CHAPTER -IV
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RAJA RAO AND
RABINDRANATH TAGORE`S NOVEL
The present chapter deals with comparison and contrast
between Rabindranath Tagore and Raja Rao as far as their ideology
of nationalism and spiritualism and its thematic delineation
compassing narrative technique and mythical treatment. Tagore is a
philosopher, patriotic, poet laureate, educationist, teacher and social
reformer while Rao is ardent scholar and teacher of philosophy,
worldly experienced person as far as knowledge of varied cultures
are concern.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861) was from upper class Bengali
family.He is the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for his
notable Geetanjali. From 1879 to 1880, Tagore attended University
College in London. Raja Rao was born in 1909 in the village of
Hassana, in Mysore belongs to an old South Indian Brahmin family.
He took initial education from Hyderabad and later on in Aligarh. He
completed BA degree from Nizam College, Hyderabad. In France he
has learned French Literature at the University of Monpellier and
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completed Doctorate degree at University of Sorbonne. During the
education, he came in contact with Dickenson. Besides the novel
writing, he wrote a couple of essays in the early thirties. Nearly in all
his work we find his love for motherland and his fascination for
Indian culture. Being an intellectual and much travelling experienced
person, he was fascinated by the thrust of spiritual knowledge.
During 1940 Raostayed in Banaras to have first-hand
knowledge of the spiritual tradition of India where he seriously
thought to turn a sanyasi. He came in contact Swami Atmanand, the
great Vedantic scholar. Rao accepted Swami Atmanand as his Guru,
guide and mentor. He studied thoroughly the works of Ralpho Waldo
Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman admirer of
Vedantic philosophy. Later on he worked as a visiting philosopher
and lectured at various American universities.
Rabindranath Tagore also deeply influenced by western
authors. During his stay in England, he had come in contact with
some eminent professors. The writing of Tagore is affected by the
romantic poets like Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth etc. The great
Victorians Tennyson & Browning exercise powerful influence on
him. Tagore was deeply interested in reading the literary works of
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Shakespeare & Thomas Browne. The deep contact with the eminent
authors laid an impact on Tagore’s poetic style when he wrote in
English
Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 for
Literature for his poetry collection Gitanjali. He also entitled
‘Gurudev’, ‘National poet’, ‘philosopher’ ‘educationalist’ etc.by the
nation. He is also appreciatd for his contemporary historical and
philosophical writing. Raja Raotoo won the SahityaAakademi
Award, the highest literary award for his ‘The Serpentand the
Rope’.
He was also awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’ by the
government of India. He is aptly considered to be the most brilliantand certainly the most interesting-writer of modern India.Raja Rao
emerged as the prolific writer on international scenario. Rao’s deep
philosophical and religious concerns left him little time for literature.
Raja Rao is one of the greatest of Indian novelists writing in the
English language. He has only three novels, besides a number of
short stories and essays and sketches to his credit. But what he
penned down has much literary value and hence he has been
acclaimed as not only Indian but international reputation.
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Gurudev Tagore, the most prominent Indian novelist. He has
written seven novels which were translated into English. The novel
Gora was written in 1909 in his own mother-tongue Bengali. The
novel Gora was translated into English by Thomson in 1924. It is his
fifth novel & considered as masterpiece of Tagore. The novel is
believed to be an expression of Tagore’s own transition from Hindu
revivalism
to
universal
brotherhood
of
nationalism
to
internationalism, from acceptance of rigid Brahmanism & Hinduism
to the religion of man. The novel The Home& the World, Kavita,
‘Sisher’ and Four Chapters were originally written in Bengali but
he himself had translated The Home & the world into English. The
Four Chapters was published in English in 1950 after his death. The
songs of Gitanjali were published in English when he was in
England.. He was master of poetry & therefore, he had written more
than thousand line verses before he was eighteen. The contribution
of Tagore to English & Bengali literature is noteworthy. The work of
Tagore delighted the people of Bengal. Even the translated versions
of his novels were admired.The authors like W.B. Yeats, C.F.
Andrews, Henry Newman & other authors praised Tagore’s mastery
over English language.
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Raja Rao gave due importance to philosophy in his writing. While
discussing various ideologies, he is creative and innovative. During
the journey in the west, he has thoroughly studied western
philosophy and compared it with Indian. He is fully inspired by the
knowledge of Advaita Vedanta of sanskara. In his writing and in
actual practical life too, Rao always tried to search for truth. His
quest of spirituality leads him to study thoroughly the Indian
Philosophy and literature. Even he viewed that literature is nothing
but a‘sadhana’. Once he tried to be sanyansi for the sake of Indian
philosophy. Nearly all his novels and stories deal with spirituality
and various philosophies. In his novels we do find Gandhism,
communism, Vedenta and Tantra. His interest in philosophy made
him to visit different ashrams in India in search of spiritual guidance.
Throughout his life, Tagore travelled all over the world and
lectured on various philosophies and ideas. He has his own creative
remarks on philosophical, national, imperialism, education and
religion. The foundation for Tagore’s literary achievements is his
vision of the universal man, based on his unique integration of
Eastern and Western thought.
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Tagore is a prolific author of more than one hundred books of
verse, fifty dramas, forty works of fiction, and fifteen books of
essays to his credit.
Nobel laureate Tagore is recognized as a
pioneer in Bengali literature, and also internationally acclaimed as
one of the world’s finest lyric poets. The foundation for Tagore’s
literary achievements is his vision of the universal man, based on his
unique integration of Eastern and Western thought.
Being Rao an active participant in the Quit India Movement of
1942, he has also firsthand knowledge of Gandhian nationalistic
movement for the sake of independence and the psyche of Indians
regarding the nation. He also actively participated in the formation of
a cultural organization, ‘Shri Vidya Samiti’ and ‘Chetana’, intending
to imbibe the values of ancient Indian civilization.
While Rabindranath Tagore deliberately had remained aloof from
the active politics, though he was born in political family. He only
composed some songs for the annual session of Indian National
Congress which was held in Calcutta in 1896. Tagore, scholarly
personality of Bengal was fluctuant in the political movements. Still
he is considered as a great nationalist due to his ardent views in
relation to the education, nationalism and social. He was really very
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proud of ancient Indian society in which the students took lessons
from their Brahmin gurus in a serene atmosphere. Rabindranath
Tagore was never keen for the political freedom. Tagore had a proud
of ancient Indian history where the people used to live in absolute
peace and tranquility. The villages were self- sufficient and
independent & the elderly people used to think about the welfare of
the community.
Tagore and Rao are philosophers and nationalist. As far as
their views of nationalism are concern, they are similar to some
extent and dissimilar to large extent due to their spiritualisms and
experiences. Rao`s nationalism is synthesized with spiritualism and
religious politics. He has completely accepted the Gandhian
spiritualistic nationalism, in which love, sympathy, tolerance,
Swadeshi, harmonious blending of all religions and human values
plays a prominent roles. By accepting and revitalizing the glorious
past of Indian culture, spiritualism, Rao intends to resettle the
Ramrajya. Rao`s nationalism gives due importance to the Indian
history and spiritualistic philosophy.
While speaking about tag ore’s nationalism, we may say that
Tagore’s thoughts about nationalism are complex. He views the
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synthesis of East and West, nationalism into internationalism and
universal brotherhood. He believes that India should follow the ways
of West in relation to the scientific and material progress and the
progress may sustain the nationality among the masses. At the same
time, Tagore thinks the place of history and spirituality in the
nationalism. Being an ardent follower of Hinduism, he prefers fusion
and synthesis of east and west in the Indian context instead of
accepting the past history, in which there are various religion`s
invadation. Tagore criticized the Swadeshi movement laid by
Gandhi.
Raja Rao's involvement in the nationalist movement, his
journey in India and also in the West and his interest in philosophy is
reflected in his novels. ‘Kanthapura’ (1938) is an account of the
impact of Gandhi's teaching on non-violent resistance against the
British and his interest in ancient Indian Philosophical knowledge.
Kanthapura a small Mysore village in South India represents Indian
villages during the time of pre-independence. Rao has used various
ancient myths, tales and folk-epic of Vedanta, Mahabharata and
Ramayana.
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Being an ardent nationalist and humanist, he delineates the
various facets of nationalism in the context of India and tried to show
how nationalism is synthesized with spiritualism in the country from
the ancient period. He follows the Gandhian spiritual political theory
while delineating the story of this novel. In Kanthapura,
Congressmen including Moorthy follow homogenizing tendency of
nationalism. They insist on speaking Hindi instead of their mother
tongue Kannada. They reject the use of English. They begin to
wearkurtas and pyjamas, the local native dress. The novelist
remarkably sketches the Gandhian Swadeshi Movement. The very
conception of ‘Nation’, making nation and ‘Swadeshi’ spirits of
nationalism are at the core of the novel.
‘Kanthapura’ begins with historical consciousness to lead the
national sensibility and to arouse the national aspiration. The
novelist seems well aware about the very fact that history is the only
source to inspire and to make ready to boost the ancient cultural and
national values once again. An old woman who is the narrator of the
novel reminds the glorious past of Kanthapura by giving the details
of Sthalapurana, the Harikatha. The novelist has remarkably used
the techniques of historicizing.
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The novel also highlights colonialism versus Brahmanism. The
novel realistically highlights how the social leaders` campaign
against untouchability made Brahmanism to take stand against
nationalism. For Brahmanism, ‘the colonial ruler is not the enemy
but Gandhi’s anti-untouchable movement is’. The collusion between
Brahmanism and colonialism is suggested through the alliance
between Bhatta, Bade Khan the policeman and the Sahib of the
Estate. The novel brings forth the Indian nationalism and the conflict
between Brahmanism and nationalism.
In Kanthapura, Moorthy the follower of Gandhian political
ideology inspires the villagers. Like Gandhi he brings people of all
castes for the struggle against colonisers. Moorthy being a nationalist
in the true sense use sociality to unite the nation. His visits to the
untouchable quarters, and having discussions with poors, and various
personnel from different classes proves his Indian national theory.
His politics aims at assimilating the lower castes into the nationalist
movement. Religious and spiritual politics, one of the strongest ways
of nationalism is also highlighted in the novel. Nationalism meets the
discourse of religion at different levels in the novel. In Kanthapura,
the nationalists increasingly employ the religious discourse and
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customs and symbols for nationalist purposes. Religious activities
take place for the politician of the people. Even the customs, rituals
and symbols, arthi, puja, conches, bells, Vedanta, bhajan etc. are the
tools of nationalistic movements in the novel. The involvements of
lower castes in the religious rituals suggest their active participation
in the nationalistic activity. Nationalism is nurtured among all the
villagers including women and children too.
M.K. Naik rightly
observes, “Raja Rao goes to the very roots of transformation by
demonstrating how the new nationalistic fervour in rural India in the
1930s blended completely with the age-old, deep-rooted spiritual
faith and thus revitalized the spiritual spring within and helped
rediscover the Indian soul.” (Naik, 365)
‘The Serpent and the Rope’ is Rao’s most ambitious work. If the
former is modeled on an Upa Purana (minor Purana), the latter is a
kind of Maha Purana (major Purana) or epic; geographically,
historically, philosophically, and formally, its sweep is truly epical.
The novel includes a variety of settings, ranging from Paris to
Ramaswamy’s ancestral home in a South Indian village, from
European locales such as Aix, Montpalais, Pau, Montpellier,
Provence, Cambridge, and London to Indian locales such as
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Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Bombay, Bangalore, and Beneras. Rao
delves into almost the whole of Indian history, from the invasion of
the Aryans to the advent of British rule; European history, chiefly the
Albigensian heresy; Chinese history—all of these come under
discussion as the protagonist, Rama, a historian by training,
expounds his theories in conversations with the leading characters.
Philosophically, too, the novel’s sweep is formidable: Rao discusses
Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Daoism, Marxism,
Darwinism, and Nazism.
While in the novels, Tagore has described in detail the social,
cultural, religious and political life of the nineteenth century Bengal.
The novel Gora which is considered as masterpiece of the novels
gives clear account of transition from Hindu revivalism to universal
brotherhood. It deals with clear idea of nationalism but ends with the
spirit of internationalism. The novel Gora was written in 1910 in
Bengali and later on in 1924 it was translated into English by W.W.
Thomson. Rabindranath Tagore deals with nationalism and
spirituality in his novels Gora, The Home and The World,
Chaturanga and Four Chapters. Each of the above novels focused
on different aspect of nationalism. The concept of nationalism
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depicted by Rabindranath Tagore is very important as far as Indian
Nationalism is concerned. Tagore’s nationalism is different from the
regional and national writers of India.
The Gora is essentially a nationalistic novel. Throughout this
novel Tagore has shown strong fight against British rule. The theme
of nationalism has been completely developed through the character
of freedom loving hero, Gora. Rabindranath Tagore has tried to show
that Gora’s character is with full of the spirit of nationalism. Both the
novelists have delineated the rural India. They are fully conscious
that India is truly live in the rural, distinct places rather than urban.
Each novel of both the writers has background of rural villages from
south or Bengal province, representing the true sensibility of India.
They view that Indian rich culture, tradition dwells in the rural India
only. Tagore himself was much interested rural India. He has shown
that how British rulers made poor villagers to suffer. In British rule,
rural Bengal was under the clutches of Police raj. The police raj and
sufferings of Bengali farmers have been clearly described by the
Tagore.
In the novel ‘Gora’, Rabindranath Tagore talks about the
village Ghosepura. In this village majority of the people were
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Muslim. They were Mohammedans. Faru sardar was their leader
who is very courageous man was afraid of no one. Tagore has
depicted the conflict between farmers and planetary. During dispute
with the planter Faru sadar had twice been put in jail for fighting the
police. The novel highlights the coverage of Faru sadar and
sympathy of Gora about the villages. Even form the beginning Gora
is not in the favor of any discrimination made on the basis of
religion, caste, race or ancestry. Though the villagers were Muslim
& Gora he was orthodox Hindu but yet he fought for those people. It
shows that though Gora was an orthodox Hindu but in his life there
was no place for any discrimination. He is the man of the principle
and doesn’t bend his own principles for some selfish reasons. The
treatment of the policemen’s to the villagers is unhumanistic. There
is no mercy, sympathy or justice, no place for law and other
civilians, no place for law and order. The protector of law had
become its violator and therefore, the condition of Bengal, especially
of Bengali farmers become worst. The condition of Faru Sardar’s
family is very worst in the novel. Due to the cruel Police Raj women
and children suffers a lot.Faru`s family is struggling against poverty
and British umpire. Even the children of the family were starving.
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Faru’s wife has a single dress which is also in worst condition, and
hence difficult to her to go out of the house. One of the neighbors
realized that Faru’s children are starving due to lack of food
therefore a kind hearted lady took Faru’s son to her own house.
Police had kept Faru in their custody. He was the only earning
person of the family. Yet in such a worst condition Faru shows the
spirit of nationalism. Yet he intends to fight for the independence of
the country. His struggle is at two different levels. At the one hand
he and his family are fighting for the nation and the other hand the
members of his family have to fight with poverty and starvation.
Tagore`s nationalism into internationalism is being projected
by him in his novels very remarkably. In his novels we find the
elements of nationalism and internationalism.
There are several
social issues discussed in the novel, yet the overriding theme of the
novel is internationalism. Being a reluctant in Hinduism, Tagore
rendered Gora as a nationalist and also believer in the orthodox
principles of Hinduism.
Nearly in all his novels Rabindranath Tagore has described at
length the cruelty of the British rulers and also deals with
nationalism and spirituality. Tagore believes that Colonial Rule is
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one of the reasons to develop the self and national identity resulting
into patriotism among the Indians. He remarkably sketches the
injustice and cruelty of British rulers that brought all the nationalists
and revolutionaries together. They have the same purpose so they
were together. Tagore says that if there was no cruelty, injustice and
ill-treatment to the people, the movement for Indian independence
would not be organized.
In Gora, Tagore has described the tyranny of the British rulers
through the misdeeds of magistrate Brownlow. Magistrate had
several rights in order to maintain law and order into the state but it
is shown by Tagore that Brownlow uses his rights for wrong things.
He uses police force not for betterment of people but against the
people. Gora remarkably delineates the cruelty of British Rulers.
Tagore says:
The magistrate sentenced the boys to whippings of 5 to 25
stripes according to their age & extent of their offence. Gora had no
pleader acting for him, & in his own defense he tried to show how
unwarrantable the violence of the police had been but the magistrate
cut him short with a short rebuke &sentenced, him to a month’s
rigorous imprisonment for the interfering with the police in the
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discharge of their duties telling him that he ought to be grateful for
being let off so lightly.(Gora ; Page 157 )
Tagore has outrages of British rule on the innocent people of
the Bengal. Many characters of the novels have been devoted to the
description of many chapters of unjust recess of the British court in
India. The overall mood of the novel is that of the preparation of
freedom loving leaders like Gora. On reading the novel, we come to
understand that the mood of Tagore is to create freedom struggle &
its achievements through the portrayal of the hero Gora. Another
vocal tone in the novel is the strong defense of Hinduism & Brahmo
Samaj. The marriage of Lolita &Binoy shows about the conflict
between Hinduism & Brahmo Samaj. Even due to the deep
attachments of Binoy with Lolita, he is ready for the initiation
ceremony of Brahmo Samaj. The tone of the novel Gora is the tone
of reconciliation & harmony. The division of characters between
Brahmo Samaj & Hindu Samaj is ultimately reconciled in the novel.
Even Tagore’s most of the novels deal with the local
atmosphere of Bengal. Bengal had been the seat of Orthodox
Hinduism. In the nineteenth century, the wind of renaissance blew
over Bengal under the leadership of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Brahmo
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Samaj. The old culture &tradition of Bengal were being replaced by
the new culture & traditions which is free of orthodoxy &
superstitions. The culture had the influence of western countries.
Several types of problems which were part and parcel of the Bengali
society are discussed in the novel. Ex. In Gora Tagore has described
the miserable conditions of the unhappy widow of Bengal. The
character of Harimohini stands for the sufferings & miserable
condition of 20thCuntury Bengal. The novel Chaturanga deals with
human greed, the greed due to which the human is ready to do any
inhuman act. Greed for power & wealth is very powerful in the novel
Chaturanga. In Tagore’s every novel there is detail account of the
social issues of the time which were present in the Bengali society.
At the same time Tagore stands against the Swadeshi movement. He
criticizes Gandhian political ideology of Swadeshi.Tagore’s novel,
The Home and the World elaborates how Muslim traders are forced
to their stocks of British goods to the public to burn in a ritualistic
way. While Rao, in Kanthapura glorifies the Swadeshi Movement
by making villager to wear kurats and pyjamas, rejecting foreign
goods and opposing the use of English language etc.
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Tagore tries to deliver some message through his great works,
for example, Gitanjali impart the message of devotion & motivates
people to faith in good. Gora has not stopped at nationalism or
patriotism. The novel talks a lot beyond national & patriotic feelings
& leads to the characters towards internationalism. Same kind of
message is also given in the novel ‘The Home and The world’. The
Home and The World highlights the difference between the
treatment in the home & the outer world. Though outer world seems
more attractive & fascinating but it’s more an illusion. The novel
The Home &The World is about Swadeshi movement and love
triangle or extra-marital affair of Sandip & Bimla.
The nationalism of Rabindranath Tagore is the first class
nationalism. It is above the caste, religion, race, ancestry etc. Though
India is the country of different religion & races but Tagore’s
nationalism is not limited to any particular caste or religion. On the
character of Faru it can be concluded that Tagore’s nationalism is
beyond the personal feelings. For the sake of his people Faru fought
against the ruler. He didn’t care about the sufferings of his own
family members. The characters like Faru, Gora, Anandmoyi, and
Krishna Dayal are the symbols of nationalism. These characters
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never think only about their own family. They have a very broad
thing. It would not be wrong if somebody said that these characters
consider all countrymen as their own family member. The whole
country is their family. They worry about sufferings & pain of the
whole countrymen. The narrow mind set cannot be found in these
characters.
In the novel Gora itself is the symbol of Tagore’s nationalism.
His major character is from another country & therefore the
nationalism of Gora also becomes internationalism. He is the person
who used to believe in Hindu tradition & was the staunch follower of
Indian Hindu orthodoxy. Finally he comes to know that the
orthodoxy which he believed throughout his life had no concern with
him. It was just an illusion & the reality was different. At the
beginning, very strongly he had opposed to the principles of Brahmo
Samaj but when he realizes that he is not a Hindu that time he comes
to Paresh Babu and accepts that fact that right now he has no
opposition with the principles of any religion. All religion including
Hindu, Muslim, and Christians are his own & all people of their
religions are his men. Though he had no religion but every religion
of the country is his own religion. From Gora’s very birth
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Anandmoyi was aware about the reality of Gora’s birth. But she
never discriminated. Instead of discriminating she loved & cared him
since his very birth.
The country had given him everything though he had nothing.
Gora had no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no religion, no home…
nothing, but it was the nation that gave him kind hearted parents, a
friend like Binoy, a dignity, religion, and a shelter. The journey from
nothing to everything was only of few seconds. The child which is
born in cowshed & belongs to the group of the people, who treat
common people very cruelly, was raised by an orthodox Hindu
family. Though Tagore has tried to show Krishna Dayal’s family as
an orthodox but the family is somewhat liberal because it was a
Krishna Dayal who performed penance ceremony after the arrival of
Gora. The child of Irish-English ancestry was allowed to read all the
sacred texts of the religion. Even he was allowed to perform all the
sacred ceremonies which a real Brahmin performs. If the family
might have been orthodox they have been never allowed such things
to the child who is not of their religion. But Anandmoyi and Krishna
Dayal never talk about this issue. Not a single time they say that a
particular ceremony cannot be practiced/ performed by him. Though
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character of Gora had turned as an orthodox Hindu but his parents
Krishna Dayal & Anandmoyi are very practical & liberal. Even
Anandmoyi tried to arrange a Marriage of Gora with one of
daughters of his friend. It indicates that Gora was considered as one
of the family members of the Krishna Dayal’s family.
Both the novelists describe nationalism of India taking into
consideration of religion, race, caste & class. They both believe that
several religions in India may attempt to launch their own
nationalism. Tagore and Rao have deliberately delineated Hinduism,
Brahmanism,
Christianity,
Humanism,
nationalism
&
internationalism. While taking into consideration all these various
ideologies and thoughts they have successfully and very beautifully
delivered the message of humanism.
Tagore and Rao believe in religious nationalism. They think
that India is the country of several religions but the very base of
every religion is humanity and human development and not a single
religion supports to evil things. Every religion is the part and parcel
of human values. Not a single religion across the globe has
commuted on the destruction of human race. Every religion has some
sacred books which describes its ideologies and philosophy. Not a
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single philosophy of any religion talks against human goodness. But
there are some selfish people in every religion which tries to
discover the desired meaning even from sacred texts. Even the Holly
books and sacred text used to complete such people’s selfish goals.
Tagore and Rao deal with the various religions- Hindu,
Muslim, and Christian. Every religion tries to teach something moral
to human being. All the novels of Tagore entertain and give a moral
lesson. The nationalism which is depicted by Rabindranath Tagore in
his novels is not like the nationalism of western countries. There is a
sizable difference in the nationalism of western countries and India.
Tagore thinks that nationalism in most of the European seems
superficial though having one religion, while Indian nationalism
depicted by Tagore is deeply rooted in Indian, tradition, culture and
society. The nationalism of Tagore is inseparable part of the history
of nation. This deeply rooted world only nationalism is present in the
people of every religion. Believer of Hinduism, Tagore is reluctant
with international nationalism instead of accepting the Indian
cultural and spiritual nationalism due to a fear if religious invasion.
Unlike Tagore, Rao believes in the harmonious culmination of all
religions in the Indian nationalism.
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Both the novelists are social nationalists. They intend to
eradicate all the evils of society to bring them together by
establishing equality, peace, love and spirit. Rabindranath Tagore
and Rao attacked on caste system, untouchability and various
discriminations in the society. In Kanthapura by Rao and in Gora by
Tagore, they both harshly delineated the realistic picture of
discrimination. Gandhian movement of removal of untouchability is
being rendered through Gandhian character Moorthy. Tagore also
praises the Gandhian view of social equality. Some superstations &
miss-beliefs are also been targeted by the writer. The novel tries to
show that religion, caste, culture, ancestry & race these are
secondary in front of the nation, nationalism & national pride.
Raja Rao attempts to revive through his fiction the Indian
quest of self, tradition, spirituality and religiosity. As a voyager in
the realm of spirit, he discovers man`s inner world which is rooted
and constructed by the ancient traditional culture all over in the
world in general and Indians in particular. His novels are intense
expositions of the Indian consciousness which are completely
embedded in the Upanishadic tradition of India and rooted in the
Advaita of Sankaracharya. Through his writing he unfolds the human
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beings quest for truth and explores the possibilities of being and
becoming. He himself confirms that his “writing is my dharma”.
His ‘Kanthapura’,‘The Serpent and The Rope’ , ‘The cat and
Shakespeare’ and ‘Chess master and His Moves’ deal with human
beings self-experience and the quest of self in the universe. Being a
student of philosopher, he has much worldly philosophical
knowledge. During his early life in India, and at the west, he studied
Indian and Western philosophies and observed and experienced
different cultures. Even he tried to become ‘sanyansi’ and made
Atmananad his guru at Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
He has followed spiritual discipline, zeal and self-surrenders to
attain the spiritualistic knowledge. Raja Rao attempts to project the
human life at the actual and the real physical and the metaphysical
level even in his writing. Raja Rao`s each novel is the product of his
deep spirituality. The characters delineated in the novels experiences
universal truth and travels to un limitedness.
Rao believes in the quest of self and to know the truth should
take place in one’s physical existence. He thinks realization of Truth
“I” becomes “Shiva” –Shivoham means truth. His spiritual sickness
and his thirst of philosophical knowledge begin with his very first
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novel, Kanthapura, demonstrating the Gandhian spiritual politics and
its impact on the freedom movement for India`s freedom from the
British rule. In the novel there is elaborate discussion of Gnadhi`s
ideal selfless action in Satyagraha,
Truth, non-violence and
universal love. His next novel ‘The Serpent and the Rope’ depicts
man’s quest for self-realization. According to Rao its theme is “the
futility and barrenness of man in human existence when man has no
deep quest and no thirst for the ultimate Man's life here in Sansara is
an august mission to find the Absolute.” (Rao, 5)
His novel ‘The Cat and Shakespeare’ is a book of Prayer
glorifying the extreme dedication and complete dependence upon the
god. The cat in the novel is symbolic of the Guru as the ‘Mother’, the
Protector and the Initiator.
Raja Rao`svision of spirituality holds a very distinct and
special view of life and the nature of existence. The voice of Rao as
a novelist and spiritualist is the voice of ancient culture and sages.
He is the voice of thepuranas and scriptures. Each of his novels is the
product of his varied and deep spiritual dimensions of life.All his
writing elaborately discusses about the fundamental reality of life.
The novels of Raja Rao are the voice of an ancient, insightful culture
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that speaks to the modern world. Shifted from the European
tradition, he emphasized collecting materials from Indian literary
tradition. Rao's novels on the obvious level depict the human
condition than delineating any particular nation or ethnic group. The
fictional house of raja Rao is fabricated on the Metaphysical and
linguistic speculation of the Indians, hence his novels are highly
acclaimed in all the generations for ages. Kanthapuradeals with
Gandhi's Civil Disobedience Movement. Kanthapura is the depiction
of an entire village, participated in the civil Disobedience. The
Serpent and the Rope is semi autobiography of Raja Rao intends to
explore the spiritual reality in the Indian and European culture. And
The Cat and Shakespeare is a metaphysical novel, providing
answer to various philosophical facts illustrating an ideal blending of
the Indian culture with the western thoughts. Another notable novel
by Rao, The Chessmaster and his Movesis extremely philosophical
and metaphysical.
Most of the novels of Tagore also deal with spirituality as a
major theme. Tagore’s nationalism doesn’t relate with any particular
religion or caste but his spirituality is from Hinduism. The concepts
like Spirit, God, rebirth, unity with god are closely related with
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Hinduism. The spiritual aspects which Tagore has shown in his
novels show an impact of Hinduism. The concept of Vaishnavism is
deeply rooted in the sacred books of Hindu religion. The spiritual
aspects which we can see in other religions like Muslim, Christian,
etc cannot be seen in Tagore’s novels.
In the novel Gora, Tagore has elaborately unfolded the various
shades of spiritualism through Hinduism.
All the novels of Rabindranath Tagore also deal with
spirituality. It tries to focus that the life we are living is very short.
He believes that death is the reality of life. The life will be snatched
by god at any movement. How much we earned, is not important
after death. Whether the human being is rich, poor but death is
compulsory for each & everyone, though human being has made
discrimination on the basis of caste, religion class etc. But the central
force of the universe does not make any discrimination on the basis
of caste, religion etc. For him everybody is equal.
The Concept of religion depicted by Tagore in his writings
indicates an advanced stage in the evolution of the human worship of
the divine which has moved away from the external rituals or
magical rites “towards the moral & spiritual significance.”
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(‘Rabindracanavali,’ Vol.No.1, Kolkata, 1986, 218) Tagore was of
the view that all the religions of the world have the origin to some
persons who represented a great truth in their lives. All the religion
aimed human welfare. Tagore does not concede that he had
developed any firm philosophy or sense of religion. In one of his
letters he admits that he hadn’t developed any sense of religion in
common parlance of term. In his ‘Atmaparichya’ he says:
‘I have called that power which unities and gives
meaning to my life’s joy & sufferings & binds my
transformations & transcendence into a unity, through
which I realize the Universal unity, my ‘Jeevandevata’.
(Tagore 62)
Tagore and Rao were influenced by Upnishidic ideas of
religion. For Tagore it is not possible to treat religion as something
abstracted from life; its aim is never to enjoy leisurely peace & sense
of beauty. Religion is the union of soul to the Super-Soul (Tagore,
Par, 17)
Observing the literary work of Rabindranath Tagore it can be
concluded that his approach to religion is distinctly different. The
concept of Tagore’s religion is deeply rooted in his humanism. In his
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Hibbert Lectures, delivered at oxford in 1930 (published as The
Religion Of Man), he states that his main subject is the idea of
‘humanity of our God, or the divinity of man, the Eternal.’ He says,
“This thought of God is not grown in my mind through any process
of philosophical reasoning. On the contrary, it has followed by the
current of my temperament from early days until it suddenly flashed
into my consciousness with a direct vision. (Tagore. “My Rem.’ 7379 )
As far as narration is concern, both the novelists seem experts
and the same time distinct from each other. They are the masters of
creative and innovating writing. Tagore`s Gora was written in
Bengali and was translated Thomson, yet it gives us an idea of his
mastery over poetic prose. The whole novel is narrated in poetic
prose. The novel gives us the beautiful description of nature, cities &
rural area of Bengal. One such description of nature is in chapter 30
of Gora.
“There was ineffable depth in the darkness of the night.
The cloudless sky was filled with stars; the trees lining
the bank were massed together like a solid black plinth
supporting the sky overhead. Below flowed the swift
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silent current of the broad river. And in the midst of it
all ray the sleeping Lolita.”( Tagore; Gora, Chapter 30,
34)
From Kanthapura to The Cat and Shakespeare, Raja Rao
also shows a steady progression in terms of art of narration as he
constantly changed, grew and became different. His writing marks a
constant evolution of his art and technique. “ What is also beyond
dispute is the range of life as well as the levels of consciousness he
has brought into the novel…(Narsimhaiah, 1)
In Kanthapura the narrator is an old grandmother, and her
stream of memory forms the narration of the novel. She narrates in a
gossipy and chatty manner. Most of the time, she is garrulous and
presents events with numerous digressions and episodes; however,
she is a simple, unlettered grandmother. Her narrative style is the
novel’s crowning charm as also the greatest threat to its success. She
conforms with the traditional Indian style of oral story-telling,
poetry and reality, men and gods, fact and fiction; the reality of the
Gandhian freedom movement is channeled legendary or Puranic
dimensions. The chronological narration makes the action move
steadily forward and there is no incoherency or confusion despite the
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too frequent digressions and episodes. There are occasional touches
of irony and native humour.
Similarly, Kanthapura shares certain narrative techniques with
the Puranas. The story is told rapidly, all in one breath, it would
seem, and the style reflects the oral heritage also evident in the
Puranas. Like the Puranas, which are digressive and episodic,
Kanthapura contains digressions such as Pariah Siddiah’s exposition
on serpent lore. The Puranas contain detailed, poetic descriptions of
nature; similarly, Kanthapura has several descriptive passages that
are so evocative and unified as to be prose poems in themselves.
Examples are the coming of Kartik (autumn), daybreak over the
Ghats, and the advent of the rains. Finally, the narration of
Kanthapura has a simplicity and lack of self-consciousness
reminiscent of the Puranas and quite different from the narrative
sophistication of contemporary Western novelists such as Virginia
Woolf or James Joyce.
Raja Rao presents much more complex narrative technique in
The Serpent and the Rope. Its hero-narrator, Rama, is a highly
intellectual character at home both in Eastern and Western
philosophy and metaphysics whose mind is a whirlpool of cultural
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currents and cross-currents. The novel is contrast to the simplicity of
the narrator in Kanthapura. SrinivasIyengar writes:
“Rao zig-zags disconcertingly in space and time, he
mixes memory and reverie, he jostles recitation and
speculation, he scatters with a seeming recklessness
aphorisms, witticisms, cyncisms, scholarly jottings and
gems of recapitulated song. Yet, in spite of all this riot
of apparent irrelevance and irrepressible loquacity,
everything-given, that is, the character, with the
elements so tantalizingly mixed in him-seems to fit
perfectly” ( Rao, 48 ).
The action of the novel has a physical as well as a
psychological aspect, and the psychological or inner action is much
more important. The physical action has global broom and moves to
and fro between the East and the West.
Since the hero-narrator has assimilated myths and legends of
different civilisations, he uses them with perfect ease to glorify,
criticise or illumine the present. They myths of Shiva, Parvathi and
Nandi, Radha, Krishna and Durvasa or the legends of Satyakama and
Ramadevi, the princess of Avanti, of JagnnathaBhatta and
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Shahjehan’s daughter or of retelling of Rama’s story every Saturday
as well as the Chinese fable of Wang-Chu and Chang-Yi, or the
classical myths of Demeter, Poseidon, and Ulysses, or the tale of
Tristan and Iseult, all enrich the texture of the novel and illuminate
its metaphysical theme.
MYTHICAL TECHNIQUE:
As far as mythical treatment in the novels is concern, Rao is
prominent and master than Tagore. Raja Rao has produced many
Novels dealing with the theory of myths. Raja Rao is a novelist of
philosophical consciousness, which is the outcome of his aspiration
for spirituality. His writing invariably manifests his quest for Truth.
His intense concern with Indian philosophy remains useful for his
creative writing. Unlike Tagore, Raja Rao an innovative novelist
departing boldly from the European tradition and culture. He
explores the metaphysical basis of writings. Being an innovative he
has done new experiments in the presentation of philosophy in novel.
He has brought to the Indian sensibility through Indianness of style,
an epic breadth of vision, a metaphysical rigor and philosophical
depth, a symbolic richness, while Tagore also used Bengali words
and tunes, characters and locations by depicting the realistic
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portraiture of India. But we may find Raja Rao is more realistic than
Tagore as far nationalistic delineation is concern. As Meenakshi
Mukherjee observes:
“Indian people are still closer to their mythology than the
modern Irish or British people are to Celtic folk-lore or Greek
legends,” and its true to Raja Rao, who delineated Indian Philosophy
various myths, tales and references from the grand religious epics.
Being a Vedantic, he seeks truth on the lines of „Advaitavada
(The
philosophy of monism) and frequently refers to the percepts from the
Upanishads. The Advaita philosophy of Shankaracharya forms the
core of Raja Rao`s fictional work. Rao`s first novel Kanthapura
expands the nationalistic movement through the myth of Gandhi.
The novel centers around young Moorthy, who with his fire and
idealism wages a battle against the conservative forces. He
introduces and conveys the impact of Gandhi's ideals on this sleepy
village and makes it aware of the turbulence of the movement. So
Kanthapura can be called the Grammer of the Gandhian myth. In
‘Kanthapura’, the Indian struggle for freedom is compared with the
great war of Mahabharta, and Kanthapura becomes a veritable
Kurukshetra. The war between the forces of good and evil, truth and
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untruth and love and hatred is being rendered using the myth of
Gandhi. Rao intentionally uses spiritualistic nationalism through a
Gandhian epic. K.A. Aggarwal rightly says that Raja Rao “was a
child of Gadhianage, remarkable novelist among Big three”. All the
novels of this great novelist deal with quest theme and represent
different stages of quest- from I to universal.
By incorporating the myths from Puranas of Vishnu and Shiva, tales
and others, the novelist in true Puranic manner exposes and sings the
glories of the Gandhian philosophy through Moorthy, Rangamma
andRatna in the novel ‘Kanthapura’. The Serpent and the
Ropeexplains the dynamics of mythical devices. After meeting Guru
Atmananda, he wrote ‘The Serpent and the Rope’ and ‘The cat and
Shakespeare’ and ‘Kanthapura’. Raja Rao`s trilogy woven with his
deep knowledge of the Indian myths, Indian philosophy. The myth of
Radha and Krishna, Gautam Buddha and Yagnavalkya and
Maitreyienriches his novels and highlights Indians the collective
consciousness of the Indians.
These local sthala-puranas are modeled on the ancient Indian
Puranas—those
compendia
of
story,
fable,
myth,
religion,
philosophy, and politics—among which are the Upa Puranas, which
260
describe holy places and the legends associated with them. Hence,
several features of Kanthapura are in keeping with the tradition of
sthala-puranas. The detailed description of the village at the opening
of the novel is written in the manner of a sthala-purana, wherein the
divine origin or association of a place is established.
Kanthapura is also imbued with a religious spirit akin to that of the
Puranas. The epigraph of the novel, taken from the sacred Hindu
scripture the Bhagavad Gita (c. fifth century b.c.e.), is the famous
explanation of the Hindu notion of incarnation: “Whensoever there is
misery and ignorance, I come.” The doctrine of incarnation is also
central to the Puranas, most of which are descriptive accounts of the
avatars of Vishnu. The avatar in Kanthapura is Gandhi, whose
shadow looms over the whole book, although he is himself not a
character. Incarnation, however, is not restricted to one Great Soul,
Gandhi, but extends into Kanthapura itself, where Moorthy, who
leads the revolt, is the local manifestation of Gandhi and, by
implication, of Truth.
Tagore has explored the conceptof reality enveloped in myth.
Tagore has used various myths from legends, Ramayana and
Mahabharata, Shiv Puran etc. while delineating myths, Tagore
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intends to give some message. In The Home and The World, Bimla
is being treated as a goddess, Kali, Sita to lead her toward patriarchal
qualities.
Characterization:
Raja Rao seems pioneer in creating living characters, which
are not mere typifies but creatures of flesh and blood, compounds of
weaknesses and virtues. Unlike Tagore, he did not over-crowdthe
characters in his novels. Though he depicted mass movements but
intentionally he lead individual characters or impacts of mass
activities to be highly influential to divert the attention of readers.
The hero of the novel is Kanthapura or its people and attention has
been focused on their heroism and their suffering. Rao characters
are lively, vivid and real. In The Serpent and The Rope characters
are much more complex, and more varied.
Its hero-narrator,
Ramaswamy, a literary figure, knows many languages and many
philosophies, mythologies and literatures. Through his mouth , Rao
exposes the life-giving Vedanticphilosophy. There is also a greater
variety of characters in ‘The Serpent and Rope’ than in
‘Kanthapura’. Characters aredrawn from different sects, races and
nationalities realistically.
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Female characters in Rao’s work have to start with Achakka.
She represents the fundamental force of both social and cultural
change within Kanthapura, and India, in general.
She ends up
buying into Moorthy's, and by extension, Gandhi's, call for self- rule.
Achakka is representative of how Indians at the time were torn
between accepting reality as it was or rein visioning it as it can or as
it should be. She is also representative of how women, despite being
mired in traditional ways, can embrace change and be an active agent
of reconstructing reality.
Another example of this would be
Rangamma, who takes it upon herself to lead others and take an
active role in fighting the Status Quo in the name of change.
Rangamma suffers greatly, like Achakka, for her beliefs, being
beaten and imprisoned for them. It is interesting to note that Rao
was radical in making the argument that if India was to embrace the
concept of change, it could only do so if all of its citizens, men and
women, were joined in this quest.
Rao also presents that some
women were more concerned with keeping the Status Quo, so long
as it could benefit their own status, as seen with Kamalamma, who
is more concerned with seeking socially acceptable alliances and
maintaining the caste system. The women shown in Rao's work help
263
to bring forth the idea that independence for India would only be
accomplished in its purest sense if all forms of stratification, both
externally provided by the British and internally initiated by Indians
themselves, were reexamined and the role of women in the novel
help to illuminate this.
The numerous characters in this novel demonstrate the sense
of community that unifies the plot and gives substance to the
political and social conflicts. There is a sense of teeming life, and
because the larger question is not about an individual’s fate but about
a group destiny, Raja Rao’s mode of characterization is
impressionistic. Dialogue is kept to a minimum, and the focus
encompasses both the masses in the background and certain salient
figures in the foreground.
The female narrator is a medium for storytelling as well as a
character in her own right, for she expresses her own radical nature
and that of changing India. Though she tells the reader little directly
of herself (she admits to owning seven acres of wet land and twelve
of dry, it is clear from her mode of speaking that she is willing to
accept fundamental social changes. Although she is respectful of
Hindu tradition, she is not bound to old ways. She is caught up in all
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the turmoil, and her at times breathless narration expresses the
excitement of the period as well as her own recognition of a
movement that is leading to India’s autonomy.
While, Tagore has depicted he nationalist characters in his
novels with wider sympathy. These characters are shown as the
symbols of the rising nationalism of the early nineteenth century in
India. The aspirations of middle class, educated Bengali people are
also brought into light by Tagore. The basic reasons behind the
freedom movement were the injustice & arrogance of the British
rulers. These people seem aware about the slavery, & try to seek &
protect their cultural heritage from all sorts of onslaughts.
“Besides, by depicting the tropical situation of a white man
cultivating the unbounded love for Hindu religion & nation, the
author Rabindranath Tagore appears to suggest that religion &
patriotism are not ingrained in the blood of a man from birth but are
contracted by him for his surroundings & environments.”
(Humanism in the novels of Tagore : 1986, Page. No. 70 )
The characters which are present by Tagore in Gora, The Home &
the World & Chaturanga has a deep faith in love. The character of
Binoy, Gora Sucharita, Lolita, Anandnmoyi, Krishna Dayal, Nikhil,
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Binda, sandip has a deep trust on love. The characters of Sandip,
Nikhil, Binoy, Gora&Sucharita believe / think that there is a hidden
desire for the expression of love.
Even while portraying the characters, Tagore has used poetic
imagination with a very skillful manner while writing about
character of Sucharita he says; “Sucharita had risen on the horizon of
Binoy’s life like the evening star, radiant with the pure sweetness of
womanhood & he had realized how his nature had expanded into
completeness into joy”(Gora)
Use of English language:
Both novelists are learned in and outside India. One is known
as educationalist and the other professor of philosophy. They have
command on the use of English language. Both the novelist travelled
within and outside the India and hence much experienced about the
people, culture and tradition. Rabindranath Tagore is incomparable
as far as his use of languages- Bengali and English in verses and
novels.
There are several Indian words in the novel Gora, Four
Chapters &The Home and the World. The title of the novel ‘Gora’
itself is Indian though the novel is a translated version of Bengali
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novel. The name Gora is doubtful, ambiguous. The Indian meaning
of Gora is white. The color white indicates purity & right. But
ironically the name is given to one who is an orthodox Hindu. The
name Gora itself suggests that the person is out of the weaknesses.
He is a perfect man of having all the features of a good leader. Even
he has the capacity to lead the people.
It seems that Rabindranath Tagore has a great command over
English language & diction. He has very beautifully used his skill for
expressing spiritual vision, national idea & internationalism. In Gora
he has used some polemics & argumentation in very simple, lucid &
convincing English. The language which is used by Tagore in his
novels is simple which is generally is used by middle class people of
Bengal. The colloquialism is avoided by him while describing the
scenes of rural areas. The standard Bengali language is not used by
Tagore in his novels. This quality of language is the feature of
Rabindranath Tagore’s novels. He uses appropriate images at right
place. Various symbols of social & political life are been used by
Tagore.
Yet some critics think that the English which is used by
Tagore in his writing is not grammatically correct. Thus, Thomson,
267
who translated his Gora into English talks about Tagore’s English
style, “Contained sentences marked by little, subtle errors.” Some of
the critics also say that Tagore commits the mistakes of article &
preposition. But it is also accepted by eminent critics that Tagore
writes English of extreme beauty & flexibility. Either his original
work or translated novels are till today the most predominant figure
in the literary history of Bengal.
Raja Raohas used a suitable medium for the expression of
essentially Indian sensibility. Like Tagore, he uses words, proverbs,
idioms and phrases from regional languages- Hindi, Kannada and
Sanskrit to suggest the Indian sensibility. Like Tagore he was also
ardent nationalist, and he too seems a maker of nation in the true
sense. He used words like kumkumorarathi and many more for the
sake of clarity and also for the sake of patriotism. Raja Rao being a
professor in philosophy at USA, he is a master of English, but
intentionally English syntax and structure are modified and broken to
suit his purposes.
Although the form of Kanthapura is closely modeled on that of
the sthala-purana, its style is uniquely experimental. Rao’s effort is
to capture the flavor and nuance of South Indian rural dialogue in
268
English. He succeeds in this through a variety of stylistic devices.
The story is told by Achakka, an old Brahman widow, a garrulous,
gossipy storyteller. The sentences are long, frequently running into
paragraphs. Such long sentences consist of several short sentences
joined by conjunctions (usually “and”) and commas; the effect is of
breathless, rapid talking. The sentence structure is manipulated for
syntactic and rhythmic effect, as in the first sentence of the novel:
“Our village—I don’t think you have ever heard about it—
Kanthapura is its name, and it is in the province of Kara.” Repetition
is another favorite device used to enhance the colloquial flavor of the
narrative. In addition to these techniques, translation from Kannada
is repeatedly used. Nicknames such as “Waterfall Venkamma,”
“Nose-scratching
Nanjamma,”
“Cornerhouse
Moorthy”
are
translated; more important, Kannada idioms and expressions are
rendered into English: “You are a traitor to your salt-givers”; “The
Don’t-touch-the-Government Campaign”; “Nobody will believe such
a crow and sparrow story”; and so on. The total effect is the
transmutation into English of the total ethos of another culture.
Kanthapura, with its “Kannadized” English, anticipates the lofty
“Sanskritized” style of The Serpent and the Rope, which,
stylistically, is Rao’s highest achievement.
269
The Serpent and the Rope extremely diverse in form as well.
Rao quotes from an array of languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi,
French, Italian, Latin, and Provençal; only the Sanskrit quotations
are translated. There are long interludes and stories, such as
Grandmother Lakshamma’s story of a princess who became a
pumpkin and IshwaraBhatta’s “Story of Rama.” In addition, the
novel contains songs, myths, legends, and philosophical discussions
in the manner of the Puranas. The main narrative, the gradual
disintegration of Rama’s marriage with his French wife, Madeleine,
is thus only a single strand holding a voluminous and diverse book
together.
Raja Rao’s use of imagery is equally distinctive and creative.
His use of images is functional and not merely decorative. His
similes and metaphors are drawn from the common, everyday
objects and phenomena, hence they serve to clarify and elucidate
The imagery here touches upon objects and experiences that are
distinctively Indian, and faithfully conveys Indian sensibility. Raja
Rao has an uncanny knack of aiming at natural dialogues.
He
changes their tone and style to suit his characters and situations.
They are formal, intellectual and witty in Rama’s philosophical
270
discussions with Georges, Lezo, Madeleine ndSavithri, while chatty
and colloquial in his conversation with his family relations in his
home town in India.
To conclude, both the novelists are remarkable as far as their
philosophical and spiritualistic views are concern. While considering
Indian nationalism, they both have considered and compared Indian
nationalism with West and shown how Indian nationalism is
different than others. Being spiritualistic, they seem keen learners of
various religions, ancient culture and religious epics- Ramayana,
Mahabharata and Vaidic philosophy, and believes in the quest of self
should be the motto of all human beings.
271
References :
1.
‘Gitanjali’ : Rabindranath Tagore.
2.
Bhattacharya,
Bhaban.
“Tagore
as
a
Novelist”
in
Rabindranath Tagore. 1861*1961 : A century volume ( New
Delhi : Sahitya Academi, 1961 )
3.
Chaturanga: Rabindranath Tagore.
4.
Czeslaw Milosz, To Raja Rao www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rao.htm
5.
E. Kedourie. Nationalism, London: Hutchinson, 1960.
6.
E.H. Carr. “What is History” published in England 1985.
7.
Four Chapters: Rabindranath Tagore.
8.
Gora: Rabindranath Tagore. Trans. By Thomson.
9.
M.K. Naik, Critical essays on Indian writing in English
,Dharwar, 1968.
10.
NarasinghSrivastva, The Mind and Art of Raja Rao, (Barielly
1980)
11.
Pier Paolo Picivcco, The Fiction of Raja Rao : Critical studies,
Atlantic publishers and distributors, New Delhi, 2001.
12.
Rabindra Canavali. Vol.1, Kolkata, 1986.
13.
Rabindranath Tagore “My Reminiscence,
1922.
272
Rupa, Calcutta.
14.
Raizada, Harish, “Humanism in the Novels of Rabindranath
Tagore”. Ed. T.R. Sharma Ghaziabad, Vimal Prakashan 1986.
15.
Raja Rao, ‘Books which have influenced me’
16.
Raja Rao, www.kirasto.sci.fi/rao.htm
17.
Shiva Niranjan, “An Interview with Raja Rao”
18.
Shiva Niranjan, Raja Rao Novelist as Sadhaka, Vimal
Prakashan, Delhi, 1985.
19.
T.S. Eliot, „John Marston , Selected Essays, London, 1971.
20.
The Home & the World: Rabindranath Tagore.
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