers, the soldiers of the Mahatma. The shouts of 'Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai', 'Inquilab Zindabad' could be heard from all sides. But soon the mob too got violent and there was a hand to hand fight. Soldiers fell on coolies and coolies retaliated. Shots after shots were heard and man after man fell down. The struggle resulted in a miserable plight of the satyagrahis.

Suggested Short Answer Questions

1. Write a note on the role of the narrator in the novel Kanthapura.

2. What did Moorthy ask the Congress men to do ? 3 What did Moorthy tell the people about Mahatama Gandhi ? 4) At the end how many satyagrahis were left alive and where did they settle? M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II COURSE-XIV SEMESTER-IV INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH LESSON NO. 4 AUTHOR: DR. PRABH DAYAL

RAJA RAO : KANTHAPURA SOME CRITICAL ASPECTS

Freedom Movement Kanthapura primarily projects the freedom movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi to liberate India from the imperialistic hegemony of the British in the preindependence era. The struggle for freedom forms the pre-dominant theme of the novel. The peripheral impression on reading the text is that it is a “Propaganda novel written during pre-independence days for giving wider publicity to the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and elicit sympathy for the cause of Indian freedom." The narrator of the novel is an old grandmother who mainly tells us how the freedom movement acquired strength and momentum in Kanthapura in thirties. The theme of India's freedom struggle has fascinated several Indian writers. Tagore's Gharey-Bairey (Home and Abroad) and Char Adhyae (Four Chapters) and Sarat Chandra Chatterji's Pather Dali (Demand of the Road) depict Indian's struggle for freedom. Mulk Raj Anand gives it a 'pink-colouring' in his The Sword and the Sickle. Anand's Untouchable also refers to the political awakening of Indian masses brought about by Mahatma Gandhi. K.A. Abbas's Inquilab and Kamala Markandaya's Some Inner Fury too deal with the independence movement. R.K. Narayan portrays the impact of Mahatma Gandhi on the freedom loving people of India in his Waiting for the Mahatma. However, all these novels " project superficial treatment of the great historical event. Raja Rao's Kanthapura is unique in that it takes to show the depth and distance to which the national rewakening had spread under the leadership of Gandhi. It shows that the new patriotic feelings became fused with the age old religious faith even in the remotest villages, thereby making humble villagers too to rise to the heights of epical heroes. Base metals, because of this fusion turned into gold.” The Harikathaman, Jayaramachar explains the significance of freedom to the illiterate villagers. While narrating the story of Siva and Parvati, he compares the three eyed Siva with Swaraj. Like Siva, Swaraj is three-eyed; Self-purification, Hindu- Muslim Unity and Khaddar. He defines mother-India and considers it the enslaved daughter of Brahma. The protagonist of the novel, Moorthappa, commonly known as Moorthy, is an idealised character. He is a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and is devoted to the cause of freedom. Rangamma's house is turned into a Congress House. It is filled with Gandhian Literature, and pamphlets and booklets on the significance of freedom and spinning wheels. Moorthy distributes spinning wheels free in the name of the Mahatma and inspires the village women to spin the yarn. “Because millions and millions of yards of foreign cloth come to this country, and everything 27 M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 28 COURSE-XIV foreign makes us poor and pollutes us." Moorthy explains to the villagers that the cloth spun by women with their own God-given hands is sacred and it gives work to the workless and work to the lazy. He tells them that “Our country is being bled to death by foreigners. We have to protect our freedom. The British Government is exploiting the poor Indians. All the gold being taken away to Britain and the poor are getting poorer and pariahs are starving.(P.31). On the suggestion of Moorthy, a Congress Committee is established in Kanthapura and people subscribe to the Congress Fund and become Congress members. However, it may be pointed out that there is a lot of resistance to the national movement owing to the forces of conservatism rampant in Kanthapura. Brahmins are reluctant to spin : “Brahmins do not spin, do they? We have weavers in the village.” But Moorthy is a highly imaginative young man. He explains the economic implication of this measure in the most intimately personal terms and he varies the bait from person to person, quite shrewdly. Moorthy approaches the Patel of the village, Range Gowda, and enlists his sympathy and active support for the cause of freedom. Range Gowda is a formidable force and a powerful personality in the village. "If the Patel says it, even a coconut leaf roof will become a gold roof." “When Range Gowda says, 'Yes' , You will have elephants and howdahs and music procession.” But Moorthy is so much loyal and honest to the cause of freedom movement that an influential man like Range Gowda becomes deferential towards him : “Do what you like, learned master. You know things better than I do, and I, I know you are not a man to spit on our confidence in you. If you think I should become a member of the Congress, let me be a member of the Congress. If you want me to be a slave, I shall be your slave. All I know is that what you told me about the Mahatma is very fine and the Mahatma is a holy man, and if the Mahatma says what you say, let the Mahatma's word be the word of God. And if this buffalo will trample on it, may my limbs get paralysed and my tongue dumb and my progeny for ever destroyed !” (pp.79-80). Range Gowda supports Moorthy earnestly. He tells the villagers, “If you are the sons of your father, stand up and do what this learned boy (Moorthy) says.” (P.104). Range Gowda proposes Moorthy for the presidentship of the village panchayat and he is unanimously elected the president. Range Gowda himself is elected Vice-President of the Village Congress Committee. Moorthy inspires the village women to form Sevika Sangh. When the women listen to the sublime sacrifices made by Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kamala Devi, Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant, they feel challenged and excited by their deeds. Thus they become conscious of their obligations towards their nation. They now organize a volunteer corps and devote much time to the national activities even at the cost of their domestic responsibilities. They feel so excited that they say, “That will be beautiful! Some one says, I shall wear the Dharmawar sari and the diamond M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 29 COURSE-XIV hair flower. And I shall wear the sari I wore at Nanjamma's daughter's marriage that everybody liked so much. I shall wear the gold belt too.” The widow says, “ Well, I shall wear only the gold belt and the necklace, now that I cannot wear the bangles,” and Ratna says, “I shall part my hair to the left, and wear just a tiny Kumkum mark and wear the sari till it reaches the toes and it will float and flutter so well.” Rangamma says, “Let us call ourselves volunteers, let us call ourselves Sevika Sangha, and we were called Sevis.....” These rustic women will always look at the picture of Rani Lakshmi Bai that Rangamma hangs on the varandah wall, a queen sweet and young and bejewelled, riding a white horse and looking out across the narrow river and the hills to where the English armies stand. Rangamma calls the children and says, “You will be Rani Lakshmi Bai, once, and you will then put on a turban, and he will put on a Kumkum mark on his face and he will be Rani Lakshmi Bai and the children were so happy at this that they went away puffy cheeked and satisfied.” C.D. Narasimhaiah observes that : “The people of Kanthapura for the first time felt one with the rest of the country as politically their village Panchayat was affiliated to the All India Congress. And thanks to the national awakening. Slowly this little village swam into the orbit of world consciousness, too, in its own way." As the inhabitants of Kanthapura become aware of Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi march to manufacture salt, they pray for the success of his pilgrimage. They are full of determination and enthusiasm to follow Gandhi and participate in the march. “We shall pray and fast and pour strength into ourselves, so that when the real fight begins, we shall follow in the wake of the Master.” The people of Kanthapura become the true Congressmen. They swear to speak truth, to spin their daily one hundred yards of yarn and to forget the discrimination between the Hindus and the Harijans. As the Mahatma started the Dandi march, the people of Kanthapura were enthusiastic to follow him. They could not sleep the whole night and “all the night they heard the sea conches cry like the announcing cry of the Belur Conch- that goes trailing its OM through the winkless night.” They gathered on the river side nearby their village to express their solidarity with the Mahatma as they raised the slogan, "Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai.” The farmers of Kanthapura were very much excited to march to the sea like the Mahatma to manufacture salt. But the orders from the Karwar Congress were awaited. They consider Mahatma Gandhi “The Sahayadri Mountain, blue, high, wide and Moorthy the small mountain.” When Non-cooperation Movement of “Don't -touch-the Government Campaign” is started by Mahatma Gandhi, the inhabitants of Kanthapura participate in it earnestly. They also decide to picket the toddy booths to deprive the government from attaching their land. They also resolve to form a parallel government to run its administration. About one hundred and thirty nine people of Kanthapura march M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 30 COURSE-XIV out to Boranna's toddy grove under the leadership of Moorthy and are successful in picketing the toddy booths, though they receive lathi blows, and are arrested by the police. The women who are left alone in jungle surrounded by the panthers and tigers display marvellous courage in their struggle for freedom. At the Skeffington Coffee Estate, the processionists appeal to the coolies and their fellow countrymen not to have drinks at the government managed toddy booths, “Brothers and sisters and friends, do not drink in the name of the Mahatma !” The appeal is wonderfully effective and the toddy shops are closed, because there are no customers. The movement against toddy drinking is a great success. The people of Rampur picket the Rampur Toll Gate toddy booth, and the people of Siddapur picket the Siddapur Tea Estate toddy booth. In the non-cooperation movement, the farmers of Kanthapura undergo utmost sufferings. They refuse to pay land revenues despite notice from the government. The government decides to attach their fields and the auction is fixed. The people pile up stones upon stones and trees upon trees on the road to prevent the entry of police. The men are beaten and women insulted and humiliated. Still the women satyagrahis sing the following song : There's one Government sister, There's one Government sister, And that's the Government of the Mahatma. The coolies of the Skeffington Coffee Estate who had supported the satyagrahis are beaten mercilessly and dragged through the streets of Kanthapura. The people of Kanthapura take out a procession in the name of Satyanarayan puja to prevent the auction of their fields. Finally, there is a terrible scuffle between the satyagrahis and the people because the former lost patience as their women were insulted and molested. The women are tied to the pillars and their mouths gagged. Ratna is found 'fallen on the floor, her legs tied ankle to ankle and her bodice torn'. The whole village resounds with the slogans, “Satyanarayan Ki Jai”, 'Vande Mataram' and 'Inquilab Zindabad.' The Congress volunteers know that the city boys have rushed to the help of the people of Kanthapura. The Red Man's soldiers come to attack the processionists with guns and bayonets in their hands. The mob gets violent and there is a hand to hand fight. There is such a confusion that 'men crush men.' Most of the Satyagrahis are killed. The village Kanthapura is burnt by fire. Thus India's struggle for independence forms the pre-dominant aspect of the novel. Raja Rao elevates the freedom movement to a mythological plane. He lends it an element of universality by the employment of myths and legends drawn from Indian culture. “There is no village in india, however mean, that has not a rich sthala- M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 31 COURSE-XIV

purana or legendary history, of its own. Some god or god like hero has passed the village- Rama might have rested under this pipal-tree, Sita might have dried her clothes, after her bath on this yellow stone, or the Mahatma himself, on one of his many pilgrimages through the country, might have slept in this hut, the low one, by the village gate. In this way the past mingles with the present, the gods mingle with men to make the repertory of your grandmother always bright.” C.D. Narasimhaiah appropriately remarks that Kanthapura is India in microcosm for “what happened there is what happened every where in India during those terrible years of our fight for freedom.” The novelist exalts the freedom movement to the level of metaphysics. Religion plays a great part in lending strength to movement. The satyagrahis seek inspiration from the goddess Kenchamma and pray to her for the success of Mahatma Gandhi : when Moorthy is arrested, the freedom fighters offer prayers for his immediate release. As the women satyagrahis are left stranded in the dangerous forest, they recall God who is present everywhere. The Satyanarayan Puja at the end of novel in the form of a procession is a deliberate design of the freedom fighters to give a united fight to the Red Man's Police. Raja Rao exalts the Freedom Movement as he employs the mythical analogy to describe the struggle between the Mahatma and the British Government. In Kanthapura, India is equated with Sita, Mahatma is regarded as Rama and Jawaharlal is considered to be brother, Bharata : They say the Mahatma will go to the Red Man's country and he will get us Swaraj. He will bring us Swaraj, the Mahatma. And we shall be happy. And Ram will come back from exile, and Sita will be with him, for Ravana will be slain and Sita freed..... Myths and Legends As Raja Rao is a philosophically complex novelist, he invariably employs myths and legends in his fiction. His famous short story-"India : A Fable" has mythical design. "Narsiga" too is woven with the mythical personification of Mahatma Gandhi and mother India. Most of his novels such as Kanthapura, The Serpent and the Rope and The Cat and Shakespeare bespeak mythical sensibility of Raja Rao. He is such a consummate artist that the myths employed by him are interwoven into the texture of the novel and they appropriately become an integral part of his fictional technique. Kanthapura primarily projects the non-violent freedom movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in the pre-Independence era. However, Raja Rao elevates this movement to a mythological plane. The myths that he employes to exalt the movement are drawn from Indian culture : Mother India is the enslaved daughter of Brahma, and therefore, the gods must incarnate themselves on earth to fight for her freedom. In the great Heavens, the Self-created One was lying on His serpent, when M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 32 COURSE-XIV the sage Valmiki entered, announced by the two doorkeepers, 'O learned sire, what brings you into this distant world?' asked Brahma, and offering the sage a seat beside him, fell at his feet. “Rise up, O God of gods! I have come to bring you sinister news. For down on the Earth you chose as your chief daughter, Bharata, the goddess of wisdom and well-being. You gave her the sage-loved Himalayas on the North and the seven surging seas to the South, and you gave her the Ganges to meditate on, the Godavari to live by, and the pure Cavery to drink in. You gave her the sides of gold and of diamonds....But O Brahma! You have forgotten us so long that men have come from across the seas and the oceans to trample on our wisdom and to spit on virtue itself. They have come to bind us and to whip us, to make our women die milkless and our men die ignorant. O Brahma! deign to send us one of your gods so that he may incarnate on Earth and bring back, light and plenty to your enslaved daughter....” “O sage!” pronounced Brahma, “it is greater for you to ask me to say 'Yea.' Siva himself will forthwith go and incarnate on the Earth and free my beloved daughter from her enforced slavery". Mahatma Gandhi is elevated to the level of Indian gods. He is personified as Siva, Krishna and Rama. “And Lo, when the sage was partaking the pleasure, Brahma offered him in hospitality. There was born in a family in Gujarat a son such as the world has never beheld. As soon as he came forth, the four wide walls began to shine like the Kingdom of the sun, and hardly was he in the cradle then he began to lisp the language of wisdom. You remember how Krishna, ....when he was but a babe of four, had begun to fight against demons and had killed the serpent Kali. So too our Mohandas began to fight against the enemies of the country. And as he grew up; and after he was duly shaven for the hair ceremony, he began to go out into the villages and assemble people and talk to them, and his voice was so pure... that men followed him, more and more men followed him as they did Krishna, the flute-player, and so he goes from village to village to slay the serpent of the foreign rule.” Swaraj is equated with God Siva :“Siva is the three eyed : and Swaraj too is three eyed: Self- purification Hindu-Muslim unity, Khaddar.” Mahatma Gandhi's fight against the British is compared with Rama's battle against Ravana. India is equated with Sita, Mahatma Gandhi is considered Rama and Jawaharlal is regarded as the brother Bharata. “They say the Mahatma will go to the Red-Man's country and he will get us Swaraj... And we shall be happy. And Rama will come back from exile, and Sita will be with him, for Ravana will be slain and Sita freed, and he will come back with Sita on his right in a chariot of the air, and brother Bharata will go to meet them with the worshipped sandal of the Master on his head. And as they enter Ayodhaya, there will be a rain of flowers." Gandhi's Freedom Movement is symbolic of the God's struggle against the M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 33 COURSE-XIV demonic rule of the British. K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar appropriately remarks : “The reign of the Red Man is Asuric rule, and it is resisted by the Devas, the Satyagrahis . The characters sharply divide into two camps : The Rulers (and their supporters) on the one hand the Satyagrahis (and their sympathisers) on the other.” Thus we may observe that traditional mythology is intertwined with contemporary reality. It is obvious that the national movement acquires symbolic significance in Kanthapura through the use of myths drawn from Indain metaphysical tradition. It may be pointed out that some of the critics find fault with Raja Rao's use of myths and symbols. Rajeev Taranath in his article, “ A Note on the Problem of Simplification” observes : Raja Rao's treatment of myths resembles that of Eliot in the fact that the myths and fables are included as sustained qualities of consciousnesss but is would be unjust to assert that Raja Rao's use of the myths is modelled on Eliot's. For one thing, there is a difference in approach and cognate disciplines. Secondly, Raja Rao's treatment of myths and fables is reminiscent of Indian traditions of a story within the illustrative story. Note one distinction, however, Eliot's use of myth is part of essential structure of his creation, in Raja Rao, it is subsidiary. Where he attempts essential connection in the private myth of the bull and the elephant, he does not succeed. I would attribute lack of success in this direction to his reliance on other quickly rewarding means. That is the problem of simplification, which spreads into his use of myths and fables and makes them successful. The structuring of an elaborate creative tension is harmed by the presence of self consciousness at the wrong places. Taranath's observation does not seem to be correct. Raja Rao's use of myths forms a part of his fictional technique. “However , in the case of Mulk Raj Anand (The Old Woman and the Cow,1960) and R.K. Narayan (Mr. Sampath 1949 : The Man-Eater of Malgudi,1961), the use of myths is casual and isolated. It doesn't form the integral and spinal design of the novel.” But Raja Rao's employment of myths is artistic. The Savitri Satyavan myth, in The Serpent and the Rope is so designed that “it spontaneously unfolds the theme of the novel”. The mythicising of Mahatma Gandhi and of the protagonist Moorthappa in Kanthapura is vital for “presentaion of the Gandhian theme in the book. The mythical elevation of Mahatma Gandhi makes him a timeless hero because the myth protects man against the destruction of time by building up the bulwark of the irrational to supra-rational in man.” M.A. (ENGLISH)(ENGLISH) PART-II PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 34 COURSE-XIV COURSE-XIV SEMESTER-IV INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH LESSON NO. 5 AUTHOR: DR. PRABH DAYAL

RAJA RAO : KANTHAPURA SOME CRITICAL ASPECTS Moorthy : A Character Study Moorthappa, popularly known as Moorthy, is the most significant character in Kanthapura. He is the protagonist of the novel and plays a predominant part in the freedom movement which forms the nucleus of the novel. As an educated young man, he wields a great influence in the village, Kanthapura. Most of the inhabitants of the village honour him as a wise man. The Patel of the village, Range Gowda, considers him a learned young man. The villagers hail him as the legitimate Gandhi of Kanthapura. He is our Gandhi. The state of Mysore has Maharaja, but that Maharaja has another Maharaja who is in London, and that one has another one in Heaven, and so everybody has his own Mahatma, and this Moorthy, who has been caught in our knees playing as a child, is now grown-up and great, and he has wisdom in him and he will be our Mahatma. Rangamma describes Moorthy, “Moorthy the good,Moorthy the religious and Moorthy the noble.” The village women consider him the saint of Kanthapura and believe that he will always perform holy deeds. The villagers think that Mahatma Gandhi is the Sahayadri Mountain and Moorthy is a small mountain. Pariahs take Moorthy to be a god because they feel sanctified by his touch; “Touch it Moorthappa, touch it only as though it were offered to the gods, and we shall be sanctified.” Moorthy is “an idealized character who like Christ takes all the sins of the people upon himself and undergoes a penance for purification, a young man who conquers physical desire and self-interest.” Moorthy is a Gandhian in the true sense. It is he who brings about unity and a spirit of brotherhood in the villagers. It is he who initiates the idea of celebrating Sankara Jayanthi, the Rama festival, the Krishna fesitval and the Ganesha festival. When Moorthy asks for money, nobody denies it. Everybody says, “Take it my son.” People have faith in him and he is believed to be essentially good and holy. Moorthy is a true disciple of Gandhi. He distributes spinning wheels among the villagers and inspires the village women to spin yarn everyday. He explains the economic implications of this measure in the most intimately personal terms and he varies the bait from person to person, quite shrewdly. To one set of women, he says, “She cannot buy the peacock blue sari for her daughter, Lakshmi and Lakshmi

34 M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 35 COURSE-XIV is to be married. Another is Iured to spin and save money to spend on a grand- daughter's marriage or a pregnant second daughter's seventh-month ceremony. So on and so forth.” Moorthy is a Congress-man and a true follower of Mahatma Gandhi. His first vision of the God beaming Mahatma has tremendous effect on his personality. He stands by the Mahatma and the very skin of the Mahatma seemed to send out a mellowed force and love, and he stood by one of the farmers and whisered, “Brother, the next is mine” ((p.52). He fans Mahatma Gandhi like an obedient disciple and after the glimpse of the godly Mahatma he feels spiritually elevated. As Moorthy looks at the Mahatma addressing the audience, he says, “There is in it something of the silent communication of the ancient books'. The author appropriately remarks that Moorthy 's association with Mahatma Gandhi is like that of Hanuman with Rama. Moorthy learns from Mahatma the lessons of truthfulness and non-violence. He acquires peace and realization after a vision of the Mahatma. Moorthy wields a great influence on the residents of Kanthapura. At times, he can also act shrewdly. In order to establish the Congress Panchayat in the village, he first of all wins the sympathy and co-operation of Range Gowda who is the most powerful Patel of Kanthapura. If the Patel says it “even a coconut leaf roof will become a gold roof.” (p.8). Moorthy is so loyal to the cause of National Congress that even a man like Range Gowda has been depicted as deferential towards him : "Do what you like, learned master, You know things better than Ido, and I know you are not a man to spit in our confidence in you. If you think I should become a member of the Congress, let me be a member of the Congress. If you want me to be slave, I shall be your slave.” Range Gowda develops a feeling of respect for Moorthy. He asks his fellow farmers : “If you are the sons of your father, stand up and do what this learned boy says.” Range Gowda proposes Moorthy for the presidentship of the village Panchayat and he is unanimously elected. By enlisting the sympathy of Range Gowda, Moorthy succeeds in establishing the village panchayat in Kanthapura which is affiliated to All India Congress. As Moorthy is a Congressman, he encourages the village women to organise themselves and fight for freedom. He makes them aware of their national obligations and they form a volunteer corps known as Sevika Sangh. The participants or members of this volunteer corps are known as Sevis. The members of Sevika Sangh spin the yarn, and participate in the freedom movement : Moorthy goes from house to house, and from younger brother to elder brother and from elder brother to the grand-father, himself. He is one of those Gandhimen who say there is neither caste nor class nor M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 36 COURSE-XIV

family, yet they pray like us and they live like us. Only they say, one should not marry early, one should allow widows to take husbands and a brahmin might marry a pariah and a pariah a brahmin. Moorthy invariably preaches non-violence, love of mankind and abolition of untouchability. When the freedom-fighters unknowingly indulge in violence, he goes on fast and repents for sins. Moorthy dissuades Range Gowda from resorting to violence against Bade Khan. He also advises his fellow Satyagrahis to remain peaceful and non-violent in their struggle for freedom: “Brother and sister, remember we are not out to fight the whiteman or the whiteman's slaves, the police and the revenue officials but against the demonial corruption that has entered their hearts and the purer we are the greater will be our victory... send out love where there is hatred, and a smile against brute force...”. Moorthy is a realized soul. He pursues the Vedantic discipline for self- realization. He sits in meditation in the temple and says his gaiatre mantra three thousand and eight times. As Waterfall Venkamma laughs at his asceticism, he does not lose his temper with her. After his meditation, Moorthy demonstrates his love of the whole mankind. ...and closing his eyes tighter, he slips back into the foldless sheath of the Soul, and sends out rays of love to the east, rays of love to the west, rays of love to the north, rays of love to the south, and love to the earth below and to the sky above, and he feels such exaltation creeping into his limbs and head that his heart begins to beat out a song, and the song of Kabir comes into his mind: The road to the City of Love is hard, brother, It's hard Take care, take care as you walk along it. Singing this, his exaltation grows and grows and tears come to his eyes...he rises up and falls prostrate before the god, chanting Sankara's ' Sivoham, Sivoham. I am Siva. I am Siva, Siva am I.' Moorthy's chant signifies his belief in Vedanta. The recollections of his mystical experience, he underwent in childhood, are symptomatic of his spiritual awakening. He recalls that in his childhood he had felt that 'Softness' and in that 'Softness' he closed his eyes and said his prayers. Like the child Prahlada, he longed to see Hari. He said to himself, "I shall see, Hari, too...” “...and the sunshine sank,... as he looked fearfully at the Holy face, floods suddenly swept in from all the doorways of the temple... floating away like child Krishna on the pipal leaf ". It was so bright everywhere when he opened his eyes and he felt "very light and airy". Excited by his spiritual experience, Moorthy told his mother, “Mother, now you can throw me down the mountains... because Hari will fly down and hold me in his arms as I roll down the mountains. And if you send elephants to kill me, the elephants will M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 37 COURSE-XIV stand by and say, 'This is Hari's Child', and lift me up with their trunks and seat me on their backs and throw a garland round my neck. And the poison you will give me in the cup of death will become the water of flowers, for Mother, I have seen Hari.” Moorthy also recalls how in his childhood, he had acquired the divine power of controlling the floods. As the river Himavathy was terribly flooded, he sat by its side and said, “I may be drowned, but I shall not rise, Mother Himavathy, till the waters are sunk down to the daily shores.” And the waters stood back that very evening. Moorthy is a spiritually elevated young man. He has overcome lust and covetousness. Ratna's amorous smiles do not attract him, for he regards her only as sister. He advises Ranta to say prayers so that the sins of others may be purified. Sadhu Narayan, who appreciates Moorthy's spiritual strength, says, “Moorthy you are a brave soul and a holy soul, and there is in you the hunger of God and may He protect you always." Gandhian Thought in Raja Rao' Kanthapura Raja Rao's Kanthapura is imbued with Gandhian thought. When Raja Rao was still very young, he was greatly influenced by Gandhian thought which was one of the challenging philosophies of the pre-Independence era. He spent a few days at Gandhi's ashram at Sevagram. Although the novelist at that time was living in France yet he kept himself in touch with all the political happenings that were shaping the destiny of India in the pre-Independence period. When the Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi, Raja Rao was associated with the underground activities of the young socialist leaders. When Raja Rao was planning to write Kanthapura in thirties, Mahatma Gandhi wielded a great influence on Indian masses. In the opinion of Jawahar Lal Nehru, “Gandhi was like a powerful current of fresh air, like a beam of light pierced the darkness and removed the scales from our eyes; like a whirlwind that upset many things, but most of all the working of people's minds.” Mahatma Gandhi was not only a political leader but also a great saint. He wanted political independence as well as complete social and spiritual reawakening. He wanted all Indians, the rich and the poor, to lead a dignified life. He was against exploitation of the underdogs. Gandhi's influence was therefore greatly felt on the literary firmament. The contemporary Indian writers like Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao were infuenced by Gandhian thought. Anand in his novel Untouchable projects Gandhi as a champion and saviour of the Harijans. R.K. Narayan in Waiting for the Mahatma depicts Gandhi as a great political leader wielding influence on Indian masses. In Kanthapura Gandhi is portrayed as a great saint, as god who will remove the sufferings of Indians and end the reign of Asuras. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 38 COURSE-XIV

Raja Rao reveals his immense love for Gandhism in Kanthapura. The freedom movement which forms the nucleus of the novel is essentially Gandhian in import and significance. The protagonist of the novel Moorthy is a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. While Mahatma Gandhi is considered a Sahayadri Mountain, Moorthy is a small mountain. Raja Rao's faith in Gandhism impels him to idealize Mahatma Gandhi as a veritable god in Kanthapura. The exaltation of Gandhi is perceptible even in short stories. In Raja Rao's short story, 'Narsiga', Mahatma Gandhi appears as a symbol of innocence and goodness. Gandhi's release from the prison in equated with Sita's release from Lanka : “He is going to fly in the air in a chariot of flowers drawn by four horses.” In Kanthapura Mahatma Gandhi is depicted as a symbol of divine power as well as tangible reality. He is an incarnation of Krishna who would slay the serpent of foreign rule as Krishna killed the serpent Kaliya : As soon as he (Gandhi) came forth, the four wide walls began to shine like the Kingdom of the Sun and hardly was he in the cradle than he began to lisp the language of wisdom. You remember how Krishna, when he was but a babe of four, had begun to fight against demons and had killed the serpent Kali. So too our Mohandas began to fight against the enemies of the country. And as he grew up, he began to go out into the villages and assemble people and talk to them and his voice was so pure, his forehead so brilliant with wisdom, that men followed him, more and more men followed him as they did Krishna, the flute player : and so he goes from village to village to slay the serpent of the foreign rule. The mythical representation of Mahatma Gandhi as a god makes him a timeless hero because the myth protects man against the destruction of time and makes him immortal. The essence of Gandhian thought lies in “self-reliance, moral resistance, non-violence,” perseverance and the uplift of Harijans. “His philosophy was a social force and it was intended to uproot social evil” and establish a feeling of universal brotherhood. Prof M.K. Naik believes that the whirlwind of the Gandhian revolution shakes the village of Kanthapura to its very roots. However, in the beginning of the novel, “the initial reaction to Gandhian thought is one of rather bared apathy.” The people have an indifferent or lukewarm attitude towards the acceptance of Gandhian values. When young Moorthy, the true disciple of Gandhi, visits the Pariah quarter, the comment of the Brahmin widow is : “He is one of those Gandhi men who says, there is neither caste nor clan, nor family.....They say too, one should not marry early, one should allow widows to take husbands and a Brahmin might marry a pariah and a pariah a brahmin.Well, well let them say it how does it affect us ? We shall be dead before the world is polluted, we shall have closed our eyes.” (p.11). So M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 39 COURSE-XIV there is no runaway victory for Gandhism in Kanthapura because the forces of orthodoxy and conservatism are strong. Bhatta, the moneylender opposes Gandhian values and gets Moorthy excommunicated, as Moorthy tries to mix up with the untouchable. When Moorthy has crossed the threshold of a pariah house, “he feels upset” and “the roof seems to shake and all the gods and all the names of heaven seem to cry out against him, and his hands steal mechanically to the holy thread.” Moorthy's mother dies an untimely death because of his sacrilegious ways. But once the people of Kanthapura have understood the efficacy and usefulness of Gandhian thought, they whole-heartedly become its supporters. Through Harikathas, they realize the significance of Swaraj and become the followers of Mahatma Gandhi. The people of Kanthapura follow the Gandhian principles of ahimsa (non-violence) and truthfulness. Moorthappa preaches the Gandhian values of non-violence, love of mankind and abolition of untouchability. The freedom movement in Kanthapura is essentially peaceful and non-violent. Moorthy repeatedly urges upon the satyagrahis to observe non-violence. When some violence has unknowingly taken place, Moorthy goes on fast and repents earnestly. He feels that violence would have never occurred, had he been “full of the radiance of ahimsa.” Seetharama, who is a true Satyagrahi, meekly submits to the torture of the “Red- Man's Government.” Towards the end of the novel, when satyagrahis are provoked to violence because their women have been beaten and insulted, Ranta commands, “Brothers and sisters, no violence in the name of the Mahatma.” The idea of non-violence means the expulsion of hatred from one's heart, for it is mainly the scorn that causes enmity and violence. As Range Gowda wants to settle score with the policeman, Bade Khan, Moorthy dissuades him from resorting to violence. Similarly, when Gowda wishes to teach a lesson to Puttayya for unjustly drawing all the canal water to his fields, Moorthappa tries to convince him with the Gandhian principles of non-violence and love for the enemy : “That must not be done,Range Gowda. Every enemy you create is like pulling out a lantana bush in your back yard. The more you pull out, the wider you spread the seeds, and the thicker becomes the lantana growth. But every friend you create is like a jasmine hedge. You plant it and it bears flowers and you offer them to gods, and the gods give them back to you.” Moorthy's sermon on non-violence is effective. As the Civil Disobedience Movement or “Do not touch the Government Campaign” is started, the satyagrahis are asked to observe non-violence in their struggle for freedom. Moorthy explains the Gandhian principle of non-violence to the illiterate village folk as under : Remember each one of you is responsible for the harm done by another and first time violence is done against the police, we shall stop M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II (SEMESTER-IV) 40 COURSE-XIV

the movement and wait for six months and more in penance and in prayer that our sins may be purified. Brothers and sisters, remember, the purer we are the greater will be our victory, for the victory we seek is the victory of the heart-send out love where there is hatred... and love your enemy. Gandhi's belief in non-violence was a new method to fight against the imperialistic strength. Moorthy's observation that “the purer we are, the greater will be our victory” is an affirmation of the Gandhian maxim that “good ends can be achieved only by good means.” Moorthy's statement : “Send out love where there is hatred” and “I shall love even my enemies” are no doubt Gandhian in import but they are simplified amplifications of the maxims of the Bhagaved Gita which says that one should inculcate the values of truthfulness and universal brotherhood. “Love all, says he (Gandhi), Hindu, Mohammedan, Christian or Pariah, for all are equal before God. Don't be attached to riches... truth must you tell...for truth is God.” Gandhi emphasizes that we should not be attached to riches. The advice is reminiscent of the Vedantic precept that greed for wealth should be shunned to seek salvation. Gandhi's maxim that his countrymen should speak the truth has Vedantic intimations as the Bhagaved Gita emphasises truthfulness as part of human conduct. Raja Rao is undoubtedly “an advocate of Gandhian philosophy. He believes that the future of the world is in Gandhism.” The protagonist of the novel, Moorthy, who is the spokeman of the novelist, believes in divine efficacy of Gandhism. He acquires spiritual insight in the very first meeting with Gandhi. His best vision of the God beaming Mahatma affords him divine revelations. When Moorthy sees Gandhi, he feels spiritually elevated. Moorthy says,“ There is but one force in life and that is Truth, and there is but one love in life and that is the love of mankind and there is but one God and that is the God of all.” Moorthy acquires self-realization after a glimpse of the godly Mahatma. Raja Rao believes that the pursuance of Gandhian philosophy can endow man with spiritual elevation. M.A. (ENGLISH) PART-II COURSE-XIV

SEMESTER-IV INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH

UNIT NO. I

RAJA RAO : KANTHAPURA

LESSON NOs. :

1.1 : Raja Rao : Kanthapura – Introduction 1.2 : Kanthapura : A Textual Analysis 1.3 : -do- (contd.) 1.4 : Kanthapura : Some Critical Aspects 1.5 : -do-

Note:-The students can download syllabus from departmental website www.dccpbi.com