Mulk Raj Anand
Mulk Raj Anand is known for his realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the poor in India. He is considered a founder of the English-language Indian novel.He started his writing career in England by writing some short reviews in T. S. Eliot's magazine, 'Criterion'.Through his writings he revealed that in addition to the foreign colonialism of Britain there existed layers of colonialism within Indian society. This internal colonialism stood in the way of India's transition to a modern civil society. While exposing the overarching divide between the British and a colonized India, he reveals an Indian society creating its own layers of colonizers and colonized thereby rendering the fledgling Indian nationalism an extremely problematic concept. In 1935 he founded the Progressive Writers' Association along with other two writers Sajjad Zaheer and Ahmed Ali. In 1946, he launched the magazine about fine arts named 'Marg' which was mainly funded by JRD Tata and later got financial support from Tata Group.
In 1953, Mr. Anand won the International Peace Prize given by World Peace Council.
In 1968, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for his extraordinary contribution to the field of literature and education.
In 1971, he received Sahitya Akademi Award for his highly popular novel 'The Morning Face' (1968).
He was honored as India's Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck for his memorable novel "Untouchable'.
Untouchable(1935)
Anand’s first book, ‘Untouchable’ argues for eradicating the caste system. It depicts a day in the life of Bakha, a young sweeper, who is "untouchable" due to his work of cleaning latrines. The book was inspired by Anand’s aunt's experience when she had a meal with a Muslim woman and was treated as an outcast by her family. Once, in Virginia Woolf’s drawing room, Anand was mocked by a young critic Edward Sackville-West for trying to write a novel about a lower-caste protagonist. Then George Russell suggested him to talk to Gandhiji.With some of the suggestions of Gandhiji he finally edited this novel and E. M. Forster had written a foreword to this novel. Finally the novel got published in 1935. The book is divided into different sections and the first sections starts with an imaginary town of Bulashah. Lakha who is the leader of all Bulashah’s sweepers has an eldest son Bakha who is 18 years old who is very intelligent and vain. He is obsessed with British dress and habits. Bakha's brother is Rakha who is shown to arrange food for the family and his sister Sohini was molested by the pundit Kali Nath. Bakha was treated well by Charat Singh who gave him hockey. At last the novel ends with the presence of Gandhiji advising them the ways to their social illumination and with the news that the coming of flush toilet may completely obliterate one day the class of the Untouchables that Bakha hopes.
Coolie (1936)
The book is highly critical of British rule in India and India's caste system—one of the biggest societal problems that plague the society. The plot of the novel revolves around a 14-year-old boy, Munoo, and his plight due to poverty and exploitation because of the various social and political structures. The novel traces the journey of Munoo from Kangra Hills in a native village near Bilaspur as an orphan, taken care of by his uncle who left him work in a middle class family in Sham Nagar. Incidentally, during playing a monkey game Munoo bites the couple's little daughter and escape their beatings by riding on a train where he encounters Prabha Dayal and reaches Daulatpur to work in the former's factory. But Dayal's business partner Ganpat defrauded him and the factory was closed, leaving Munoo again on the streets. Then he followed a circus team to Mumbai and secured a job as a factory worker. He came under the influence of Ratan who became a victim of a workers' riot. At last Munoo was employed by the half-Indian Mrs. May Mainwaring, a wealthy woman to pull the ladyship’s rickshaw through the steep streets of the town of Shimla. The work is taxing, but Munoo is grateful for it and relishes the familiar sight of the nearby mountains. At that point, however, he begins to show the telling signs of tuberculosis: fatigue, a high fever, and a bloody cough. In short order, despite Mrs. Mainwaring’s solicitous care, Munoo dies. He is just 15.
Two Leaves and a Bud (1937)
Located in the tea plantations of Assam, the novel deals with the theme of oppression of the poor. It revolves around a peasant who tries to protect his daughter from a British soldier. It was later adapted to a Hindi film, 'Rahi', by Dev Anand and simultaneously released in English as 'The Wayfarer'. Gangu is influenced by Buta, the Sardar of the Macpherson Tea estate to leave his home in Hoshiarpur to come and work as laborer in a tea estate in Assam. He has a daughter Leila and a son Buddhu besides his wife, Sajani. The promise of a good salary and a free gift of a piece of fertile land and huge savings are temptations which are too strong to resist for Gangu. But soon after arriving at Robertson Tea Estate, Gangu starts understanding that he has been deceived by the Sardar Buta. Narain, a coolie from Bikaner reveals that once a coolie comes there, he would neither be able to go back of his own will and not to be allowed to escape .The coolie lanes are so dirty that hookworms breed and flourish in abundance. The danger of cholera always pervades there. But, for the capitalists, coolies are thieves, liars, and lazy. They are not even considered as human beings. John De La Harve, the plantation Doctor is anxious about the unhygienic conditions there and the epidemics. He considers the coolies sub-human. Harve suggests mosquito nets and he is scorned by Croft-Cooke. Soon malaria breaks out and Gangu’s wife Sajani dies of it. Gangu does not have money even to perform the last rites and goes to borrow from Croft-Cooke. But returned empty handed. The villain of the novel is Reggie Hunt, the Assistant Manager.Those who are young and beautiful are either fooled or forcibly taken away as was done to Neogi’s wife. They are rewarded ornaments like ear or nose rings and their husbands given land. Those who oppose are beaten,wounded and fired at gun-point. Reggie Hunt brutally enjoys Neogi’s wife and wounds her. He destroys the family of Chameli and takes her along with him to his house. When he gets fed up with her, she is thrown out. He openly lives with three coolie women. Narain, a coolie rightly comments that nobody’s mother or sister is safe in the tea plantation. Death is considered as the attainment of relief amidst the misery of workers. One day Hunt approached Leila, Gangu’s daughter with lust as she plucked tealeaves alone. He followed Leila to her house. When Gangu comes to block his way, Reggie shoots him dead. A trial follows and Mr. Justice Mowberley and a jury consisting of seven Europeans and two Indians find Reggie not guilty of the charges of murder and release him. The irony of fate is such that Gangu, who comes to the tea plantation at Assam to begin a new life, meets his sudden death. Dr. La Harve is humiliated for showing sympathy and supporting the cause of coolies. He is terminated from service and his beloved Barbara, the daughter of Croft Cooke becomes cold towards him. His romance with Barbara comes suddenly to an end. The white doctor becomes the mouthpiece of the writer, whose misfortune is directed at the superstition and stupidity, illiteracy and the ignorance of the peasants.
Punjab Trilogy : Anand's Punjab Trilogy brings three novels together… . Village, Across the Black Water and The Sword and the Sickle . Although each novel is complete in itself, together through the individual story of a peasant youth they narrate tale of social and political unrest in rural India. The trilogy has been brought together by Saros Cowasjee, a noted Anand scholar who had also written a very insightful introduction to his writings. The trilogy follows the journey of Lal Singh, alias Lalu. Village shows him as a callow youth in the village of Nandpur, Punjab who ends up joining army to escape a trumped up charge by the landlord.
Across the Black Water, This book is the only Indian English novel that is set in World War I and portrays the experiences of Lalu whose company of soldiers were shipped off to France and portrays his horrifying experience as a soldier in trench warfare in the British Imperial army fighting the infamous battle of Ypres and Festubert in the Great War.
The Sword and the Sickle, deals with the topic of social and political structures, specifically, the rise of Communism. The title for the book was given to Anand by George Orwell. The novel was in keeping with British and American writings of the time. Lalu, instead of being rewarded , was inhumanly demobilized on the suspicion of his anti- colonial leanings. On returning home he discovered all his kinsmen including his parents died in the midst of famine. Only his middle brother who was to marry at the time of his leaving the home became an ascetic and left home.
The Big Heart is a moving tale of conflict, love and passion centred on a group of craftsmen trying to come to grips with automation that threatens their livelihood and traditional way of life.The theme of the novel is the conflict between hereditary copper smiths and the capitalists. It is a novel about a village of artisans in Amritsar District in the early 1940s. Ananta, a coppersmith, who has had the experience of participating in the Gandhian struggle for freedom in Bombay returns to his hometown of Amritsar after having worked in the more industrialised cities of Bombay and Ahmedabad. Ananta, while coming from Bombay, accompanies a woman, Janaki, and keeps her as his mistress and enjoys romance. But she is slowly dying of Tuberculosis. Like most people of his craft, he has difficulty making a living as the introduction of machines is throwing the craftsmen out of work. The cause behind all this, is that, two Chowdaries - Muralidhar and Gokul Chand set up a factory, which has rendered the local coppersmiths jobless and hopeless.The coppersmiths face both destitution and a break up of their whole society based on age-old traditions and customs. Yet, Ananta can see both the utility and the inevitability of the machines and the need for the coppersmiths to band together so that the power of the machine could offer a new life for those whom it threatens. But unsettled, tense and suspicious as the coppersmiths are, a spark of demagogy culminates in violence and wanton destruction which ends in sudden, unexpected tragedy as Ananta's Gandhian approaches are unwelcomed and Ralia, in his utter madness kills Ananta, hitting his head against a machine repeatedly. The story ends with the machine emerging as the winner over humans.
Private Life Of An Indian Prince
In keeping with his other writings dealing with the topic of social and political reform, this book deals with the abolition of the princely states system in India. This book describes the time of independence of India from the British. During this period, on one side the country was partitioned into India and Pakistan while on the other side, Princely States were provided an option to merge with either India or with Pakistan by signing an instrument of accession with either government. The story is about Prince Victor Ashok Kumar of Shampur. As usual, lust is his primary nature. Sardar Patel has invited him to sign and inform him about the facilities which can be offered in independent India. Maharaja Ashok Kumar of Sham Pur asserts complete independence for his small hill-state rather than join the Indian Union. A febrile romantic, who has inherited more of the vices than the virtues of his ancestors, he is encouraged by his nymphomaniac mistress Ganga Dasi, a powerful and illiterate hill-woman whom he has installed in his palace to the exclusion of his three legitimate maharanis. To feed his mistress’s greed, he extorts large sums of money from his starving peasantry. This provokes a revolt in Sham Pur which in turn incurs the extreme displeasure of the government in Delhi.His personal impulses and passions blind the Maharaja from the larger social issues involved. He meets Ganga’s challenge with hysterical tears, and his people and the Government of India’s with melodramatic gestures and self-deluding lies. Needless to say, he loses both contests. Exiled to London, he seduces a shop girl with all his former princely finesse. But he cannot forget his mistress and his love for her brings about his downfall. In his State, Praja Mandal and the communal forces want to merge with India as the governance of the state law and order has not been able to be restored. Dr Hari Shankar a medic is his advisor who is aware of the reality for partition and accession and tenders proper advice but the Prince has no time to bother about this. He knows about the petty bad position of jails and poverty of his people, and the brutal ways of the police handling people, still he is bothered about his lavish life. He is more interested in arranging Shikar with his American friends. With changing circumstances, his lady Ganga Dasi beds his American friend and later elopes with his friend. Prince visits London and plan to murder his friend with whom Ganga Dasi is living. He succeeds but the crime is caught. He is brought back before the authorities where he is declared lunatic and sent to an Asylum in Pune. While the novel is not an autobiography, like many of his earlier novels, it follows an autobiographical tone. In 2004, a commemorative edition including this book was launched by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The introduction was written by Saros Cowasjee.
Morning Face : Mulk Raj Anand’s Morning Face is the second in the series of Anand’s autobiographical novels. This novel was first published in 1968. The book won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. The book features Anand's autobiographical narrative that was first used by him in Seven Summers. Anand describes about the protagonist’s growth from boyhood to adolescence, from the age of ten to the age of sixteen, from the beginning of the First World War to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. Here the protagonist’s growth from innocence to awareness, from a sensitive boy to a youthful rebel gets unfolded to us especially in the narrative in terms of the traditions of realistic fiction. In this novel Krishan Chander is one of the four sons of Babu Ram Chand. Krishan Chander, who is both author and hero, emerges as the creation of Anand’s realistic imagination. The character also reveals Anand’s deft use of the first person narrative mode of autobiographical fiction, to suit the purposes of the realistic novel. Morning Face is not an autobiography but an autobiographical fiction. In the novel synthesis of the autobiographical content and the fictional component have been dexterously fulfilled by the author. Particularly this novel embodies a synthesis of historical autobiographical truthfulness and moral aesthetic vitality.
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