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3.08 AVERAGE
3.08 AVERAGE
This gives us a view into the Indian freedom struggle and how it culminated in small villages. How venerated Mahatma Gandhi was and his influence on the people. There are a lot of characters with Indian names and I don't remember them all. It starts out dealing with normal village affairs and towards the end we are brought to the rebellion and there is sea change in the attitudes of people. The issue of caste is also present and this issue still pervades in some sections of our society that have backward thinking. Though in the beginning they are divided towards the end they fight together. Moorthy is a symbol of hope under dire times. The role the women play in this is also significant, they are given representation as being part of an important movement. For one of the first major Indian English novels the writing is remarkable.
This novel is written by Raja Rao. Before going to start something about the book.. let's have a look at the theme of the Book
1. Book is mainly based on the evils of colonial rule
2. Caste and anti-Muslim sentiment
3. Women and their conditions
4. Role of education at the time of the Gandhian era
So the story narrates an old woman, she describes everything about kanthapura at the beginning and how different caste lives in different quarters. Then comes a leading role Moorthy who is an educated, intelligent and cool mind who persuades villagers to participate in self-governance and freedom struggle. Moorthy was influenced by Gandhi's ideology.
The author tries to write everything that occurs in the village and even beautifully depicted little nuance. After reading this book you will realize the actual power of English literature in India
1. Book is mainly based on the evils of colonial rule
2. Caste and anti-Muslim sentiment
3. Women and their conditions
4. Role of education at the time of the Gandhian era
So the story narrates an old woman, she describes everything about kanthapura at the beginning and how different caste lives in different quarters. Then comes a leading role Moorthy who is an educated, intelligent and cool mind who persuades villagers to participate in self-governance and freedom struggle. Moorthy was influenced by Gandhi's ideology.
The author tries to write everything that occurs in the village and even beautifully depicted little nuance. After reading this book you will realize the actual power of English literature in India
I guess Kanthapura, the debut novel of Raja Rao (pub.1938) is familiar to most Indian readers. I discovered it only recently, in my quest to become familiar with pre-Rushdie Indian literature written in English. I really enjoyed it, it is a fascinating book for a multitude of reasons.
I found it a little difficult to get into the flow of the novel to begin with - something I would have understood better if I had actually read the introduction and preface before starting on the narrative. Instead of writing a novel based in India but written in English, and following the canons of English novels, Rao set out to mould the language to Indian usage and to adapt the novel form to traditional Indian storytelling. This in itself makes it a remarkable milestone and, in my opinion, more ambitious than a lot of the later Indian literature which is more familiar to readers outside of India.
Leaving aside literary considerations, the story is in itself very interesting. It is narrated by an elderly woman, who witnesses the changes and upheaval caused in her rural village, Kanthapura, with the arrival of Gandhi’s non-violent independence movement. Gandhi’s teachings enter the community through the protagonist, Moorthy. He is a Brahmin boy who returns to the village after studying in the city, where he was exposed to what the villagers themselves call “Gandhism”. Moorthy makes a tremendous impression as he endeavours to get his neighbours to join the movement, particularly engaging the local women, encouraging them to make the khadi homespun cloth and to discard the restrictions of caste. In contrast to Moorthy and his growing band of peaceful protestors, the village landowner, owners of the local coffee plantations, and police all set out to curb this threat to the British status quo using violence.
There are so many aspects that make this novel so interesting, not least of which is that it was actually written during the struggle for Independence.
I found it a little difficult to get into the flow of the novel to begin with - something I would have understood better if I had actually read the introduction and preface before starting on the narrative. Instead of writing a novel based in India but written in English, and following the canons of English novels, Rao set out to mould the language to Indian usage and to adapt the novel form to traditional Indian storytelling. This in itself makes it a remarkable milestone and, in my opinion, more ambitious than a lot of the later Indian literature which is more familiar to readers outside of India.
Leaving aside literary considerations, the story is in itself very interesting. It is narrated by an elderly woman, who witnesses the changes and upheaval caused in her rural village, Kanthapura, with the arrival of Gandhi’s non-violent independence movement. Gandhi’s teachings enter the community through the protagonist, Moorthy. He is a Brahmin boy who returns to the village after studying in the city, where he was exposed to what the villagers themselves call “Gandhism”. Moorthy makes a tremendous impression as he endeavours to get his neighbours to join the movement, particularly engaging the local women, encouraging them to make the khadi homespun cloth and to discard the restrictions of caste. In contrast to Moorthy and his growing band of peaceful protestors, the village landowner, owners of the local coffee plantations, and police all set out to curb this threat to the British status quo using violence.
There are so many aspects that make this novel so interesting, not least of which is that it was actually written during the struggle for Independence.
Tedious and too filled with nationalistic fervour to really be a light read.
challenging
fast-paced
tricky to read cos i really didn’t vibe with the writing style.
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No