Mr.Sakate Bharat Shamrao.
Balwant College,Vita.
Indian English Literature written in India during the pre-independence period and after post-independence period is representation of that period. Specially Mulkaraj Anand, Tagore, Arundhati Roy, Arvind Adiga are representatives of their age, through their specific characters. In this sense we have to turn towards Tagore’s ‘Gora’ (1921) Krishna Kripalani described the Gora as “the epic of India in transition at the most crucially intellectual period of its modern history….it is to Indian fiction what Tolstoy’s war and peace is to the Rusian. (K R Shrinivas Iyenger -page -105)
Gora, Bakha and Balram Halwai are fruits of down-trodden class. They grew up with their ideology. But it changed as per demand of the age.
“Today, I am really Indian.”(Rabindranath Tagore-406)This line of Gora is requirement of the age. It means he changed his idealogy from puritanic minded person into Humanitarian. The genuine humanism is represented by the epic Gora.. Gora represents the society of the pre- independent India. The love of Gora and Suchitra, Benoy and Lolita had not accepted by the society. But as epic hero he stood in front of the puritan society.The society of 1910 presented in the novel by Tagore.
Mulkraj Anand’s protagonist Bakha of the untouchable society speaks more about Indian society of the Anand’s age. Though Anand has written the Coolie, but he never propounded this hero as epic hero, his hero sinks within garbage of Indian society. Coolie attempted, but his attempts are looks like efforts of the hen, while knife is cutting neck. Coolie revolted against society to live like human,but he failed in his effort. Where Coolie failed, Bakha had his own success. Coolie fought for the sake of life, but Bakha fought for the sake of better life, he pondered over the 1930’s situation of downtrodden.
Bakha becomes victim of the casticism, but Bhaka represents the down trodden class, untouchable of the town Bulashah. Though it is imaginary character but it represents the real India of 1930-35, Bakha swallowed up the insults, the attempt of pandit to molest the chastity of his sister, but he could not digested it. He thought over it and he has conclusion in such way. They treat them as slaves because we clean their dirt. Bakha had a strong impression of Gandhi.He listened the words of Gandhi at the addressing public meeting. He thought about the right of the human to live like human. The novel ends when Bakha returns with three options, these are- colonel Hutchinson efforts are about the Bhaka’s reformation and well of others, Mahatma Gandhi’s word and poet Iqbal’s idea. What he chose is we could found in the words of the E.M. Foster’s foreword for this Book.
“It is necessary climax and it has mounted up with triple effect. Bakha returns to his father and wretched bed, thinking now of the Mahatma, now of the machine. His Indian day is over and the next day will be like it, but on the surface of the earth if not in the depths of the sky, a change is at hand.”(Mulakraj Anand-I-2-3)
We found that Bakha at stage of To be or not to be .The novel Untouchable have strong influence of the age. Gandhian wave of freedom-fighting movement and social reformation had a strong impact on the Bakha. Anand created this character under the influence of Gandhian Age. During the Gandhian Age, the Dalit of India was passing through the change. It was the period of
transition in every field. They had the options for reformations are colonel Hutchinson’s image is used for the sake of Christian social reformer who were, in replacement of reformation, wanted to provide him Christianity, Gandhi’s reformation, flush system. Dalit must have to choose option belong to it. But they were in such condition “To be or not to be” Ananddepicted Bakha’s condition very well to represent 1930 India by through this character. Gora is the representative of those voyagers travelling through the clash of west and East. Bakha tried to walk on the path which Gora shown. Bakha represents the downtrodden society who have an option of poona pact communal Award. To make matter worse in August 1932 was announced communal Award by Ramsay Macdonald, the prime minister of England. It aggravated the minority problem by giving representation to the so called “depress class” with an evil eye of dividing the Hindu’s and depressed class. The state of Bakha has closely associated with the state of down trodden society of 1932. Dr. Ambedkar, as well as other reformers had been trying to reform the society, but Bakha is in the state of “To be or not to be”. The period of transition is described by Anand. Depressed class leader Ambedkar had intervened Gandhi’s fast unto death. Arundhati Roy’s character velutha presents the hero from the small bellies, pawn to big bellies. The God of small things novel presents the protagonists character Amu and her lover velutha. Velutha is belongs Parvan community. He exploited by the high caste of the society. Amu and velutha’s had not accepted by the society because velutha belongs to parvan community, depressed class person who had not right to live like human .Even his efforts are lame. He looks helpless, Bakha wanted to be live like a white sahib but society had not prepared themselves yet to give them right. In Bakha’s craze for fashion and in his ludicrous wearings of the English clothes also we see the influence of the Tommies. He obtains from them the worn off clothes, books, blankets. He smokes Red- light cigarettes. But he had moved out himself further for development as per the demand of 1932. We could say, he is the pawn of destiny in 1932. Bakha remains baking weapon for revolution. Mulakraj Anand described Bakha’s emotion at the end of the novel as “I shall go and tell father all that Gandhi said about us, he whisperd to himself ;and what that clever poet said perhaps I can, find the poet on the way and ask him about the machine”.(Mulakraj Anand- page-213)
After independence, we have the epic hero who represents the society of low community, but prepared himself to change the whole word. The White Tiger of Arvind Adiga stands for the development of the downward hero, who makes destiny of own. Adiga speaks about the Balram Halwai, who changes himself into the Ashok Sharma, where Bakha stopped himself in the period of 1932 (period of transition),Balram involved in it. Balram of the white Tiger lead himself from wretched condition, where Halwais turned themselves into Rikshawalas. His father is died due to tuberculosis disease engrossed himself due to hard work which thing wrapped to coolie also in the novel Coolie of the Mulakraj Anand. But Balram or white Tiger would not ready to kill himself in the hands of destiny. Always destiny plays the role in living beings life. But Adiga’s hero of the new world expresses his emotions in such way”. “That’s why I was cheated of my destiny to be fact, and creamy skinned and smiling.” (Arvind Adiga-page-64)
Balram listened conversation of miner lead Balram to become driver. Child labour is a curse to the children belongs to the downward society. It kills their childhood, like Anand’s, coolie, Bakha and Munna alias Balram of Adiga. But Balrum shown his knowledge, he has keen eyes, keen ears which made him driver and good entrepreneur. Adiga presents the world of Men with big bellies and Men with small bellies. And only two destinies:- eat or get eaten up. Balram never be a part of “get eaten up”. It is protest of the Balram Halwai to live like a man. He want to be live like the human, he want to wear clean and tidy dresses and to visit big Malls, but the
society of money makers are not ready to give entry in to glamorous malls and shops. This placed have not for small bellies.
Bakha protested against the society, under British regime, But Balram protested against the society, casticism, as well as against capitalists, money – makers, in his own country. Bakha had the ways of honesty, but Balram have the ways of dishonesty for the sake of life of human beings. He had chosen it to change his destiny. Where Bakha stands from there Balram walks up. Bakha had three options to reform life of society. He thought about whole society, but he never done anything, he stopped, he pondered over casticism and brutality of the upper caste.
But Balram developed himself as entrepreneur. He established his own business, the white Tiger’s company. Although Balram slit his master’s throat, but it is a reaction against money- makers, the exploitation done by big belies. Balram steals money from them who had already stolen it from the Indian government, without giving a rupees tax to the government. He made himself a thief in the society of thieves. It is the sign of the changing human values within this world. Greediness is the symbol of morality is a new characteristic of this world. Bakha engrossed himself within the human values, under the British regime. .Balram got several characters as examples of entrepreneurs, Vijay, Mukesh, Ashok, to imitate, to copy, to become entrepreneur. Bakha had inspiring characters:Hawaldar charat Singh, Gandhi, colonel Hutchinson, poet. So Bakha deal with Morality. Bakha knew that they were treating them as slaves because they clean their dirt. Balram have the success due to immorality among the society of immoral peoples. Big bellies are growing big, bigger and biggest. There is no way to change. There is no way to lighten, the light among the darkness. They are losing their existence; “small bellies must be small, smaller, smallest and destroy them”, is rule among the society of evils.
The White Tiger wrote to premier Wen Jiabo that India is not country of the snake- charmers and magicians. As well as he dominantly proved that people belongs to the down trodden class have realized the power of knowledge. They are new entrepreneurs within this corrupted worl In conclusion, we have to say, Balram lead his life in new way, from where Bakha stopped himself. Bakha stands up with new dimension as Balram, Ashok Sharma of new India…
Works Cited:
Arundhati Roy : The God Of The Small Things.India Ink publiushing company pvt.Ltd,New Delhi,1997
Arvind Adiga: The White Tiger. Happer Collins publishers India .2008
K.R. shrinivas Iyengar.and prema Nandhukar –Indian writing in English Edition India-1999 Mulakraj Anand. Untouchable. Published by Gulabo Vazirani for Arnold Heineman publishers (India) Delhi.1981
Mulakraj Anand, Coolie (London: Bodley Head 1972) Ravindranath Tagore.Gora. Macmilan India limited Edition -1999
The oxford History of Modern India. (1740-1975).Second edition by Percival spear.India.