Literary Endeavour (ISSN 097 299X) Vo. Xs Issues 3 (May, 2019) (UGC No. 44728) wwwliteranjendemoutorg — 272 55 LITENATED HEROES: A STUDY OF KOSLA AND BHARATHIPURA A ManjushreeM., Assistant Professorin English, Lal Bahadur Shastri Govt First Gras College, R.T. Nagar: Bengalurn, Karnataka Abstract: Bhaichandra Nemade and U.R. Anaithamurthy are considered to be the trend= setting ritersin Indian literary world, Both the writers were influencedby the intricate changes that India was withessit during the 1960s and 70s. The anvieties and complexities of this era get well depicted tn their literary works. In this context, the preseat paper revisits the two powerfid narratives Kosta by Nemade and Bharathipura by U. R.Ananthamarthy toshow themannerin which these nwo texts actually voice out the concerns ofindia in its transition and the reaction of the young generation towards the newchanges. Ina way; hoth the texts can be seen as intellectual and literary responses to the disillusionment of post independent India. The paper juxtaposes the two fexts to show how the theme of alienation emerges as dominantthemeasthemain protagonists Pandurang Sangvikar of Koslaand JagannathaofBharathipura remain a avities in their attitude towasdlsthe waypeoplehaveorganised theirlivesinthesociets: Ratherthanmaking anexistentialstudy of the characters, the paper is aimed at making a comparative analysis of both the characters along with theirst lienated from their surroundings, The paper also tries to probe the simi rroundings camurthy, disillusionment, Key Words: Kosta, Bhar alienation thipura, Bhalachandra Nemade, U.R. Anand A very few writers eanexert theirinfTuence upon society with their insights and works on human situation andthe worldaround, Bhalachandra Nemadeand U.R. Ananthamurthy areamong those writers who have been influential in the sense that they shaped and moulded the thinking of their respective societies. Both are Jnanpith awardees and have lett behinda rich oeuvre of literary legacy. The worksof these authorsare debated and discussed both in academia and in public forums, and theirtexts are being taught in the universities across the country, The manner in which they reflected upon the dynamism of Indiansociety and constructed the narrativesto depict the worldaroundindeed remainsunparalleleven to thisday Situatingthetextswithin thecontext The novels. Kosla by Bhalachandra Nemade and Bharathipurw by U. R, Ananthamurthy are consideredtobe thetextsthat reflect the anxicliesand complexities of theage in whichthey were written These texts are Seenas literary and intellectual responses to the transition period in Indian society during the 1950sand 1960s, The complex changes that were taking place in India during these decades ushered thegrowth of literary modernism. The period witnessed, as Meenakshi Mukherjee highlights, “high noon ‘ofmodernism inseveral Indian languages”(91), Mukherjee rightly observesthat theimportantnovelsthat were written during this period in different Indian languages could be compared with cach other She recognisesthatthese novels are characterised by one commonaspect “The central character in each novel was inevitably alienated from his immediate social context, Alienation usedto be oneof the buzzwords inthatdecade”(Mukherjce 91). Thenovels written in this period exhibit certainsimilar featuresespecially intheereationofeentral characters who are the products of transition period. They are mostly influenced by their milicu which isALIENATED HEROES: A STUDY.OF KOSLCAND, Pues 273 governed by pessimism, caused by political disillusionment associated with Nehruvian age during post independent India, The practical problems associated with administration and the general proflems like unemployment and poverty that became conspicuous in post independent India brought them out of the romantic idea about independence, Thisdisillusionment gets reflected in the heroesol the novels written during this modem period whieh is aptly called ‘navya' period in Kannada literature, The heroes of this periodare a complete contrast tothe heroes of the renaissanee period. The formersuffers from insecurit about everythingand brood about their inability tochange the worldand thus become alienated, while the latter are robust optimists. Kosla and Bharathipura are the texts that are situated in the context of this, transition period in Indian history. Kosla deals with the theme of alignation which is the result of sociological and historical changes in Maharashtra, These changes are reflected through the depictionof thecondition of youth in Maharashtra in the latter haltorthe 19" century as Chandrashekhar Jahagirdar in hisintroductiontoSudhakarMarathe's Englishtranslationotthenovel puts it, Alienation in Kosta is the product ofa grassroots crisis; and this crisis can be examined in both sociological and historical terms. In Maharashtra, in the latterhalf of the Nineteenth Century.theimpactof British liberalismereateda generation whichseriously believedthat ithada responsibleroleto playin society. Gradually, however the Maharashtrian middle- class lost this social conscience and ‘instead cultivated valucs of material success. careerism, social status and prestige. Kosla captures this historical impasse and the contradiction of the colonial legacy in the Post-Independence period. (Introduction, X) eves, Kosta is thus a comprehensive statement on Indian alienation for which there is hardly any parallel in Indian fiction, This is because Nemade’s metaphor of the cocoon stands for the agony and crisis of a whole generation caught in the process of transformation from the rural to the urban, Irom the traditional to the modern in the post colonial India (lahagirdarintroduetion xiv) Similarto Kosta, the novel Bharathipura tooillustratesthechangesthat India waswitnessing post Nehruvianera, The novel offers an incisive narrative of the social and political tensions of the nation during the 70s marked by disillusionment with radical ideologies. It isalso an attempt to rethink the valuesassociated withthenationalmodern(V.8Sreedhara, The Hindu). Both the texts, thus, deal with the crucial stage of post independentindian society. If UR Ananthamurthy makes Bharathipura the microcosm of India, Kosla or cocoon is the metaphor that Nemadeemploystocapture themindset ofawhole generation ot youngindians In the backdrop of the above context.the present paper makes an effort to revisit the two novelsKosla and Bharashipura, The twotextsare explored in this paper to show the similarities between them, The striking similarity, however lies in the fact that both the texts have created alienated heroes, Both Pandurang Sangvikarof Kostaand Jagannatha of Bharaihipuraare navya heroes and by employing the complex central characters and making them alienated from their own surroundings, Kosfa and Bhavathipura actually comment upon the political crisis and socio-economic changesin the latterhalfot thenineteenthcentury India. Alienated Heroes: PandurangSangvikarand Jagannatha Written in 1963 in Marathi, Bhalachandra Nemade's novel, Kos/a. has been translated into English as Cocoon, This remarkable novel in Marathi literature, narrates the story of Pandurang Sangvikar who hails fromavwell todo farmer's familyofasmall villagecalledSangviin Khandeshregion. Panducang feels thathisfatheris“wieked and crucl.cic”(Nemade 2)as he thinks thathisfather doesnotpayany heed tohis, emotions. He cites many examples to illustrate it, We come to know that.once the father ripped of the flower bed that Pandurang and his friends had planted in childhood, ovisted Pandurang’s ear and rebuked that he would have planted ten banana stumps which would have fetched twenty-five rupees: the father Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : Issue: 3 (May, 2019)Pues 274 broke Pandurang’s Mlute and asked him to hold books instead of flute in hands; he criticised Pandurang whenhe playedarole inschoolplay;oncePandurang wasplicd theswitch whenhereached homelate after having lost hisway in thehills(Nemade3). Pandurang [eelsthat he is trapped in his homeandhis village Hehasanuige toescape from hisauthoritativefatheranddosomethinggreat, Must do something great. There has to be something that is great, Or it may be great to accomplishit, So Imustdosomething like that. Atleast L mustelear the matriculation well andescape lromhere, Otherwise fathers bound to say there issuchandsuchasix=month course inagriculturalcollege, you take that that woulddo foryou... Somehow outside this village somewhere I must do something for years and years, There might be meaning in that-otherwise why bother toexisthere uselessly(17}. ALIENATED HEROES: A STUDY.OF KOSLCAND, Pandurang finds this opportunity to escape from hishome when he gets admission ina college in Poona, College life in Poona offers hima different world. He tries to get involved in the life around by being the mess secretary, cultural secretary ete, However, he [ails to achieve anything substantial, Next year; he triesto bestudious. Meanwhile hissisterMani’s deathdisturds him( 151), Even in Poona, hestarts io feelalionated, Hetriesto escape from Poonatooby seckinga jobin Mumbai, Buthisetfortsto zeta job goin vain because of the interference of hisparents. He feels depressed ashe thinks,“I'mnot going tbe able to do anything out of the way, Go where | might, my home gets in the way. My leet are pretty thoroughlystuck inourhome. Fmtheonly son”(245) Alter having experimented with his timeand money thus, and having failed in his examinations Pandurangdecidesto put“anendtothissaturnine spell” thai had “dogged” him for years(253),andleaves Poona “forever” to return home, It is ironical to note that he makes a circular movement by leaving the village andcoming back to thesame village again, Once back, he has nothing to doin particular in village and heagainstarts feelingboredandalienated gradually, During the past year, my fatherhastriedall sortsofstull,wanting to teach metheaflairsor the world alittle and also to aequiresome paramartha,some higher merit for himselt, The tasks assigned to me Icarried out properly at least at first, Butall the same, [really cannot performmeticulouslyandcontinuously any oldchore giventome(276) The novel concludes with Pandurang trying in vain to find solutions to his problems. The open endededness of the novel makesthe readers ponder over Pandurang'ssituation, He cannot belong to any place=neitherto Poona orto his own village. Pandurang's alienation becomessymbolic representationof disillusionment of younger generation during the 64s, The same is the case with Jagannatha from Bhavathipural 1973) 00. Initially, we See Jagannatha introspecting his life in England that sums up his, aimlessnessinaneweulture, What did [doduring those six years in England? By being a subtle fraud, | gotalong well with both whites and the blacks; ... I argued that a selfish, materialistic life was the only worthwhile way of living, and enjoyed the glamour of passing off as an existentialist Thatway, [could easily justity my aimless, driftinglifestyle Ananthamurthy 32). Once back in hishometown, similarto Pandurang, Jagannatha too getsalicnated soon, He thinks that Bharathipura isstuck in the “embryo of Manjunatha” (11) who isthe powerful deity of the town, The traditional practicesot his town that have been passed on [rom generationto generationappear oppressive and unscientitic to him, He decides to act and liberate Bharathipura from the clutches of Manjunatha. Ln thisregard, heissuddenly drivenby an idea to break Manjunatha by takinga groupofHoleyaru(dalits}ot his town into Manjunatha's temple. Throughout the novel, he favor of his action but he is disappointed to realize that the people around him_ both his and Holeyaru Joes ON giving a Series Of justifications in Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : Issue: 3 (May, 2019)Pues 275 remain unconvincedofhis massive plans. Heeven wonders why they donot thinklike him. Inthe process. he realizesthat heeannotbe one with the Holeyasorwith anyoneinthe town, Hisalienation andhiserisis get highlightedin histhinking that he" wouldecometoomuchan insiderand lose identityifhe believedin Godand without becoming an outsiderwith thingsof God, hecan'tbeginto dothingsthat he wanted to do inthisplace”. (43) Jagannatha comes totheeonelusionthattheonly probable way tocreateanimpacton thepeoplear Bharathipurais by rejecting Manjunatha irst(44}, He eelsthat life insucha society is“pointless because there is no scope for any action here except, cating, mating, dying” (63). He wonders why the people around himareunable to connect tohis ideas about temple entry to break Manjunatha and he feared that hislife would become desiccated with such antificiality” (167). Despite his efforts, Jagannatha's temple entry project remains incomplete. However, though Jagannatha is disturbed by the failure of his project. the novel concludes with Jagannatha thinking of coming up with new initiatives for Bharathipura, But throughout,the feeling ofalicnationcontinuestoesistin him Thus, both Pandurangand.fagannatha remain alienated not only in the places outside their miliew butalsointheirownsocieties Koslaand Bharathipura: Similavitiesand beyond Thetexts have created the protagonists who hail from rich feudal families. We come to know that Pandurang'sfather had many farmhands working forhimand he himselt'states in the beginningorthetext that his father was an “established sort of bod” (1). dagannatha too belongs to the rich and well-respected family of Bharathipura.Jagannathaissent to England forhigherstudies while Pandurang goesto Poona to joina college. Both feel alienated in the new societies. Both the heroes return totheir homes, Once back. they both {eelalicnatedevenamidsttheirownpeopleasillustrated intheprevioussection ‘What is striking is that both Pandurang and Jagannatha share similar attitudes towards the way peoplehave omanised their lives inthe society around them, Jagannatha feels that Bharathipurais caught inthe“embryoof Manjunatha” while Pandurang feels that living in hisvillageis living likea “beast”. The conspicuous aspect in Bharathipura is Jagannatha'sobservations abouthistown, Tohim, thistempletown isuncreativeas he pondersthat"L ifehas ceased to becreativehere, Manjunathaswamy isthecaneerofour lifestyle” and therefore “he must be destroyed” (10), According to him, “There were never anythin beauiifiul in the town of Bharathipura” (Ibid), He thinks, that the town and the streets of Bharathipura ‘cannot createanything, atany time” (Ibid), Because of Manjunatha, “No wonder nothing ever happens here, nothing new; God has made life sterile...” (11). Therefore. unless and until God is destroyed, “we willnever becreative” (Ibid), Hegoes on blaming Manjunatha forall the backwardness that he seesinthe townand therefore, decidestodestroy him, Whilewalking down thetemple street, henotices, But the men who wiled theirtime on the benches ining theshop front were old familiar faces. They sat watching pilgrims, digesting their break last of seasoned beaten rice oF doses. while theirwomansatin smoky wood-firekitchenthroughout theday....Herethey satuntilitwastime forlunch;thenthey would wendtheirway home.(3) ALIENATED HEROES: A STUDY.OF KOSLCAND, Hisobservationcontinues, Somehow the belly was filled: someone gave birth, someone died. Ina year there were at least a few deaths, a few births, ten or more weddings. Somehow time moved on, hair ed, teethdroppedout(5) gre! Iisinteresting to note that Jagannatha'sdescription of Bharathipura sounds similar to Pandurang’s descriptionofSangvi. The verysocialbchaviour ofthe villagersirritates Pandurang. Theway thevillagers including his fuer have onganised their lives irkshim even more. Pandurang finds the villagers selfish and money minded. According to him, the villagers are an “easy going lot” (279), He is convinced that Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : Issue: 3 (May, 2019)ALIENATED IEROES:ASTUDY.OF KOSI CAND RHLARATTPL RG 276 “living in villageisby and lame just... living likea beast” (296). Narrating his observations, hestatesthat the villagers don’t eare for anything and they have this attitude that, "Whatever happens, happens forthe best” (ibid). Further. he feels bothered with this idea that nothing happens in the village that is related to knowledgeand there is “no conformity here between thingsthat merely help to pass the time and art etc” (Ibid). He isalso disappointed that people in the village do not read and issurprised to realise“ How their time goeshy inutter contentment, monthafier month” Ibid), He thinksthat, “with the exception of the threshing machine itwas impossible for anything new to enter theworld ofourvillage. Instead.theyouth fromhere goaway to thecity....(306) Pandurang finally concludesthat themannerin which villagershave organised their life thusis beyond his comprehension (297), However if we observe the novels closely: we come to know that both Sangvi and Bharathipura have an active social life. Peopleare busy in their activities and everything looks normal to all exeept for the characters like Pandurang and Jagannatha. It is interesting to note that the descriptions in the novel suggest that Bharathipura, being @ temple town is buzzing with activities throughout the yeat, Despite amidstsomuchaction, Jagannatha feelsalienated. Theiractivities look dullandmeaninglessforhim. Sois also the case with Pandurang. However, beyond these similarities, there lies one significant difference betweenthesetwo protagonists. If Pandurang isa detached melancholicobserver, Jagannatha isbasically restless, Unlike Pandurang, Jagannatha is not passive. There isan urge in him tozct. ItPandurang pays attention towards larger issues about lifeand death, and his existence, especially afterhis younger sister's death, Jagannatha too is obsessed with the idea of doing something. The diflerence is that Jagannatha becomes agitated and immediately decides to act, Whether he plans these actions for himselt or for the peopleafhistown.isa different natureaf question, But fundamentally both Pandurangand Jagannathaare disturbed o the core, Pandurang with his keen sense of observation gocson narrating his observations on peoplearound him, Henevertriesto beonewithhis society. Jagannatha,on theotherhand,{riesto beone among thepeopleeventhough hesoon realisesthat hecannotenterthe worldolthe peopleof Bharathipura and be one with them, So, even amidst their own people, both the protagonists remain alienated and separated, Both the novels have created men who observe and think about larger issues pertaining to human situation and the society in whieh they dwell, Further, both the novels have open ending thus leavingthereaderswiththeimagesoftwosensitive individualspondering abouttheirsituations, References: 1. Ananthamurthy,U.R, Bhararhipura, Translated bySusheela Punitha, New Delhi:OUP.2010. 2 UR Ananthannthy: Omuibus, Fd. Manu Chakravarthy, Delhi: Arvind Kumar Publishers, 2007 3. TyenganK.R. Srinivasa, Jndian Writing in English, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1985 4. Kadakane Raghunath, Jn Comparison: Bhalachandra Nemade's Kosla and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher inthe Rye, NotionPress, 2017 $. Mukheriee, Meenakshi. Elusive Terrain: Cultuneund Literary Memory OUP,2008 6. Nemade, Bhalchandra, Kos/a, Translated as Cocoon by Sudhakara Marathe. Chennai: Macmillan India Limited, 1997 Ram Shri Mugali. Kannada Sahitya Charitre, Mysore: Geetha Book House. 2018. Seshagiri RaoL.S. Hosagaimada Sahitya Charitre, Bangalore: SapnaBook House, 1975 9. Sreedhara VS. “Distinct Kannada Flavour”. The /indu, 5° Mareh.2011 10, wwweomplete review.com/reviews indiareg/ananthamur?. him, Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : issue: 3 (May, 2019)