Allegedly, an Indian American author, Raja Rao's Kanthapura leaves a lasting impression as a proponent of Indian English realism. It is plotted on the underlying and inevitable socio-realistic issues of India, such as post-colonial identity, modern class immobility, historic caste oppression, and systemic gender inequalities. The writing is so simple and effective that one might immediately feel the desire to read another one of his popular books, The Serpent and the Rope. Personally, I never got around to it because of its emphasis on the philosophy of self-actualisation. Besides an acute philosophical observation of Indian socio-realism, his writing has a mean rhetorical tone. This mean rhetorical tone is satirical and similar to the tones of U R Ananthamurthy and Chaganti Somayajulu. Recently, while researching notes for a short story, I had the opportunity to read Raja Rao's On the Ganga Ghats. Besides revisiting that acute observation of a socio-realist, I also wanted to read the text to reorient myself with the art of writing beautiful prose that has consistency of tone. On the Ganga Ghats exceeds expectations. Its characterisation is not too dense but possesses the sharpness of a brand new knife. Its philosophical style of storytelling clarifies abstractions with an air of rightful superiority. The only letdown is that I suspect these works might be patriarchal.
A palanquin appears at the beginning of On the Ganga Ghats, and I wonder what this palanquin might allude to, and who might the palanquin bearers be. But it is only just the beginning, and I quietly surrender to the will of the writer and sit inside the palanquin to hear Raja Rao, for the realist promises to tell a story of ironic importance. By page 10, it is clear that the journey across the cityscape of Benaras, settled on the Ganga ghats, has two definite circuits, one unreal and the other very real, an outer circle and an inner circle. The palanquin is moving on a path dividing this settlement on the basis of caste and class. The lives of priests and prostitutes are juxtaposed, as usual, and the story is once again the story of an acute observation of Indian socio-realism. Benaras is situated on lord Shiva's trident and is woven intricately into rituals and practices. The existence of lord Shiva is the root cause of the existence of Benaras. Benaras is a location in the universe for the human being to be the purest a spirit can possibly be. Trees, river, animals, birds, human beings… these are all Benaras. Benaras is a sacred story crafted around the beliefs of a system. Here, even the life of a bird testifies that, for Benaras to be itself, life has to be a meditation on all life forms enacting their part in the storytelling of the miraculous wonders of co-existence. Benaras is a myth that every creature is a character woven into the fabric of life, co-existing for the sake of the story. This story is not one of religion but of life and death. Like every story, Benaras is growing, changing, dying. On the Ganga Ghats compels to enquire if religion causes poverty. It exemplifies this by exposing the commercial industry of religion, which, like other industries, pollutes the holy Ganga. Ancient religions made human beings greedy. But the Ganga is that Holy Spirit which will wash away any sin. So, one can perform an indefinite number of sins, as long as they know that they can cleanse themselves with a dip in the Holy Ganga. So, logically, Benaras is that place in space and time where all eternal sinners go for their cleansing. The rites of purification have made the brahmin class of Benaras affluent. But to be rich, the brahmins need knowledge of rites and rituals. Therefore, Vedic knowledge and a good command over Sanskrit are their ideal pursuits. Contrary to the trends in modernism, despite all the wealth and the status, the brahmin caste is governed by conservative conventions. Here, human relations are still perceived through the lens of religion, and religious dignity is of utmost importance to the sanctity of these relationships.
The use of myth to problematise the relationship between the universal consciousness of all living beings caught in the karmic cycle is the main philosophical subject of On the Ganga Ghats. The underlined complication of this text is the relationship between the many gods and their inferiors, the human beings. Though the text itself does not wander off to questions of faith and faithlessness, a criticism of religion also cannot be held in alliance with any definition of the modern Indian secular or atheist identity. There is no god without a devotee and no devotee without a god. It is as simple as that.
"When she thought of Lord Shiva he was present to her, with the serpent garland, the tiger skin, the Ganges crown, his third eye filled with compassion. For her Shiva was real. More real she would say than this hand, and she will beat her exquisite hands against the marble of the temple floor to prove Shiva was Shiva." (Page 51)
The characterisation of Rani Rasomani, a noble woman, helps the reader to delve into 'the woman question' in the context of Benaras and India at large. No one can guess her age with certainty. She visits the temple every day and returns to her palace to hear the recitation of the ancient Sanskrit texts from the brahmins themselves. The peacocks in her lawns and the long rattan armchair in the reading room make her pleasures appear quite simple. For the writer, she is somebody that was and is what was and so will be what is. (Page 52) But the life of brahmins and kings is incomplete without the tribes in the forests on the margins of the centre. Here, the human condition is described as such that if a tiger or a hyena brought forth money, man would marry his daughter off to a tiger or a hyena. The woman is really put under a spotlight through the characterisation of Nanna who surfaces during the interaction of Shivlal with a sadhu. The Sadhu is headed to Kala Bhairav, a no place where all space and time turn to ash. An orphan, Shivlal, is taken in by the Benaras concubines who know lovemaking as well as wise men know their rituals and texts. "A woman is beauty,’ he said. ‘A woman is creation. A woman is sister. A woman is mother. I worship all women.’ That’s how Shiv felt." (Page 61) The flight of the bird can be seen with the eyes, but the bearer of these eyes himself cannot fly. So, there is an idea and there is an explanation. Literature also allows the human mind to associate its thoughts with some profound reality of the world it has witnessed in metaphors. This conception of a reason beyond the physical reality of the world is the foundation of metaphysics. "The king himself jumps out of his palanquin, and asks in royal ire, ‘Who are you? And why do you do this to me?’ To which the palanquin bearer Brahmin replied: ‘Look, Sire, I am fat and strong, uncouth, saliva running down my face. Look, look at me, but tell me, King, am I my face, my limbs, my nose that drips this snot, am I, I? Tell me truly, who am I?" (Page 66) Further, an emphasis on the Vashishtha Ramayana points to the universality of dialogues on self-actualisation and detachment on the route to moksha. While reliving episodes from sacred texts, the people of this Benaras characterise themselves into the divine plot of the gods. In On the Ganga Ghats, Raja Rao showcases how even socio-realism can weave itself into the fabric of abstractions. This is what makes all storytelling traditions literature. Towards the end of the text, we learn that the palanquin is just as universal as birth and death, and the views from it, as real as they may seem, do not really matter. Today, popular culture has churned this philosophy of life and death enough for the idea to lose its novelty. However, the irony of this text is the conviction that death, who is master, also has no meaning, and that a mother never gives birth to a child. All who are born will eventually come to an end at the Ganga ghat. Destiny is said to be decay and inevitable disappearance. Such is the city of lord Shiva.
No comments:
Post a Comment