Paper no 04 Assignment

Assignment

 Name :- chauhan Urvashi N.

Roll no :-41

Paper no:-4

Topic:-  kanthapura as a Gandhian novel

Year :- 2018/20

Enrollment no:- 2069108420190008

Email Id:-urvashichauhan157@gmail.com

Submitted:- Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of English MK Bhavnagar Uni.

Introduction

     “An epic is a long narrative poem and a great and serious subject related in an elevated style and center on a heroic or quasi divine figure on whose action depend the tale or tribe a nation or the human race “

-       M.H. Abraham

“ An epic is the greatest and most sublime from of poetry. The epic is a poem, divided into several books, celebrating the life, heroic deeds and achievements the life of a national hero whether historical or legendary.

 About Raja Rao

         Raja rao was an Indian writer of English-language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in metaphysical. The Serpent and the Rope (1960), a semi autobiographical novel  recounting a search for spiritual truth in Europe and India, established him as one of the finest Indian prose stylists and won him the sahitya akadamy aword  in 1964. For the entire body of his work, Rao was awarded the neustadt international prize for literature in 1988. Rao's wide ranging body of work, spanning a number of genres, is seen as a varied and significant contribution to Indian English literature, as well as World literature as a whole.

    Notable work

·    Kanthapura

·    The serpent & the rope

·     The cat and the Shakespeare: a tale of India

·    Comrade Kirillov

·    The Chessmaster & his moves companions

·    The little gram shop nimkes

·    On the Ganga ghat

·    Changing India

·    Tomorrow

·    Whither India

·    The meaning of India

·    The great Indian  Way

         There were three Indian modern writer of classic. Their contribution in classic is very significant.1. Mulk Raj Anand, 2.R.K. Narayan,3. Raja Rao those three person are great dramatist of the Indian Writing in English. In Indian literature we have many forms like Epic, Lyrics, Drama, Short stories and Fables but we should wit of Novel very long time.

Raja  rao's first novel kanthapura published in 1938,mainly portrays the freedom movement launched by mahatma Gandhi in the 1920s to liberate india from the imperialistic hegemony of the British. India struggle for independence, with its powerful impact on indian sensibility, froms of the novel. However a deeper probe into this work reflects raja rao’s abiding interest in philosophical themes. The raja roa sympathetically explores the Gandhian value of living ones enemies , non-violence and  abolition of  untouchability.

       In the early phase of his life,  raja rao was influenced by the Gandhian thought. Which  was of the most  challenging  philosophies of the era. the shaping the destiny of India in the pre- independence period. Then quit India movement was started by Gandhi. Raja roa was associated with the underground activity of young social leaders.

Three elements in kanthapura

  • Social Background

  • Religion Background

  • Political Background

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

       ‘Kanthapura’  novel political ideas also be found, Earlier, British ruled over India and then slowly and steadily education got reformation and Gandhian ideas started to apply by Moorthy.

First they ignore you,

Then they ridicule you,

Then they fight you, and

            Then you win…

Kanthapura  is the earliest example of Gandhian Novel. Raja Rao’s novel is the most powerful of Indo – Anglian novel, portraying the impact of the Gandhian Movement on the Indian people. Kanthapura is long narrative novel telling of heroic acts, the birth and death of a hero. So it is an Epic. Kanthapura is telling of impact that Gandhi had on the nation. He concerted the whole nation into an army of Freedom fighters. Gandhiji was no less than the hero of an epic, the freedom struggle of India was an epic struggle. Thousands of people sacrifice their lives. It was remaining in the background through the novel; Gandhi is no doubt the hero of movement on a small village Kanthapura. Here, in the Kanthapura Moorthy is the Gandhi and Hero of the village.

The main character of the novel is Moorthy. He is Brahmin boy who discovered a half buried ‘Ligna’ from the village and installed it. It is Moorthy who organize Gandhi work in the village, he is indeed life and spirit behind the movement in Kanthapura just as a Gandhi was the life and spirit of freedom struggle in India, but very soon the people of Kanthapura as a whole are actively involved and the novel becomes an account of their suffering and their heroic sacrifice. The people of Kanthapura has been enthused with spirit of Gandhiji and they march ahead heroically despite all the suffering and the hardship they have undergo.

             Moorthy is not man of modern novel. He is a ‘very Prince’, ‘our Rama’ and ‘small mountain’…..

Like a thousand of young men all over the country Moorthy gave up his studies and joined freedom movement. He dedicated his life to the country after he followed the principal of Gandhiji. He burnet his foreign clothes and started using Khadi. He did not marry and devoted his life totally to the struggle for independence. He sacrifices his personal life and happiness for the sake of freedom fighters in the village Kanthapura.

Sociel  background of Kanthapura:

•Mythology

•Poverty and Illiterate of people

•Highly believed in  God and Goddess

•Celebration of different festivals

•No rights for women in societY

•Believed in Gandhism and Moorthy.

Religion background:

         Indian masses are deeply religious and so religion was freely exploited by Indian patriots all through the freedom struggle.The religious sentiments of the rural folk were fully exploited by B.G.Tilak, by introducing the Ganapati festival in Maharashtra and instilling in them courage, patriotism, discipline and unity.Students were also persuaded to take part in these celebrations. The festival was used as a suitable instrument for educating the masses and making them politically conscious.Tilak also started the Shivaji festival in 1895 to encourage the Marathas to emulate their beloved leader .A new longing for liberty and a firm resolution for a united national Government were fostered by festivals like these. Athletic performances, patriotic and religious songs, Kathas and ballads were recited on a large scale, resulting in a sense of pride in the glorious and worthy past of India. It may be mentioned that religionis used in this very way in the novel.There are recitals of Kathas, and holding of Harikathas and festivals. It is under the guise of a procession of Ganpati that the people of Kanthapura try to make good their escape.Religion played an important part in Indian struggle for independence, and so it does in the novel.

KANTHAPURA as a Gandhian novel:

       Kanthapura is the first novel of Raja Rao written in 1938 A.D. It describes the period in which the struggle against the foreign government was dominating the political scenario in India. At that time the Non-Cooperation Movement was in vogue.

Congress under the leadership of Gandhi was leading the movement. Raja Rao supported the ideas of Gandhi thus Kanthapura as a political novel is totally influenced by the principles of Gandhi. In the beginning of the novel, we come to know about the structure of village.

   We find that the village of Kanthapura is a caste-ridden village and the quarters of people are separated on the basis of casteism. The casteism is so prevalent in Kanthapura that if a Brahmin visits a Pariah’s house, he has to go to Kashi for purification.

Moorthy, the protagonist of the novel, who is a Brahmin, gives up his studies after being influenced by the Gandhian Philosophy by going through different pamphlets and newspapers. Hence we don’t see Gandhi in actual but his ideology and principles in the novel and Moorthy is the avatar of Gandhi.

Moorthy after adopting the Gandhian Ideology gives up his studies in the city and returns back to his village. He gives up foreign clothes and goods and wears hand-woven Khaddar. He encourages the people of his village to use native things and become independent of foreign goods.

    Moorthy believes in non-violence. He asks people to make their struggle non-violent. They should love their enemies even if the later may hate them or even act violently. Moorthy asks the people to speak the truth and remains loyal to Congress. he feels extreme discomfort and fife there and on returning back, he takes a religious bath for purification. Thus in real he accepts untouchability in spite of his struggle against it.

         The Gandhian Ideology which makes the plot of the novel to develop and not Gandhi himself. As Gandhi influences the politics at the national level, Moorthy becomes the Gandhi of Kanthapura and does the same things. Thus Kanthapura is a mini-nation with a Gandhi of itself  Moorthy.

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