Q- Fakir Mohan Senapati‘s novel is not just the story of an evil landlord, but has many layers to it.

Comment on this statement with special reference to the narrative technique of the novel.

Ans – Six Acres and a Third by Fakir Mohan Senapati, first published in Oriya as Chha Mana Atha
Guntha in the late nineteenth century, is a novel in the social realism genre that also serves as a parable.
It describes daily life in the Oriya village of Gobindapur, which is ruled by Ramchandra Mangaraj, the
schemer, manipulator, and excessively devout village chief. However, there are further layers to the
novel. It's a tale of oppression, hierarchy, and exploitation; of Orissa's subservient status and the
increasing disregard for its language and culture within the framework of colonialism; and of the
subliminal transformations brought about by colonialism.

The stories within the stories also contrive to tell us more about the novel and its protagonists; it is this
mode that also distinguishes Six Acres as a traditional genre of storytelling. The events are being
narrated by someone who is broadly identified as a "tout" - a person at the bottom of the legal ladder
whose narrating style is flattering but satiric and sarcastic. The clever and perceptive narrator knows the
subtleties of Gobindapur life as well as of the colonial world of recently established judicial systems. ..
The novel itself does not fit into a traditional narrative mode; instead, it is his style of telling, his
homemade, doggerel philosophy, that takes center stage. Its story is, in truth, incredibly twisted and
disorganized. For example, the narrative of Bhagia and Saria, the weaving couple, is only mentioned in
the middle of the book. Satya Mohanty argues that the narrator's "critiques add up to a coherent and
systematic social and ethical vision", which Senapati would not have had him present so compellingly if
it were not meant to be taken seriously. As such, the narrator is a strong and intelligent character whose
opinions we can agree with the author's. Given this, we might conclude that the text's relatively
colloquial language makes it a very readerly text.

Mangaraj, the antagonist of the book, is shown to be oppressive and cunning through the use of
humour, wit, and knowledge. By being included into the story's allusive discourse, humor performs a
counter-narrative by exposing colonial interactions and attitudes and criticizing the trickster-like figures.
As said by Dr.Shruti Das in her critique ,” Life in Colonial India: Reading through Fakir Mohan Senapati’s
Six Acres and a Third”, “the introduction of the incongruity or the ‘punch line’ at the end reveals that the
narrator has been joking and the new information points at the true nature of the fraud. The subversive
humour in the narration is evident as the narrator pleads for Mangaraj.”
A Subaltern's Tale by: Anu Kumar

 Six Acres and a Third, originally written in Oriya as Chha Mana Atha Guntha towards the closing
years of the 19th century, is a novel in the social realism genre and is also a parable. It details life
in the Oriya village of Gobindapur, domi- nated by its scheming, manipulative and overly pious
zamindar, Ramchandra Mangaraj.
 However, the novel has other layers too. It is a story of exploitation, of hierarchy and
oppression, of Orissa's subordinate position and the progressive neglect of its culture and
language under the colonial scheme of things, and also about the implicit changes wrought by
colonialism. The novel is set at a time when colonial administra- tion and its various appendages
have just begun making their presence felt in Orissa, a century and more following the British
conquest of Bengal. Six Acres depicts the impact of life in Gobindapur following the introduction
of new systems of land administration and rent acquisition, legal modes and even the newly
imposed police hierarchy. It is against this context that the events in Gobindapur village, in the
zamindari of Fatehpur Sarsandha unfold.

 Mangaraj' s double-edged munificence. He survives because he has learnt to effec- tively use the
new colonial system to his advantage; his property has been acquired not by merit but by guile
and the un- abashed use of power and privilege.

 It is in several ways a parable: Of the retribution and ruin that inevitably follows unrestrained
greed, of how power and privilege are short- lived, and how goodness and honesty are all too
often ignored yet have a far long- lasting impact.

 Mangaraj pays for his evil, his downfall appears immi- nent in the natural order of things.

 The stories within the stories also con- trive to tell us more about the novel and its protagonists;
it is this mode that also makes Six Acres an example of the traditional genre of storytelling

 The events are being narrated by someone broadly identifiable as a "tout" - a person who
occupies the very bottom rung of the legal ladder, whose mode of narrating is ingratiating, but
satiric and also ironical. This sly, ever observant narrator is some- one who straddles both worlds
- the colonial world of newly instituted legal systems and one who is familiar with the intricacies
of life in Gobindapur.

 the narrator that the story unfolds, layer by layer. Un-deciphering the narrator, where he
speaks from, forms yet another layer of the novel. His tools of narration bring home evident
truths is sincere and yet facetious in his attempts to convince the reader, conveying the truth by
hinting at its very antithesis.
 The very subtlety in the manner of narration also implies that Six Acres is a critique of the
present inverted nature of all universal values and the colonial system itself. Of how goodness
and simplicity too has suspicious begin- nings - Bhagia, the poor simple weaver who loses his
land, had inherited it from his weaver-father, who being the head of the community had helped
himself to the fertile land at the very head of the canal waters.

 The translator's mediation is in turns an explanation of the novel and also a deconstruction,
especially of the narrator.

 s. It is his mode of telling, his homespun, doggerel philosophy that takes centre stage as the
novel itself does not fall into a conventional narrative mode. It is in fact very skewed, and un-
structured in narrative. For instance, the story of the weaver couple, Bhagia and Saria, appears
only towards the middle of the book.

Representation of Women and Gender Relations in Six Acres and a Third by Claire Horan.

 In Six Acres and a Third, Fakir Mohan Senapati defends socio- economic ideals that were
radical in the late 19th century, when he was writing. His novel raises questions about
ownership and the fair distribution of wealth. His stylistic choices challenge the very way
that peasants were written about by the British and by British-educated Indians, or
babus; he writes with deeper and less stereotyped characterisation, thus providing a
more subtle and realistic account of their lives.
 There are many unequivocal statements in the novel criticising the way the caste and
legal systems benefited only the rich or dishonest. The narrator comments on this
injustice throughout the novel, and it is clear that he thinks reform is needed.
 in his narrator's statements concerning women and the relationships between female
and male characters, Senapati presents vivid, complex, and non-sexist images of rural
women. Further, many of the narrator's comments reveal his society's injustice towards
women and the need for change. Senapati's overall critique of social injustice includes
women among its victims and his vision for economic and social reform empowers both
women and men.
 Narrator is a powerful and intelligent character whose judgments we can align with
those of the author because, as Satya Mohanty argues, his "critiques add up to a
coherent and systematic social and ethical vision" (p 8) - a vision that Senapati would
not have had him expound so persuasively if it were not intended to be taken seriously.
 This narrator argues in several instances that a woman's character matters more than
her appearance. The narrator states that the readers can recognise Champa and Saria
because "human beings are known not by their faces, but by their characters" (p 113).
 The narrator's statement uses the generic term "human beings" (in Oriya: 'manushya')
rather than the more specifically gendered term 'purusha' - "men”
 The narrator mocks both traditional Indian authors and babus, saying that traditional
Indian literature compares women to elephants, while babus are no better since they
imitate the British by comparing women to horses: "How absurd to compare four-
footed creatures, such as horses and elephants, to women!" The narrator next provides
a humorous poem which both makes fun of Kalidasa's1 literary authority and describes
Champa with unidealised physical characteristics, giving her depth and making her
character more believable.
 The narrator states that women should not, like animals, be valued simply for their
bodies or attractive appearance. The description of Champa demonstrates that an
important female character need not be beautiful, but should be well-developed. This
dual purpose of the chapter, to mock babu culture and criticise superficial
characterisations of women, is refreshing, especially considering that many historical
ideologies that have attempted to challenge colonial rule have involved and even
explicitly promoted the denial of rights to women in the name of respect for traditional
native lifestyle.
 for the complex presentation of a "heroine". Rather than a description of Champa's
appearance, the first words that are used to describe her role are "authority" and
"power" (p 55). It should be noted that neither Champa nor any other female character
in Six Acres and a Third is important for her looks. In Champa's case, this point is
emphasised when she disguises herself as the wealthy aunt of a new daughter-in- law in
Ratanpur. The women are convinced by her forceful personality and her elaborate
ornamentation, but after she leaves they engage in a "long and lively discussion" of her
ugliness (p 136). Her plot was effective in impressing the women despite her displeasing
physical appearance.

 the only female whose appearance is described in great detail is Neta, Saria's cow. raph.
One may question why Neta's physical appearance deserves so much attention while
human appearances are given no emphasis. The answer may lie in the subsequent
comparison of Neta to a paper mill (p 93). Neta's appearance is important because her
body is a commodity; she is important only for what she can produce. Remembering
also the narrator's disgust at comparisons between women and animals, it follows that
Senapati objects to traditional authors' insistence on physical descriptions of women
partly because he feels their worth should not correspond to their physique.

 The culture of washerwomen at the pond revolves around household duties,

motherhood, and village gossip. But, unlike in Day's version, Senapati's Asura Pond
women have differentiated names and personalities, even without being developed
characters. Jasoda is prone to anger and intolerant of children; Pali is a good cook and
 wants everyone to know it; Lakshmi focuses mainly on her own prettiness. Although
these characters are minor and superfTcial, each woman is unique in Senapati's version.

 the "familiarity" of the men's conversation topics, Senapati points out that both the
society being described and the society of the intended reader are male-dominated. In
his privileging of women's conversation, we can see Senapati's desire to represent
women; since the male world has had more written about it, he does not describe it in
as much detail as he does that of the women.

 Champa, she is compared to several animals: a "she- dog", a "she-jackal", and a

"cockroach". Her heavy gait is like that of a "she-dog" when she storms through the
village causing trouble (p 61). The comparison between Champa and the jackals is
clarified by the juxtaposition of the end of chapter 13 and the beginning of chapter 14. It
is midnight as Champa and Mangaraj plan their evil deeds at the end of chapter 13, and
chapter 14 begins with jackals howling at midnight (p 62). Like a jackal clearing away the
carcasses of other animals, Champa enjoys and benefits from the suffering of others.
The narrator says Champa is like a cockroach because she and cockroaches have "the
same complexion", but Champa's super- stition states that cockroaches bring wealth,
which she certainly does for Mangaraj (p 119). Although she has greater intelligence
than the zamindar, he still has social power over her.

 Champa's talent at trickery provide the basis for her success at stealing, but this talent is
the most likely explanation for Mangaraj's attraction to her. Although she does not have
a pleasant physical appearance, this scene suggests that Mangaraj prefers her to his
wife as an object of desire.

 Champa is described as strong. About her arguments with Gobinda, who is her
accomplice in stealing from Mangaraj after his arrest, the narrator comments that "two
persons of equal strength pulling in opposite directions do not budge" (p 188). For a
male author in the late 19th century to suggest that men and women can have equal
strength and force of character was unusual in any culture.

Life in Colonial India: Reading through Fakir Mohan Senapati’s Six Acres and a Third
(Chha Mana Athaguntha) Dr. Shruti Da
 “Fakir Mohan Senapati’s classic Odia novel is a marvel of 19th century literary
realism, complex and sophisticated. It seeks to analyse and explain social reality
instead of merely holding up a mirror to it. The novel’s literary innovations
changed Odia literature forever” says Satya P Mohanty, a noted critic.
 Colonialism is the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition,
andexpansion of colony in one territory by a political power from another
territory. It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the
colony and often between the colonists and the indigenous population.
 Senapati’s Six Acres narrates realistically the socio-cultural state of Odisha in the
nineteenth century, where the Odia population was about to lose its linguistic
and cultural independence through historical contact with both the British and
the Bengali.
 Satire, paradox, contradiction and irony which are the four pillars of humour are
abundantly evinced in the narrative. Fakir Mohan uses humour to target and
criticize the then colonial social and political institutions. In this context it is
relevant to discuss Toni Morrison’s theory of narrative. In her description of the
relationship between reading and writing, Toni Morrison writes in Playing in the
Dark.
 In the society depicted in the novel one sees the narrator’s concern with
pollution of morals and language brought about by a contact situation. Senapati
understands language to be a social force with which conscience raising can be
done towards self-respect. Therefore, Six Acres invites an active relationship
between the narrator and the reader. The narrator employs a unique style that
engages and holds the attention of the reader throughout with the narration.
 humour along with wit and intelligence comes in handy to expose the
oppression and chicanery of the novel’s villain, Mangaraj. Integrated into the
allusive discourse of the narrative, humour attains subversive qualities in
critiquing the trickster-like characters and exposing colonial relations and
attitudes, thereby, performing a counter-narrative.
 the introduction of the incongruity or the ‘punch line’ at the end reveals that
the narrator has been joking and the new information points at the true nature
of the fraud. The subversive humour in the narration is evident as the narrator
pleads for Mangaraj.
 on coming to the element of incongruity, he is brought up short by the problem
of finding what relevance this new information may have to what has gone
before (stage one). This involves him in a “problemsolving” activity by which he
is made to re-read the main body of the joke and to re-interpret it in a new light
provided by the ending (stage two). The reader perceives a situation or idea in
two incompatible frames of reference. The situation or idea, in which the two
intersect, is made to vibrate simultaneously on two different wavelengths, as it
were.
 Ramachandra Mangaraj. He fits into the metanarrative of colonial Indian
society, a man of plenty, adept and influential in business and a typical land
grabbing landlord of British times. The narrative presents Mangaraj as a pious
man who observes all the religious fasts, namely, each of the twenty-four
ekadasis in the Odia religious calendar.
 The ‘moles, rats and bugs in the bedroom’ are the sycophants of Mangaraj. He
benefits by listening to them and taking their advice.
