Kanthapura-The Language, the Narrative Style and the Literary Merits

 Kanthapura-The Language, the Narrative Style and the Literary Merits’ of Kanthapura

 Kanthapura is a successful novel even if it is judged through its narrative style and techniques used by Raja Rao. It was a big challenge for the writer to achieve his goal by writing this novel in English. He had to make some innovations in his narrative style to suit the Indian atmosphere.

 Let’s study this novel in the light of the use of ‘language, the narrative style and the literary merits’ of Kanthapura.

 As we know, it was not an easy task for the writer to narrate a tale of an imaginary village, named Kanthapura, where people had different mindsets and where most of the people were illiterate, following different myths and superstitions. They were the people who were divided on the basis of caste and religion. The writer was to portray them as living beings, clashing with one another to safeguard their personal interests and then to elevate them to unite for the bigger cause of being a part of Gandhiji’s  Movement.

  So the first priority for the writer was to mould the English language according to the people of Kanthapura in order to express their thoughts and feelings, their dreams, and the harsh reality in which they lived. The second necessity for the writer was to select a narrative style. For this, he decided to use an age-old ancient style of story-telling, which is very popular in our country.

 We all have grown up by listening to the tales narrated by our grandmothers in a simple and spontaneous manner. Here, the narrator is Achakka, the village's old grandmother, who narrates the tale of the events that took place long-long ago in Kanthapura. Some of the incidents have become dim in her memory with the passage of time. But whatever she narrates, she narrates wonderfully.

 Raja Rao himself admits the fact that telling a tale is not an easy job when he was to capture the tempo of Indian life in a foreign language. The novelist was to record the swift movements of thoughts and actions that prevail in an average Indian mind. The novelist has done this successfully in Kanthapura.

The writer does not use any flashback that slows down the tempo of the action. Wherever the writer finds space, we come to know about his viewpoint.  The narrator is one of the people living in Kanthapura and it also lends authentication to the events.

We find word pictures in plenty. The novelist has described everything that he thought necessary very minutely. Sometimes our senses of sight, sound, and even smell are stirred. In the first chapter, the movements of the bullock carts on the zigzag ‘kachcha’ roads creating a cloud of dust behind them are marvelous. Similar examples abound in the novel.

 

The novelist has also kept in mind the subject matter that is used by different characters while speaking in the novel. They speak in accordance with the education, religious and cultural values they have acquired in their rural background. Raja Rao has also used Indianised words for certain religious ceremonies like  “God’s birth celebration ceremony”, “rice-eating ceremony”, “hair-cutting ceremony”, “death ceremony”, ‘Sankara-Vijaya’,  ‘Sankara-Jayanthi’,‘Harikathas’, etc. Even in dialogues, the writer has used their local language.

 As a modern writer of great eminence, T.S. Eliot, Raja Rao has also used myths in this novel. It makes the narrative of the novel look more Indian. He has used the myths of the goddess Kenchamma, Lord Rama and Sita, Lord Krishna, Brahma, Siva, etc. Under the umbrella of these religious myths and belief, the people of Kanthapura stand united in the leadership of Moorthy to participate in Gandhiji’s freedom struggle.

Thus, we may say that Raja Rao’s narrative style and the literary devices he used in this novel are superb.

 

 

 

Moorthy's Character in Kanthapura

 Kanthapura by Raja Rao: Essay-type Questions & Answers

 Character sketch of Moorthy

Ans. Moorthy is the central character in the whole gamut (range) of characters in the novel Kanthapura. From the very beginning, Moorthy catches readers' attention (focus). We come to know that after leaving college education, Moorthy follows Gandhiji. He is so much impressed with Gandhiji’s personality that he adopts his ‘swadeshi ideas.’ Narsamma, his mother, wanted him to see highly educated and sitting on a high positioned seat.

 But her dreams are shattered when Moorthy left education and devoted himself fully to Gandhiji's ‘Swadwshi’ and Freedom Movements. Now he does not wear foreign clothes. He does not read even foreign books. He keeps fasts to purge himself at times.His mother was initially against all that Moorthy was doing, but gradually, she had to accept all that.

 

Moorthy picks up social evils like maltreatment towards widows and untouchability and the caste system. He works against these deep-rooted social evils. These evils were national issues also, but Moorthy works to eradicate (remove) these social evils from his village and the surrounding areas. He went from one door to the other to spread the message that he did not believe in castes and other types of narrow thinking. He is against any discrimination that separates one human being from the other. 

He does not care for Bhatta’s warnings of the ex-communication of him and his family. His mother dies of the anxiety that was created in her mind due the fear of being excommunicated by the Swamiji. His mother’s death does not waver him from his determination. He continues working for uplifting the poor section of society. He does not care for his own community. One day, he openly carries Pattayya’s wife’s dead body for some time as a mark of respect to the dead. That makes all stunned.

 He went to the houses of the Pariahs. He heard their problems and found solutions to them. He advised them to work on Gandhiji’s charkhas and adopt Swadeshi goods. He educated them that by spinning on the wheels, they would not only help Gandhiji’s Swadeshi Movement but also earn money.

When he heard of the miserable condition of the coolies at the Skeffington Coffee Estate, he went there to teach them. But he was not allowed to enter the Estate.

 Moorthy forms Congress Committee at Kanthapura and he is unanimously elected as the President. Rangamma and her sister’s daughter Ratna support Moorthy in his work for Gandhiji. Even Range Gowda also helps him. Thus they all inspire the villagers to join Congress to free India from the British. Women also come forward and form Sevika Sangh to support Moorthy.

Thus Moorthy is a very important character in the novel Kanthapura.

Kanthapura A Novel of Indian Freedom Movement

  Kanthapura A Novel of Indian Freedom Movement

Gandhiji’s impact on the novelist Raja Ram is quite obvious (clear/evident) and it is also reflected in the whole novel ‘Kanthapura’ through his mouthpiece character ‘Moorthy’ and even though several other ways.

 After reading a few pages of this novel, the action of the novel catches speed in one direction that is Freedom Movement of India, the mainstream of the novel.

Raja Rao was born in Gandhiji’s era, so he had a deep impact of Gandhian ideology in his mind.

 

Gandhiji’s role in India’s Freedom Movement attracts even foreign reputed minds. So he is one among the main freedom fighters of his times.

 

Raja Rao had all these points in his mind while creating Moorthy’s character in this novel. As Moorthy is introduced, a very good image of him is formed in the reader’s mind. He begins his role following the footsteps of Gandhiji by practising his ideal’s great principles of life, i.e. love for truth, justice, and non-violence.

 

He left his higher education and dedicated his life to making the people aware of Gandhiji’s Freedom Movement. He observed fast not to attract people’s attention, but to purify his soul out of the guilt that people resorted to violence because of him.

 

He gets mixed up with people, who were victims of caste division and the social evils of untouchability, and ill-treatment given to the widows. He goes from one door to the other just to inspire the people of the Pariah caste to do something for their upliftment.

He distributes ‘charkhas’ to them so that they may make threads and sell them to add to their livelihood. He tells them how the British are exploiting them economically, socially, politically, and mentally also.

 His own mother turns insane and dies because of his decision not to stop getting mixed up with the Pariahs. He suffers much mental pain due to all that, but every time he emerges as a stronger person, capable of moving ahead overpowering all odd that impede his way.

 He continues his task of making people aware of Gandhiji’s ideas and inspiring them to take part in the freedom movement of India.

 When Moorthy was arrested for anti-British Rule activities in India, not only the women but also the men of Kanthapura come forward to take Moorthy’s task ahead. A ‘Sevika Sangh’ was formed in Kanthapura.  

 Several activities like ‘Don’t Touch the Government Campaign’ , Gandhiji’s Dandi Yatra’, and picketing of the ‘Boranna’s Toddy grove’ were supported. The police arrested several ‘satyagrahis’ and inflicted torture on them, but it did not deter (stop) people from their aim to free India.

 Moorthy taught his people Gandhian ideals of non-violence to stick to it under every odd condition. He spread the message that only homemade clothes be used. No foreign material should be bought and used. People arranged 'Prabhat-Pheris' and sang bhajans in temples in Gandhiji’s praise.

The novelist has shown Kanthapura in this novel India at a micro-scale. Whatever was happening at Kanthapura was also happening everywhere in India. The people of Kanthapura got so much attached to Moorthy that they were bear all tortures inflicted on them by the police force. They forgot all of their social, economic, and religious boundaries.

 Thus the novelist depicts Kanthapura as India in miniature form, where one may watch the Freedom Movement going on with the same enthusiasm and fearlessness as it was continuing elsewhere in India.