Kanthapura as a cultural styudy
M.K.BHAVNAGAR
UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT
OF ENGLISH
SEM-1
Name : Bhumi V Joshi
Roll No : 3
Enrollment No : PG14101020
Paper Name : Indian
writing in English
Assignment Topic : Kanthapura as
Cultural study
Preface:
India is a country known for its tradition and culture. When we say it’s land of grate tradition and culture, its means the people still follow it.
India is a country known for its tradition and culture. When we say it’s land of grate tradition and culture, its means the people still follow it.
Raja
Rao has ability to fictionalize the essential Indian cultural identity, the
religiosity, and spirituality that part of Indian ethos very different. people
layout their socio-cultural, economic transactions and interactions.
India
is not a country, it is a perspective; it is not a climate, but a mood in the
play of the lord –it is not an Indian who makes India ,but ‘India makes the
Indian.’
India the nation is
neither an intellectual nor a political make up of a people imagination. A
nation is an emotional, spiritual, religious and visionary identification of a
people for the attainments of higher goals in life.
About – Kanthapura:
Kanthapura is
small traditional village with all primitive structure of an Indian society
divided, observed as handicapped entity cocooned from the rest of the world.
Indian sensibility is essentially
religious and even politics gets spirituality. The religious element and the
socio-political issues are artistically transformed into one entity.
In Kanthapura,
Gandhi is taken as ‘Avtar’ to reform the culture and it is a very different
things to use in every aspects like...Politicians, religious, and social also.
Literature is a medium of political and
social awakening in a country and it is natural that during India’s struggle
for freedom, literature played its own part. let’s discuss in details.
(1) Political culture:
Raja
Rao’s Kanthapura gives a glimpse of the Indian struggle for independence in a
rural part of India. The novel portrayed against ‘British
domination’.
“Nation is visualised in term of a temple; Kenchamma.”
Gandhi becomes
a Puranic personal Rao turns even Gandhi into myth ,a major deviation is
introduced within the structure of the novel.
“When Gandhiji
is released from the prison, he likens the ever to Rama’s return from exile.”
In above example, we find the political
reality into cultural consciousness of tradition , race and people . Gandhi becomes ‘saviour’ not
political leader.
Politics get spiritualized – India’s
most important political leaders and social reformers have all been great
religious figure and social and political ends have been attained in the guise
of religion.
All activities of political things
relevant to the Gandhian thought are introduced in this excellent hallowed the
venue – Kenchemma Temple.
Gandhism :
Moorthy, like
Gandhi does not make any distinction between offensive violence and defensive
violence. The significant approach to Gandhian politics- half poetical, half
whimsical the novel. Rao greatly influenced by Gandhian ideology:
“Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong.”
The theme of
Gandhian theory also apply because in Kanthapura its concern with the impact of
Gandhi on religious, social-economic and political life of a quiet and obscure
village of
south India.
“Gandhi
is alone stood as politician with his virtue and being good man.”
Kanthapura is
the brilliant example of such voice of negation confronting the patriarchal
convention.
At the end of the novel
reflects the entire society’s transform Gandhian socialism to Nehruvian
internationalism. However as the novel rightly captures the common, illiterate
folk chose to stay with Gandhi.
According
to C.D. Narasimahaiah :
“Kanthapura is no political novel any more than is
Gandhi’s Movement a mere political Movement. Gandhi’s leadership; its religious
character , its economic and social concerns, its political ideals. For
Kanthapura is India in microcosm.”
Sometime, there is only illusion of
great political party, freedom fighters and must have its virtue though. Something
can’t happen in movement through non-violence. He creates idealism and
colonization in the society.
“Gandhi had a great deal of respect for the British
administration of justice.”
The Gandhian approach would have stood
vindicated only if the members of the ruling British community had come to side
with Moorthy in its fight. Moorthy preaches Gandhian philosophies of
non-violence love of mankind, abolition of untouchability Moorthy says...
Gandhi thrust is on having faith in the
enemy. However , in this novel ,Raja Rao doesn’t go into the details of
socialism and does not think over the questions. In Kanthapura , there is also
conflict between Gandhian fighters and the British police.
But
Gandhian idealism is that,
“War without violence and battle without
hatred.”
Gandhian
concept:
“Good ends can be achieved only by good means.”
Shifting from Gandhism to
Nehruism and it is here that same critics raise question and it is on the integrity
of Rao as Gandhian thought both Gandhi and Nehru have same destination.
Example:
Question
arises another that namely-
“Which
political philosophy does Raja Rao posit his belief in?”
The
answer is given by Ratna to Moorthy :
“Ratna says things must change. The youths here say
they will change it. Jawaharlal Will change it.”
Gandhian impact has played a crucial role
in shaping the nation. Raja Rao’s English is known for its simplicity and
directness can be termed as the English of the Gandhian epoch.
“Moorthy is to Gandhi
as Hanuman is to Ram.”
(2) Social culture :
Kanthapura has a oral
structure of the play. And the time of the play is-‘Pre-independent’. The
culture description always classified or compared to other.
Reading this novel, at all levels
social, political and religious and ideological that ultimately subsides giving
way to the urge for a free nation.
In Kanthapura, we find cruel
hierarchical mind set of the people and time when it was written. Whole village
stratified and hierarchical on the basis of caste, creed and religion. The we
find the caste structure of the society like..
Brahmin
street, Pariah quarter, Weavers colony, Potter’s community.
There is dormant pattern to the
treatment of castes and communities of Kanthapura. Kanthapura – the tiny
village representative of any other village in south-India.
WE find different social culture in this
novel because there are social conflict
like....
1) The conflict between upper
caste and lower class.
2) The internal conflict versus Master and slave relation.
3) The effect from the rulers
and the ruled.
People-who are rigid to follow the
rules and regulation in the name of tradition, they never accept the one identity
to forget first their caste or community.
There
is also question that...
“What happens to their old identity that they are defined
by their castes and hierarchies in
society when they begin identifying-themselves with nation?”
Example:
Brahmin hear Gandhi
Talking of Mixing
of castes they offer a-strong resistance because they find their old identities being consumed the
melting pot of nationalism.
Novel reveals the sensibility of Raja Rao in his dealing with the issue of identities.
Novel reveals the sensibility of Raja Rao in his dealing with the issue of identities.
“It may be easy to
overcome One`s
Caste, consciousness is
really
Difficult”
Idea of identity as defined through
Sanathana dharma and Varnasram. The beautiful example of how
One
oppression an relieve another oppression. Here, three types of oppression
deeply embedded in social culture.
1. The oppression of India by
the British.
2. The oppression of lower
caste by the upper class.
3. The oppression of Women by
men.
British rule in
India was blessing or disguise?
In society, we bind condition of Dalit
and Women. Raja Rao`s –Kanthapura with a view to
find out how women are oppressed by men and how the British rule helps women
and Dalit get freedom from the age-old conventions.
“Education made a difference in the caste constructed society of India.”
In novel, Raja Rao might have drawn
inspiration for his fictional character Rangamma from Rama.
It is not a question of equality of
rights and the privileges between men and women but it is a question of women’s
awareness of self in relation to social and political set up in society.
Example:
Moorthy,
who is ex-communicated from his community for his close association with the
Dalits , is given shelter by Rangamma
“People who belong to upper caste who happens to play major roles in the committee.”
Writer, depicts the truth with ardent
reality, Rao does not compromise to unveil the harsh conditions women of this
country existed in.
There are many social ceremonies and their
rits or rituals to follow by women like.....
“Hair-cutting, Rice-eating, Marriage and death
anniversary, natural touch and living force.
Symbolically, oral tradition of
story –telling-itself suggest that the element of narration from lower class
and lesser educated person and maintains this characteristic of tradition.
Kanthapura is a microcosm of the Indian
society with division of people into castes, untouchability, poverty,
exploitation by foreign rulers and ruthless tyranny at their hands.
Rao’s elaboration of the prevalent
social structure, their faith and their ignorance, their preference and their
superstitious prepare a soil fit for national waking.
It is noticeable that creative writers
of each-era concentrate on the socio-political and culture dimensions of their
time. India is known for its hierarchical power structure and its power of
impact on people is clearly visualised by writer to his readers.
“Indianness,
as a way of life, as a culture.”
So,
as above discussion, we can say that...
“A culture profile of the Indian society shows that
its upper strata are more English than the English.”
In Kanthapura, somewhere we also find
the colonialism. And colonialism means...
“Psychological and cultural resistance
to the idea of colonialism.”
Society has to re-examine their
personal, political, spiritual and cultural values and through them Rao
frequently contrasts. Indian philosophy and spiritualism with western society’s
emphasis on dualism and rationalism.
(3) Religious background:
The Indian sensibility
finds further expression in the use of myth and rituals. The central myth of
Kanthapura is Rama-Sita-Ravan which is used to illustrate the fight between
Mahatma Gandhi and the British.
Example:
-
If Gandhi is Rama, Jawaharlal Nehru is Bharata.
Religion was indeed a bigger defining force during
that period. Because people are blindly the followers of religion and never
thinking with logic.
“Culture was broadly define within the paradigmatic
framework of religious systems and beliefs.”
How we see the dignity and status of on
epic or purana. It is in this way that Gandhian Movement when gradually, play
develops the religious point of view turns into political view. So, Microcosm
of Macrocosm of the novel- Kanthapura by
Raja Rao.
There
are two kinds appropriations:
1) Religious-issue of swaraj
and Nation the tradition of the country such as ‘Harikatha’.
2) History such as Indian
National Movement and brings it to the fold of the religious tradition of
India.
Myths are principally Morality tales and therefore what
is mythical is also essentially Moral.
“It is often important not to remember the past objectively,
clearly or in its entirety.”
Religion
is an integral part of culture has been for secular and political purpose such
as attaining Independence-significance role to play in defining the identity of
people and also of the nation.
"Nothing is beyond the nation and Religion.”
Nation and provided them to ultimate
answers to their both sacred and profane questions.
In novel, Every things and aspects have
religious line like.
Examples:
·
Kenchamma- deity of the novel ,the mother of river Himavathi
·
Gandhi- invisible God as Rama
·
Moorthy- incarnation ( visible Avtar)
·
Red man- British
All above
represents as mythically in novel Kanthapura.
Moorthy the
staunch follower of Gandhi as some ‘ Bhakta’ follows the particular sect or
Dharma. He is the spiritual guide , friend and philosopher of the people of
Kanthapura.
“Spirituality
is better than religion.”
As above discussion, we can say
that the writer of the novel- Kanthapura, Raja Rao gives its to exploit the
traditional mythological novel like our epic- Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Kanthapura concerns with the
epic Ramayana and encompasses mythological and legendary stories, folk-tales and
fairy tales. Readers notice turmoil at all levels social, political and
religious and ideological that ultimately subsides giving way to urge for a
free nation.
As the story progresses the
three threads of experience tend to be one. The religious , social and
political issues become one and the same at the end of the novel.
Conclusion :
Raja Rao
describes very well totally Indian background with all aspects in the novel
Kanthapura. With oral structure of narration, Rao describes political , social,
and religious as the traditional culture of India. Through using all these Rao
makes one identity of India.
“One nation,
one identity.”
So, we may conclude that Rao portrays
whole things as culture in one novel – Kanthapura. India is a country where to
avoid thinking is impossible.
The topic for the assignment is very good, and you explained very well the concept of the cultural as reflected in the Novel Kanthapura written by Raja Rao. The use of the quotes is very good idea to prove your point, it gives support to your views. The three aspect of reading this novel is also quite right. you should also use some relevant images it will looks decent and elegant
ReplyDelete.
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